Whats in a Year...and a 1/2?

December 2 our affectionate, vivacious baby boy turns 18 months. Typing this makes me cry, knowing he is a toddler not a baby makes me miss his tinniness. But watching him walk, talk, sing and enjoy life gives me inexpressible joy. And even though there are things I miss, like hours of cuddling and carrying him around everywhere in the Moby wrap, I have no desire to turn back the clock. He doesn't spend 4+ hours a day crying, he sleeps most of the night and I don't have to carry him everywhere. 18 months is really such a short period of time, but in 18months Samuel has changed soooooo much.

Some things that haven't changed;

He still loves to cuddle

He loves to eat even though we are no longer nursing he will still eat just about anything

He has oodles of energy, his usual bedtime is between 10-11pm then he gets up between 4-6am

He loves to be around large crowds. From day one, large groups seemed to excite him. He eats up any and all attention.

He enjoys time with animals. They calm him and teach him how to gentle and how to share.

Loves music, but now he loves to sing, dance and play instruments.

Some New things:

Exclusively free walking with no crawling.

Sleeping more than 1-2hours at a time(this is the best change=)

Wanting dad over mom. Even though he has always loved dad, he would choose mom over dad. The past few weeks he has decided that dad needs to be present at all times. And he doesnt need mom. This might sound sad, but its so reliving. In just a few months I will have another little one attached to me. Im enjoying my little break.

Talking, some new words; "yep, cat, lion, rhino, eyes, belly, cup, this, out, ouch, oooooo, yum, uh-oh"

"Reading" he loves to take a book and make up words for it. He reads to us, and our pets. I love it and I cant wait to see where his vast imagination takes him.

Doing chores. We expect him to do one chore a day and anything extra he does he gets 1 penny for. He loves to put the pennies in his big crayon bank. His favorite chores; sweeping, mopping, washing dishes and feeding the "shish" (aka fish).

Time out. He has a strong will like both his parents. We have found the best discipline is time away from people. He hates to be alone. He generally ends up with 3 one minute time outs a day, depending on his mood. He is actually very compliant when we tell him no, he listens, but he needs to be told multiple times like all of us.

Fix, repair, and organize any and all things. He has a mechanical mind just like daddy.

Happy 18months sweet Samuel. We are so proud of you!

Halloween 

Lovin on the dog

posing after he climbed on the hose all by himself

painting the cat with yogurt, dont worry, she liked it

hanging with uncle 

16 Months Down...a ton more to go(=

Sam is 16 months old today! He is way too big and knows too many things.
At 16 months Samuel
Walks independently (sometimes unless mom or dad is around to hold his hand)

Repeats everything we say. We are working one word flash cards right now.
Some words he says all the time "dad, daddy, mum, duke, dog, no, mine, yep, ok, done, please"
loves shoes! If he is not wearing some he will walk up to you and take yours right off your feet. No matter the size(=
likes to touch my belly and say baby, even though he has no clue what this means, he likes the word. is learning to play with other kids. Its so fun to watch him interact.
went through a month phase of hating baths, thankfully he is over that and back to loving the water!
sleeps most of the night in his crib without waking up. Before he got sick we actually had night of sleeping all night in his crib.
loves to make people laugh. I have no clue where he got that from(= He will sneak up behind you or try to tickle you, basically anything he can do to get a smile out of you.
still loves daddy. The last couple saturdays Joe has been working Sam walks around the house saying "where dad?" I love the relationship they have and pray it continues to grow.

Happy 16months Mr Sam.
Here are some pictures from the last few weeks. We have spent lots of time with family so most of them were taken out of town.