Abby & Sam Update

Sam now says all the important words: Mater, car, ball, dog (which is always said with 200% enthusiasm and usually is proceeded by running after the dog), water, duck, Jesus, dada, mama, daddy (which really means Abby--she's less than thrilled about that!), go, doctor, uh-oh, baba (grandpa), etc. He is really good at communicating what he needs: he pulls his highchair out when he's hungry, pats his diaper when he's convinced it's time to be changed, grabs food from the pantry and pats his belly when he's hungry (he's hungry constantly), brings books when he needs some cool-down time, has no problem coming over and letting me know that there has been some unfairness while playing with Abby, and goes and knocks on the door when he's ready to go outside. His favorite books are David Shannon's David books. He tries to climb on everything; he pushes Abby on her trike while we walk around the neighborhood; he loves to tease; he loves the dishwasher, trains, cars, and balls; he cries because of an injustice but doesn't cry over a skinned knee or forehead (yep, we've had that twice now). When people are sad or crying, he cries or whimpers with them and pats them on the back. Sam is all boy. My Sam is a loving, cuddly boy with a wild, mischievous streak. I love this boy!

Abby is becoming more and more girl. She loves to have her nails painted, collects princesses and fairies, calls friends on her pretend phone just to chat, loves to be called by her full name, asks for people to tell her how beautiful she looks, wants to plan play-dates and sleepovers for friends, and lines up babies and animals on the couch and takes care of them. Abby says funny things every day; sometimes she just surprises me with the words she uses correctly, other times it's how she describes her feelings. Yesterday we were out on a walk where we had run up and down our "big hill" several times and decided to head home for otter-pops. Abby said with a sigh, "Whew! I'm exhausted!" Then, without missing a beat, "Oh! A butterfly!" which she ran after immediately. Occasionally she's quiet for a few minutes. Inevitably, the few minutes of quiet is followed by, "So, Mom..." where she then tells a story, asks a question, makes a comment about what's going on in her mind, etc. I give her 5-minute warnings before it's time to leave so she can wrap up her games at the park, be prepared to leave a friend, etc. She always says very pleasantly, "Okay, Mom!" and then turns to her friend, "My mom says I have 5 more minutes to play." Maybe I still warn her about the short time we have left because of the pleasant way we can leave places, but it's more likely that I just love the way she says okay: o-KAY. So cute! My Abby is so sweet and caring, has a wild imagination, and asks to cuddle several times a day. I love her!

Both my kids are some of those innately good people. While every day is not one of those dream-come-true days, we have moments of perfectness and I feel so grateful. We love each other, we try hard together, we have fun laughing and playing, we cuddle up together to watch shows, we have fun taking goofy pictures and making crazy movies, we joke around together...we're a family, perfections and imperfections. I really do feel blessed.