Sam at 8 months

 (This is a 7 month picture. I haven't been so good at taking pics lately either)
 
Wow! 8 months old. I didn't believe time could go by any faster, but it certainly does when the second child arrives. As a fan of the newborn stage, I'm sad to see him getting so big, but I know it's just the way it is. Here is what Sam is doing at 8 months.

- Crawling, pulling up, and standing alone for a few seconds at a time.
- Eating formula, baby food (his favorites are apple and sweet potatoes) , cheese puffs, Mum Mums, sweet potato puffs.
- He is babbling and screeching all the time now.
- He loves to be held. All.The.Time
- He loves to be outside.
- He likes to ride in the stroller.
- Not a huge fan of the carseat, but luckily we never have to travel very far.
- His favorite toy is my car keys, the computer printer and a little piano my dad got Finley for her first Christmas.
- He has the sweetest smile you have ever seen and he smiles all the time!
- He still looks exactly like Joey. His hair is getting longer and the dark is disappearing and the blond is coming in (just like Finley's did)
- He loves his sister and smiles at her when she talks to him.
- His eyes are still blue, we can't believe it.
- He hates having his clothes and diaper changed
- He loves taking a bath. I couldn't keep him in the infant tub so I just fill the big bath tub up with a few inches and let him crawl back and forth, back and forth.
- He wears a size 4 diaper, 9-12M clothes, no shoes yet. He weighs a little over 18 lbs. I'll add his height at the next doctor's appt.
- He has had 2 ear infections so far. I am new to this sick baby thing and it is no fun. Finley didn't get sick until she was 2! I think it's from being in the church nursery, gym nursery and having a sibling in MDO. Finley didn't stay anywhere until she went to MDO when she was 2.5.
- He takes two long naps each day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.
- Sleeping at night isn't going so well. I'm new to this too. Finley started sleeping through the night between 9-12 weeks and she never regressed. It was amazing! Sam will occasionally sleep through the night, but I usually get up and give him his bottle or paci once or twice a night.  Luckily, he holds his own bottle so I just stumble to the kitchen, make it, give it to him and get back in bed. I would let him cry it out, but I haven't because I haven't wanted to wake up Finley.
- He is a major Mama's boy, but that's okay :)
- He loves for you to crawl on your hands and knees after him. He turns around every few steps and looks to see if you're still coming after him. 

Sam you are a joy and we love you so much!!!!!

I'm back!

What a terrible, terrible blogger I am. My excuse? Laziness. That and I just don't have the time and when I do have time to myself I do not want to spend it in front of a computer unless I'm browsing Pinterest :) I'm trying to decide if I should try to get caught up from where I left off or just start from today and hope I remember whatever happened in the last few months. Decision, decisions...

Sewing retirement

Well, after I made several pairs of pants and a dress for Finley, I decided to put my sewing machine up for a while. It was taking over the dining room table and we had to eat somewhere. It's been a  couple weeks now and the sewing bug is creeping back in :) I'm trying something for Sam and finishing something I started for Finley.

 I want to make Sam a longall. It will be the most difficult thing I have tried so far because I will need to make cording and add snaps. I learned how to make cording in class, but we did not get to snaps or buttons...which leads me to the project I'm finishing for Finley.

This is supposed to resemble a Matilda Jane top. I found a pattern that is spot on, but in order to get fabric as pretty as they use and as much as they use, it becomes costly. This little top was next to nothing because I got the pattern during Hobby Lobby's .99 pattern sale and the fabric came from Hancock Fabrics Blowout Sale. As you can see, I still need to make the button holes for the knotted straps and add the apron and rick rack. Button holes is something else we didn't learn so I'll be using Youtube :)

DIY Burlap Wreath

 

This was seriously the easiest DIY ever! I never have anything on my front door. I'm not sure why. I think because I never see anything I really like. I decided I needed something so I googled DIY wreath and a million images popped up. I picked this one because it was simple and looked easy enough.  Here is the link if you want to try it. I got everything I needed to make it at Hobby Lobby for about $15. I used white burlap, but I think the natural burlap would be beautiful for the fall.

http://www.sheknows.com/living/articles/968591/diy-fluffy-burlap-wreath 

Just a couple tips...

-Cut the fabric into 5 x 5 squares. My poofs could have been poofier :)

-Use straight pins with the balls on top, not thumb tacks. The burlap is stiff and my thumtacks popped out of the styrofoam. 

Look Who's 6 Months Old!!!

I am!

I can't believe that Sam's first 6 months have gone by even faster than Finley's first 6 months. Sam is doing all kinds of big boy things and even though I'm supposed to be happy about having a healthy growing boy, I can't help but be a little sad :( 6 month post coming soon!

Go Phantoms!

Saturday, my niece had a soccer game in Huntsville so we got to go see her play and visit with Chris, Jake and Mimi. Finley had a great time and loved cheering on the players. I can't wait for her to play soccer next year! Sam enjoyed being outside too!

Go Phantoms!

 Happy boy!

 Finley and Madeline.

Birmingham continued

I got some great pictures of the kids while we were in Birmingham! Here are a few of my favs.

Sam having a sink bath at Grammy's.

 Finley and Sam on Cici's porch.

 Having fun at Homewood Park.

 Sam and Cici at the park.

Ready for bed at Cici's.