Laughing with Sarah

Twelve months - November 21, 2014 Well, then. Here we are. One year, already, little man. You woke up happy on your birthday morning, and cuddled in bed with us and snuggled with Emme. You love the kitties so very much. They love you, too, in their own way. The way that you hug and pet and snuggle with the kitties is the way that you hug and kiss and snuggle with your stuffed animals. These days, your neon green puppy is one of your favorites. He rides in the car with you. When we get into the car, I hand him to you and you give him a big hug, snuggling against me and smiling. I usually sneak you into your car seat while you are hugging puppy. :) You continue to be such an affectionate little man. A few weeks ago, you were sitting in my lap while I was reading you a book, and you all of the sudden stopped paying attention, leaned back, looked up at me, and leaned up for a kiss. Nevermind that you give kisses by lunging forward with your mouth wide open. It is still the sw...

All evening, I've been playing the "what was happening a year ago?" game. At this time last year, I was mostly lying on my side, propped up with pillows, hooked up to IVs in both arms, trying to read magazines, getting groggy from the meds they gave me, waiting for my body to get going on the whole labor thing, and trying not to worry as my blood pressure kept creeping up. At this point in the night, they'd given me a sleeping pill, and while I tried to rest, Matt, too, tried to rest in the uncomfortable chair under the window. I remarked tonight that the passing of this year is baffling to me. It's not so much that I can't believe Sam is turning one, it's that I cannot believe that another year of life has passed by so quickly. Another year here in Decorah. Another year of pastoring. Another year of marriage. A year full of extraordinary highs and lows. Perhaps I feel so tender because I'm scared for my dad's scan results tomorrow, which will tell...

Eleven months - October 24, 2014 Well, I think it is my fault. I blinked. And when I did, you took advantage of the moment to get another month older, Sammy. This has been a month of rapid changes. Every day you are a different kid. You keep moving farther and farther away from being a baby, and closer and closer to being a sweet little boy. Standing up is old news for you by now. It takes very little effort to pull yourself up. You grab the couch, or a chair, or a bookshelf, or mommy's legs, and stand up tall. You have started cruising around furniture, walking very carefully while holding on. We have a wheeled toy that transforms from a sit-and-scoot bicycle to a stand-up walker, and you have mastered the art of walking around the living room while pushing it ahead of you. You aren't quite interested in trying to walk while holding onto mama or daddy's hands, but I'm sure that will happen very soon. You are a boy on the move. You scoot around the house, chasin...

Ten months - September 26, 2014 Well, little Sammy, I'm writing this post with a lukewarm cup of coffee by my side, trying to keep my eyes open after a second night in a row of bad sleeping on your part. It's a good thing that you are darn cute... Cute and kind and funny and sweet, that is. :) You are now ten months old (plus a few days), and you are a little man on the move. You're so busy that you're still hugging that skinny 10th percentile curve for weight. And it doesn't seem matter how many bites you take of scrambled eggs, quiche, muffins, grapes, chicken, shrimp, rice, Cheerios, pasta, bagels, donuts, bread, yogurt, squash, or anything else. You love playing and you love eating. Eating will get easier and easier as you get more teeth. You have two big ones on the bottom, plus a third one that is poking its way through. Someday you'll have top teeth, and then you'll figure out that chewing is the best. You've been a good sport about teeth...