Favorites : Month 6 & 7

Happy Baby Happy Puffs - With the exception of the occasional sliver of fresh fruit/veggies I give to Samson when I'm making his baby food, these are the first "solid" he has eaten. At first, he was not interested at all. We gave him a few weeks before we tried them again and it was amazing to see him chew them right up. I sometimes forget that he is always watching and always learning. He likes feeding himself like a big boy, I like that they are natural and organic, Cash likes that he chucks them off the high chair tray at every meal. Winner.

Munchkin Disposable Changing Pads - We were gifted a few boxes of these at various baby showers before Samson was born. Our diaper bag has a built-in changing pad, which until recently we used for all our out of the house diaper changes. I got a sweet new mom car and have a special spot in the back of the "trunk" that is dedicated to on-the-go diaper changes. I have these stashed with an back-up supply of diapers & wipes so that I am always prepared. These are so handy and help keep things nice & clean.

Infantino Cow Teether - We all know and love Sophie the Giraffe, but this cow is just as fun! It's soft and squeeky, just like the teether by Vulli. As far as I can tell, Samson is nowhere near getting any teeth, but he loves chewing on these teether toys. It's a bit less expensive than Sophie, and if you'd rather, there are other animals to choose from.

MAM Night Pacifiers - Glow in the dark pacifiers. Life savers. Almost all of of middle of the night wake up calls are due to a lost pacifier. We've learned to keep a few pacifiers in the nursery just in case, but when the lights are out, we need all the help we can get. Even if you have to get on your hands and knees and dig for it under the crib in the middle of the night to retrieve it. Most brands have them, but these are Samson's favorite pacifiers.

Old Navy Jammies - These are hands down our favorite pajamas right now. Samson is tall and slim and these manage to fit him really well. He's wearing the 6-9 month size right now and still has plenty of room to grow in them. The fabric is really soft and breathable, which helps our sweaty little guy from getting too hot. They stand up nicely to stains and stain remover (LOTS of experience here). They have built in mittens, which are awesome for newborns, but I'd imagine they would be nice for older babies too in cooler weather. The down side is all the snaps. Heavens, I'm getting good at snapping while Samson wiggles and rolls, but would a zipper wouldn't hurt.

The Honest Company Diapers - We use cloth diapers all day long, but we love having disposable diapers on hand too. We recently switched to Honest Co. diapers and we have been really happy with them. Samson wears a disposable diaper to bed every night, we keep a few in the diaper bag and always have an emergency stash in the car. They are super absorbent and they hold in as much odor as any other diaper. We love that they are made with safe/gentle products, which compliment our cloth diaper routine really well. They are reasonably priced when compared to other name brand diapers, they are super cute and they are delivered straight to our door ya'll. Love them.

O Ball Rattle & Roll Car - A gift from his cousin Annalyn, this car is one of Samson's toys. It's easy for him to pick up and play with. It makes lots of fun noises, the best sounds of course come when it's thrown from his high chair or accidentally smacks it against mommy or daddy's face. Wild child.

Little Blue Truck - I love reading this book to Samson. Plenty of rhyming and animal noises keep him slightly more interested in listening to me read than gumming on the pages. However, it's a board book and it can definitely stand up to his drooling and toothless-chewing. Plus, it teaches valuable life lessons like how you shouldn't be a jerk. Hopefully, he listens. We're trying to raise a Godly little boy here guys.

Samson : 7 months

As of last week, Samson is actually 8 months old. In true procrastinator style, I wrote this update a little more than a month ago & then took the next 6 weeks to add the pictures. Hopefully, I won't wait another month to get caught up on things, because Samson is doing some pretty amazing things that need to be documented!

Age : 7 months

Height : 28" (this is a guess!)

Weight : 17 1/2 lbs (ish)

Clothes : 3-6 months & 6-9 months 

Diapers : Charlie Banana cloth diapers and Honest Co. disposable diapers in size 3.

Eating : 6.5 oz/5x a day… and anything he can get in his mouth. Usually has 2 “meals” of about 2.5 oz of homemade fruit/veggie purees a day and some puffs to snack on.

Sleeping : Not nearly as awesome as before. Still goes down at 7:30, but wakes up a few times before Aaron & I go to bed and then usually once more before we wake up. A nice long nap in the morning is followed by a shorter one in the early afternoon. Periodically, he takes a mini-nap about the time Aaron gets home from work. It is next to impossible to get him to nap in his crib though... so he usually ends up relaxing in our bed while I read or check on some blogs. 

Pacifiers : Back to the MAM pacifiers because he loves holding on to the little button on the front. Side note: if you are the parent of an infant who likes to chuck their pacifier out the side of the crib in the middle of the night, get some glow in the dark pacifiers, they are life savers!

Likes : Snuggling mommy and daddy. Eating in any capacity. Long walks in the stroller. A breeze in his hair. Taking toys out of his toy basket and putting them back in (he does this all.day.long). Playing with Cash. Playing with Cash's toys. Crawling every where, specifically under things like his crib and the coffee table. Cords and outlets (scary). Playing with mommy's hair and daddy's beard. Bath time in the big boy tub. 

Dislikes : Other babies, birds, tasting Cash's dog toys (so gross), when momma can't keep it together & make his bottles right this second, being dressed and being changed because he's being held back from crawling all over the place, loud noises when he's tired (this includes laughing), and ever since he started taking baths in the big bath tub, the first 2 minutes of bath time typically elicit some big cries.

26 weeks

27 weeks

28 weeks

29 weeks

A baby in a bow tie

Becoming a six month old is a big deal. Samson can check off all the boxes on the long list of accomplishments the pediatrician will tell you to watch for. We are so proud of every milestone he reaches & we gladly cheer him on & coax him to the next one. However, I'm still in total disbelief that we are halfway to having a one year old! It feels as if Samson has been a part of our lives forever, but it also just feels like he just got here! Time just blurs together, managing to both crawl & speed by in the blink of an eye. But, I wanted to pause it for just a moment & capture some of the sweetness to hold on to. In honor of his half birthday I snapped some pictures of Samson, aka Sam, aka SamBam, aka SammerJammer, aka Baby Bear, aka Squirrel (he has daddy to thank for thank one), aka Cash's brother, aka he cutest baby who ever lived. Without further adieu...

Sweet little birthmark on his back & his fluffy cloth diaper bum.

And just in case you think you can turn your back on your baby for even a second...

Reality: can't even put him down without Cash being right next to him.

Favorites : Month 4 & 5

Fox – Stuffed animals are definitely Samson’s favorite toys at the moment. I honestly think it’s because they mimic Cash’s fur but are less likely to move away when he starts chewing on them. This fox was a gift from my friend Holli, and Samson has loved it for months. The black and white face provide ample amounts of contrast, while it’s life sized shape have proven to be the perfect cuddle size. It’s so sweet looking and is a nice compliment to his nursery full of moose.

Fresh Baby Trays – So far, I’ve made all of the fruits and veggies that Samson has eaten. I assure you it isn’t as daunting as it may seem. I just put the prepared food in my regular blender (not a baby bullet, not a Ninja, not a Vitamix… just a plain old Oster brand blender) and then pour it in these trays, cover and put them in the freezer. Once the food is frozen, I put it in a labeled Ziploc bag and put it back in the freezer. I can’t take credit for discovering these, I just happened to be visiting my brother & sister-in-law at their new home a few months ago when she sent these home with me. However, I really enjoy using them. There is no need for measuring or precision pouring, I just dump the food in the middle & use a rubber spatula (or scraper if that’s what you call them) to spread the food into all of the cubes. So easy!

Sunglasses – Protecting little eyes from UV radiation, assisting stroller naps and looking cool at the same time. Fantastic. Get them in every color. ;)

Hello Ninja– I love reading to Samson and so far all he loves is gnawing on the books, but this was a fun book to add to our (still measly) collection. We often referred to Samson-in-utero as a little ninja because of the quick kicks and jabs he would deliver and also because of our growing fascination with the TV show American Ninja Warrior, so now it’s fun to help him become accustomed to the ninja ways of life. This book moonlights as a bedtime story, so it’s almost always on our reading list.

Oball Teether – I’m really drawn to this brand. I love the bright colors that they use and the little beads that they use make the coolest (least annoying) noise. While these keys don’t have the brands token beads, the do have bright colors and cool textures for Samson to gnaw on and the key ring seems to be the right size and shape for his little hands. So far there are no signs of teeth, but everything goes in his mouth anyways. Samson gives them bonus points for making a cool sound when he drops them from the highchair tray twenty times at dinner.

Jumperoo – Hands down one of the most used baby items we own. We have a smaller doorway jumper that is easy to move around, but for day-to-day use this one is definitely our favorite. Besides being great for jumping, it has lots for Samson to look at and play with. We usually don’t turn the sound on, because he seems to like it just fine without it and the days of quiet play are truly numbered when you have a boy. Downsides : big size makes it more difficult to move from room to room and it takes up a great-deal of floor space.

B. One Two Squeeze Blocks – Samson was really starting to take an interest in the wooden blocks that my friend Rachel had made for him, however, since he’s still a little guy, I cringed every time he accidentally dropped one on his face or poked himself in the eye with sharp corner. These soft blocks were the perfect solution. They are the perfect size for little fingers and all 6 sides of each block have a raised image for exploring. They make a small squeak for interest, but not enough to be confused as a dog toy, which is an important quality in our house.

Boon Highchair – I know there are a hundred different highchairs out there to choose from, and honestly, I’m not sure you can go wrong with any of them. I do love our highchair though. It is SO easy to clean (zero crevices or hard to reach places). It’s easy to adjust the height (it has a pneumatic lift, like a hair dressers chair, but easier). It’s on easy-to-glide wheels and it has a one-step brake. Plus, it looks like it belongs to the Jetson’s. Win.

Samson : 6 Months

Age : 6 months

Height : 27 ½”, 85^th percentile

Weight : 16 lbs 8 oz, 45^th percentile

Clothes : 3-6 months, some 6-9 months

Diapers : We use cloth diapers almost full-time. However, for night time (because no matter how much I stuff them, I can’t keep him dry for 12 hours) and longer trips away from home (a diaper bag full of dirty cloth diapers isn’t my favorite thing) we use size 3 up&up. I just bought some Honest diapers to try out, I’ll let you know how I like them.

Eating : 6.5 oz/5 x a day, and an assortment of homemade fruit and vegetable purees. Usually 2 oz/2 x a day.

Sleeping : 7:30pm-7:30 am, and usually two 1½ hour naps.

Pacifiers : We switched from 0-6 month mam pacifiers to 6+ month Latch pacifiers (what we had on hand) and so far so good. They seem a little easier to keep clean, with fewer crevices for things to get trapped. The clear middle of the Latch pacis are weird, but strangely endearing. 

Likes : Snuggling things right next to his face while sleeping, which terrifies me & I do everything I can to prevent him from accidentally suffocating, but the boy loves to snuggle. Which is directly related to another item on this list: Nap time with mommy is a favorite activity for the both of us. Sweet Potatoes are hands down his favorite food, but he still will turn down food in favor of his bottle. He is absolutely fascinated with the silkie tags on all of his toys. Chewing on 2 fingers at a time is at a dead even tie for chewing on his feet.  Being outdoors is one of his favorite things & he is his most content going for walks in the stroller or sitting in the yard with Cash. He loves laughing with daddy.. Who can make him giggle & scream better than anyone. And finally, pulling mommy's hair and spitting up all over daddy.

Dislikes : 6 month shots probably top his list of least favorite things this month. Followed closely by eating vegetables that aren't mixed with apples or sweet potatoes (butternut squash, green beans... the horror!) Being tucked into the mamaroo, the highchair or even the jumperoo instead of being held by mommy all.day.long. Sippy cups. Anything he can't chew on. Water on his face (not to be confused with rain or a shower because he loves those). Getting an arm or a leg stuck out of his crib. And finally, the blender a.k.a. Samson's arch nemesis.

22 weeks

23 weeks

24 weeks

25 weeks

Samson : 5 months

Every time I sit down to type out these monthly updates several thoughts cross my mind : 1. No way this much time has passed 2. How on earth did my baby get this big? 3. It's a good thing I keep track of these moments somewhere because I am definitely not one of those typical "baby-booking" first time moms 4. YOU GUYS, I have the cutest baby on the planet, I want to tell you ALL about him ;)

So, 5 months old. This month has seen a lot of good nights of sleep, a lot of questionable nap times, lots of giggles and even more exploring. It gets more and more fun daily! Over the past month, we've introduced Samson to food (one kind a week because I make it myself & I'm too lazy for more than that). He becomes more mobile as the days pass, he can roll and scoot with the best of them. He's got his own version of "crawling" down, which I'm fairly certain is going to result in rug burn on his forehead soon. He is a bed-time all-star and a nap-time rookie. He loves to be surprised, play peek-a-boo and chase Cash around the house. If he's crying, he'll almost always settle down for a big, wet smooch from his furry brother or some time outside.

Age : 5 months

Height : 26 1/2 " (ish)

Weight : 17 lbs (ish)

Clothes : 3-6 months and a few 6-9 months. They are big on him, but I thought I'd rather buy more clothes for him to grow into... you can call me a thrifty mom ;)

Diapers : Charlie Bananas during the day, and size 3 up & up diapers at night time. We sized up his diapers for volume, not size. He's still a little string bean!

Eating : 6.5 oz/5 x a day, rice cereal and homemade baby food once or twice a day (so far : bananas, avocado, sweet potato, apples, next up: butternut squash!)

Sleeping : 7:30pm-7am, nap time is totally suspect these days. Mr. Busy Body wants nothing to do with naps unless he is in the carseat or stroller.

Pacifiers : MAM pacifiers and his fingers and/or whatever stuffed animal he can get his hands on.

Likes : Playing with Cash, books and stuffed animals, playing with mommy & daddy, going for walks, being outside, jumping in the bouncer, bath time

Dislikes : Napping in his crib, being strapped down in any capacity, dirty diapers, eating food when he's really hungry for a bottle, catching a glimpse of himself crying in the mirror... the travesty!

17 weeks

18 weeks

19 weeks

20 weeks

21 weeks

Rub A Dub Dub

Samson has a long list of favorite things and bath time is definitely one of them. Until recently, I was doing bath time during the day, but Samson was really showing us he wanted an (early) bedtime routine. So out came the sleepy-time bubble bath and pajamas. We don't give him a bath every day because 1. He's a baby and doesn't need it 2. Ain't nobody got time for that. (Don't hate me for my pop-culture references). 

Anyways, on nights when we don't do a bath, we start with pajamas, bed times stories, bed time prayers and listening to the fan while we rock in the glider in his room. Personally, I thought bed time routines for babies were over rated, until my baby started sleeping 8:30p-7:00a. At 4 months. Sometimes he sleeps until 8:30a, and it is UNREAL. I almost forgot to mention he usually falls asleep in like 2 minutes after his prayers. I'm pretty sure that any future babies will be little hooligans and you'll find me reminiscing on these precious, easy moments with Samson. 

Without further adieu, here a few pictures from tonight's bath.