Samuel–12 Months

 

Stats as of April 3, 2015

Stats:

Weight is 23.5 pounds, length is 76 cm and head circumference of 48.5 cm. Sam also has 3 teeth, two on the bottom and 1 top left. 

Wearing:

This month we are in all 12 month to 18 month clothes. Pj’s are 18-24 months unless I get them without feet. Sam is in size 4 shoes and I had to purchase him bigger socks this month! His legs were getting so chubby that the socks were sliding down. We are down to only one tuque that fits so hopefully it turns into spring soon! Snow suits are also almost too small but will do us for the rest of the cold weather.

Sleep:

This has actually been a rough month. I think we are going through two things. 1; Sam got his third tooth and working on his forth this month. 2; a growth spurt! He is eating twice as much food as I do! I don’t know where we puts it all! But he is still napping really well, even at daycare. I was worried that Sam wouldn’t sleep at daycare but he has done great. Hasn’t missed a nap yet.

Eating:

At daycare, the provider was concerned she was over feeding him. After showing her a couple of pictures of what he eats at home, she was shocked by what he eats. He is the youngest at daycare and easily eats 2-3 times more then the other kids.

 

We are at the end of our breastfeeding journey. I still nurse him morning and night but when he is at daycare he gets a bottle of breast milk. If we are at home, during the day he gets whole milk. When my freezer stash runs out for day care, he’ll just have milk. I am going to drop the before bed nursing session around his first birthday and hoping to be done 100% by the time he is 13 months old. It was been a rewarding and challenging time. I know we could continue but with the stress of work I feel my supply dropping. I can’t pump any milk anymore and Sam is less and less interested in nursing. I know in my heart we are ready to be done but glad that we made it a full year!

Saying:

Da-da, “ba” (ball), Wow, uh-oh, Tuc (Tucker)

Appearance:

For a long time, Sam hasn’t really had a “baby” appearance to him. Even more now I see a little boy. I drop Sam off at daycare and while we are playing that evening I could swear he looks different! His brown locks grows SO fast and he needs another hair cut very soon. His hair is also very thick just like Ryan’s. My boy has my big brown eyes though! I love that one of my features came through! ha ha! His smile is filling in with some pearly whites, 3 teeth so far with number 4 very close.

As always, I think he looks like Ryan and now that he is older people are commenting on how much of a twin he is to his Daddy. 

Likes:

Sam loves baths, exploring, books, anything with wheels and food. He especially loves banana’s and anything that is a carb! He still loves his soothers especially when teething. He sleeps with like 6 of them!

Dislikes:

Getting restrained either by his highchair, car seat or clothing. He really isn’t into snuggling lately and just wants down to explore whenever possible. He despises getting his face wiped after each meal! 

Milestones:

Sam gave me a heart attach and started climbing stairs on March 8.

FIRST day of daycare was on March 16.

March 17 was the first time he got to celebrate St.Patty’s day and his Daddy’s birthday!

April 3 was his first birthday!

Mommy:

Oh boy! This was a tough month on my emotions! Between starting back to work (and Sam going to daycare), cutting down on nursing and then my baby turning 1. It feels as though this month our lives were turned upside down and our “normal” schedules were thrown out the window! This month we’ve had to adapt to our new realities and I’m doing it but kicking and screaming the whole way.

I can’t believe that Sam is now a toddler but every once in a while I am fondly looking back at his baby pictures remembering those days. I am still so excited though for this new stage in our lives! All the new things that Sam does every day just amazes me!

Daddy:

While I’ve been an emotional mess, Ryan has been a complete rock. He has sat with me as tears streamed down my face over and over again. He was there when I dropped Sam off for his first day of daycare and then drove away. Without him, I think I would have just sat in the laneway. While I am a little sad of the baby years being gone, Ryan is loving our big boy and all that they can do together! He loves that he can give him food (or milk) and not have to worry too much about our nursing schedule. They have so many cute games that they play together. When I try to play those same games with Sam, I just get a funny look.

Ryan is pretty proud of the fact that Sam’s first words were “Dada”! 

Letter:

Dearest Sam,

First, Happy birthday my sweet boy. It has been a wonderful first year together! It has been amazing getting to know you! You are a quiet, independent, focused and sensitive little guy. There’s not much in life that doesn’t make you happy! You wear your heart on your sleeve and I hope that is a trait that sticks with you forever.

It has been 12 months of many ups and even a few downs but the 3 of us (you, mommy and daddy) made it through and all in one piece! We love the fact that you made us a family and parents. We are so glad that God trusted in us to raise you. You bring so much joy to the simplest of days. You make us better people. We want to make the world that you are going to grow up in a better place.

Here’s to many more months and years of happy times!

Love,

Mommy

xoxo

Because taking a picture of an active 12 month old is so hard, here are some out takes!  

Sam’s First Birthday–The Decor

 

Happy Friday, friends! My first (almost) full week of work is in the bag and I am REALLY ready for some undivided time with Sam this weekend.

A week ago today the house was covered in birthday paraphernalia as we got ready to celebrate Sam’s first year of life.

I love to plan and organize and that includes a party. I had known a LONG time ago that the theme of Sam’s birthday was going to be “Green Eggs and Ham”. It’s a pretty hard theme to decorate with because there is very little in the traditional party section at stores. So, I had to get creative but (as you could guess), I didn’t want to spend a whole lot of money! Here is what I did.

This awesome chalk board sign that adorned the kitchen? Free! It was bought and made by a good friend that I met through social media! I loved it and have it in storage for now!

As you have seen before, the balloon wreath. I hope that this wreath will be hung in our home for every birthday! It was very inexpensive to make because the only material that I had to buy was the balloons from the dollar store!

I had a couple of green table clothes that worked for our kitchen and dining room table. I had made 14 tissue paper pom poms and hung them randomly around the house. The tulips were a gift from my Mom for Easter.

A few years ago Ryan and I put our home on the Christmas House Tour. It was SO fun to show off all the work that we had done to our house. In order to demonstrate to people the amount of work we had done, I had printed and framed “Before” pictures to place in each room. I kept those frames for the last 3 years and haven’t done anything with them. I took my “Green Eggs and Ham” book to our office and photo copied a few pages and framed them in the old frames. I placed these frames around the house in every room. A fun and FREE decoration!

A couple dollar store table clothes decorated the food table. My table is wood so I could easily staple the tablecloth to the table and not worry about it moving. I REALLY scored at Target during their store closing clearance. Straws, napkins, plates and cutlery all came from target at 50% off!

One of my favourite things to do during the last year was taking Sam’s monthly pictures! I loved to see how he has changed during the last 12 months of his life. I took 1 picture from each month and printed it on regular computer paper, cut it out and used the frames on our closet doors in the kitchen.

It’s been a tradition in my family that every year you get a tin foil number hung in the kitchen representing your age! My brother and I have continued to carry on the tradition in our own homes. Here is the story behind tin foil numbers.

Balloons were ones I snagged when making the wreath.

More tissue Pom’s and a “Happy Birthday” sign that I made and painted from cardstock that I already had and old paint from when our bathroom was orange.

This chair was a huge score! My brother has had it in his attic forever and he didn’t know where it came from. He was actually planning on tossing it because it was in such rough shape! I quickly grabbed it before it hit the trash thinking that if I could fix it up a little, it would be cute for Sam’s birthday! Some hard scrubbing and old bathroom paint that was left over and this beauty was the perfect throne for the birthday boy!

My dad was taken aback when he saw it and asked where I got it. I said Jared was going to toss it so I took it. He said that he was pretty sure it was my grandfathers (and his sisters) highchair that was handmade. A quick call and sure enough, this highchair has been in the family for almost 100 years! I am so glad that I gave it a chance because its in great shape now and will continue to be in the family for many more years.

The banner was just something I quickly made the day before Sam’s birthday!

I loved how the Green Eggs and Ham themed turned out! Lots of touches or orange and green! The best part, EVERYTHING cost me less than $50. Now that’s a cheap way to throw a party! It just shows a little bit of time, searching around and elbow grease can make a big difference in spending a little or a lot of money! Sam won’t remember his first birthday party but I hope that one day he will look back on the pictures and know how much I did to make the day special for him.

Have a great weekend!

xo

Samuel–11 Months

 

Written March 3, 2015

Stats:

From appointment at February 4, he was 20.7 pounds, 73 cm long.

Wearing:

I am still astonished at how quickly Sam goes through clothes. He is in 12 to 18 month clothing, depending on what it is. PJ’s still are the biggest problem because of his large feet. His body fits in the jammies just fine but his feet are too big to fit. Footless is the only way to go with my guy, unfortunately. 

Sam is still in size 4 diapers and size 4 shoes. Although we’ll be making the switch to size 5 shoes very soon!

Sleep:

It is a whole new ball game when you kid begins sleeping through the night. Where it isn’t just a fluke but an every day occurrence. Sam has slept through the night, EVERY night in the last month. I’ve begun sleeping better as I don’t anticipate him waking up. I can see and think a little clearer! Ha ha!

There has been a few days where he has fought his morning nap and I think he’ll transition to only 1 nap a day shortly after he turns 1, but for now we are enjoying morning and afternoon sleeps! He is usually down for the night around 7 and up around 6:30-7.  Morning nap at 9 and afternoon nap around 1-1:30.

Eating:

Well, I’m a little sad to say that we didn’t go a whole year without drinking ONLY breast milk. It’s not that I have a supply issue but sometime around this month I got sick of pumping. I figured I had enough in the freezer and put away the pump. Just looking at it made me want to be sick! I had pumped everyday for the last 3 months in order to get a big enough freezer stash for daycare. We had a wonderful doctors appointment lately where I mentioned that I’d be going back to work before Sam turns 1. I also mentioned that I had pumped lots for the freezer but that I was done pumping. I asked what I should give him after the breastmilk was done. He said, “just give him whole milk, he’s ready.” I began thinking and worrying that Sam may not take whole milk because he has only ever nursed. So, this month I cut out his morning nap nursing session and replaced it with milk. So far, the transition has been very smooth! He nurses  first thing in the morning, afternoon and night and then has milk after AM nap. He had no reaction to milk and actually seemed to enjoy it.

I’ve begun feeling a lot more freedom now that I am not pumping and feeling better that Sam will take regular milk. I know that I won’t be nursing much longer then after 12 months because of returning to work. I’ll keep nursing Sam every morning (my favourite feeding of the day) until he weans himself (hoping around 18 months).

Other then that, Sam eats everything in sight. My little guy has a HUGE appetite. 3 meals a day and 2 snacks. For his breakfast he eats 1 whole banana and a piece of toast with peanut butter, his favourite meal of the day! He eats pretty much everything that Ryan and I eat. The only thing we have discovered that he really doesn’t like is eggs. He gags everytime he even touches it.  

Appearance:

Handsome little man, but I am biased. My long and lanky boy his getting taller and taller. We took a picture of him in my moms arms this month and he looked like a giant baby! Ha ha! But that’s just because he is much more a boy then a baby.

This month especially, people finally see what I have been seeing since the beginning, Sam looks like Ryan. Well Sam looks like Ryan’s grandfather but I have always found a resemblance between Ry and his grandpa as well. The only thing he has gotten from me is his coloring. Brown hair and my big brown eyes. Otherwise, he is Ryan’s twin!

Picture below is Ry’s Grandpa and Sam

Likes:

Sam LOVES food, bath time, Tucker and heating grates. He loves to clap, dance and “talk”. He is a huge snuggler and likes to get in nice and close to someone he trusts. He still only likes his NUK soothers. He loves car rides and crawling underneath tables. His favourite show is Bubble Guppies. Sam is always the happiest when he is as close to naked as possible. His favourite book is the Duck Dynasty beard story.

 

Dislikes:

Sam doesn’t like eggs, getting his face wiped and getting dressed.  He hates going into his crib and getting it his car seat.

Milestones:

Starting clapping and giving high fives on February 11.

First valentines day on February 14.

Starting pulling yourself up to standing on everything this month, including your crib! I really started to notice around February 15.

First taste of cows milk on February 25.

You learnt how to climb stairs this month.

First skate on February 28.

Mommy:

 

For the most part, things have been very smooth this month. I am not so emotional and have come to terms with getting back to work. I thought I would have been more upset about giving Sam cows milk earlier than I wanted but he seemed ready. And I am certainly not throwing in the towel yet with his other feedings.

Motherhood is weird. In one way, you want time to stop or rewind. You never want your little baby to grow up. On the other hand, you SO looking forward to the fun things to come. During the blistery cold days, I can’t help but looking forward to taking Sam for a swim, pushing him on the swing and watching him walk around in the grass.

Honestly, I love being a Mom and it’s amazing how in less than a year my whole life can shift. Where most of my daily thoughts and activities revolve around such a little person!

Daddy:

Daddy and you sure do have fun together! This month he taught you how to use a hockey stick and throw (not just a ball, but everything!). He was pretty proud. Dad gives you a bath pretty much every night. He also really likes reading you your bedtime story and singing your lullaby.

I think Daddy is liking how easy you are to care for now. You feed yourself and easily entertain yourself. Daddy doesn’t even think twice about how to care for you. It’s second nature now.

You are a Daddy’s boy! You SO look forward to when your Dad arrives home! I think you know he is the fun one! ha ha! 

Other:

I feel like this month, more then ever, when I look at Sam he looks like a boy and not a baby. But also this month, he doesn’t even act much like a baby anymore.

You are getting more and more brave! Between crawling stairs and exploring every inch of our home. I can only imagine how it will be when you start walking.

Speaking of walking, little interest in it at this point. I think you realize that you are fast when you crawl and why mess with a good thing? ha ha! But with all of the standing you are doing, I know that it is just a matter of time before you take a step!

Letter:

Dearest Sam,

Happy 11 months! Mommy has already started planning your big first birthday party! I hope to make it special for you. Along with celebrating your milestone birthday, we are also kind of celebrating the fact that Mommy and Daddy kept you alive for the first year of your life. You may not realize it but we had no idea what we were doing when you were first born! We were scared of messing something up or doing something wrong. Thank you for being such a good baby and letting us learn at our own pace. We have all learnt so much and it’s been an amazing 11 months.

Next month there will be a lot of new, scary and exciting changes happening to our lives. I pray that we will transition easily. I will try my best to be a strong Mommy for you and continue to guide you and our family.

Thank you for making every day so much fun! Everyday is a pleasure to have you as my son!

I love you!

Love,

Mommy

xo

These Are A Few Of Our Favourite Things– Sam Edition

 

Happy Wednesday everyone. I had a random moment of realization on Monday, it was 1 month until things change completely for Sam and I. Our wonderful routine is going to be thrown upside down when I return to work full time and Sam starts daycare.

I have been really enjoying our time together and now that I have found a daycare that we LOVE, I am feeling less emotional about the transition.

In the last (almost) 11 months Sam and I have developed a nice routine and figured out what works best for us. We both have our preferences but things change almost daily! Here are some of the things that my boy is loving as of lately.

1. It’s no surprise that my boy loves to eat! Sometimes I just sit there astonished at the amount of food one little guy can eat! One of Sam’s favourite parts of a meal is the end when we hand him a sippy cup of water! He LOVES his water cup and gets so excited to get his hands on it! I purchased a nice set of playtex cups for his stocking and they are great for him to hold onto! After multiple drops on the floor, it is still in great shape and hasn’t leaked.

2. For Christmas, Sam received this Stride and Ride elephant. At first, he wasn’t a fan but now that he is leaning to stand on his own he loves it! He loves to use it as a walker but mostly he loves to ride it while Ryan and I push him around the kitchen!

3. There is no surprise that Sam LOVES Tucker. He tries to get near him over and over again throughout the day. Recently, Tucker has realized that Sam is someone that will play with him. He brings his toy to Sam to get him to throw it. Sam attempts the toss but I will give him hand. He then proceeds to giggle as Tucker goes to get it and brings it right back! This will keep him entertained for HOURS!

4. When I was pregnant I used an exercise ball to help with my pelvic pain. It has been sitting in our living room unused ever since I had Sam. Recently, Sam has discovered this large ball and thinks it is the greatest thing ever!

5. I know there are a lot of opinions about children and watching TV. In our household, we are TV friendly. All of our play time is in living spaces that have a TV and to be honest, it’s a long day without any background noise. Our favourite channel is Treehouse. For the most part, Sam doesn’t even watch it because he is too busy playing. But, as soon as Bubble Guppies is on the screen, he stops to watch it! I have actually grown to kind of like the show too!

6. For Christmas, Santa brought Sam the Vtech sit-and-stand learning walker. It is another toy that he didn’t care for until he became mobile. His favourite part though? That little purple phone! He INSTANTLY goes for it. In fact, he has another little plastic phone that he loves as well! I guess he see’s Ryan and I on our phones and “Monkey see, monkey do”.

There are many things that Sam enjoys lately. Every day he discovers something new. I love to sit back and see the concentration on his face when he is examining something for the first time. Or the pride he feels when he figures something out on his own. Every day is a new adventure!

Happy Wednesday!

xo