Check out his fire truck I created! I tied the two together with a publix bag and viola.. his favorite fire truck was created! Now he pulls his stuffed animals with him down the street and everywhere he goes!
I am pretty sure that I have said that every stage Sammy has been at has been my “favorite” age. The twos have been surprisingly great so far although I have to admit I am totally more fearful of the threes than the twos after hearing so many stories about the independent streak that comes at three.
Sammy has changed and grown so much in these last six months. I honestly hadn’t realized how much he had changed until mom played some videos of him at 26 months and it is shocking at how much more mature he is just four months later. This will prob be a pretty boring post for most of you so you may want to stop reading here. I just wanted to be sure to document what Sammy is like at two and half. 
Sammy,
At two and half you are such a joy and are so very silly. We have loved watching you grow so much in these last few months. You love to read more than anything else I do believe, so much so that your teachers even gave you the “best reader” award in your class. You love to read to yourself but often will bring a book to me and say “I wead then you wead mommy” and we both take turns. You usually wake up singing and then read a few books before coming into our room. You also read while on the potty and while I am fixing your breakfast. You read on the way to school and your teachers say you read off and on throughout the day at school. Then as soon as we pick you up from school you can’t wait to read your books on the way home and even read a few books before dinner. I had to cut you off and set a limit at bedtime because your books are so much longer now. You are not very happy that you only get 3 books before our Bible story and prayers at bedtime, but your sleep is so important.
You love to sing and dance and still make me smile when you mix up songs together. I think I will cry when you stop singing “humpty dumpty had a farm, e-i-e-i-o”. It is one of the last things you did as a baby that has hung around. You love to make music with your daddy and have jam sessions every few days with him. You like to play the drums more than the guitar but you have grown quite talented at both.
You are a very silly boy and love to make people laugh when you are around family and friends. Everyone who knows your Papi comments on how you are two peas in a pod because you are just like him. You can also be very shy in new groups and take a long time to warm up to people you don’t know. Sometimes you are even quiet with family and friends at first but if we give you the time you need to adjust and feel comfortable you come out of your shell in a very big way. We are so glad that you have been opening up more at school and your teachers say that you have begun talking more regularly and saying a few sentences at a time to them now. I only wish they could hear you at home, you chatter away and hold full conversations with us. In fact, it is rare for you to NOT talk when we are at home. You have begun asking me questions to keep the conversation going, which I find quite funny. Just tonight you told me “I lub (love) bugs and piders (spiders) mommy, do you lub dem to?” and you then asked me what my favorite color of bug is and if I like them in or out of the ground best. One of my favorite things you have started to talk about is how much you want a brudder (brother). I think this is because most of your friends have brothers now and you are I think the LAST only child of all of my friends who had babies with me (sorry honey!). You have even prayed for God to take good care of your brudder. When we tell you don’t actually have a brother you get so mad at us and argue that “yes I have him!”
You have learned to differentiate languages depending on the environment you are in. You now consistently speak only in English when we are in English environments and only Spanish in Spanish environments. You get very quiet and take it all in at Hannah’s house where there is both English and Spanish at the same time and usually will respond in Spanish to her Grandma and Auntie but in English to Hannah and the other kids. I am so proud of this progress you have made! You still introduce yourself as “Sammy in engwish and Samuelito bebe en espan-ol” but sometimes you tell me your name is not Sammy but rather it is Samuel and you ask me to call you that. You have also began to correct my poor Spanish which has been a strange thing to get used to for me.
You still love to “pway caws (play cars)” and have the best time with some cars and a couch. You line them up and roll them back and forth enacting various scenarios. I love to listen to the conversations you make your cars have with each other. Your imagination amazes me, you are very creative and come up with so many fun things to play. You love to pretend you are going to the grocery store to buy food and to the garden to pick vegetables and fruit. You often “pick” pumpkins, squash, “strawbears”, “fannanas” watermelons, and cookies from your imaginary garden. More often than not you encounter some pretty wild animals on these trips and always manage to carry them home with you and hug and kiss them then “put” them in your bed. A few days ago you had an imaginary rhino, giraffe, and cow in your bed but you said the tiger was trying to bite so you had to leave it by Publix. You tried your best to convince me that sadly there was just room left in your little bed for you so you wouldn’t be able to take your nap that day. Your imaginary turtle is still with us too and has become a pretty normal part of our lives. The little guy still changes colors regularly and will often be in the pockets or laps of others which makes you giggle out of nowhere (thank you to our family and friends for being a good sport with Turtle). Also, when you get out of the bath each night you tell us you are a little tiny caterpillar wrapping yourself in your cocoon and you LOVE to surprise us by popping out of your towel and turning into a butterfly. My favorite thing of all though, is Fireman Sammy. Quite often you pretend to be a fireman riding your fire truck to go help daddy and the “odder powice” (other police) to keep people safe. It melts my heart.
You are almost potty trained and I can’t tell you how happy it makes me! You still wear a pull up at night and on long car rides just to be safe but you are usually able to keep your big boy underwear dry all day. This is HUGE in our world right now. You are also improving leaps and bounds socially. You are much less aggressive and it is finally rare for us to get a poor report from your teachers. The biggest thing we deal with now is you spitting at a friend who has pinched you or bit you. You have even begun to initiate conversations with new friends you meet by saying “hi, my name Sammy! I’m free (three)!” even though you KNOW you are only two years old. I think you think you are being very slick when you do this.
You love to swim and go on wagon rides and you really love to learn about animals. You love to visit our elderly neighbors, mostly I think because they spoil you and give you cookies. You are quite the helper and love to clean and cook. You love to cook on your little stove while I am at mine and make yours “match” mine. I am convinced that you are the best corn shucker and pea sheller in all of Gainesville. I called you my sous-chef the other day while we were making biscuits together and you quickly responded with “oh I not a shoe mommy, I a big boy”.
You have a very sweet tender heart and love to take care of me and Hannah. You like to protect us from bugs and ants and love to open the doors for us and turn on the lights for us. You usually rub our arms or hand while we watch a show together. Your daddy is teaching you to be quite the little gentleman. Several times I have seen you take a toy to another child at church when they were crying or upset and I love to see you help your friends in your class. You must hug each friend before you leave to go home from school and you help them clean up their messes. You like to hold “wittle babies” and help them in every way.
You have a great attention to detail and can usually spot a plane or bird in the sky before I ever have an inkling that one is there. You know just about every vehicle/construction/work truck on the road and often take a gander at what the mechanic or fireman etc is on their way to do. You love to learn big words and often ask “what dat mean mommy?” or “what you say mommy? Say it gin (again)” when you hear me say a big word. I am surprised at how many you retain. For instance, after you make a poor choice you often ask “what my cons-quence mommy?” in a sad tone. You want to know how everything works and really are a sponge for these details. The one thing that has stumped you and I can’t for the life of me get you to grasp though is the concept of night and day and that the earth is spinning on its axis. You ask about 10 times a day if it is night or almost night time and if we are spinning now and will be spinning later.
My most favorite thing of all is to listen to you pray. You seem to crave stories about Jesus and ask many many questions, sometimes difficult ones. You ask me to pray with you several times a day and if we ever do happen to forget to pray before we eat you are quick to remind us. You actually started praying on your own just a few weeks ago. It is a moment that will be forever etched in my heart. I was in the hall doing laundry and I heard you in your room. You thanked Jesus for me and your daddy and for your “familia” then you prayed for your Papi to be safe, your Grammy to feel better, for Minima’s shoulder to heal up, Grandaddy’s toe to feel better and his Lightening McQueen bandaid to stay on real good. You thanked Him for Aunt Sarah, Aunt Cindy, Cristina, and Uncle Brennan and then prayed for Tinky and Roxy (Grammy’s pets) and Pixie (minima’s dog) to be healthy and have fun and know you’re “missin dem” and for Hannah to come back soon and for Krista to feel all better. Then you said really sweetly, I weally wub you Jesus. Amen”
I remember just sitting there in mid fold of one of your tiny t-shirts while a tear rolled down my cheek. I was of course happy and glad I was able to hear you share that moment with your Savior. Hearing you pray so sincerely while I held your tiny shirt made me realize that you already at such a young age are forming and beginning your own thoughts about Jesus and faith. I knew this at some level already but it really hit me in that moment just how crucial the way we live our lives really is for your development. We have such a daunting and HUGE responsibility to not only teach you about our Jesus but more importantly to SHOW you His love and to live out faith for you on a daily basis. The passage in Deuteronomy 4: 6-10 became very very real to me in that moment. I know that God expects us to show you how to live by faith and I know that I have not always and will not always respond to situations in Godly ways. I am so thankful that God will be faithful to fill in the gaps with His grace where I mess up and will always guide me in how to raise and teach you.
Mi Samuelito, you are such a blessing to us and we cherish each day we have with you. I am still baffled at why God picked us to be your parents, we do not deserve you. You are so very special and I know you will make a big impact on our world in your own unique way. I am certain of it. You are already such a beautiful combination of characteristics and I love learning more about how God created you to be with each passing day. It honestly is a privilege to be your mommy and promise to be the best mommy I can be for you. I love you to the moon and back!
