All About Sammy

At the moment I am writing this, Sammy is almost 18 months old. The time since we have had him in our family has just flown by. But now I can't imagine life without him. He is such a busybody and always trying to keep up with his older siblings. At 16 months he learned how to walk, and now we can't keep up with his messes. Here are some of the cute things Sammy is doing now.

1. He loves basketball. He just starts shaking whenever he sees a basketball hoop he wants to play so bad. We bought him a kiddie basketball hoop and he was so excited when Daddy brought it through the door. He loves to throw the ball in over and over again. He also loves throwing any type of ball really.

2. Sammy loves his shoes. When I told him we were going outside to get the mail today, he disappeared upstairs for a minute, then the next thing I saw he had gotten his shoes out and wanted me to put them on him. They are usually the first thing he wants to put on in the morning, and he gets really upset when I take them off at night.

3. You can always tell when Sammy has been in a room. He loves to pull stuff out of drawers and cabinets and scatter the room with them. Especially my tupperware dishes, and the kids' plastic dishes, and he loves getting a hold of Ben's toothbrush and sucking on it and carrying it around the house.

4. Something not so great Sammy has been doing. He is obsessed with the garbage can. He loves to pull stuff out of there, and again throw it all over the floor. If there is anything edible in there, he will eat it. And just lately he has been throwing various things in there, like shoes. We have got to find a better place to store that garbage can.

5. He loves to give kisses, and will give them at random times. He also will lay his head on you like he is giving you a hug. He can be a very cuddly boy when he wants to be, but usually would rather be on the move. When I am sitting on the ground, he loves to come over and try to push me down so he can climb on me and then give me a kiss or cuddle. Very sweet.

6. Another not so great thing. He has learned how to pull hair, and he will do it anytime he feels left out or if someone tries to take away something he feels belongs to him. Both Ashlee and Ben have been good sports when he pulls their hair, and try not to hurt him back. I hope he will grow out of it, but at the same time it is his only defense, and it is a little bit cute to watch him try to defend himself.

7. He likes to scream at random times to get attention. He still does not say anything, except "hey," but he is a master of nonverbal communication. With a combination of pointing, and verbal noises he is usually able to communicate whatever he wants. (Why talk if you don't need to?)

8. He can be a very picky eater, but always guzzles down his milk. Out of the three kids, Sammy has been the skinniest toddler of all of them.

9. He loves the outdoors. He discovered our sandbox a few months ago, and I think he could be happy out there playing for hours. But he is a social kid and likes people out there with him, and wants to come in if nobody is out there with him.

10. We just love our Sammy baby. Sometimes I feel I could just eat him up he is so cute. I love his smile, and it just lights up his whole face. You can't help smiling yourself when you see that grin. I just love that boy so much. He has got the cutest personality ever. I am sad kids have to grow up, because they are just perfect the way they are. But maybe when they grow up, I will still feel the same way about them. I love being a wife and mother more than anything, and I have the best job ever being able to stay home and take care of my kids.