10 Months!

In just TWO months, Sammy will have been with us for a whole year!!  I’m actually really excited about his first birthday now that I’ve started planning his party.  I think it will be fun.  I’m so anxious for summer!  Only 5 more weeks of school!   

Sammy is 24 pounds.  He is wearing anywhere from 9-18 month clothing, depending on the outfit.  He’s still in size 4 diapers and he sleeps 12 hours a night, which is heavenly!

He has 8 teeth! Four on top, four on bottom.  I’m finally brave enough to give him more “real” food.

Speaking of food, he LOVES noodles (like his mama), avocado, chicken, and all kinds of fruit.  He’s not a picky eater.  He is getting better at eating finger food, but we're still working on that pincer grasp. ;)

He knows the word “clap” and he will almost always clap on demand.  I’m still trying to teach him how to wave and give high fives.

He loves peek-a-boo, playing with the remotes, and listening to me blow the whistle on my school badge.  He likes reading books…aka flipping through the pages and putting them in his mouth.  It still makes my teacher heart happy. :D 

He loves bath time and has discovered he can stand up in the tub-yikes!  He also loves music and I’m hoping to get him into a class this summer.

His changing table is beside his window and he recently discovered he can open the curtain to look outside.  He laughs when the dog comes up to the window to say hi.  I really think he’s going to be a dog lover!

He HATES his jumper, which is kind of funny because it used to be his favorite thing.  It’s really interesting to watch his personality change as he grows and is able to do more.   

 He always has to be on the move!  How I haven’t lost the rest of my pregnancy weight chasing him around, I’m not sure.  He’s officially crawling (not army crawling anymore) and getting into everything.  He’s VERY curious.  It’s so funny when he starts going on his own because he’ll look back at us to see if we are watching and then he’ll give the most mischievous smile. 

Much to my dismay, we hit the stage where he loves to empty out all his toys and make a huge mess everywhere.  How do I teach him that it’s as equally fun to put them all back? ;)

He’s not officially walking, but I don’t think it’ll be very long!  He can walk a good 12-15 steps before loosing his balance.  Last month, I posted that he doesn’t walk unless we initiate it and he's walking back and fourth between us.  Now, he is not afraid to stand up and start going on his own.  He is very determined to figure it out and he doesn’t let a fall stop him from getting back up and going again. 

He still really only says mama, dada, & papa.  (Bruno prefers papa, but we call him daddy too.)  He does say nana, so we’re taking that to mean nona…aka grandma.  He also says the “k” sound, so my brother thinks he’s trying to say Jake. Haha

He had his first illness, other than a cold.  About a month ago, he developed a pretty bad cough.  We didn’t think too much of it since he didn’t have a fever or any other symptoms and he was still his happy self.  His check-up was coming up, so we figured we’d wait until then to see what the doctor said.  We found out that he had an ear infection and bronchitis.  We felt bad for taking it so lightly, but luckily it didn’t take long for him to get better.

Even though he keeps us on our toes and cannot be left alone for a second, we love the personality he is developing.  We have a lot of fun with him and I can’t wait to see what summer has in store for us.

On another note, it’s hard to believe that it’s been two years (yesterday) since I miscarried.  I enjoyed writing this particular blog because it gave me a chance to reflect and realize how far we’ve come since then.  I’m extremely grateful for Sammy and the opportunity I’ve been given to be his mother.  I’m also grateful for my angel baby and I’m sure they are looking over Sammy and our family.  

Nine Months!

In three short months, Sammy will be one!  Ahh! I wish I could put this year on repeat and live it all one more time!   

Sammy at Nine Months:

I just have to start off with my FAVORITE milestone ever.  Sammy is officially giving kisses on demand and at random.  There is absolutely nothing better than a slobbery, open mouth kiss from your baby, especially when you ask for it!  The best part is that he’ll respond when you ask for a kiss OR when you ask for a beso, which means kiss in Spanish.

I've already mentioned this on Facebook, but the best news we received this month is that we don't need to worry about his heart murmur.  The ultra sound went exactly like we planned and the doctor was really surprised that Sammy didn't have to be sedated.  I knew my instincts were right. ;) 

He weighs 23 lbs. & is 29 inches long.  In height, he went from the 23^rd percentile to the 79^th, so that made me feel better.  The doctor said he doesn’t think they measured him correctly last time. 

At nine months old, he had six teeth!!  (He’s gotten two more since then.)

He is army crawling everywhere now.  He can crawl on his hands and knees, but he doesn’t go very far.  I’m still okay with this!  We have to be really careful because he loves to get into cords and he always tries to stop at the outlets. (Baby proofing is on my spring break to-do list.) 

He took his first steps this month!  Right now, he can take about 7-10 steps without falling.  He doesn’t really try to walk without us yet.  He’ll walk from end to end on the edge of the couch and will sometimes get really frustrated because he can’t just let go and take off.

In my last blog, I mentioned that he wasn’t pulling himself up yet.  Well, he is now! As a result, we’ve lowered his mattress.  He used to love to sit and play in his crib, but now he'd rather hold on to the sides and walk all around. 

He’s in size 4 diapers and still wearing 6-9 month clothes.  He is moving into 9-12 month stuff though. 

He’s awesome at getting dressed!  When I put a onesie on him, he knows exactly where to put his arms and can put them through the sleeves on his own.  It might be normal at this age, but it still impresses me every time!

He loves shaking his head no.  We asked him once if he wanted to go to Nona’s and he started shaking his head no. haha! The timing of it was really funny.  But, we know he loves his nona! 

He is also a good imitator.  If we shake our head, he’ll shake his.  If we say certain sounds, he’ll repeat them.  He’ll repeat “mama” and “dada” and will sometimes say them on his own as well.  We are trying to teach him some signs, but I’m not sure if he’s understanding them or not. 

His absolute FAVORITE song is This Wheels on the Bus.  He will usually give the biggest smile and will even start giggling as soon as I start singing it to him.  If he’s ever fussy during a diaper change or just upset in general, that song is enough to temporarily calm him.  He loves being sung to, so I sing a lot.  He’s going to grow up thinking life is a musical!  It’s a good thing he doesn’t know or care about how terrible mama’s voice is.  ;)

We’ve noticed that he’s attracted to things that are red, so maybe that will become his favorite color.

Recently, he’s developed a little temper.  He will make a whiny scream when he really wants something and it drives Bruno and I crazy!  We are working on it… Bruno’s mom is really good at teaching him how to be nice, so I’m learning from her. J 

He is very much a home body.  He is happiest when he’s home or in a familiar place, like Grandma Clarke’s (Bruno’s grandma) or Nona’s (Bruno’s mom).  When he’s around people he doesn’t know well, he gets pretty shy.  He won’t smile or be very social.  He’ll still let other people hold him, but he usually doesn’t react or get excited like he does at home. 

We are currently trying to teach him to clap, wave, and give high fives… it’s still a work in progress.

In other news, Bruno got his student teaching assignment this week!  He’ll be teaching at a middle school up in Alpine.  He’s heard tons of good things about the school and students there, so he’s really excited.  We are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel!