16 Weeks

I wish I had time to write about everything that's been going on the last week or two. Things have been NUTS. But, assuming all goes well, by noon tomorrow my now-doctor hubby and I should be homeowners and on our way to visit family and friends in Arkansas. And hopefully I can finish all the packing and cleaning and laundry and maybe get some sleep between now and then?

But this post is about my sweet little Samuel.

He's such a sweet, happy little thing. I love love love him to pieces! And now he's starting to act like he loves me too, which is pretty great. :-)

At 16 weeks, Samuel weighs slightly over 15 pounds. We think he's around 25" long, though he's so wiggly it's hard to know for sure.

He sleeps from 8:30-7:45/8 nearly every night and takes naps at 9, 12 and 3 with a little catnap around 5.He has started sleeping on his side most of the time, and turns circles in his crib all night long. Occasionally he'll even go off-camera -- to the end of the crib where we can't see him on the video monitor. He's definitely learning how to get around!

He's still eating six times a day most days, including a bottle at bedtime. 

This last week has been fun as we've started putting Samuel in the Bumbo chair and in an umbrella stroller. He's been trying to sit himself up when laying down, and can actually do it pretty well when he's at an angle. 

While sitting is fun for him, STANDING is even more fun! We have to keep a close eye on him, because he'll try to stand up out of his Bumbo chair about once every 5 minutes. He far prefers standing on our laps to sitting, and LOVES jumping around. 

Samuel's been "laughing" a lot more lately, though that usually includes a conglomerate of sounds... he's still figuring that one out. :-)

He's also started using the exersaucer at the Y. It's a little overwhelming to him after a couple of minutes, but he seems to like it pretty well.

Even though he has rolled over several times, he still seems pretty uninterested in it. He accidentally rolled over from back to front in his crib a week or so ago and woke up SCREAMING. Poor baby. That had to scare him! I was a little worried that he wasn't really doing it much, but I've read several places that some kids just don't like it. He's definitely trying to get to things he wants, so I guess I shouldn't be too concerned. 

He also is still crazy about his hands... arms.. my hands... all of his toys... anything he can suck on. He actually gave himself a hickey the other day. I felt bad because it looked really gross, but I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to do about it. I actually was afraid he might be teething for a little while since he's drooling alot more also, but I think he is just getting better at getting things to his mouth. 

It's so crazy how much this kid has grown, and how much like a KID he is now. He grabs things, can shake his rattle for several minutes, actually seems to like toys... It's hard to believe he was soooo teeny just a few weeks ago! He's SO fun right now, though, and I wouldn't trade this time for anything!! :-)