Samuel

This is our little man Sam. He had a birthday in December so I thought I would share a few highlights about him. He is a non stop little pistol. Note the bruise on his chin in the picture below. It was a result of one of his many attempts to solve problems. Even if his mom or dad say no, that's no problem for him, he will find a way, usually by pushing or pulling chairs or stools around and then climbing to achieve whatever he wants.

A couple of months ago he showed interest in using the big boy potty, and I figured I would just go with the flow. Here he is wearing quite the ensemble with his big boy pants, elmo slippers, monster-alien shirt (don't call it just a monster or just an alien) and being a little ham, as usual.

He has started telling jokes which generally aren't real jokes, but his delivery is pretty funny.

For example, he says, "I tell you joke...Where's Josh?"

"I don't know where?"

"At his house!" followed by laughter.

He will then tell another version with a different person and a different location. He thinks its the funniest thing ever, and you can't help laughing along with him.

This kid has a mind of his own and will not be persuaded under any circumstances. His latest is the location of his nap. I tell him he can sleep on his bed or mom's bed, and he tells me, "That not a choice! Me sleep on couch downstairs." The parenting advice that you should give toddlers a choice to empower them has no effect on this kid; he discards the choices you give him, and makes one that is acceptable to him. The picture below is him refusing to go to bed in his own bed, so he is sleeping on the chair instead.

Sam had a pretty good birthday this year, he got just about everything he could ask for...

lunch with Nana and Papa,

a blue cake with fire on top,

and even some rough housing with uncle Jesse.

Even though he can be exhausting most days, he is definitely a great part of our family. We love you Sammy, and we love your spunk too, most of the time anyway ;)