Catching up, Christmas and finishing out 2014

Sam was full of excitement for Christmas this year.  Every single thing about Christmas made him happy: the tree, stockings, decorations, lights, music, food, shopping, etc.  He loved getting to shop for people - I even let him add someone to the list that he wanted to find something for.

He has started asking "why" lately.  He has only done it on 3 or 4 occasions, one of which was when I was tucking him in.  After the fourth "why" question I said - Sam no more asking why so he responded by saying "how come" the next time.  Nut!

He is getting so big and maturing all the time that is really fun to see him enjoy little boy things like wearing his costumes, capes, mask; snuggling with his stuffed animals and just playing with cars.

He can drink out of an open cup now, as long as he is paying attention to what he is doing.  Most of the time he uses a cup like a car coffee cup with just a spout so he doesn't have to pay so much attention.

He loves having cereal with milk for breakfast and he loves getting to eat my special cereal.  For that matter he LOVES getting to do/have anything that belongs to me or Will right now.  It is a very big deal for him regardless of what it is.

He continues to love to help so we let him whenever possible.  He wants to help me with dinner and gets to help with the parts that don't involve raw meat or the stove.  He has helped with loading the dishwasher and with sweeping the kitchen floor.  He also gets to take any non-breakable dishes to the sink after each meal.  He helps me with the laundry baskets and moving clothes from the washer/dryer.

Working with Megan

I started getting Sam involved in Megan's new therapy today.  I explained to him what we were doing and told him he could join in.  He was super excited.  Today when I picked her up from school I told him that we were working on acknowledging it every time Megan made a sound so she would understand that we thought her talking was awesome.  He was seriously on board with that.  

A few minutes after we got home she was having a snack and she said "on" and pointed to our dancing snowman.  Sam and I cheered for her and he ran over and turned it on.  She continued to do this with him several times.  She was loving it and he was loving it and kept saying. "Megan is talking to me mommy!  Megan is talking to me".  

Christmas decorations

I have been adding Christmas decorations at night while the kids are in bed.  Sam will get up in the morning, see something new and get super excited.   When he saw the stockings he said "do we take those down and put them on our feet?".  When I explained to him that they were for presents he was extremely excited about it.

He still prays that the decorations will still be here in the morning and then when he sees the tree and stuff he says "you left it there".  I keep telling him that everything will stay until after Christmas but he doesn't have that concept yet so instead he is super excited that it is till there when he wakes up.

Conversations with Sam

Saying his prayers after we put our Christmas tree up.
Sam: thank you Jesus that we put up our Christmas tree and thank you that it will not be un-putup and be there when I get up in the morning.

Megan coughed.

Sam: bless you

Me: Sam that was a cough not a sneeze

Sam: what do we say after we cough?

Me: nothing buddy

Sam: we need to say bless you after cough too, okay mommy

Car passed us with a bike rack on the back.

Sam: what that on that car mommy?

Me: that is a bike rack

Sam: we have one at home?

Me: no Sam we don't

Sam; we need get one

Me: why is that Sam?

Sam: I don't know mommy

Conversations about Santa and second breakfasts

Sam and I went to Target last week.  They have all of their Christmas decorations up and this year that have Santa's face hidden in all of them.  He is falling backwards so you can't see him, or his list is in his face, etc.  When Sam saw it he said "after we done with Target can we go to another store and then come back when Santa is done playing peek-a-boo so we can see him?".  I tried to explain he would always be hiding but he wasn't going for it.  We haven't been back to the store yet but I can imagine the discussion that will occur when he sees that his face is still hiding.

This morning I gave Sam a breakfast bar and told him he would get breakfast after we took Megan to school.  The moment I handed her off to her teacher he started saying "can I have a second breakfast now?".  I told him that little boys don't eat two breakfasts, only hobbits.  He said "I am a hobbit".  Perfect!

Last day of t-ball and Super Sam

Today was Sam's last t-ball game.  He loves having something be about him and the social aspect of it but he has been really into playing the past several games.  We plan on signing him up for something that has a lot more movement, like soccer, in the spring.  Of course we will not be telling him about it until time for practice because I don't want to hear about if it is time for soccer every day between now and then.

Sam is loving his "Super Sam" costume.  He has worn it several times and is sleeping in it tonight.  This is such a cute stage to watch him in.

Carnival

We drove past the carnival when it was being setup on Thursday afternoon.  Sam saw the Ferris Wheel and asked what the very, very big steering wheel was all about.  I told him what it was called and he asked if he could get on it right now.  He asked if it went fast and I told him no (boy was I wrong on that one) and he asked again if he could ride it.

Today before nap I told him we would be doing something very fun after nap and he asked if we were going to ride the Ferris Wheel.  He was so excited, when I went to get him up he said "it is time to ride the Ferris Wheel, I am very very excited and so happy.  Are you happy?".

He loved all of the rides.  This carnival was run by people who LOVE to go fast; every ride was moving way faster than I have ever seen them go.  On one ride Megan was a little uncertain and leaned over and I watched the operator ease up on the pedal to slow the ride down until she was okay and then he floored it again.

We saved the Ferris Wheel for last.  I video'd it because that thing was flying.  I am thinking at least 3 rotations for every 1 of a regularly moving one.

Sam was not too happy to leave the carnival and asked if we could go back after dinner.

Letters, numbers, directions and memory

Sam now knows all but 5 of his letters.  He can recognize them in any situation - flash cards, blocks, signs, mail, etc.  He is working on the remaining letters but for some reason these are not clicking for him like the rest.

He recognizes numbers 0-10 with the exception of #7.  That one is a work in progress too.

He knows left and right and can tell you which way to turn all the way to/from several locations.

I have probably blogged about his memory before but it continues to amaze us.  This past Saturday he had frozen waffles for the first time.  Will made them for him before his t-ball game.  When Sam saw them he asked what they were and Will told him they were waffles.  Sam's response was "May I have the Winnie the Pooh waffles please?".  We have a WTP waffle maker.  I have used it once, almost a year ago.

Sam's take on things

The other day when we were running an errand Sam saw 2 convertibles with the tops down and he said "Mommy those cars don't have any tops".  I explained what they were and he said "you car has a top and daddy truck has a top and...me no have a car".

This weekend we were playing the backyard at the water table and there were some older boys jumping on a trampoline on the other side of the fence.  Will and I were discussing the size and number of boys on the trampoline and the fact that we wouldn't be surprised if it broke (there were 8 hefty 12ish year olds on it).  Anyway, we pointed them out to Sam as their heads were popping up and down and he said "me a boy I need jump on something".

Megan's sign language word for "go" is not the correct sign - it is one that a therapist thought she saw her do for go and that lady just ran with it.  Anyway, she puts her palms together out in front of her and rubs them back and forth 'fingers to palm, repeat'.  Sam knows all of Megan's signs and does them to her.  Yesterday he was playing a new game on the iPad.  There are pictures of various animals, insects, vehicles, musical instruments, etc and when you touch the picture a video opens showing a real version doing something.  He touched on the fly picture and it opened to a close up of a fly rubbing its legs together and he said "mommy that fly say go.  That fly tell all the other flies to go".

We have a talking stuffed dog that stays in the car.  When you press various areas it talks and sings.  One of the things it says is "I LOVE you" and Sam loves that.  This morning he was playing with the dog and he said "you love me? would you like to try on my hat?"

t-ball pants!

This morning Sam and I went to Academy to look at t-ball pants for him.  It should be cool enough at some point during this next season that he will need pants; and if he needs pants why not cute little t-ball pants.  I didn't tell him what we were doing until we got to the store and I asked the salesman where to find the pants.

Sam looked at me and squealed and said "I get t-ball pants??!!!!".  I picked out two different size pants and took him to the dressing room to try them on.  I told him to take his shoes and shorts off and he said "and my underwear too?".  Nope buddy, we leave those on.

I tried the bigger pair on him first and they were a little big on him but not horrible and they had room to grow.  The second pair were black and he really like them so we tried them on.  He pulled them up, looked at himself in the mirror and said "these fit very nice"; and they did fit him very nicely.

He was so excited.  The checker gave him the bag and he gripped it tightly and said "thank you!".  He held that bag all the way home and only gave it up because it was time for lunch; and let's be serious, nothing gets between this boy and his food.

Potty training - day 2 successful

Sam did amazing on day 2 of potty training - no accidents.  He even made it to Dallas and back without an issue.  I took him to the bathroom when we go to the office in Dallas but he didn't want to try again when it was time to go home.

He is doing a great job of stopping an activity to go potty; we are not having any "I am having too much fun to stop" issues.

First day of potty training was a success

Sam did amazing today.  He was dry all day long.   Of course he used a diaper during nap, but that was it.  He even left the house for an errand (I know a big no-no during first day of training).

He was so excited he was constantly saying "I need to go pee-pee mommy" and he would run and sit on the potty.  He loved using the little portable potty until I got a Mickey Mouse step stool for the regular toilet - then he was all about running in the bathroom every 2-3 minutes.

I am so proud of him for how awesome he did today.

He has a shirt full of stickers and a special prize for making it all day too.

Potty Training Begins

We have been spending a lot of time lately talking to Sam about using the potty, etc.  I put him on the toilet before nap and bed each day for the past several days  - completely unsuccessfully but trying to make a point.

This morning he had a dirty diaper around 9:30 and when I changed him I put him into underwear for the first time.  He was so excited, he wanted to try the potty immediately.  I got out the portable seat for him so he could do it by himself (he can't get on the toilet by himself yet).  He would play for 3 or 4 minutes and then tell me he was going to try to potty.  It was adorable how excited he was.  He kept pulling his shorts down to show daddy his fast car underwear.

Around 11 he said he had to go and he sat on the potty and peed.  I made a HUGE deal about it and cheered, clapped and jumped up and down and that made him so proud.   He went down for nap without having had an accident at all.

I am so proud of him.  It is paying off that I waited until he was ready instead of trying to force him when he was uncomfortable with the idea of it.

More conversations with Sam

Sam is an awesome little guy.  He is so much fun to talk to.  I told him tonight that he needed to start doing more things around the house and then started asking him if he could help with various chores.  He would say yes and then when I asked him more specifics he would say "no, I am just little".  Like I asked him if he could start loading and unloading the dishwasher for me.  He was all excited that he could indeed take care of that until I said "you can reach the cabinets to put the dishes away".  Hmmm...no I just little mommy.

This afternoon when I went to get him from nap he immediately said "the pack-n-play is wet, we need go to walmart and get a new one".  Seriously?!?  Still making me laugh with that one.

Protective of Megan, when he is not rough housing with her

I didn't take Megan to school on Tuesday because we were working out things with the school so she would be safe there.  Yesterday when I was taking her to school and Sam saw where we were going he said "no not this school, a new school with no owies!".  

I told him Megan would be okay, that mommy had made sure someone would be with her all the time so she would be okay.  It was okay for her to go back to school at this school.  He said "okay mommy".  

Then when we went to pick her up he asked me "Megan not bump her head on the swing again today?".  I told him no she hadn't and she was okay.  When she got in the car Sam said "good job you not bonk you head today".  :-)

Social boy

Sam absolutely loves it when we have company over.  Today after nap (though he didn't sleep) he got up to several people in the house.  I intentionally didn't tell him that people were coming over because he would've been too excited to sleep.

He could hear people talking when I opened his door and he excitedly started naming people who were here.

He did really well, despite the lack of a nap.  He did pull the ultimate toddler trick of asking someone else for things after I had already told him no; it is a work in progress.

At bedtime, during his prayers, he said "thank you for granny coming here" and then he proceeded to list everyone else who came as well.

Telling it like it is

Megan had to visit the ER yesterday due to an injury at school.  Of course I had Sam with me so the three of us drove downtown and Will met us at the ER.  I called my mom to come help with Sam and she picked him up about an 90 minutes after we got there.  

We were out so late he was in bed before we got home and so this morning when I got him up he started spilling the beans on what happened.

"I ride in granny's car! I got to sit on Megan's side.  My new seat was in there.  I had a burger for dinner. Granny gave me bunnies after dinner. I had fun".  

I love that he told me all about what happened and that he had fun.  

Crafts and coloring

Yesterday, after we dropped Megan off at school Sam and I went to his favorite place for breakfast....Chik-a-lay as he calls it.  He was so excited to get his burger and milk until I realized that Wednesdays they do story time and crafts.  He didn't have time to finish his breakfast, though he ate most of it.  The story they read was long and boring and he wasn't interested, though he did great at just sitting there waiting.

The craft was gluing several pictures onto a piece of construction paper and then coloring them.  He has never seen glue before, we have not done crafts yet.  I showed him one time how to squeeze the glue onto the paper and he took it from there.  He did awesome.  Coloring after the pictures had glue under them was a little tricky but he wanted to glue first and I wasn't going to force it to do it the other way around.

We also spent some time yesterday afternoon coloring on a big box with Megan.  They both had a lot of fun getting to color on something so big.

No more fear of remote control cars

Yesterday afternoon I decided to get out one of Will's remote control cars again to see how Sam handled it.  The last time he saw it he freaked out, ran to the couch and cried until we put it away.

He loves the car now.  In fact he is playing with it as I type this.  This opens up great gift options for him.

When she turns into a little boy

Today Sam and I were discussing grapes.  He asked for some and I told him he could have some and he said "and Megan too".  I told him that Megan can't have grapes right now because they hurt her tummy.  And then I said hopefully she can have them again in the future and he replied "when she turns into a little boy?".

Ladders are for firemen to save cats....the end

We have a fireman book and on one of the pages the fireman uses his ladder to get a cat out of a tree.

Sam is a very cut and dry, black and white type of kid.

Last week we passed a maintenance truck with a ladder hanging on the side of it and Sam said "that is a fireman ladder, he uses it to get the cat from the tree".  I thought it was super cute so I didn't correct him, I just smiled.

This morning he said "there is a ladder on that pickup truck. That's just silly they need the ladder on the firetruck to get the cat".

More conversations with Sam

Yesterday when we were riding around with Sam in his new booster seat for the first time he kept telling Megan that he got a new chair.  At one point I asked him if he knew why Megan didn't get a new chair.  He thought about it for a second and then said "because she is a girl".  It was the only difference between the two of them he could think of and so it must be the reason.  I told him that she didn't get a new chair because she hadn't outgrown her current chair.

Later when we were out by ourselves we passed a high school.  He asked me about it and I confirmed that it was where big, big kids went to school.  When we passed Megan's school he said "that is Megan's school.  That is where little girls go to school".  When I told him that little boys went to school there too he said "I not go to school".  I explained that he had a couple of years until he went to school and that he gets to stay with mommy until then and he said "alright".

Today when he was playing in the toy room with Megan I heard him say "I am playing with this toy you play with something else.  You play with something else PLEASE".  It appeared to work as he didn't say anything else about it.

Conversations and electric toothbrushes

Sam and I were discussing the birds in the Walmart parking lot.  I told him there was one behind him and it was running on the ground.  He saw it and said "it is just walking mommy".  I told him that it was running but that its legs were just little so it couldn't run very fast.  He said "hmmm my legs are big and I run fast; outside - I run fast outside mommy".

I bought the kids electric toothbrushes tonight and Sam was so excited, he just kept saying that he was going to brush his teeth all by himself when we got home.  I told him that we would work toward that but that I still needed to help him right now.  I have been brushing his teeth and then letting him do it for some time now and he is not ready to fly solo just yet.  However, for the first time.......he spit!  He finally took in the water and then spit it back out.  Swishing practice to commence tomorrow.

He had his first ride in his new big boy chair today and he did great.  He LOVES that he has a real seat belt. He can reach Megan so much better now and they had a blast during the car ride.

He took a very late, long nap today and didn't get up until 5:20.  He asked about granny so I let him call her.  This was only his second time to make a phone call and the boy did amazing.  He said hello and started to talk and mom said hi and he said hi and then said "can you come over tonight".  She responded that she had company tonight and couldn't come but would come tomorrow and he said okay.  She then asked what he was doing and he said "I just got up".  She had no clue that he had just gotten out of bed (after all it was 2 hours later than usual) so she just skipped over that comment, not understanding it, and then said okay and then what did you do and he said "mommy just changed my diaper".  Which of course was absolutely true.  That is what had just happened.

She then asked him about snack and he said "not yet".  She asked him if he was about to have dinner and he said "I don't know".  He just carried on a complete conversation, answering every question correctly.

He knows his name and his new chair

Sam recognizes his name in print now.  He can't tell you how to spell it but if I line up the S, A, M he says "that says SAM mommy".

We have had it on our list for a couple of months to get Sam a new car seat.  He is almost too big for his current seat, it is only safe as long as his ears are lower than the top of the seat and he has about 1/2" or so until that is the case.  After lots of research I decided to go get a new one this afternoon.

When we got home I let the kids play in the car while I removed Sam's seat and installed the new one.  The boy was beside himself giddy about his new seat.  He had no idea what it was or that it was different from his current one he just knew that he was getting a NEW seat.  He kept telling Megan that I was installing his new chair.

His new chair is a booster seat with a high back on it.  The back is removable for when he outgrows that portion and then he will stay in the booster seat until he is no longer in need of one.

He got up in the chair and I seat-belted him into it and he went nuts squealing.  He was so excited to have a big boy seat with the seat belt just like mommy.  He kept saying "I like my new chair and daddy like my new chair".  When Will got home he said "come here daddy I show you my new chair".

I was having a conversation with my mom about Home Depot and Sam said "home depot!" in a silly voice.  My mom asked him if he liked Home Depot and he said "I like t-ball".

Today was Sam's last t-ball game of the summer.  We signed him up for the Fall team which starts in 6 weeks.   He had a blast today and was given a participation trophy and he was so proud of it.

I worked with him today and told him that he wasn't going to play t-ball next Saturday.  Then I said, "what happens next Saturday" and he said "I play t-ball" and so I went through it with him again.  By the third time I asked him he said "I no play t-ball".  Kindof sad sounding - 6 weeks may be a long wait.

Praying for mommy

This afternoon I hurt myself while playing with Megan.  I had her on my back and leaned over and she decided to jump - I managed to catch her but in doing so really hurt myself.  I have a splint on one finger, I am moving gingerly and was using ice earlier.  When Will got home Sam told him that I had an owie.

During the prayer for dinner Will added a line about me getting better and of course Sam repeated it.  Then at bedtime when I was saying prayers with him we finished and he added "and help mommy's owie get all better by breakfast".

I love that he has such a sweet and prayerful heart.

Mommy, Megan is touching me!

Seriously!  I thought I had at 2 or 3 years until I heard that one.  Sam was in time out and Megan went over to him and put her hand on his leg.  She wasn't picking on him or pinching, etc.  She just put her hand on his leg.  She doesn't like it when he is in trouble and I guess she was trying to comfort him.  He responded by telling me that she was touching him.

I couldn't stop laughing.

New size 9 orange shoes

I ran to the store with the kids this morning to grab a few things and decided to make a detour down the shoe isle.  Sam's current tennis shoes are now too small.  He can still wear them and doesn't complain that they are too tight or that they hurt him but when I checked to see where his toe was in them it was at the very end of his shoe.

I was going to put him in 8.5 size shoes because his current ones are size 8; but when he tried them on they were too small.  So he is now the proud owner of a pair of size 9 shoes that just so happen to be orange - his favorite color.

He asked if he could put them on in the car, and he did.  He didn't want to take them off when we got home.  I had him practice putting them on correctly by himself a few times so that when it is time to leave the house he can do it by himself.

Things Sam has been saying

While swinging next to Megan "Megan little, and me little and my mouth big".

While playing with the tiger puppet "You don't throw toys, tell sissy"

Any day of the week "How about French toast for dinner"

"Is today Saturday?  I play t-ball on Saturday and daddy not go work"

"Can you go run errands and so-in-so come play with me?" referring to anyone (nana, Aunt Mary, granny, Aunt Elaine) who has recently watched him

The following happens on a regular basis.  Sam will ask to do something and when we confirm what he was asking he will say okay.  Sam "Megan and me go outside and play on jeep?". Me or Will "you want to go outside and play on the jeep?" (us asking to confirm that is what he said). Sam "Okay" (him responding as if we just asked him if he wanted to do it).  He has been doing this for several months but it still tickles me every time.

"mommy can we play in the car when we get home?" when I say yes he responded "yippee.  Megan we get to play in the car".

When daddy tells Sam "good job buddy" he replies "you welcome daddy"

When I am doing the laundry and the washer or dryer song goes off  "laundry room singing mommy; I help you"

Lots of t-ball supporters

Last Saturday Sam had lots of family show up to watch his t-ball game and he was so excited about it.  He talked about it the rest of the day on Saturday.   T-ball has been more of a topic of discussion this week.  He usually will say something once or twice during the week about playing t-ball on Saturday, but this week we have talked about it several times each day.

It is a topic of conversation that the puppets discuss each time they are played with.  I think this is because the first day I got them out I had one of the puppets ask him about t-ball and so now he associates them with it and will start telling them about t-ball.

Snack for Megan

Today during snack (due to a lack of sleep and other issues) Megan wasn't cooperating.  She would take a bite and throw everything and then take the food out of her mouth and throw it; so I stopped offering her snack.

Sam finished his snack and asked if he could give Megan a drink so I said "sure".  After that I said "why don't you give sissy a chip" and he did and she ate it no problem.  She then said more please and he gave her another one.  When Sam saw she was almost out he said "do you want some more.  Say please".  She said please and he said "good job here you go".  He kept giving her chips and she kept gobbling them up until she had so many I cut her off.  He also kept giving her a drink when I would tell him to offer the cup and sometimes on his own.

It was so sweet watching him help her.  He is such an amazing little brother and she couldn't ask for a better one.

First band aid and phone call

Sam fell down while running up the driveway 2 days ago.  We have a good slant to our driveway so it really was like running "up".  He scraped one knee pretty badly.  He had a nickle to quarter size spot that was bleeding.  I wet a paper towel and put on it and then I prayed for him.  He was crying pretty badly until I prayed and then he just stopped, smiled and said amen.  It was precious.  He whimpered a little bit while I cleaned it and was VERY concerned about the band aid.  I put some cream on it and put a band aid on it and he was good to go.

Yesterday after nap I took the band aid off so it could dry out and Sam started walking around bolegged.  He kept saying "I have an owie".  It was so funny.  Today it looks so much better and he is saying "my owie doing better mommy".  Of course I had to say that to him multiple times before he decided it was true and he was okay.

The same day he fell at around 5:15 or so he asked me if I could call granny and see if she would come over.  I told him he could do it.  I dialed her number and handed him the phone.  I told him that when it stopped ringing to say hi and then ask her if she could come over.  He said hi, hi, hi, yes, okay, okay, okay, bye-bye and handed me the phone.  My mom told him she was on her way over and said he responded "okay" and then she asked him if he needed to ask me if it was okay and he said "okay".  Too funny.  When she got here she asked him if there was something he wanted to ask her and he said can you come over.  He was so excited to make that phone call by himself.  He is growing up so fast.

T-ball update and conversations

Sam has now played 3 t-ball games and it "clicked" for him at his last game.  He was attentive to the coach, he did everything the coach said.  He got into the ready position when he was supposed to, his kept his eye on the ball when batting, he took a knee when he was supposed to.  Will was even able to get a few cute photos of him because he wasn't needing to constantly tell Sam what to do and where to be.

He loves playing t-ball and knows that he gets to do it on Saturday.  If you ask him about it he will tell you that he gets a snack, a sticker, gets to sit on the bench and that his coach gave him a hat and shirt.

My conversations with Sam are so endearing.  I love getting to know what's in his head and heart.  He is talking more about things he is thinking about instead of just commentating on everything he sees; don't get me wrong he still does that, but he is really talking now too.

He has talked a lot about Megan lately.  He doesn't comprehend that she is older than him and that she "should" be doing everything he can do and more.  That day will come, but right now this is just the way it is.  He does understand that she can't do things that he can do.  He knows that she can't run like him, or that she needs help unbuckling her car seat.  He knows that she needs someone behind her when she is climbing stairs and that she isn't allowed to do it by herself and he will tell me immediately if she is heading to the stairs and the gate isn't in place. "mommy sissy climbing stairs" he will say.  He knows that when she is having a rough day, either because she didn't sleep, or because she is hurting, that he needs to give her some space and not mess with her. And for the second time, the first time being several months ago, he addressed her speech.  I took him to his cousin's soccer game this weekend and there was a giant, walking bunny (costume) that he loved.  He kept giving him hugs and walked around and touched his tail (crazy cute and he loved to tell people that he touched the bunny's tail).  He said "mommy that bunny not talk".  I acknowledged that and then told him that when we got home he could tell daddy and Megan all about it.  His response was "Megan not talk too, mommy".  I told him he was right but that she was working very hard to be able to talk to him.  Made my heart sad to have this conversation with him; but as he matures this type of conversation will become more frequent.

Catching up....

One day Sam made a comment that he didn't want yucky kisses.  I acted shocked and said "you don't want my yucky kisses I will give you a yucky kiss" and then I licked him.  He found it hilarious and now he gives people yucky kisses, but he is always telling you before he does it and he sticks his tongue out when he is still 2 feet away so you know it is coming.

He is really starting to loves music and has finally started dancing.  I love it!  He is a super cute little dancer.  His favorite song right now is "Daisy, daisy" and he asks me to sing it all the time.  He struggles with some of the words so he really emphasizes the ones he knows. I call it dramatic singing.

During our weekend play in mommy and daddy's bed last weekend Sam reached over and stroked Megan's cheek and then he said "sissy so soft".  Then he rubbed his own cheek and said "I so soft too".

When I put Sam to bed now, both during nap and at bedtime he will ask for me to snuggle him for a few minutes.  I love that he wants to snuggle.  I hope he doesn't grow out of it for a very long time.

He loves the new pool we got yesterday.  He loves being able to walk around and he will get down on his tummy and use his hands to push himself around the pool.  Today he was a turtle at one point.  He will pour water all over his own face and is fine with it.  He is definitely a water lover.

Last Saturday he started t-ball.  He had so much fun.  Will was with him on the field at all times (every kid had a parent on the field) and Sam loved that too.  He did well and had a great hit.  Due to the holiday he had this week off so I am sure he doesn't understand that he gets to do it again so next Saturday should be a lot of fun.

Sam loves to watch animals on television.  The other day I found Sesame Street on and he was excited to see the monsters and actually laughed a couple of times and then he asked if I could please find some animals.

Best playground ever and a new jeep

I have been using craigslist to outfit our backyard the past couple of weeks.   In addition to the swing set we now have a play house and a climber with a slide and a motorized jeep.  Sam loves driving Megan around in the jeep and will even "beep" when he is backing up.  When Megan is driving Sam puts his arm around her - it is so cute.  The jeep was the first addition to the back yard and he was a happy boy.

The next weekend I found a great play house, something I have been wanting to get for some time.  Sam loved playing in the house at Megan's old school.  Will put it together when the kids were in bed.  Megan saw it the next morning and was hitting the back door and dancing asking to go out.  Sam was downstairs for several minutes and hadn't noticed it.  At one point Megan got a little vocal about asking to go out and Sam stopped what he was doing and looked at her.  He was on other side of the house and he saw it.  He squealed, pointed and ran to the door yelling "there is a house in our back yard".  It was a school day so I told him we would play with it when Megan got home from school (it was her last day and she was only there for 1.5 hours).  They had so much fun playing in it.

Last weekend I found a climber with a slide and went to get it while they were napping.  When he gets up from nap the first thing he does is ask for a snack.  He was sitting at the table and he looked outside and said "new playground, there is a new playground outside".  And after a couple of bites he said "mama that is the best playground ever".  I love how grateful he is for things and how happy it made him to have fun stuff in our back yard.

I like it...., handling disappoint better, not tired

Sam has started saying "I like...." a lot lately.  Yesterday during our wagon walk he saw a big pickup truck and said "I LIKE that truck mommy".  He will say "This dinner is yummy, I LIKE it".  It is a really cute stage to hear about what he likes.

He is playing with his cars, trucks and trains non-stop now.  He usually has something in his hand at all times.

He is doing so much better handling disappointment.  Prior to a couple of weeks ago he would burst into tears every time something didn't go his way.  Last week we were supposed to go out to breakfast after dropping Megan off at school.  He knows he is not supposed to talk about it because she doesn't get to go with us.  He kept saying it in the car on the way to drop her off and I kept telling him to stop talking about.  After the 8th or so time I told him that if he said it again he wasn't going to get to go.  He said okay mommy and then he couldn't help himself about 1 minute before we dropped her off he yelled that he was going to Chik-a-lay!.  I told him that I had warned him, etc and that we were no longer going to go.  He didn't say a word, he didn't cry, he didn't whine.  He sat quietly.  He didn't ask about it after we got back in the car, he didn't say anything as we were driving home so when we were almost home I told him that as a reward for handling it so well I would get him something to go from somewhere else and we could take it home to eat it.
He has handled a couple of other disappointing situations as well.

Lately Sam has been yawning a lot when he is tired.  He will yawn and then say "me yawning I NOT tired yet mommy".  It is too cute that he feels he needs to make sure I know that despite the yawning he is not ready for bed.  Though, amazingly, on those days he tends to fall asleep in less than 5 minutes.

Buggies and an imaginary "friend"

We got to Megan's school a little early today so Sam had quite a while to explore.  He found a roly-poly and informed the other person who was waiting "buggie, buggie on the floor right there!".  I reminded him it was the ground and told him it was a roly-poly.  He watched that bug for several minutes constantly coming back over (4 or 5 feet) to talk to the man about it.  I told him he could touch it and he said "no way".  The roly-poly started climbing up the wall and he was so excited about it.  He kept talking about it and I would tell him to touch it and he would say "no him working hard to climb the wall mama".

At one point he asked about the buggies' shoes.  It was so cute he wanted to know if it was using its shoes to help climb the wall.  And then it fell off the wall.  I said "maybe it got tired from all of that hard work" and he squatted down and looked at it and said "him rubbing him eyes".  The guy across from me was getting a big kick out of Sam's comments.

Eventually a little girl showed up and got in line right behind us.  Sam showed her the roly-poly and she immediately picked it up.  He was fascinated that she did that.  He kept wanting to see it and she didn't want him to mess with her.  Every once in a while she would open her hand and show Sam.  He really couldn't stand it that she was holding it, he would peer into her hand and then jump around a little bit.

During lunch today I heard him say "don't touch it, my sandwich".  I asked him who he was talking to and he pointed at the floor and I asked him who was there and he said "him".  With further prodding he said "my kangaroo right here mama".  So maybe a imaginary "friend".  He continued to talk to him and offer him bites throughout lunch.

Food Wholes

There isn't much that Sam says incorrectly.  He does still say nana for banana but other wise he is pretty good with vocabulary and pronunciation so when he does say something a little wrong it is so cute.

I took him to Whole Foods on Friday and on the way there he would say "are we at Food Wholes yet?".  It is a much longer drive than he is used to for a trip to the store.  I would answer him and tell him it was Whole Foods and he would say it correctly and then a few minutes later when he would say it again it was back to Food Wholes.

Love it!

A little obsessed with Santa Claus

Sam added Santa Claus to his prayers some time ago.  He talks about SC a lot.  Today I had a physical therapy session for my shoulder and it was sore and tired afterward.  Sam said "you need to go back to bed mama, you arm is tired".  I laughed and asked him who would make his lunch if I was in bed and he said dada would.  I told him that daddy was still at work so he said "hmmmm let me see.  Santa Claus...I will hug him and kiss him and tell him he did a good job at work".  I said "SC is pretend Sam" and he said you feed me lunch mama.

"Help"

A couple of days ago the four of us were playing in the toy room together.  I was cleaning up the toys, Sam was playing with Will and Megan was trying to unpack everything I just cleaned up.  One of the items I had cleaned up was Sam's new blocks and they get put into a zippered bag.  Megan can work zippers like nobody's business but for some reason she struggles with this one so she was asking for me to help her unzip it.  

I was trying to get her to actually use the sign for help instead of just grunting at me so I said to Sam "buddy can you go help sissy ask for help".  I wasn't sure how he would go about doing it - he knows the sign for help and he has seen me and others help Megan make the sign.  He immediately grabbed her little hand and tried to fold her fingers into a fist.  I told him that he could leave her fingers open so then he grabbed one hand in each of his hands and helped her make the sign for "help".  She just sat there, cooperating and smiling at him.  She thought it was funny that he was doing it.  Once he helped her ask for help I told him he could help her unzip the bag.  

He turned around and said "mama proud of me for helping sissy say help".  Yes little guy, mama and daddy are so very proud of you.  

Noises and a full size fast car comforter

Two nights ago when I was putting Sam to bed I sat in his floor and leaned up against his closet while he was getting undressed.  I was tired and he said "mommy you tired? you take a nap on my door".  I said okay and closed my eyes and he said "mommy you go 'and he made the pretend snoring sound'".  It was so funny.  Today when I was changing his diaper he said "my tummy made a noise mommy, it said grrurlll".  He is very into sounds and noises right now and is imitating them and pointing them out constantly.

Sam has been sleeping with a tonka truck throw blanket since his birthday.  It is plenty big for him but he is still ALL OVER the bed.  I think he touches every single spot on the bed, every time he is in it.  I was waiting to get him a full size comforter until he stopped moving around so much but Will thought having the comforter might stop all of the moving.  He napped for the first time today with it and is sleeping now.

Wonderful play date

Sam and I had a play date this morning with a little boy and his mama we met a couple of weeks ago when Megan was having blood work done.  The little boy, Enoch, has special needs and is currently non-verbal.  He knows some sign language and communicates with body language, etc like Megan.

Before we went into their house I talked to Sam about the fact that the little boy didn't "have his words yet" like Megan and that he needed to pay attention so that he could understand if Enoch was communicating with him.

Sam did so great.  We went upstairs to their game room and there was a train table.  Sam was so excited to play with all the trains (Sam has a lot of accessories but  not many trains, thanks to a tip from Dawn he will have some new trains in the future), and to check out the rest of the room.  Enoch's tunnel is out, instead of being folded up like ours.  Since Megan doesn't like the tunnel we keep it up unless she is not home and then Sam has to remember it exists and get it out.

Enoch also has a neat trampoline with a bar to hold onto when you are jumping.  Sam really enjoyed it and I know both he and Megan would love to have one.

At one point both boys were playing with the trains and Enoch worked his away around to the side of the table where Sam was playing.  Enoch was pushing his train around the track and needed Sam to move so that he could keep going; he put his hand on Sam's leg and very, very gently pushed a little.  Compared to how Megan pushes on Sam to get him to move I am surprised Sam even felt it; but he did and he moved and said to me "he asked me to move".   Sam did really well with the toys and putting things back, when prompted, and sharing when Enoch wanted to play with the same toy.  This didn't happen more than once or twice but I was proud of him.  For the most part the boys played separately, nearby but not really playing together.

When we were in the car heading to pick Megan up Sam said "I did good job mama, you proud of me".  He got an emphatic "yes you did sweet boy.  I am very proud of you".  He is such a sweet, tender hearted little boy and I am very proud of him.

Crying over spilled cereal

This morning I gave Sam a bowl of dry cereal.  The pieces of cereal are really big and difficult for him to manage with a spoon so he gets it without milk so he can use his hands.  This morning he didn't want to use his hands he wanted to use a spoon, so I gave him one.

He was doing well, dropping pieces on the way to his mouth about half of the time but they were landing on the table or in his lap so he would just pick them up and eat them.  He was about 2/3 of the way through his bowl when I walked out of the kitchen and about 30 seconds later I heard the sound of his bowl flipping over and his cereal falling to the floor; and then him bursting into tears.

I went in and asked him a bunch of silly questions to get him to stop crying (asking if something fell on his head, or if his little toe had an owie or if something licked his face).  Once he stopped crying I asked him "why are you crying" and all he could muster before more tears came was "breakfast on flooooooor".  He was so distraught.  He only gets this particular cereal a few times a month so it was a big deal that he lost some of it on the floor.

I made sure he got more cereal and he was good to go; no more goofing around with a spoon though - he ate the rest with his fingers.

The wall got me

Sam frequently runs while looking behind him, instead of looking where he is going.  A couple of days ago he ran into one of the columns and burst into tears.  We were in the other room so Will went to see what was up.  When he finally calmed down enough to get an answer about what happened he said "the wall got me".  

Normally the response is "Megan got me" or something similar so this was new and very funny.  He ran into the wall and then blamed the wall.  It happened again tonight and he said the same thing "the wall got me again".  

Proud of you mama

Once a month Sam and I check out a new playground; or at least I try.  Some months we just go to the same old ones.  This morning we were headed to the library because it had been chilly and windy out but I decided to give Sam an option and asked him if he would rather find a new playground.  You can guess what he picked.  

When I pulled along the curb to park and he could see the playground he said "proud of you mama".  I asked if it was because I found a new one and he said yes.  We didn't last very long before I needed a sweatshirt so we loaded back into the car and ran home to get one for me and then headed back to the playground.  

When I turned onto the culdesac Sam said "thank you mama....not yet" and then when I actually parked he said "thank you mama for finding it again, I proud of you again".  

He is such a sweet, grateful and polite little boy.  

Birthday, Funky bunny, new tiger

Sam had a great day on his birthday.  He got to go to Chikalay for his special breakfast and to play for a little while.  He got to pick what we had for dinner - he chose French Toast.  After dinner we gave him the rest of his presents.  He got a bucket of vehicles from Megan, which he wanted to play with immediately.  One of the other things we gave him was a large stuffed white tiger.  And then we took him outside and showed him his new tricycle.

He was so excited about the new bike.  He didn't figure out how to pedal but had a ton of fun on it.  I am sure he will figure out the pedals soon.

He loves that new tiger so much he carries it around everywhere.  He has it do sign language (mom, dad, granny, love, baby) and play the keyboard and take naps and sit in timeout.  The tiger sits in his window seat when he is in bed and after prayers he will go over to it and say "night-night I love you tiger" before getting into bed.

I went to some after Easter sales to look for items for next year and at one store they had their stuffed animals on a good clearance so I let Sam pick one out.  He picked out a goofy looking bunny and was mesmerized with it.  When we got back in the car I looked at the tag and told him that it said it was a "funky bunny".  He proceeded to try to say funky bunny and didn't get the "nk" sound right, instead it was just a "k" sound.  I corrected him and told him again how to say it.  He tried a few more times with me trying to help him until I finally said "just call him a silly bunny".  It was so hard not to crack up when he was messing it up because he loves to make people laugh and would continue to say it over and over if he had made me laugh.

Dear Sam

Sam, this post is for you buddy so that when you are older you can look back and see what you were like at this age.

Tomorrow you turn three years old.  You are such a sweet little guy and we are so happy you are our little buddy, buddy.  You are such a kind and loving boy with such a tender heart.  You love to help.  You help me with anything that you can think of: picking up trash, getting tissues for me, taking the laundry out of the dryer, putting the laundry in the dryer, etc.  You put away your socks, shorts and pajamas; and even help put your sister's clothes in her drawers.

You are the best possible little brother that Megan could ever ask for.  You help her with tasks she hasn't figured out yet, you get her toys she can't reach (you are a few inches taller than her now) and  you give her snuggles when she wants them.  When we pick her up from school you give her hugs and kisses and tell her you missed her.  Even though you are not supposed to, you try to help her put her glasses on if she has taken them off.  You are always looking out for her making sure she has what you think she needs.  You pull her chair out at the table and you pray for her food for her.  She adores you buddy and loves you so much she shares her car cheerios with you.

You are a talker.  You love, love, love to talk.  We say you are going to grow up and be an announcer or commentator because you announce everything you see.  You comment on everything that is happening and most of the time say everything multiple times until I tell you to "let it go".  You have started saying things that we find funny like: "you talking to me?", "be right back", "not yet".  If I ask you if you are finished eating you will say not yet.  If we are playing and you go get something you say be right back.  I say both of these phrases to you all the time so you are just repeating what you hear.

Other than talking the most important thing to you is eating.  You absolutely love to eat.  You will finish a meal, get down from the table and then ask for a snack or lunch.  No matter how much fun you are having you will check in to see how long it will be until snack time.  If we are home I set the timer on the microwave for you and that makes you happy; and you get so excited when it starts beeping.  Speaking of eating you feel so special when you get a special breakfast, etc.  Last week daddy stayed home from work because I was sick and he told you he was going to take you out for a special breakfast.  You went to put your shoes on and then came back to him and said "may we go to chik-a-lay please" because you love their food and their play area.

You are a great pretender.  Not surprising a lot of your play centers around eating.  You cook things and then eat them or feed them to me or the toys.  You talk to your toys and put them in timeout or tell them to play nice with the other toys.  You will crawl under the dining room table and pretend you are in the car bath and you and Megan are getting wet.  You also folded a piece of your mail (a flyer) and created a tunnel and it was a car bath too.  You really like tunnels of all kinds too.

You are still working on putting away your toys before you get a new one out but you do it when I remind you.  You don't like messes and will sometimes ask for your hands to be cleaned in the middle of a meal. You handle it well though when I tell you to finish eating first.

Your favorite toys right now are vehicles (cars, trucks, tractors, trains, boats, airplanes, etc), stuffed animals, puzzles and balls.  You are an easy going kid and will play with anything.  Your most favorite toys though are always whatever Megan is playing with at the moment.

Birthday party & Easter

Yesterday we had our family Easter celebration and combined it with a birthday party for Sam.  We had a mini egg hunt on Saturday morning with Uncle Mike, Aunt Elaine, Tori and Mary Faith.  Elaine put several of the kids' snack items inside the eggs and each kid got one chocolate bunny in an egg.  Previously we have always had the kids hunt empty eggs.  We even took them to a city hunt and I emptied the candy when they weren't looking so they still had no idea there could be something in the eggs.

So we had the kids run around and hunt eggs and then we brought them inside and sat them down.  I had the kids open the eggs and Sam's reaction was priceless.  His eyes got wide and he said "snacks!" and then poured them into his mouth.  He was so excited he just kept opening eggs and gobbling up whatever he found.

When I got him up from nap he asked me if Toria was still here.  I told him that she was and then I named all of the other people who had showed up and I told him that they were here for him.  That everyone was here because it was time for his birthday party.  The boy was beside himself.  I told him that he would get presents and he said yay and I said a birthday cup-a-cake (cupcake) and he was so excited.  He said "lots of presents?" and I said yes and he said "lots of cupacakes?" and I said no way buddy - just one.

He was so happy to see everyone and he was running around saying hi.  He saw his table of presents and was so happy.  I had him sit in his little Mickey Mouse chair and he would go to the table get a gift, take it back to his chair and then open it.  He did so great and did it by himself, handing me the trash each time.  He got so many great gifts that he has been playing with non-stop since.  We gave him part of his gifts so that we could give him some on his actual birthday.  He is now sleeping with his new Buzz Lightyear stuffed toy and his Tonka truck blanket that we gave him and he loves the helicopter Megan gave him.  He is even repeatedly looking at the greeting cards people gave him.

After his party we had the big egg hunt and it was a little rough going for a while.  Every time he picked up an egg he would open it before putting it in his bucket and he was so disappointed that they were all empty.  We didn't put any snacks in them and the boy was feeling ripped off.  He did get over it and hunted like a champ.

More imagination, bubbles and just plain funny

bubbles, playing under table, cheerio head

Sam's imagination just tickles us on a daily basis.  He spreads a blanket on the floor and calls it a boat; he cooks up tons of different foods and feeds them to everyone.  He pretends to be wet when I pretend to throw water on his head.  He crawls under the table and is in the car bath (carwash) and says "oh no we are all wet" and makes Megan giggle.

Sam blew bubbles for the first time last week.  He did really well.  He would blow too hard and I would tell him he did and then he would blow softer the next time.  Now he asks on almost a daily basis if we can do bubbles again.

A couple of days ago the four of us were playing in the toy room.  I was telling Will that Sam is starting to get attached to clothing items and that he was upset that he can no longer wear his tractor sweatshirt.  The sweatshirt technically still fits him, it just gets stuck on his head.  Like I picked him up off of the floor trying to help him get it unstuck, stuck.  When I was telling the story I reached over and rubbed Sam's head and said "you have a big boy head" and Sam said "Megan has a cheerio head".  I have no idea what that was supposed to mean but it made us laugh.

Hide and Seek

We have been working with Sam to play hide-n-seek.  Last night he really started to get the hang of it - he would count to 5 while I hid, and then he would come find me.  He would go to the last place he found me to look for me again and Will would have to encourage him to look other places. Sometimes he would run right past me to look for me in my previous hiding spot.

I tried to have him hide but as soon as I stopped counting he would come running out and say "okay my turn to find you".

This morning after Megan got home from school they were playing together in the living room.  At one point I heard him say to her "Megan you come find me" and he took off toward the toy room.  He was trying to play hide-n-seek with her but she was busy playing with the wall climbers, she didn't even hear him talking to her.

I love you chocolate milk man

This morning I took Sam out for a special breakfast.  I went to a donut shop drive through and got some to go.  While we were at the window and I was ordering he was getting excited and then I ordered him a small chocolate milk.  Sam said "MY chocolate milk!"  And then the cutest thing happened....when the man handed me the milk Sam said "I love you" to the man.

Maturing, pretending and being the sweetest little brother ever

Sam is maturing so much lately it seems like he is grasping a new concept almost every day.  He is figuring out how things work and cause and effect.  The other day we had all had a particularly rough day and so baths were not on the agenda.  It was about 20 minutes until bedtime and Sam asked me if it was time for bath.  I responded by saying "did you play outside today?" and he said "not yet".  Seriously made me and Will crack up.  Such a positive perspective - not giving up on the chance that he still might get to play outside (was windy and 40 degrees so wasn't going to happen).

I have been letting him go outside barefoot since it has been warmer.  After his first time running around outdoors without shoes on he was in the bath and he said "hey, my feet are dirty" and indeed they were definitely dirty - a new concept since he has always worn shoes outside.  After his bath while I was rinsing him off he said in an even more surprised and shocked tone "my feet are clean mommy!".  I told him that is what happens when I wash him with soap but too cute.

Watching Sam's pretend play has become a highlight of my day.  I usually hide so he can't see me and then just listen and watch him.  He is pretending to accidentally bump into his stuffed animals, then he apologizes and asks if they are okay.  He talks and talks and talks while he is playing and he is saying all of the things he hears me and Will and everyone say.  He chats about daddy being at work, or mommy making dinner or granny riding the train with him.  Today he was pretending that the penguin was taking a nap, he covered it up and told it to go night-night.  While he was doing this he hit a toy and it started playing music and he said to the toy "shhh, penguin is sleeping".

Sam is really into playing chase now.  We played chase at the playground yesterday morning and then did it in the house last night.  He loves to be chased and will chase me but halfway through him chasing me he will say "my turn momma, you chase me".

Sam has always been good with Megan.  He is loving and understanding.  Lately he has been stepping it up and helping her constantly.  If he sees her struggling to do something he will go to her and say "need help sweetheart?" and then sit down and help her.  Today when we picked her up from school he grabbed her, gave her a giant hug and kiss and told her he missed her.

Are you here?

Sam has started saying this to Will when he gets home from work.  Are you here?  Will says, yes I am here and Sam goes on his way. Not sure what he is thinking but the question is cute.

I still haven't been asked to give the bear goodnight kisses but Sam has started doing it.  He is also saying "I Love You" to me right before I shut his door.  Makes me want to run back in and squish him - instead I say "i love you too buddy".

Winnie the Pooh, his bear, talking to Megan, colors and looking at animals

Sam has a new song that he is singing, actually there are a couple of songs I have heard him sing lately that I haven't heard before.  A couple of nights ago he was quietly singing Jesus Love Me while he was getting undressed.  Two days ago he started singing Winnie the Pooh to the tune of the actual song, his words are just a little different.  "Winnie the Pooh, Winnie the Pooh, Winnie the Pooh, Winnie the Pooh, Winnie, Winnie, Winnie, Winnie the Pooh" repeat.
Sam has been taking his teddy bear to bed with him for a few weeks and a few nights ago he started putting it right beside his head and asking me to cover up the bear when I cover him up.  He is now asking me to say good night to the bear too.  I am sure giving the bear one last kiss, after I kiss him, will be his next request.  He snuggles with that bear and then when I leave the room he puts his feet in the air and balances the bear on them like I do with him when I lift him in the air.

Sam has started talking to the Megan the way I do.  When we pick her up from school he looks at her and says "sweetheart did you have a good day at school?" and says it in my tone of voice.  He is also saying things I say to her randomly during the day, always referring to her as sweetheart when he does it.  He loves his big sister so much and it is so sweet to watch him with her.  I pray for her on the way to school every day and part of the prayer is that she will learn something new and that she will have so much fun.  Sam adds to the prayer that she will learn her ABCs.  I think it is his way of asking for her to be able to talk since she can't sing her ABCs with him yet.

Sam learns most things super quick which has me spoiled.  I am used to being able to introduce something and he has it after a few "lessons".  Well, I have found his cryptonite.   The boy cannot figure out his colors.  He just isn't getting it at all.  I know he can tell the difference in them because he can sort colors without a problem, he just can't name them.  We have been working on this for weeks, months even and still nothing.  I am sure it will kick in one day but in the mean time, ugh!

We went to the zoo on Friday during Megan's spring break.  Sam loved it.  He was so excited to look at the animals.  He also got to ride the carousel and this time he loved being on a horse that went up and down.  And of course to end our fun we rode the train back to the front of the zoo and then had a picnic with daddy.  He has not stopped talking about it and keeps asking to go look at the animals again.

Lighting up, beaming with pride

This morning Sam had to attend a meeting with Will & me.  We would normally get a sitter for this type of thing but due to the timing of it we had to take him with us.  He sat in a chair and played with the iPad while we talked, occasionally needing some redirection.  After the meeting is over I called him over to me and said "Sam, you did a good job and I am proud of you".  His little face lit up and he had a huge smile.  He loves it when I tell him I am proud of him and I love that it builds him up.

Jingle bells makes a come back

Yesterday while Sam was playing he started singing Jingle Bells.  This is the first time I have heard him sing that since Christmas and definitely the first time he has sang it on his own initiative.  He sang it a few times today as well.  So now he rotates ABCs, Old McDonald, Jingle Bells and his made up songs.

Pretend phone conversation and playing with stuffed animals

Sam has loved talking on all of our toy phones for a long time.  For the longest time he wouldn't do anything other than hold a phone up to his ear and then he gradually progressed to mimicking behavior he witnessed Will and I do with our phones.  When we pretended to call someone on the phone he would typically only say hi, bye and sometimes a few other words.

Well yesterday he had an entire conversation with daddy on the phone. He called Will and told him all about the special kleenex tissues that Megan was using because she had an owie on her nose (using the cool tissues because her nose was so raw from being wiped).  Then he told him about the medicine she had just taken and how mommy prayed for her to get better.  His pretend conversation went on for 2-3 minutes.

Tonight before bed he was pretending to feed a couple of different stuffed animals from a coffee cup. He would go to different places in the room to fill the cup with different items and would always go back to the same spot for the same item. He was having the animals say their prayers before they ate and drank.  Super cute little pretend play tonight.

Getting a little more freedom, more animals and helping Megan

Because big sister Megan is developmentally delayed and hasn't been able to break ground in every area for him Sam is getting to experience some "first kid stuff".  I am having to learn things with him that go with the first kid territory.

We have a game room upstairs, which is where Sam's train table resides.  I usually take the kids into the room when I get them up from nap.  We play in there until snack time and then we move downstairs.  Well Sam started asking to go play with his train table when Megan is at school.  I had been going up with him and decided instead to "send him up alone" the other day.  He is doing great with this and will ask to come back down when he is done, or hungry.  :-)  We are having crazy warm weather right now so I have been taking the kids to the playground in the afternoon.  On Monday Sam asked if he could go in the backyard while Megan was in school.  I let him go out by himself and I opened a window in the kitchen.  He would venture off for 1-3 seconds and then come right back to the window to talk to me.  Eventually he got up the nerve to go beyond my line of sight for a few seconds.  This made me really nervous and I had to fight the urge to run outside to be able to see him.  He would only run a few feet and then come right back - it seems he is also struggling with mommy letting go.  :-)

At one point he was running around and the neighbor's dog started barking.  He came running up to the window and said "doggie get me" and I said no the doggie is just saying hi so he ran back over and said "hi doggie".  Super cute.

I took the kids to BB&B to get some soap dispensers on Monday afternoon.  The store is located in a strip that has 6 or 7 stores attached to it.  After the very brief trip inside BB&B (it is very fragrant in there) the kids and I walked down the sidewalk to the pet store.  Sam loved getting to see the animals and kept saying "more animals please".  We are definitely planning a trip to the zoo soon.

Yesterday afternoon the kids were playing together and I ran upstairs to grab something.  When I came back down they were facing each other and Sam was hugging Megan and saying "sorry sissy, I love you" and then gave her kisses.  This is what we have them do when they have to apologize and he must have done something because he was apologizing on his own.  I then saw him put her glasses on her face, so I am assuming he poked her the first time.  Anyway, he would carefully put her glasses on and then she would make a slight adjustment to get them correct and then take them off and hand them back to him.  He would then put them back on her and she would adjust and then give them back to him.  After the third time Sam said "sissy, leave them on" in a sweet little voice.  She just handed them back to him again - after all this was a fun game.

Mimicking daddy

Yesterday Will was hobbling around because he had a sore ankle.  Sam watched Will limping around and started walking just like him.  It was very cute watching him try to look like his daddy.

Timeout for the frog

Sam has started talking to his toy animals like we talk to him.  A couple of days ago I heard him say "pig, you obey me, no taking toys".  This morning he was playing with the stuffed frog he got for Valentine's Day and he put it in time out for taking his toys.

You can see what our biggest struggle is right now - Sam keeps taking toys away from Megan and his friends.  It sounds like he is getting the message. :-)

You call my name

A popular theme is Sam's love of food.  We wait for Will to get home from work to have dinner (most nights).  When Will walks in the door Sam typically runs over to him, says hello and then comes to me and says "you make our dinner?".   He will then ask several times if he can get in his chair to eat and Will says "mommy will tell you when dinner is ready".

When I finally say "dinner is ready" Sam responds with "you call my name!".  This still cracks us up even though he has been saying it for weeks.  To Sam telling him food is ready is the same thing as calling his name.

Special breakfast

About once a week I get Sam a special breakfast, which means I buy him breakfast from somewhere.  This morning was special breakfast day.  I went by Sonic and got him a jr burrito and some french toast sticks.  The french toast sticks were definitely a good choice, he would take 1-2 bites and then say "bubba likes it".

Song about tacos and waking up for breakfast

Yesterday Sam was singing a song he made up while playing in the toy room.  I was listening to him sing and couldn't quit smiling because the word "taco" kept coming up every few words.  He does love his tacos.

This morning Sam was still asleep when I went to get him up.  I made all kinds of noise and he didn't budge.  I sat on his bed and starting rubbing on his back to wake him up, eventually he stretched, looked me and then put his thumb back in his mouth, covered his head up again and went right back to sleep.  I decided to try something else so I said "its time for breakfast".  Sam sat straight up and said "bubba wake up".

Back to blogging

Sam's height and weight on 1/1/14: 38 1/4 inches tall and 31.2 pounds

Sam is doing great.  He is such a sweet and funny little boy.  He has grown into a wonderful little brother who looks out for his older sister.  He loves to make her laugh and anytime he does he will repeat the behavior over and over again to keep her laughing. 

Sam can now get dressed and undressed all by himself except for snaps on his jeans.  He loves all vehicles and has so much fun with the train table he got for Christmas.  He is still all about the food.  He loves to eat and gets very excited about food.  He has a great time pretending to cook and will feed the stuffed animals and little people.  

We recently had our new neighbors over for a play date and Sam watched out the window for them and kept saying "my new friends come over to my house to play?".  He had a great time with them.  

Sam is doing great in his big bed.  He sleeps all over it, moving from end to end, every time he is in it.  When he had a cold recently I would put him down in the morning for a rest time because if he is up he just keeps going and going and wears himself out.  I would tell him that he didn't have to sleep but just needed to rest.  Now every time I put him down for nap he tells me that he is just going to rest - of course he is asleep 5 minutes later.