18 months

where to even begin? 

the love i have for my sweet, kind hearted, long lashed, sports loving baby boy is out of this world. toddlerhood is exhausting. i'm finding it harder and harder for my pregnant self to keep up with a busy and curious toddler but this stage is the most rewarding. sam is learning new things daily and is constantly picking up on everything going on in the world around him, which can be scary at times. he is so independent at hime and wants to do everything for himself. when it comes time to brush his teeth he says "i do" and grabs the toothbrush. while we are reading books he says "i do" until he gets to turn the pages himself. he wants to tackle everything himself. 

sam actually went to nursery at 17 months because both ben and i have callings in young men and young women's and it was getting harder and harder to have him with us. his first week, he did amazing! but from the second week on he freaks out whenever we step foot near the nursery. it breaks my heart. we are hoping he will learn to love it soon. his nursery leaders are gems and are so great with him so we are hoping with him he will warm up to them. 

my little book worm loves to read and although he occasionally has me ready a few different ones, he generally sticks to his favorites. his current favorites are "brown bear, brown bear", "the little blue truck", "that's not my elephant", and an old goodnight book from when i was little. 

he can name each of the animals in his brown bear book along with the noises that they make. we are working on counting, but he generally just makes it to three and then starts naming random numbers. 

we absolutely love teaching him new things and seeing his wheels turn. 

at this point, we can basically fully communicate with him. he understands when we tell him to do something and he can tell us when he is wanting something. he is starting to get better at stringing 2-4 word sentences together. 

he currently loves playing with his mega blocks, any sort of tractor or car, and ALWAYS has his teddy bear with him. i am not sure at what point he became so attached to this one random teddy bear that he has but it is glued to his hands at home and always says "teddy?" as soon as i get him in his car seat to go somewhere. he also loves playing with his basketball hoop and actually has great aim. give his boy any sort of sports ball and you'll have his heart for life. 

he is still the worlds biggest ham and loves to say hi to every single person in every single store we step foot into. he if they say hi back to him he continues to say hi over and over until he can no longer see them. he honestly makes friends wherever we go!

we have been trying to explain to sam that he will be a big brother in september. he probably doesn't really grasp that concept yet but he loves to give kisses to "baby sissy". he comes up and pats my belly and then plants a big one on his sister. there is no doubt in my mind that he will make the worlds best big brother and i can't wait to see him interact with his new baby girl.

sam keeps us on our toes but no matter how tired i may be at the end of the day, i wouldn't trade this age for the world. i feel so blessed to be sam's mama and i love him to pieces. 

18 month stats:

31 1/2 inches tall

21 lbs. (11%)

                           

16 months

sam at 16 months:

- is a major chatterbox! he wakes up talking (and sometimes singing to himself:) and doesn't stop until it's time for bed. it is amazing to watch him learn new words daily! he loves to copy whatever ben and i are saying (which has really put  us in check). 

- loves to talk on his "cell phone". one of the toys he got for christmas came with a pretend phone which he loves to carry around and occasionally put up to his ear and say "helloooo" or "hiiiii". 

- sam went through a hitting phase a couple months ago. he thought it was pretty funny. so we taught him how to be "soft". so now whenever we tell him to be "soft" he gently strokes out cheeks and says "soooff". we can't get enough of it!

- he LOVES his backpack and wears it everywhere. he will usually bring it to me first thing when he wakes up so i can put it on him. and he looks pretty darn cute in it. 

- church is rough right now! sam is a mover and a shaker so trying to sit in sacrament and throughout our meetings can be hard. we usually end up doing laps around the church. i am both excited and terrified for him to enter nursery. on one hand, ben and i both have obligations the second and third hour (ben in elders quorum and me with young women's) so it's hard to keep and eye on sam AND be engaged with our callings so nursery will be a relief but on the other hand i am terrified that sam will come home sick every week. 

-sam is obsessed with out iphones. he can turn them on, get to the pictures/videos, and scroll through them. it is crazy that i didn't have a call phone until i was 12 or 13 (and it was one of those nokia bricks) and sam can work an iphone by the time he is one. 

- still loves to be rocked to sleep. and mama loves it too. 

- learned a new animal sound this month. he now says "sssssss" when i ask him what a snake says. 

- loves to facetime with grandma and papa!

- sleeps 7:30 pm - 8:00 am.

- learned how to crawl up onto chairs/ottomans/anything. we were watching a movie one night through the apple tv. so it was playing on our tv as well as over on our computer. somewhere in the middle of the movie we realized that sam was no longer sitting next to us. i looked over towards the computer area and he had pulled himself onto the chair in front of the computer and was watching the movie on his own. we could not stop laughing!

- still loves his books. i hope reading never gets old for him! 

- has learned how to fold his arms for a prayer. and honestly, i feel like me heart is going to burst every single time he does this. he can also say "Jesus".

- loves to play basketball! or to play catch. my parents got sam a little tikes basketball hoop for Christmas and it is probably the best purchase ever made! just in the past couple days he has started making baskets on his own! ben is a happy man. 

- this was sam's second Christmas and it was truly magical! he is at the perfect age. seeing everything through his eyes was so special for ben and i. we loved watching him open all his gifts and "oooh" and "ahhh" at them. my family got to be with us for Christmas so sam was spoiled with love and attention. and prezzies :)

- loves to help mama clean. i usually sing a song with him while we clean up his toys and he will dance while putting his toys away. 

- his obsession with "Daniel Tigers Neighborhood" has reached new levels. we watch it in the car, at home, everywhere. he calls him "dannnny". 

- still sleeps like a champ as night and takes one 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon. 

15 months

sam at 15 months:

- loves his daddy! there are certain times where he only wants his mama, but overall the relationship between sam and ben is something special. i love watching those two interact. they get each other and as soon as sam hears the door open at 6 o'clock each night he can't get into ben's arms quick enough!

-loves to facetime with grandma and papa! he even has started to say "papa" and is so close to saying "gamma". just has to figure out how to say those darn g's.

-loves his cousins! i feel so comfortable leaving his for a couple hours at our relatives because he LOVES playing with his cousins. and they love him! 

-he has a new love for sweeping the floor. i need to find a little miniature broom for him. he will drag our broom around and around the kitchen. 

-still cuddles with mom when he's ready for bed. 

- has mastered the stairs. it's pretty cute to watch him slide down the stairs on his belly. 

-can show you where his nose, ears, mouth, belly and feet are. one of his favorite activities is pointing out each part of the face on mom or dad. he can say most of them too :)

-his favorite food would probably be bananas! or "nana's" as he calls them :)

- starts dancing the second he hears music! i die every single time. he loves to dance!

-learned how to do a somersault! and i have to say, he actually has pretty good form. he now does somersaults all around the house, i usually just give his bum a little push in the right direction so he doesn't face plant! but as soon as he bends over and puts his head on the ground i know he's wanting to do a few flips. it's hilarious. 

-loves to build things with the blocks at grandma's house! he may have a few sets coming his way for Christmas ;)

-loves to share! which just makes me heart happy. he will gladly hand over his toys or snacks to other kids at church. 

- is still sleeping great! and still weighs just over 19.5 lbs. 

nothing brings me greater joy than being this little boys mom! 

14 months

 sam at 14 months:

-loves anything with wheels, books, riding on his mickey mouse truck, playing peek-a-boo, and playing catch with dad (also officially learned how to catcha ball by himself). 

-has mastered his fake laugh.

-is a lefty! will only hold his sippy with his left hand and will only throw with his left hand. 

- loved bananas, crackers, avocados, anything chocolate, cheese, and carrots. 

- says mama, dad, hi, bye, hello, "uh-oh", catch, ball, shoes, socks, "1..2..3", car, truck, bath, toys, more, bottle, and tickle. 

- can make animal noises for puppy and cow. 

-has absolutely no sense of "stranger danger". this both makes me laugh and terrifies me. he is the most friendly little baby. he loves to go up to anyone and everyone to share his snacks, play peek a boo, or just to say hi. he is constantly making new friends!

-takes a 2-3 hour nap mid-afternoon and sleeps from 7:30 pm to 7:30 am. 

-loves to watch daniel tiger and mickey mouse clubhouse! he will crawl up on the couch with his bottle and watch a 20-30 minute episode. i truly can't believe that he is old enough to sit that long and be entertained. 

-loves bath time but HATES getting his hair washed. 

-hates wearing clothes. sam would be naked 24/7 if i let him. 

-is so SO cuddly when he wakes up in the morning and from naps. 

-loves reading time. he will go back into his room, find a book that he wants to read, and bring it to me and then plop down in my lap until i start to read to him. current favorites: "brown bear, brown bear", "i love you stinky face", and "i love you through and through". 

-loves to give kisses! he just learned how to blow a kiss as well. i seriously cannot get enough of his kisses! he also now loves to give his stuffed animals kisses. 

-dressed up as the cutest little hobo for halloween!

- wears 12-18 and 18-24 month clothing. 

-LOVES to push the cart at the grocery store himself! he also knows exactly where the toy aisle is at target. 

- loves to "sing" and we loooove to listen to him. his little voice going "lalalalalaaaaaa" is my absolute favorite. 

-is actually really good at cleaning up. he can make an absolute mess is 6 seconds flat but when it's time to clean up he loves putting his toys back where they belong. 

-weighs about 19 lbs. 

we love you, sammy!