WOW!!

This morning I gave Sam his first teething biscuit.  I saw them at walmart last night and thought they might help him get the hang of food-to-mouth. 

So.....whoa baby.  Sam chomped on that thing.  Once he got a taste of it he went nuts.  He would bite a piece off and then just keep biting - it was like he was a little biting machine - crunch, crunch, crunch.  I kept having to take it away from him so he would quit biting more off.  He did well eating it, though he had so much in his mouth he would gag a little while working on it. 

I had put him in his largest bib in preparation for the gummy mess kids make of the biscuits but his bib is spotless because he has too many teeth. 

Reckless or Fearless???

Sam is crazy reckless when it comes to getting around.  The kid will stand up on absolutely anything or anyone (including his sister); and once he is up he thinks he can transition to anything or anyone. 

Today we were playing with a laundry basket.  I put him in it and he had fun for a while and then later I flipped it over to make a gigantic drum.  He, of course, decided to stand up at it which was all fine and good until he thought he could go from it to his exersaucer which was about 4 feet away.  He cannot transition that far and fell flat on the floor.  He was upset but calmed down after a couple of minutes of mommy time. 

This is not a one-time occurrence type of thing - I am chasing him all over the first floor trying to keep the area around where he is standing free of toys that would hurt if he landed on him.  A couple of nights ago he climbed into his toy basket and then stood up.  I think if it had been a few inches taller he would have climbed onto the table.

He is definitely keeping me on my toes.  I cannot wait until Spring, by which I am sure he will be walking, when we can really run around and play in the yard. 

Pears

Sam is still not getting the feeding himself thing.  He just puts his thumb in his mouth instead.  The doc asked me how he was doing at his appointment a couple of days ago and when I told him he said that some babies are just slower at it and not to worry about it.  I wasn't worried about it, but good to know.

Today during lunch I fed Sam a small, very small, piece of Megan's pear and boy did he like it.  He chomped on it and it came out of his mouth and had to be put back in, but he ate it.  I will be starting to experiment with a few things soon. 

9 month checkup

Sam had a great checkup today.  His doctor is very pleased with his health and growth.  He weighs 18 pounds, 10 ounces and is 29 3/4 inches long. 

He did a great job with the exam and even handled his shot well. 

Angry Sam is back

Sam used to get angry when he would drop a toy because he couldn't get it back.  He doesn't do that anymore because he can pretty much go anywhere he wants so he just gets the toy back, no problemo.  However he doesn't like it when mommy takes a toy from him, I mean he REALLY doesn't like it. 

For the most part Sam can play with any toy he can get his hands on - I keep Megan's toys that are dangerous for him out of reach when he is up.  Megan has some puzzles that she got for Christmas that make noise when you put the piece back in the right spot.  I leave the puzzles on the table because they motivate Megan to get up to play with them, but he just chews on the pieces so I don't let him have them.  They are on the back side of the table so Sam can't reach them.  This morning the corner of one of the puzzles was just barely within his reach and he pulled it over to himself.  I immediately moved the puzzle back out of his reach and he let me know how much he did NOT like that.  He was so upset about it that Megan even tried to calm him down by patting him on the back, which was very sweet. 

He is really starting to let me know when he doesn't like something.  He can usually be distracted or calmed quickly.

Starting to cruise

Sam is really moving along.  He is now moving around more while standing.  He has taken a few steps along the table or play yard.  He moves from the end of his crib to the side and is getting really good at changing directions.  He is still only taking 3-5 steps before sitting down, but he is now in control of getting down instead of just falling, most of the time at least. 

A few days ago he used the kitchen chair to stand up and then transitioned to the kitchen table - he is just barely able to reach the table with his little hands.  He isn't afraid to try to stand up anywhere and to get moving. I think  he will be full-time cruising around in a few days. 

Who needs a nap?

Sam has been napping in the pack-n-play for the past few days because he won't nap in his bed.  It isn't because he doesn't need the nap or even that he doesn't want the nap.  It is because he wants to stand up and so he does off/on for his entire nap time.  So I started putting him in the pack-n-play for every nap because he can't stand up in it - it is too tall and there are not any slats to use to work his way up. 

I had the pack-n-play setup and was using it with him once a day just so he was used to sleeping somewhere other than his crib to make vacations an easy transition for him.  We have 2 and recently switched which one he was using and guess what - this one is shorter and I caught him standing up in it today.

Little Elvis

Yesterday Sam got a little jealous during my "session" with Megan.  I was working with her standing at the table and he wanted to play with us so badly, so I stood him up at the table beside her.  He was so, so happy.  He stood there and played with a couple of toys and then he started something new.  He started thrusting his pelvis back and forth so that his top and bottom half were not in line at any given point.  Now, he is a strong little guy, but he is NOT strong enough to stand up if his top and bottom half are not in line.  Needless to say after several seconds of this behavior he fell down, not that it stopped him from doing it again the next time he was standing at the table. 

Teeth

Sam's 7th tooth cut through yesterday and this morning #8 has cut through as well.  He now has his four front teeth on the top and bottom. 

His teeth are coming in quickly and he is not used to them.  He has always played with his new teeth with his tongue but lately he has been accidentally biting himself, hard.  He makes himself cry.  I keep talking to him about it but he doesn't seem to be getting the message.  He keeps putting his little fingers into his mouth and then chomping down on them.  He has so many teethers that he chews on so I don't think he is trying to teeth on his fingers, I just think he doesn't have the concept of what he is doing.  :-(

Crash strikes again and new clothes

Yesterday Sam and Megan were playing together in the living room when he decided he was going to the kitchen.  He took off and Megan followed him.  He would do 1-2 "crawls" and turn and look at Megan and then go again.  They were playing chase.  He would smile and take off.  Well after a few times of this Megan caught up and when he turned to look she was right there and he freaked out with excitement and instead of putting his arms down to pull himself with his 1 leg push thing he pulled up both legs and pushed as hard as he could.  Of course all this did was land him on his little head. 

Megan helped me comfort him by patting him on the leg.  I was holding him in my lap and she was sitting in front of me patting him on the leg.  It was sweet.  It took him about 2 minutes to be done with the comforting and ready to go again. 


Sam is now in 12-month clothes.  He can still wear 6-9 month pants and some shirts but he is too long for one piece outfits (pjs, onesies).  He is now 1 size behind Megan - she is in 18 month clothes. 

Puffs and other stuff

So yesterday was a big day for Sam - he learned how to pull up into standing by himself.  At lunch I decided to see "how big of a day it was for him" by offering him a puff again.  This is not new I do it once a day but I thought maybe he would get the hang of it.  Will said that he wished he had a video of it, not for Sam but for my face.  Sam picked up the puff (nothing new) and put it right into his mouth.  I couldn't believe it.  I tried again and he just kept putting his hand up to his face and sticking his thumb in instead of the puff. 

I think it was a fluke because he didn't even try this morning.  He went back to what he had been doing which was working hard to pick it up and then just opening his hand and letting it fall out without ever trying to eat it.  But the standing wasn't a fluke he is still doing it this morning. 

Lately when we put Sam in the exersaucer he likes to throw himself forward and backward to make it rock.  He will smile and laugh while doing it.  If he really gets going he can move the toy across the floor a little ways. 

Sam went solo in the shopping cart for the first time on Sunday.  He was having a blast.  He doesn't get to do it because Megan needs to sit in the cart so he stays in his car seat in the back of the cart, but on Sunday we went grocery shopping as a family.  Sam did great, except that he thinks he can just "go for" whatever he sees.  So when the cart with Megan in it was nearby he tried to climb out and get to her or daddy or mommy or the bright yellow bananas.  He is definitely the reason carts have seat belts on them. 

He can do it all by himself!

Last night's little assist/lesson from daddy on how to stand up has led to Sam standing up all by himself all day long.  He started in his crib between breakfast and lunch and has gone non-stop all day.  He pulled himself up on Megan's Laugh and Learn chair repeatedly.  Will has decided to start calling him "Crash" because once he is standing if he is done he just lets go and falls whichever way he is leaning at the time.  I kept saying crash and Will said I think we should call him that.  It was funny. 

Sam could care less about the crashing part - he is just as happy as can be to get right back up. 

Happy New Year - I can stand up a little

Will is laying on his stomach in the floor and Sam is sitting up next to his head playing with him.  Sam put both arms over Will's head and pulled up onto his knees and then Will pulled his head up slowly and Sam stood up.  He has been trying so hard to stand up by himself and he did it, with a minor assist from daddy.  He was so excited.