15 Month Sam ( May 9 - June 9 )

For those that don't know...we have officially moved from North Dakota!

Blurry.  Sorry.

This was a pretty crazy month for us.

On the day of Sam's 14 month milestone, he was actually on a plane headed back to Kansas with my mom.  She had come to ND to help out while the packers and movers came (Zach was still in Alabama).  I was so sad when they left (no kiddo with me on Mother's Day), but I am SO GLAD he wasn't there.  Even I was going a little insane in the empty house with nothing to sit on or do (except clean, blah).

My mom and Sam left on Thursday, Zach got back to ND on Sunday, and we spent that week closing on the house and transferring records from the AF base there to the new base in Missouri.  We made the long drive to Kansas on Saturday to see Sam before bedtime, stayed at my parents place for a few days, went to St. Louis to see Zach's family, and went to the lake with my family.  It was a BUSY month, but it was very happy.

We are now going to be so much closer to both sides of the family, we are in the process of building a home that we are so excited about, and although it has been an inconsistent time for Sam, he has been doing SO well.

Sent to me via text from my mom
on Mother's Day morning

In heaven.  Fans at the hardware store.

A boy and his dog.

 15 Month Sam Update

Words & Actions:  
"b-uhsssss" = bus
"haawk-eeee" = hockey (will do this anytime he sees the Chicago Blackhawks logo, and will then insist on having his hockey stick in hand)
"cookie cookie cookie" = either wants a cookie, has spotted Cookie Monster somewhere, or would like to watch the "C Is For Cookie" Sesame Street video on YouTube.

A few other old words that we still hear daily are Jayhawk, Mia, cheese, and ball.

He covers his ears and scream talk when things are loud, will repeat the letters if you go through the alphabet with him, he makes sounds for boats, trucks, airplanes, dogs, elephants, and will identify pretty much anything basic that we ask him (foods, vehicles, clothing, body parts, animals, things in nature...).

Looking for boats down on the lake.

Sam in his "boat coat" (which was once used by his
Uncle Alan, long, long ago).

It is crazy to see how much he actually understands, but he just doesn't have enough of the verbal capabilities to express his knowledge.  I think that frustrates him sometimes, which has caused a few pretty impressive tantrums...but I'm still at the stage where I do the necessary discipline, and then have to turn my face away so I can smile and chuckle a little bit.  He just looks so ridiculous, and it is still funny because it doesn't happen very often.

He has also started to push my buttons.  He does the deal where I'll ask him not to do something, but he'll look over his shoulder at me with a little smirk and slowly keep doing whatever I've asked him NOT to do.  It is like he is taunting me, which can be so annoying!  I think he just needed some guy time with his dad...hooray for that happening towards the end of May.  :)

Finally reunited with his dad after two months of training in
Alabama.  He was in need of some rough-housing.

Hockey!

Sam's second haircut

Interests:
He still loves reading books, especially ones where we ask him to point out different things on each page.  Any wheel or tire he sees has to be spun by him, but he has started to really investigate HOW the wheel spins.  He seems to be very intrigued with faces and the emotions that can be portrayed by a quick move of the mouth or eyebrows.  We've started going to a playgroup at our new base, and he would rather sit and watch the kids than play (although he does like playgrounds and the challenges they present as a new walker).

He can't get enough of the outdoors --- swinging, walks in the red wagon, walking Mia on her leash, and blowing bubble wands.  Also, lucky for us, he enjoys wrapping up the day with a nice bath.  He is walking EVERYWHERE now (demands to have shoes on all of the time), and he just looks like a dirty little boy by the end of the day.  Plop him in the tub and he couldn't be happier.

Sleeping:
Bath starts at 7:30, books and bedtime is at 8:00.  He wakes up most mornings between 7:15-8:00.  He is still pretty predictable with two naps (10:30-12:00 and 3:30-5:00), but the past week he has been dying for the morning nap around 9:30, and is a little hit and miss with an afternoon nap.  He LOVES being in his crib, especially if the bottom two items are present.  I recommend the Fisher Price Ocean Wonders Soothe and Glow Seahorse to anyone.  It plays soft music, and the stomach lights up --- it is something to distract the kid while you get out of the room, and it shuts off after about 5 minutes.  

We also got him some summer pajamas....separates that are short sleeve with no footie bottoms.  He looks so darn cute.  The only really discouraging thing this month has been a short stent of intense night terrors.  He would wake up at 2 a.m. with a shrill scream that sounded like he'd seen a ghost.  His eyes were shut though, and it was nearly impossible to settle him down.  It hasn't happened much in the recent days, but it was pretty terrifying for awhile for everyone in the house.  

Eating:
At the start of the month, he had a big appetite increase....he was downing everything we handed him....salmon, wild rice, red beans and rice, nuggets, hummus (his fave).  He is on all whole milk now, which is lovely.  It is so nice to be formula free!  Last time I counted he had 11 teeth, but in the last two days we're suspecting there are more poking through on the bottom left side.  He hasn't been sleeping well, puts his finger to the back left side to chew on it, and hasn't been eating a lot of solid foods.  We've gone back to the baby food pouches and soft foods like sweet potato and super-steamed broccoli.  

He has had a good month and proven that he does fairly well with inconsistency.  The poor kid has been in cribs all over the midwest (North Dakota, my parents' house, Zach's parents' house, the lake, and the temporary living facility that we are in on the base).  We've allowed a few things to slide like still drinking from a bottle, and having a pacifier when he wants it...we just want him to have a few things that ARE consistent and comforting during this transition time.  Those things will phase out eventually...   :)

Here are two videos....the first is of Sam driving the boat, and the second is of him checking out his room at the new house.   More pictures of the house to come.