Not walking yet but boy can he climb

Sam is taking his time with this walking thing.  He is doing great with taking 5-6 steps but he isn't up for more than that yet, which is fine - he can do it when he is ready.

Now climbing on the other hand is a different matter.  Sam can climb anything.  We went to a park today and Sam loved climbing the playground equipment and going down the slide.  I kept having to stop him from going down head first and he would get so upset so I eventually let him do it the way he wanted to and I held onto his shoulder.  He decided he didn't like it and got pretty good at getting on his rear-end before sliding.

When we got home I showed him he could climb the ladder for our slide and he got so excited.

Using a spoon by himself

Every time I have had Sam try to feed himself with a spoon he has always stuck it so far in his mouth that he gags.  Today I decided to give him a shorter spoon and try again.  Success!

Sam fed himself his blueberry (I know I am nuts to try with something that stains) applesauce with only 2 mishaps.  The first mishap came when I stopped helping him "load" the spoon.  He didn't realize how easy it was to pull it out of the bowl and he pulled so hard applesauce went everywhere - but it only took that one time for him to learn he didn't have to yank on it.

The second mishap came when I went to the pantry to get something for Megan - during those 10 seconds he decided it was faster if he used his hand so when I turned around he had the spoon in one hand and the other hand was covered in applesauce.  I cleaned him up before I let him continue eating and he did the rest by himself until the bowl got empty enough he couldn't get any on the spoon.

I am so proud of him - he did such a good job.  I guess all he needed was a shorter spoon or maybe just a little more time to figure it out.

15 month checkup

Sam had a great checkup today.  The doctor said it was the easiest 15-month old checkup he had ever done.  He gave Sam a tongue depressor to play with and he was content to let the doctor do whatever he wanted for the rest of the visit.

Sam gained 2 pounds, he now weighs 21 lbs 9.8 oz; and he grew 1 inch, he is now 32" tall.

He is a very healthy little guy.

What?!? Blueberries grow on bushes

Sam loved picking blueberries.  He was so very happy that he was responsible for getting his own food.  As soon as Will showed him that you pick a berry and then eat it, it was on.  Will kept having to take berries out of his hand that weren't ripe yet.  He was okay with that as long as he could grab another one.

He was so very disappointed and upset when it was no longer his turn to eat berries.

He really does get plenty to eat

This morning the kids were playing in the living room and at one point Megan was around the corner.  I went to check on her and when I came back Sam was chewing.  We are constantly having to check his mouth because he finds stray cheerios or grass or something and he will eat it.  Well, when I looked at him and saw him chewing I also noticed that his cheeks were bulging.  I yelled SAM! to get him to stop chewing until I could get to him.  He immediately opened his mouth to start crying and I couldn't believe what I saw. 

That boy's mouth was completely FULL of a stress type ball.  At the holidays Wal-Mart always has foam balls in the shape of characters and the one Sam ate was Santa.  It took me a good minute or two to get all of the pieces out of his mouth because he wanted to eat it so bad that he kept clamping his jaw down and then he would start chewing again.  Seriously?  I am digging around in his mouth getting everything out and the kid is still trying to eat it.  I held onto everything I got out which included 3 chunks the size of an egg yolk and multiple smaller pieces.  I wanted Will to see how much he fit in his mouth.  He had to have bitten it several times to accomplish what I was looking at and I was only out of the room for 5-8 seconds or so.  

Of course he got in trouble and was told not to eat balls so imagine my surprise when I returned from the chiropractor to hear that he had done it again with a baseball foam ball.  This time he only had 3 small pieces but oh my goodness.  Will said he got into trouble again and then I banned him from all balls for the rest of the night.  

I guess pot roast, carrots, baby corn, broccoli and potatoes wasn't enough of a dinner and he needed something more.  

Say Hi Dude

Earlier today Will and I were sitting on the couch and Sam was in Will's lap.  I was trying to get Sam to say "hi" because sometimes he will do it and it sounds correct.  He wasn't saying anything, just smiling at me so Will said "Say hi dude" and he waved at me.  Oh my gosh, I laughed so hard.  So Will said it again "say hi dude" and he waved at me.  I told Will he was in trouble if he had taught Sam that you wave when you say dude.

We were both laughing.  We would say "say hi" and Sam would just look at us, but when one of us would say "say hi dude" the kid would wave every single time.  Eventually Will try changing out "dude" for other words "Sam", "buddy", etc and he would wave each time; so daddy is saved.  Sam will wave if you say "say hi ____", but not if you say "say hi".  Too funny.

Tunnel play and 18 month clothing

Sam had such a blast crawling through the tunnel last night.  He would put toys in it and go get them and just crawl through to the other side.  He was truly scared of it the first time we opened it up; he would just look at it and cry a cry we hadn't heard before.  Once we got him inside it there is no keeping him out of it.

I moved Sam into 18 month clothing today.  I have been holding off because of his short little legs but he no longer fits into 12 month onesies or pjs and the shirts are a little short so it was time.  When I showed him an outfit and asked him if he wanted to put it on he got so excited.

Rubbing his head

Sam has started rubbing his head when he bonks it on something.  It is the cutest thing because he does it very slowly and he gets a look on his face.

I love you kisses

A few days ago Sam started giving me kisses every time I said "I love you" to him.  It is so sweet.  I guess because I would say I love you and give him a kiss he thinks that is what you do and I love it.  Two days ago Will was trying to get him to do it for him but he wouldn't.

Yesterday when I was holding Sam I said "mommy loves Sam" and he gave me kisses.  Will was nearby so he said "daddy loves Sam" and Sam gave me more kisses.  Ahahahaha.  He did eventually start giving Will kisses later in the day.

Exploring the ocean, peek-a-boo, pool and home

Once Sam warmed up to being in the ocean he had such a good time.  He would crawl around a little bit, play in the sand, pick up shells, eat the sand anytime I wasn't watching for more than 1 second and then be upset that he had sand in his mouth.

When Sam would wake up in his pack-n-play and see me in our bed he would stand up, peek over the top and smile at me; when I smiled back and would squat down until his eyes were behind the edge and then pop back up again.

I blogged before about Sam and Megan playing together before they would go to sleep but he took things a little farther.  If Megan decided she was ready to go to sleep and Sam wasn't ready he took action.  The first thing he did was stand up, grab onto her bed and shake it; when this didn't work he went over to the couch area and got their shoes and started throwing them at her.  He got into trouble for that one.  In the morning Sam would sometimes wake up before her and stand up and start to wake her up but he did really well with being told to lay down and also to stop kicking.

Sam loved the pool.  We even took him out of the float a couple of times and had him go back and forth between us and he kept putting his face in the water.  He did great with the water.  He gets better with it every time he is exposed to it.

When we got home I put Sam in the floor and he took off.  He went all over the living room and touched all of the toys.  It was like he was saying hi to each of them.

Bath craziness

I need to blog about the rest of our vacation but wanted to talk about bath time last night.  We put the kids in the tub together.  This is the second time we have done this and boy was it different.

I guess after splashing and playing in the ocean and pool Sam was ready to take on the bath in a whole new way.  He went nuts splashing.  I am talking floor, walls, daddy, Megan - everything soaked.  He had water all over his face and all over Megan's face and she was clapping and he was squealing.  Of course we won't allow crazy splashing with every bath but it was so fun to see them have a great time.

Vacation is the coolest thing ever!

Sam loves being on vacation.  He loves getting to see his daddy all the time and he loves all of the fun new things to explore.  Yesterday we sat him in his lawn chair outside the camper and it didn't take long for him to climb out and take off everywhere.  He crawled all over the patio and ventured off into the dirt.  He went under the picnic table, through the bars and round and round.  Everywhere he went he picked up sticks, rocks, pine cones, dirt and anything else his little hand could find.  When I gave him a bath last night the water was actually dirty - little pieces of stuff were floating in it.  I told him that he now officially had his "little boy card".  Today they were playing outside while I made lunch and when Will handed him to me (I was in the camper) he still had a leaf in his hand.  :-)

At one point today I put the blanket down for Megan to play on (she doesn't like to crawl around in the dirt) and he would go get sticks, etc and bring them back and put them on the blanket.

We have been putting the kids on our bed anytime I need them out of the floor so that they are contained (for the most part) and they can play.  We fill the bed with their toys and let them jump around.  Sam loves playing with Will's neck pillow.  It is a u-shaped pillow and he just goes nuts with it.  He lifts it over his head, he puts in up against his chest and bends over on it squishing it, he puts it on the bed and pounces on it, he puts it under his chin - it is endless and so fun to watch.

Sam is also enjoying eating out - this is not something we do a lot of at home.  He is a serious people watcher.  He will just stare at them and see what they are up to and sometimes flirt with the ladies.