Twelve Months with Sammy!

What a fun month Sammy!  I can't believe you just finished off the first year of your life and celebrated your very first birthday.  It is amazing how much love you have brought into our lives and those of our friends and family.  You truly are a joy and the best part of my soul.  I love you so much Sammy.

This month, you left your sticker alone, but refused to smile.

I think you may have broken the cuteness meter this month.  Seeing you in fall clothes looking like a little man was melting my heart.  Baby clothes are cute, but toddler boy clothes, o m g.  You also are cutting teeth right and left which is funny because for the last 5 months you've only had two.  I think you are up to 4 through the gums and 4 more right on the edge of breaking through.  The first top tooth caused some pain for all, but the other ones were so quiet, I didn't even realize they were coming (hopefully that's a trend).

This month was really fun.  The weather was perfect and you were lighting up our days with something new all the time.  You had some really big milestones happen this month which included walking and your first words!  On 9/23 you took a ton of steps for the first time.  You then continued to do it again and again amazing us with how you needed to just let go of your fears and go for it.  I took you to little gym for the first time and you were the youngest in the class.  It was awesome to watch you see the other toddlers running around.  By the time we left you were walking all over the place.  I filmed you by the end and you were walking for over a minute straight!

I can say that leading up to this milestone was hard for you and conversely for me too.  I think you were extremely frustrated wanting to walk but being afraid to let go or not having quite mastered the concept in your mind.  Your sleep was disrupted and Oscar the grouch could have been your twin.  I hate to say it, but there was a definitely a day in there when I swore we would both be better off if I went back to work.  Fortunately, once you started walking it was back in business for sweet baby Sammy.

With the change of weather and your new upright mobility, it was time to fork over the exorbatant amount of money for your first pair of shoes.  Seriously, I don't spend this much on my own shoes which will last me more than 2-3 months and are a good 5x bigger than yours.  Come on stride rite, have a sale already!  You've got some big feet kiddo!  5.5 wide!

We got you some lunch first (good rule of thumb, never take a hungry baby shopping) and you have started making it a point to take over our food too.  Here you are enjoying Daddy's sandwich!

Your very first word that wasn't mama, dada, baba which I think we apply meaning to rather than you knowing what you are saying was "UP"  You clearly said it with hands outstretched for me when I was in the kitchen with you.  It totally took me by surprise and you better believe I picked you right up!  The funny thing is now when we are driving I hear you screaming Up, Up, Up, Up!  Sorry dude, but you mean out and also sorry but you're stuck.  Ever since you became mobile you have grown an increasing dislike for being tied down.  The stroller and the car are now two torture devices. 

Some other fun milestones:

You learned how to throw and understand when I saw throw the ball to Bailey!  You even initiate playing fetch on your own.  Bailey and I love playing with you.  Seeing you beam with pride after Bailey retrieves the ball you've thrown is really awesome.

You dance!  At first I thought you were having a seizure but then I realized you were boobing your head to the song on one of your toys.  Now you dance when you are standing and it is really freaking cute!  I can even say dance Sammy dance and you do it.  Pretty awesome to watch you connecting so many words to actions. 

Your fearlessness and desire to get into everything is also increasing.  I've turned my head several times and had to raise my jaw off the ground when I see what you've gotten yourself into in a matter of seconds.  You are finding your way into everything now by climbing.  Your rocking chair, the dishwasher, the kitchen drawers.  You are keeping me on my toys little man!

This month's edition of it got too quiet:

We also lowered your crib before you figured your way out of it and got hurt.  You are getting SO tall!  Here you are helping Daddy.  I hope you learn how to be a handyman like him.

You also really started reading on your own, you love it!  It cracks me up because you are thumbing through books to look at the pictures.  You really love the colors and images from Daddy's berstein bear collection.  You also adore touch and feel books as well as any type of peek a boo books.  Though, you keep destroying them which is really annoying.

 You are giving the best hugs.  They are so wonderful.  First thing in the morning or after naps, or sometimes just because we've come to pick you up or you are in the mood to snuggle.  They are so deliberate and provide such a wonderful sense of a job well done.  I love that you love to be loved and that you adore showing affection.

We also did a lot of fun fall activities.  We took you to the pumpkin patch for hte first time.  To the fall festival in our neighborhood and out for lots of walks.  It is amazing to reflect back on this time of year last year and remember all the things we did leading up to your arrival, to bring you home to those first sleepless weeks.  I have a whole new reason to love fall.

Happy 12 months Sammy!