8 months!

This past month with Samuel has been the most fun yet!  The biggest development is that he is now on the move constantly!  Put him down in one spot and he takes off, crawling across the room, stopping to sit and play with a toy, climbing over ledges, picking up little pieces of anything to eat, pulling up on furniture, etc.  Most of the time he is chasing down Mommy so he can go untie her shoes or pull up on her leg but he is also known to make a bee-line for any cords he can see! 

This month he started eating chicken, tofu, and greek yogurt.  He's still a big fan of solids and gets very upset when he's hungry and his meal is not ready right away.  He seems toreally like peaches the best!  He is also nursing 6-8 times a day as well and has become very efficient, finishing in just a few minutes each time.  He has been packing on the pounds lately, sometimes gaining up to 13 oz. in a week!  He is weighing in at  20 lbs. 7 oz. on his 8 month birthday. 

As far as sleeping, that's still a struggle.  Naps have gotten a bit better and he has moved from catnapping all day to two naps, around 9:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.  We had a few nights this month where he went all the way through the night almost (until after 5 a.m.) without waking but that was short-lived.  Every night is different with him.  Hopefully we'll sleep again soon!  Mommy sure is tired!

Samuel is quite the noisy guy!  He loves to loudly "talk" and make all kinds of noises while he's crawling, sitting, eating, riding in the car, after sneezing, etc.  It's pretty funny!  He also loves to smile and laugh!  This month especially he and Caleb have really started to interact and play with each other more.  99% of the time Caleb is a very patient big brother.  Their favorite game is "peek-a-boo".  Caleb loves to crawl around and under things to surprise Samuel.  Samuel has also learned this month how to pull a burp cloth or other small towel over his face when we say "Where's Samuel?" and pull then pull it back down when we say, "peek-a-boo"!  It's the cutest thing! 

On his 8 month birthday, Samuel visited the church nursery for the first time while Mommy and Daddy went to Bible study after church.  He did great!  We had Daddy do the drop-off and when we came back to pick him up he was asleep.  We let him sleep a little bit longer and went to watch Caleb sing with the other Sunday school kids before the late service.  When we came back, he had woken up and fussed a little but not for very long.  

This month as been busy for our family as well.  Lots of parties, small group gatherings, 4th of July (Samuel experienced his first parade and fireworks - LOVED both of them), playdates with friends, and a couple of trips to Brenham.  

Month 8 favorites:

• Mommy
• pinching
• smiling
• crawling
• cords
• peaches
• being loud
• water from a sippy or straw cup
• pulling Mommy's hair and earrings
• peek-a-boo
• splashing all of the water out of the sink during a bath
• his stuffed "monkey-see" he sleeps with
• laying his head on Mommy's shoulder, especially when someone new talks to him

Month 8 dislikes:

• waiting on food
• not being able to see Mommy 24/7
• having a stinky diaper
• being passed off to someone unfamiliar
• cords being pulled away from him

Can't believe we are so much closer to one year than him being a newborn!!   We love you, Samuel Reid!! 

Sad face because Mommy was trying to get him to sit in one place to take some pics! 

He pulled himself up on the chair and went over to the basket to pull clothes out!

Still has a favorite napping place on Mommy's chest :)

The first day he started really "crawling" (instead of just scooting) and he goes up and over the edge of the playroom!

LOVE the long hair that curls on top of his head!

Playing peek-a-boo with Daddy

Blueberries are DELICIOUS!