Author Archives: Caitlin

7 months!

Happy seven month birthday, Sam! You continue to amaze us with your accomplishments every day. We love you!

Sam’s stats:

  • Sam is increasingly fascinated with Henry. If Sam is ever fussy, all we have to do is call Henry over and that immediately lifts his mood. He loves when Henry gets within grabbing distance. It makes us a little bit nervous because when Sam grabs hold of your hair, it hurts! But we are trying to teach Sam to be “gentle” and until then, Henry is pretty good about walking away.

  • Sam is a great eater. So far he has had rice cereal, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, carrots, green beans, apples, pears, zucchini, avocados, bananas, and rice crackers. Now that he is seven months old we are going to try tofu! That should be interesting. I have heard it is a good finger food and it will also be a good source of protein mashed into his cereal.

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  • One of Sam’s favorite games is “bibbling” (I don’t think that is a real word, but that is what Ben’s mom said they always used to call it and I don’t have a better word!). Ben puts his hand in front of Sam’s mouth while he is making noise and then moves it back and forth really quickly so that the resulting noise goes: awbawbawbawba. Sam loves it and has even learned how to do it himself. If we imitate him, that really cracks him up!
  • Sam has been practicing his standing up skills. He loves to stand up but definitely still relies heavily on us to give him balance. We have tried showing him how to hold on to other things to help himself balance but he hasn’t quite gotten the idea. And as you can see, he is very proud of himself!

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  • Sam is starting to develop a little bit more independence and assertiveness. If we are giving him a bottle and aren’t getting it to his mouth fast enough he grabs the bottle by both hands and shoves it into his mouth. He doesn’t understand that he has to tip the bottle up, though. And we have definitely reached the milestone of “objecting when you take a toy away” (to quote “What to Expect the First Year“). He also likes to help us hold the spoon when he is eating.

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  • Screaming is Sam’s favorite sound to make.  He often likes to scream first thing when he wakes up. It is not mad or sad; it is a happy scream. But it is definitely a loud scream!
  • Things that make Sam laugh: sneezing, burping, falling over, being imitated, seeing Henry. He is really developing a sense of humor.

Swim Class Update: The Big Dunk

We went to swim class today. All was going well–we practiced paddling, we practiced kicking, we sang “Wheels on the Bus.” And then it happened. Our swim teacher instructed us to gather together: it was time to dunk the babies. Yikes!

She told us to count to three and then after saying “three” we should blow in our baby’s face and dunk him under. If your baby comes up coughing and crying, that’s it for the day.

So we did it. And Sam was a champ! He came up blinking, but no tears or coughing! I dunked him three times and by the third time he scrunched his face up in anticipation. He’s so smart. Of course, that was also the only the time he came up coughing so maybe his scrunchy face isn’t actually the best for going underwater… In any case, I am sure he is destined to be the next Michael Phelps (except without all the pot-smoking, of course!).

By the way, I found out that taking pictures at the pool is actually not allowed. So no more adorable swimming pics until summer comes and our neighborhood pool finally opens.

Swim Class

Our mom and baby yoga class was fun, but it’s over. We needed a new activity, so we signed up for swim class. Well, “swim” may be overstating it. Maybe splash class is a better title.

The first class was a little hectic– I didn’t think we would make it out of the locker room. You would be amazed at how hard it is to juggle a baby, a diaper bag, and a purse while trying to take off your cover up and not set anything down on a wet tile floor. Good thing I at least thought to put on our bathing suits before we left the house. Isn’t he adorable in his swim trunks?

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But we did eventually make it out of the locker room. And even had time left to snap a quick photo–an essential part of any baby outing. Can you tell how excited Sam is about plunging into the pool?

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My friend Deirdre and her daughter Evelyn are taking the class with us. And when I got to class, I saw that my friend Janna and her son TJ were in the class. The three babies love splashing around together.

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Sam loves his bath time, so I knew he would be comfortable in the water. But the water is SO much colder than his bath. He doesn’t seem to mind but I think he is glad to be wrapped in a warm towel when all is said and done.

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Next week we’re dunking the babies under the water! Last week we poured water over their heads to get them ready. Sam fluttered his eyes a little bit but didn’t cry. I’ll let y’all know how the big dunk goes!

Sam Loves His Dad

Sam loves his dad.

He loves to “run” with his dad.

He loves when they play at the park together.

Ben and Sam on the swing

He loves when they read books together before bed.

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And most of all, Sam loves giving his dad a hug.

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Well, most of all, he loves pulling his dad’s hair. But hugs are a close second.

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Baby Food

Making your own baby food is all the rage these days. This website is super helpful. It tells you the best way to prepare different foods and at what ages babies can eat them. The secret to making the process easy is to just batch-cook one type of fruit or veggie. Once you have pureed it, you can freeze it in an ice-cube tray and have little individual servings for weeks to come!

I had to buy a new ice cube tray after I noticed that I was scraping little bits of blue plastic onto the little food cubes. Oops! I found these great trays at Sur La Table. Each cube is exactly 1/2 ounce.

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The best part about these is that you can just scoop out a bunch of the puree and then smooth it into the cubes with a butter knife– much easier than filling each individual cube.

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And viola! Once they are frozen, you can push them out really easily from the back and store them in a freezer bag. Then just heat and serve.

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Sam loves sweet potatoes!

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Happy Earth Day!

Sam has been a big environmentalist from day one.

Sam (along with all of the hottest celebrities) is a big supporter of the NRDC.

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So it should come as no surprise that he wants to wish you a happy Earth Day!

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And remind you to do all you can to save our planet. Did you know that one way you can help the Earth is by eating a little less meat? Find out more on my friend Angie’s blog.

Spring Days

Oops! It has been a full week since I posted something. Sorry about that. We have been busy enjoying the spring weather! This weekend we took a little family stroll down to the park.

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Sam and I had a fun time on the swings.

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Dad is so crazy!

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More swinging…

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What a fun day at the park!

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Sitting up is hard to do…

Since becoming a mom, I have developed an acute awareness of developmental milestones. Eye contact and smiles? One month. Rolling over? Four months. Sure, sure, all the books point out that these monthly estimates are averages and every baby develops differently. I realized somewhere along the way that I interpreted this to mean that my “above average baby” should hit each of these milestones days, if not weeks, early.

This has lead to many panicked conversations with Ben as the end of each month draws near and Sam has yet to hit the most recent milestone. “Ben! He won’t make eye contact! Do you think he hates me?” or “Ben! Do you think there is something wrong with his fine motor skills? He hasn’t grabbed anything yet!”

Yes, I am a little crazy. And yes, it is a good thing I married someone slightly less prone to overreacting. But I know I am not alone in worrying about my child’s development. I have heard other moms talking about how they can’t imagine that their child will ever learn to roll over, or sit up, or crawl. And then one day they do. Babies are neat like that.

My latest obsessive fear was that Sam wouldn’t be able to sit up by 6 months. I am embarrassed to admit that I even asked the doctor about it. (It was not the reason for the visit, but while I was there it couldn’t hurt to ask, right?) I am not sure why I was so worried. If just seemed like every time I put him in a sitting position, he threw his legs forward and fell backwards.

But then he started staying in the sitting position for a little bit longer…

Up

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and down!

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But I was still crazy, and I still worried. Because that’s what I do, apparently. Then we went to see Sam’s doctor for his 6 month check up. Dr. M walked in while Sam was sitting on the exam table and remarked at what a good sitter he was for his age. I tried to pretend like I wasn’t the type of mother to get hung up on stuff like that.

Maybe someday I will be one of those cool, laid-back moms. Until then, I’ll just try to keep my neuroses to myself.

Sam’s First Easter

Sam had a great first Easter, full of spring activities.

His Auntie Becca came to visit for the weekend.

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(Can you tell which side of the family Sam’s coloring comes from? Sorry, buddy.)

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We went to see the Easter Bunny and Sam didn’t even get scared.

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We walked around in the beautiful weather and enjoyed the cherry blossoms.

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And on Monday, we went to the White House!

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Deirdre and Evelyn came too.

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And boy was it hot! Nothing like a little luke-warm milk to cool you down.

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Thanks for the invite, President Obama. Sorry we missed you! Maybe next time.

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