The way to France

Sam was excited about our drive to see Grandma and Grandpa in Oakland for Christmas. We talked about packing the car and how it would be a long drive, arriving after bedtime even. After a brief stop in LA for Dave's work, I was helping to navigate us back to the freeway when Sam offered his help. He said that he knew the way, it said it on his computer, and that he wanted to go to France too. I asked him the way. He said you go up there, straight and then north and east. He also said his office was in France which was near Grandpa and Grandma's. We were in stitches. I love his imagination!

Quite a talker

Andrew is very adept at repeating what we say and his vocabulary seems to grow each day. He's had "mama" down for quite a while but also says (in his own way): daddy, bye-bye, night-night, this (a favorite word), all done, Sam, ball, phone, trash (this is quite a favorite), shoe, sock, cup, bag, sit, spoon, raisin, down, dog. It seems to be a lot for a 13.5 month old, even if his diction isn't very clear and is just so fun to hear.

Andrew's 1 year stats

Weight: 19 lbs 13.6 oz (15%)
Height: 29.5 in (45%)
Head circumference: 45.5 cm (25%)

Further supports his recent moniker of "Little one" around our house.

Talking

Andrew began talking at 11 months and has continued to add new words each week. His first official word we understood well was "Stop." Hopefully not indicative of his future relationship with his brother, he did indeed pick it up from Sam who enjoyed saying "Stop, go, stop, go" at the time and frequently tried to prevent his brother from stealing toys by saying "Stop, Andrew." This word was quickly followed by "mama", "dada", "night-night" and "ball." Most are not intelligible to anyone but his immediate family, but he is speaking!

Conversing

Sam's conversational skills are just blossoming. He carries on conversations, sings songs and is constantly working on new words and phrases. Some of his favorite current phrases are:

"That funny to me"
"I figure out it"
"I need do this"
"I no like that"
"Mas green blankie" (my green blankie)
"I no call that..." (as in, I no call that running Mommy, I call that walking)
"Is good idea"
"Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't" (as in, do you like doing this or feel like that?)
"Oh well"
"Maybe next time"

Halloween is for kids!

At first Sam wanted to be Mickey Mouse, but then he decided that Andrew should be Mickey and he would be Donald Duck. Then he said that Christine and I were also to be Donald Duck.  Go figure - so we got three plastic duck beaks.  So now we have a mommy duck, a daddy duck, a toddler duck, and a baby Mickey.  Does that make Andrew the ugly duckling?

By the way - didn't Christine just do a knock-out job on their costumes?

Papa Duck

To do

As I wrote my to do list this morning, Sam wanted to write one of his own. So he dictated to me the following list (with a few additions from Mommy):

• Play with trains
• Play with Backgammon
• Play with Hi IQ game
• Play with chairs game
• Eat lunch
• Play with dominoes
• Get dressed
• Change diapers
• Take nap
• Help mommy clean
• Read books
• Change diapers
• Go to grocery store
• Go to my office
• Go to my house
• Go to friend's house
• Go to Daddy's office
• Drive in work van
• Daddy drives in Nissan
• Be nice to Andrew
• Go to bed
  

In a box?

Recently Sam and I were talking and the subject of staying in hospitals came up. Actually, I believe his question was "Mommy, you in hospital?" and I said that yes, I had been in the hospital when Andrew was born and perhaps he remembers it. I reminded him of how Andrew grew in my belly and when my belly got really big and it was time, I went to the hospital. I explained that I went to the hospital so the doctors could help get Andrew out of my belly. I said that in the hospital the doctor helped to deliver Andrew and then we could bring him home with us. Sam listened and then said "Innabox?" I quizzically asked, "Did you say 'In a box'?" He said yes, that's what he said. I pondered. Then I realized what he was asking. I said, "No, the doctors didn't deliver Andrew in a box like the postman delivers things." I had a good laugh about that one.

Comprehension

Andrew is now 10.5 months old and it has become obvious over the last couple of weeks that Andrew can understand nearly all that we say. Okay, maybe not our debates about health care reform, but simple directives and sentences dealing with physical objects or actions. It's amazing to see that even though he can't talk, he understands our words.

Snips and snails and puppy dogs' tails

We were eating dinner with my parents last week and Sam said "Look, Mommy." I glance over and stop in disbelief as I see Sam stick a pea up his nose. While he has been experimenting with sticking his finger up his nose in recent months, it's never occurred to him that other things could fit in there. I had a look of shock on my face and exclaimed "No, Sam, that doesn't belong there" so Sam immediately started to stick his finger up his nose to fish it out. Luckily I was able to stop him before he shoved it up further and was able to get it out myself. Later that week he fished out a booger from his nose and tried to eat it (first time for this too!). Welcome to raising boys...

Dec 09 update: I think I am losing the battle of preventing Sam from picking his nose. I knew I was particularly doomed the other day when we were visiting friends and he picked his nose and tried to hand it to me. I said that was gross, I didn't want it and he said "No, Mommy, it's for you to eat." Sigh.

What he's like at 10 months

Andrew is now walking everywhere he can. He still frequently drops down on his bottom for a sit, but will walk up to 20 or more steps unless something interests him along the way (which it often does). He's just starting to sleep from 7:30pm to 6:00am (with a little encouragement/ignoring from Mom) and babbles away quite happily. I really thought I heard him try to repeat "Night night" and "All done" last week, so I don't think words are too far away. He's got four teeth and loves to eat. The more solid the better and finger foods are a big hit. His latest sound is smacking his lips, which he will repeat back and forth with me with glee. He's made the leap into the "big boy carseat" (one we can't carry him around in) and has yet to make transitions from asleep in car seat to asleep in crib (unlike his brother Sam who can be carried in and fall back asleep). He's as strong and squirmy as ever and also incredible good natured. He's generally relaxed and likes following his Mom and big brother around the house. He's experimenting with biting toes (other people's, not his unfortunately) and loves to wave around his index finger. Fascination with other people's faces continues though exploration through tongue is abating. He's a master at drinking from a sippy cup with a straw though he still breastfeeds 4 to 5 times a day. He likes pina coladas and getting caught in the rain. Just kidding about that last part, he prefers Merlots.

Mommy, Daddy off please

We were driving in the car the other day and Dave started singing a song (I can't remember which one, but a kids song). Apparently Sam didn't want Dave to sing it, so he asked me to turn Daddy off, like he was the radio. We had a good laugh about that one...

He's walking!

Andrew started officially walking around 9.5 months old (a week ago or so). He's toddling around, quite bow-legged and with little baby steps. Generally he strings together 6-7 steps before plopping down to investigate something. However, today he seemed determined to chase me around the upstairs. Not long before he'll catch me...

Andrew's 9 month stats

Weight: 18 lb 2.2 oz (20%)
Height: 29 in (75%)
Head circumference: 44.5 cm (30%)

Where is that spoon?

I was eating dinner with Sam the other day and saw him putting his noodles on the table and then eating them with his hands. I gently suggested that perhaps he could use his spoon and eat them from his bowl. He started looking all around for his spoon. Then I pointed out that he was holding it in his other hand! We had a good laugh about that one...

Better view up here...

Andrew has been practicing standing up without holding onto anything all day. He gets quite the proud smile once he stands up and has been experimenting with lifting various toys with him. Several times he's looked like he really wants to walk once standing, but hasn't quite managed it all the way yet. A few steps have been seen here or there, but nothing we can officially call walking yet. Maybe tomorrow...

Vanilla?

We had some frozen yogurt as a treat the other day with Uncle Dave and Aunt Angela. I came over to Sam and saw some chocolate yogurt and a bit of something white. I asked him what the white stuff was and he called it "bad chocolate." I guess he's not a fan of vanilla...

Clapping

Andrew did some clapping today. At least, baby-style clapping where he just bashing his hands into each other. He's also getting much more balance and sometimes cruises along furniture while barely touching it. Last week he took a couple of steps to his Aunt Amanda but seems hesitant to really break out fully on his own.

Thank you, Please and Are Doing?

Sam has started to say "Thank you Mommy" and "Thank you Daddy" spontaneously for many things and it just warms our hearts. He's also getting much better at saying please, though his new favorite phrase is "Are doing?" as in "What are you doing?" with all the inflection of the full sentence. He's also getting better at saying people's names, though the letter "L" still eludes him...

Singing

Sam is beginning to sing along to songs a lot now. He can get maybe half the letters in the ABC song and his favorites include "I've been working on the railroad" "Wheels on the bus" and "Twinkle twinkle little star." He also likes to sing along to many of the Wiggles songs we just got on CD (or "Iggles" as he calls them).

Two teeth

Andrew popped out two teeth last week after gnawing and drooling everything in sight. All considering, he remained quite happy, but now we need to watch out when he tries to bite. Luckily many times he's just trying to give us a wet, open-mouthed kiss.

Talking talking talking

Sam is starting to really talk and repeat a lot of words. It seems that almost everything I say he's repeating, like "potato" "Torrey Pines" "Go Nuggets" "armadillo" "oatmeal." He's also spontaneously saying "Thank you Mommy" and "Thank you Daddy" which is incredibly rewarding for us!

What he's like at seven months

Andrew turns seven months in a few days and is getting around really well now. He crawls everywhere (living room, under the dining room table, into the bathroom, kitchen) and pulls up to standing whenever given the chance. His favorite is pulling up on the couch, but he'll also pull up on the coffee table, dining room chairs, Sam's toy car, kitchen drawers, the Rody bouncy horse, the dishwasher, his brother...anything he can hold onto. He also just started saying "Guh guh guh" which Sam loves to repeat back to him. He's a smiley, happy baby though stranger anxiety is starting to set in slowly. So far he's "eaten" rice cereal, oatmeal and potato. I'm not sure if he really eats them or just swishes them around and spits them out.

Happy baby!

Andrew is such a happy camper - just look at this kids million dollar toothless grin!

6 month stats

Andrew just had his 6 month check-up and is doing just fine. Here are his stats:
weight - 16 lb 10 oz, 35%
height - 26 in, 35%
head circumference - 42.5 cm, 25%

Brushing your toddlers teeth

Weekend of Firsts

This past weekend had a number of firsts for Andrew. He is just growing so quickly and he's only 6 months old!

1. First time pulling up to stand on his own.
2. First time crawling across a grassy field.
3. First bath with his brother.
4. First time sitting in a high chair
5. First time seeing his dad play grass ultimate. (I just hope I can still play when he gets old enough!)

We'll post pictures soon.

Dave

O-kay

Sam just started saying "Okay" today and has just the cutest way of saying it, very staccato and well enunciated. Almost as cute as how he says "Mooey" for smoothie, one of his favorite drinks.

New joys

We've been a bit concerned that Andrew's getting a few more knocks to the head and sore knees from learning to crawl in a house with hardwood floor. Sam got to get through the crawling stage while we were at a carpeted rental and Andrew is quickly able to move off our 6 foot square rug. However, today I noticed that he has a new joy available to him that his brother didn't - drooling on the hardwood floor and then finger painting with the drool. Let me tell you, he found it entirely engrossing for many minutes.

Sitting up

A week after he started crawling, Andrew is sitting up on his own. He can get into a sitting position and out of it without assistance and only sometimes falls over. This means he's now fully free-roaming! I am writing this as I work at my desk in the kitchen and he has been crawling around the floor in the living room visiting with his toys and now he has crawled over to me in the kitchen to visit. We're back to gating the stairs again and keeping a close eye on everything on the floor!

Officially crawling

Andrew started officially crawling last Saturday, April 18th. While he can alternate his knees to move himself forward, he mostly likes to perch up on hands and toes and lie on his side and scoot around. He now explores all over the living room and targets any of Sam's toys left on the floor. It's provided new inspiration to his brother for cleaning up.

Like stealthy tumbleweed

Sam and I are eating lunch at our dining room table and Andrew is playing on the floor. He's getting better and better at rolling as a means of locomotion and I looked over and he was rolling from his car seat to the blanket and then the table like a piece of tumbleweed blowing by. I have to keep a careful eye out on what's lying around now!

Fast progression

Andrew is going to be fully crawling any day now. Over the past weekend he started to get up on his hands and knees and just this morning, he was doing the Brownian motion thing all over the living room. It is just a matter of time before he is fully directional crawling!

Who's Birthday is is Anyway?

Yesterday was my birthday, so Christine, Sam, Andrew, our friend Chris and I went out to breakfast at the Huddle - our local breakfast place. During our conversation with our waitress, Sam (I think with a little coaching from Christine) told me that today was "Daddy's Birthday". He immediately followed this up saying "Little Mah" - meaning it was a little bit his birthday too. Seems to make sense to me. :)

I love the way he refers to himself as "Mah"- not certain if "Mah" is his way of saying "Sam" or "Me".

Brothers!

A new kind of square dancing?

Sam has been practicing jumping and enjoys doing it to music...I can't explain why he wanted the box on his head though. See the video for a good laugh.

Hello, tongue

Andrew has discovered he can stick out his tongue and he can be seen practicing this several times a day. Good thing he's still at that age where it's just cute.

I didn't know you knew that

I am surprised daily by how much Sam knows. His language skills are improving, but obviously he knows a lot more than he just comes out and says. If I read a story and pause, he will fill in the next word, or make a sound that is like that word. Today I discovered that he can count to six. I was counting things in the book and asked him what came after two and he said three and when asked what came next, he went on to say four, five and six! Things got a little fuzzy for seven and eight. He's also starting to sing along with parts of the alphabet song - what fun!

Jump, jump, jump!

Sam is learning to jump and just like when he was a baby learning to roll over or crawl, he is practicing this new skill all the time. Only he uses his arms for momentum a lot and doesn't always get his feet off the ground at the same time so it looks like a cross between the monster mash and a Godzilla impression. I'm still trying to get a good video of it...

I've learned from Sam...

...how to live in the moment
...how to spend an hour enjoying a sand dune
...how to say "Oh well" and move on (funny how what you teach them comes back to you)
...how to be silly
...how to have fun while doing chores

Phlbbt

Andrew's favorite new noise is blowing raspberries. It's adorable to see him playing in his exersaucer or kicking in his chair and going "phlbbt" with little bubbles coming out of his mouth. It's just one of those things you can do as a baby that's cute that you can't do later in life. :)

March Madness

Sam has become a big fan of basketball games. He's been going with Dave and Uncle Dave and Aunt Angela to the first and second round of NCAA women's tournament and also the NIT tournament that SDSU is in. His favorite newest word is basketball and he wondered why he can't go every day. He's also happily been introduced to kettle corn, hot dogs and peanuts with shells!

Peanut likes peanuts!!

Smiley happy baby

I don't know if I've written enough about what a smiley, happy baby Andrew is. He's just a sweetheart and cheery and good-natured. So often he just looks up at you wide-eyed and then breaks out into a big grin with dimples. It just melts your heart.

4 month stats

Andrew's almost 5 months, so it's time to post those four month numbers:
14 lb 11 oz, 50% for weight
25.5 in, 70% for height
41.5 cm, 30% for head circumference

Bubble Friday!

Sam had his first Bubble Friday at playgroup today. He started to enjoy chasing them even more and after some inspiration from Andrew's popping bubbles, he had fun trying to catch them. I couldn't get a good picture, but I will next time.

Mobility

Andrew is now a pro at rolling over on all sides and can scoot himself across the floor about 3 feet at a time. He doesn't move terribly fast, but is rather good at getting off the blankets I put him on. He's going to learn about hardwood floors at an early age...

Sharing is Caring

Sam is a wonderful child, but certainly is two years old! We're working a lot on how to share and how to speak without whining or crying. I've come up with some strategies to give him appropriate outlets for impulses he has ("Don't bite Mommy, bite your blankie" or "Don't push Andrew, push a pillow"). For the most part those outlets work and if I can manage it, making a game of something or being silly almost always works to divert his attention. To address the whining, I'm currently working on only "listening" to him when he uses a normal voice...but he hasn't figured it out too well so far. I guess it just takes time.

Creation

Last night I was struck again by how amazing procreation is. I held in my arms this little 15-lb baby that was formed in my body and has grown during the last four months with his only sustenance being from my milk. I remember holding Sam and thinking about how each cell in his body was made from my body, essentially. Quite incredible.

The Other White Meat

Andrew has become quite the toe sucker. Sam took a passing interest in his feet, but at least at each diaper changing and many times in between, Andrew will grab his foot and just suck on it. I haven't counted how many toes he can fit in his mouth yet, but I'm guessing about four. Quite a big "feet" for such a little guy. :)

Coos and raspberries

Andrew woke up rather early today (5:30am) but in a pretty cheery mood as he lay there blowing raspberries after his diaper change. It seems to be a new skill he's acquired and he's happy to practice it. Frequent awakenings at night appears to be another new skill he's acquired as he woke Mommy up last night at 11:30pm, 2:15am, 2:40am, 4:30am, 5:00am, 5:30am. At least I think those were all the times...the whole night is a bit fuzzy. Sometimes he was hungry, one time his diaper leaked and other times who knows - maybe he rolled funny and upset himself. All I know is I need more than 2 hr chunks of sleep! Oh well.

More independence

Sam still likes to hang around me as I work or play around the house, but he's slowly developing more independent tendencies. Today was free day at the Science museum and as he became accustomed to it, he ran around and explored on his own without a look back. He had fun with his friend Elias outside as they dropped leaves in a little stream and ran on grass. Sam was content to be even 30 feet away from me - a first for him and for me! I'll have to get used to the intricacies of keeping a careful watch from far away, especially since he's still sometimes unreliable with following directions.

On the move

Andrew has been rolling from his back to his front for a while now and in the last week and a half has also managed to roll from his front to his back (often getting up on both knees to do so). Yesterday for the first time he rolled from back to front to back all in the same direction to travel about 3 feet. A new experience for him! At barely four months he's a real mover and shaker. He rolls all around his crib at night and looks like he's laying plans for crawling even now. It will be an adventure with our hardwood floors (we were at the carpeted rental when Sam was at this stage).

Yummy toes

Andrew is always moving around and twisting this way and that. Yesterday he discovered how to grab his foot and bring it to his mouth. Now not only does he chomp repeatedly on his fingers, but he can chomp on his toes!

Hair hair hair

Every day Andrew meets new people or even people that know him, he gets comments on his hair.  Pretty obvious why.... I call it his million dollar hairdo. -Dad

Puzzle me this

Sam has figured out how to put fairly complex puzzles together with only a little direction from us!

Sam's 2 year stats

We just had Sam's 2 year doctor check up and these are his stats:
weight - 30 lb 1 oz, 75%
height - 36 in, 85%
head circumference - 50.5 cm, 90%

How do you explain...

...to your son that the scab on his hand is not "dirty" and can't be cleaned off? He got an owie yesterday that scabbed over and periodically he'll look at it and say "dirty" and cry. Now that's taking cleanliness a little too far...

-Christine

Newest phrases

This week Sam started saying "Andrew woke up" and "Andrew crying." He's also repeating other words left and right - too many to keep track of! I'm also pleased to see that he's starting to understand and use "Please" and "Thank you." There's also a fair bit of whining and crying that we're working on, but overall he's a really sweet little boy.

What's it like with two?

I get this question a lot. I'd say the beginning was pretty tough. Caretaking for a toddler while sleep deprived was challenging and remembering the ins and outs of caring for an infant took time. Andrew's sleepy time is starting to lengthen and I'm getting used to my routines. Once you accept that there's a lot of time involved in moving the kids in and out of the car and/or shopping cart and/or stroller on errands, it's not so bad to go out with them. It's still an easy time when Andrew sleeps a lot and doesn't require much extra entertainment, nor does he move around much. Sam is learning how to be gentle with his brother and what not to do. The hours during the day just seem to flit away and now I'm just trying to figure out where time for me fits in. 

Andrew updates

Andrew continues to flash beautiful dimply grins and is now accompanying them with coos and giggles that are ever so cute. He has also rolled over another 4-5 times and this last time just hung out on his belly a while sucking two fingers. He loves to watch his brother and track him around the room. His hair continues to grow (it's about 2 inches long now?) and he turns 3 months this week. Last night he slept 8 hours in a row - a godsend for tired Mommy! He's just a delightful little baby and I can't wait to learn more about who he is as he grows.

My shadow

Sam has been extra upset about my leaving recently and I was trying to decide if he was in a mommy clingy stage or not. Then I realized that while he often happily plays independently during the day, he's been doing it within 5 feet of me at almost all times. If I go downstairs to do laundry, he follows me down and plays down there. If I go in the bedroom to change Andrew's diaper, Sam picks up his toys and joins me a minute later. When I start to cook dinner, he sets up camp at the end of the kitchen and plays with spoons, spatulas, pots and napkins. He doesn't fuss about my leaving like he did when he was little, but there's some definite following action going on. So I suppose he is in a mommy clingy phase. 

Andrew teeth

Sam loves talking about our family and including everyone, whether it's pointing out in his toy cars where Daddy, Mommy, Andrew and Sam sit, doling out imaginary water cups or offering snack food. When we were brushing teeth the other day, he said Daddy should brush his teeth, and Mommy, and then he said Andrew should brush his teeth. It occurred to me that we had never informed Sam that Andrew didn't have teeth...why would he know that? So we had a discussion about babies not having teeth yet. :)

Brush those teeth!

Ruth got Sam to brush his teeth!

He rolled over!

Last night Andrew rolled from his back to his tummy for the first time. I was about to call it a fluke, but this morning, he did it again as he lay on his playmat. Not that he ends up too happy finding himself on his tummy mind you....

Discovery by mouth

Andrew has started to grab things with his hands and make a slow progression to his mouth with them. It's hard to tell at first since he spends a lot of time waving his arms around and dropping things, but toys make it to his waiting gums too often to be just a coincidence!

2 month stats

Andrew's 2 month stats are:

Weight: 12 lb 4.4 oz (50%)
Height: 23.25 in (50%)
Head circumference: 39.25 cm (25%)

Smiley guy

Andrew continues to be very good natured and has been flashing more and more winning smiles. He gets a wry wrinkle near his eye, a smile crooks out of the right side of his mouth and then it just spreads until he has dimples in both cheeks! It's so joyous to watch. :)

Chatterbox

The week after Christmas Sam said his first "sentence" with three words - "Apple juice please." Since then he has been more and more willing to put two or three words together at a time and has been echoing more new words each day. Not only does he repeat after me, but he breaks out words I didn't know he could say, like "dishwasher" and "rice cooker." He's such an observant little toddler and I delight in seeing all the knowledge he absorbs.

Stomach Flus are no fun

We spent a wonderful Christmas visiting family and friends in the Bay Area. Then two days after Christmas Sam came down with an awful stomach flu and was miserable for several days. It's taken a week and a half for him to return to his normal eating, drinking and sleeping habits - poor kid! I don't know that there's anything that can prepare you for parenting a sick child. It is sad, scary, tiring and frustrating all in one, but I think it's the feeling of helplessness that is hardest. Luckily only Christine also got the flu, Dave and Andrew were spared. We are quite happy to find Sam is back to his old self now.

Sleeping like a champ

Andrew appears to be our champion sleeper. He can sleep through just about any racket his brother can create (with pots and pans at his disposal, he can make a lot of noise) and even slept through a mariachi band. He's starting to do longer stretches at night, and will do a 4 - 6.5 hr stretch each night. A week ago he slept from 12am - 6:30am for the first time and I woke up more energized than I had been in a long time. I'm hoping this trend continues...

Top 5 comments

Here are the top five comments we hear about Andrew:
1- Wow, look at that hair!
2- What a head of hair!
3- He's got great head control
4- He's a strong baby
5- He's such a quite/calm baby