Samson : 11 months

Age : 11 months ... I have to back track a bit, because we've had a pretty busy month!

Height : 31" (ish)

Weight : 22 lbs (ish) ... He feels likes a bag of bricks!

Clothes : 12-18 months

Diapers : Charlie Banana Cloth (Size M), Honest Diapers Size 3, although the next bundle will have size 4 diapers because we're having trouble with night time diapers holding enough.

Eating : So much! He still loves bottles, but we are down to 6 oz/3x a day. Loves all food.

Sleeping : Samson had a bit of sleep regression with his first cold (and his first tooth, but that's for next month's post) so he sleeps 7:30-6:00 right now, but wakes up a a few times a night. It's rough for every one involved. Thankfully, he goes back to sleep easily and naps really well during the day. (And FYI, as of right now, more than halfway to 12 months he's getting back to the awesome sleep that we we're used to).

Pacifiers/Soothies : Loves his MAM pacifiers and we always panic when they all seem to get lost at the same time. He sleeps with his mint blankie at nap time and night time. Thankfully travels pretty well at night now as long as we pack his beloved blankie.

Milestones : Walking around furniture, chatting up a storm even if nobody, including Samson, knows what he is saying (distinguishable words: papa, mama, baba, papa), clapping.

Likes : Playing with other kids, sharing, tickles, playing with Cash, long walks in the stroller, books, all sorts of noisy toys, drinking from straws and cups.

Dislikes : Diaper changes, I'm telling you... it's the end of the world!

Holiday Spirit

The count down to Christmas is on! We've already watched a few of our favorite holiday movies and made a few of our favorite holiday treats, but what we're really excited for this year is Samson! Last year we were anxiously awaiting his arrival and couldn't even imagine what having a little boy crawling around the Christmas tree this year would look like. Samson decided to up the ante a bit for us by reaching a few exciting milestones during this very special season. 

Last Friday, after sustaining an accidental boo-boo courtesy of his furry brother Cash, Samson decided to turn everyone's frown upside down by taking his first steps! I was on the phone with my mom when I set him down, he stood right up and walked straight to me, arms up and ready for a hug!  I'm pretty sure I melted in to a big, proud, emotional momma puddle. 

Walking solo wasn't the only exciting thing Samson had in mind though. This morning, I went to pick him up from his crib after his nap when I noticed his big gummy smile had a little something extra to it... his first tooth! 

We had a few fun props that were left over from a Christmas party we had for the student workers in Aaron's office last week. I thought they would be perfect for our little elf and his trusty side kick. Taking pictures of Samson and Cash is hard enough... add  sparkly hat (or antlers) and it's a whole new struggle. However, the out takes themselves are funny enough, hope you get a kick out of them :)

                                                   

Christmas Wish List

So we have really lucked out in regards to not be bogged down with too many toys or baby things. Part of that might be that Samson is still young, part of that might be that he has a lot of cousins so my mom and dad don't feel obligated to buy him all the things, and part of it might be that I've been trying to adapt the phrase "quality not quantity." Just don't look in the guest room closets... or the attic. Seriously, don't.

It's Samson's first Christmas and he is at such a great age to enjoy it. Opening presents, playing with new toys, and pulling all the ornaments off the tree is all going to be epic fun for our little stinker. We hope Samson grows up to know plenty fun family traditions that really impress on him the magic of Christmas. And since we really, really want to impress on him the absolute JOY that Christmas is really about celebrating the birth of our Savior, we hope that we can keep Santa Claus in check. Something he wants, something he needs, something to wear, something to read. Plus, a few fun extras :)

Lollaland Lollacup - One of the cutest sippy cups I've seen. Samson loves straws now and I think the weighted straw would help since he is always tipping his cup. I love the built in lid for tossing it in the diaper bag.

Footed Pajamas - Samson is about to grow out of his 12 month jammies, we're in need of a 18 month stock up around here. Bonus points for animal feet!

Converse Chuck Taylors - Since Samson is getting ready to walk he needs some shoes for when we are out and about. We just picked these up at the mall this weekend and they are SO cute. I can't wait until he wears them!

Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Phone - I don't know how much longer we can hold out on toys that make noise, Samson loves playing with them when we go down the toy aisle. Plus, maybe he'll stop snatching our iPhones (here's to wishing!)

BabyLit Sherlock Holmes and The Jungle Book -  Books are in surprising short supply around here. BabyLit books are twists on stories that use various subjects like colors, shapes, and sounds to introduce little readers to classic literature. Samson loves playing with books and being read to. These would be great books to add to our collection.

Fisher Price Classic Toy Xylophone - Looks just like the Fisher Price toys I had as a kid! Samson loves playing with Aaron's guitars and I bet he's going to love making some music of his own.

B. Zany Zoo Activity Cube - I have been eyeing this toy for Samson before he was even born. He is the perfect age for it now and is old enough to really like playing with all the different activities.

Imaginarium Stacking Rings - Samson is really getting in to stacking... and knocking things over (and putting things in, taking things out... the boy loves both order and chaos).  I'm trying SO hard to keep our house as free from the onslaught of shiny plastic toys for as long as possible. If there is an option for a wooden toy, sign us up.

I'm hoping we can make something for Samson this year too. This mama loves a good project and I'm pretty sure that Aaron actually enjoys helping with my crazy ideas and plans. I think that would be a fun tradition to establish ... homemade is really special if you ask me. I'm dreaming of finally getting around to making that teepee we've been talking about for a year now. A little something like this one from House of Jade interiors would look great in the playroom.

Playroom : House of Jade Interiors