This month has been BUSY! Mostly, it’s been busy because of you. Right as you turned 11 months old, you learned to stand up on your own. Your first time standing was using the side of the bathtub, but you use everything – chairs, couches, the coffee table, a leg, Charlie, a drawer handle, and lately even a flat wall is enough to help you stand up! And within a few days of standing, you started walking around hanging onto furniture, so a lot more things are within your reach now. You love this! Mommy and Daddy… not so much.

You are into EVERYTHING! After raising your brother, who never got into anything besides his own toys, doesn’t like dirty hands, and won’t put anything in his mouth that’s not food, Mommy and Daddy were NOT PREPARED for you! You are into everything. I know I already said that, but it just seems like I can’t say it enough! If anything at all is within your reach, it’s going to end up in your hand. You will crumple or crush it if it’s noisy, and if it’s not noisy, it goes in your mouth. Noisy stuff eventually ends up in your mouth too, though. You don’t care what gets on your hands, and before Mommy can clean them you often wipe them all over your face and through your hair. I can’t count the number of times we’ve had to wipe oatmeal out of your hair!

Speaking of food, I wonder if you think that everything is food, or if you just really think the only way to discover something is to taste it. Mommy has pulled so many gross things out of your mouth – dirty socks, shoes, the broom and/or dustpan, paper, toiletpaper/Kleenex, a giant dust bunny, chunks of dried mud, grass and the classic every-baby-except-Zane-must-try, dog crumbles. You seem to like everything, no matter how bad it is. You can have the most disgusting thing in the world in your mouth, and you’ll be perfectly happy about it – and rage when I take it away. And your rage – that’s a topic we’ve covered before. Let’s just say that the festering ball of anger that lives inside you (for reasons we still haven’t discovered) is alive and well. We’ve joked that you’re bipolar because you can be SO HAPPY and then throw such a HUGE FIT all within a five minute span.

I think you’re going to be our clingy child. You always want attention, cuddles, and to be picked up and held. I’m OK with it, because sometimes Mommy feels pretty neglected with your big brother being SO independent. I can always get down in your face and have a little visit, and you’re always SUPER HAPPY and excited to see me. You can’t get enough of people, and as social as you are now I just can’t imagine you ever being shy. I’m sure it will happen but it’ll be hard to get used to! The clingy part can get a bit overwhelming though, like when you’re pulling my pantlegs when I’m trying to do dishes, or crying on the floor because I’m not looking at you every second, or freaking out because I have walked out of the room without picking you up and taking you along. Mommy needs to be patient with your neediness though, because it will be over all too soon!

You were extra needy for a bit this month, as you and your brother both had terrible ear infections. You even had an awful-sounding cough – Mommy took both of you to the hospital when we realized what was going on, but I felt so guilty because it had gotten so bad before we realized. We’re so used to being sent home with “it’s a virus, gotta wait it out”. Zane told us his ears hurt during the night, and the next morning Mommy noticed you slapping yourself in the head and pulling on your ears. You had a bad ear infection in both ears – your first real sickness, which is pretty good for almost 1 year old! The chiropractor was able to help you to stop hurting though, and the antibiotics had you all turned around and cleared up in a few days. Mommy HATES it when you’re sick, especially when I think that it was worse because I didn’t notice it in time. One plus side of you growing up is that you’ll be able to tell me what’s wrong!

The last and biggest event for you this month was your birthday party! We celebrated your birthday and Zane’s on the same day, the day before you turned one. You got to see all your grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins, and even some of your second cousins – what a houseful! You slept through the first hour or so, and when you got up you were the quietest we’ve probably ever seen you – what were all these people doing here? None of them were there when you went to sleep! You stuck your fingers in Zane’s cake, tried to grab the flame of your candle and then stuck your fingers in your cake, and ignored your presents while tearing up tissue paper and wrapping paper. All exactly as we expected. The highlights of your day were receiving Auntie Carolyn’s old cell phones (now that was a savvy gift!) and smearing cake and icing into your eyebrows, ears, hair, and up your nose.

You are your own person, Samuel. You are loud, sometimes even obnoxious. You scream. You freak out if you don’t have what you want, NOW. You never stop moving, even when you’re asleep. You get into everything, constantly try to touch things you’re not allowed to have, pinch and bite and pull hair, pester the dog, and make MESSES! And we wouldn’t change a thing about you. You are our happy, energetic, curious little ray of sunshine. We love you just the way you are, and hope nothing ever happens to hurt your happiness.

Your measurements at 1 year:

• Weight: 23 lb 8 oz
• Height: 31 inches

♪ He talked back to Mommy and gave her what-for, ♫

♫ It’s hard to believe he can be such a pain, ♪

♪ The terror of Blackfalds, the man they call… Zane! ♫

1. It’s totally normal that the car you used to get detailed on the reg looks like the place Goldfish crackers go to die. Just yesterday we found the remains of a hot dog beneath our seats.

2. We’re truly impressed you prepare healthful, organic meals everyday from scratch, but don’t beat yourself up if when you lay in bed reviewing what your child actually ate, you discover his calories came from pickles and Nerds. It happens.

3. We agree that the hands-down best high (no matter what you did in college) is the one you get from your baby laying heavy in a heap on your chest. Thank you, oxytocin. And no judgement here if you forgo a night out to cash in on the opportunity to cuddle up.

4. Don’t worry if you consider purchasing a taxi cab because you heard the plastic partitions can be made in soundproof material. We already looked into that.

5. There is nothing wrong with you at all if while cleaning the nursery in a few months, you tear up throwing away the nasal aspirators because your big girl can blow her nose all by herself. These milestones come out of nowhere.

6. Don’t you dare think less of yourself if you do the sniff test to your clothes before you consider washing them. A little spit up on the shoulder? If you can scratch it off, it’s perfect for running errands. We applaud you for “Going Green”!

7. We get it if when you decide to return to the gym, you do it under the guise of getting your body back but know deep down it’s for the childcare room. We’ve seen them sanitize the baby swing. No harm. No foul.

8. We applaud your homemade cleaning products. Vinegar is magical! We didn’t notice at all that you turned to Clorox and Lysol when your little one got his first stomach virus. We thought “projectile” was hyperbole, too.

9. Don’t question your strength just because you can’t take the lollipop your precious little one has been licking for 45 minutes. There is nothing stronger than a baby holding candy. Nothing.

10. No judgement here if you consider asking your husband to celebrate your birthday or his birthday or next Tuesday with a vasectomy.

11. Please don’t underestimate your parenting prowess when your little one embraces Time Out as an opportunity to play quietly and use his imagination instead of reflecting on his bad behavior. Enjoy the minute of silence.

12. We still think you’re fashion forward after you spent the entire day with Cheerios tucked into the folds of your scarf and a chocolate kiss mark on your cheek.

13. We admire any answer you can muster (as long as it doesn’t include details about grooming shapes and vajazzling) when your cherub asks about pubic hair while you’re both squeezed into a public restroom stall.

14. It’s not lying to tell your babe that Caillou went on vacation with his Mommy and Daddy and won’t be back for a long time. We call it self preservation.

15. You’re still wearing a nursing bra but haven’t breastfed in months? There’s no statute of limitations on those things. We can’t blame you for avoiding a bra fitting. One change at a time.

We could go on and on because motherhood is the great equalizer, and we’re all just doing the best we can. Instead of passing judgement, we’re looking for strength in numbers. However, if you happen to come in contact with Judgey McJudginstuff herself, we fully support you thanking her for her insight while patting her shoulder with a hand that may or may not have poop under the fingernails.

Welcome to the club.

It sure surprised Oma, but that wasn’t the first time you’d rolled over! On August 27 you rolled for the very first time. You were under your western hangy-toy-thingy (do they have a proper name for those?) and you were on a folded up blanket. Well you rolled off that blanket and then were stuck on your face. Don’t feel neglected when you hear Mommy’s reaction; before rescuing you, I pointed you out to Daddy and we had a laugh. When you have kids someday you’ll understand! Besides, the MINUTE Mommy turned you over, you rolled right onto your face again! You were determined to get somewhere that day, although you weren’t successful.

You are trying to get around in a lot of ways this month. When Mommy puts you on your tummy, you HATE it. But for the few minutes that you’re there, we watch your arms and legs and it really looks like you already know how to crawl! I’m pretty sure if you could get those flailing little limbs UNDER you, you’d just motor all over the place. You’re also starting to do a lot less cuddling and a lot more sitting up and wiggling around when you’re being held. Remember, Mommy wants you to learn to sit up so you won’t be so bored… but… you can take as LONG AS YOU WANT to start crawling!

This month we also decided to feed you your first solids! All the guidelines we read say nothing but breastmilk for 6 months. But you were determined to not wait! This month, you’ve been a holy terror when we’re trying to eat. If you get left on the floor or in your swing when we eat, you scream bloody murder loudly voice your displeasure at the situation. You want to be at the table NOW. If you are sitting on someone’s lap while they’re eating, you follow every bite. You crane your little face right back to watch the food go into their mouth, and sometimes you even open your mouth at the same time. You’ve put your hands in our plates and tried to grab our forks. And EVERYTHING you touch goes into your mouth if you can get it there! Plus, you were getting up four times a night to eat now. That’s like, every two hours all night. And you were eating every hour or two during the day too! So we decided it was time. Hang the recommendations, you were ready!

September 7 for suppertime you had your very first taste of ‘solid’ food. Of course, calling it solid is a stretch since it’s pureed mush. Anyway, we gave you sweet potatoes yams. (Why does everyone confuse sweet potatoes with yams anyway? They don’t look the same OR taste the same, and they’re even different colors inside!) Your Daddy HATES yams. He says he has to try really hard not to puke just from the smell of them. Now Mommy doesn’t really believe that because your Daddy peeled and started blending the yam Mommy cooked so that you could have your food on time, and he was JUST FINE. Anyway, at first Mommy was worried you didn’t like yams either! You had some pretty priceless looks on your face. I think now that it was more about the unfamiliarity of eating, because you did finish the whole helping and then the next night you INHALED the yams! You started sleeping better right away, too. Yay food!

September 8 you started your day out with bananas for breakfast. You loved those too – just a note for later!

The last big thing we did this month was to get your four-month immunizations. We were late, just like Mommy ALWAYS is with your letter – you were supposed to be immunized when you turned four months, but you got your immunizations the last day of your fifth month, right before actually turning 5 months old! You had two shots in one leg and one in the other leg, and you SCREAMED. Daddy heard you out in the waiting room where he was waiting with Zane, and he knew it was you by your cry. You had a BAD next day – you had a bit of a fever, you were up all day, and then you got up several times in the night. We gave you Tylenol and it just seemed like everything was wrong – sore legs, a headache, who knows! You were a real trooper though. Every time Mommy or Daddy came near you, you were all smiles. You knew we would be there to help you through it, and that was all that mattered to you. And we plan to keep your world that safe and secure, for as long as possible! We love you, our sweet little guy.

♥♥♥

This month we took you camping for your very first time! We didn’t go far away from home, in case it didn’t go well… but our fears were unfounded. You were such a good boy the whole trip, for FIVE nights in a tent! You slept through every night, waking around 5 am to eat and then sleeping for a few more hours. And every day you slept in Oma and Opa’s trailer for like 4 hours! Daddy was worried you were sick or something, but you were definitely NOT sick. All that fresh air just wore you out. And made you hungry I might add… you ate nonstop that week. We were a little afraid you’d outgrow all the clothes we brought for you before the five days was even up. (You didn’t of course, but our fears about you are always exaggerated). Now, whenever you don’t sleep, the household joke is that we are going to set up a tent in the backyard and put you out there to sleep!

♥♥♥

When you aren’t sleeping, you’re up and about – a happy little baby, maybe the happiest we’ve ever seen. You are fussier than your brother was, and louder and needier, but you are SO HAPPY and so friendly! You have a smile for everyone, and a little belly laugh if they please you enough. Which is all the time – you’re pretty easy to please. Everyone loves you. You win new friends just by looking at them with your big blue (gray?) eyes. And as soon as you get a little bit of attention, you crack a huge grin. You grin when Mommy or Daddy talk to you. You grin when Zane sticks his face right up in your business, although Mommy and Daddy would have thought that would be annoying. Even when Zane shoves toys (his or yours) right in your face or puts his bubby right on your face, you just grin and love every minute of it. Mommy and Daddy are so, so blessed to have you in our home, and we feel like there is more love here every day because of you!

♥♥♥

♪  M-m-m-make milk  ♫

♫  It’s the only drink that Sam adores  ♪

♪  When the m-moon shines  ♫

♫  Over our house  ♪

♪  Sam hopes that Mommy’s making plenty more!  ♫

Me: “Um no, you don’t need doughnut AND brownie.”

Zane: “Hah bout… bownie wif my doughnut?”

Me (laughing): “No, you don’t need brownie and doughnut at the same time.”

At this point Zane finishes his doughnut which takes about 10 minutes since he has to wipe his mouth and the table after every bite, and brownies seem to be forgotten. But when the doughnut has disappeared…

Zane: “Hah bout… bownie wif my mohk?”

Me: “No, just drink your milk by itself.”

Zane: “Hah bout… bownie wif my water?”

Me: “You aren’t having a brownie at all, you just had a doughnut. Maybe later after your nap you can have a brownie.”

At this point the conversation degenerated into whining, so hah bout… we leave off there.

Sleeping in the living room. You don’t do this very often anymore – you’re becoming high maintenance!

Well Sam, Mommy is proud to say that she is writing your letter on time. You turned 3 months old two days ago… already! Mommy and Daddy can hardly believe it – it seems like you’ve grown 10 times as fast as your older brother did. You eat nonstop, you no longer sleep much during the day, and you’re already sleeping 8 to 10 hours at night just like an older baby! You’ve even grown too big for the baby bathtub already! Every time we turn around we feel like we’ve missed something important – especially Daddy, since he is always at work! At least Mommy is always around to give Daddy a first-hand account of your day. You have changed SO MUCH this month. I just hope Mommy can put everything into words… I will just have to try.

♥♥♥

Grinning your face off in the tub!

We are pretty sure that this month you got about a thousand times cuter than you already were. You were pretty cute when you were born, so that’s quite an accomplishment… but somehow you managed it! The first thing we noticed this month was that you were starting to smile without having a fart or a poopy diaper behind the expression. And your smiles, when you started giving them out, were so winning… no one could possibly look at you smiling without getting a little happier. Toothless, and so wide sometimes you have to tip your head back just to get the full smile in. Some of your first big smiles were in the bath – you LOVE your baths almost as much as you love your meals! You smile through every bath, and when Mommy washes your face you grin and push your face into the washcloth.

♥♥♥

One of Mommy’s favorite photos, because of the adoring expression on your face. Who says a baby can’t show love?

You also started talking this month. I think this is Mommy’s favorite part of babyhood, when you start trying to join a conversation. You talk to anyone who talks to you. All we have to do is look at your face and say anything, and you start to spill all of your stories, emphatically and happily. When you talk, Mommy can hardly listen to anything else because all I want is to keep listening to you. I have no idea what you’re saying, but you’re talking to me and you’re enjoying it. I need to enjoy it while I can, because all too soon you’ll be talking in complete sentences just like your older brother and Mommy and Daddy will have a hard time remembering what you were like at this age!

♥♥♥

Chilling in your stroller. As long as you have someone’s attention, you’re happy!

Just in the last couple of weeks, you also started laughing! It’s still a little hard to make you laugh, but usually playing with your feet or your cheeks will do it. You are a nonstop ball of happiness but your giggles seem to be reserved for very special times. When you do giggle, it sounds like it’s coming from way down in your belly – I bet you’ll laugh that way when you’re older too. Mommy and Daddy will bend over backwards to make sure you always are happy enough and have reason to smile and laugh, because your happy face makes our day. You are happy and interactive even when you aren’t being held. When you are crying, you stop as soon as Mommy walks in the room and you just follow me with your eyes. You are always in a good mood as long as you’re around other people, and I know I’m going to have to protect you later on because I think you’re going to be a really friendly and social little boy.

♥♥♥

The bouncy chair… you just started enjoying this seat, but nowadays it almost looks like you’re too heavy for it!

You are starting to really know and love your big brother too. Zane has been really good with you right from day one – he’s hurt you a couple of times, but we are pretty sure he just doesn’t know how to play with a baby because he’s always concerned for you. One day a couple of weeks ago, you were on Mommy and Daddy’s bed and Zane was sitting by you playing with cars. You were cooing and kicking like always, Mommy could hear your satisfied noises from the bathroom where I was cleaning. When Zane got up and came to see Mommy for a minute, you cried as soon as he left! That was when Mommy knew you already love him and you will be the best of friends when you get a little older. Whenever Zane gets in your face now, you just stare at him and you often have a smile ready for him. When you’re older and the two of you fight, Mommy will be sure to remind you how much you loved each other right from the beginning.

♥♥♥

Your camera face – deer in the headlights.

Sam, we want you to know the last three months have FLOWN by and we can’t believe what a big boy you are already. We are already having all the mixed feelings every parent must have about their babies growing up – we are so proud of you, so happy and excited about every new milestone, yet we’re a little sad that it’s happening so fast. We want you to be our baby forever, and you’re already well on your way to being our little boy! We will love you forever, no matter how fast you grow up you’ll always be our baby!

♥♥♥

“What were the people like where you’ve come from?” replied the farmer, answering the question with another question.

“They were a bad lot. Troublemakers all, and lazy too. The most selfish people in the world, and not a one of them to be trusted. I’m happy to be leaving the scoundrels.”

“Is that so?” replied the old farmer. “Well, I’m afraid that you’ll find the same sort in the next town.”

Disappointed, the traveler trudged on his way, and the farmer returned to his work.

Some time later another stranger, coming from the same direction, hailed the farmer, and they stopped to talk. “What sort of people live in the next town?” he asked.

“What were the people like where you’ve come from?” replied the farmer once again.

“They were the best people in the world. Hard working, honest, and friendly. I’m sorry to be leaving them.”

“Fear not,” said the farmer. “You’ll find the same sort in the next town.”

—–

Where I found it: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/glennon-melton/quit-pointing-your-avocado-at-me_b_3492304.html

And that day was like some kind of catalyst or something, because since then, he’s been learning new words, speaking almost all in sentences, and starting to say a lot of his old “Zane-isms” correctly instead of using his cute mispronunciations! I asked Daddy when Zane said his first word, and what it was… and neither of us could remember for sure. We think it was “Dada” but we aren’t 100% on that… and we have no idea when it was. Maybe it’s in one of my past letters for Zane posts, I’ll have to check. This led me to realize that if I don’t record the things he says, I WILL forget them. So with that horrible possibility as my motivation, here goes:

• Zane = Seen
• Jaiden = Teen
• Auntie Melina = Amity Lita, Ah-Beelina
• Grandma and Grandpa = Gabba and Gabba
• Granny = Danny
• Neil = Neenoo
• sandbox = box-box
• raisin = e-been
• crackers  = pah-poos, tsackehs
• cheese = teese, tseese
• juice = zeuss
• spaghetti = aw-gettee
• tomato = aw-matoe
• potato = ah-tatoe
• grapes = beets, deeps
• orange = ooh-soon
• brownie = bownie
• milk = mohk
• park = paike
• car = caiy
• horse = hoyse
• of course = ah coyse
• we’re here = boh heee
• helicopter = coppy-copteh, heh-yee-copteh
• airplane = oh-pane
• movie = moomee
• his bunny = the bubby
• Charlie = Tah-lee or “loo loo”
• sweater = haffoo
• what’s that = hassat
• what’s that about = hassat about
• excuse me = smoo-smee

And the ones that require explaining need to be listed too, because they’re just as important to remember!

• The word “bun” was used for ANYTHING remotely bread-like. Bread, buns, wraps, pitas, Panini bread, etc.
• Mommy uses the word “fuzzy” for anything that is fuzzy – dandelion seeds, dust bunnies, tree fuzz, lint and more. Zane expanded this to include bugs, so now any bug with visible legs is a fuzzy.
• Cousin Noah called Zane’s fruit snacks a “sticky bacon thing”, Mommy and Daddy thought it was funny and started calling them that too. To this day, fruit snacks are bacon, and bacon is well… confusing.
• For potty training we used chocolate eggs with mini Thomas and Friends engines hidden inside, as poo rewards. For some reason, he started calling these “chockit James”. Maybe James was his favorite.
• This spring we’ve been watching a lot of “Bewitched” on Netflix. In the opening credits I pointed out Samantha, Darrin, and the blue kitty… now every time he sees the credits, he proudly shows us Am-an-sa, Day-yin, and the loo-titty. LOL.
• When he wants someone to play with him, he says “paew paew” or “come paew paew”

Words for which we never figured out a meaning:

• ah-bee
• dabadee
• mommy-mah, daddy-dah, bubby-bah

And there it is, immortalized in zeroes and ones for all the world to see… and for me to copy, when I finally get around to finishing Zane’s baby book. (And while I’m at it, how about STARTING Sam’s baby book?) I’ll keep updating this list as more words come up (or as I remember more) so stay tuned for the latest and greatest ZANE-ISMs!