Samuel Cary - 20 months

Four Generations at Thanksgiving

Our Samuel Cary is 20 months old!  What a fun month it has been!  (Do I start every post that way?  It also has it challenging moments, but we will focus on the fun...)  If I had to pick three words to sum up this stage, they would be: repetition, imitation, and stubborn (and a close tie would be opinionated or independent). 

Accomplishments:
Tripled Vocabulary - shortly after Thanksgiving Samuel started to say, "Momma" and "Bubba" (my water bottle) so he pretty much tripled his vocabulary.  He also says, "Buh!  Buh!" on a regular basis.  If it is in the morning at breakfast, it means he wants blueberries.  If it is at night after supper, then it means he wants to take a bath.  It can also refer to bubbles or balloon.

Climbing - Lord have mercy! We are in a climbing phase.  It is completely impressive to me the things that Samuel can climb on.  I put the Christmas tree up in a corner and put a chair in front of it to block it.  He worked on it for an afternoon and had figured out how to climb up on the chair.  

Playing with a dump truck at Miss Darla's

Big Boy Booster Seat - Shortly after figuring out how to climb up on chairs, Samuel started boycotting his high chair.  He would not sit down in it and insisted on sitting on "big boy" chairs.  I utilized Amazon Prime Two Day Shipping and got a him a booster seat.  The high chair is now in the attic waiting for Brother to need it.  

Spending the Day without Momma - Someone from church (Darla) volunteered twice during the last month to take Samuel for the day.  He went and hung out at the Cline Farm from 8am-6:30pm.  It was so good for both of us.  Supposedly he was well-behaved and Mom got to cross some stuff off her to-do list.  It was glorious.  I have never left Samuel with anyone for that long, so I was proud of him for doing so well.  

Playing with Dada's glasses at supper

Praying for specific things - Samuel has been a fan of praying for a few months.  I think he associates it with eating and he gets positive attention for it.  He has started to point at objects and then fold his hands to pray.  So we pray about the object he pointed at.  

Sweet story - Samuel had been praying for specific things for a few weeks and then one day he pointed at me and said, "Momma". We prayed for Momma.  It was so sweet of him to think of me.  He now asks to pray for "Dada" or "Momma" on a regular occasion.  He has asked to pray for himself once or twice.

Likes:
The Wise Man Built His House Upon the Rock - I think I sang this song about 10-20 times a day for the last month.  Samuel knows the hand motions but is stubborn about showing other people that he knows the motions.  He really likes the Psalty version of the Wiseman.  Also - my poor kid thinks that the Wise Men from the Nativity is the Wise Man in the song. 


Still loving:
His coffeepot / playing coffee, trucks, tractors, bubbles, vacuuming, CRACKING EGGS and stirring / cooking, washing his hands (playing in water), John Deere, toys that are rideable (his John Deere tractor and 4-wheeler)

All Samuel's dreams came true when he got to help Uncle Jared plow snow

Not loving (or liking):
being told "No", diaper changes, not having his paci / giving his paci to Mom or Dad, riding in the car for more than five minutes

Funny Story - we have been working on the Christmas story and the characters of the Nativity.  Samuel has a Nativity set and knows Jesus, the Dada, the Momma, the Wise Men, and everyone else is usually Dada as well.  The other day, he picked up Baby Jesus and gave him a few kisses.  Before I could finish saying, "Samuel how sweet of you to kiss the..." Samuel had throw Baby Jesus across the room.  I, unfortunately, laughed as I was shocked (which is the best reinforcement for Samuel) so he did it several more times throughout the weeks leading up to Christmas.  A good summation of life with our sweet crazy boy.

Baby #2 - 24 weeks

Nerd out with me for a moment.  24 x 7 = 168 days pregnant 168/30 = 5.6 months.  So we are well on our way to be SIX months pregnant.  Wah! 

My due date keeps changing - let's say this is 20 weeks.

Some days this pregnancy feels like it is flying by and other days it feels like I have been pregnant forever.  The closer my due date gets, the more anxious I get about this kid sleeping.  Those first 6-12 months of Samuel's life were rough in the sleep department (and I feel like lack of sleep makes both Samuel and I cranky and that affects all of life?).  The other night Ian said something about, "... and we will have a cute little cuddly baby.." and I was like, "I am excited for the baby to be a year old" (and Ian agreed).  At least we can go into it with our eyes wide open and know that it doesn't last forever (it just feels that way when you are in the middle of it).

Headed out to push the jogging stroller - it was COLD - a few days past 20 weeks

I have hit the wall as far as exercise goes.  I am OVER it.  I am not very good about getting out with Samuel as it is so rainy or cold or windy (or all three).  And by the time that Samuel goes to bed, I just want to sit on the couch and stare at the wall (or my phone).  I know my future self will thank me if I don't get totally out of shape - those last few weeks of pregnancy will be much smoother if I just keep at it.  I have found some pregnancy workout videos on Amazon Prime so I do about 10 minutes of something (and complain most of the time that I am doing it - sorry Husband).

21 weeks 21 days - He is face up - you can see his eyes and nose and mouth - Hi Baby Hi!!

I think part of the issue is that I am gaining weight slower this time around (thank you Lord).  I am 16ish pounds gained from my pre-pregnancy weight (which is closer to 25 or 27 lbs pre-Samuel but whatever).  With Samuel, if I did not exercise, I felt like I blinked and gained 5 pounds.  This time, I am eating whatever I want and not really gaining too fast (which is FUN and BAD all at the same time - eek!)

Baby's Profile, you can see his skull/brain, eyes, nose, and mouth

I also get a good chuckle out the differences in doctors.  With Samuel, I was weighed every.single.appointment (and I think I was lectured every single appointment about my over-achieverment in the weight gain department).  This go around I think I have been weighed three times and no one ever says anything about my weight gain.  


I have been craving food more this go around.  I saw a picture online of someone making egg noddles from duck eggs and I was like, "OH MY GOSH, I NEED THOSE IN MY LIFE RIGHT NOW!" It feels a bit immature, but I am rolling with it - for better or worse.  

21 weeks and 5 days

I think we have a name!  We have had one that we have liked for awhile and we have stuck with it for a month or two.  I may do a baby name poll towards the end of the pregnancy so we aren't sharing for now.  But it is exciting to think of the baby by his name.  

Sleep could be better (and it could be worse).  If I was exercising more, I may be sleeping better.  I am already sick of sleeping on my side.  I was awake during the night last night and I was thinking how grateful I am that I get to stay in my nice warm cozy bed.  My first choice is to sleep all night, but if I am going to wake up, it is nice to stay in bed and not drag myself out of bed to feed and change a person who does not like having his diaper removed due to being cold.  I think I have some more sanctifying to come in life.  

Maybe not my best picture, but some day I will be glad I took it - 23 weeks and some change

My back has started to ache some days so I am trying to be good about squatting to lift Samuel (which helps a lot!).  It feels inconvenient, but it is worth it.  And it is like a mini-workout, right?

24 weeks with Samuel

It is fun to go back and read what pregnancy and life were like pre-Samuel.  Man, I can remember making copies for my Calc BC final, like 45 minutes before I gave it.  It was such a stressful year.  I am glad that I am not re-living that year of my life :) It was a good hard year and I learned a lot, but I am thankful it is behind me and I am not in the middle of it.

And reading that blog post made me realize that I have yet to start a registry - do we even need anything?  I will probably make a couple (so that I can get the free stuff that you get when you start a registry). I need to get back in the infant / little baby mindset.  You forget what it is like (or at least I do, until I see a picture or video of Samuel and then it comes flooding back).