11 Months Old

Sam is still walking up a storm with his walker. He's going so fast it's hard to get a picture of him that is in focus. When we pick him up from day care he walks in circles around the house until it's time for dinner. He'll walk to us without the walker as long as it's only three or four steps. His teachers say he walks at day care without a walker (especially if he gets excited about something). They said he's not scared, but he's very careful.



Sam decided that he didn't want to eat baby food any more last weekend. He would just clamp his jaw shut and turn his head to the side. We tried veggies, fruit, and mixed dinners. The only thing he would even try to eat was yogurt, but he wouldn't eat much of that either. We tried the stage 3 stuff too, but he didn't want it. So I was trying to get some ideas and read some stuff online saying maybe he didn't want me to feed him ... maybe he wants to feed himself. So we've been trying some cut up veggies and fruit, shredded chicken, cheerios, crackers, etc. He'll put the fruit and veggies in his mouth, but then he makes a face and spits them out. He'll try to eat the crackers and cheerios, but he's still gagging and choking on them. His favorite thing to do with the food is give it to Cleo (or throw it at her). The good news is that now that he has the option of feeding himself, he's actually letting me feed him a little too. He's even starting to eat a little of the lunches that they make every day at day care (in addition to his normal baby food). Tonight I mashed up some sweet potato and banana and he seemed to like that ok. He really wants to put his hands in the bowl and play with the food though. This is going to get messy.



After dinner is Daddy one-on-one time. Chris gives Sam his bath and gets him ready for bed. You can hear them laughing across the house. Chris says they play for a while and Sam stands up when he's ready to get washed and get out. Then Daddy puts Sam's jammies on and it's book time! I usually hold him and give him his bottle while Chris reads three or four books. His favorite are pop-ups and lift-the-flaps books. Most nights Sam just curls up with his blanket and goes straight to sleep. He's been having a little trouble sleeping this week because his left eye tooth is coming in. It broke through last night, so hopefully he'll be feeling better soon. Of course he's still got the other eye tooth and four molars on the way! Teething sucks.

Happy Easter

We didn't have a big Easter because it was so cold and Sam didn't feel great. We did give him an Easter basket and he loved playing with the eggs. He liked pulling them out of the basket, putting them in his mouth, and throwing them across the room. He also liked pulling the plastic eggs apart. Nanner got him this cute bunny with his name embroidered on the ear. We were supposed to go to an egg hunt with the Mom's group on Friday. Chris and I took the day off of work. We had Sam dressed and had the plastic eggs ready to go, but Sam decided that he really wasn't up for it and took a three hour nap. He was in a better mood when he woke up. We decided to take a picture with his basket and bunny since he was looking so cute. It was his first Easter after all.



Sam was doing well for a while the last couple of weeks. He was eating like crazy and laughing up a storm. Then he started teething. Then he lost his voice. Then he started acting like his ears were hurting. We went to the doctor for his two week checkup on Thursday and the doctor said he still had fluid, but it was clear so no need for antibiotics. He lost his voice because of an unrelated virus. I was surprised, but happy, that he didn't have an ear infection. But, by Saturday, Chris and I were convinced that he had an ear infection again. We took him to the doctor first thing Monday morning. He's getting a round of antibiotics shots this week. The doctor didn't say anything about tubes, so I'm guessing we are going to see what happens with the shots first. He's already starting to feel better, but he's still waking up at night. We put him in bed with us last night because he wouldn't stop crying. He had no interest in sleeping, but thought it was a lot of fun to be in Mommy and Daddy's bed. He played for a while, then Chris put him back in his crib, and he went right to sleep.




We went to Afua's wedding last Saturday. She worked for Chris, but he worked with her for a while when she was at Sun. It was in the middle of the day and not far from our house so we took Sam with us. It didn't take long to figure out that Sam wasn't going to be quiet for the ceremony, so we watched the ceremony through the windows in the lobby. It was a beautiful ceremony, and of course she was a beautiful bride. It was also a beautiful day. We took these pictures in our backyard later that day.



We had a play date with Hagen, one of this little boys from Sam's day care, class last Sunday. They were born four days apart and they are very close in size. They've been together since they were almost four months old, and they love playing together. When they were learning how to crawl, they would follow each other in circles around the room. They are also both very happy babies. The teachers would always tell us how much they play together, so we always thought it would be nice for us to be able to see them playing. By coincidence, his mom was friends with another mom from our Mom's group, so when she joined the group we started emailing. We had a lot of fun over at their house. They had a cat which Sam loved! He would get the biggest smile on his face and then try to hug her (she was declawed). Sam got to try Cheerios there for the first time and now he loves to eat them. He also loves to throw them on the floor and watch Cleo eat them. Hagen had a Jumperoo. Once Sam got in the Jumperoo, we couldn't get him out. I even had to give him his bottle while he was jumping! We called around to the resale shops and found one for him to have at home. Here is a video of him jumping before we put in the batteries for "lights and sounds."



I had Sam's bookcase refinished last week. My great-grandfather built it for my Mom and Aunt Sharon when they were little. Then Andrea, Melanie, and I had it when we were little. Sam likes that he has a cabinet that he can get into in his room. He likes to pull the books out and leave them on the floor.





Cleo also isn't feeling great. We had to have a little tumor removed from her back foot. The doctor said that it isn't anything to worry about. It was just getting bigger and needed to be removed. She was sent home with an Elizabethan collar on. She was super pitiful and was dragging it on the ground, so Chris took it off right away. She been really good about not trying to chew at the bandage. She's having the stitches removed tomorrow.



We went to the first Water Babies class at the Allen Natatorium on Saturday. It was really cold and we actually had snow flurries. Jackson and two of his neighbors were also in the class. Sam was a little scared at first when we got in the pool. We just practiced getting the babies used to the water. When the class was over we went around the "river" a bunch of times. The water in the river was warmer and Sam started having fun and splashing and kicking. Sam didn't want to get out so they eventually had to kick us out for the next class. We have classes for the next three weeks, so we'll try to get there early next time so Sam can get used to the water before class. We also decided not to take any pictures since it was just the first class.

We went to Brad, Jennifer, and Jackson's house on Saturday for dinner. Sam fell asleep on the way over there, but woke up about 20 minutes later in time for dinner. Sam and Jackson were trying to outdo each other for dinner -- trying to see who could eat more. We got to try Jackson's Yo Baby yogurt and Sam loved it. It's a great addition to his diet because of the protein and calcium. We tasted it and it is super yummy. Of course the yogurt that we usually eat is light, low-fat, low-sugar. After dinner Sam and Jackson got to play a while. Jackson was a little jealous and didn't want to share his toys, or his Mommy and Daddy. We also found out that he knows how to say "mine." Sam didn't know any better and thought Jackson was playing a game, so he had fun any way.

Later Saturday night, I went over to Ian and Roya's house for Sara's bridal shower. I got to see their new granite countertops and slate backsplash. It was gorgeous! They were also able to make the island a lot bigger, so they are able to get a lot more use out of their kitchen. We went over there Sunday too for Easter dinner. Sam was not feeling well, so he was fussy and didn't want many people holding him. He had lots of hugs for Mommy and Daddy though.



Sam has started walking a little. He's a terror on the walker now. He doesn't really seem to need it, but he doesn't have the confidence to let go yet. Plus, he can run with the walker. He can stand without holding on to anything for about five seconds. Then he gets nervous and wants to hold your hand. He can take two or three steps between Chris and me, but he ends up diving into our arms. He could be walking any day now, or he could decide to hang on to the walker for a while. Although we were sitting on the floor tonight and Sam turn around and took a few steps to come to me on his own, so maybe it will come sooner than later. His other new trick is making a clicking noise with his tongue. He started doing it in the truck one day when the blinker was going, so we think he might have been trying to copy the sound.

Here are some videos of Sam walking ...