And somehow Sammy turns two-and-a-half

Since tomorrow Sammy will officially be two-and-a-half years old, I figured I would dedicate an entire post to him and all that he is up to these days!

If I say to him, "Sammy, you are silly!" he responds, "No I'm not, I'm FUNNY!"

He now pronounces Elijah's name "Ee-YA-JA!" We hear this a. lot.

Breakfast is "beh-biss"
Spoon is "foon" (Elijah thinks this is hilarious and often says, "Sammy, will you please say 'spoon'?")
Peanut butter is "pee-dee butter"

His little voice is the absolute sweetest, cutest thing. We often have complete strangers comment on how cute it is. It's low and sometimes it cracks. And his lisp pushes it over the top of total cuteness. "Thammy wanth thum milk, Mama!" Oh man. Who would have thought hearing a regular old sentence could make me melt?

When I am bent over cleaning milk or food off the floor (often), Sammy likes to climb up on my back and scream, "MOMMYYYYY MOUNTAAAIIINNN!" At this point I grab his arms and stand up and make a lap through the house. Then I deposit him onto the couch. "'gain, MAMA!" Then Elijah asks for two turns. Then I am tired.

We have learned how to "work around" Sammy's intense independence. For example, we finally have him willingly taking baths! We started putting Elijah in the bath and not saying a word to Sam. After 5 bath times or so, he finally starting approaching the bath all by himself. Then he started asking to get in. Now he gets in when Elijah does. Victory and a clean two-year-old! We have figured out how to make diaper and clothing changes easier, too-we give him control. "Sammy, which rug should we change your diaper on?" "Do you want Mommy or Daddy to change your clothes?" Works (almost) every time. He is so fiercely fiercely independent.

Bedtime has to be all on his terms, too. He has to walk upstairs by himself (me behind him). He has to turn on the fan himself, and then throw first Baloo the Bear into his crib, followed by Cowwy the stuffed cow. Then he has to climb up onto the bottom part of the railing, all on his own, of course. At that point I can lift him into bed.

When he meets someone new and feels comfortable enough to talk, the first thing he usually says is, "Look at my shoes!" Then he runs through all of our ages. "Sammy is two! Elijah is five! Daddy is thirty-three! Mommy is thirty-seven!"

He is such a precious, smart little boy. He is funny and cute and I love smooching on his soft little sweet neck. He is the best sleeper, his giggle is the BEST, he does not like to eat anything we put before him and he loves to wear his sunglasses all the time (to be like his bro, I think). We all love him so much! Happy 2 1/2, Sammy!

Thank you for checking in! Have a great week. xo