Samuel Cary - 14 months

Samuel's first haircut. I did not get many pictures as
I was trying to keep him in the chair.

I am way behind on writing these monthly update posts.  I am going to try to "catch up".  There are so many fun moments to remember. So I am writing this way after Samuel turned 14 months, but "better late than never"?

Samuel *still* wasn't walking but did take some steps on his own.  I was so eager for him to start walking (and since I am writing this a few months later I can say that life got so much easier/better once he started walking!).  In general the more independent Samuel gets, the more I enjoy motherhood.  Samuel is currently grunting quite a bit (eh, eh, eh for everything) and he enjoys his "bollywood dance" moves.

Samuel got his first haircut!  He did okay (I would give him a 7/10). He sat in the chair by himself.  He was not happy when the stylist tried to blow him off with a blow dryer.  He did not scream the whole time so I took it as a win.  Nothing ages a kid like a haircut!

Samuel is a big fan of big equipment

The house across the street got torn down which provided entertainment in the form of watching the big machines tear it down and then fill in the hole.  He really wanted to get himself across the street and on the equipment but we settled for watching it out the window or from the yard.


Paulding County had their (4-H) fair and Samuel enjoyed seeing the rabbits and chickens.  I think most of the animals were too big and intimidating to him.  Since the fair had free admission, we went almost everyday.  Samuel is a fan of fair food (much like his parents).

Enjoying a lemon shake up and the fair animals

We roadtripped to Illinois and spent time with both sets of grandparents.  Ian and his dad spent a week in Tennessee for General Assembly and during that time Samuel cut all four of his molars (I can remember this quite well as Samuel was adjusting to sleeping somewhere new and cutting teeth and he was so whiny and clingy).  I think the jury is still out on whether he likes pools or not.  The smaller the pool, the more he likes it.  He is not too fond of floating in a floating, but he does like to splash.  Samuel liked checking out the (new to him) parks around town.  He loved that MamaG and PapaG had a set of stairs that he could up and down (and up and down and up and down).  Once he got tired of going up and down the stairs, he got a big kick out of throwing a ball down the stairs (and having someone retrieve it for him).  In celebration of his first World Cup season, he liked walking around (while holding hands of someone else) and kicking a small soccer ball.  He still enjoys checking for squirrels, visiting St. Francis, and playing the wind chimes.

Samuel turned 14 months while we were in Illinois - so some of these are
14 months and some are 15 months.  Thanks Papa G for the collage.

Dear Paulding, Please Don't Apologize

Whenever you move, one of the common questions you get is, "Where did you move from?"  To keep things simple, Ian and I usually answer, "Denver".  Some times people will chuckle when they hear our answer and a lot of times people will ask, "Why would you move here!?!?"

And in some ways I get it.  As far as I know, Paulding, Ohio is not a vacation destination for the masses.  It is not know for its great weather or lack of insects.  No one has "Native" bumper stickers to claim their pride in being born here.

photo via Google Image Search

And yet Ian and I would pick Paulding over Denver.  I guess the biggest reason is we feel that God called us here and has a plan and a purpose for us here.  But there is something else - something that is hard to put into words.

When we go to Susie's Bakery, she knows my kid.  She will give him a donut hole or show him how her clock moves.  If she has time, she will come out from behind the counter and visit for a bit.

When you go to the grocery store, you may just bump into someone you know.  It is not a mass sea of strangers doing their own thing at their own pace.  The cashier will give the receipt to Samuel because she knows he likes to hold it (and then shred it in the backseat).

And then there is this:

There is something so beautiful and magnificent about fields of corn or wheat (or even soy beans).  To see the cycle each year of planting, growing, and harvesting is powerful to me.  Whenever we were in Korea or Denver I would always wonder, "How tall is the corn now?  Does it look good?"  I want my kid to know that food we eat started as seeds and had to be planted and cared for and prayed for and harvested.

It just doesn't magically appear in the grocery store.  Some years are good and some years are not.

The meat we eat comes from cows and chickens and pigs and turkeys.  Cows are big and they have a specific smell.  Chickens are little dinosaurs and pigs are mean.  It takes work to bring food to us.

So folks of Paulding, be proud and don't apologize.  Ian and I choose to live here.  We are excited for our child to grow up here.  It is something that we say to each other often.   

We don't have to live here, we get to.