The little encourager

Remember these pictures?  Jack was seven months old. Well, at nine months now, it’s finally football season and time for Sam to wear the garnet and black! We didn’t start out with that happy face, though!  I put Sam down in the grass, he started moving his feet back and forth, and then told me he did not like how it felt! (And I realized that was the first time he’s been on the grass without being on a blanket!)That’s where our little encourager came in.  Jack can be rough with Sam, for sure, but most of the time he’s the protective, loving big brother.  I think he knows how much Sam loves him-“Momma, he just said Jack!  Dats cuz he loves me!”-and he loves that little guy so much in return! He had a talk with Sam and told him that the grass is fun to play in. Sam got tickled-and so did Jack,they talked about the fun grass a bit more (I love how Jack looks at Sam!  I wonder what he’s thinking), big brother gave little brother one more hug for encouragement, and then Sam was all smiles!  All it took was a little pep talk from one of the coolest guys he knows!

Nine Month Well Check

Our littlest had his nine month well check today, and he did great!  Dr. Trey said he’s very happy with his health and development, and we couldn’t be more thankful!Even though our appointment was at nap time, oops!, Sam was a pretty good waiter.  And I found out that he’s a stare-er too!  Any time someone new walked in the door, he would sit up in his stroller and check ‘em out.  And if they sat in his sight, he’d check ‘em out even longer!While we waited for his shots, he entertained himself with the table paper.  LOVED it!

Weight: 20 pounds, 8 ounces-44th percentile
Height: 30.375 inches-95th percentile
Head Circumference: 19 inches-98th percentile

A wagon ride

Always a good time!

Big boy food

Sam has moved from pureed food to big boy food, and he loves it.I think he thinks we’ve been holding out on him, because he chows down-fast!His first food was a blueberry waffle (I don’t count the cheerios).  Jack’s was Thanksgiving Dinner!He eats like his brother did-with his little feet crossed and a smile on his face. Yep, he loves big boy food-and his big boy cup!  Where’d my little baby go?!?!

39 weeks, 4 days

I wonder what they were talking about!

Jack’s FIRST movie!

What a treat!  I took Jack to his first movie today, and we both LOVED it!  Well, I know I did, and I’m pretty sure my t-tiny did, too.  If you ask him what he and mommy did together, he’ll say, “We went to my first movie-The LION King!” with a big emphasis on Lion! The Lion King is one of my favorite Disney movies.  I can remember being at our cousins’ house in Florida when the soundtrack came out.  We listened to it all day long and made our own little book of words-with pictures!  Linds, Kenze, Laurena-anyone remember that?!  So when I saw the first commercial for the two week theatre event, I knew I wanted to take Jack.  He did great!  He sat by himself about half the time (with my foot holding the chair down so it didn’t sandwich him in!) and on my lap the other half.  Singing ALL the songs to him was much easier when he was on my lap!He did say he wanted to go home a couple times and that he wanted his daddy once, I didn’t think about some of the scary parts from a two-year-old’s perspective, but an M&M made all his troubles go away!  He fell asleep with about three minutes left but woke as soon as the lights came on.  He was asking about the lion chasing the coyotes!  I had such a great time with you, little one!  You did a great job at your FIRST movie!

please forgive the grainy and dark iPhone photos!

Our little Gamecocks

Mark and Jack went on a few game-day errands this morning and came home with some new Gamecock gear.  I think they’re ready to cheer on the boys! When these boys are playing, Jack always wants Sam to “sit up here” or “climb on this” and doesn’t really understand that Sam can’t do everything he can just yet.  Well, when he wanted Sam to “come hide with me” and Sam did, Jack was thrilled!!The fact that his brother put this huge smile on Jack’s face makes my heart so full.  Man, I pray they are always best of friends.

Nine Months Old

Sweet baby boy, you’re nine months old today! You are so fun and so funny and such a delight to us all! This past month you have really become an expert crawler. You’re still and army crawler, but you’re super fast! You crawl after Jack, wherever he is, and always ask for us to put you down to play. I love watching you two play together! You’ve also started table food and are loving it! You, like your big brother, are not a huge fruit fan but you’ll eat all your veggies. I’ve got to work on you boys-fruit is so good, I promise! You have three teeth-two on the bottom and one on top. I’m sure there are many more on their way, because you are such a drooler! You’re handling teething very well, though. It doesn’t seem to bother you a bit. You’re still a great sleeper, wake at 7ish, morning and afternoon naps, bed at 7:30, but this past month, you would wake anywhere between 5:00 and 6:30 wanting to eat. I’d feed you and put you back down and you’d sleep until 8 or 8:30. I’d say you’ve been doing this five or six nights out of seven, but lately you’ve been getting better. This morning, you and your brother slept until 8:30! And going in your room to get you in the morning-I. LOVE. IT!! I mean, what a way to start my day! You’re not pulling up much yet, so I still see you on your belly, but you’re usually playing with your rattle or cow, then you look up at me with the biggest smile I’ve ever seen and squirm with excitement! It’s the best! Sweet thing, your daddy, your momma, and your big brother love you more than words can say! You are such a laid back little thing, are clearly thrilled with your speed crawling skills, and have the best little laugh around! We love you to the moon, buddy, and we thank God for your precious self each and every day! And by the way-I LOVE your cheeks!

Mr. Independent

Not only does he want to “take privacy” when he has to go potty, but now he can put (some of) his shoes on by himself!  We haven’t taught him how to tie his laces yet, so once it’s cold enough for socks, the red Keds will be back and I’ll be back in a job!

Updates to come!

I've been asked when I'll post something new-soon, dad-and if we're still at the Zoo-no, Adam! I love that you guys love to see pictures of these two little guys almost as much as I love taking them!

Right now, my computer's in the shop-I got a virus. I should have it back by Tuesday, so stay tuned!

In the mean time, Jack and Sam say hello and that they miss their grandpa and uncle!

The Zoo

We made a quick trip to the zoo after church and brunch today.  It’s always so fun to say ‘hey’ to our animal friends! Every time we stopped to see an animal, Jack would say, “I want him to moo/roar/ooh, ooh, aah, aah, momma.”  Unfortunately, no one cooperated.  Oh, and this is how he has to feed the goats.  Yes, I’m the mean mom that doesn’t want goat slobber all over my little boy’s hand just yet.  I don’t even like him to touch the food, but he found a pellet on the ground and thought he should hand it over. Sam, you doin’ good? “Yep, I got my toes.  I’m doin’ good!”Jack was doing his best to get a good look at his favorite-the elephants. It was a fun afternoon!

The little brother

Just some picturesof him playingbecause I think he’s the cutest eight-and-a-half-month-old I know!