19-month update

The month of January seems to be whipping by at a break-neck speed because I swear it was just the other week that Sammy was turning eighteen-months old.  Thanks to his nasty head cold and a recent trip to the doctor's office, I actually have some bona fide vitals, as opposed to making an educated guess for this update; Sammy's weighing in at 28 pounds and is 34" tall.  I keep hoping that he'll grow at least another inch and a half before his second birthday--supposedly your adult height is your height at the age of two, doubled.  With any luck, Sammy will be the first male on his dad's side to break the 6' height barrier (thanks mostly to my awesome genes, of course).

Sammy's still down an incisor, but with the way he's been acting lately, I can't help but wonder if it (and perhaps a two-year molar or three) might be making an appearance soon.  I guess I can't really complain--Sammy is generally a very well-behaved little boy whenever we go out in public, making random small talk with strangers, and being a unrepentant flirt.  The downside to this is that he saves his truly nasty behavior for the confines of our home and lately the slightest little thing sets him off (diaper changes are the biggest offense--he screams like a banshee and kicks like a mule).  The whole Jekkyl and Hyde bit really has me questioning my sanity from time to time.

This kid is a sponge and there are some days where I find myself truly marveling at his ability to retain and apply new information.  Santa brought him a foam alphabet/numbers bath toy for Christmas, and lately Sammy's been gobbling up the alphabet as though it's soup--he loves to point out the letters on my clothing and try to identify them.  I could be mistaken, but I think Sammy's picked up a bit more words this month than he did last month.

New words:
Night-night, good night, bye-bye, baby, breakfast, tick-tock, clock, rock, "Blue's Clues" (he only started watching the show last week and is OBSESSED), apple, what, yeehaw, dude, knees, arm, hot, hat, yes, this way, alright, spider, toot, pee-pee (I discovered his knowledge of this word during one of our lovely shared bathroom breaks; I was trying to pee in private--silly me--and he barged in, pointed at me on the toilet, and triumphantly yelled, "PEE-PEE!"  Hey, I suppose I should be happy he's putting two and two together).

New tricks:  Taking myself or Captain Husband by the hand and leading us around the house, trying to open the exterior doors of the house while saying "bye-bye," telling me when he needs his diaper changed (he's accurate about 50% of the time), and brushing his hair.  Sammy's also really good at following instructions and is starting to put his toys away when asked.  He's also an excellent hand holder whenever we go out, which makes me pretty happy, especially if it means I'm not spending most of my time chasing after him whenever I'm trying to take care of some errands.