Twenty-one Months Old: Groovin'

Samuel is 21 months old (plus a couple of days that disappeared into a family barf-illness abyss). He is nearly 20 pounds. He has 10 teeth, including 2 rather brutal looking molars and more on the way. He has a crazy lot of hair that somehow retains the most unimaginably sweet smell no matter what the rest of him smells like. He eats anything and favourites include black beans, fish, carrots, cheese, and garlicky pasta. (See reference to his smell.) And he poops. 

Sammo likes to read books and play ball. He likes to kick the ball as much as throw it, courtesy of 3 older soccer-playing brothers. He is crawling some but still prefers bum-scootching. He pulls to stand on anything and will walk however he can. He's sooooo close to having enough strength and balance to stand and walk independently and we can see the determination and drive in his little face. Fortunately, there are a few people around here willing to offer up their hands to support Sam walking from place to place. 

Sam loves music and will rock out to anything. He shakes his head. He sways. He twists his tiny hands around in interpretive delight. He plays guitar with his daddy. He grooves. It is pure awesomeness. Sam also loves chasing down his brothers and trying to get in the mix of their flying bodies and hollering voices. It is alarming but he loves it.

In fact, I have come to realize that Sam likes to be scared. Nothing makes the boy laugh and sign "more! more!" like a good game of sneak-up-and-startle-you-and-toss-you-on-the-bed. He is a boy made for watching late-night horror flicks. It should not surprise me that Sam likes to be scared. That would kind of explain everything, wouldn't it?! Oh well. 

Here is our Sammo in photos. 

Hiding in the closet. Boo! 

Playing kitchen. 

Not so sure about his first time sitting in the snow.
(This photo is for my beautiful friend Tricia who lives in Texas and thinks pictures of my kids dressed up in the snow are *hilarious.* That's what we all think of snow here in Canada too. That it's hilarious. ;) )

Curly haired boy after a bath. Ha-HA! Take that, NICU haircut!

Sam has surgery on Wednesday if all the stars continue to align. It is considered elective surgery and therefore we could be bumped if there is an emergency. Sam has a conditional green light from cardiology because he screamed blue-bloody murder throughout the echocardiogram and they couldn't get a good result. They will repeat the echo right before surgery to make sure his heart is strong enough for anesthesia. There is panic embedded in that last sentence but I think we've all talked enough around here about my ability to freak out. 

And we've been sick at our house and surgery is off if Sam gets sick too. Sam seems to have been blissfully spared this nasty bug but, for now, I will continue wielding my bleach solution and making a crazy face. The bleach solution is surely more effective than the crazy face, but the face is kind of involuntary at this point. 

So far, it's all a "go" for this fourth and possibly final surgery. Let's git 'er done. 

Man of my dreams... Why, yes. Yes he is. Or at least, he's one of them...