Showing posts with label Samuel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Samuel. Show all posts
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Sweet Chef Sam
He might have put pepper on my waffle and salt in my water, but he also kindly remembered to bring me a napkin. He loves to cook!
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Samuel!
Samuel walks off by himself towards the front door, toy in hand.
Me to Philip: 'what is that boy doing?'
Samuel responds: 'I'm sitting right here...' See???
Me to Philip: 'what is that boy doing?'
Samuel responds: 'I'm sitting right here...' See???
Friday, January 13, 2012
Samuel, oh Samuel!
As I discussed pre-Christmas, Mr. Samuel James Johnson has discovered how to manipulate the 'small chairs' as we call them all over the house. A few of weeks ago this meant that we needed to put drawer latches on all the kitchen drawers. He was dragging his chair all over the kitchen to carefully remove utensils and silverware out to the counter. Most of the time he'd put it all back, but occasionally he liked to throw these items on the floor and make a big mess. Uncool Sam.
Fast forward to this week, where he has managed not only to move the small chairs to the couch, but also boxes, pillows, toys, anything he can drag. All these items are then used as climbing stands to accomplish his main goal: getting on the couch by himself. Once there, he proceeds to engage in lively conversation and 'stumping' speeches, while marching from one end of the couch to the other over and over again. He'll carefully dismount, come to one of us for a supportive hug, then return to his speech platform to continue the lecture. We have no idea what he is talking about, but he sure is passionate about something! I wish we could understand his baby babble. I think he's talking about how much he loves his Mommy, but that's just one idea. He could be talking about the dog, or his favorite type of sausage, or his dreams of sailing the world. I'm sure we'll figure it out eventually. Samuel's not quiet about his wants or needs. ;)
As I watched him today complete one of his speeches, he misfired on his dismount and landed on the floor, flat on his belly & all fours extended. He looked up at me perplexed, "uh oh," he said. I agreed, and helped him up with a motherly, "you have to be more careful, Samuel." I'm sure he got my drift.
He had a doctor's appointment yesterday, and he's right on track developmentally. Physically, he's a bit on the small side. We're going to work on fattening him up a bit with more yogurt & cheese. I think it's hilarious that I have the polar opposites in the weight department. Miss thing has always rocked out the 90% end of things. Sam hovers around the fifth-tenth percentile. Those kids!
A recent view of Samuel in action, Snow White "action figure" grasped in one hand, cracker in the other.
Fast forward to this week, where he has managed not only to move the small chairs to the couch, but also boxes, pillows, toys, anything he can drag. All these items are then used as climbing stands to accomplish his main goal: getting on the couch by himself. Once there, he proceeds to engage in lively conversation and 'stumping' speeches, while marching from one end of the couch to the other over and over again. He'll carefully dismount, come to one of us for a supportive hug, then return to his speech platform to continue the lecture. We have no idea what he is talking about, but he sure is passionate about something! I wish we could understand his baby babble. I think he's talking about how much he loves his Mommy, but that's just one idea. He could be talking about the dog, or his favorite type of sausage, or his dreams of sailing the world. I'm sure we'll figure it out eventually. Samuel's not quiet about his wants or needs. ;)
As I watched him today complete one of his speeches, he misfired on his dismount and landed on the floor, flat on his belly & all fours extended. He looked up at me perplexed, "uh oh," he said. I agreed, and helped him up with a motherly, "you have to be more careful, Samuel." I'm sure he got my drift.
He had a doctor's appointment yesterday, and he's right on track developmentally. Physically, he's a bit on the small side. We're going to work on fattening him up a bit with more yogurt & cheese. I think it's hilarious that I have the polar opposites in the weight department. Miss thing has always rocked out the 90% end of things. Sam hovers around the fifth-tenth percentile. Those kids!
A recent view of Samuel in action, Snow White "action figure" grasped in one hand, cracker in the other.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Read all about Christmas here!
We went to Wimberley's Trail of Lights on Thursday night. It was the nicest free Christmas event! Cocoa, Mrs. Clause, a book for each child, and lights galore. They had a music playing area, and a bonfire for roasting free marshmallows. Sabrina danced on stage to Christmas music. Of course, she had to stick her head in the elf picture... See our accidental video here - we were trying to take a picture! Haha...!
Samuel on Christmas Eve.
We had a lovely day at home with my parents, then attended Bethany Lutheran's simple & sweet Christmas service. They focused on all the Scripture of the angel coming to Mary & Christ's birth, with focused songs intermingled in between passages, and two sermons. We all really enjoyed it. Then Philip & I visited Rae & family while my parents attended Mass. The kids had a great time. Sabrina & Alessandra read the Grinch, and Samuel hung out with us in the kitchen. We finished the night up singing carols while Rae played our favorites on her piano. Sabrina danced to all of the songs, sometimes with Samuel, and piped in whenever she knew the song. This year she's learned all of Rudolph, Santa Comes to Town, and Jingle Bells. She also knows most of Joy to the World, and some of a bunch of songs: The First Noel, Away in a Manger, Deck the Halls, and Little Town of Bethlehem. She really prefers fast and fun songs, so the slower/softer Christian Christmas songs are harder to teach her as she is less motivated to learn them. I don't want to pressure her & cause her to not like any of them, so I'm just being patient.
Christmas morning arrived and Sabrina was thrilled with her new bike. Samuel was not really sure what was going on, but he was really excited to have all of us home together. Samuel was most thrilled with his dump truck. Sabrina helped me with the turkey rub, and was exhausted by all the present unwrapping. We had to end round #1 of unwrapping because she just wanted to play with the toys she had received! Who could blame her? We took a few more videos, I'll share them soon. All in all, we were so satisfied and content with our Christmas in Austin. We enjoyed all of our family, and dinner was really yummy. I didn't burn anything to oblivion! Relief....
Monday, December 12, 2011
Nov-Dec
Whew! Well we had a busy November with a Mississippi trip, New Orleans visit, and South Texas Thanksgiving. Samuel signs all the basic words now:
sleep
eat
milk
more
all done
dog
hat
water
shirt
please
ball
banana
diaper
thank you
book
ball
arms up (looks like he's saying touch down!)
help (see note below)
He gets 'help' mixed up with more, but if he is playing, gets frustrated & yells, then walks up to you saying more, you can bet he needs help. Context clues, indeed Sherlock. :) He says mama, da, nana, aaaaa, dadda, eat, ezzzz (please). He's at that stage where he sounds like he says the actual correct word all the time, but then has trouble repeating the right word again. It leaves us saying, "did he just say xxxx?" all the time. It's anyone's guess if he really did. :)
Meanwhile, Samuel has turned into a big climber. For instance, he'll move the blocks box over to the toy chest, so he can climb up on box, then climb & stand on toy chest. This whole process will be so that he can push buttons on Sabrina's cd player which is resting on the ledge above the toy chest. This is a very effective technique to stop any continous music play and really aggravate your sister. He's also developed proficiency at moving the small chairs to many drawers all over the kitchen so he can dig in the drawers & get stuff out. All good until he discovers the knife drawer. Boo... we'll be adding a drawer latch this week to that! Also scary in that it is really a challenge to manage the stove. Besides using the back burners, we can't really turn our backs on him while cooking.
Samuel continues to be quite the dancer. Put on any music, and he'll draw close, like a moth to flame. Then he'll sway his hips side to side, bounce up and down by bending his knees, and occasionally spin. Clap, and he'll clap with you. If you tell him good job, he starts clapping for himself, and you can't help but join him. He's gotten a lot faster lately. Sometimes he'll get motivated to bolt for the laundry room (play in the doggy water bowl) or bathroom (loves the blue stool to reach the sink). He also sometimes likes to play chase with Sabrina, but he's still inconsistent with this - has to be in the mood! He loves to push Sabrina on her trike, or while riding the little yellow car. He's investigated our Christmas tree thoroughly, and we are glad for all the plastic ornaments on the bottom 1/3 of the tree. He really enjoys yanking them down & handing them to me & his dad.
He is starting to pretend, with babies & teddy bears, holding them longer and pushing them in the baby stroller. He also is starting to like the train set, moving trains up & around the track. He had a great time at the Barnes & Noble train table Saturday, moving the trains all over that thing. He isn't grabby yet, so when a bigger boy took his train out of his hand, he just looked at me quizzically. The train was returned by the little boy's father, and Samuel was back to happy again quickly.
I feel so incredibly blessed this Christmas. Most all of our family is healthy and well. There have been years where this was not true. Our kids are inquisitive & fun, and we had a great Saturday shopping for all of our loved ones. We went to the Christmas tree lighting & singalong at the Capitol a couple of weeks ago, then visited the Paramount for refreshments & Rudolph viewing. Walked down Congress hearing live music, and did a crafts project with Sabrina. We have most all of the presents wrapped & under the tree, and realize we are one of the few families in the world who have such plenty. We are looking forward to Grandma & Papa arriving Wednesday night, then Wimberley on Thursday night, and Christmas Eve at Rae's. For the first time in our married lives, we'll celebrate Christmas day in our own home, with our 2 wonderful children. Sabrina is filled with expectation and excitement for the big day. Allie, our Christmas elf, has been hopping all around the house since after Thanksgiving, and she serves as a daily reminder to Sabrina of the Christmas to come and how to behave to make that Christmas all that she wants it to be.
Merry Christmas!!
sleep
eat
milk
more
all done
dog
hat
water
shirt
please
ball
banana
diaper
thank you
book
ball
arms up (looks like he's saying touch down!)
help (see note below)
He gets 'help' mixed up with more, but if he is playing, gets frustrated & yells, then walks up to you saying more, you can bet he needs help. Context clues, indeed Sherlock. :) He says mama, da, nana, aaaaa, dadda, eat, ezzzz (please). He's at that stage where he sounds like he says the actual correct word all the time, but then has trouble repeating the right word again. It leaves us saying, "did he just say xxxx?" all the time. It's anyone's guess if he really did. :)
Meanwhile, Samuel has turned into a big climber. For instance, he'll move the blocks box over to the toy chest, so he can climb up on box, then climb & stand on toy chest. This whole process will be so that he can push buttons on Sabrina's cd player which is resting on the ledge above the toy chest. This is a very effective technique to stop any continous music play and really aggravate your sister. He's also developed proficiency at moving the small chairs to many drawers all over the kitchen so he can dig in the drawers & get stuff out. All good until he discovers the knife drawer. Boo... we'll be adding a drawer latch this week to that! Also scary in that it is really a challenge to manage the stove. Besides using the back burners, we can't really turn our backs on him while cooking.
Samuel continues to be quite the dancer. Put on any music, and he'll draw close, like a moth to flame. Then he'll sway his hips side to side, bounce up and down by bending his knees, and occasionally spin. Clap, and he'll clap with you. If you tell him good job, he starts clapping for himself, and you can't help but join him. He's gotten a lot faster lately. Sometimes he'll get motivated to bolt for the laundry room (play in the doggy water bowl) or bathroom (loves the blue stool to reach the sink). He also sometimes likes to play chase with Sabrina, but he's still inconsistent with this - has to be in the mood! He loves to push Sabrina on her trike, or while riding the little yellow car. He's investigated our Christmas tree thoroughly, and we are glad for all the plastic ornaments on the bottom 1/3 of the tree. He really enjoys yanking them down & handing them to me & his dad.
He is starting to pretend, with babies & teddy bears, holding them longer and pushing them in the baby stroller. He also is starting to like the train set, moving trains up & around the track. He had a great time at the Barnes & Noble train table Saturday, moving the trains all over that thing. He isn't grabby yet, so when a bigger boy took his train out of his hand, he just looked at me quizzically. The train was returned by the little boy's father, and Samuel was back to happy again quickly.
I feel so incredibly blessed this Christmas. Most all of our family is healthy and well. There have been years where this was not true. Our kids are inquisitive & fun, and we had a great Saturday shopping for all of our loved ones. We went to the Christmas tree lighting & singalong at the Capitol a couple of weeks ago, then visited the Paramount for refreshments & Rudolph viewing. Walked down Congress hearing live music, and did a crafts project with Sabrina. We have most all of the presents wrapped & under the tree, and realize we are one of the few families in the world who have such plenty. We are looking forward to Grandma & Papa arriving Wednesday night, then Wimberley on Thursday night, and Christmas Eve at Rae's. For the first time in our married lives, we'll celebrate Christmas day in our own home, with our 2 wonderful children. Sabrina is filled with expectation and excitement for the big day. Allie, our Christmas elf, has been hopping all around the house since after Thanksgiving, and she serves as a daily reminder to Sabrina of the Christmas to come and how to behave to make that Christmas all that she wants it to be.
Merry Christmas!!
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