Month Eighteen

Dear Sam,

So, since last month was just a photo update, I really owe you a nice and meaty recap of the 18th month of your life, and/or your life thus far. Lucky for you (and me), there has been a lot going on! You are at the age where your mind sort of explodes with information and you can do and say lots of things. So, let’s get started!

First, I want to make note of your size. You are slimming down. Really. I am serious. Even though it may not look like it, you are getting to be very svelte. At your doctor’s appointment your height was in the 90th percentile and your weight only in the 50th. I am wondering if most of your weight is being held in your cheeks.

But, it is no surprise you are slimming down because you are on a special Sam regimen which includes not sitting still ever, and only drinking milk and eating fruit, with added “tastes” of other foods just to spice it up. (Maybe I will try this regimen. Although, it does require about 14 hours of sleep a day, which I am not sure I can squeeze in.)

Your busyness and energy are still going strong. And, now when we go on walks, you like to walk yourself. Although it is more of a trot around the neighborhood. You are freakishly good at kicking a soccer ball around and say, “GOAL! GOAL! GOAL!” as you are kicking it. Sometimes, you carry the ball around like it’s a stuffed animal. If we don’t capitalize on this interest in sports, we as parents, have failed you. Your Daddy tried throwing you the ball one day to see if you could catch it, and YOU COULD. (Don’t tell Abe, but he couldn’t catch a ball until he was 3. Or maybe, he didn’t care to catch a ball until he was 3.) And, you caught the ball five times in a row. It was not a fluke. Okay, I am done bragging about your sports skills.

You are talking up a storm now, and are at the point where we hear a new word every day. You call yourself “Mama” (I have no idea why) and say “DogDog” the most. My favorite is the way you say, “No.” It is about 5 syllables long and his a bit of attitude in it. You call your blanked, “Nigh Nigh” and sometimes when you get tired, you say, “Nigh Nigh?” As if asking us to go to bed. I never in all of your 18 months thought that would happen.

You were Luigi and your brother was Mario (Ya-yee-o as you say) for Halloween. I honestly think you could care less, although you absolutely did not want to be SpongeBob and would not wear the costume. I think you knew who Luigi was, and the fact that it was cool like Abe’s was good enough for you. You love everything that Abe loves. You had the best time every trick-or-treating. You would walk right up to the door and grab a handful of candy out of the bowl. I am sure you don’t even know what candy is, because you have never had a piece, but you HAD TO HAVE the candy IN YOUR HANDS at all times. You held one piece in each of your tiny fists. You got so excited at all of the pumpkins (or Bo-bos – I know, don’t ask) and all of the other trick-or-treaters.

Your favorite things are animals, sports, Wiggles, and anything that Abe likes. If Abe is liking Toy Story, you like Toy Story. If Abe is liking Super Mario, you like Super Mario. You still love Elmo and get excited when you see him. You love the Wiggles (even though Abe has moved on) and you try to dance along to their songs. It is pretty adorable. You love to try new things and seem to enjoy every new situation we put you in. I know when you are older, your big brother will have to watch out for you, because he will be more cautious. But, it is good that you balance each other out. He loves you a lot, and you are lucky.

While you can be a bit meat-headish, you can also be super snuggly. In the mornings you always want to drink your milk in my lap and I see you walking over to me, with a sippy cup in one hand and holding your blankey up in the other. It is one of my favorite things ever. You, snuggled in my lap, all warmy toasty, laying on the couch before the sun comes up.

Yesterday, I was digging through your drawer to get a pair of PJs for you to wear. I found a pair of Elmo PJs -- softy pants with tiny Elmos on them, and a long-sleeved shirt with Elmo’s face. It made me so happy to think about you wearing them, and how cute you would look in them. And then, it hit me like sometimes it does, that this time of the Elmo PJs and lap snuggles is a fleeting one. And for that moment I wanted to stop time and keep you in your Elmo PJs forever. Sometimes being a Mama hurts so bad.

Love,
Mama