His favorite thing to do lately is read books. Mostly he wants to be read to, but at times he will just sit quietly and "read" his books to himself. It's great in the car, because for short trips, books hold his attention very well and he will just sit there and look at one for the whole ride, at least until he falls asleep. :) I'm thankful that he is so interested in books, although at times it can be frustrating for me when he wants to be read to constantly, and I have other things that I want to get done! But then I think back to when I was a kid, and remember my mom reading to us all the time, and I know it's important that I do the same for Sam. Developing a love of reading helps children in so many ways in the future . . . they have better verbal skills and writing skills, are better spellers, and I also believe that it helps instill in them a love of learning, in general. As a child, teen, and young adult, I have always been the type that could curl up with a book and be lost to the world for hours. Now, as a young mom, I don't really have the time to read for hours anymore, but I've been able to use most of my nursing time for reading, so I have been able to keep enjoying books that way. Of course, I don't want Sam to be a complete bookworm . . . I think it's important for him to have lots of outside, active play, etc. Still, I think it's nice that he does have the interest and a good attention span for books at an early age. Here's a picture of our bookworm:
Another new favorite for him is tractors! He's always enjoyed his toy tractors, but since the haying began across the road, he's discovered real tractors. I've been trying to teach him to say "tractor," but so far he just makes a certain noise to signify when he sees or hears one. ("Grrrrrrr") :) My relatives that ride the tractors always wave to him if they happen to notice him standing there by the door.
As far as things he says, he does have several understandable words: "Dada, mama, Bumpa (Grampa), Mammee or Memee (Grammy/Grandma), Bye Bye, Baby, moo, woof, no no, and ni-ni (night night)." I think that's all so far. I'm trying to work on teaching him more now and then. He's pretty good at letting you know when he doesn't want to do something--shakes his head and practically his whole body, says "no no", etc. Only problem is that he also sometimes uses the head shaking thing when he DOES want something, or want you to do something, like read a book to him for the 2nd, 3rd, 4th time in a row, etc. So we sort of have to guess what he's trying to tell us. It'll be nice when he learns to talk more!!
He eats a lot more "big people" food now, although he still eats some baby food too. He loves pizza, string cheese, cheerios, McDonald's hamburgers, and will try just about anything. He likes chips, cookies, and most anything sweet. He's also seemed to like some more unusual things, like fish, which is surprising but good! I'm glad he isn't picky. Sweet potatoes are still a big favorite, and also squash. And of course he still loves his fruit!
We're seeing a lot more attitudes that we have to work on correcting and redirecting now, too. He's definitely a strong-willed child! Hmmm, wonder where he gets that? :) But most of the time he's very cheerful and loving. He loves to give kisses now, big wet ones on the cheek, and has just started giving more hugs, as well.
Well, I need to finish this up and get to bed. Hopefully I'll have time tomorrow or fairly soon to write more about our weekend and other stuff. But I hope everyone has enjoyed hearing more about Sam this time around! He is a lot of fun, and we love him to pieces. Here's one more picture; he got to meet a doggy today when we went to visit Daddy at work:
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