Williams' Wall: July 2011

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Summer Fun!

Finally summer weather arrived in July!! We have had so much fun being outside everyday! We have a little pool that we pull out that Jack loves to play in, we go to Lifetime's pool, we've been to the zoo, and even out on Prior Lake with the Anderson side for a day! July has flown by and we can't believe Troy's been working for over a month already! We have adjusted well for the most part and really love our time together on the weekends as a family.

Jack is 21 months already! I can't believe we almost have a 2 year old...although based on some of the tantrums lately it is believable :-) Some of Jack's new words this month are "ice, pool, and bubbles." All of which happen to be some of his favorite things in life right now. He won't drink anything unless it has ice in it...so random! Some of his other favorite activities besides the pool and blowing bubbles are: coloring (with markers and crayons now), drawing with chalk out on the driveway almost everyday, playing with the hose and the sprayer on the hose (and yes, he has quite a good aim when it comes to getting Mommy wet!), swimming (although this is definitely not a new "favorite" of his), and using our iPad. It is absolutely amazing how he has taught himself to use the iPad to get to all the kid apps...specifically Elmo and the PBS app. He continues to amaze and amuse us everyday!

Our little Sam will be 7 months tomorrow! Some of his favorite things right now...

Sitting up! Last week he began sitting up for several minutes at a time now and really enjoys playing this way now
Rocking on all 4's! He is SO good at this...it's just a matter of time before we have a crawler around our house again...
Books! He is so intrigued by books. Wants to touch/grab them, turn pages, eat them, etc.
Sucking his thumb! We have almost completely transitioned him to his thumb from the pacifier.
Eating! He has mastered eating pureed food finally...and his favorites are Apple/Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, Sweet Potatoes, and Apple Blueberry Oatmeal
Swimming! If he can float in his floaty...he is a happy camper!

The other BIG news in our family is that our little puppy Dillon will be joining our family one week from tonight! We are so excited to welcome him to the Williams' household...so stay tuned for some cute photos!

Enjoy the pictures below!

We finally caved and bought a minivan...although dorky...I love the convenience!

Sam rocking on all fours!!

Washing a car with Daddy and having so much fun!!

Hanging out in the sun!

Oh the hose...

Sam is just so darn sweet!

Blowing bubbles

Auntie Amy and Sam on Prior Lake

Nana and the boys on the lake

Sweet Sammy napping on the boat

Jack and Daddy driving the boat!

Our little swimmer...in the lake!

Oh Jack...

Sam...not a huge fan of peas in case you can't tell!

There was ice on the floor...and that's Jack eating the ice...

Nana and the boys

Jack's "new" way to get into bed

Jack is trying to do a summersalt in bed

First time sitting up!!

Happy little guy...

At the zoo...

Riding the monorail!

Riding the tractor at the zoo

He loved the goats...

At our friend Angie's birthday pool party...

Loving the Cheetos...

Going off the diving board for the first time!

Success!

Sliding into the pool was also a hit!

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Lots of Pictures and Updates!

Okay...anyone who attempts this blog post is a brave soul! I apologize for having such a long absence! It has been a whirlwind these past few months! We packed up and moved from Evanston to Prior Lake, had a few weeks of unpacking and fun family time, went to northern MN, DC and Troy started work.

Sammy has changed so much since Easter! I have to document a few things from each month - more for myself than anyone else. I like to look back and see how my kids change!

Sam - 3 Months:

He was big enough for his jumper...and he loved it the minute he sat in it
Snuggler! This kid loves to snuggle in bed with mommy and daddy...such a stinker...we are suckers every morning...
Bumbo! He was big enough and strong enough for the bumbo...although he wasn't a big fan
Boppy! Loved his boppy pillow to do tummy time and as a pillow for a quick nap!

Sam - 4 Months:

Rolled over - both ways!
First tooth! Yes, super early...but technically only a few days before he turned 5 months - bottom right tooth on 5/26/11
Big stroller! He was finally big enough to get out of his car seat and into the actual stroller seat!
Swimming! He went swimming in our condo pool for the first time...not sure how much he liked it. He was chilly most of the time :-)
Lovee! He developed an affection for a frog lovee and we took it everywhere!
At 4 months Sam weighed 14.8 lbs and was 26 1/4 inches in length

Sam - 5 Months:

Second tooth! Right behind the first...the other bottom tooth came in the first week of June
Daddy's face! He loves to touch, eat, suck on daddy's face! Troy is such a good sport!
Tummy time! Finally! After months of hard work, he actually prefers to be on his tummy now!!! And even sleeps on his tummy!
Eating! He was drinking 40 oz of formula a day and still not sleeping through the night so we gave in on 6/9/11 and started feeding him rice cereal at night. Worked like a charm!
Baths with Jack! He loves being entertained by Jack and even imitates him by kicking after Jack does...super cute!

Sam - 6 Months:

Tummy time! He almost refuses his back now!
Rocking! He gets up on all fours multiple times per day now and rocks...I'm a little afraid of how fast crawling is coming!
Orange Food! He completely prefers carrots and sweet potatoes over any vegetable that is green and even over oatmeal! And YES...he has a gag reflex just like his brother if he doesn't like something!
Laughing! Sam has the best laugh! Everyone who hears him laughs along with him. Tickle him or just let him and Jack goof around and you will have a smile on your face listening to him!
Jumper! Still loves the jumper...specifically the frog on the jumper!
Carseat! He is officially out of the bucket seat carrier - mostly because he's too heavy! He was upgraded to Jack's carseat and Jack got a new one that will eventually be a booster!
At 6 months Sam 17 lbs, 5 oz (60th%tile) and 27.5 inches (90th%tile)...a big boy!

Jack is as feisty as ever as you'll see in the pictures below! He has gone from watching trains to watching garbage trucks, semi's, planes and landscapers mowing lawns. He is loving summer. We are outside in our yard or on our deck every day multiple times per day. His favorite outside activities are bubbles, chalk, his golf set, playing in sand, and swimming in our little blow up pool. He would live outside if we'd let him! It's so fun to see!

He is also talking quite a bit more now! "Yes, No, bubbles, Mommy, Daddy, Jack, Sam, baby, door, outside, done, more, please and brush" are just a few off the top of my head. His favorite indoor activity is cooking! He has his own play kitchen and he also has a step stool that he climbs up onto to help me cook! He loves to mash avocados and chop onion!

Enjoy the pictures! Sorry there are so many!

Some family pictures taken by my good friend Michelle at the end of April