Crawl, Crawl Away.

7 months old, and this crazy kid finally figured out how to crawl. I knew it wouldn't be long. After all, he's been working on his mobility since he was in utero! 

I didn't think I would really be ready for him to crawl, especially since he started fairly early, but ever since Samuel started rocking on his hands and knees, he's been SOOOO fussy. He just wanted to go so so much. After 2-3 weeks of crying, I am THRILLED that he can finally go get what he wants... even though half the time it's something he's not supposed to have. (The cat's tail? computer cord? my phone?) It's a little more work for me, but worth it!

(I had good intentions of putting a video here, but for some reason Blogger won't let me upload?? )
Of course he was oh-so-kind as to wait until my in-laws came in town. After church last Sunday (9/1) we went to eat at Village Tavern (our fave brunch in town!) and came home to hang out. Eric's dad brought out the iPad and turned the camera so that Samuel could see himself, and he got the most determined look on his face and went for it. We were all pretty proud. :-)

He's definitely gotten a LOT better in the last week and a half. He's still no Speedy Gonzalez, but he's getting around. a LOT. He now follows me where ever I go... the closet, the kitchen, the bathroom... I have my own little shadow. It's pretty cute! 

In other news, Samuel's also learned how to go from a laying to a sitting position on his own, and he's started talking, mainly saying "dee dee" and "da da" and occasionally "ba" or "na." Still no mama. Bummer! I was really surprised at his sudden onset of talking. He literally woke up one morning (the 30th I think?) and just looked at me started saying, "dee dee dee dee dee dee dee." Like, "Hey! I can talk to you now!" It was really funny! I'm constantly amazed at how quickly he learns things, and I absolutely LOVE hearing his little voice! He's such a little person. It's stinkin' adorable!

He's also figuring out how to pull up on things, which is far scarier to me than the crawling. The higher he is, the farther he has to fall. And let me tell you, this kid falls a LOT. And hits his head. And cries and cries then is magically better. He's such a mess! 

I don't know if the crawling is wearing him out more or what, but Samuel's been way crankier at night the last couple of weeks, so we've started putting him to bed even earlier (7:30). He's stayed in bed past 7 am (and even 7:45!) the last two nights, so we will see if the trend continues. Maybe he just needs some extra rest?

Samuel also started preschool last week! Since I got a (tiny) tutoring job two mornings a week, I've been able to put him in to the WEE program at one of the churches near our house. It's only two three hour days, but it seems to be going well so far! There are four other little boys in his class. They go for walks and play and sing and, while they don't do any real schooling, they focus on a different color or number every day. I doubt he gets much of it, but it can't hurt anything, right? 

Anyway, I'm sure there's more I should note about this age, but that's about all I can think of right now and he will be waking up from his nap shortly. :-) Here's a few recent weekly pictures. (I don't know how much longer these will last since he can't hold still for more than 5 seconds!!)