Full-fledged toddler

Time creeps ever forward and takes with it, apparently, my children, sweeping them along and changing them before my very eyes. The most dramatic changes have been seen lately in Sam, my one year old (actually, he is 16 months old as of the 4th - really? already??). I want to try to capture a bit of who Sam is just now so that when I come up for breath in another few months, I will have something to remind me of the just-toddler he is today.

Sam...

• has finally begun to walk. He has toddled about for what seems like ages now, holding onto a finger, a hand, a piece of furniture, never daring to let go. Even at his 15 month (at 15.5 months of age) doctor appointment when we discussed whether it was time to worry yet, he still seemed so timid and shaky-legged and uncertain of his own strength. But not a week later he was finally letting go a bit and now is walking most of the time (as opposed to crawling) and is so much more steady. He can even change direction and walk many, many steps without falling on his bum.


• climbs up onto couches and chairs. Has figured out that he can get on things to get to other things... Uh oh...


• says "mama", "dada", "esss" (yes), "mah" or "nah" (no), and several animal noises, oh, and apparently "beluga" (boo-ga) as in Baby Beluga (the Raffi song and book) - why he is able to say that word but not other more useful ones I have no idea!


• uses several signs to let us know what he wants. We need to learn more to teach him as he seems to be having a lot of trouble communicating all of his needs to us these days and seems rather frustrated often. It's frustrating for us too. If he's anything like Ben (which he seems to be), he'll wait a good long time and then come out with whole sentences and near perfect pronunciation. It's just a waiting game until then.


• loves animals and especially seems interested in birds and dogs. He's also interested in trucks and cars and trains. Makes a great "brrrrmmmm" noise.


• loves anything with bread or cheese. Loves yogurt too and almost any kind of fruit. I think he overdosed on bananas as a baby, though, because now he kind of turns his nose up at them a bit. Mac and cheese is a big hit. Favorite veggies are green beans, peas, and broccoli.


• loves to play with Madeline, Ellie, Ben, and especially Daddy. There is one special game that Daddy plays where he "bench presses" Sam up and down while singing "One little, two little, three little Sammy's..." Sam loves this and giggles like crazy.


• loves to be read to but is very picky about books. He'll get a few favorites and demand to be read those over and over again. Then he'll completely tire of those and move on to another few favorites. Right now some of his favorites are "Goodnight Moon" and "The Big Red Barn" and "The Tallest Trees" (about the redwood trees in Muir Woods) and Byron Barton's "The Three Bears".


• has a bit of hair, still wispy, but actually enough to "comb" with my fingers. Very much a reddish, "strawberry blond."


• is working on (well, I am anyway) transitioning to one nap. Having a hard time with this as he still wakes pretty early (usually around 6:30) and therefore is getting tired (and cranky) by 10 or so. Usually sleeps 2-3 hours. But this means a very long afternoon and not always getting to bed as early as he would need to because of older kids' activities. Hopefully it'll work out more smoothly soon.


• gives big, tight hugs around our necks and sloppy open-mouthed baby kisses too. Sweet as can be...

What a blessing and an amazing addition to our family he is...

(I'm going to try to get a picture on here soon, but I just realized that I have no recent pics of Sam! Yikes! Better get snapping!)