Life's Greatest Blessings: ONE YEAR!

Happy birthday to our dearest Samuel Reid!! It's amazing how fast this year has flown with our little one! It's hard to remember what our life was like before him (until it comes to bedtime then Mommy remembers how nice it was to sleep an entire night!) and we are so blessed God chose us to be his parents. Samuel is a sweetheart! He loves to cuddle, grab on to your leg if you come close enough, follow Mommy or Daddy around, play with Caleb, give kisses, smile and lay his head on your shoulder. He's quite a bit more shy than Caleb was and tends to be very cautious when encountering something new. Samuel is okay with strangers talking to him as long as Mommy is near but is not a fan of random people touching him (which would be why he SCREAMED almost the entire time for his 12 month check-up!). Watching Caleb play, mimicking what he's doing, and trying to steal his toys (which Caleb surprisingly is mostly okay with) is one of his favorite pastimes at this age.

At his 12 month check-up (which was about a week after turning 1), Samuel weighed 25 lb., 7 oz. (92%), was 30.25" tall (59%) but I think that was a bit short because he was NOT happy to be forced to lay down on the table so we were just having to guess, and head circumference was 49 cm (100%!). Gotta love when no other 12 month olds have a bigger head than yours! HA! Lots of playing and exploring is growing that brain to be big and smart! :) He has four teeth, two on top and two on the bottom, and appears to be working on two more top teeth.

Samuel is not much of a "talker" so other than the occasional "Mama" or "boo" we don't really have any other consistent words yet. He can sign "more" while eating if his tray gets empty and he's still hungry and tries to say "thank you" and "amen" but they both just sound like "ahh-choo" every time! haha

Just about a week before Samuel's first birthday he FINALLY decided to let go of the furniture and start walking! The first day he was just taking about 3-4 steps but by just a couple of days later he was walking all the way across the room! Within about two weeks he is doing probably 95% walking and 5% crawling! He has been "cruising" for so long so I think with his cautious nature, he just was waiting it out until he could be sure he was steady on his feet to let go. And in big news also, he has FINALLY figured out how to go over the 6" ledge from our entry into the living room or playroom! Before he would crawl onto the entry way but then sit there at the ledge, crying hysterically, until one of us came and helped him crawl over the ledge. He has finally figured out how to do it though and now can go up AND down!

Samuel, although cautious, is very curious! He loves pushing buttons on things, inspecting toys, opening cabinets and pulling out anything he can get his hands on, looking under stuff, and unloading. We affectionately call him "The Unloader". His favorite things to unload are the paper recycle bin, the shoe shelf by our back door, the boxes of sandwich and snack bags, the wipes container, the spice rack in the pantry, and all the toy bins in the playroom! While Mommy is cleaning up one mess from him, he's in the next room making another!

For Samuel's birthday this year we decided to not do a big party. Instead, since it was so close to Thanksgiving and everyone is already busy (and Samuel won't remember anyway), we opted to celebrate with our friends at a Thanksgiving celebration we already had planned and to celebrate with family when we were in Brenham the following week. This worked out great! At the three celebrations Mommy made dessert (some vanilla sprinkle cupcakes, pineapple cupcakes, and carrot cake for the three events) so she knew what the ingredients were so Samuel could have a taste of the goodies as well. As we suspected, he dove right in with no hesitation!! As soon as the candle was blown-out, he put his little hands right in and each time ate the ENTIRE cupcake!! This boy loves to eat, just like big brother!

Speaking of eating, he loves most everything still. Sometimes he gives a funny look or needs to try the food a few times before coming around, but there has not been too much that Samuel has turned down time and again. He is nursing 4x a day and eating 3 very full meals and 1 afternoon snack. This past month Samuel tried peanut butter, steel cut oatmeal, homemade beef stew, ice cream, and a kid's meal at Chick-fil-a (grilled nuggets and applesauce) for a special birthday dinner treat.

Samuel, you are a blessing to our family. Your snuggles, smiles, and joyful laugh brighten our days (and nights!). Mommy, Daddy, and Caleb are so thankful to have you. We love you so much and can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for your life! We love you, Sammy (Sammy-Jammy, Sammer, Grumpy Gus)!!