The Herrels

Samuel LOVES to look at himself in the mirror! He thinks that the baby looking back at him is adorable (I can’t disagree with him!). Recently, he not only smiles at the baby in the mirror, but he also kisses the baby and tries to touch him. It’s pretty funny to watch how excited he gets!

After weeks of Samuel crawling backwards, sideways, and in a circle, he’s finally learned how to crawl forward!!!!! He’s been crawling forward for almost two weeks now – this video is a clip from when he first learned. Just in the last two weeks he has improved greatly on speed and technique. We can’t turn our backs on him for a second – he is quite the crawler now!

While taking a bath last night, Samuel discovered he could splash the bath water. On his first splash, some water got in his mouth. This minor discomfort did not deter him for long, as he was soon smacking the water again and again. Once he realizes how big of a splash a cannonball makes, we’re really going to be in trouble at bath time!

Samuel had a very exciting 8 month birthday today! While taking a walk today with Mommy at Kenwood Mall, we ran into our favorite REDS player – Brandon Phillips – and he posed for a picture with us!

Samuel has had a busy 8th month! He has been much more interested in eating and has tried some new foods, such as sweet potatoes and peas. He is continuing to work on crawling forward – right now he crawls in every other direction (backwards, sideways, in a circle). He is starting to pull up and stand, with some help from Mom & Dad. He has gotten his first tooth and is working on a second one… He is really starting to find his voice (saying new sounds “dadadada” and “mamama” to name a few!). He transitioned into his big boy carseat.  And, he went on his first plane ride and first vacation to the beach (Jekyll Island). It’s been a great month!

Samuel is a busy boy! Every day he amazes us with his new skills or excitement in discovering something new that he likes. He is still trying to crawl, he is working on getting his first tooth, he is trying different foods, he is trying new things – such as swinging the park, he is finding his “voice,” and so much more! Here are some photos of Samuel’s busy week!

Samuel loved swinging at the park for the first time!

Samuel can crawl every direction... except forward! He's working on it!

Samuel loves when his grandparents visit and play with him.

Samuel loves to play with his toys and move all around the house!

Samuel is starting to like to eat - as you can see by the mixture of sweet potatoes and peas all over his face!

Samuel is also trying to figure out how a sippy cup works...

For the past two days, Michael and I could swear that we felt something sharp in Samuel’s mouth, but we couldn’t see anything. This morning we checked Samuel’s mouth again and we saw the beginnings of his first tooth popping through his gums! It is the lower central left tooth. It is just beginning to break the surface, so it looks like a little white speck in his mouth right now, but it’s coming through for sure! Samuel has been a champ about the whole thing – it hasn’t really seemed to bother him too much at all, which is lucky for us. We’d like to take a picture of it, but Samuel doesn’t really hold still long enough for us to snap a picture. We’ll keep trying though!

Samuel had his first official “baby food” tonight at dinner – peas! Although he has had tastes of other foods (banana, avocado, hummus, black beans, and even spaghetti sauce), we have only ever given him a small taste or two using our finger. However, we have been noticing lately that he seems really interested in watching us eat and drink. So, we decided it is time for him to start really exploring food. Although he will still get all of his nutrition from breastmilk, it’s good for him to start experiencing different textures and flavors of real food. So, we broke out the Beaba Babycook food maker and made Samuel some homemade baby food peas. He even used a spoon for the first time! Check out the pics below to see his various reactions to the peas – it ranges from excited to curious to unsure to not happy!

Homemade baby food peas using our awesome babycook!

"I'm so excited to try peas! And, I even get to use a spoon for the first time!"

"Hmm... these peas taste kind of funny..."

"I don't know about this..."

"I think my thumb tastes better than the peas."

"Maybe I can try the peas again and feed myself using my fingers!"

"No more peas! I'm done with this!"