It is hard to believe that Sam entered our life just 6 months ago. On the one hand, time has flown by and it seems like he was just born. But on the other hand, I can’t imagine our life pre-Sam and I feel like I’ve known him forever. Either way, I am completely in love and so happy to celebrate Sam’s half birthday!

Sam’s stats:

• Weight: 17 lbs 7 oz (60th percentile)
• Height: 27.5 inches (90th percentile–maybe he’ll play for the Spurs!)
• Sleep habits: Goes to bed between 7:30 and 8 at night. Wakes up between 7 and 7:30 in the morning. He usually wakes up at about 6:30 and babbles for a few minutes and then falls back to sleep. I think we’re going to install a black-out shade in hopes that it will keep him quiet a little longer in the morning. He is no longer using the swaddle!
• Sitting up. This is his newest skill. He still falls over pretty often but he is getting better and better each day.

• Loves to be tickled. He seems to be really ticklish. Whenever we tickle his belly he tenses up and lets out a deep laugh.

• Eager to please. Sam loves to get people’s attention by putting on a big, flirty smile. If the person whose attention he is vying for doesn’t immediately notice, he ups the ante and lets out a couple of squeals. Works every time.
• Learning how to use a sippy cup. He can pick the cup up and bring it to his mouth but hasn’t figured out that he needs to tip it back to get any water out. It is so funny to watch him bringing the cup to his mouth which is open as wide as can be.
• Swinger! The weather is nice now so we have been spending lots of time outdoors. We love going to the “tot lot” in our neighborhood and pushing Sam in the swing.

• Plays with his toys. He is getting better at grabbing and has really started to enjoy playing with his toys (basically just putting them in his mouth).

• Loves his doggie. Whenever Henry moves, Sam whips his head around to look at him.  It is so sweet to watch Sam try to reach out to touch Henry. Henry usually tolerates it for a minute and then wanders off.
• Trying new foods. So far Sam has tried and enjoyed rice cereal, oatmeal cereal, sweet potatoes, avocados, and bananas. He makes a huge mess but I think most of it ends up in his mouth.

• Mostly happy. We feel that we have been blessed with a very happy baby. Ben says that Sam has my cheerfulness and Ben’s calm nature. But in the interest of full disclosure, I should tell you, he’s not always happy…

Sam, we love you every minute of every day! Happy half birthday!

Love, Mom and Dad

I feel like I was just writing Sam’s four month post! Time is really flying by. Every time I turn around, it seems like Sam is doing something new and getting even cuter.

Sam’s stats:

• Rolls over. He can still roll over from his stomach to his back and I think he is trying to roll over from his back to his stomach. So far he is just rolling on to his side.
• Found his feet. A week or so Sam discovered that he has feet. He loves to hold his feet and stare at them. He pulls off his socks and sucks on them. On more than one occasion I have picked up a sock to find it soggy with drool.

• Sleeping habits. Sam is still sleeping through the night for the most part. I put him to bed between 7:30 and 8:00, feed him at 10:30 and then he sleeps until about 7:00 or 7:30. He has had a little cold for almost the entire month of February so he’s had quite a few nights of waking up at about 5. Not so fun, but he is on an antibiotic now, and he has been sleeping better this week. We are still swaddling him, but I am going to try to start weaning him off of that when he feels better.
• Teething. No teeth have popped up yet but we can tell they are coming. He is drooling like crazy and chomps on everything. The last couple of days he has been very fussy but his mood improves with a little Tylenol, so I am guessing they will be breaking through any day now.
• Starting solid foods. Today Sam had his first taste of rice cereal. He did a great job and I am looking forward to many more meals! I’ll be writing another post with more first food details soon!
• Reaching and grabbing. Sam has been practicing his grasping skills and is making steady improvements. He has a number of toys to help him practice. He hasn’t really figured out how to do anything with the objects he grabs except put them in his mouth. I am anxious for him to figure out how to shake his toys to make them rattle, but I should probably just enjoy the silence for now.
• Squeaks, squeals and babbles all of the time. He gets more talkative every day. In fact, we are pretty sure he has even learned some lines from Arrested Development like, “Bob Loblaw’s Law Blog”
• Social and aware. He has really started noticing other people and likes to smile and flirt. My friend Deirdre and I have been going to Yoga with our babies every Wednesday for weeks and I think this week was the first time Sam realized they were there. He looked over at little Evelyn right before class and have her a big smile. So sweet!