The end of the weekly pics

So I made it to 40 weeks, and I've decided I'm just done. Getting Samuel to hold still long enough for me to get his picture with his bear and sign have proven to be too daunting a task. 40 weeks in, 40 weeks out, right? At some point I'll make a collage.

I've pretty much been taking pictures for 80 weeks now. Isn't that insane? I think I deserve a break! So here's the last of Samuel's "weekly pictures" (Sorry they're kind of crummy quality -- if you can do a better job of capturing this wiggly guy though, please come show me how!!)

Just for comparison's sake, I thought I'd throw in his one and two week pictures too. How is this the same baby?!?!? I just want to snuggle him...

9 months (plus a few weeks.. :-)

So I guess Samuel's actually closer to 10 months now, but since he didn't have his 9 month appointment until this past Tuesday, I kind of postponed posting anything about it.

Here's his 9 month stats:
Height: 29 1/2" (85%)
Weight: 19 lbs. 15 oz (51%)
Head circumference: 17" (7%)

So the unfortunate thing about this is that since Samuel's head is still small and even slightly smaller percentile-wise than it has been, we have to go back in a month to get his head re-measured and check his fontanel to make sure it's not closing up too early. :( I know I shouldn't be too worried... Samuel's development has been great and he's ahead in most areas (probably because he doesn't have much head to lug around!). Still, I hate that he's so disproportionate. We'll see how everything plays out!

It's funny how he's started doing new things since I posted about his cute habits just a few weeks ago. For instance, now he can stand by himself when he lets go of something after pulling up. He gets up on one knee and tries to stand up, but ends up falling a lot. Poor guy. He waves back when people wave to him (though his hand is usually turned toward himself. We're still working on that one!) He's started taking his milk in a sippy cup occasionally instead of a bottle. I'm trying to start him on a regular cup, but that has pretty much been a bust so far.

My favorite new thing he's started doing the last week or so is DANCING. I don't know what possessed him to start swaying back and forth, but one day he pushed the button on his little puppy that made it play the ABCs, and off he went. We've always listened to Pandora throughout the day, but it's a lot more entertaining now!

He's also gotten really into tickling the last week or so. If we tickle him he just DIES laughing. It's pretty much the cutest thing ever!

Samuel's also gotten a ton more hair in the last month (still no new teeth though)! He's finally backed off on the spitting up too, something I am sooooo grateful for!

As far as eating goes, he's been pretty stubborn about not wanting purees any more. He'll occasionally let me feed him some mashed up banana or something, but he wants to hold the spoon by himself and we usually end up getting into a small tiff over it. Pretty much I've just been giving him finger foods or sharing what ever I'm eating. In the last few weeks he's tried a burrito, sloppy joe, chicken pot pie, taco casserole, chicken and rice... the majority of dinners I've cooked. We've also made a habit of going to Trader Joe's when Eric has to work late and trying whatever they have on sample there. I even let him try some spiced apple cider, which he went CRAZY over!

Sleeping is still pretty great. Morning naps are kind of a mess with preschool/church three days a week. Some days he doesn't take one at all, other days he sleeps an hour and a half. He normally evens things out with his afternoon nap though. He's definitely taken a few 3 hour-ers the last few weeks! Night-time sleep is still good. He pretty much always goes down without an issue around 8. The last few weeks he's been waking up once or twice and crying, but he usually self-soothes, though occasionally I have to get up and give him a pacifier. He typically sleeps until 7/7:30, so I can't really complain about that. I've seriously been spoiled having a such a good sleeper!

The one not-so-great thing about the last month or so is that Samuel's started getting a little bit of an attachment issue with me. The funny thing is he doesn't have a problem if I leave him. He's still totally happy at church or at the Y or with friends. The problem is when I'm nearby but not with him. I need to go to the kitchen? He follows me and bangs on the door and cries. I leave him with Eric upstairs so I can run and do some laundry? He screams until I come back up. If I leave him with Eric and leave the house though.... he's happy as a clam.

I guess I should be grateful. At least he's willing to stay with other people. And it is kind of sweet he wants to be with me all the time. It sure does make it hard to get things done though! (Wonder why I'm blogging 5 days after his appointment? Because he won't leave the computer alone!).

I probably shouldn't admit this on the internet, but one of the funniest things that happened this month was that I found a Starburst wrapper in Samuel's diaper. He's been pretty into eating paper... cat food... books... whatever he can get his hands on. I bought some Starbursts for our trip to Arkansas and had a few left over when we got back that I enjoyed after dinner. Apparently someone got into the trash can and enjoyed the leftovers a little too! I guess those don't digest super-well, because they pretty much came out whole. Ew! It gave us a good laugh though. So there's my mom-fail for the month!

Samuel is such a super sweet, funny, happy kid. He definitely keeps me on my toes! Watching him grow is SO fun and I'm SO glad I get to be his mom!!

Quitting Wal-Mart

After almost 10 months of going without, I think it's safe to officially say that I've quit Wal-Mart. At least for the time being.

It's crazy, right? I've literally shopped there my whole life. I spent half of my life in Arkansas and know tons of people who work for Wal Mart or Sam's or Murphy Oil or some other company that basically subsists on their association with the world's biggest mass merchandiser.

I don't have a problem with Wal-Mart as a company, so please don't hear me wrong. And I like most of their products and find their prices to be perfectly reasonable.

But about this time last year, I started to get frustrated. Like really super frustrated. Everytime I would make the trek across town (okay, it's only like 10-15 minutes, but Harris Teeter is literally less than a mile away, so by comparison it feels FAR), I would go get the items on my list and then wait. for. FOREVER. I rarely saw more than three cashiers available for 15-20 customers. Ridiculous, right?

Then came Black Friday (Thanksgiving night?) shopping. It wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't gone to Target first. Target had a nice organized line. They let people in as other people came out. They had a map of the store laid out for their customers. They had a great system for checking people out. It was so polite and easy and I got everything I wanted in just a few minutes.

Wal-Mart? I couldn't find anything. I asked some workers where things were... they didn't know either. I had to fight to find a place in one of the twenty lines and I wasn't even sure which line I was in. The other customers were pushing and shoving and saying kind things like, "Get out of the way, pregnant girl." And I waited. And waited. It took me nearly an hour just to buy the Harry Potter movies I'd been wanting. It was such a stark contrast from my Target experience.

Then I went again the weekend before I had Samuel. That was it. Once again, my 38-weeks-pregnant self waited for nearly 30 minutes to check out after running all over the store to find the last-minute baby items I needed. The cashier seemed annoyed that I had so many products. I didn't get so much as a smile. It was just kind of a miserable experience. That was when I finally decided I wanted to quit. At least for a little while.

So I did. I kept thinking I'd go back, but it turns out that I really don't miss it. The few things that I bought at Wal-Mart regularly weren't particularly good for me (Great Value Pop Tarts are surprisingly delicious!). Using coupons and catching sales, I can get just about everything I need from our local grocery stores. Bigger items are usually available at Target. And, if I'm really desperate, I can always order from Wal-Mart online.

I'd probably feel differently if we lived closer, and I'm sure I will eventually end up going back, but it's been kind of nice living in a world without Wal-Mart. My shopping experiences have been much more pleasant and we've been able to support more local vendors. I'm sure time will change a lot of things, but for now and the foreseeable future... I'm glad to say I've quit.