Review

OK. So, it's been FOREVER... I will not waste time with any excuses. I feel bad enough. There's no reason to feel worse though. I'm a busy person... in no particular order: wife, mother of 2, full-time job outside the home, plenty of work at home... need I go on? I'm not going to try to recap a whole year+, but I will hit the highlights... which are pretty recent.

Right now at home, the a/c is out AGAIN, piles of laundry to be ironed are on the guest bed or hung in the laundry closet, bathrooms need to be cleaned, furniture needs to be dusted, floors vacuumed and scrubbed, too many spots in the carpet to tackle...

Hubby: trying to create a portfolio for his leadership program... working on his administrator's certification. I'm so proud of him! His job is demanding. There's a lot for him to tackle each day. He handles it well... another reason I'm proud of him. He's an amazing dad... somehow manages to put everything about himself aside when he gets home so he can devote himself to me and his children. VERY PROUD! Got me some roses for our 13th anniversary last week... SWEETIE!

Samuel: Started Kindergarten last Tuesday (8/7):

What you don't see in that picture is what he received Friday before last (8/3):

Yes! It's a cast. He fell in a bouncy house and fractured his humerus right at the elbow. Praise God - he did not need surgery. We are thankful it was not worse! We have a week down and 5 more to go. He's managed to learn to write really well with his left hand. Again... I'm proud!

Benjamin: Now 21 months. Talking up a storm these days. Trying complete sentences. He came home a couple of weeks ago saying Ben-ja-min instead of Ben-min.... made me want to cry. I think that was the first time I thought, "He's not a baby anymore." He's potty-training at day care... I know I know. Seems early, right? But, he's pretty good at it. I'm not strict on it... don't really try much at home actually. But, they like to do it up there, so I'm not knocking it. He gets a gummy bear when he uses the potty, so why not potty!

These two boys seem to the best of friends. They are so loving with each other. And that is a blessing to me. I want them to know and live out love... So far, they're doing great!

As for me: I've been in a weird place lately. It's like I'm in a daze most of the time. Few contributing factors I'm sure of: horrible diet, lack of sleep, little time devoted to the Word. That's the biggest I think - I need the Word more than anything, yet I find little time to read and meditate on Scripture. So, I'm adopting a new philosophy.. quality over quantity. If I can find a scripture that speaks to me.. impacts me somehow.. makes me think or want to change... and then meditate on that over the next several days... If I can get that process to change me, even if only on the inside, I think that would be better than blitzing through my Bible just so I can say I did it.

So, here's my scripture for the past several days... one I'll be on for a while I think. This is tough, but it is the Word and it is required of me.

Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautions but extravagant. He didn't love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that. (Ephesians 5:2 - The Message)

In Trouble

Samuel got in trouble yesterday at school. He has been hitting his friends this week, but yesterday he had to sit in the director's office and talk to her. His punishment from us was that he did not get to watch a DVD on the way home from school and he could not play concert when he got home. That means, no music DVDs or CDs, no drums, no guitar, no microphone... no concert. Boy, he wasn't too happy when his daddy told him that, but he got over it pretty quickly when his daddy told him that he better zip it "or else". Of course, when he got up this morning, he was ready to get his microphone and sing along with a DVD. :)

Benjamin turned four months this week. We didn't have a big celebration. We did however go buy some formula since my pumping at work doesn't provide quite enough for the little piggy. He had a little taste of some one night this week, but didn't take very much. I'm not sure if it was because of the taste, the temperature, the fact that he'd had about an ounce of milk about an hour prior, or that he was just too sleepy to drink any more.

Last night was the first night for me to attempt putting Benjamin in his crib without the sleep positioner. He's always been in there on his side. It didn't last. He woke up pretty quickly. So, next time I put him in there on his side with a pillow at his back. That was better. I guess we'll slowly work our way to getting him comfortable on his back (at least to start the night). I'm really proud of him. He sleeps usually 5-6 hour stretches (sometimes longer) the first part of the night. He stays awake much of the day since he's at day care, so that helps. I just wish I could get those 6 hours he gets - goes down between 7 and 8 but I'm usually up until 9 at least. I have high hopes for the boy though. If he's anything like Samuel (which up to now, he has been), he'll start sleeping through the whole night around 6 months. I guess that was from being a little more satisfied with food. I'm looking forward to it!

Raspberries

Benjamin came home yesterday afternoon trying to blow raspberries. You know raspberries? When you basically spit with your lips together? Well, Benjamin tries it by sucking his bottom lip in. It's hilarious! I posted a video on YouTube... catch the first couple of seconds to see him. There's a second video that is longer... it takes him a while to get warmed up on it.

While you're out there, you can also see a video I posted when Samuel was three months old blowing raspberries. He's much better at it in his video, but equally as cute!

It's funny how much alike they look. I'm so blessed with two beautiful boys! Here they are side by side - both about 3 months.

Long Time, No Blog

Okay, so we still exist... blogging has just not been on my radar. Can't believe it's been SOOOO long since I posted.

Short of a very long story is: Benjamin Scott Hollis was born October 22, 2010. Weighed 8 lbs 6 oz. and was 19 inches long.

He's now almost 4 months and probably weighs close to 20 lbs now. (He was 14 lbs 8 oz at 2 months.) He's rolling over from his back to tummy, squealing with delight and sometimes just to hear himself, and even giggling a little bit. Benjamin is taking 4-oz bottles at day care. He usually takes 4 of them a day (little pig). :) He is a good baby they say - usually only crying if he wants a bottle.

Shortly after Benjamin was born (around 3 weeks), Samuel decided to jump off the bed. The result of this was a broken femur in his left leg.

A trip to the emergency room,

being put to sleep to reduce the break and get a spica cast,

an overnight stay in the hospital, a rental of a wheelchair..... you get the drift... we were snowed under! It took him a while to adjust to the cast. We learned to keep the house really cool so that he wouldn't itch. That was the trick. 6 weeks in a cast was tough. Thankfully, his teacher at day care sent us packages very often that included the projects they were doing at school. We also received lots of get well cards and pictures from not only his class, but other teachers/classes at the day care. We were so blessed. We also did a few projects on our own to pass the time. Not to mention the concerts we put on. :)

(the brown blanket makes our stage)

The cast came off December 30. We celebrated this with a trip to Umi's (Japanese restaurant in Starkville).

It took him a couple of weeks to figure out how to walk again without limping. Now, we're back on track.

Samuel and Benjamin get along really well. Samuel is the best big brother. Benjamin doesn't cry much... he even came home used to Samuel's drums. (Guess so, since he heard them all 9 months he was in the womb...)

11/17/2010

12/6/2010

2/2/2011 (Groundhog Day - taken at day care)

2/6/2011 (reading Curious George)

Uncle Chris came for a visit in January. Highlight of the trip: He says to me while we're eating dinner one night... "Do you ever get to finish a meal?" LOL! You can tell he doesn't have children... :)

Yesterday was Valentine's Day. Samuel got a helmet, knee and elbow pads, gloves, and a horn for his bicycle. He thinks he is hot stuff! Benjamin got a couple of teethers since he is gnawing like crazy on anything he can put in his mouth.

That about does it for us for now. I'm going to try to do better about blogging. I do most little updates on Facebook, but this is a little easier to go back and reminisce.

Samuel is a Cut-Up

Before I get to Samuel's little cute stuff... today's design (palm trees) is in honor of the hubby being in Orlando, Florida this week.

Granna is here helping me with Samuel... taking him to school and picking him up, helping with laundry and meals... basically filling in for Kris. :) Such fun!

Yesterday, Samuel and Granna were coloring with markers and she told him that one of the markers was the color 'Plum'. Later that day, we were talking about opposites and she asked him what the opposite of skinny was. (Not sure where that came from...) Me, trying to find a polite answer told Samuel to say 'plump'. He said, "Plump, like the marker!" It was funny at the time.

While they were coloring, I was trying to tell Granna something and Samuel kept trying to interrupt. We've been working with him, trying to get him to say, "Excuse me" when adults are talking... Anyway, that wasn't working too good yesterday. So, Granna finally stopped and said to him that Mama was talking and he was too and she couldn't listen to both of us at the same time. She said, "Who should I listen to?" He said quite simply, "Me."

Samuel has gotten back into his Alphabooks. He likes to read the letters of the words and then say the word like he's reading. (He really knows the word from the picture.) I'm very fond of this approach... perhaps it will sink in this way. He already says "puppy" when he gets to the "dog" page, then spells "dog" and realizes the word is not "puppy" but "dog"... although he usually says "doggie".

In other news, I am 4 1/2 months pregnant (20 weeks). Next week, we go for the ultrasound to learn the gender of the baby. We are excited about this transition into the last half of the pregnancy. A little overwhelmed still, but it is becoming more and more fun. I feel the baby move every day and that helps a LOT. It will be better when the movements are bigger and can be felt from the outside so Samuel and Kris can feel them. That always seems to make it more of a reality for the men. :)

Clown Freakout

Samuel apparently does not like clowns... at least one clown in particular. His class at day care went to the library yesterday and encountered Inky the Clown there. Apparently he and another kid from his class freaked out and had to be taken back to the day care. :(

Three Poodles

I told Samuel, "I love you boocoodles." He said, "I love you three poodles."

Potty Time!

OK. So, I'm pretty terrible at this blog posting. I should be much better! I just am out of time I guess. If I had a better/faster laptop at home... If I blah blah blah... I could find a bunch of excuses.

Anyway! Lots of exciting news on the Samuel front. My child is picking up on words and sentences so quickly. He now says wonderful things like, "May I have some more milk, Mommy?" and "I don't know, Mommy." It's great! He is also potty trained. He went to school two weeks ago in pull-ups; last week in big boy underwear and now it's old hat. We still have to drag him sometimes into the bathroom for our hourly potty routine, but most of the time he comes willingly. And most of the time, he has something to do in there. I'm so excited for him, but sad at the same time. My boy is growing up... no longer a baby for sure.

We're moving on to new things. Leaving behind the old ways. Discovering the new. It's almost like growing ourselves - seeing things in a new light and experiencing them through the eyes of a two-year old. Miraculous, perhaps.

I'm sure no one reads this anymore, and it is primarily for my sad attempt at journaling. But, perhaps it will be meaningful someday to go back and look at it. ?? Perhaps.

Silly Samuel and other Updates

Just wanted to catch up on a few funny things that have happened lately...

Last night, Samuel and I were talking about the fire truck they saw at school yesterday. They were able to go outside and look at it (not sure if they climbed in or not), heard the siren, etc. I asked him if the siren went like **my own siren sound** and he said, "Yeah. That's right." Just so plainly and matter-of-factly. I fell into him I laughed so hard.

The other thing that's kind of funny is the way he tells us to get out of his way. If he wants me to move, he just says, "Scuse me, Mommy". Soooo polite! (Sometimes, we do hear... "No, Mommy! No!")

He's gotten to the stage where he laughs if we laugh. He may not know what is funny, but he'll laugh anyway. Which makes us laugh harder.. then he laughs harder... then he gets the hiccups.. then we laugh more.. vicious cycle.

He's using complete sentences now. Especially when he wants something: "I want some milk. I want Barney." or when he's bossing us around: "Sit down, Mommy. Come on, Mommy." I love it! And, I may have said before... he says "Please and Thank You" at the same time. He says he wants something, we say "What do you say?", he says "Please and thank you."

We sing the crocodile song from Barney all the time... I'll try to get that on video sometime soon. We also like the fine musician song. Samuel plays trombone, guitar, drums, cymbals, violin, keyboard, and who knows what else. The kid is a genius!

Other News: He moved up to a new class this week. That has him unhappy in the mornings. But, they still tell me that he has had a good day. So, I guess he gets over it pretty quickly. Probably when his girlfriend, Ana Collins, comes in. :)

I'm still trying to plan his birthday party. Yes, I know - it's about a week away now. This is just not my thing. I need a party planner. We'll see!

May 26 - iHeartFaces Entry

This is my first iHeartFaces (www.iheartfaces.com) entry. This week it's for silhouettes. I remembered this photo... not one of my greatest, but a wonderful moment of Samuel and his daddy playing. I took several, some with a flash and some without. I love flipping through them... seeing their faces, then their silhouettes. It was a precious moment. (March 2008 - Samuel was 9 months old)

Zoo and Other Stuff

So, I'm feeling like a pretty bad blogger. I usually feel like I have no news to share... which is bad. I guess this little post is just to say... we're still here.

However, I can say that we had an exciting weekend last weekend. We went to the Memphis Zoo. We cleverly forgot our camera, but I managed to remember late in the day that I had a camera on my phone. The pics below are from that day... not great, but the subject matter sure is cute!






I recently took this video of Samuel singing "Mr. Sun". It's better the second time around. I apologize up front for the quality... it is from my phone.


I also got some cute video last night (on my phone) of Samuel. My kid is CUTE... even if he doesn't say it right!


I wanted to post this picture too. After the fun with the above video (and some procrastinating by the little one), Samuel and Daddy konked out in the chair:

What It Was Like

What was it like without Samuel last week? Well, in a word... NICE!

We truly love and adore Samuel. No doubt about it. But, last week was so refreshing. We didn't do anything unusual really... but just to be home and to be able to talk to one another for more than one minute was wonderful! We were able to get some much-needed rest.

Samuel had a good time at Granna and Papa's. They played, read books, colored, ate and ate and ate, slept... ... ... I think it was a little tough on Granna... Samuel requires a lot of attention these days. Her house is pretty much baby-proof, but there are a few places he should not go but does anyway. It was cold up there, though, so they didn't get out very much. BUT, Granna all day and Papa at night is a lot of fun for a little kid.

Saturday, we met them at Corinth. I admit, I was thrilled that he was happy to see us. He kept saying "Mommy, hey! Daddy, hey!" over and over. He'd hug us and smile so big. What a treat!

Then we got home. Saturday and Sunday nights, he kept us up. We felt like all our rest had flown out the window. I don't know what his deal was.. gas, dreaming, mouth hurting... ?? Who knows. Then, Monday night he had this stuffy nose and kept acting like his mouth was hurting. So, of course, I doped him up. Motrin and Benadryl (and of course Mylicon.. that's nightly anyway). And... he slept all night. He got more Benadryl last night, and he slept all night. I know it sounds cruel... but sometimes, you gotta get some sleep!

So, while it was nice for Samuel to be gone for a while... we are VERY glad to have him back home. He is so much fun... and funny. Now he is doing the Mr. Sun song from Barney - motions and all. He cracks me up. I love that little turkey-trot.

In other news, I just received word that MSU will not be closed for spring break. Here's the deal... no classes, so no students and no faculty. No major administrative initiatives to be implemented that week. Spring Break is the perfect time to shut down and conserve. There's no telling how much money we could save in utilities.. and with the budget crunch coming, why not? It really makes no sense to me. It would be so nice to be home or travel or whatever. So, what does this mean for me? I'll end up turning in leave to take off so that I can spend some time with Kris and Samuel... probably go up to TN and monkey around with the fam for a couple of days. Oh, the joys of university life... non-faculty university life that is. :)

A Few Days without Samuel

It sounds highly unusual, right? A few days without Samuel. It is almost like we've disowned him or something. But, no! He's spending a few days with Granna and Papa. Like a vacation for him and us. We took him up there Saturday and came home yesterday without him. It's a little weird, but I am kind of excited about it. We haven't been without him since July. Since we've had sickness for about 3 months straight, we need some extra rest! I'm hoping this will give us an opportunity to do just that.

So, last night we went to a friend's house for a bible study. It is the first time I've been to a meeting since Samuel has been born when I could actually focus on the topic and not on Samuel. Think about that... 20+ months of being in meetings where my attention has been divided. Wonder how much I've gotten out of those meetings.... pretty near nuttin'!

Tonight, we have no plans. We're going to come home after work and flop. (Maybe we'll go get something to eat... but then we're flopping!) It's going to be strangely quiet, but I am not going to complain!

I miss my little man already, but he is having a lot of fun with Granna today. They were coloring when I called him earlier.

Here's a funny... I've been saying, "Guess what".. he started saying "What?".. and I would reply "I love you." It progressed to... "Guess what"... "wuv wuv you". Now, we're up to "Guess what"... "I wuv you". Well, this morning it went like this: "Guess what"... "I wuv ME!" I cracked up! My boy is just something else!

Testing, testing. Anyone there?

I don't know why I picked that title... that's kind of how I feel right now... like I'm testing a microphone to see if I can hear myself or knocking on my head to see if anyone's home. Just not keeping myself on track too well today.

Anyway... I just thought I'd post a little about Samuel these days while I wait on a process to finish at work. Samuel and I have had the evenings to ourselves this week. Kris went on a trip to Jackson, so Mommy was totally in charge. Boy, did we have fun. The house was a wreck... nothing got done... I ate supper late... it was great! Samuel and I talked and talked. We giggled and cackled. We also fussed at each other some, but we were mostly happy. :)

He's begun talking in short sentences. We can actually carry on a bit of a conversation with him. One night this week, he was remembering our visit to church. He would talk about people and what they did... Mike-guitar, Betty-flag, Raymond-staff, Vickie-piano. Last night, we looked at one of his alphabet books (this one is scriptures by the alphabet), and he would tell me most of the letters correctly. We went through them in order, and then I picked pages at random. He did very well and got most of them right!

And now I remember what I wanted to write about earlier... I feel a little sad that my son knows more about "the chicken dance" than I do. I picked him up one afternoon this week, and he started saying "chicken dance". Someone told me that Ms. Jennifer and he were doing the chicken dance. We talked about the chicken dance all the way home. Of course, it's been a while since I've even thought about the chicken dance... so I couldn't really help the boy out! So, I'm kind of sad about that.

We're planning on going to see my parents this weekend. And.... we're going to leave Samuel with them for a few days. I'm glad and sad about this. We need a little break to catch up on rest. I know he will have a good time. BUT, I will miss him truckloads! It will be weird to come home and not have a toddler in the house. I plan to do as little as possible. :)

Camden Lane, Get Down

Last week, Samuel came home from day care and started to tell me about Camden. This is a little boy in his room that he is friends with. I was asking him who he saw at school, and he started saying "Camden." Then he followed that with "Lane"... that threw me a little... wasn't sure what that was about. And then he said, "Get down." He was tattle-telling on Camden! Sure enough, this past Friday, I confirmed with one of his teachers that she had been telling Camden to get down by saying, "Camden Lane, get down." Samuel had told me that Camden was climbing on chairs. Is my boy smart or what??

Also at day care, there is a little girl in his room who bites. And who does she bite? The sweetest kid in the room, Samuel of course! Last week, he was bitten three times. The center is working with the girl and her parents to try and get her to stop. But, what's so great is that Samuel told me who it was. I looked at his arm and said, "Samuel, what happened?" He said, "Kafryn". I said, "Did Kathryn bite you?" He replied, "Kafryn bite." Since I don't want Samuel to be a biter, I've told him to tell her "No-no". And he replies to me, "No-no... Sorry".

We are telling Samuel to say "Sorry" to us when he does a no-no, and this is carrying over to his conversation with Kathryn. I think that is ok.. I don't suppose I could expect a 20-month old to know that he doesn't need to apologize to Kathryn when she bites him. Aside from this biter, I am very pleased with the center and Samuel's happiness there. He is thriving each day and has become a favorite among the staff. Even the director told Kris the other day, that Samuel was the bright spot of her day.

Last week was his Valentine's dance at school. Samuel was not interested in dancing (a vast change from his normal nature they tell me). He instead wanted me to hold him the entire time. So, I have no picture or video of Samuel at one of his first social gatherings. I did manage to get a couple of pictures of the two of us... I hope to have them posted soon. It was a sweet day though. He came home with lots of Valentine's cards and candy.

It seems that one of the biggest challenges these days is getting Samuel to chew the food he puts in his mouth. He wants to swallow everything without chewing it! Then his gag reflex kicks in... and you know... time to clean up.

And finally... this morning he was so happy. He just hugged and kissed on me. It was wonderful! I was thrilled to have that much attention from him. I suppose he's like his Daddy... a true morning person.

Finally

Well, for the first time in I don't know how long... Samuel woke up in a good mood this morning. I got up to go to the bathroom and heard him in his crib just talking to himself or his elephant or whatever. This is such a relief as the past couple of weeks have been tough. I believe he's working on his 2-year molars, and he's just not been in a good mood. I will be glad when the teeth are in and we are done with that. I love him when he's cranky... but it's SO nice when he's not cranky!

Samuel's Sayings

I thought I'd take just a little time to write down some of my favorite "Samuelisms". Some are just words I love to hear him say, and others are phrases.

I wuv u
Mommy-Daddy
Hodyoo (hold you)
Dere is! (There it is!)
Barney zoo (When he wants to watch the Barney at the zoo video)
E....fant (elephant)
No wike it (don't like it)
cudur (color)

no sir k (This requires a little explanation. We're teaching him to say "No sir" and usually after he says it, we'll say "Okay". So, he's begun to say "K" after he says "no sir". Cute, right?)

pite (polite)

tank you wurds (More explanation... He's learned the "Please and Thank You" song from Barney... they say "they are the magic words". So, now he says "thank you words". More cuteness, huh?)

kanroo (kangaroo)

There's lots more, but I have to go now.

Quick Update

Just a quick note that today I'm almost in tears from amazement in my son. This morning, he was playing with some blocks shaped like triangles, circles and squares. He correctly identified on his own each shape. We've talked about shapes before, but he has not attempted to repeat the shape names with me. And here he is, knowing them.

He's still teething... working on the last 3 for a while. I hope they come in soon. His bottom and nose would definitely be happy!

Samuel is 17 months old and acts like he's 2 years I think. He's just so smart... I wish I had time every day to write down the new thing he's doing... at least it seems like it's every day. He's trying more and more to sing songs with us... knows so many letters (what comes next sometimes in the alphabet) and names of things in pictures. We can look at a book and ask him "Where's the juice?" or mouse or robot... just about anything. He'll point to it.

He knows who goes with who... like our sitter Jennifer lives with... "BB" (Sabrina) and "Nah" (John). Raymond and... "Pammm". "Beppy" (Betty) and "Pimble" (Kimble) and "Anna" (Anna). "Nana" (Granna) and "Papa" (Papa). "Deendee" (Deanie) and "Cawoool" (Carol).

Basketball sounds like "Batibotiball" (he's into extra syllabes for some reason)... which is followed by "dunk!" Guitar sounds like "Dididitar".. then he finds his plastic blow-up guitar and pretends to play it.

Most impressive to me is that he loves music. He frequently comes home and asks for flags and "nunic". He'll stand and wave flags, hand us flags, sing and shout to whatever praise music we turn on. (We praise the Lord with flags in our church.) Recently, we found a Barney episode in which they wave flags of different colors... Samuel is fascinated and wants to watch that song about 10 times in a row.

I was thinking last night... Next thing I know, I'll look at him (probably look up at him) and he'll be 17 years old going on a date or to a movie. My heart is overwhelmed at how the Lord has blessed me. Children are a blessing!

Time

I was just thinking... how do I find time to keep this blog up? That made me think about a song the Monkees had... "No Time.. No time at all..." Well, I don't want to say that over myself, so I'll just say... "Lord, please stretch my time!"

This is important to me... I want to document as much as possible, and this seems to be a good way. However, if I don't do it... it won't matter anyway!

Perhaps I need a computer dedicated just to my personal technological struggles. ?

Anyway... what's going on with Samuel these days? He's still teething... we're up to 13 with 3 more on the way. His gums are so swollen and he drools and bites his fingers all the time. I think these 3 he's working on are the last 3 for a while.. ?? How would we know?

He is hilarious these days. He says "Hold you" when he wants us to hold him. Actually, it's more like "hodoo"... just because he's lazy when he says it. It used to be better, but he gets sloppy with his enunciation when he's tired or just doesn't feel like saying it correctly. Last night he was trying to jump off the treadmill... ends up like a slide off the side, but if he doesn't fall he gets soooo excited! Unless he's extremely tired, he loves bubbles in the bath and hearing the drain burp (that's what I call that annoying gurgle-noise when the water is finished draining).

We've become accustomed to the Sprout channel... Caillou is one of our favorite cartoons. He loves seeing Nina and Star on the Goodnight Show. Oddly enough, he also likes Dancing With the Stars... for the music I think... not the dancing. Although, sometimes he does watch the dancers. He says "Nyooonic" for "music"... that means he wants to hear some music.

He's also hilarious playing his imaginary guitar... We've taught him to make some guitar-like noise and wiggle his hand across his belly... He's so CUTE!

I am going to attempt updating my pictures and video in the upcoming days. I feel awful that I'm so far behind. I just need to catch up and when I do, it will be wonderful!

Lord! Stretch my time, please!

Bulldog Baby

Well, I know it's been forever, but I just needed to get out here and post these cute pictures I took today of my sweetie pie (or cutie patootie as his Uncle Chris calls him).

Here's our best Bulldog supporter!

And a quick update. My son now has 10 teeth (please don't ask me to identify them) and is working on a bunch more. He had a rough time a couple of weeks ago... such a bad rash that he had blisters on his bottom. I'd never seen that and hope I never do again!

He has such a vast vocabulary, I am really impressed with him. Although I have to pay close attention to some words to try and figure out what he's saying, most of the time I can pick it up quickly. He is even trying to repeat the Pledge of Allegiance... his favorite word from that is "all".

His sitter is teaching him some simple sign language which I think is great. He can do "more", "milk", and "cup". "More" comes at mealtimes pretty readily. I have to prompt for "milk" and "cup". I'm trying to teach him "please" and "thank you" in sign language since he's already got those down in words. He even will say "please" on his own and sometimes "thank you" on his own. This is really important to Kris and me, so we work really hard to teach him nice manners.

I know every parent thinks their child is the best, but I really must say that this boy is super-smart! He is a genius! :)

OK.. Gotta go do something really productive, but finally I will post a comparison picture. I've been thinking a lot lately about how much he has changed since he was born. I've been wanting to compare pictures, so here is Samuel one year ago today next to today's picture: