New Favorites

Here is a list of Sam's new favorite things:

1. Word -- "Neck." Random, I know. I'm sure he knows what it means because he is always pointing to an actual neck when he says it....which he does...a LOT.

2. Game -- putting all of his bath toys to bed by laying them on the bottom of the bathtub, patting them gently and telling them "night night."

3. Snack -- Sunkist Fruit Snacks. I know, I know...high fructose corn syrup is the devil. Leave me alone.

4. Book -- it's a toss up between "I Know An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly" and "I Love You, Stinky Face." Personally, I hate them both at this point.

5. Movie -- "Shrek." Oh wait, this isn't new, it's the same movie he's been watching non-stop for two months...sigh.

6. Dance Move -- Spinning around in circles until he falls over with giggles. Right now, you're wondering if this is as cute as it sounds. It's cuter.

7. Piece of Playground Equipment -- the slide, hands down!

8. Song -- "Why Are There So Many Songs About Rainbows?" from the Muppet Movie.

9. Color -- Green. I've gathered this from his most frequent choice of bath crayon. Based on this highly accurate and scientific method, blue is a close second.

10. Article of Clothing -- a green (coincidence? I think not) shirt with a picture of a monster on the front with his mouth wide open and a caption that says "FEED ME!" I guess I've read him the caption enough times now, because every time I put it on him he looks down at the picture and then starts doing the baby sign for "Eat" while saying "NACK! NACK!" (Sam for "snack").

The coolest thing about all of this is that he HAS favorite things. He is a real person, he has a unique personality and sense of self. He is different than me and separate from me. It's so awesome to watch him develop as a human being, and to be able to share it with all of you here!

Sam's Best Friend(s)

Sometimes, I really pity my poor dogs. They used to rule the roost, have the run of the house, and then -- BAM! Or should I say -- SAM! Boy, did his arrival shake up their world. Now that he's a crazy, rowdy toddler, they get it worse than ever. He climbs all over them, uses them as footrests, squeezes their faces and tries to ride them like ponies. God bless them, they've put up with all of it. But this might be the last straw...
This is how I found Bella earlier this morning, after a few minutes alone with Sam...

Oh, the indignity.

Could this kid look any more like his daddy?!

Ear Tubes

Sam got his ear tubes put in on Monday, and everything went great. Thanks to all of you who called or emailed to check on him and ask how he's been doing. He was a little off the first day, but now he is all better and back to his old tricks!

A couple of things to note:

First of all, on our way into the hospital to have the surgery done, we heard a gunshot. That's right people...a GUNSHOT. Yet another reason I will not live in Jacksonville. Say what you want about St. Augustine being "boring" or not having good shopping...I personally like my mornings drive-by free.

Also, I think using the word "surgery" when referring to this procedure is misleading. They came to take him away, about two minutes later I turned to David and said "I'm nervous," and right as he was reassuring me that everything was going to be okay, the doctor came back into the room and said "Surgery's over...everything went great." We just stared at him. "I'm sorry, do you have the wrong room, or did we just time travel?" Seriously...four minutes?! That should not be called "surgery"...I didn't even finish one article in the magazine I was reading! It definitely did not merit all the anxiety I had about it.

Lastly, hospitals make you get there WAY too early. Seriously, what is the point of being there two full hours ahead of time? Have they ever tried to hang out with a toddler in an examination room for TWO HOURS?? Apparently not. The worst part of it was that the poor kid wasnt allowed to eat or drink anything, and he didn't understand why. He just kept doing the baby sign for "please" and looking at me pitifully. It was rough.

One piece of good news is that the doctor said that these tubes will allow the fluid in his inner ear to fully clear, which will affect the way he hears things (as in, he will finally hear everything the say he's actually supposed to). That will, in turn, probably affect his language development. He told us not to be surprised if Sam's vocabulary "explodes" over the next couple of months. How fun will that be?!

That's all for now...off to enjoy some guilty, indulgent TV time!

Have a Holly, Jolly, Belated Christmas!!

Um, I'm sorry...what do you mean Christmas was more than two weeks ago? That's NOT POSSIBLE. Needless to say, time has gotten away from me yet again.

When will I stop posting about how behind I am?!

Somewhere out there, my friend Holly Panter is laughing at me...thinking "Poor, silly Cait with ONE baby, thinking she can't get it together." Then, when she's done laughing, she'll take her FOUR girls aged five and under into the kitchen to make delicious, organic cookies -- which she will photograph and blog about before the cookies are even done baking. She puts me to shame!

Anyway, now that I have been properly humbled, here's our Christmas post! Hopefully, most of you who read this got a card from me -- and it most likely came after Christmas. Sorry about that. I've decided (I think) that from now on I'm goin to buck tradition and send out New Years cards. Why not?? I can never get it together enough to send cards that show up by Christmas anyway, and sending a card to ring in the New Year seems just as applicable to me (and slightly quirky, which I dig).

We were home for Christmas this year -- which was AMAZING. It was the first time ever that we didn't travel over the holidays, and it was so mellow and easy. Another great thing about this year was that my brother, Tristan, and his wife, Crystal, came into town from California to celebrate with us. We don't get to see them enough, so to have the chance to spend so much time with them was awesome.

On Christmas Eve, we went over to my parent's house, where we observed one of our stranger family traditions -- eating oyster stew to remind us of how much we hate the English (long story). Then, we each opened our one Christmas Eve present, and (surprise, surprise!) they were all pajamas again!! ;) David, Sam and I went home in our PJs, listening to carols and driving through downtown to see the beautiful lights. In the morning, we slept until Sam woke up (about 7:30 a.m...a Christmas miracle!), and then headed back to my parents' house for breakfast and presents.

Now, while Christmas is not about the presents, I don't feel bad for saying that I think we all cleaned up this year! David got a new amplifier for his truck, an i-Pod docking station, the first season of "Family Guy," and other books, DVDs and clothes. Sam got his car (photos below), a tiny little t-ball set, a musical broom (what can I say? he likes to sweep!), and tons of other toys, books and clothes. I got a Wii (my first game system!), a Tom-Tom GPS, and the best present ever -- which I will get into in the next paragraph (it deserves more than a sentence!). We loved watching everyone else open the gifts we got for them, too. The whole scene was really happy and the feeling in the room was great -- everyone was smiling and generous and grateful.

Now for the best present ever -- David turned this very blog into an honest-to-goodness, hardcover book! I have been wishing aloud for months that I could get it together enough to make Sam a proper baby book and also get all of our photos into an album -- but it always seemed like a project that was just out of my reach. So David spent hours and hours downloading everything I have posted on this blog since its inception into January 2008 and turning it into a beautiful, 300-page book. It is a baby book and a photo album all rolled into one. He thought of it all on his own, designed in all one his own, and - best of all - actually kept it a secret from me. He is so thoughtful that he even ordered one for my mom, one for his mom, and one for each of his grandmothers. He couldn't have been prouder to give it to me, and I couldn't have loved any present more.

He added his own note in the back, which reads -- "This seems like an abrupt ending, but it's only the end of this book. The memories that fill it will continue to be made. Cait is the most wonderful mother and wife Sam and I could ask for. She made everything you have just seen possible. I just put what she created on paper. I hope you have enjoyed reading her words and seeing her pictures as much as I have enjoyed bringing them together here. We love you Mommy -- David and Sam."

He is a gem -- the sweetest man I know. And that is the true gift.

So I think I've made you wait for photos long enough! Here they are, and once again, Merry (belated) Christmas to all of you! We sincerely hope that your season was as warm and merry as ours!

This is what I woke up to on Christmas morning!! :)Pre-chaos at my parents' house...Opening his first present -- a Thomas the Train toy from his grandparents!Playing with his cousin's new i-Touch...he's hip to the technology already!Sweeping with his new musical broom...gotta instill the chores early on!Me opening David's present -- yep, it made me cry!Beep beep! Playing with his new car :)"Hey, why does my car have eyeballs?!"Our house with Christmas lights :)

Favorite Hat

I know I need to get you all updated on Christmas, and I will, but there are so many things to tell and so many photos to post that I just don't have time to do it tonight. I'll probably get to it later this week when I have to go out of town overnight for work (I'll have WAY more time to myself than I'm used to!).

For now, I just wanted to post a few photos of Sam enjoying his current favorite hat -- aka one of my spaghetti strainers :)

Bathtime, Again

Just because you can never see too many photos of an adorable toddler in the bathtub!

You talkin' to ME?!

My sweet boy :)

Check out that mohawk!

Bein' cheesy!