Feelings

Sam is a very sensitive kid. He is always aware of other's feelings and gets very concerned when he sees someone crying or in pain. We might be giggling at something and as he tries to catch his breath, he laughs, "I'm HAPPY!"

This morning I got a rare, drawn-out hug. I knelt on the floor by Sam and we rocked as we squeezed each other. I marvelled at this little creation of God. Genuinely wanting a thought-out answer, I asked, "Sam, are you happy? Do you like your life?"

He sighed happily and patted my back. "No, Mama," he replied. "I'm crabby." He then pulled away to go play with trains.

I guess I'm still a few years away from having in-depth talks about emotions with my kid.

Rules Of The Road

In keeping with Sam's love of cars, he has a car set that includes several tiny road signs. I try to look at every play time as a learning opportunity, so we have been talking about the meaning of all of those little signs. Now, when asked, Sam gives explanations for the following signs:

"STOP!"

"Walk. Watch out!"

"Kangaroo. Watch out!"

"R-R. Railroad. X-ray!"

"Dem first."

Honestly, I think he knows more than most of the people I encounter on the road.

(I apologize for the quality of these pictures - I grabbed the first images I found with a Google search.)

He's A Crafty Little Guy

Several weeks ago I started a part-time job. A few hours a day, I go to work and leave Sam with one of my sister's oldest and dearest friends, Dusty. So far Sam has really enjoyed it and I feel so lucky to have someone I can totally trust care for Sam.

Meanwhile, Jackie is always saying she wants to see Sam. Just a week or two will go by and she is saying, "How is he? Does he miss me? I need to see him!" Dusty is spending time every day with her nephew and I think there have been times Jackie wouldn't mind trading places with her.

Last night Sam and I went to one of Miranda's soccer games. Sam loves going to James and Miranda's games! He runs around cheering and gets to spend time with Jackie and Mike.

During the halftime break, Jackie poured attention on Sam. They ran, chased and jumped the entire time. Sam was having a ball. When the second half started Jackie returned to her seat to watch the game.

Not knowing why the fun was over, Sam stood in front of Jackie. "Jump! Jump!" he said.

"I can't jump right now, Sam," Jackie answered. "I am watching Miranda."

Without missing a beat, Sam retorted, "Dusty jumps."

He was just making conversation and not trying to be manipulative - right?

Once Again, I Got It Wrong

Sam is in love with anything with wheels. Driving past a construction site will send him over the moon and he spends every single morning at his train table.

Two days ago we found that my car had decided to not start anymore. This morning I called a shop and arranged for a tow truck to pick it up. Sam and I were both home when the tow truck arrived and I hustled him outside to watch. I figured that he would be thrilled to see a tow in action.

Sam sat next to me on the front steps, calling, "Hi!" to the driver as he walked up to my car. As the driver got in my car, Sam became nervous. "No, no, no," he cried. I tried to explain that the driver was helping me but Sam could not be consoled. He remained panicked as he watched the car get hooked up to the truck and burst into tears when it drove away. "No, my car!" he cried over and over. "Mama car. No, no, no!"

I managed to permanently scar my kid before 10 am. I'm getting better and better!

Maybe He Doesn't Have Tastebuds

A few days ago Sam and I made a huge batch of chocolate chip cookies. We both snuck chocolate chips and I let him taste the batter before I put the cookies in the oven. He was giggling and enjoying himself - but really, isn't that fun for everyone?

A while later I was starting dinner and chopping a large amount of green peppers. Sam wandered in to the kitchen and asked for some. I tried to explain to him that he wouldn't like them, but he persisted. I smugly handed him a piece, expecting him to spit it out.

Sam popped it into his mouth and his eyes brightened. "Yummmmm!" he said and scampered away. Every few minutes after that he'd come back for another bite of green pepper.

The chocolate chips I understand...but green peppers? I don't think that's normal.

It's Getting More Difficult

I've been dreading the day Sam becomes interested in something I know nothing about. Up until now I've been able to answer questions about letters, colors, shapes, and numbers like a pro.

The other day we were playing with Sam's cars. He held up a truck and said, "Wheels! Mama, Mama, see? Wheels."

"Yes," I agreed. "The truck has wheels."

"And truck wheels go roun' and roun' and roun'," Sam added.

"Yep," I agreed again.

Sam thought for a minute, and then asked, "How?"

Oh man. I honestly don't know. I mumbled something about the big engines making the wheels go around and changed the subject.

I'm going to have to start studying to stay ahead of this kid!

Fall Festival

Yesterday the rain stopped long enough for us to venture off to Quarry Hill for their fall festival. I'm always amazed by events like that! There are so many cheap or free things to do with kids.

It was a pretty big event, so Sam and I had to park down by the main road and walk the winding road up to the nature center. He was a trooper and I didn't have to carry him at all. Once up there, he was rewarded for his efforts. I bought enough tickets for Sam to do each and every activity, and I still spent less than it would cost for us to go to a movie.

Sam stamped insects onto a paper bag and designed his own button. He colored a catfish and taped it to a popsicle stick. He used chalk to color a leaf, decorated a butterfly ornament, made a nature necklace, and did surprisingly well tossing rings onto a pair of antlers. We decorated (and immediately ate) fall cookies and Sam painted an impression of a muskrat footprint. We did all of this, not to mention the pumpkin decorating, fish and reptile displays, or eating hot dogs while watching families canoe around a big pond.

Sam came home with a bag of goodies, filthy and tired. He hasn't stopped talking about our day yet. What a wonderful way to welcome autumn!

The Cold, Hard Truth

Yesterday I was on the internet catching up on celebrity gossip. On the screen there was a picture of a beautiful actress. She was wearing a tiny bikini and was tall and impossibly thin. Next to her stood someone I assume was her assistant. The assistant was wearing jeans and a large t-shirt and was built the opposite of the actress.

Sam wandered into the room and saw the picture. "Oh!" he said, very excited. He pointed to the assistant and said, "That's Mama!"

Sigh.

My hopes were raised when his eyes went to the beautiful actress. "Ohhh," he breathed, and pointed to her.

"Is that one Mama, too?" I asked.

"No," he replied. "That's Jackie."

It's exhausting being this kid's mom.

Samersaults

Last Christmas, Jackie and Grandma Barb tried to teach Sam how to do somersaults. I watched with a mixture of fear and amusement as they rolled themselves around Grandma Barb's living room. Sam was not quite two years old at the time and not at all interested in attempting what they were doing.

Well, the other day found Sam in a big, empty living room with Mike and Jackie. I wasn't in the room so I don't know who started it. There was some thumping, and then I heard wild cheers. I walked in to the room to find that Sam had mastered the somersault in about three minutes. He does them very well! He quietly talks to himself as he does it, following Jackie's instructions. "Down, walk walk walk, push!" and then he neatly pushes himself over.

He wanted to see me do one, but I explained that they are like running or jumping - Mom just won't do it. So Jackie and Mike did somersault after somersault right along with Sam. Sam was so happy (and I wouldn't be surprised to hear that they were sore the next day).

Hooray for new ways to burn a two-year-old's unlimited energy!

Slacking

I know, I know. I'm sorry.

Sam and I have been on the move the last week! We have been in the car a LOT and Sam is getting good at helping to carry things. He's growing and learning so much! Every day he does something so amazing I tell myself I HAVE to find time to write a quick post about it. Then, suddenly, it's two days later.

I'm doing my best! I'm hoping to get at least a few regular posts written this week.