Sam at 8 Months

My baby boy is 8 months old. He has figured out that there is more to life than just sitting perfectly still and content in one precious little place :) Which Owen and I have encouraged. Sam wants to reach for everything. His favorite object is my phone. He loves it! He is spinning and rolling over to get around. He gets frustrated about not being able to move exactly where he wants to go.

He is sleeping really well. Sam likes a pacifier and as much as I didn't really want him to like a pacifier it has come in handy in the sleep department. For naps I hold him tight and bounce him and he falls fast asleep. At night I rock him with a bottle and he falls asleep. If by chance he doesn't fall asleep at nap or bedtime I can put him in his crib with his pacifier and he plays with it and falls asleep. I have noticed he doesn't really suck on it, he chews on it.

Sam has 4 teeth - two top and two bottom. All four came in at the same time. He is still drooling and putting his finger in his mouth so I think another one is on its way. He looks different with a tooth visible. His hair is also growing. It looks like it is going to dark blonde or light brown.

He is starting to babble the "da" sound more and more. It does sound like he is saying dada. When I say "I'm momma" his face lights up and he gets so happy. In fact he is one of the happiest babies I know.

He likes to bang toys and make noise. He gets a curious face about things. He watches everything and is beginning to develop his relationship with Ralphie. He smiles so big when Ralphie is around and Sam reaches for him to pet him. Ralphie is NEVER far away from the boys.

He is wearing size 3 diapers and size night time diapers.

Sam still does not like to eat. It is the craziest thing to me. He starts to cry the moment I put him in his high chair. He LOVES his bottle and is quite content with that. He does seem curious about eating and I think he wants to feed himself. I gave him an animal cracker yesterday (the bland ones) and he loved it. He used his 4 new teeth to chomp on it. I am still too timid to give him puffs yet. Maybe we will do that when he is 9 months old.

I can tell his hearing is great after his surgery. He turns and looks at new sounds and voices so much more than he did before the surgery. We go back for his recheck next Wednesday. I am curious to see how the tubes look. Sam has congestion in his sinuses so I want to make sure that drainage isn't going to bother his ears.

We think Sam is a week away from crawling - then our world will be different - in a good way.

We just love him so much and he shows us he loves every day with his happy smiles.

Potty Training - Update #2

Andrew has graduated to big boy underwear - but not full time. He is now wearing them to school. Last Friday his teacher told me she thought he was ready so over the weekend we went to Target (which Andrew calls his store since Sam gets the store Sam's as in Sam's Club). Andrew choose Cars and Mickey Mouse underwear.

He goes when you take him to the potty. He doesn't tell you when he has to go and he doesn't like to do a BM on the potty. This is a work in progress. At home he goes half in big boy underwear and half in a pull up. We have had two accidents in the house.

He loves putting on his underwear!

We are definitely proud of him. I wish I could say we have a great training tip but we don't. Andrew just decided he would really try one day and since then was no longer scared to do it. I think the saying is true that when they are ready - they are ready!

"I run too fast"

Last week Andrew's class talked about the Olympics. On Friday they had competitions so everyone could get a gold medal. When I picked Andrew up the teacher put his medal around his neck and said he got it for running fast. When I asked Andrew why he got his medal, he told me - "because I run too fast".



P.S. This is his patented smile - he is saying cheese :)

Monday Morning Pictures

Sam got a new toy this weekend. I found a gift certificate from his sip and see to target so while Andrew was picking out his potty prize, we got a toy for Sam too. Sam immediately loved it!!



I put the boys in their big brother/little brother shirts today. And I hoped to get a really cute picture - no luck really...but here they are on a Monday morning.

Potty Training - Update

Something has clicked with Andrew. He is now really potty training!! Last weekend Owen helped him by being really patient and sitting with him until something did happen. And it did!! After that it seems the fear of going to the bathroom went away. He has gone at school and this weekend!! In fact yesterday Andrew had no wet diapers. Small miracle!!! He has recieved two potty prizes. One last weekend and one this weekend. He also gets one m&m after going. Last night (after he was supposed to be asleep) he came out of his room around 8 pm to tell me he had tinkled in his diaper. So I changed him and he went back to sleep. It has really clicked for him. If all goes well this week we are going to buy him big boy underwear. He says he wants cars on them - big surprise!! Both of his potty prizes are cars from the movie Cars2 :)

Owen and I could not be more proud of him. This is such a big milestone for Andrew!!!

Successful Surgery for Sam

Yesterday Sam had his ear tube surgery. He did fantastic. He woke up that morning starving and was fussy about not getting to eat (he couldn't eat after midnight b/c of the anesthesia) but by the time we got the outpatient facility he had calmed down. He fell asleep in my arms as we waited for his turn. He was the first patient so we did not have to wait too long. Sam took his shark with him and held onto it tight. The ENT physician said Sam did great. He was able to suck out a thimble full of fluid out of each ear. He said his hearing should be much better and I can already tell it is.

When we got home he took two long naps. For the 3rd nap I held him and we fell asleep on the couch. In mid nap I thought I should check on him and he was staring at me with his wide eyes. It scared me and nap time was over...

He doesn't have much of an appetite but everything else seems to be normal for our little guy.



This is Sam and me waiting for the doctor.



Here is after the 3rd nap - or the attempt at a 3rd nap :) All smiles and still in a great mood.

Bath time

Bath time has gotten a little different at our house. Sam is no longer in a baby bath. We decided to try having him in the tub with Andrew and it was worked out so much better. Andrew has more room and the boys interact more with each other.

Sam's moving on up

Look at my sweet Sam...he moved on up in the cart this week. This was the first time I did not take in the car seat carrier. And I think he liked the new freedom. He had every grandmom and teenage girl flirting with him. And he shared his personality with each and every one of them. He giggled, he smiled and he batted his eyes. It is a wonder we got any shopping done! Ha!! He is a little charmer.

2 1/2 years old and 7 1/2 months old

Both boys are growing so quickly. It saddens me and excites me. Here are some pictures from the weekend. Owen got a bike trailer for his bike and Andrew was more than excited about this!!!

Here is Andrew at 2 1/2 years old!!!











And here is baby brother Sam at 7 1/2 months old!!!

All about Daddy

Owen has been working over time lately. But things are back to normal at work so life is getting back to normal as well. Since Owen was working late, Andrew hardly got to see him, which made Andrew more of a momma's boy. So Owen drafted a plan and it has worked. It started two weeks ago with an Andrew and Daddy morning. They went to McDonalds - had pancakes and played in the playground, then they went to the fire station. The Firefighters let them come in and look all around the fire truck. They got to touch everything and anything they wanted. They turned on the sirens - really the whole kit and kaboodle. Then, Owen took Andrew to the train station in downtown Hattiesburg. Andrew got to run around, get in a train car and play. They were gone for 3 or so hours. Mom and Sam enjoyed our time too. We slept!!!

This past weekend Owen took Andrew to Academy Sports and bought a bike trailer so Andrew and Sam can ride in the back. Andrew LOVES the trailer. Owen said he would scream in delight like he was on a roller coaster. I think Andrew has discovered that Dad is Fun and now wants to be with him all the time. He still needs me of course - but it is nice to see him want Owen too. It helps all four of us out :)

2 1/2

Tomorrow Andrew will be 32 months old. He is definitely the stereotypical 2 year old. He has a lot of energy but wants to "watch something" - meaning TV while indoors.

He is taking being a momma's boy to a new level. For example this morning he said his nose was running. He was on the couch. Owen told him to get a tissue. He said no, mommy do it. I am in the kitchen already getting a wipey for his nose. Owen is still telling Andrew to get up and wipe his nose and here I come around the corner with wipey in hand to take care of the nose running situation. I realize I maybe an enabler...but I just don't know how else to be.

Andrew wants to sit as close to me as he can while he eats (prefers sitting in my lap).

His appetite is changing - he doesn't seem to be as hungry. He loves gummy snacks and wants a hot dog every night for dinner. I am trying to rotate out the hot dog for dinner, but when I do he doesn't really eat dinner. He eats a lot of fruit.

He has gotten really good at drinking out of a cup. In fact, I am thinking of giving him a big boy cup at dinner now.

He seems to be a little stingy with his toys when it comes to Sam. This morning I asked Andrew to share is line of trucks. He was sharing with me so I thought we could include Sam. Andrew told me "Sam is not big enough to play with his trucks" and then he said something to the effect that the trucks are "still his at the moment". Andrew did compromise and give Sam his bongo drum to play with. Then I gave Andrew big hugs and kisses for being sweet to Sam. Hopefully my overly positive attention will help him always be sweet to Sam.

Andrew wakes up very grumpy in the mornings. He usually comes out of his room in the mornings when he hears us in the kitchen or in Sam's room. And the grumpiness is immediate. He doesn't want breakfast, he doesn't want his pull-up on, he doesn't want something to drink, & he doesn't want Owen to talk to him or Ralphie to touch him. There are a lot of "nos" in the morning.

I am still using TV to get him dressed. He is pretty good about leaving the show to brush his teeth and hair. But there isn't a fight about what to wear so I am still going with this system.

Everything is a bargain now. If you want a gummy - you need to eat a bite of dinner. If you want an M&M treat you need to not hit mommy while we get your pjs on or run away while I am trying to put your diaper on. Getting dressed at night is hard. The M&M thing is working.

Saying good-bye to things still works for a transition. For example in the morning when we need to leave the house and his show is still on - we have to say good-bye to the show so there is a definite end.

He has started crying immediately if he thinks he is not getting his way. It is the big show cry too - tears, red face and all.

Potty training is a complete stand still. I have taken our potty chart down and we will revisit it. Luckily he has a new teacher at school is helping me get him on board. He is so ready to make the turn but he doesn't want to. I am not really worried - he is still so young.

Even in all of his 2 year old independence, he is still the sweetest little boy. He still wants to rock at night and he loves to cuddle. When I drop him off at school he wants to give me a hug and a kiss before I leave. He does this at night too.

I am excited for Andrew has he keeps growing and learning new things. We are working on spelling his name. He knows the days of the week and also sings songs that he has heard since he was an infant. He gets very shy so he doesn't do any of these things when asked. But when he is in his element he show us what he knows. :)

Andrew is a special and loving little boy. I can't believe he is 2 1/2!

4 ear infections, really?

Sam is on his 4th ear infection since April 2012! I can't believe it. He is the toughest baby out there. He doesn't even show the signs of not feeling well. No ear pulling, so fussiness, sleeping well...and still wanting his bottle. But the doctor said both ears have fluid and are red. :( So we are going to the ENT. The pediatrician's office has to make the appointment. I just don't want there to be a 5th ear infection. Poor little guy.



This is Sam playing at Mommy and Me - look at that face - so funny!