My Baby

My baby doesn't seem much like a baby anymore. Sam is getting SO big. I feel like he's doing something new every day. I am SO thankful to be home with him! Yesterday I would've had to report to school, and I was thankful to put on a pot of coffee and snuggle up w/ Sam and have our morning routine of him sleeping as long as he wants (and me too :) ) which is usually till around 7, then we get up, he has his milk, watches a little "Curious George," and has oatmeal and banana. If I'm inspired I pack Jason's lunch. :)

Here are a few things that Sam is doing...I may have written these before, but I can't recall.

*WALKING! Yes...more and more steps each day. Which makes me smile, considering my 3rd trimester is quickly approaching. He's a big boy (almost 26 lbs) and is getting pretty heavy for Momma to carry! He also knows how to crawl up the stairs and shimmy back down on his tummy, "Feet first!"

*SIGNING: Sam can sign "please," "thank you," "all done," "more," "milk," and "again." We're working on signing "help" and "home."

*KISSES/AFFECTION: He LOVES giving kisses back and forth between Mommy and Daddy. They're open-mouthed, which is so very sweet. He also gives kisses to both grandmas and grandpas. He's gotten pretty clingy, and will just say, "Momma!" and snuggle my leg while doing dishes, or will stop playing and crawl over for a little snuggle. Melt my heart!

*WORDS: He's getting there. I can interpret them, usually. :) "Dah" means ball (which he's obsessed with right now and will roll and throw and chase any balls anywhere), Dada, Mama, Hi, Yeah, Hey, No, Cheese, Wawa (water AND watermelon), Nana (banana), "Ga" for Grandma, and "Boo!" He also makes sounds for a dog, monkey, and lion. Hilarious! He loves to wave hi and bye, too. Especially and clerks and waitresses. He also knows NOT to go near the big box fans in our house, so he goes up to them and shakes his finger at the fan, shouting, "No, no, no, no, no!" It's cute b/c it's this nasally-sounding no. Maybe he's mimicking my voice? :)

*DVD's. He LOVES movies! There's a small shelf of DVD's and CD's (both of which we rarely watch or listen to) and we let him take them off and put them back up. He LOVES doing this and can spend LOTS of time doing so! There's a DVD of Jason and I from our wedding photographers with our picture on it, and he carries it around saying, "Momma-Dada! Momma-Dada!" He LOVES when we kiss each other and then kiss him. It always reminds me of how secure a child feels when Mommy and Daddy are nice to each other. Even at 14 months, they know! He also calls Brad Pitt "Dada" which Jason loves (on the Ocean's Eleven DVD) and "Momma" is the aerobics DVD cover girl. :) Tee hee.

*EXERCISE: I put Sam in his play yard if I'm inspired to work out and do a work out DVD. He laughs and tries to do what I'm doing...which is hilarious. He stands and does this little squat/dancing move that is too funny. We laugh!

*FOODS: Sam LOVES to eat! He eats avacado, any fruit (peaches, berries, banana, kiwi, watermelon, grapes), sweet potato, black beans, brown rice, cheese, bagels w/ cream cheese, cucumber, tomato, and yogurt. He doesn't like Cheerio's, so once in awhile we have Teddy Grahams or organic animal crackers. He also LOVES his organic whole milk and will drink it quickly! He's boycotting peas and carrots, as they usually end up on the floor. Grrr...

*PLAYING: He loves to crawl under the dining room table and have Daddy "chase" him. He loves playing with balls, building towers w/ his cardboard brick/blocks, and playing w/ empty yogurt/cottage cheese containers, putting things in and out of them. He likes to turn on Daddy's radio in our bedroom while I'm getting ready and dances to the music. So funny! He also loves his sandbox!

*SLEEPING: He sometimes requests (by pointing) simply being put in his crib instead of being rocked a bit before bedtime, which makes me sad. :( Usually we read a story or two, sing "Amazing Grace," and say a prayer. He loves his orange blankie and still sleeps w/ his pacifier. This is one of my favorite times of day. He usually sleeps from 8PM-6:30 or 7AM, with a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon (he goes down around 1 or 1:30). This helps b/c we can now run errands in the morning! :)

Oh my sweetie, Sam. I can't believe how much he's grown. He's already 14 months! I was driving to school this morning to return some tutoring materials I'd borrowed. Sam was in the back seat, and I was thinking about how many times I'd made that drive to school as a single woman, wanting to be married, and as a married woman, sobbing for a desire for just one child. One baby, one day. And here Sam was giggling in the back seat, and little Baby was jumping within my tummy, and I began to cry. God is so good. Even when my faith is so small that I am unable to bear children, God has blessed me abundantly. Thank you, Lord.