Mother's Little Helper

If imitation is truly the sincerest form of flattery then Allen and I have quite a little fan! Samuel loves to imitate everything we do even the most mundane activities. Here are some highlights....

The other day I was cleaning up crumbs from under the couch using a Swiffer cloth since somebody had a good time emptying his bowl of snack mix on the floor. I look next to me and Samuel is using one of the cloth squares from his Box 'O Squares (a container full of different textured fabric pieces) to help. If he's going to make a mess at least he cleans it up!

After his bath I comb his hair and then he tries to combs my bangs.

During diaper changes (or anytime he can get his hands on them) he pulls wipes out of the container. One after the other, after the other....

He's always loved to play with water bottles; they make a great crunchy sound and it's fun to watch the water swish around. Now he will hold them up to our mouths so we can have a drink.

He is very generous with his snacks, especially crackers. He will take a little nibble off the end and then hold it out for us to have a bite. It started with just crackers but now he offers most of his food to us. Either he's just really thoughtful or he doesn't like what's on the menu.

Our phones are an endless source of entertainment for Samuel. He pushes the buttons and chews on them (the numerous teeth scratches on my Blackberry screen are proof). Occasionally, he even calls someone. The other day he called Allen's friend Stephen. I saw he had the phone up to his ear and could hear someone saying "Hello?" as I got closer he held the phone out for me. Later that day he also called my friend Amber. Thanks for helping us keep in touch with our friends, sweetheart!

My personal favorite is when he "helps" me put the laundry away. He takes an item out, examines it, then flings it over his shoulder with reckless abandon. Then he moves on to the next item in the basket. He does this with newly washed clothes and even with the clothes that are folded in his drawers. I guess I'm getting a preview of what his room will look like in 15 years.

Here he is helping me sort his 18 month clothes (note the pile he threw behind him):

(Miniature) Human Garbage Disposal

We all know that babies put any and everything they can into their mouths. Disgusting, but true. Samuel seems to have a few favorites though.

Things my kid will eat that are not food (in order of preference):

1. Toilet paper
2. Clothing price tags
3. Cardboard books
4. Hair and fur
5. Grass
6. Rocks
7. Plastic bags
8. Flip flops
9. Wood puzzles and/or blocks

Honorable mention (since this is actually a beverage):

10. Drinking his own bathwater

This might not be so bad except that Samuel refuses to eat most of the real food we give him. Breakfast in particular is a battle. Most of it ends up on the floor. Do you think there is any money to be made in nutritional toilet paper? I can make it fruit flavored and, heck, even organic!

It's Official....

We have a toddler!

According to Allen, Samuel started walking Monday, August 23rd at 2:23 PM. He was downstairs in the hallway and took 4 steps. Then he took about 7 more steps. Allen yelled for me come down so of course I stormed down the stairs but no matter what type of bribery we tried he just kept crawling over to me to be picked up. He didn't want to show Mommy his new trick.

So according to me he didn't start walking until tonight because, as everyone knows, it isn't official until Mommy sees! He definitely walked the most tonight too. We were in the kitchen making dinner and he took about 11 consecutive steps. Then, after dinner (which was eggplant parmesan - yum!) I grabbed the camera and shot a video.

Mr. Personality

In the last 6 months it seems like Samuel has been growing and changing so fast we can barely keep up! He's learning so many new motor skills and it's exciting to see him become more independent. The other day he mastered going down the stairs and he is very proud of himself. He keeps going up and down over and over again.

Allen's also been working on walking and has him taking up to 3-4 steps at a time. I don't think it officially counts though since he isn't really getting up on his own and taking steps. He has to be bribed, usually with a toy, or cheese, which is his favorite food.

Although it's fun to watch him move around and play, my favorite changes have been in his interaction with us. He has such a distinct personality now and he is starting to pick up on things we are teaching him. Of course since his parents are a couple of silly dorks he is developing a great sense of humor. It's nice to have someone else amused by our nonsense other than us! He is imitating a lot of the funny things we do like initiating games of peek-a-boo all the time, shaking his head back and forth and tilting his head to the side. All of which are things we have done to make him laugh.

He also finds a lot of random things to be hilarious. Yesterday I gave him Eskimo kisses for the first time and he laughed nonstop. He also likes when I put a toy on my head and then "sneeze" to make it go flying across the room. Allen hides and jumps out at him or sneaks up on him from behind.

Samuel loves games of anticipation so another thing we do is Itsy Bitsy Spider and 1-2-3 tickle. Allen's personal favorite is "chainsaw hands," complete with the revving up noises at the beginning. Mommy isn't crazy about sawing off baby's appendages, but it does send him into a fit of giggles.

He's become such an affectionate dude. My little babe loves to snuggle. He will often be engrossed in a toy across the room and crawl over to me and want to be picked up and cuddled. I think of it like he has to refuel and recharge his love batteries. Since he definitely enjoys being held and carried it seems only fitting that the third word he's learned to say (after da-da and ma-ma) is UP!

Sweet Samuel also likes to sit on my lap facing me and lays his head on my chest. He's even started sitting on the couch and intermittently snuggling while we watch Sesame Street. This is usually when he is a little sleepy which is fine by me. Since he rarely sits still I'll take the cuddles any time I can get them. It seems like just as soon as he settles down he's off again. It's almost like a switch is flipped in his brain that compels him to always be doing something!

Zoo-rifically Lame

I love the zoo. I always have, so of course I have been anxiously awaiting Samuel’s first trip to the zoo. We have been waiting all year to take him. In fact, he’s been just about everywhere else a baby could possibly go except the zoo. We’ve taken him to the Children’s Museum 3 times, the botanic gardens, a history museum, 2 different aquariums, you get the idea. I kept deliberately avoiding the zoo because I wanted him to be old enough to really enjoy it and I thought that his first birthday would be perfect timing. Boy was I wrong. He seriously could have cared less.

Let’s start at the beginning. On Tuesday we woke up early so we could get to the zoo around lunch time. I put Samuel in his special zoo outfit – swim trunks with zoo animals, a shirt with animals in a safari jeep and, to top it off, a safari hat with little zoo animals around the brim. Then I slathered him up in sunscreen. He was ready! We loaded up the car with his stroller, structured backpack carrier, a picnic lunch, a change of clothes in case Samuel wanted to play in the fountains, snacks for the ride and a fully stocked diaper bag.

The ride up was pretty uneventful. We just made a pit stop to get a couple Subway sandwiches for our picnic lunch. When we got there things started to take a turn. Parking was a mess. We finally saw a lady leaving so we waited for her to load up her kids and get out of there. As would anyone else who had been driving around a parking garage for 15 minutes. Some nut had the bright idea that he should get out of his car to let us know how much he appreciates having to wait an extra 3 minutes so we can have this lady’s spot. I pretty much told him to suck it up. Not that I wanted to be confrontational but I can’t stand people who feel the need to go on crusade about something as ridiculous as a parking spot.

We get parked and unload our baggage then get Samuel set up in the backpack carrier. Dad straps him on and we get going. We get into the zoo and head for the first interesting animal – the lions. We look around, and then look around some more. No lions. Okay, moving on. We head over to the zebras. Whew! The zebras are out. We turn on the video camera, expecting Samuel to get really excited about seeing his favorite animal from the books we read, and he could barely even looked. I think he briefly pointed but that’s about it. So this went on with just about every animal there. He did seem to like the leopard but I think it’s because they had the poor animal in a tiny glass enclosure and it was thisclose to us. Whatever, at least my kid was entertained. The other animal Samuel seemed to like was the Komodo dragon. Random, I know.

About 2 hours in Samuel fell asleep. It was a hot day and most of the animals were hiding in their caves or a shady reclusive spot so I can imagine he was pretty bored. I had hoped he would make it to the monkeys since they are usually pretty entertaining but he was passed out. Allen and I kind of walked around for a while on our own but the thrill was gone. We stopped by and saw the spider monkey, which really does crawl just like Samuel with his bum in the air, and then skedaddled.

I’m still glad we went even though I don’t think Samuel really understood what was going on. I’m sure in his little baby mind this is just another time when he has thought, “why do these crazy people keep dragging me all of these strange places with strange people (and now strange animals) when all I really want to do is take a big nap snuggled up on the couch and then play with my toys.”

It's FUN to be ONE!

We turned our house into a zoo, invited some party animals over and got wild for Samuel’s first birthday! He had a great day surrounded by family and friends who showered him with lots of love and attention.

He had his Nana here from Houston, Grandpa Sam from Albuquerque, Aunt Julia from Wichita Falls, along with Great Grandma & Grandpa Graham from California!





Samuel had a very special shirt & bib. Mommy also made a crown for him to wear on every birthday until he is old enough to refuse.





Mommy made a monkey cake to fit in with the zoo themed decorations.



Several of our Cheyenne friends came over for a barbecue lunch outside and Samuel played in the grass with his baby friends.





Samuel threw his first cupcake on the floor before finally digging in to the second (with encouragement from Mom & Dad).





We opened a lot of exciting gifts – toys that turn, click, roll, clank, clatter, open, twist, sing, light up and just about every other activity to entertain a big, one-year old boy.



Of course he enjoyed playing with the balloons most of all!



Samuel and his friends pulled the strings on the lion piñata and all kinds of fun toys, fruit snacks and sugary sweets fell out.



After the guests left the birthday boy splashed around outside in his froggy pool.



The family spent the rest of the evening assembling Samuel's new train table and Radio Flyer Coupe, taking things out of the boxes and playing!





It was truly a beautiful celebration. We all had a great time and the whole day was exactly how I had imagined and planned. A perfect day for a perfect little boy!

Baby Snatcher

There’s a baby snatcher on the loose in Cheyenne! Don’t panic. It’s just Allen. Lately he’s been running off with Samuel on self-proclaimed Dad-Son Outings. Most of these outings are just to the library’s amazing indoor play area. Samuel loves to turn the wheels and open the little doors and spin the knobs and all the other great features of the wooden “Bookmobile.” Lately, he has even been showing interest in the other part of the play center which has these metal letter/picture tiles that you slip into slots and then you turn a wheel to make them go up the conveyor belt. This is obviously meant for older kids, but since my kid is undoubtedly a genius he has started to pick up the tiles and tries fitting them into the slots. :tear: I am so proud.

I think it is great that Allen enjoys doing things with Samuel on his own. He is such an awesome dad. Of course, I always appreciate a little mom time too even if all I accomplish is unloading the dishwasher without the help of a little two foot person. I have to say though that when they are on their outings I always wonder what they are up to and imagine them getting into some mischief. I know one day Allen will make good on his threats to fill Samuel full of ice cream and take him to an R-rated movie. Hopefully he will wait a few years. I think the library is perfect for now.

The Real World Cheyenne

Allen shot this clip yesterday and played it over and over again. I guess it really amused him. He thought it was hilarious that I was all sweet and nice when I thought he was taping me and then I got "real."

Now In the Ring....

Wearing a Pamper's Cruisers diaper, size 4....

The World Heavyweight Champion of Sleep-fighting....

Samuel Graham!



I guess that's what happens when you fight sleep all day! He literally fell asleep mid-grape. My mom says I used to fall asleep in my highchair too.

Fighting Back Tears

I told myself that I would NOT cry just because my baby is turning one. In fact, I've always prided myself on being very un-mushy and devoid of all the silly, girly emotions that can be downright annoying (especially when glorified in bad chick flicks), but becoming a mother has changed me in a lot of ways.

Although I've never been particularly emotional I am pretty sentimental so there is no way that I would let Samuel's 1st birthday pass without marking the occasion significantly, so tonight I wrote him a very heartfelt letter about our first year together and I cried about a bucket. I thought it was appropriate since I also wrote him a letter right before he was born. I cried a bucket then too.

I think part of why I cried a bucket tonight is because it reminded me of one of the first nights after we brought him home. He was so tiny and orange (jaundice) and beautiful and helpless and I kept thinking about how his tiny little hand would some day be bigger than mine and how when he was in my tummy I never had to worry about him, he was always right there, but now I have to share him with the world. Most of all I thought about how he would grow up faster than I would ever realize and that before I know it he will be a man who doesn't need his Mommy. I cried about 3 buckets that night, but I blame the two extra buckets on postpartum hormones.

Here's hoping that I got all the tears out tonight so Saturday will be full of nothing but joy and happiness. (And for those of you keeping track we are up to 5 buckets of tears which is certainly some kind of record for me).

Water Baby

Yesterday Samuel and I had a fabulous time at the Fort Collins City Pool. That place is like a neighborhood pool on steriods! Another reason why FoCo is better than Cheyenne, but I'll save that rant for another day. So anyway, this place has a lazy river, two awesome water slides for the big kids (ME), spray park, water playground thingy, you get the idea. We met up with some of the mom's from my Spouses Helping Spouses group. They are quickly becoming some of my favorite ladies and Im so sad that one of them is moving this week.

Samuel is getting very independent and even though he isnt walking yet that didnt stop him from wanting to explore EVERYTHING. He crawled right up to the water and headed toward the spray structure so he could "touch" the water. He got pretty close before he realized that he cant breathe underwater. He's experiemented with that a few times in the bathtub but I guess he forgot. He was getting pretty frustrated with the whole nearly drowing concept so I kept offering to help him walk where he wanted to go. He told me in no uncertain terms that he didnt need my help so I used my Super Mom power-of-distraction and got him interested in chasing a beach ball.

That was great fun and he chased it up and down the shore line 3-4 times before he noticed the water playground. Recently he has mastered the stairs at home so naturally he intends to show all stairs who's boss. So over to the stairs he went and with Mom following closely behind he went right up to the top. He really wanted to go down the slide but some of the bigger kids pushed him aside. Good thing Mom was there to help him find something else to do. We touched some more water and ran under the sprayers. He was particuarlly fascinated by the way his wet hand would leave a handprint on the cement so I showed him that mine hand and feet left prints too. He loved that!

All-in-all a great day full of laughs and smiles and good times with good friends. I even got to go down the big, swirly slide which really made my day. The pool closes for the season this week since we will probably have a snowstorm later this month (seriously, it could happen) so we wont get to go back until next year. I know it will still be a blast but a little part of me will miss my sweet, adventurous baby who is so amazed by everything around him and doesn't know his own limits.

I'm Baaack!

So here we go again. I tried this last fall and it didn't go too well. I made one entry and then kind of forgot about it. Of course, I had a few other things on my mind at the time. Namely a 3-month old who kept me pretty busy. He is actually the reason I want to start blogging. His 1st birthday is just a few days away and I am now very aware of how fast he is growing up. I want to make sure I am keeping track of our adventures!

Also, because this is now a goal of mine I am determined to meet and exceed the expectation I have set for myself. I am trying to do more of that. Less procrasinating and more doing!