Monday, May 13, 2013

14 Months

On May 9th, Sam turned 14 months old.   I'm trying to live in the moment every day, but time is zipping by way too fast for me to keep up.  Can't believe we are headed into his second summer --- lake time, pool time, and walks outside after quite a long North Dakota winter.

We had a VERY exciting month with Samboni.  

New Happenings:
Sam had been doing his usual hopping around on his knees, but on April 27th, he just stood up with no help from anything or anyone.  He was by the front door and we were on FaceTime with Zach (still in Alabama).  He did it a few more times that day, and I was so excited for him.  But the next day, we saw his first steps!  Again, we were on FaceTime with Zach playing in the living room.  He was leaning up against the ottoman, but wanted a toy by the window....so he just walked over to it.  It took Zach and I completely off guard.  I was convinced he wouldn't do it again, but he continues to take 3 to 4 steps to get to things now.  I finally caught it on video...and in the video he decided to add some hops on the end, so he must have known I was filming.  Show off.  :)   Crawling is still his preferred way to get around (and knee hopping), but we were so thrilled to see that he has it in him to walk.  We're hoping he'll start doing it more this summer so he can be outside walking through the grass.  Little steps at a time.


He has started to put his toys back INTO containers, which is nice.  It has gotten the ball rolling on how to clean up toys.  He still loves Jayhawks (Hawww-Jayyy), can't get enough of ceiling fans, loves taking a bath, pushes buttons on anything, LOVES going on walks in his wagon, and he plays peek-a-boo with himself in the mirror.  My dad introduced him to foos ball, so that is pretty hilarious to watch.  He would go up and down the stairs all day if we would let him (we don't have carpeted stairs in our house), and he is constantly bringing us books to sit down and read to him.  One book that has been a favorite this month is "Once There Were Giants," which was my favorite book as a little girl, so I didn't mind reading it over and over....and over and over and over again.   I've tried to let him be more independent and explore things on his own around the house.  Sometimes when I go check on him, he has gotten up into his plaid lounge chair and is looking through a book.  It is so precious.  He is a very active and chatty little boy.  

He has TEN teeth!  They all popped through around the same time, so we had a few restless weeks.  He is pretty predictable with naps though (10:30-12:00 and 3:30-5:00), so the days were not unbearable.









Food:
He is still at three bottles a day, but they are majority whole milk.  He prefers a bottle over a sippy cup, and because we have so many changes coming up, we are only really focusing on the formula to whole milk transition right now.  He gets a bottle when he wakes up, we try a sippy cup throughout the day, and he gets a bottle before bed.  At first he would only take water and smoothie through a sippy cup during the day, but he is getting better with milk.   New foods he likes are salmon, yogurt/fruit/granola parfaits, and pizza.  He'll eat a bite or two of almost any fruit and veggie I give him, but he throws the majority of his food on the floor.  It is frustrating to me...but he seems healthy.  At his last weigh-in he was 24 pounds, so he is doing just fine.   :)




Clothing:
He looks the most comfortable in 24 month/2T jammies, and 18 month onesies.  Most of what he wears now are separates though, so 12-18 month tops and 12 month pants work well.  We've started being a little more pushy with him wearing shoes when we go outside.  He needs to get used to them because he is surely not walking around outside barefoot this summer!












He is such a blast to be with.  I love watching his puzzled face when he is trying to figure something out, and it is really interesting to hear people tell me how much he has changed even when they haven't seen him for just a few weeks. 
I've stopped a few times in the last month to just look at him, and it is a strange to see that he isn't really in the baby mode anymore.  He can be clingy during the day, but most of the time he wants to be off exploring.  He has his own agenda these days!  :)


Sam's First Haircut

Zach and I wanted to wait until he was done in Alabama to get Sam's haircut, but it was just getting too long.  It was flapping over his ears and his collar in the back, so I got the okay to get it done in Kansas.

I am SO glad I did!  We found a salon in Kansas City that was geared completely towards kids called Shear Madness.  They have the cars for the kids to sit in (I chose the Jeep because that is what Zach and I both drive), lots of colors everywhere, and a personal tv at each station with Thomas the Train playing.  They made the whole experience SO much fun, and the gal that cut his hair was as sweet as she could be.  I think that is why Sam did so well.  We walked out with an adorable certificate and a cute kiddo!  I highly recommend this place to anyone wanting their child's first haircut to be a special occasion.

"I need a haircut.  Now."
























13 Months

Yep, that's right.  13 month post when Sam is 14 months and 4 days old.   I am the worst!  I am so impressed by all of the people out there that post every single day.  How do they do it?

13 Months  
(March 10-April 9)

Food: 
Still hit and miss.  He really is not a big fan of food, which blows my mind.  New things we have tried are wheat pancakes, peanut butter sandwich, and eggs....but he just isn't a huge fan of any of them.   He DOES love lasagna, smoothies out of a straw, grilled cheese, peanut butter with honey sandwiches, and quesadillas.  We are down to three 8 ounce bottles a day, mainly formula because he isn't eating a lot.  We are easing into whole milk and just can't quite let go of the bottle yet.  He has a lot of new things coming his way in the next couple of months, so once life settles down a bit, we'll start taking it away and do full time sippy cups.



Clothing:
We have officially ditched the Halo Sleep Sack.  I loved them so much, we've used them since the day he was born....but he is just too independent now and wants to move as much as possible while in bed.  So we got him some 18 month footsie pajamas and he LOVES them.   Honestly, even the 18 month footsies are looking small though. He still does okay in some 12-18 month onesies, it just depends on the brand.  He is wearing 9 month pants that are way too short, but all of the 12+ month pants fall right off.  You'll notice that he never has shoes on...he will not keep those things on his feet, so if it is a nice day I just choose my battles and forget about shoes.



Communication:
New words for this month....

"Baah-kunk" (his word for fan...locates one and instantly throws this word out.  We're all a little confused).
"Hawwk Jay" (Jayhawk...he spots them EVERYWHERE)
"Baaaabee" (baby)
"Cheeees" (cheese)

Not new, but he is very good with "Hi" and "Bye" with waves



Movement:

He scoots and hops on his knees....it looks SO painful, but we're thinking maybe it is his mid-way to walking.  He likes having his hands free to carry stuff, but he isn't quite up on his feet yet.  He does up and DOWN the stairs now, and he seriously dances to ANYTHING with a beat.








New Happenings:

He is learning more fine motor skills like turning the cranks on the Sesame Street Clubhouse and sending Big Bird down the slide.  He loves turning the lazy susan and playing the piano at Pamma and Papa's house.  



He experienced his first trips to a pet store (the birds absolutely thrilled him) and the zoo (we got extremely close to an elephant which he seemed to enjoy the most).  He also went to his first music class.  He did great!!  We tried him at the park on the swings and slide, but he wasn't too enthusiastic about either of them.  We'll try again this summer.








Easter grocery store run























He had a low key second Easter, and the weekend after that we visited Zach in Alabama (he was there doing training for two months).  When we returned to Kansas, Sam got his first haircut!  It was really an adorable place and he was SO good (next post...).  I wished Zach could have been there, but the kid was in desperate need of a trim.  He finished off his 13th month with his first milkshake from Winstead's in Kansas City and visits to see some of his great grandparents.  


The Easter Bunny came!
Everyone likes a slinky
Easter egg hunt.  Got one!!
"Happy Easter!" with daddy on FaceTime
Bedtime stories while visiting daddy in Alabama