I was going to log on and write about something great Sam did yesterday, something more grown up. Then I heard this rubbery squeaking noise and looked over and saw that he is standing there watching 'Go Diego Go' and chewing on his Crocs shoes. Funny how they can go from seeming like a genius baby to chewing on their shoes.
Yesterday when Justin went to put him down for his nap, he rocked him for one song, then Sam lifted his head off Justin's shoulder and reached for his crib with both hands. Justin put him down in the crib and he lifted his arms and Justin put the blanket on top of him and he put his arms down on top of the blanket. How cute! Now if only he would 'ask' to go to bed more often. He's been so, so much better the last week - he's been going down well for naps and bed even if he doesn't fall asleep right away. He's also finally keeping blankets on better, which makes me happy because his room gets a little chilly.
Sam's hair is getting shaggy, and he won't really let me cut it. Justin said we need him to conk out for bed one night in our room so I can do it when he's asleep. Otherwise, we are just going to have a shaggy-headed little boy.
January 31, 2008
January 28, 2008
Greetings from 2008!
Okay, I realize that it's been WAAAAAAAAY too long since I updated here. The last two and a half months have been so crazy for us, I just haven't kept up on posting here or uploading our photos. Well, no more! I will post a full update here tonight, and am in the process of uploading pictures from November, December and January and they'll be available for your viewing pleasure by the time you read this entry.
Last night we got about 6 inches of snow! It seems like the heavy snow always comes right when I'm feeling ready for it to get warmer and then boom - the world is covered in ice. I worked from home today and we stayed cozy in the house and didn't really venture out onto the icy roads.
Sam is doing wonderfully. We braved the freezing weather last week to go play with friends at St. Edwards Park in Kirkland.
Last night we got about 6 inches of snow! It seems like the heavy snow always comes right when I'm feeling ready for it to get warmer and then boom - the world is covered in ice. I worked from home today and we stayed cozy in the house and didn't really venture out onto the icy roads.
Sam is doing wonderfully. We braved the freezing weather last week to go play with friends at St. Edwards Park in Kirkland.
Despite his full on entry into the terrible twos, Sam is still a mostly happy little kid. Unfortunately his new favorite noise to make when he gets told no, doesn't get his way, is too tired, or just frustrated in general is an ear-splitting mix between a screech, whine, cry and scream. The best comparison we've found is if you've ever seen the movie "Dumb and Dumber", there's a scene where Jim Carrey's character says "Do you want to hear the most annoying noise in the world?". If you look that up on YouTube, you might find an approximation of the noise that Sam likes to make.
On the development front, Sam is taking off like a rocket. He did something truly amazing this weekend when my mom was here visiting - He took a cup and a play spatula, put the spatula in the cup and started stirring it up, then pretended to eat with it like a spoon. He was doing it again today with a cup and spoon. My mom, ever the early-childhood-education and development resource, told us that kids don't normally start pretending until they're around 3. Sam has also shown anticipation behavior - when he's playing chasing games, and he's a little ways behind, he'll go to where the other kids are going to be instead of just following them. So that all impresses me very much and makes me feel much less concerned about the fact that he is still not using any words. It seems that he's just concentrating on other things for now!
He's also learning how to walk down stairs by himself - Mom and Paul's house is perfect for that because they have a very low railing on the stairs. He had been having trouble with bedtime for a while, but in the last couple of nights he's been going down for bed and going down for his naps in the afternoon without crying at all - this afternoon he even fell asleep on my shoulder after only rocking him for one song!
Sam is still eating like a champion, he loves risotto, which I find funny, he loves rice and beans, and fake meat (chick patties and gardenburgers). He eats waffles and fake sausage for breakfast. In the last couple of months we weaned Sam completely off bottles and he only drinks from sippy cups now. He is getting better at drinking from a regular cup, but still needs supervision for that, and for drinking out of a straw - he likes to tip the cup and pull out the straw. He's still a skinny, tall little guy - he's starting to grow out of his 18 month shirts (they have been looking a little short) but his 18 month sized pants still fall right off him! He seems to have most of his teeth in now until he starts getting his other molars, and he is learning how to give kisses without slobbering all over. He still loves Blue's Clues, Dora and Diego, but his favorite show is The Backyardigans, which is nice for us because we don't mind watching it or listening to the great music.
On the development front, Sam is taking off like a rocket. He did something truly amazing this weekend when my mom was here visiting - He took a cup and a play spatula, put the spatula in the cup and started stirring it up, then pretended to eat with it like a spoon. He was doing it again today with a cup and spoon. My mom, ever the early-childhood-education and development resource, told us that kids don't normally start pretending until they're around 3. Sam has also shown anticipation behavior - when he's playing chasing games, and he's a little ways behind, he'll go to where the other kids are going to be instead of just following them. So that all impresses me very much and makes me feel much less concerned about the fact that he is still not using any words. It seems that he's just concentrating on other things for now!
He's also learning how to walk down stairs by himself - Mom and Paul's house is perfect for that because they have a very low railing on the stairs. He had been having trouble with bedtime for a while, but in the last couple of nights he's been going down for bed and going down for his naps in the afternoon without crying at all - this afternoon he even fell asleep on my shoulder after only rocking him for one song!
Sam is still eating like a champion, he loves risotto, which I find funny, he loves rice and beans, and fake meat (chick patties and gardenburgers). He eats waffles and fake sausage for breakfast. In the last couple of months we weaned Sam completely off bottles and he only drinks from sippy cups now. He is getting better at drinking from a regular cup, but still needs supervision for that, and for drinking out of a straw - he likes to tip the cup and pull out the straw. He's still a skinny, tall little guy - he's starting to grow out of his 18 month shirts (they have been looking a little short) but his 18 month sized pants still fall right off him! He seems to have most of his teeth in now until he starts getting his other molars, and he is learning how to give kisses without slobbering all over. He still loves Blue's Clues, Dora and Diego, but his favorite show is The Backyardigans, which is nice for us because we don't mind watching it or listening to the great music.
We've had a busy few months since November. At the end of November, my best friend Brooke had her 3rd baby - Kalliope Ann. She is totally adorable! Since Brooke had to have a c-section, I went and stayed with her other two kids for three days while she, Dave, and the baby were still in the hospital. Seamus is 3 1/2 and Lorelai is 5 1/2 and it was really great staying with them. Lorelai goes to Kindergarten every morning and I got to drive her to school and watch her run excitedly into the building, take Seamus to school on one of the days and pick him up, and hang out with them. It is so fun to watch other kids and see all of the things that I am looking forward to in Sam's future and in doing with him later. They behaved really well the whole time, and have been doing pretty well adjusting to the new baby. Kalliope is almost two months old now, and doing great - she looks so much like both of the other kids!
In December we spent time with family and then on December 19 Justin, Sam and I flew to New Jersey to spend Christmas with the Doley clan. Rob, Susan and Maggie stayed in Washington and Edie and Paul spent Christmas in Italy (lucky!). Justin stayed in New Jersey until Christmas Eve, then flew home to spend Christmas with his mom and brother, and Sam and I stayed until December 30. We had a great time - Helene is always indescribably helpful in taking care of Sam, and we got to see most of our family and celebrate Christmas and my cousin Laurie's engagement, and spend a fun night in a hotel in Philadelphia with Emmy. We had a really great time relaxing and spending time with family, there are tons of pictures in our photo album!
Unfortunately the flight home did not go nearly as well as the trip. Justin and Kira had both already flown home, so it was just me and Sam. Long story short, the trip involved Sam screaming for an hour straight, getting his clothes soaked because of a leaky diaper, and me being unbelievably thankful for the kind young man and his mother sitting next to me who helped me carry the car seat and my bag all the way to the security gate where Justin was waiting when we landed. Hopefully that was the peak of bad travel experiences and the next time we fly he'll be a little older and a little more able to handle it. I guess we'll find out when it comes around!
At the end of December things started to go up into the air for our family. The project that Justin was working on with the company he's been with since just before Sam was born ended suddenly and unexpectedly. This has sort of happened before, but this time there wasn't another project for him to move to. So, for the last month he's been enjoying spending time with Sam. This also worked out for me because at the beginning of January my bosses asked me to come into the office more often to really establish that I'm the HR resource for our employees and make sure that they know that I'm available and to come to me. For the last three weeks I've been in the office every day, most days from 8:30-1:00 and Justin has stayed home with Sam. It has actually been pretty nice getting out of the house and being at work, and in that time I came to remember how much I really love my job and the company I work for.
Because of all of this, and Justin starting to search for a new job, we decided that we would move to Bellingham sooner than we were originally planning. Our original plan was that we were going to do a little bit of remodeling and add a couple of rooms on to Justin's Dad's house and then move in with him. Since things changed so much for us, we decided to move up there sooner, and will be renting a small house up there for 6-9 months until the work is done on the Heiner house and then we'll move in there with Harold to be close to him and help out with everything. Harold has already started on the bathroom remodel downstairs, and we are looking forward to being up there and helping with the projects. We will be in Bellingham as of March 1, we've given notice on the rental we're currently living in and have started a little bit of packing. Justin has found a really great job in Bellingham at a great company, it pays quite a bit less than what he's been making, but we're trying really hard to work it out because it sounds like such a great opportunity. I am hoping to continue work at my current job and go back to working remotely most of the time and commuting to Seattle once a week to work and visit friends.
We will miss our friends in Seattle, but plan to see them as often as possible and want to stay involved with the church we've been going to because we like it so much there. We're very excited about being closer to family, and I'm excited about getting to know Maggie better and being a part of her life and the new baby's life. Plus, it will be nice to have him be able to spend more time with some of his grandparents and nice for us to have a more regular opportunity to get out since Sam will be able to stay with Grandma Edie.
So, that's the haps with us. Hopefully the new year finds everyone well! I will be around more now that things are getting figured out and settling down, and since Sam is growing SO much now, I want to keep everyone updated! Thanks for reading!
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