So SO close!

Not fully crawling yet, but a pro at the army crawl. He now goes wherever he desires. Mostly it's to the metal thing on the floor next to the closet door. Or if I'm  doing my makeup in the hall he likes to check up on that too. 

Since he is moving so much now, we had to figure out something for the massive brick fireplace in the centre of the house. So far all I've done is thrown a blanket on the stone and just hoped he wouldn't hit the wall. Gus of course assumes its his new throne.

So far not a single accident, he bumps his head ALOT but hasn't actually bruised or cried. Sometimes I see him roll from his stomach to his back with reckless abandon and it makes me cringe when he thumps his head on the hardwood. He just squints his eyes and carries on. 

Gus and his buddy. The dog now uses his tongue as defense against the claw. I do not approve of either of these interactions but Gus does have a right to defend himself so sometimes Sam gets a lock right on the face. He makes the same squinty face and carries on.

And lastly, I had a little solo hike with the boys. Gus was patient with me as I climbed up and down jagged rocks. He was rewarded with a swim in the lagoon and salt filled sticks, his favorite seaside snack.

Until next week! (Probably)

Our week

This week I finally got the guts to hoist Sam on my back for the first time. I won't lie it was a little scary but once he was in, he was very secure and it was much more comfortable than having him on my front. I was also able to get so much more done while keeping a cranky pants happy.

He has also become far more mobile this week. He sits up by himself as well as stands alone and crawls, sort of. It's more of an army guy crawl right now but it won't be long before he gets the idea. He will also take steps while holding onto my hands. It's been a very big week for milestones!

We finished our week at Little Qualicum Falls. It was busy but a nice walk anyways with some good views.

Gus is with us at every moment of course. He puts up with alot from Sam. He sleeps next to his crib at night and Sam smiles at Gus every time he sees him. Unfortunately, like us, Gus falls victim to THE CLAW. Sams hands gravitate towards hair. If it is within his reach, its between his fingers in seconds.

Hopefully next week I can report that Sam is crawling!

Fluffy Love!

Cloth diapering was an option I never considered, so when Cam came home from work all excited about 20 diapers he bought on eBay, I was distressed to say the least. I had images of myself scrubbing at pieces of cloth for hours, but when I started researching cloth diapers, my point of view changed overnight.

The first thing I noticed was how adorable they were! No scary pins or white triangles to sort out, they have made these things foolproof with velcro or snaps. and have I mentioned their adorable?!

Obviously we have saved SO much money on disposables and wipes (we also use cloth wipes). We would go through a $35 dollar box of disposables in two weeks! I wont do the math but one high quality cloth diaper is just over 20 bucks. A minimum stash is 20-25 diapers which is all you would need for the duration of diapering so say 3 years. Yup! (BTW I dont know a single person who could stop at the minimum required amount, their just too cute!)

I also feel better seeing him in something that looks comfortable instead of a scratchy paper diaper 24 hours a day. You also save room in your garbage and avoid the warmed up poop smell from the trashcan.

To all my friends who have babies on the horizon (or not!) please keep cloth diapering in mind, I can honestly go on about why their so awesome but the only way to know is to try for yourself.

6 month checkup today

Squee weighs 18.1 lbs. they took his height an head circumference but they were not really accurate so I'm not sure how tall he actually is. I think he is between the 60th and 70th percentile for growth and is on par with all his milestones.

We have had quite a few milestones lately. He is really getting the hang of sitting up by himself and he stands just holding on to my two fingers. He loves yogurt (hates almost everything else though) and prefers to feed himself but if he doesn't want it he tosses it over the edge of the high chair immediately. Gus loves it.

He has a one track mind if he decides he wants something. And if I take something he wants away, he gets hurt feelings. He also tries to roll to whatever it is he wants but he usually ends up pushing the object just out of arms reach.

Alot of personality has come out this week and I'm glad to say he has never played shy with strangers or care whether or not mom is there. Works for me!

He loves the Tetris song. And Gus takes him on puppy rides. Lately I've noticed him reacting quite a bit more to loud noises. We had some work done in the house and a few times when a drill would go off his eyes would get big and watery and he would start to shake. So freakin cute and he's fine after I pick him up but even the into song to Orange is the New Black made him cry.

I think that's all I really have to say for the 6 month update!

Family Sunday

Last night we went to a concert in the park with a couple friends. Sam had a good time and even went on his first swing.

Cam attempted to keep awake on the way home in hopes that he would go to bed early, but nope he still stayed up until 10:30.

He had a late morning nap today and another at 3 plus he had a meal of salmon and fish (go BLW!) with a bath after. He is sleeping at the moment I can only hope this lasts...

Late night partier

It's 9pm but I know where my child is. He parties all night and sleeps in far too late. Last night he didn't fall asleep until 10:30. He shows no sign of sleeping any time soon...

A big boy!

Since Sam rolls around so much we decided to lower his crib. Also, something we really didn't want to do was use bumpers. But with the amount of flipping he does, even when he's sleeping, there's always a thump in the middle of the night or a limb almost sticking out the side. They do have holes in them (that his fingers are already poking at) which is better than the thick puffy ones I remember and I tucked them a couple inches below the mattress. Now that I see him sleeping in his crib I wonder if they should be untucked incase he gets his nose in the corner?

It's amazing how something as simple as a bumper causes all kinds of arguments.  But that's another story for another day and now that he is asleep I still have so much unpacking!

We're home!

Sammy at Riley park in Calgary.

Well it was a long trip but we are home. By the time we got to Vernon he started to really hate his car seat. I put him in it now and he arches his back right away. Not that I blame him!

Gus man enjoyed the front seat for most of the ride. I stayed in the back for entertainment purposes.

So we got to Vernon Monday and got so lucky with this campsite. It was on an RV park but the entire waterfront was for tenters so we had a prime spot. We picked up a jolly jumper in Calgary after Sam tried out his second cousins and loved it. I've got video of that too to upload.

He has been a pretty good little camper. Though he cannot be left alone on a bed anymore, he just rolls around too much. First thing today we are baby proofing as he is much more mobile than when we left.

I wish I had taken more pictures of the beach!! He floated in the okanagan lake wearing his hat, sunglasses and wet suit. Not once did he fuss about the water and I think he actually fell asleep at one point on the waves but it was hard to tell with his sunglasses on.

I think I mentioned we had fun! I don't feel too bad about leaving because our beach is across the street but I will really miss the time we all got to spend together.

Sorry it's not that detailed, writing this on a whim before the monkey wakes up and sorry I don't have more pictures!

Hometown Bound

 

Sam and his great grandpa. This picture is just priceless to me I love it so much! I love their smiles and I love how small Sams feet look in grandpas hands. It's not often a baby gets a great grandparent, let alone three and he has been lucky enough to meet them all.

For the most part it was an uneventful drive. As we were leaving Saskatoon we hit some gravel, which sent us first into oncoming traffic, then back to our lane where we slid down into the ditch into a bog full of cattails. I still can't believe how lucky we are that it wasnt worse. In an hour we were towed out and back on the road, no worse for wear, except for the mosquito infestation in the car and the bog mud caked on the outside.

Despite our little accident we got to Calgary safely. Had a quick nap and went to the mall. Met up with De, got some shopping done then met up with Ryan back at my moms place. Sam was (mostly) well behaved. We stay probably until monday until rolling out back to BC. Looking forward to meeting my second cousin tomorrow!

Veins sucked dry

So we made it to grandma and grandpas place out in eastern Saskatchewan. I can't believe we already have to leave tomorrow night. It's been a very relaxing couple of days and I'm not ready to leave!

Gus has been enjoying the squirrels and being fed like a king. 

Sam ate his first bites of carrot (I had to stop feeding it to him for fear he was going to make himself sick with the amount he ate!)

We had ourselves a nice thunderstorm and some beautiful weather but tomorrow night we head back to Alberta.

I think I forgot to add in this picture! Sam had himself all wrapped up on a hospital bed it was pretty cute!

Holiday day 3!

Sams first tent sleep. He is sucking on his bottom lip because he's been teething this entire time. The first night was a little rough, he was waking often and we all felt a little squished. We spent the night near Whistler at a very well maintained campground. They let people paint the rocks and put them all around the campsites. 

(^ For Tiffany)

Night two was spent near the river just outside Pemberton. We have lots of red itchy souvenirs from this place but with the sound of the water and the rain we all slept so well. Sam slept three hours later than he did at home which left us all rested and ready to move on.

We drove up and down a few mountains before stopping at salmon arm for a swim. Sam did well, he got his whole body in the lake without any fuss.

Cam drove from there all the way to Calgary because by the time we were done swimming it was almost dark and neither one of us really wanted to set up camp in the dark with a potentially crabby baby. We stay here until probably tomorrow night when we head off for the land of golden seas!

(Had to throw this one in. Buds4life!)

My collection is nearly complete!

Had a crazy busy day today packing for tomorrow. As you can see I had help. He started on the change pad and made his own way over. He does it without me seeing so I'm not exactly sure how he moves himself. I will go with teleportation for now.

Being organized makes me happy. The condiments are in mini containers and that will literally help me sleep tonight. Now I'm not going to go as far as to say I enjoy packing (or cleaning) but the payoff is so satisfying. I feel relaxed and less stressed about how this trip could go horribly wrong if someone decides they won't sit for more than an hour.

Also 'stripped' my cloth diapers for the first time (apparently your supposed to do this every couple months, its been four) They didn't stink but they smelt like a towel that sat for a few days. I soaked them in the tub with super hot water and Oxyclean and now they smell brand new! I hope anyone who has had or is having a baby seriously considers cloth. The thing that sold me was how much softer they are than a disposable. Along with the fact that chemicals don't touch your baby 24/7 and their super cute!!

Ok one more of teleportation boy.

Looking forward to tomorrow!!

Two more sleeps!

Apparently I took this picture on the 27th of June. I dont even remember doing it but OMFG is it ever adorable!! I know Gus loves his baby but seeing him act so lovingly toward something that stole his spot in bed just blows me away. Its like he has found a new purpose in life and for the most part he is happy with this role (probably not at 2am...)

A new chapter!

As we prepare for our well deserved vacation I thought it would be a good time to let's say, put in an effort on my blog. It could crash and burn, but I thought it would be better to update this way instead of harassing friends who don't give a crap about babies on Facebook. So this will be the first test post to see how updating from my phone actually looks online.

The actual plan is to update from the road. We are traveling up through the mountains and down to Saskatchewan so I figured it was a good way to update.

Ok so we need some test pictures. How about this one.

Someone yesterday said he was an old soul just observing everything. I think he looks at everyone with angry bewilderment but same diff.

We had a good day at the beach, he didn't get upset about the water touching his legs today (though he got teary eyes when a cold cloth touched his belly) but we had to leave at the peak hour because it was just too hot for both of us. 

He's now having a nap next to me with a cold cloth over his eyes. Both cam and I like to sleep with pillows on our head and I can see this soothes Sammy as well. Of course I would never put him to sleep alone that way but when I rock him to sleep at night he has to have his eyes in the crook of my elbow. One more picture just so I can see how this all looks on my blog