Eleven Months With Sammy!

Wow, Sammy 11 months!  Typing it just makes me repeat what I say every month.  How are you 11 months old already?! I can't believe how much you have changed over the past 11 months.  This month your toddlerness is really starting to come to the surface as your infancy sadly fades away.  I love watching your kind, intuitive spirit shining through.  It makes me feel incredibly blessed to have been given the gift of being your mother.

So about your pictures, you weren't really having anything to do with the sticker.

 I wizened up and gave you a goldfish.  See who laughs last, mauhahahaha.

 

Apparently, you do...

You are so incredibly funny and understand so much of what is going on.  It shocks me time and time again to say something and see that while you can't verbalize things, you certiaintly understand them and follow through with the right action.

  For example, you had no issue getting into your cheerios.  Your eyes light up every time I mention cheerios or show you the box.  I'm not going to lie, if I ever need to keep you quiet (hello airplane ride), I stuff you full of cheerios!

I was also struck when I realized that you recognized Daddy through pictures.  It got a little too quiet when I was cleaning up after lunch one day.  I found you in our photo album staring happily at pictures of Daddy.  I pointed to him and you'd smile.  I got a chuckle when I realized you found the picture of Daddy burnt like a lobster the best.

As proven by the above monthly photos, you are really starting to show your dismay with situations you'd rather not be in.  Unfortunately you are doing this in true toddler fashion and I find myself reciting this in my head over and over again.  If anyone has any advice on how to tame a screecher, please do tell.  I'm not sure how much more I can take!

A few fun milestones:  You started clapping, while on your first plane ride!  You wave hi and bye to everyone, including Bailey and Romie who cutely have become your bffs.  

 

Bailey upset Romie and then they both left you.  Here was your reaction aka downward dog and praying to mecca:

You really love Bailey's bones.  So gross, but he keeps bring them to you!  I think he's like here kid take this, don't scream...please!!

You love sitting by the front door gazing out at the street. 

A milestone I didn't realize would be so life changing and exciting was standing!  I think I was so focused on you walking (hopefully any day now), that I totally overlooked this awesome precursor.  I was amazed when I set you down and you stood for several seconds.  It went on for so long I realized I should probably start counting.  You are up to about 15 seconds or so without landing on your fluffy butt.  Good thing for extra cushiony cloth diapers!  You were so in awe of all your cousins walking that every time I went to sit you down, you insisted on being put down standing.  This whole standing business is about as exciting as when you learned to sit.  It is a whole new ball game for you and it is funny remembering when I'd sit you down to sit up and you'd be great for a few minutes and then bonk right on the back of the head.

We let you experience the fountain up at fairfax corner for the first time.  I'm hoping you'll be walking before it closes for the season, so you can really have fun in there! 

We started ordering you kids meals when we go out.  I'll do a post about great places to eat with little kids.  Here we are at macaroni grill.  Their spaghetti and meatballs were a HUGE hit and were only $4.

On Aug 24, you took a few steps without realizing it, but so far I think fear is weighing you down and keeping you from walking free standing.  I'm sure that is going to come this month and your world and mine are going to be rocked to a whole new level of new.

For months and months these posts were filled with my plea for you to sleep well.  Your naps have been really great!  I can normally count on at least 1.5 hrs.  We've even had to wake you up a few times, so we could get you to bed that night at a normal hour.  We used that as a photo op, so now we have sleepy baby pics for posterity sake!  I was hoping to get you with your butt way up in the air, but no such luck.  While we still haven't reached 11-12 hours of consolidated sleep, you did start going 9 or so, with a quick bite to eat and then finished off with another 3 or so hours.  That was fantastic (was being the operative word...). 

We apparently brought back the wrong child from vacation.  You now have separation anxiety (proven by the 2 hours you wailed while Matt and Steph watched you so we could go to Zaarn's wedding in peace) and you've reverted back to being 5 months old and waking up every 1-2 hours.  Granted, you were in a new environment and were cutting your third tooth, but wow I have no idea how you still wake up happy and have energy after nights like that.  I am exhausted and am blaming your sleep on the tardiness of your monthly post.

Speaking of vacation, you took your first trip!  OMG the anxiety as a new mom before hand was pretty funny.  Did I pack the right stuff?  Is he going to be sick before we go, get sick there, after?  Is he going to sleep (am I going to sleep?).  Closer to when we left for Florida, I found a zen like state and realized we were committed and if something went wrong, well we were still committed.  Either way my fears were for naught.  You had a great time.  You ate your fair share of sand and attempted mersecly to eat a copious amount of shells too.  I'll write more on traveling with a baby and a review on Marco Island in upcoming posts.

You couldn't get enough of the king sized bed.  You were all over the place when I was trying to get you dressed for bed.  I get it Sam, I love the freedom of a king sized bed too.  I could barely hear Daddy snoring from the other time zone aka the other side of the bed.  I wonder if the divorce rate is lower for those with king sized beds?!  (I kid, I kid)

You totally owned this chair.  I love your cute little toes.  Well I love all of you, I could just eat you up, you are so cute!  I mean seriously, this picture just describes you to a T.  I am Blessed.