Daddy's Little Helper

I think I've mentioned before that Sam is mimicking EVERYTHING we do right now. Sometimes its sweet, only occassionaly is it annoying, pretty much always cute.

This weekend we got the Christmas decorations out of the attic, which requires moving Sam's changing table. On Saturday Sam watched us move the furniture, open the attic, go up and down the ladder, close the attic and push the furniture back. In his little world it only takes doing something one way once before that is the way it is always to be done. So on Saturday when we put the boxes back he was already a pro. After closing up the attic Chris and I left the room. Sam ran after us motioning us to come back. He ran to the far side of the changing table, sat on the floor and started pushing against it with all his might. Daddy and I only had to help him a little bit to get it back into place.

While outside over the weekend Chris grabbed his rake to tidy up a pile of leaves. When Sam saw Daddy start to mess with the leaves he took off in a sprint. He came back from the shed carrying his prized plastic rake and shovel and started helping. Precious!
I think we need to try to capitalize on his willingness to help...can I give an 18-month-old chores?

Home Sweet Home

I am pleased to report that Uncle Geo arrived home safely to Camp Pendleton yesterday evening. After 7 months in Afghanistan with the HMLA 369 Gunfighters, my sister treated him to a dinner out last night.

This deployment to Afghanistan was much more involved than his first to Iraq in 2008-09, so we are incredibly thankful for his safe return. We are also thankful that Baby Girl Stegmiller is still quite comfy inside her Mama, now less than two weeks before her due date.

And on that note - it was really sweet of you to wait for your Daddy, Peanut, but we're all ready for you now! Hurry up and make me an aunt!

Shoes

If you'd like to get Sam a gift this year for Christmas, you can just send me a new pair of heels. I swear, he'll love 'em. The boy is absolutely obsessed with shoes right now. He is constantly asking us to put his shoes on so that he can go outside. He's constantly telling us to put our own shoes on. He knows where to go to find his shoes when you tell him its time to go - he even knows which ones are his play shoes and can bring you a matching pair if they are both in the basket. He's gotten pretty good and slipping his tiny feet into Mommy and Daddy's shoes and shuffling a few steps.

And now he actually likes to play with the shoes. Mostly adult shoes. One day I left my closet door open while I was getting ready in the bathroom. I went to get my clothes and this is what I found:
This is his new game. He moves all the shoes from one location to another. Then to another. Then to another. Generally he is moving them from their starting location to whatever room in the house I happen to be in at the moment. He usually moves them one at a time, and boy is he determined. There is little that can distract him when he is on a shoe moving mission. There is purpose in every move, and it seems that he hunts out the perfect spot to place each shoe. Its pretty funny to watch.

That is, until you need your shoes. Because inevitably one or two shoes gets left behind during each move. By the end of the game there are shoes in every room of the house. As I type this we are missing one of Chris's slippers - honestly all three of us looked (OK, I don't think Sam looked that hard) and couldn't find it. Hmph. Guess I need to tidy up a bit...and keep my closet shut!

Big Boy Chair

Sam's never been much of an eater. The effort required to get food into the boy has been my greatest source of stress for about a year now. So last week when Sam started fighting me when I tried to put him in his high chair I really just thought it was the latest chapter in our struggle. He'd tells me he was hungry and then refuse to get in his chair. WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!

For three days this happened. It was a literal wrestling match to get him strapped in. And then he pulled his bib off as soon as I turned around. He'd eat a few bites, then throw food on the ground and announce "all gone!" (which also means 'all done'). Tired of fighting, we'd let him down and tell him to go play while we finished eating. He didn't. He begged "up" until we let him sit in our laps, where he'd pick food off our plates. He'd actually eat a good bit more.

It took me three days but I finally clued in: he wanted to be at the table with us! Its not like he was far away, just tucked in the corner a bit. But that wasn't how Mommy and Daddy were sitting, so it just wouldn't work for him anymore (have I mentioned that he is mimicking everything we do these days?).

So we pulled out the booster seat and sat him at the table like a big boy. He's pretty pleased with his new arrangement. I think he looks pretty cute at the table, don't you? I wish this transition meant he would eat with big boy behavior, but it does not. He still throws food on the ground when he gets bored and dumps his plate or bowl just because its fun. Bibs still aren't cool so he eats a lot of meals without a shirt on at all. The good news is that the booster is infinitely easier to clean than the high chair.
Someday dinners will be calm again. And someday Chris and I will be able to keep our drinks on the table again. (He just points at our glasses and says "want want want" if he sees them, again wanting to mimic what we do. Then he sticks his hand in the cups and spills them. We're choosing not to fight that battle right now.) That's what date nights are for, right?

Breaking News:

Sam is back on the chart. That's right, after hanging out in the "Below 5th Percentile" category for a full year, my little man is back on the chart. Weighing in at 21lbs he is now in the 3rd Percentile for 18-month-olds. Now some of you may be thinking, "isn't that still below 5%?" Yes, yes it is. But it is actually on the growth curve. My pediatrician plots all of Sam's weights on the graph and he hasn't been any where near any of the lines in a year. Now he is. That "Below 5th Percentile" was just to make me feel better. Its not very nice to say "0%" or "Too Small To Compare." So there you go. Still super skinny, but now he's at least comparable to his age group.

But it appears the boy spent all of his energy on getting fatter and not any taller, because he only grew 1/4 of an inch. At 31 1/4 inches he is now in the 21st percentile for height. I looked back on his height history and that one has bounced around all over the place since he was born. Honestly, its so hard to get him to hold still that I don't think any of his heights measurements have been that accurate.

Once again he was terrified the entire time we were at the office. The doctor and I had an entire conversation over his screaming. I thought he was going to stop breathing when it was time for the physical exam. Poor kid needs to be allowed to go there sometime when he isn't scheduled to get a shot.

The only other real highlight from the visit is that the doctor was impressed by Sam's count of 30 words. Ha! Said it was especially impressive for a boy. Word count was the milestone he missed at 15 months! I will tell you, though, that 30 words isn't cutting it. Sam and I have some major miscommunication throughout our days and I think we could both avoid much frustration if he were talking in full sentences.

He's met all of the other milestones that were posted on the wall, which is great. I looked ahead to the 24-month milestones and some of them seem pretty daunting, like I don't feel like there's any way he'll achieve them by then. But three months ago I didn't think he'd have 10 words today, so we shall see!

So there you go. All is well at the 18-month check. We're not scheduled to go back until he's 2 - a whole six months! Wow, two sounds old.

At 18 Months, here is Sam's List...
Likes:
Being Outside
Climbing
Lovie
Paci (no, we haven't taken it away yet. I finally got the pediatrician to admit his kid had it till 3)
Fruit and Cheese
Bath
Trucks
Cats and Dogs
Reading (He brings us books constantly, and sometimes "reads" them to himself)

Dislikes:
Diaper Changes/Getting Dressed
Coming Inside
Going to bed when people are over
The Highchair