Fall Family Portraits

We had family pics taken and they turned out beautiful!  Thanks to the amazing Christie Marie who captured some incredibly awesome shots of us but especially of Sam.  

Here are just a few:

Sam's walking!

And I have video of it.  Actually I managed to capture the walking on video twice.  He's quick now too.  I mean, don't leave the bathroom door open b/c if you do, Sam will hightail it to the toilet and stick his hand in the water.  Ew!

So, the first one was at the pumpkin place.  I had to abruptly stop recording to stop Sam from grabbing some random can.

The 2nd one was tonight when we were getting ready to head out at dusk for a bike ride.  I put Sam in his pajamas just in case he decided to doze off while on the ride.

Edit:  Just wanted to add that when J looked at this post he said that "we're going to have to work on your camera work".  Yeah, it's a little wobbly in places but that just adds character!  :-)

Pumpkin Patch

I seriously can't remember the last time I was at a pumpkin patch or when I picked pumpkins.  I think it was in elementary school when we used to take school trips to Venetucci's pumpkin patch. 

It's funny how having a baby changes you and the things you do.  We get to do all the things we did when we were younger but haven't done in years!  The pumpkin patch, jumping in leaves, sliding down slides, swinging, fingerpainting, dyeing eggs for Easter...I could go on and on.

Anyway, here are pictures of us picking out some pumpkins.  J kept asking me what I was going to do with the pumpkins and I just kept saying "I don't know but we have to get a pumpkin."  My child WILL have a pumpkin!  So, the pumpkins are sitting on the counter right now.  Well, except the one that J washed off and gave to Sam.  It's laying in the middle of the living room floor where he left it after carrying around everywhere and licking it a lot.  :-)

Checking out the cornstalks.

"What are all these?"

"Can I pick it up?"

"Here's one that's more my size."

"Hmmm...I wonder what this tastes like."

"Nom, Nom, Nom."

Walking back to the car.

11 Months!

Height:  not sure but he can reach the door handle on the front door.  :-)

Weight:  28lbs (Whoa!)

Size:  Still 5 in diapers and 18mo/24mo clothes.  He is wearing some 2T shirts.

Teeth:  2 on top and 3 on bottom

Sleeping:  Still lots of wake ups but he generally puts himself to sleep.  We are working on weaning him from all nighttime bottles.  Naps really well 2x a day for 90-120 minutes.

Eating:  Still doesn't want to eat tablefoods but did have some pancakes and grilled cheese.  Eats most purees but only if he is distracted by me singing songs to him or watching a cartoon.  He does enjoy eating paper so please avoid leaving any around when he's visiting.

Movement:  Sam is walking on his own about 75% of the time.  He can't stand on his own yet so when he falls down, he crawls to something to pull himself up and then walks to wherever he wants to go.

Words and sounds:  Sam just started babbling!  He says dadadadada, mamamama, and babababa.  He has also started roaring.  We practice animal sounds and the lion says "rrraaaawwwwrrr" and now Sam makes the same sound.  Too cute!

Milestones: 1st haircut, walking on his own, clapping, and can hold his own bottle.

Favorite toys:  An old cell phone that Daddy gave him, his walker still, an old remote control, his Little People animals, shoes (only eating them, not wearing them), the water cooler and dishwasher, and soft basketball and bat.

Dislikes:  Being banned from the kitchen b/c he won't stop playing with the water cooler and dishwasher, getting his diaper changed, putting on shirts, having anything taken away from him (he flings himself backwards and screams his head off), sleeping.  Sam also hates the vacuum cleaner (too loud) and will scream when it is on.

Surprise this morning

When I woke up this morning, I found that J had been hanging out with Sam for awhile and had fed him and got him dressed.

The surprise was the fact that Sam was actually in a decent outfit with matching socks!  :-)  You did good, J! 

Sam doesn't have shoes on but it was early and Sam doesn't like to wear his shoes so sometimes we choose not fight this battle.

Oh and he's walking!  Has been for about 2 weeks now.  I'll get video this weekend and hopefully post it.

More childproofing is needed in the Shap house

Sam helps us with identifying more opportunities to childproof.

Like when he does this:

I am reminded that I need to tie up the pull for the blinds so that Sam can't reach it.  We hadn't really thought about it b/c we rarely open the blinds/windows.  That's changed now that our good friend, Fall, has arrived.

Our little cowboy

Cousin Eli gave Sam his "Zebra".  Sam loves it. 

Oh and those are Eli's pjs too!  :-)