sam @ 18 months

…has all of his teeth (except his two-year molars). we just noticed the newest four poking through tonight while we were brushing teeth at bedtime. i guess it'll be just that much easier for him to eat his cheese (which he would like to do at least once every meal).

…has upwards of 65 words in his vocabulary (and seems to be adding a couple every day). i won't bore you with the entire list, but chief amongst them are: car, truck, daddy, mommy, please, nope, and (of course) buckeye.

…and speaking of buckeyes, sam thinks that anything that is red or anything with a logo is a "buckeye." mike's brainwashing has started to manifest. this boy is going to be bleeding scarlet and grey long before he understands football.

…likes to demonstrate his smarts. he never ceases to amaze me with his ability to observe, remember, and make connections. a couple of cases in point:

• one day i was listening to music, and i decided to play "eine kleine nachtmusik" for sam. he recognized the music right away as the song that comes from the "dooba-doo", and went directly over and turned it on so that it would sing along with the what was playing on the computer.
• a couple of days ago i got sam some crackers for a snack. for a table, i took one of his toy baskets and turned it over and set the crackers down for him. the following day mike came upstairs to get sam some crackers for snacktime, and when he went back down to the basement, sam had already turned the basket over, ready for crackers. when mike asked him, "where do the crackers go?" sam walked over to the basket and pointed.

i could probably go on and on (okay, i know i could go on and on), but i won't.

…still loves cars and trucks. he can now identify and say "tractor", "dump truck", and "scoop" (scoop = front loader). he loves the book cars and trucks and things that go (thank you morbecks!) and (still) enjoys looking at his truck board book. he rarely goes anywhere without a vehicle in hand, and he must have at least one or two before he can settle down for bedtime.

…is very outgoing. he has been known to hug strangers. he says hi to everyone. he also plays with anyone and everyone that will give him the time of day at the playground, and he's shown himself to be very good at sharing on at least one occasion. it made me pop my buttons. (you may be surprised that i still had any. i was too.)

*pop pop pop* and there go a few more…