Busy Boy

It's been another action-packed week in Samson's world.

We started out with another bout of cold-> croup-> ear infection, two drop-in visits to our new favorite doctor's office, and two courses of medicine to somehow sneak into Samson's mouth twice a day. (Along with wildly resisting every attempt to change his diaper, Samson now has determined that anything delivered via oral syringe, no matter how fruity and delicious, must be poison to be refused at all costs. Half the stuff winds up on his face, neck, shirt, hair, or the floor. Argh.) Thankfully, he was feeling good enough last night to sleep from bedtime till morning (7:30p-6a) and even go to school today.

Meanwhile, Daddy was off to California most of the week doing cool nerdy stuff, advancing his career and bringing home the bacon. We celebrated his return on Thursday by taking an evening trip to our new favorite area park, which features a world of water fowl, a huge pond, and a gorgeous tree-lined trail. Samson likes the ducks, but most of his attention goes to figuring out how to escape from his parents long enough to get himself into the pond. We must get working on those swimming lessons post haste.


Speaking of physical feats, Samson has become quite the climber and acrobat lately. There is no piece of household furniture he has not scaled and dismounted, often head-first (though with no concussions as of yet). The window seat in the den, the sofas and chairs, the master bed, and several other surfaces that were not intended for use as a pedestal or diving board. To Mama's horror, he even found a way to climb up into the flimsy IKEA swivel desk chair and stand, smiling with pride as she came around the corner into the kitchen. Yikes!

Other fun stuff:

• kicking the red bouncy ball around the yard, preparing for his peewee soccer days
• playing the hula hoop game where someone rolls the hula hoop on the ground and Samson laughs maniacally when it circles to a stop; he then pushes the "roller" toward the hoop to signal he is ready for another round
• showing a desire to organize things by independently finding a container and putting all of his letter & animal magnets inside; finding all of his wooden shape sorter table blocks & putting them into an empty wagon under the table; putting away all his bath toys when he's ready to exit the tub
  
• understanding lots of words, babbling constantly, and saying a few words consistently: "ca" = cat or car; "da" = Daddy; "ma" = Mama; "ja" = Jennifer (our wonderful sitter); when asked to bring Mama a diaper from the green basket, he goes straight there and returns with the requested item
• insisting on feeding himself with his spoon
  
• new mastery of the straw and juicebox, quite a relief for Mama since Samson had so far refused to drink anything but rice milk & yogurt drinks from his Born Free sippy cup

Also, after 5 failed attempts, we finally found a comfortable pair of ridiculously expensive Jumping Jacks shoes to fit Samson's chubby Flintstone feet (see the first picture above) in size Toddler 5.5 Double Wide. Thank you, Zappos! Contributions to the Samson Shoe Fund are much appreciated ;o)

Sandman, Part 2

Yesterday in the front yard

Fun Weekend Report

Samson was a very busy boy this weekend, what with Friday dinner with the Turners, PawPaw's visit, Lily's 3rd birthday party, and playing with his new water-play castle.

Unfortunately, we have no video and few pics of all the cuteness displayed over this time, as Mama's spilled coffee has killed our family historian, the Canon SD630 (Lesson learned: if you get your digi-camera wet, never, NEVER turn it on until it is completely dry inside. Dry it out by opening all the compartments, removing the battery & memory card, and placing in a container of super absorbent material like silica packets or rice. No guarantee, but it might bring the camera a few more months of service. More on this here). We captured a few shots with our old standby, the Canon S410, but the video function on that one went caput long ago. And, it costs almost as much to attempt to repair these digital wonders as it does to just buy a better new one with several improvements for the amateur photog. Guess we're gonna have a drawer designated as the dead digital camera crypt.... But Mama digresses. You're here for the pics, so here you go:

Not sitting on my bottom like I'm supposed to do in the wagon

Clap-clap-clapping with PawPaw

At 3 years of age, Lily slays the giant piggy

Soon to be soaking wet from head to toe

We Heart Uncle M

Mama's eldest brother came to visit this afternoon as part of his annual trek through the states from the secret foreign country where he lives (Uncle M is a bit paranoid about revealing any info about himself online; ironic for a published author, don'cha think?).
Samson quickly determined that Uncle M would make a fine playmate and they shared lots of giggles, tickles, and a few turns doing "The Samson" (that's his trademarked new dance move).

We all enjoyed the visit. Come back when you can, Uncle M.

Eighteen Months

Today marks Samson's year and a half, and boy, has he become especially cute. It seems that all sorts of circuits in his brain have connected at once, the result being many new and often comical behaviors. Unfortunately, we have not yet been able to catch many of these on camera, but here's a brief description of a few:

1. The moonwalk. Samson finds it hilarious to walk several steps away and then slowly shuffle backwards into Mama's arms for a "surprise" hug. He will do this about 50 times before he gets bored.

2. Downnnn...up! Daddy has for months played a game in which he stands holding Samson and suddenly bends his knees. As he alternatingly sinks down and then pops back up, he says, "Downnnnn...up! Up-down. Downnnn...up! Up-down." Last week, Samson gleefully showed us that he has his own version of this game, where he holds onto a piece of furniture and squats down, then quickly pops up to a stand and then back down again. He grins like a maniac while Mama and Daddy chant, "Downnnnn...up! Up-down."

3. Wheels. Samson is obsessed with all things wheeled. He can be entertained for quite some time just comparing the rate of spin among the 4 wheels of an upside down Tonka truck. Whenever we go outside, he must hurry to investigate the tires on any vehicle, wagon, or wheelbarrow. Rides in the Radio Flyer or a shopping cart inevitably lead to Samson leaning over the edge of his seat to observe the wheels as they turn round. And of course, the "Wheels on the Bus" is a daily ditty.

4. Look what I can do with this pink thing! A recent discovery for Samson is the myriad of movements and sounds one can accomplish with one's tongue. He loves to smack, click, flatten, twist, stick out, and otherwise contort his tongue.

5. Dancing machine. This past week, Samson has begun humming to himself and doing a little booty-shaking, head-bobbing jig. Mama and Daddy then get very excited and join in for a family dance off, creating a shocking display that should never be revealed in public. The things we do for our child!

6. Fangs. All four canine teeth are erupting this month, so Samson has four little sharp spikes in the corners of his smile. He's chewing a lot on his fingers and crunchy foods to help those little boogers break through.

7. Security blocks. Samson spends much of the day and evening with one or both fists tightly grasping a wooden block that he carries around where ever he goes. His favorite is a yellow cylinder, but he'll carry a red one or a randomly colored cube if it's all that's accessible.

8. Peekaboo, anytime, anywhere. For Samson, any time is the right time for a round of peekaboo: around the corner or beneath the chair from Mama's computer desk; under the newspaper on Sunday morning; behind the wash cloth at bath time; over the kitchen island; in the car's rear view mirror; etc. He never tires of this game.

9. Inside joke. Samson is enjoying more time at independent play in the house and we often overhear him giggling about something that has amused him. Who knows what he is thinking, but that little laugh just melts Mama every time.

10. Fried taters. Never refused, in any format. Skinny, fat, crinkled, battered, tots, sweet potato, hot or cold: it's all good with Samson.