A couple weekends ago my parents came out for a quick visit. We live 5 hours apart so we don’t see each other super frequently. We’d last seen them as Christmas, and while it’s only been a few months, Sam is growing like a weed and changing quickly. The first words out of my mom’s mouth were, “He’s so big!” I try to keep the family up-to-date on baby goodness with photos and videos, but it’s not the same as seeing him in person.
We didn’t have anything on the agenda for their visit, just hanging out and playing with Sam. My parents were gracious to let me and Jeff go to our book club meeting on Saturday afternoon while they stayed back with the baby and dogs. It felt almost like a date to go out on our own, even if it was just to book club.
Reading books with GramGram:
Playing with Papa:
Thanks for making the trip out to see all of us!
I’m a little late on this one (and by “a little” I mean “two months”), but I still wanted to share a quick recap of our January date night because we had so much fun.
As I mentioned in my goals for the year, I’ve planned a year of monthly date nights for Jeff and me. On January 1st, Jeff opened a manilla envelope to reveal our first date of 2012: Fondue for Two, also known as Poor Man’s Fondue. We don’t have a fondue pot, but I was sure we could still make it work and have fun. However, I did buy fondue forks to lend some authenticity.
On the appointed day, we went shopping for ingredients, put the kiddo to bed early, and prepared to enjoy a fun evening together. For our first course, we enjoyed a traditional cheese fondue (from Trader Joe’s) with pretzel bread, pear, and apple.
Our second course was the meat and oil course, which we had to do standing up at the stove since, as previously mentioned, we didn’t have a fondue pot. We used this recipe to marinate our steak; it was delicious.
As if we hadn’t already consumed mass quantities of food, we still had our dessert course: chocolate fondue! We used this recipe with our dippers of strawberries, marshmallows, angel food cake, apples, and peppermint Joe-Joe’s (Trader Joe’s brand Oreos).
No fondue night would be complete without lots of cheesy puns (get it?). Let’s just say there was a lot of groaning and eye-rolling happening as well as face-stuffing.
Sam stayed asleep the whole time and woke up to eat just as we were cleaning up. Good baby! Our little home version wasn’t as fancy (or expensive!) as The Melting Pot, but I bet we had just as much fun as we would have had at the fancy restaurant.
We’re an iFamily. iPhone, iPod, iPads, MacBooks? Check. No PCs here! Sam is too little for any screen time of course, but Grandma made sure he feels included.
His cute little iPhone tee has its own array of apps you aren’t likely to find in the App Store: Burp, Drink, Eat, Talk, Nap, Pee, Crawl, Poop, Drool, Hug, Dance, and Smile.
Turns out little man thinks Daddy’s iPhone is a pretty cool toy already.
Probably because it tastes so good. Nom, nom, nom.
On Sam this week:
Long-sleeved tee – Carter’s
iBaby tee – gift from Grandma
Jeans – Gymboree (consignment)
Socks – Target
I had a little help when I went to vote in today’s primary election:
Sam got a sticker just for showing up, while I had to wait to get mine until I’d actually voted. The poor poll workers were bored; our precinct was rather slow apparently.
Helping Mama vote really works up a baby’s appetite
Speaking of slow, that aptly describes my blogging lately. We’ve been having a rough several weeks in the nighttime sleep department, and when mama ain’t sleepin’, mama ain’t bloggin’. It culminated late last week and I’m cautiously optimistic that we’re back to decent sleep now, even if it’s not great. I’ll settle for decent right now. When I’m not getting the rest I need, I struggle just to keep up with basic household and baby responsibilities. So while I have lots of posts running through my head, I don’t have the time or energy to make them happen. That also means I don’t get around to commenting on your blogs either.
Thanks for your patience.
And if you live in a Super Tuesday state, happy voting day!
I’m taking a break from Small Style this week so I can keep up with the discipline of thankfulness.
This month I am thankful for:
- nightly mugs of steaming hot, milky tea
- cut flowers and potted bulbs that add color, cheer, and divine fragrance
- the love and care my husband shows to me
- a dishwasher to wash my dishes for me
- blog comments 😉
- long baby naps
- Downton Abbey
- the camaraderie, encouragement, and advice of other mothers with babies and young kids
- doggie snuggles
- the promise of Spring just around the corner
Dear Sam,
You are getting to be such a big boy now. You are learning new things all the time and interacting with the world around you more and more.
In the last three months you have learned to:
- Roll from back to front
- Pass a toy from one hand to another
- Recognize mommy and daddy in a sea of faces
- Sit up unassisted (but not unsupervised)
You have also started lifting your arms up when you want to be picked up, and you’ve discovered your feet. Starting just before 5 months, as soon as your diaper comes off, you immediately grab your feet. You also love being naked and aren’t a fan of the clothes on and off process.
You love watching the doggies play and wrestle (we call this your “Doggie TV”), squealing at your reflection in the mirror, and being tossed in the air. You smile with your whole face and flash these wonderful, wide-open mouth grins that make all my cares disappear in that moment. Your easy belly laugh has quickly become one of my all-time favorite sounds.
You are our little snuggler. You curl right in to us and give the best little hugs. You continue to be a very happy, content little man.
At your 6-month check-up, you weighed 17 pounds (31st percentile) and measured 27 inches (60th percentile) with a head circumference of 17 inches (25th percentile). You’re turning into a long, skinny boy before our eyes. Your hair has finally started to grow in too. You still look like a baldy from a distance, but there’s no denying the fuzzy coating up close.
You started sitting up on your own (for 1-2 minutes at a time without toppling) about a week before hitting the 6-month mark. You learned to stabilize yourself very quickly and within a week were sitting for 5 minutes or more without falling over.
You’ve been sleeping in 3-4 hour chunks at night these last several months, usually waking up to eat 2-3 times. Every once in a while you give us a long stretch of sleep and only eat once. You used to consistently sleep in ’til 10am (with a 9pm bedtime), but lately you’ll wake anywhere from 8:30 to 9:30. Slowly but surely you’ve started to become a longer, more consistently napper, which makes Mommy very happy.
We have lots of nicknames for you, including SamSam (our favorite), Sammy, Samson, Samerson, Sam-a-long, Sampleton, Samsonite, and BudBud.
I bought you the next size up pacifier, and you became a paci boy overnight. You love your pacis and they’re very soothing for you. You still chew your hands occasionally, but I don’t think you’ll be a thumbsucker after all.
We have a ring sling now, in addition to the Boba carrier, and you enjoy being worn on my hip on trips to the store or while I’m working around the house. The vacuum is not so scary when you’re attached to Mama’s side.
You’ve experienced your first Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. Cousin Max loved having you around for Thanksgiving and Christmas; we hope the two of you will grow up to be great friends. You also got to meet Aunt Karen and Uncle Doug for the first time. You were pretty much the center of attention and main entertainment at all the family holiday gatherings. Your grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins love you very much, as do your many honorary aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Love,
Mommy
And now some pictures…
Reading with Aunt Laura and Cousin Max at Thanksgiving:
Cousin love:
Aunt Karen was so excited to meet you!
4 months old:
Playing with your toes:
Checking out the Christmas tree with Grandma:
The cousins in matching ping pong shirts at Christmas:
Laughing with Aunt Marsha on Christmas Day:
[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/37135697 w=600&h=450]
Sam laughing with Aunt Marsha from Sarah on Vimeo.
5 months old:
Learning to sit:
Paci boy:
6 months old:
Tossing with Daddy:
[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/36621549 w=600&h=450]
You’ve Got To Toss Me from Sarah on Vimeo.
On Monday we went downtown (I just accidentally typed that as “downton” – can you tell what I’ve got on the brain? ha!) to visit Jeff’s new office and enjoy a lunch date at It’s Just Crepes.
The guys at the office are trying to stick Jeff with a nickname. The current favorite? J-Bone. So when Jeff was showing us around, we were greeted multiple times with “Awww, it’s Little J-Bone!” Apparently after our visit, I became “Lady J-Bone.” Will these new monikers stick? I’m not sure. Nor are we sure we want them too!
Jeans and a polo seemed like the appropriate outfit when visiting a tech start-up company. Maybe one day Sam will follow in his father’s work footsteps… though who knows what the face of technology will look like in 25 years.
On Sam this week:
Shirt – Carter’s, Polo – consignment, Jeans – Old Navy, Shoes – Old Navy
