Woohoo! I am almost completely done with my Etsy orders for the year. Just a few stockings for my family and Nikki’s family and then I am in for some R&R. Finally, back to the blog!

Sam turned 14 months over a week ago. What an exciting year this is turning out to be. We had fun watching Sam hit so many physical milestones his first year, and now in his second year, it is great to see him expand his verbal and mental skills.

• Language: Sam is babbling constantly (complete with intonation) and knows a few real words. You know that expression: “a face only a mother could love?” Well obviously Sam has a face anyone could love but he definitely has a vocabulary only a mother (and father) could understand! He started saying “all done” while I was out of town, so Ben texted me to let me know. When I actually heard him, it sounded more like “nah dah!” but with the intonation, it is clear (to us at least) what he is trying to say.

• Signing: Sam is learning new signs all the time. He seems to be very motivated by food so all of the signs he knows revolve around food and eating. The other day he signed “milk, please, milk.” It was very exciting that he could really tell me what he wanted. Of course, he had just finished a bottle so I asked him if he wanted water instead. And he signed water! I’m sure those of you with toddlers don’t find this all that exciting but I was thrilled!

• Garbage Boy: Sam is fascinated by garbage trucks lately. He can hear them coming a mile away and runs up to the front window to look out. If the blinds are closed he will even pull the shades up to take a peek. The other day he pushed a toy over so he could stand on top of it for a better view. If we are outside and a garbage truck pulls up, I can just forget about getting him to walk anywhere — we have to stop and watch until it leaves.

• Dog’s Best Friend: Sam is more and more obsessed with Henry. He chases him around all day to pat him, tug on his ears, and sometimes pull his feet out from under him. Henry is not pleased with all this attention and spends most of his time escaping from Sam’s grasp. I’m sure someday they’ll be friends…

• Reading Machine: Sam is really into books lately. His favorites are Little Bee, Where’s Spot?, and Me Hungry. He likes to grab books from the shelf and bring them over to us to read. We usually only get a couple of words in before Sam snatches the book back and runs off with it. But sometimes, especially before bed, he will let us read the whole book to him. He also likes to read books to himself. He sits down, turns the pages, and makes little noises as he “reads” along. One of his books has a picture of a dog and a banana and he likes to find those pictures and name the objects: “wooh wooh” for dog (that’s barking) and “nah nah” for banana.

• Social Butterfly: Sam is getting more and more outgoing. His recent trick is to pat people on the back or shoulder. When we are at our JW Tumbles class each week, he walks around the gym patting all the other moms on the back. It cracks me up that he is so willing to interact with other adults. He also loves giving high fives to Dad. And he waves all the time!