Well, it's been a couple of weeks, but I'm back!
Last week was our book club summer trip. We had 6 moms and 8 kids ranging in age from 7 months to 5 years (mostly under 3.5). We rented a house right off the beach from Friday to Tuesday in Pacific Beach, which is maybe 30 minutes north of Ocean Shores. The beach was beautiful, we did have to drive to get there, but it was sandy and great. The first couple of days weren't as nice, it was really overcast on Saturday when we went to the beach, but Monday was BEAUTIFUL and we were at the beach for almost 5 hours. Everyone else left early, so at that point it was just me, Brooke, and our kiddies. Sam did really well, I had a pack and play so that I could put him down for naps and in bed at night. He woke up every night and came into the bed with me, so I didn't sleep that well, but it was good. After taking care of Sam by myself 24-7 in a non-babyproofed house with a bunch of other kids, I was exhausted and ready to be home! We have been planning a trip every summer for the last 3 years, and it's really cool to watch the kids grow up and their interactions with each other change and develop.
Sam, Kira and I leave on Friday (tomorrow) to go to New Jersey to visit my Dad, Stepmom and little Sister and see various extended family. We're going to go to the beach for a few days and this year we'll be there for my little sister Lianna's birthday on the 6th, and for her birthday party the weekend after that.
Sam is getting better at going down stairs, with help of course. For whatever reason he refuses to turn around and go down backwards, so the first time he tried to go downstairs he just sort of walked off the top step. I've seen him go down stairs at the playgrond using the railings, but he doesn't usually do that unless I'm sort of watching from afar, if someone's right next to us, he wants to hold on to both hands. He's slowly getting the hang of it, although sometimes he just lets his legs go or he tries to go down two at once.
Not much else is happening now - I'm a little scatterbrained because I'm rushing around trying to get ready to go to NJ for 11 days and take Sam on an airplane for the first time since he's started walking. Agh!
August 30, 2007
August 15, 2007
Update & New Photos!
Well, it's only been a couple of weeks since I updated! Sam is still doing well. Sam got his first bleeding injury at the zoo last weekend. Near the snow leopard cage they have these things that are like cable wires with little bronze animals that slide back and forth. Lorelai was swinging it around and Brooke told her to stop and that if she hurt anyone she was going to have to ride in the wagon for the rest of the zoo visit, and about 2 seconds later Sam walked over and the animal thing hit him in the lip and split his lip open. I should have known and stopped him, but oh well. He bled a bunch, and cried, but he recovered fairly quickly and even that evening it didn't really seem to be bothering him.
One thing we've noticed is that Sam doesn't respond to his name most of the time that we say it. He does sometimes, and he's a lot more likely to respond to it if someone else says it to him. I just don't know what to do with him because he doesn't listen AT ALL, and he just wants to run away from me and when I chase him he thinks it's funny. Also, he seems to get sheer joy just from running down a sidewalk, which is cute, but also it would be nice if he listened a little. I don't know if it's an age thing or a personality thing or what. I have always thought those leashes that people put on their kids are bad, but honestly, I can kind of see why they do it at this point!
Sam dances a LOT now, he loves the CD of music from the show "The Backyardigans". When he gets fussy in the car, I just put that on and it calms him down, which is awesome. He bends his knees and shakes his butt and it's just so funny and cute! We got some good videos so I'll try to upload those soon so everyone can see.
This weekend we're going to spend the weekend in Grapeview with Justin's Mom. On Saturday we're going to the Gig Harbor Renaissance Faire, which we go to every year with Brooke and Dave, so that should be lots of fun. I just uploaded a whole bunch of new pictures, so check them out!
As for me, I'll be getting ready for our book club trip to Ocean Shores next week (24-28) and for my trip with Sam to New Jersey just after that (8/31-9/10). I'm looking forward to both!
August 3, 2007
15 Month Update & An Amazing Day
Sorry it's been so long again! Today was an amazing day. Sam turned 15 months old yesterday and he is doing great. He had his 15 month doctor appointment today and he is 21.5 pounds (10th percentile - up a little) and 31 inches (41st percentile - down a little), and his head circumfrence is 19 inches (77th percentile). He did have to have a shot - his 4th dtap shot, and he was not happy with that, but the nurse pulled out bubbles and that TOTALLY distracted him, and he did really great!
After the doctor appointment we drove to the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Tacoma. The drive sucked, it was really trafficy and took forever. But once we got there, the rest of the day was awesome. We went and got some food as soon as we got there and he was really into the french fries today. Then we went over to the petting zoo area where they have the goats, and Sam was SO excited! It's the first time he's noticed or cared about the animals. They have a feeding area, and he was going up and looking at them and squealing and a couple of times he reached out and touched their noses. It was great, and he stayed in there a while. Then Brooke, Dave, Seamus and Lorelai got there and we looked at the goats a little more and then went over to the playground area and he ran around and played. He was being really great too - he was wandering around the playground but not running away or making me chase him and bring him back. Since they ask you to leave between when the zoo closes at 6 and when they open the gates for the outdoor movie at 7, we headed over to the DQ that's near the zoo and had some ice cream. Then we headed back. They were showing 'Happy Feet' at the outdoor movie there. We spread out our blankets and there was a band playing and we hung out and Sam walked around all over the place and danced. That's right, he's started dancing! It's really cute, and now he has progressed from just rocking from one foot to the other. He will wave his hands in front of him and sometimes he'll bend his knees slightly and then wiggle his butt back and forth. It's totally cute! I don't know where he got it from. The movie didn't start until dusk, so around 9:00 and I decided to leave a little before 10 because even though Sam was in a great mood and perfectly happy, I didn't want him to stay up too long. He fell asleep within 10 minutes of getting in the car. When we left the zoo he climbed up all the stairs to the parking lot (good for me because I was also carrying a heavy bag) and then walked and when we got to the parking lot I told him to hold my hand to cross the street and he let me hold his hand all the way to the car. It was just a really great day. He also slept until 9 this morning, which was really nice.
So, he's doing great! He is talking a ton, he doesn't always say words but he says 'dropped' and 'duck' and every once in a while he says things like 'cup' and 'dog'. He talks with purpose now and repeats the same sounds, but we don't always understand what he's trying to say. In fact, we don't most of the time! He understands a lot and is starting to know people's names - he knows who to go to when I tell him to go to Brooke, and we even thought that we might have heard him say "Shea" (for Seamus) a couple of times yesterday! He knows 'go to your bedroom', which is what I tell him when he needs to get changed, and he'll walk back there, and he knows that I'm Mama and Justin is Dada.
Sam still loves baths and he had his first bubble bath the other day. He didn't seem terribly interested in the bubbles - he didn't really play with them - but he did taste them a couple of times. We figured out that we can block the drain in our stall shower with a washcloth and let an inch or two of water build up and he'll play in there and have tons of fun while we shower. It's handy for times when only one of us is home, or when we want to get him clean but not run a whole bath. It's really handy that he'll go into the shower with us, and it can be a big timesaver when we need it!
Lots of stuff since last time I wrote! I went to Atlanta from July 12-16 for Aunt Becky's wedding. We got to stay at her house and it was really great to hang out with her and get to know David better! I had a good time. Justin and Sam spent most of the time I was gone visiting Justin's Mom in Grapeview. The week of the 23rd we went up to Bellingham on Monday then left Sam with his Grandma Edie from Tuesday until Saturday when she brought him back down. It was a really nice break and allowed us to get the house totally cleaned - I was especially happy about vacuuming since the floors were getting icky. On Wednesday of this week we went to the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle and played, then went and watched Bela Fleck with Mom, Kira, the Whalen-Robinsons, the Bergmans and the Bradleys. It was a lot of fun and we had a delicious picnic. On Thursday we had some people over for a playdate - Jill, Kylie and Rebecca came as well as Brooke and the kids, Courtney and Elaina and Tara and Nate. It was a ton of fun and we spent a lot of time out in the back yard playing, which was fun.
This week we joined the gym near our house and Sam has been to the daycare there and done really well twice! The first time was only for 20 minutes or so while we were signing up, and when we went back to get him he was being held. The second time he cried a little bit when we left him because Justin didn't escape fast enough, but when we went back to get him a little over an hour later, he wasn't being held and he was playing happily with a little kitchen playset! I'm really glad he does well there, it's only $10 a month for unlimited daycare while you're using the gym and I think it's good for him to go a couple of times a week just to get used to that kind of situation in case the need arises.
What else... he has 10 teeth now! He got 2 molars - one on each side on top, and then a new one just came through last week in the back on the bottom. He is drinking whole milk now, but he's still drinking the older baby formula in bottles, sometimes when he first wakes up, at naptime, and before bed. We don't usually take bottles with us when we leave the house anymore.
Sam is starting to like books, in the past month he's started actually wanting to have books read to him, usually several times in a row! He likes ones like "Barnyard Dance" by Sandra Boynton where you can sort of put a rhythm to the words. That one and 'Pat-a-cake' are his two favorites at the moment. If he's in the mood to look at a book by himself, he has 2 paperback Diego books he likes to look at. He also likes lift the flap books, and likes to read 'Where's Spot' and he will lift the flaps up and when Mom was reading it with him he actually would say 'No' when he lifted up the flaps and it wasn't the puppy. I think he's a genius, but I'm his Mom, so of course I think that!
His favorite show is Blue's Clues. I don't know why, but he loves it and will just sit and watch it. That's usually what we put on if we need to get him calm before naptime or bedtime, or on those days when he gets up at 7:00 and we're just not quite awake enough to start playing with him yet! I used to think that Blue's Clues was annoying, but now that I've been watching it, I think it's a really good show for little kids!
He loves balls, and he's starting to get pretty good at throwing them. He still can't catch, but sometimes if he puts his arms straight out in front of him, he can catch a ball by default. We're practicing! He's totally off baby food now and mostly doesn't want to be fed. He's eat from a spoon for yogurt sometimes, and macaroni and cheese, but other than that he likes to do it himself.
We are looking forward to a trip to the beach in Ocean Shores, Wa at the end of August with some people from my book club, and REALLY looking forward to our visit to New Jersey with Kira in September. We'll go to the shore, and we'll be there for Lianna's birthday, which will be fun!
I think that's pretty much what's going on here! I have a bunch of new pictures in the computer and I'll upload a bunch soon, and we've converted a bunch more videos. I'll post an update here when I have those things uploaded!
After the doctor appointment we drove to the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Tacoma. The drive sucked, it was really trafficy and took forever. But once we got there, the rest of the day was awesome. We went and got some food as soon as we got there and he was really into the french fries today. Then we went over to the petting zoo area where they have the goats, and Sam was SO excited! It's the first time he's noticed or cared about the animals. They have a feeding area, and he was going up and looking at them and squealing and a couple of times he reached out and touched their noses. It was great, and he stayed in there a while. Then Brooke, Dave, Seamus and Lorelai got there and we looked at the goats a little more and then went over to the playground area and he ran around and played. He was being really great too - he was wandering around the playground but not running away or making me chase him and bring him back. Since they ask you to leave between when the zoo closes at 6 and when they open the gates for the outdoor movie at 7, we headed over to the DQ that's near the zoo and had some ice cream. Then we headed back. They were showing 'Happy Feet' at the outdoor movie there. We spread out our blankets and there was a band playing and we hung out and Sam walked around all over the place and danced. That's right, he's started dancing! It's really cute, and now he has progressed from just rocking from one foot to the other. He will wave his hands in front of him and sometimes he'll bend his knees slightly and then wiggle his butt back and forth. It's totally cute! I don't know where he got it from. The movie didn't start until dusk, so around 9:00 and I decided to leave a little before 10 because even though Sam was in a great mood and perfectly happy, I didn't want him to stay up too long. He fell asleep within 10 minutes of getting in the car. When we left the zoo he climbed up all the stairs to the parking lot (good for me because I was also carrying a heavy bag) and then walked and when we got to the parking lot I told him to hold my hand to cross the street and he let me hold his hand all the way to the car. It was just a really great day. He also slept until 9 this morning, which was really nice.
So, he's doing great! He is talking a ton, he doesn't always say words but he says 'dropped' and 'duck' and every once in a while he says things like 'cup' and 'dog'. He talks with purpose now and repeats the same sounds, but we don't always understand what he's trying to say. In fact, we don't most of the time! He understands a lot and is starting to know people's names - he knows who to go to when I tell him to go to Brooke, and we even thought that we might have heard him say "Shea" (for Seamus) a couple of times yesterday! He knows 'go to your bedroom', which is what I tell him when he needs to get changed, and he'll walk back there, and he knows that I'm Mama and Justin is Dada.
Sam still loves baths and he had his first bubble bath the other day. He didn't seem terribly interested in the bubbles - he didn't really play with them - but he did taste them a couple of times. We figured out that we can block the drain in our stall shower with a washcloth and let an inch or two of water build up and he'll play in there and have tons of fun while we shower. It's handy for times when only one of us is home, or when we want to get him clean but not run a whole bath. It's really handy that he'll go into the shower with us, and it can be a big timesaver when we need it!
Lots of stuff since last time I wrote! I went to Atlanta from July 12-16 for Aunt Becky's wedding. We got to stay at her house and it was really great to hang out with her and get to know David better! I had a good time. Justin and Sam spent most of the time I was gone visiting Justin's Mom in Grapeview. The week of the 23rd we went up to Bellingham on Monday then left Sam with his Grandma Edie from Tuesday until Saturday when she brought him back down. It was a really nice break and allowed us to get the house totally cleaned - I was especially happy about vacuuming since the floors were getting icky. On Wednesday of this week we went to the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle and played, then went and watched Bela Fleck with Mom, Kira, the Whalen-Robinsons, the Bergmans and the Bradleys. It was a lot of fun and we had a delicious picnic. On Thursday we had some people over for a playdate - Jill, Kylie and Rebecca came as well as Brooke and the kids, Courtney and Elaina and Tara and Nate. It was a ton of fun and we spent a lot of time out in the back yard playing, which was fun.
This week we joined the gym near our house and Sam has been to the daycare there and done really well twice! The first time was only for 20 minutes or so while we were signing up, and when we went back to get him he was being held. The second time he cried a little bit when we left him because Justin didn't escape fast enough, but when we went back to get him a little over an hour later, he wasn't being held and he was playing happily with a little kitchen playset! I'm really glad he does well there, it's only $10 a month for unlimited daycare while you're using the gym and I think it's good for him to go a couple of times a week just to get used to that kind of situation in case the need arises.
What else... he has 10 teeth now! He got 2 molars - one on each side on top, and then a new one just came through last week in the back on the bottom. He is drinking whole milk now, but he's still drinking the older baby formula in bottles, sometimes when he first wakes up, at naptime, and before bed. We don't usually take bottles with us when we leave the house anymore.
Sam is starting to like books, in the past month he's started actually wanting to have books read to him, usually several times in a row! He likes ones like "Barnyard Dance" by Sandra Boynton where you can sort of put a rhythm to the words. That one and 'Pat-a-cake' are his two favorites at the moment. If he's in the mood to look at a book by himself, he has 2 paperback Diego books he likes to look at. He also likes lift the flap books, and likes to read 'Where's Spot' and he will lift the flaps up and when Mom was reading it with him he actually would say 'No' when he lifted up the flaps and it wasn't the puppy. I think he's a genius, but I'm his Mom, so of course I think that!
His favorite show is Blue's Clues. I don't know why, but he loves it and will just sit and watch it. That's usually what we put on if we need to get him calm before naptime or bedtime, or on those days when he gets up at 7:00 and we're just not quite awake enough to start playing with him yet! I used to think that Blue's Clues was annoying, but now that I've been watching it, I think it's a really good show for little kids!
He loves balls, and he's starting to get pretty good at throwing them. He still can't catch, but sometimes if he puts his arms straight out in front of him, he can catch a ball by default. We're practicing! He's totally off baby food now and mostly doesn't want to be fed. He's eat from a spoon for yogurt sometimes, and macaroni and cheese, but other than that he likes to do it himself.
We are looking forward to a trip to the beach in Ocean Shores, Wa at the end of August with some people from my book club, and REALLY looking forward to our visit to New Jersey with Kira in September. We'll go to the shore, and we'll be there for Lianna's birthday, which will be fun!
I think that's pretty much what's going on here! I have a bunch of new pictures in the computer and I'll upload a bunch soon, and we've converted a bunch more videos. I'll post an update here when I have those things uploaded!
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