I have a ONE
YEAR old son! What?! It still feels so surreal to think that I have a child of my own. He has brought us more joy than I ever thought possible and I couldn’t be
more grateful that Bruno & I get to be his parents. This past year, with all of its ups &
downs, has seriously been a dream. Motherhood
is such a precious calling and I do my best to embrace every moment. Sammy – I love you more than my heart can
bear! Thank you for making me a mother
earth side. You are truly one in a
million.
This last
month has been really awesome because I’ve been able to enjoy summer at home. I love it so much, even though being a stay
at home mom can sometimes be just as hard as working. I have a bad habit of measuring success based
off of productivity. At school, there
are always a million things to finish, so I usually feel really good when I’m
able to throw away a completed to-do list.
At home, I’m good at giving myself extra chores or random projects
around the house so that I can still feel a sense of accomplishment. Even
before Sammy, I rarely got bored during the summer. With Sammy, however, I sometimes struggle just to get regular house work done, let alone anything extra. Yet, when I reflect on the day and think about
how much Sammy & I did together, I realize it was still time well spent. I’m learning that, for me, I shouldn't
measure success based off how many things I cross off my to-do list. I need to measure it by the quality
of my time with others, especially my family. So, I’m making a goal to be more “in the
moment” instead of worrying so much about the number of things I
finish. This might be an ongoing battle,
but at least I’m starting somewhere, right? Can anyone else relate or is this
just me? Maybe I was just feeling this way because I was so nervous about his party.
Anyway – I
was not expecting to rant about that!
Here are some fun things about Sammy at one year:
First and foremost,
he LOVES finding trouble. He knows what
things are off limits, but he will push his boundaries. For instance, he’ll walk to the entertainment
center, look back and smile at us, and shake his head no.
It’s really cute and kind of frustrating at the same time. Thankfully, he’s still pretty good at
listening, so if I ask him to come to me, he usually will. (I love that he knows his name and will come
when he’s called, even if he’s not in the same room.) He’s also really smart and good at finding
things we hide.
He finally
started waving hello & goodbye! Just a
couple weeks ago, we were saying goodbye to my mother-in-law and he just
randomly started waving back. I’ve been
working on this for a while, so it melted my heart when he finally got it!
He initiates and likes giving high fives. He smiles and giggles when we play along
and give him a high five back. In this picture, he's wanting a high ten!
He
officially transitioned out of the baby carrier and is now in a bigger car
seat!
He finally learned how to drink through a straw! This is another big milestone because it's taken lots of practice.
He weighs 26
pounds & wears anything from 18-24 month clothing. He’s still in size four diapers and still has
8 teeth. We’re waiting for molars to
start coming in any day.
This month
he decided to ditched the pacifier completely.
He only used them for the transition from our arms to the crib – so only
like 5 seconds every night so I’m not surprised that he stopped altogether on
his own. I’m happy this isn’t a battle
we’ll have to fight!
He’s becoming much more snuggly
now, especially when he’s tired. I love
it!! I rock him to sleep every night and
it’s the sweetest time of day. He’ll
snuggle up to me and I’ll read him a chapter from the Book of Mormon as he’s
falling asleep. Bruno and I are getting
better at remembering to include him when we say nightly prayers and Sammy will
sometimes (with lots of encouraging) fold his arms! He’s starting to become very observant and
will occasionally try to imitate what he sees.
It’s fun and kind of scary!
He babbles
all day long, but hasn’t picked up any new words (other than mama & dada, and sometimes papa). He can say hi & hey, but I
doubt he really means it. I feel like
he’s starting to understand a lot though – even words in Spanish, like, beso (kiss)!
His walking
continues to get better and better. He’s
starting to pick up his pace and he can walk while holding something in his
hand. He’s still not able to stand up
independently, but that’s okay.
He continues
to eat just about anything we put in front of him. He doesn't really like watermelon or potatoes right now. I also think we are about done with baby food. I can’t blame him – it has to be
disgusting after having tried so much “real” food! He does let us know when he’s
finished and when he wants water. He
LOVES water! We’ll probably start
transitioning him to whole milk soon, but it makes me really nervous!
We had his first birthday party yesterday and it was a success! It was everything I hoped and more. We are blessed with amazing family and friends! More pictures will be on Facebook soon!
In a
nutshell, Sammy loves balls, music, bath toys, and anything that lights
up. He loves shutting doors, climbing on
stairs, and walking around the house causing havoc. He’s just a typical toddler now, which is so
crazy to think about!
One last
thing – he is SUCH a daddy’s boy! He
gets really sad when Bruno leaves the house.
It melts & breaks my heart at the same time! I love the bond that they have. Since it’s also Father’s Day today, I’ll end
by giving Bruno a quick shout out…
Some people may or
may not know that Bruno’s dad has never been involved in his life. It’s really sad because I actually think his
dad missed out more than Bruno. His dad
will never know what an amazing guy he is.
Bruno always said that he wasn’t going to be anything like his dad and I
know he will never fall short of his word.
He is involved in every aspect of Sammy’s life – from scheduling doctor
appointments to helping with his birthday party. I appreciate everything that he does for
us. He is the best father I could have
ever wanted for my children. I’m sorry,
Bruno, that you have to share your special day yet again. Haha! (He also shares
his birthday with his sister.) But we
will do something special for you tomorrow!
Happy second Father’s Day!
It's been fun to do these monthly posts, but I'm excited to blog more randomly now instead of monthly. Even though his
first birthday has come and is quickly going, we still have lots to look forward
to – especially our trip to PA next week! He'll be spoiled with another party in a couple weeks!
Thank you, Sammy, for changing our lives for the better one year ago! We love you more than we’ll ever be able to
express! Happy first birthday!
