Samuel Turns 13 Months Old

Nope, I don't believe it either, but it's what the calendar said.
(Samuel turned 13 months on 6/23/11)
In His 13th Month, Samuel:
Weighed 22ish lbs.
Wore a size 3ish wide in shoes.
Skipped 12 month clothes.
Fit into 12-18 month clothes.
The shorts and pants in that size were WAY too long.
Was SUPER short.
Wore sizes 3 and/or 4 in diapers.
Celebrated at his 1st birthday party!
Hated the cake for whatever reason.
Loved Lightning McQueen and balls.
Waved, crawled, stood up, laughed...
Said uh-oh, da-da, ball, hi, ma-ma, and wow.
Made the sippy cup switch.
Still wanted a bottle at night.
Got his 5th and 6th teeth in a day!
Had his first haircut on June 10th by Aunt Ca.
Didn't like it until we fed him Fruit Loops to pass the time.
Walked for the first time on June 20th at 5:30 p.m.!
Mommy was VERY excited!
Her screaming scared Samuel.
Saw his first movie, Cars 2, at the Franklin drive-in.
Enjoyed 3 weeks with his cousin, James Evan.
Made such hilarious faces!

Some of Samuel's Favorite Things:
Food(s):   Chicken Nuggets and Pancakes
Toy(s):   Balls, Lightning McQueen cars, Elmo
Show(s):   Sesame Street
Movie(s):   Elmo in Grouchland and Cars
Snack:   Graham Crackers and Fruit Loops
Song:   I'm a Little Teapot
Saying(s):  Wow.  Hi.  Whoa!
Color: Green (he says everything is "green")
Thing to Do:   Strolling, Stealing Daniel's Toys, Being Held
People:  MOMMY - no one else!

Giving Mommy his infamous grin during his pancake breakfast

With Mommy at his 1st Birthday Party

Not too sure about his birthday cake

Giving Pop a hug

Sliding with Mommy

On the playground with Daddy

Riding in the car with Daniel

Getting his first haircut

Eating his favorite snack at Mimi's house

At his 1st VBS in his VBS shirt :)

With the whole VBS gang!

Riding the pony at Walmart with brother

A group shot without Mommy

At the Franklin drive-in waiting for Cars 2 to begin

Enjoying the movie and the chocolate Teddy Grahams

Standing with Mommy

Showing us how he can walk!

Showing Mommy who the bosses are!

.

Daniel is a WHOPPING 26 Months Old

(Daniel turned 26 months on 6/20/11)

In Daniel's 26th month, he:
Weighed 29ish pounds.
Wore size 2T in clothes.
Wore a size 8 shoe.
Wore size 4 diapers.
Would not take naps unless he "fell out."
Helped celebrate his brother's 1st birthday!
Went to his 1st VBS at Murfreesboro MBC.
It was "Onward Christian Soldiers."
Loved to march!
Went to his 2nd VBS at his own church.
Daddy wrote it.  :)
It was "Church House Rock!"
Had his cousin, James Evan, at his house.
James was here for 3 weeks.
Daniel LOVED James.
Had a major obsession with pennies and quarters.
Liked drinking (and spilling) from cups.
Loved to Swiffer Vacuum the kitchen.
Was scared of the actual vacuum.
Was a horrible sleeper.
Woke 3-4 times a night.
We think he's actually been sleep-walking.
Yikes!
Talked all the time.
Was super stingy, dramatic, and jealous.
(in no particular order)
Was a big helper.
Got many timeouts for hitting, climbing, and not listening.
Says his own prayers.
Loved to sing songs.
Asked for the "Baseball Bat" movie every single day.
(actually called "Everyone's Hero")
Really liked his neighbor Jaden.
Very visual learner.
Pointed to everything and said, "Mommy, look at ______!"
Would pray before bed.
Said "Amen" at the end of prayers and before he ate.
LOVED pizza!
Does NOT want to potty train.
Tells me he's "pottied" after his diaper is full.
Hopefully, next month, we'll try harder!
Was often found:

• in the shower
• in the washing machine
• in the bathroom sinks, naked, with the water on
• climbing on the kitchen table
• trying to unlock the doors with keys or coins
• climbing gates
• pulling keys off the computer keyboards
• dancing and singing
• making messes with water
• giving hugs and kisses
• using good manners
• turning on every light in the house

Some of Daniel's Favorite Things:
Food(s):   Pankcakes and Pizza (VERY healthy)
Toy(s):   Swimming Pool, Sprinkler, Train Tracks
Show(s):   The Backyardigans, VeggieTales, Dinosaur Train
Movie(s):   Everyone's Hero, Spiderman,
Snack(s):   Raisins, Teddy Grahams
Song(s):   ABCs and Rhyming Thingamajig (some song on a goofy kid cd)
Color(s):  Green, Blue, and Red (and he officially recognizes these)
Thing to Do:   WATER, Swimming, Sliding, Running, Dancing, Painting, Being Naked
People:  Mimi, Jaden, Mommy, James Evan, Daddy, Pa, and Aunt Ca

Popular Phrases and Words of the Month:

• I want more.  I want water.  I want that.  I want ______.
• Please.  Thank you.  I sorry.
• I wanna color something.
• Batteries or something?  (if something wasn't working)
• Bye bye, church.  (this meant he wanted to leave and go to church)
• No, it's MINE!
• 1, 2, 3 (when he was in trouble)
• I wanna touch it.  (he wanted to touch everything)
• I LOVE it!  (still hasn't said, "I love you," yet)
• I like it!
• Help you!  (which meant "Help me!"
• Kitchen?  (if he couldn't find some one or thing)
• Ow, ouch!  Hurt this!
• Um, Mommy, broken.  (if a dvd's credits came on or if a song ended)
• (after making a mess) Uh, Mommy, mess!  Clean up!

Playing Peek-a-boo in the car!

Stomping in the mud in the backyard

Playing in Samuel's birthday gift from Mimi

with his dear friend, Addy

Getting a bite of Samuel's smash cake

Still eating cake after everyone had gone home...

Still playing in Samuel's gift after the party was over...

Thankfully, he kept his clothes ON until they were gone!

Making the best indoors on a rainy day...

and yes, he had taken off his own diaper.

Playing in the big bath tub

Thankfully, Daddy found him once he was halfway up! 

Swinging with Daddy on a night out in the neighborhood

Eating his shoes while taking a VBS picture

Because you wouldn't believe it if there weren't pictures...

Daniel climbed into the washing machine ON HIS OWN,

while it was filling with water and soap.

And yes, he was naked.

He had taken off all of his clothes,

climbed on the detergent bottle, and

hoisted himself into the machine!

Can I Get an Amen?

Not too long before Daniel turned two, I became fairly serious about praying around Daniel.  A dear friend of mine suggested the idea of praying over our children, having them hear us pray aloud, and knowing they will imitate how we talk to our Heavenly Father.  I had never considered how children learned to pray, but I feel strongly that my kids should learn from me.

While I know that Daniel is only two, he caught on very quickly.  He held our hands while we prayed before dinner each night and would announce, "Amen!" when he was ready for Daddy's prayers to come to an end.  At night when I would put him into bed, I would pray for all of our family, his friends at Mother's Day Out, our church, and of course, for Daniel and Samuel to sleep well.  Daniel would wait until I finished speaking and would proudly exclaim, "Amen!"

I have to be honest, though, because I am not the best at following through.  There are days when I would forget to pray over our pancakes, and Daniel would yell, "Amen," in my direction. 

Tonight, my precious boy called me out yet again.  I was laying beside his bed as he finished his water.  It has been one of those days where I found myself completely frustrated that I had accomplished nothing around the house and Daniel had driven me up the wall with removing his clothes and spitting all day long.  I decided the silent treatment might help him fall asleep quickly, so I kept my eyes closed as he tossed and turned.  I have to admit, I was drifting off when Daniel rolled onto his back and began naming names...  "Mommy, Daddy, God, Mimi, James, sleepin', Pa, Pop, Ca, Connor, Bizso (Isabelle), Samuel." 

It was long into his "rambling" that I realized what he was doing... 

My two-year-old was praying for his family, friends, and rest!  It was the sweetest thing I'd ever heard!  While I was busy being my I'm too busy to pray tonight because I need to paint and load the dishwasher and empty the diaper genie and wrap a gift and get two hours of sleep before one of the boys wakes up ridiculously selfish self, my toddler (via my Heavenly Father) was teaching his Mommy a lesson. 

God has never been too preoccupied for me.  He has never once failed to listen to me.  He has taken the time to love me with His arms wide open, while there are innumerable times when I toss praying aside.  Daniel was not willing to let my lack of communication with the Father stop him from doing so.  Oh, how I need to make more time for God!  How I need to realize that my children are listening as I pray! 

I want to encourage you (and myself) to pray for your children daily...  Aloud.  Allow your kids to hear you praying for them.  I've found myself praying, "Lord, help me have patience with Daniel as he is pouring his orange gatorade all over my floor, Amen!" and my messy boy looked up and stopped.  He hears me.  One day, Daniel will realize that I turned to my Heavenly Father and prayed to Him, no matter the time of day or the amount of work I needed to get finished.  If God is listening, then I should be speaking.  If God is speaking, I should be listening... 

And tonight, Father, I heard you clearly through Daniel's precious prayers.

Seemingly Summer

Just as I had anticipated, it is hotter than I can handle this year.  90 degrees and I do not work well together, yet hot weather seems to be Daniel's best friend.  He begs to be outside, swinging, and/or swimming.  The only danger to this is that we do not have a fence, and Daniel does not remain in one place for too long.  Another problem I face is that Samuel is allergic to everything.  He breaks out with red spots all over his feet after he's been outdoors for like two seconds.  What's a mom to do?!

I'll tell you what I did.  I gained myself a teenager.  In more ways than one, God opened up some doors for Brian's 15-year-old cousin, James Evan, to spend some of the summer with us.  Can I tell you what an adjustment this has been for me?  Can I also mention what an incredible blessing it has been as well?!  I'm learning so much about what my future holds as a parent of two boys.  I see a lot of my "teenage" self in James, and I'm realizing how much my parents loved me.

I have cleaned more than I've ever done.  I've done more sweet tea making and gatorade mixing than I care to count.  I have held my tongue a lot more than I probably should have.  I have hurt more than I ever imagined I could.  I have waited by the door and worried more than I want to remember.

Most of all, I have learned to trust my God so much this summer thus far.  He's truly in control.  He holds time in HIS hands, and sometimes that means that I cannot get done all I've planned to accomplish each day.  It means that teething hits in the middle of the night and sleep is hard to come by.  It means my hobbies are on the backburner and that my talents are on hold.  It means I have a job that the Lord has entrusted me with, and it includes two babies, one teenager, and a good man. 

I'm ridiculously blessed this summer despite the heat. I've got it SOOO good.



Things I Don't Want to Forget

• Daniel is currently 25 months old, and his favorite foods are easily suckers, pancakes, green beans, and cake.
• His sense of humor is amazing.  He laughs hysterically and says, "Funny!" all of the time.
• His most commonly used phrase is, "Wow, COOL!"
• He loves planes, trains, and fire trucks.
• Daniel despises being indoors.
• He likes to swing, swim, and jump.
• He says, "Yuck!" to every bug he finds.
• He likes the new sit and stand stroller we got off of Craigslist.

• Samuel is currently 12 months old, and his favorite foods are milk, suckers, bananas, and puffs.
• He is super ticklish. 
• He has 6 teeth!
• He loves to throw balls.
• He is pulling up and standing on his own.
• Samuel is always pushing things with wheels and walking behind them.