Thirty Months...aka...Two and a half

Samuel-

Can it be true? Can you really be 2 1/2 years old already? The past six months has been full of new adventures for you. You became a big brother and along with the territory have become a great helper. You began speaking in sentences and have recently graduated to what seems like paragraphs. Your level of independence has sky rocketed and you can now entertain yourself for extended amounts of time. Most days you are a joy to be around. Like me, you have days when staying in bed might have been a better option and nothing seems to go your way. Luckily we have not had our days like that fall within the same 24 hour period. When it does, I am sure your dad and brother will run for their lives.

You are a great big brother to Liam. You love him so much and are always willing to help him in any way you can. You are the only person that can make him go from crying to laughing within a second. The way his face lights up whenever he sees you makes me so proud of the little boy you have become and a bit jealous of your relationship with him. You are so thoughtful and mindful of your brother that you insisted that Santa should bring him a blanket just like yours. You wanted him to have the same security and comfort that you get from your beloved "t-t." I hope you will always look out for him the way that you do now.

I hadn't really noticed how polite you are until Uncle Mike mentioned it over the holidays. Please and thank-you have become common words out of your mouth. We often use them with you and have in the past asked you to use them with others. You are now doing it without us asking. I love when I hand you your cup of juice in the morning and you are off running yelling "thank-you mommy" over your shoulder. I hope that you are learning that respect for others is so important and that having these manners is one way of showing that.

Your newest thing this past month has been your repertoire of songs. You love singing and dancing. You have always liked Old McDonald and I Love You but this month, with Christmas just passed, you have enjoyed some holiday favorites. Jingle Bells and Rudolf were some select favorites. You also surprised both your dad and I the other day when you knew the alphabet song. We have sang it to you many times and you have several toys that play it, but I didn't realize that I could sing it to you and stop randomly and you would be able to fill in the next several letters. This has now become a game for you and I. Always making you think!


Your independence has been growing and growing. You are so determined to do things by yourself you will often make dad or I undo something we did just so you can do it by yourself. The most frustrating for us is getting in the car. You often insist on getting in your seat and snapping your own belt. There are times that I forget and set you in your car seat. You quickly let me know that is not ok and will proceed to climb back out of your seat, give me a look of "let me do it" and turn around and climb right back in. Proving the point that you are an independently functioning and very capable 2 1/2 year old.

There are days when I wish the 2 1/2 stage to quickly pass but in all honestly I love watching your independence, determination and personality develop. I know we tell you all the time but you are an amazing little boy who we are madly in love with. You bring so much joy and laughter to our lives each and every day. You make my days worth living and my life worth remembering.

I love you my little (excuse me...big) boy.

Love,
Mommy