11 months

Our little rug rat turned 11 months old on Monday! Time is flying by and he is becoming more and more independent as the days go on. He is in to EVERYTHING that isn't a toy..such as the outlets, lamp cords, magazines and dog food. He is busy, busy, busy...and I LOVE it!!
Posing with Mr. Monkey..this is the monthly pic!

Showin' off his huge teeth..

Can't decide what to chew on..his egg or Mr. Monkey's arm. I guess they both taste good!

Just being a Copy Cat!

Here are a few things I want to remember about our 11 month old :

• drinks 3 bottles per day and in no huge hurry to move to a sippy cup
• favorite foods are YoBaby, cereal bars, cheese, pasta, jelly sandwiches, carrots, green beans, and any fruit if it is pureed, goldfish, vanilla wafers and animal crackers
• dislikes: chicken nuggets any fruit that is not pureed
• we go to breakfast every Saturday and he eats "babycakes" or small pancakes and attacks them like he's never eaten before
• wears 12-18 month clothes and size 3 diapers
• has 7 teeth with more on the way
• crawls everywhere but prefers to cruise along anything that he can..including the wall, curtains or anything else that makes it easy for him to fall. Has stood up by himself one time and now thinks that I am always going to let go..so he sits down
• favorite toys are his shopping cart, the lion walker, any ball, and the dunk and cheer basketball goal. Other than that, he prefers anything that is not a toy
• very interested in the fireplace and the stairs. Awesome.
• smiles and blabs all day long. Favorite sounds are da-da-da and s-s-s. No ma-ma yet:(
• sleeps with 5-6 pacis in his crib, Pup Pup, another lovie at the foot of the crib, and a blanket that Thad used as a baby
• unfortunately, he is starting to drop a nap so the days are interesting ranging from zero naps to 2 short naps
• loves to be outside doing anything. We walk to the park often and swing or look at the leaves
• loves to ride his tricycle through the entire back yard..with assistance of course
• leans over while standing to pick up anything and is very good at adjusting his position so that he can reach whatever is on the floor
• waves by by and hello but it looks more like you are pointing to the person....or thing
• claps his hand all of the time now when someone says "yay" or if he's excited about what you have given him to eat
• has started crying at the gym when I leave him but settles down soon after
• still trying to bite but looks up and grins when he is told "no"
• likes to turn off the lights
• hates to have his teeth brushed

We love you Buster Brown..only 1 more month till the Big 1!!

Here comes Peter Cottontail..

We have had a wonderful Easter today! I do believe Samuel's first Easter was a huge success. We started off the morning bright and early at 5am. For some reason, Samuel was UP! We went downstairs to see what the Easter bunny brought. Samuel was a bit confused..but excited. He had the most fun with the fake green grass and the plastic eggs. The ball became a huge hit later in the day.

Holding the plastic egg and touching his new book! To be completely honest, I actually am not a fan of the fake grass and plastic eggs..but I thought, it's his first Easter! He's gotta have it!

Samuel and mommy ready for church

Samuel, daddy and mommy. Hand in the mouth..again..

Grandma Becky and Samuel. Doesn't she look beautiful?

Later on in the day we made Easter bunny cookies and let Samuel try one out. Crazy child..he spit it out! These are quite possibly the most delicious little things ever created..and he hated it!

Family Pic. This is right before we decided to dye some Easter eggs

Easter egg fun..and one confused baby!

Then we decided to get Samuel's new chair out of the box that was delivered on Friday. This is actually one of his birthday presents from us, but I don't think he cares that it's a little early!

Mimi giving Samuel his Easter bunny and card. My dad and Dana, aka Grandad and Mimi came over for an early dinner. We had Honey Baked Ham, mashed potatoes, roasted asparagus, Sister Schubert rolls, salad and a homemade Chocolate tart. We really enjoyed their visit!Mimi, Grandad and Samuel

I absolutely love Easter. It is such a meaningful holiday. It seems like we have a lot of holidays that are just made up..or just another reason to buy a gift. But Easter has such importance. I am so thankful that Jesus is alive and I'm thankful that he died for us so that we may live. I hope everyone had a wonderful day with family and remembering the true meaning of THIS day!

Week of Randoms..

We've had a great week so far full of long walks, park visits, warm weather, good coffee, lots of playtime with new toys, and fun with new friends. This post is mainly just a few pictures of our fun week!

Daddy and Samuel Sunday morning before church

Very handsome boy

Superhero in training


"Who needs toys, I've got magazines to destroy"

S playing with his new shopping cart. This toy was a hard pill for daddy to swallow, but I had to remind him that grocery shopping isn't just for girls!And surprisingly, S LOVES it!

I never thought my living room would look this way..

We've also had a few days of antibiotics for the first time, which didn't make his tummy feel very good. This was after 2 outfit changes due to...well...you get it!

Visit to the Arboretum

...........and one VERY FUSSY BABY!! No smiles in these pics..but a cute little boy! The weather is perfect today, so we decided to head to the Arboretum to have a picnic and take some pictures with our friends Brittany and little Diego. Diego is in Samuel's music class and we just love him. The boys were good, but S must be getting more teeth because he wasn't feelin' it today. I'm starting to think he might hate the camera as much as his daddy! Yikes!

We had a great week last week. My birthday was Saturday and oh my..my husband SPOILED me!! It was great! We had a babysitter on Friday night and went to have sushi at Nobu and then walked over to the Ritz for some dessert and hilarious people watching! Saturday, he let me sleep in while he tended to little S man..and I slept SO late..7:30!! He then went and got doughnuts while I put S down for his nap. When he woke up, we went to the mall for some shopping and lunch. This was birthday enough..getting my hubby in to a mall and see that he really wasn't too miserable! We had a great time, and I got lots of great things. I actually found an Easter dress too! That night after we put Samuel to sleep, we got takeout and watched New Moon on the big screen! And yes, this was the ideal birthday night for me!!

Here is a pic of S during one of his naps..I had to get the camera!

Mommy and Samuel on my birthday!
Happy boy!

This is Samuel's Easter outfit..SO cute!! I actually found it at Target and the pants are seersucker..adorable! I'm going to put another shirt with it because this one is a little scratchy.

This is my Easter dress..but of course mine is black! I know, I know, black for Easter..how boring! But, I will be wearing it..and I love black!

10 Months

Samuel turned 10 months old on March 12th. I honestly cannot believe he is so close to being a year old. Part of me wants to cry that he is growing up, but then the other part is so thankful that he is the healthy, little rough and tumble guy he is...and that he's growing and changing just as he should. This month has been a bit challenging. Samuel is on the move and just wants to be independent and go, go, go. Other than crawling, I think the biggest change has been that he isn't the "easy" baby he has been for so long. Don't get me wrong, he's SO happy and loves to get out and be active but woo wee..life has gotten a little more challenging as a stay at home mommy! His naps have just "stunk" lately and he's been waking a little at night again. He also has decided that 6 am is when he's ready to start the day! Exhausting!! I'm just trying to embrace this time and know that in 18 years I will probably be crying to have these days back.

Here are some things I want to remember about Samuel at this age:

• wears size 3 diapers and size 4 nighttime diapers
• wears some 6-12 month clothes but mostly 12-18
• weighs 20lbs 15oz
• has 5 teeth with #6 on the way; 3 on top and 2 on bottom
• drinks 3 bottles a day and eats 3 solid meals with snacks
• favorite snacks are Goldfish, Mum Mums, Yogurt Melts and Animal Crackers
• still eating baby food but will also eat table food if I offer it to him
• drinks from a sippy cup at all meals but still gets his milk in a bottle
• LOVES bath time but gets so fussy when it's time to get out
• stands in crib and pounds on the side or plays with his Ocean Wonders machine
• loves all of this toys including the balls, ride-on toys, stack and surprise blocks BUT MOST OF ALL...the dog's toys:)
• rolls and squirms on his changing table and throws a complete MELTDOWN when it's time to change diaper or clothes. For this reason, I usually just change him on the floor
• loves to play with my necklace or earrings
• can crawl fast and can pull up
• loves to stand and I honestly think he will be walking by a year old
• likes the swing at the park and will stay in it as long as I let him
• likes to ride in the jogging stroller
• starting to babble; says the "s" sound a lot
• smiles ALL of the time..even when no one is looking at him
• pretty much has no interest in anything on tv anymore..not even Praise Baby:(
• sleeping from about 6:30pm-6 or 7

That's about all I can think of for now! My little boy is growing up..and I love every single minute!

On Saturday, the weather was perfect so we decided to go to lunch and hit the park. Like I said earlier, S loves the swings and also enjoyed looking at the ducks.

Samuel and I went to Arkansas last week to see my family and I will post on that another day..but here is a super cute pic of my handsome man!! I absolutely love his white hair!!