- Samuel walked over to my dad, who was dosing in the recliner, and stood there for quite a while just watching him. When my dad finally woke up, he ran away!
- After just a few days he would walk around calling for Grandpa (Pa-pa), Nana and MaMaw (Mo-mo).
- He would sit in the chair with Grandpa and dance (bounce) on his lap.
- Every morning he would knock on the bedroom door to the Master bedroom to wake up Nana and MaMaw. He wouldn't stop until one of them woke up and opened the door for him.
- He loved playing with the faucet of the Master bath's spa tub. If we couldnt find him that is usually where he was, making a big puddly mess. He also liked to splashe Nana when he's in the tub, soaking her and the floor.
- My dad would pick Samuel up facing out and then throw his legs over his shoulder which made Samuel (and Grandpa) laugh and laugh with each toss.
- He was fascinated by watching the scrolling text on the bottom of the screen when my dad watched Fox News.
- He would walk with my mom or dad and holds their hand. When my dad and I took him to the park he got upset when my dad walked too fast and he couldnt catch up. When he stopped Samuel ran over and grabbed his hand.
- He would gesture to be picked up by all of them by lifting his arms and making an uh-uh-uh noise.
- He was really glad that they all spoiled him with food, both good things and bad. MaMaw would give him lots of cut-up fruit, made him scrambled eggs and toast or even pancakes. My dad fed him bites of his ice cream. Nana shared her cookies. Although, he begged everyone for crushed ice from the fridge. He would find a cup and just stand there holding it up until someone filled it with ice.
- He had a good time standing up on the granite countertops of the kitchen to play with the sink faucet and sprayer.
- He always wanted to "help" with the laundry so he could watch the clothes go around and around in the washer and dryer.
- He wanted to turn on or off the light/fan switches in every room and got especially excited when he got to push the garage door opener. In fact, by the time we left it was his "job" to open and close the garage door.
- The first time Grandpa took him to the park and was surprized by how much he could do by himself like climb up stairs and go down the slide. He also laughed that Samuel was sometimes more intersted in things on the ground like sticks and leaves (or even cigarette butts) than the equipment.
- I would often catch Samuel playing with some of the same things that fascinated me as a kid. It just goes to show that my parents have some pretty old stuff around! He fiddled with the metal ornamentation on the posters of the bed frame, moved all the switches and dials on the record player, and turned the knob on the bottom of the speakers.
- He had fun playing with my old Fisher Price Teaching Clock and Chatter Telephone. His favorite toy was my old Alf doll with a voice box that plays recorded messages when you push his tummy. He also pushed one of my old Cabbage Patch dolls around in his shopping cart. We played grocery store and he got to be the "Daddy" doing the shopping.
- My mom was a great help and would even chased him around stores so I could shop. One day, at Old Navy, she had to retrieve him when he started pushing another mother's stroller - with her baby inside!
- One evening he "stole" my dads rocking recliner chair and didnt want to get up. He liked making it rock back and forth!
- He crawled up under the bed for the first time in the guest room. He kept lifting the skirt and then finally just crawled right under to explore.
- He had fun spending time outdoors in the warm weather and even got to mow the lawn!
I'm not quite sure they were prepared for all of Samuel's activity. They had to learn about living with a toddler again, especially since he gets into everything and leaves a trail of messes in his wake, but they sure had a lot of fun!
