We got Jed laughing yesterday. Excuse me, I got Jed laughing yesterday. Oh yeah, those first laughs? They're mine!
There's nothing particularly interesting in this video, but we wanted to share it because, to us, it's sweet.
Ever since seeing the way I care for brother Jed, Sammy has started treating his Elmo in a way best described as motherly. You'll see:
Apparently, Sammy has decided sharks say "rawr." It's probably some variation on an aggressive biting sound, but it's pretty funny nonetheless.
Give a man a fish, and you've fed him for a day. Let Sammy have the last sips of a Vernor's, leave the can on the table next to a full water bottle, and you've entertained him for a very, very long time.
These are the names Sammy's got down pat. See if you can catch which one he created himself.
We've had a lot happen in the last few weeks within the Hill household. Jedidiah was born on December 6th at 2:13pm--more on that later. We officially became Gainesville homeowners--more on that later. Sean got a full-time instructor position at FLVS--more on that later.
For now, I'll leave you all with our sweet firstborn singing hymns to us this Christmas morning. Lately, he's taken to grabbing the Trinity Hymnal from its resting spot, bringing it to us and saying "dee" (aka "please"), and sitting with us on the couch as we sing him a hymn--that is, until he decides he's had enough of it. Well, today, we caught him sitting alone with the Trinity Hymnal he had just retrieved, singing as he flipped through it. You'll have to trust me that it really is him singing. He certainly knows how to melt his mama's heart--now, if only he'd start saying "mama."::sigh::
It's an obsession. Yep, a toy Dyson is definitely on Sammy's Christmas list. I took this video after having cleaned the kitchen, and ten minutes later, he's still vacuuming. So then I decided to straighten the living room. And he's still vacuuming. I honestly don't know what else to do. So I'm blogging this. I guess I should fold laundry, but I really don't feel like doing all that bending right now. I've got a baby in the way, don't you know?
I guess it's about time Jedidiah made an appearance on this ol' blog. Wait...what's that? We named him, finally? Yes, that's right. We decided to opt out of naming him Seanson Football Hill--a glorious name in and of itself--and chose instead Jedidiah Paul Hill. (Jedidiah means "beloved of the Lord." It was a name we always loved since deciding on Samuel's name, and it just stuck with us. Paul is after my father.)
And here's his appearance:
Sammy's been on a "boom" kick lately. He throws his pacis back in the crib. "Boom!" He throws the silverware from the dishwasher to the floor.* "Boom!" He throws acorns down the slide. "Boom!" Okay, maybe it's more of a throwing kick, but he just gets so excited to say "boom." This morning he started taking the piles of folded diapers and throwing them into the laundry basket. Of course, "Boom!"
Sammy used to take the best, most glorious three-hour naps that have even been had by a sweet.little.angel.baby on this earth. But when we started nap training--earlier, even--he, for some reason would consistently wake after an hour or so into his nap, and sometimes, he could be lulled back into sleep but sometimes not. Sigh. It really cuts into my productivity to have to stop what I'm doing to go in and soothe him back to sleep every single nap. And yes, we tried letting him try to soothe himself back to sleep (we're talking giving him hours to soothe cry himself back to sleep extreme wakefulness); it was unsuccessful.
So we hoped that by going to him as soon as he wakes mid-nap for the past week, while he's not fully aware of everything yet, and trying to soothe him with our hand over his tummy, we could get him used to sleeping through three full hours again. And today he did it. Hallelujah! Let's hope this becomes a consistent habit again by the time little Seanson comes. That would be glorious, indeed.
Here's Sean going in to rescue Sammy today. Sweet snuggly little thing.
Orlando must be the place for good wet fun. Sammy really loved the water area in Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom two weekends ago. Unfortunately, we didn't pack him any extra clothes, so we left the park shortly after this. His shorts had already fallen off him from the weight of the water and his lack of a poofy cloth-diapered bottom.
...is TODDLER talk! The coos of my Sweet-Little-Angel-Baby Sammy sure were cute, but they're nothing to the hilarity of the things coming out of his mouth now. He's got the squeals of joy along with the incessant non-speech speech, which mimics the tones of conversation perfectly. But one of the funniest things he's started doing recently is mimicking the sound the garage door makes as it opens. We cannot help but laugh every time we press the button (or he presses the button, more like), and he turns in a split second to yell the sound back to us. Sammy's Music Together instructor would be so proud--even the pitch is the same!
Sammy can walk after all! I'm not even sure when Sammy officially took his "first steps" because he didn't follow through with them until now (I think it was around 12 months). He's just such an efficient little crawler that anything more than one step from his comfort zone and he would just end up on the floor to zoom to where he wanted to go.
But last night, when I wasn't paying attention, lo and behold, he walks across half the living room. So as soon as Daddy came home from class, and Sammy was in his night-time-crazies mode (see video below), we tried to encourage him walking, and he did it! I've got to wonder how much better he would have done last night if we wasn't so giggly, but you'll see in the second video, which was taken a mere 12 hours after he starting this walking showcase, how much sturdier he is.
Last night. Approximately 9pm. 14 months, 2.5 weeks old.
Well, we've made it this far. Sammy is 66.67% done with his first year of life, and oh, what a life he lives.
Last Sunday, the 13th, we introduced solid foods to our little guy. In doing so, we felt like we were doing something naughty--like we were taking away part of his innocence. Nevertheless, we did it.
We started out with a carrot/milk puree that I made myself. He wasn't a fan. There was no fussing, but he did produce some mighty what-in-the-world-are-you-doing-to-me looks. So we said to each other, "Maybe he doesn't like carrots just like his daddy. Let's try something else." Well, he did the same thing with the sweet potatoes that I made for him at the end of the week.
While at my grandparents' retirement home last week, Sammy discovered a new talent of his. This occurred amidst a 6 o'clock meltdown, so it was all the funnier because he went from crying to squealing with glee on the piano to crying again. You know, it's really hard to take him seriously when he does that.
