Miles is 11 months old!!!

11 month stats:

Weight: 23-25 pounds? No idea

Height: I'm not sure? But he doesn't feel super tall.

Eating: All the food. All the nursing. All the bottles. 

Clothes: 12 month, 18 month and today he is in 18-24 month (but it's too long)

Diaper: Size 4

My gorgeous boy...

Oh what a month this has been. In what feel like eternity, we've jumped from 10 to 11 months old. We are officially on a quarantine (along with the rest of the WORLD) thanks to the Coronavirus. A pandemic taking over the world is currently happening... and you, my sweet boy, are completely unaware. It's so beautiful and so tragic because the world is currently at a stand still.

You are the most gorgeous little thing - chubby but slimming down a bit, thanks to CONSTANT MOVEMENT. You are always on the go - cruising along furniture, crawling everywhere, climbing all the stairs, into every drawer, opening every cabinet. The smoothest skin, with the prettiest hair that grows every day. You are chubby in all the right areas and I could kiss you forever. 

You have many new tricks - SO BIG, clapping, this goofy fake laugh, waving (and saying) Bye Bye. You love to be surrounded by toys (especially those that make noise). You love to play with Howard, your favorite stuffed animal you sleep with. Your absolute favorite thing to do is right in the "Mini Cooper" that Grandma & Grandpa sent for your birthday. It's a little car that we push you in outside and you just giggle the whole time. 

You like TV but it's not your favorite - right now, the shows you'll watch are Sesame Street, Peppa Pig & Little Einsteins. You love to see Elmo & Cookie!

Sleep is always up and down with you - you've been doing some random middle of the night wakings. Generally, you sleep 6:30 - 5:00 AM, come into my bed at that time to nurse, and sometimes fall back asleep. I'm trying to have you stay in your crib a little longer. You nap twice a day - sometimes great, sometimes not so long. If anything is bothering you (teeth, temperature, who knows what?), you wake up.

You suddenly developed a love of talking / repeating. Your first word is officially Bye Bye. You also will say Benny (over and over...), Mama, Dada, Dog and Cookie. 

You eat anything and everything... baby led weaning has been awesome for you. I'm not quite sure actually gets in (most of it ends up on the floor / in London's mouth) but you will try all the foods. I think your favorites are puffs, raspberries, blueberries, pancakes, pasta & sauce. 

We had so many grand plans coming up to celebrate your 1st birthday (including an indoor pool party and a trip to Sesame Place) but right now, everything is on hold. It makes me so sad but I know we'll celebrate together soon. Your whole family is missing you so so much. 

We are still on a great nursing journey and because I'm now working, I don't think we'll stop anytime soon (especially because my trip to Hawaii is now rescheduled). Sometimes, in the early morning, you'll nurse from 5 - 7 AM (literally..2 hours) and although it's exhausting and sometimes a little painful, I love every moment with you. That's our time together. Just us. 

We love you so much, Miles Samson. You are a joy, a dream, a mushy baby full of love and life. I can't believe you'll be ONE in a month. I'll always love you the most, my sweet baby boy. 

Love you MyMy,
Mama

Miles Samson is 10 months old!

10 month stats:

Weight: I'm guessing around 23 pounds?

Height: I'm guessing around 30?  

Eating: 3 meals a day. Breast milk every 2-4 hours.   

Clothes: 12 months and 18 months.

Diaper: Size 4.

Miles Man...

When people ask me my favorite baby age, I typically answer 10 months old. There's something magical about this month - you're a squishy little baby with a big personality and ready to just DISCOVER! I love it.

You are the sweetest little face - with hair that seems to have grown overnight. You are chubby but not super duper big - and I think I can sense you thinning out -- BOOO! I love my chubby little mush. 

You are now a MASTER CRAWLER - Into anything and everything, exploring every corner of our house. You're also very good and pulling yourself up - cruising along furniture - resting on your knees - and even standing unassisted. Your MOST FAVORITE thing to do is clap - you love it so much, we'll often find you clapping for no other reason then pure joy. You recently learned SO BIG! Which I love.   

You LOVE to play -- you're really great at self play. Your most favorite toys despite a basket overflowing with Miles mania is - my jewelry, remote controls, any phone, any ball, anything you can put in your mouth and anything you're not supposed to have :)

We are on a good sleep streak but early mornings. You typically wake up betwen 4 - 5 AM (uhhh) - sometimes you fall back asleep in our bed, sometimes your wide awake. Eventually we all wake up around 7 AM for school / work and you love this time. You crawl around our room, following anyone you will pay attention, sitting in the bathroom while we all brush our teeth. You take a morning nap for around 2 hours - again in the afternoon, usually around 45 minutes, then bed around 7 PM. 

You aren't saying any words but you babble a lot... I don't think you'll talk as fast as your brother and sister because everyone talks for you :) 

FOOOOOD… You LOVE IT ALL. You've tried probably 100 foods at this point. We're doing Baby Led Weaning and you're really embracing it. I've yet to find a food you don't like. I think your favorite foods are eggs, blueberries, pasta with sauce, broccoli, cucumbers, pizza, fries and ... whatever I'm eating :)

You have 4 teeth officially. It's been such a beast - teething has been so so hard on you. BUT now - you have your top 2 teeth and your bottom 2 teeth. Perfect for eating!

I think your favorite person in the world may be Miss Kristen (your amazing nanny) and Mom-Mom (your babysitter on Tuesdays and Thursdays) - you love your days with them and we feel so lucky you have so many people that love you. 

Now that the weather is getting warmer, you're starting to spend more time outside and it's clear you love it! You went to the park yesterday with Miss Kristen and LOVED the swings - so much fun!!!

We have lots of fun things coming up…Grandma visiting, your 1st birthday / party, Abbey's Bat Mitzvah and SUMMER!! All great things. 

Your 1st birthday party is all booked and set - I'm going to order the invitations this week. It's all moving so fast and I'm not ready - but I love spending our lives with you so so much.

We love you!!!

mama, dada, Layla & Benny

MILES TURNS 9 MONTHS OLD!

9 month stats:

Weight: 22.5 pounds (93rd percentile - back on the chart baby!)

Height: 27.75 inches

Eating: 3 solid meals a day. Breastfeeding every 2-4 hours.  

Clothes: 12 month. 18 month. 18-24 month. 

Diaper: Size 3 barely. Switching to size 4 ASAP.  

MILES SAMSON...

This month was the a big one one for you. You grew your first two teeth - you accomplished the impossible task of sleeping through the night thanks to the sweetest sleep consultants - you started crawling - you started pulling yourself up. In just one month, you flipped from squishy infant to full on BABY!!! I am so proud of you and equally my heart is sad. I love the newborn stage - the silent hours of feeling you breath on my chest - the constant need to be near each other. I feel you finding your independence and it makes me so proud and so sad at the same time. 

Although you are my big, sweet boy - you're a Mama's boy at heart. At this moment, you seem to really want to be near me (or someone) at all time. You love to be held and you LOVE to hold one to someone's hands while you stand. You know your name well and come crawling over if anyone yells MILES! 

You are starting to wave and clap a bit - it's so so so cute! You flap those sweet arms up and down when someone enters a room. Your favorite thing to do is dance - swaying back & forth to any / every tune. You LOVE TV - maybe more then anyone I know? Your favorite shows are Sesame Street & Little Einsteins. Your favorite toys are anything that makes noise - any remote - any cord you shouldn't touch - and little cars. You also love to play with Mama's phone and I can't believe how well you know how to swipe an Iphone. 

Sleep - we're FINALLY doing well. Even with the doozy of horrible teething and a nasty cold this past week, overall it's incredible how well you've done. In the span of 2 weeks, we managed to stop nursing overnight, you sleep through the night most times and you nap really well in your crib. The biggest issue is early morning wake ups (currently, your wake up time is 4:45 AM) and naps on the weekend. BUT - overall, I can't complain. You go to bed somewhere between 6:30 - 7:00 most nights. 

Food - you LOVE EATING. You'll try anything and it's so fun doing Baby Led Weaning with you!! I'd say your favorite foods are yogurt, mango, pasta with sauce, eggs and puffs. We are still doing great with nursing - if I was going to Hawaii in May, I'd say we could continue forever. I love it and so do you :) 

You have two teeth on the bottom with 3 more coming through per the doctor on Monday.. I feel so bad as I think it's been reaaaaallly painful the past few months. I can't wait until that pain stops for you!!

I signed you up for swim lessons starting in April - I'm so excited for you!! You love the bath so much - I imagine you'll love swimming in the big pool!!

You are really loving your days with Miss Kristen - she's such a blessing!! You do art projects with her and they are so beautiful. You love finger painting so much!! 

I need to go shopping for you as the bulk of your clothes are way too small. My little chubby ham!! 

With 3 months until your 1st birthday, I'm officially in planning mode!! Your Sesame Street swim party will be so much fun!!!!!!!! 

Layla, Benny, Dada & I can't get enough of you - you are the light of our lives. 

We love you so much my dear boy....

xoxoxoxoxoxo

BENNY TURNS 7!!!!!

Weight: Roughly 61 pounds.

Height: I'd guess 52 or so inches? 

Eating: ALLL the food. Except cheese. You hate cheese.

Clothes: 8

Shoe Size: FOUR

HAPPY 7TH BIRTHDAY!!!!!

I can't believe it - my baby boy is SEVEN YEARS OLD! 

How would I describe you? EASILY...silly, goofy, friendly, sweet, competitive, emotional, fragile, loving. 

This has been a year of change for you... you now attend the same school full time. You became a MIDDLE child. You grew - both physically and emotionally.  

With time zooming by at the speed of light, I wanted to write seven special things just about you. We love you so much and you make us our house HAPPY AND SILLY!!! 

1. You are SO HANDSOME. You are tall and lean - a far cry from your newborn chunky days. You are wearing awesome glasses, a cool haircut from the local barbershop, and you love your style. You carefully select clothes. A typical outfit consists of a sports shirt (Eagles or Sixers), a pair of your sister's leggings and a pair of sports shorts over that. You also LOVE socks - mostly you steal your dad's socks at any given moment, but you have a drawer full of your own. 

2. You are SO smart. Starting last year, you receive extra help for reading and it shows. You continued this year with the extra help and for that we are so grateful. It allows you to slow down the process and really learn to love reading. You really love math - that's your favorite subject (besides gym). You are having a much better year, behavior wise. You seem to really love the friends in your class and you are obsessed with aftercare. This week, you started an after school sports club and you LOVED it! 

3. You really love food. Every so often, you'll throw us through a loop about not wanting to eat anything but mostly, if we can stay ahead of your hunger - you're willing to try anything! Your favorite food is Chinese and hibachi. You love raspberries and blackberries, Mom-Mom's McSoloff (egg and porkroll on a bagel), spaghetti and meatballs... you're so much fun to eat with! 

4. Your favorite things include: playing on the switch (Fortnite), playing sports (basketball, soccer, flag football, baseball), riding your bike, listening to music, making up random names for people (Bob Gowden, Dana, etc), board games, doing flips, swimming, having a catch, going to the movies, having a sleepover at your cousin's houses. 

5. You have totally taken on the role of big brother - you can't get enough of Miles. You want to take a bath with him, get him out of the crib, roll around on the floor with him - anything to get him to giggle. You also love Layla fiercely - you two fight a bunch but are constantly playing together. You also sleep together every single night. I know the time is coming when you will both want your own space..but for now, you're the best of friends. 

6. You are obsessed with money. You count your cash constantly. You ask for things over and over and over - I sometimes think you'll end up as an attorney as you are good at arguing your way out of any situation. You love playing with the boys in our neighborhood. You love when you have my full attention to cuddle and Dada's full attention to play a board game / learn chess / play video games. You LOVE sleeping on the sofa downstairs. You are the best little friend and we are so lucky to call you ours. 

7. We love you so much Benjamin Sawyer. You are the sweetest, craziest little man and we can't get enough of you!!! We had the BEST time celebrating your birthday at Bowlero last weekend (Bowling, Laser Tag, Arcade!) - you are so loved!



Favorite Food: Spaghetti & Meatballs
Favorite Color: Black & Red
Favorite Movie: Star Wars
Favorite TV Show: Total Drama & Bob's Burgers
Favorite Song: Alone - Marshmellow
Favorite Actor: Po from Star Wars 
Favorite School Subject: Math
Favorite Sport: Soccer
Favorite Vacation: Outer Banks, North Carolina
Best Friend: Aiden
When you grow up, you want to be: Professional Soccer Player
Favorite Thing About Yourself: I have lots of cousins.
Favorite Thing About your Body: Belly
Favorite Toy: Street Fighter Arcade
Favorite Book: The Big Bob
Favorite Season: Winter
Favorite Holiday: Hanukkah 

***A bunch of pictures over the last year***