Sam is 18 Months!

We are so far behind on the blog, but I wanted to be sure to post about Sam's 18 month checkup!

Sam is doing great! He is still tall and thin, he is in the 92% for height and 60th for weight. We were a bit worried since he is a picky eater, and won't really drink milk, but he has stayed on the same growth path so we are going to stop stressing! (By we, I mean me)  Sam has really been learning a TON in the past few weeks. He is trying to learn so many new words and tries to imitate everything you say. He understands so much more than he can communicate, but you can ask him to do things and he will do it. He probably can say about 15-20 words now, but they are still mostly one word statements and not yet sentences.   It has been so fun to watch him learning and understanding more things!

He has been sleeping pretty well, he is finally making it past 6am (yay). He still wakes up occasionally when he is sick or teething or going through a growth spurt. He is getting his last 4 canine teeth, so has been drooling up a storm lately.

Overall he is still a very happy and playful little boy. He loves playing outside, water play, balls, cars/trucks, and "cooking". He has been "rough housing" with Josh (or other friends), which is really cute....but also a tad concerning. He likes to hug Josh and knock him down and laugh. As parents we find it quite cute and funny, but we know we need to teach Sam to be more gentle. His class at school is mostly older kids, and mostly younger siblings, so at least the other kids are also a bit rough :)

Sam started last month at a new preschool (with Josh) and LOVES it. Like I mentioned, he is with older kids, so his language and understanding has been increasing so much. The school is really great about being creative with kids, and encouraging them to learn and discover things. His new teachers love him, and say that he never cries and is always great in class.

Sam and Josh have been fighting over lots of toys, but you can tell how much they love each other. Sam asks for Josh anytime he is not around, and wants to wake him up when he is not up yet. He just yells "Jossssh!" and points to his room. As Sam starts understanding more and more, I hope that some of the fighting will improve, hope springs eternal ;-)

We put them to work at an early age

Happy boy :-)

First haircut

Happy after the haircut!

The Beach!

Julian and I were very proud when we realized that both Josh and Sam have been to the beach every summer of their lives. Both kids are certified Beach Bums, so I think this is a tradition we will have to keep up. Julian's Mom and Stepdad have rented the same house the past few years, in Rehobeth so we were able to go for a long weekend over the 4th of July.

We left Friday afternoon so that the kids could nap in the car on the drive to the beach. It mostly worked as planned, although both kids only took about 1hr naps. Josh woke up from his nap screaming and crying, a telltale sign that he is getting sick. And his nose started running. After getting some Advil Josh settled down. Both kids were pretty good in the car, even though they were awake. We didn't hit traffic until we got close to Rehobeth, so that was good. Josh had been a bit overly whiny in the morning (another telltale sign he is getting sick), so we packed the nebulizer just incase. We had him use it right when we arrived to make sure that he wouldn't have a full on asthma attack. 

Both kids LOVED exploring the house. Sam started walking in the last week or two, and enjoyed walking all around the house. Josh remembered the beach house from the year before, and was very happy to be back. We decided to rent a pack and play and stroller for this trip, so that we would have extra room in the car to bring our bikes (and burley). The stroller was a bust because the front wheel was not adjustable, but the crib worked out well. Lesson learned to always ask about the front wheel when renting.

After settling in a bit, we all headed out to dinner at Grotto's! And to purchase beach toys for the next day :-)

Both kids had a rough night sleeping the first day. We had them sleep in the same room, which actually worked out great. Sam was a bit scared of sleeping in a new room, until he realized that Josh was there too.  Fortunately they both did really well sharing the room for the rest of the trip. Even for nap!

Both kids LOVED the beach. No shock there :-)  Josh had several shovels and toys and loved digging really big holes. Sam loved jumping in the holes and upsetting Josh, until he discovered the water...which he absolutely loved. We finally got Josh into the water on the last day, and I think we have converted him. He realized how fun it was to jump and splash. Both kids LOVED to demand buckets of water to dump out on the sand, or just to splash in.

We brought our bikes this year, and we were happy to use them a few times. We biked with the whole family and stopped to pick up some donuts to bring back to the house.  Julian also took the kids out for a bike ride while I went running, and Julian and I were able to bike out for lunch while Bobby watched the kids.

We also made it back to Funland, and they both had a great time. It was so cute to see them both sitting together on the rides. Josh would have loved to spend all day there.

We drove back home around bedtime, which worked out very well. And it was nice to get an extra beach day in by leaving late :-)

Overall we had a great trip, and can't wait to spend many more summers at the beach!

On our way to the beach!

Josh teaching Sam how to play skee ball 

Enjoying the beach!

Sam enjoying his donut!

All cleaned up after a day at the beach

Sitting with grandma

Sam's first time on the boat ride

Josh trying to get some rays