Fairness police

Sam is definitely the fairness police in our house, especially when it comes to food.  He is always concerned about what Megan is getting to eat and how much.  He eats faster than her so we are constantly telling him that he had his share.

This morning we were at the horse farm for Megan's therapy session.  At the end of her sessions they let Megan brush the pony and sometimes she gets to give the pony a treat.  Today they had a cutup apple in a bowl for the pony.  It was sitting on the ground near where Sam and I were sitting.  The volunteer came over to get the apple and she showed it to Sam.  Oh dear, that was a mistake.  As soon as she walked away with the apple Sam started fussing.

He immediately started signing "food" and "please" over and over again.  I told him that the apple wasn't for him but he just kept asking.  And then when they fed the apple to the horse Sam lost it.  He burst into tears.  He was so very unhappy that they were feeding "his" apple to the horse.  It wasn't fair that the horse was getting to eat the apple and he wasn't.

Are you tired?

Sam does things for me that he won't do for Will.  He always has, and I guess probably always will.  Last night he was acting tired about an hour before bedtime.  I asked him if he was tired and he rubbed his eye.  It occurred to me that he wasn't rubbing his eyes before I asked him so as a check I asked him again and he rubbed his eye.  He was rubbing his eye in response to the question.  I repeated it 2 or 3 times and each time he would rub his right eye.  Will tried it and Sam just looked at him.

A few minutes later I changed the question to see what would happen and I asked him if he was ready for bed and he rubbed his left eye.  Will tried it and nothing.

So, funny two ways - it is funny to me that he rubs his eye when asked the question and that he switches eyes based on the way it is phrased; and it is funny that he won't do it for Will.

Such a well behaved little guy

Sam did absolutely amazing today during Megan's speech session.  I had him in the umbrella stroller so that he wouldn't get in trouble for constantly trying to run away or explore.  I gave him 1 link to play with.  He was content for the first 15 minutes or so just sitting and playing with that link.  Eventually I started pushing him back and forth while I sat and watched Megan's session.

He would give me the link or just give me high-fives.  Occasionally he would start babbling very loudly and I would have to tell him to use his inside voice but he just did so good.  I am so proud of my big boy.

Elevators & 18 month checkup

Sam is now freaked out and scared by elevators.  Yesterday was the third time he has freaked out when we get into an elevator.  The previous two times he was in a stroller so I was hoping that because I was holding him it would be better, it wasn't.  I was able to calm him down by holding him, but I didn't stop it from happening. I have no idea what has caused him to decided he doesn't like them.

Sam had a great 18 month checkup yesterday.  He weighs 23 lbs and is 32 1/2" tall.  He did great for the checkup, but cried when he saw the nurses; they are the ones who poke him with shots.

Outdoor boy

Sam loves to be outside.  He loves to run around, pick up rocks or grass or dirt and explore.  He has so much fun with wide-open spaces and he hates it when it is time to go.  This morning we went to a playground on a lake and he had so much fun, but boy did he let us know he wasn't happy that we were leaving.  We were there for an hour, but just not long enough.

Pulling, pushing and whoa!

When we were at the horse farm earlier this week Sam had a blast running around.  Megan was riding in the outdoor arena so he got to walk around and explore everywhere - when she is inside there is not a lot to do. At one point he was playing with the wagon and he knocked the handle down - he got so excited because he didn't know it did that.  He worked his way to the end of it with the part you hold onto and he grabbed it.  He tried so hard to push it but it wasn't going anywhere and then he pulled with all of his might and took a step and it moved.  He was so happy and extremely proud of himself.  I cheered for him and he did it again.  He ended up pulling the wagon a good 4-5 feet before I stopped him (he was about to go down a hill).

When we play in the driveway with the smart coupe Sam loves to push it around with Megan in it.  He digs his little legs in and gets her going all the way to the end of the driveway, which is uphill.  Yesterday he was pushing her everywhere and she went into the grass which is when I would normally help move her back onto the pavement but I waited and he was pushing with everything he had to try to get her to go across the yard.  It wasn't working, but he kept trying.  He looked like a cartoon character that runs in place before they take off.  Both of the kids got a kick out of it and were laughing and laughing that the car wasn't moving.

When we play in the driveway Sam gets going really fast because of the slant when he is walking back down toward the house.  I tell him to slow down and he does a great job of slowing down so that he doesn't fall and then he keeps walking.  For some reason, two nights ago when Will was out there with us, every time Will or I told Sam to slow down he would have such an abrupt halt to his step that he would stick his rear end out and end up sitting down.

Dumping water on his head

We have a kids watering can that we keep in the bath tub.  It is a bath toy but we use it to wet the kids hair and leave it sitting on the edge of the tub.  Tonight during bath I put it down in the tub and Sam picked it up and proceeded to pour the water over his own head, except his aim was a little off and he just poured it straight in his face.  He handled it really well and proceeded to do it again and again and he would laugh.

Baaaa and his little pumpkin

Sam has a new sound...baaaa.  He says this for everything, sometimes extremely loud.  He says it when he is trying to scare you like boooo.  He says it when you show him an animal, any animal.  He says it when he is just playing.

We went to the pumpkin patch this weekend and Sam got to pick out a pumpkin from a crate.  He picked the only one that was different - they were all round except the one he grabbed, it was oblong.  He loves that pumpkin.  He carries it around with him everywhere.

Standup hugs for Megan

Sam has gotten better about responding to Megan's affections.  He is now giving her hugs and kisses back when she does it and sometimes even initiates it himself.

Two days ago Sam was standing in front of me and Will walked Megan over.  They gave each other kisses and then Megan put her head on his shoulder and he did the same.  They were so adorable standing there hugging.

Miscellaneous

Last week when Sam and I were at Walmart I was talking to him and I called him buddy.  A little old man was standing there and asked me if I had just called him buddy.  I told him that his name was Sam but that his nickname was buddy.  He was so excited about that because his nickname is buddy.  It was a very sweet moment.

Our coffee table has a glass top on part of it with an opening beneath it.  A couple of days ago Sam was playing with the coins from the piggy bank on top of the glass.  At one point he dropped one on the floor and  noticed he could see the other coins from below.  He reached up and tried to touch them and then got a perplexed look on his face.  He did this a few times and then finally gave up, stood up and went back to playing.

For a while now Sam has been bringing me anything that he finds on the floor or ground that isn't a toy.  So, a piece of paper, a piece of hair or string or cheerio (if he knows I am looking otherwise he will eat these instead).  Thankfully he hasn't brought me any bugs.

We have an alphabet toy magnet on the fridge.  Sam took one of the letters off the fridge and brought it into the living room.  A little while later he picked it up and I told him to take it back to the kitchen and put it on the fridge.  I have had this conversation with him before and it went right over his head but this time he walked straight to the fridge and actually put the letter into the toy and pushed it so it came on.  I was very impressed.  

Learning day

Yesterday ended up being a serious learning day for Sam.  He has them every once in a while where he seems to just soak up everything we are teaching him immediately.  There are signs that I have been trying to teach him for a few weeks without success and last night at dinner he learned them all and then some.  We taught him every sign we could think of that was age appropriate.  In addition to "please, more, love and all-done" he now knows how to sign "daddy, mommy, thank you, food, help and milk".  His version of the sign for help is adorable and he doesn't quite have milk correct but he has his own sign for it.  Learning 6 new signs in the span of about 3 minutes is insane and a couple of them I hadn't even tried before.

Last night Sam was being extremely aggressive and he kept biting me.  I would correct him and tell him that we don't bite and he would pout.  I was laying in the floor playing with him at the time and I had him sit right beside me for a minute to get him to calm down.  After about a minute I said to him "Sam, mommy doesn't want you to bite me, that hurts mommy.  You need to be sweet with mommy." and when I said that he gave me a kiss and then a hug.  He is such a sweet boy.  Will and I talked about it later and I realized that when he gives me hugs or kisses I tell him he is a sweet boy so he figured that he what he should do.

Eyes/Ears/Nose/Mouth/Hair & Nodding Yes

Sam can and will identify his eyes, ears, nose, mouth and hair when you ask him where they are.  His favorite part is by far his ears.  In fact most of the time when you ask him where his ear is he will grab one and then the other.  

Today during Megan's therapy session I tried again to get Sam to nod yes to a question and this time he did it.  What is funny is that when I modeled it for him I raised my eyebrows at him to be a little more animated, well now when he nods yes he raises his eyebrows too which makes it that much cuter.