On Monday I was SICK. I was so sick that it was all I could do to set Sam on the floor with a bunch of toys and park myself on the couch. For the whole day. Thank you, Sam, for not knowing how to crawl.
Needless to say, Henry did not get his afternoon walk. So when Ben got home at 6, Henry was more than eager to go outside. But pretty much as soon as Ben opened the door, the sky opened up. Now, I always thought that dogs, particularly Labs, liked water. Well not ours. What a nut!
(Sorry for the bad video quality–Ben’s Blackberry was the only recording device within the 3 foot radius that I was capable of walking to in my sad state.)
My friend Edvin suggested awhile back that I should let Sam write a “Friday Feature” on the blog each week. This idea, although interesting, had a few flaws. One glaring problem was that Sam couldn’t really write. But I liked the idea. So this is what we came up with. See you back here next week!
Summer is finally here and we’ve been hitting the pool. On Thursday, we went to the pool with my friend Deirdre and her daughter Evelyn.
When we got there we saw our friends from playgroup: Nicole and her daughter Lucy.
The babies had fun hanging out on their blanket trying to get as many of each other’s toys as possible while the moms got to relax (kind of ).
Then on Friday we decided to hop over to the pool and try out Sam’s awesome floaty. I think Sam likes being in the water but he kind of zones out. I was trying with all my might to get a smile out of him, but all I got was this…
Sam is 8 months old today! We are having so much fun with him these days. Other than some crankiness due to a recent summer cold, Sam is a happy, easy-going guy.
* Weight: about 21 lbs. We don’t go back in for a check-up until next week but I weighed Sam while we were in California and he came in at 21 pounds. Can’t wait to see what his official measurements are next month. We just moved him into the Britax car seat because he outgrew his Graco Snug Ride.
* Sam can now roll over both ways! He has been able to roll over from his front to his back since he was 4 months old but hasn’t really shown any interest in rolling onto his tummy until recently. And apparently Sam likes to keep this new little trick a secret from us. Ben set Sam down on his back and went into the other room. When he came back a minute later, Sam was on his tummy. Then when we were in California, he apparently showed off his trick several times for his grandparents who were babysitting while Ben and I were out at a wedding.
* Babbling is Sam’s new favorite noise (much preferable to screaming). At first he just babbled while he had food in his mouth but has since learned to babble all of the time. His noises are generally baba, gaga, dada, jaja, or some combination. I’m still waiting for him to say “mama!” Of course the only time he comes close is when he is crying!
* Although he can’t pull himself up, he does love to stand. He has recently learned how to hold himself up on furniture (or us) and has even surprised himself by letting go and not immediately falling over. I love seeing the proud, and simultaneously tentative, look on his face when he is standing.
* I started teaching Sam sign language this week. He definitely isn’t signing back yet but he does seem to get a kick out of me signing to him. His favorites are nap and bye-bye. Whenever I sign milk he is usually crying and I think he is wondering why I am signing and not just giving him the bottle!
* Sam is really able to show us what he likes and doesn’t like these days. If he is happy he shows us with big smiles and laughter. But if you are doing something he doesn’t want you to do, watch out! He can turn on the waterworks at the drop of a hat! But he is pretty easy to placate–usually just standing him up does the trick.
* He loves to play with all of his toys, and many things that are not his toys. Favorites include Ben’s blackberry, the remote control and car keys. Right now he is playing guitar with Daddy!
* Sam is my little snuggle bug. Lately he rests his head on my shoulder when he is feeling tired or shy and I absolutely love it. He also likes to lean in when we kiss him.
* We have a good sleeper! He is sleeping from about 8 pm to 7:30 or 8 in the morning. He naps from 10 to 11:30 and 2:30 to 4:30. He falls asleep really quickly and with no fuss. He always sleeps in his sleep sack and at night we turn on a fan and pull down the black out shades to ensure he sleeps in as long as possible! He might be a morning person, but his parents definitely are not!
Poor guy. He gets up on his hands and tries to go, but he just ends up kicking his legs.
And often ends up going backwards.
Sometimes he finds something fun to do without moving forward.
And sometimes he gets frustrated.
But I know he’ll figure it out soon enough. For now I am enjoying not having to baby-proof the house. Here’s a quick video of Sam staring down a new toy that he’d really like to be able to get to!
Last weekend I ran my first race ever. It was the 2010 National Police Week 5K. My friend Angie, who is an actual runner, ran with me. In fact, running this race was her idea. Twenty two years ago her uncle, a policeman, was killed in the line of duty. We ran in his memory.
And we’re off! There I am in the lead!
Not really…Here I am! (white top, pink shorts)
I am not a fast runner, but I ran the 3 miles almost 8 minutes faster than I did in practice! I am sure that running without Sam in his jogging stroller helped. As did a little healthy competition–being passed by a middle aged man carrying a 5 foot flag pole really made me step up my game.
Gross! I just recently learned what goes on with egg laying hens. You really don’t want to know. (But in case you do, you can see it here.) I was in a real bind because I LOVE eggs! As much as I admire those who can be vegans, I don’t think I am up for the challenge. And I knew from my friend Angie that eggs labeled “cage-free” or “free-range” weren’t any better.
But as luck would have it, the same day that I saw that video, a friend of mine asked if I was interested in having dairy products delivered from a local farm (Seriously, it was the same day. How weird is that??).
So here’s the deal. Every other week, you set out a cooler and the dairy delivery fairy sneaks over in the dark of night to deliver all the dairy products your heart desires. Or all of the dairy items that you ordered online that week. And because it is from a small, local dairy farm that you can tour yourself (my friend and her daughter did just that), you know all the nastiness that was going on in that video is not going on here!
Our dairy farm is called South Mountain Creamery, so if you are in the DMV area you should check it out. The delivery fee is $3.75 so if you split it with someone, as Ann and I do, it is pretty reasonable. And all the dairy products are priced at about what they would be in the store. And the best part might be the adorable packaging…
