Sam's Plan

When I got Sam out of bed this morning, he chirped, "Mommy, can I have some milk and a popsicle?"

"A popsicle!" I exclaimed. "No, no Popsicle right now."

He placed his hands on my cheeks, looked into my eyes, and said, "Can I have a Popsicle after we snuggle first?"

This kid's got my number.

Sam is 2 years, 6 months old and has it all figured out.

Summer's Here!

We're doing something new and AMAZING this summer, and Ali and Sam are only going to school part time to give the three of us more chances to hang out and play.

We kicked off our summer fun this Monday with a trip to a new (to us) pool. Both kids loved swimming and floating, and a butterfly said a special hello to Ali!

Conversations with Ali

More gems from my girl:

Ali: Mom, is Captain Hook indivisible?
Me: No, indivisible means you can't divide it or separate it. Like, you can't break it apart.
Ali: Oh. So like, we can make our love indivisible?
Me: Absolutely.

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Sam: <>
Me: What?
Sam: <>
Me: Um...you want juice? I love you?
Sam: No 'I love you,' Mommy. NO 'I love you'!
Ali: Mommy, Sammy DOES love you. I promise.

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Ali: Mommy, can we make a strategy to go and meet God sometime soon?
Me: Sure, baby. What do you want to meet with him about?
Ali: I just want to talk to him.
Me: Oh yeah? About what?
Ali: I want to tell him that I never want yours and Daddy's lives to be at an end and I never want your souls to go back to him.

That last one's just a bit heart breaking, no? I can't believe how amazing it is to watch a person grow up, to watch her learn how to say "mommy" for the first time and what sounds animals make . . . and then just a blink of an eye later, to have her contemplating death and wanting to negotiate with God for our time together.

3 years, 8 months into this parenting thing, and every day it's still the coolest thing I've ever done.

Sam-isms

My little fella has moved up to the next class in school (the 2-yr-olds room! WHEN DID HE GET SO BIG??), and with that move has come an explosion of verbal awesome. He was ahead of his peers in the 1-yr-olds room, but really, a bunch of kids learning "more" and "milk" and "no" can't really broaden your linguistic horizons too much.

But now? Now he's in the 2-yr-olds room and he's talking up a STORM.

Exhibit A:
(in the car)
Sam: Mommy, let's listen to Peter Pan!
Me: Okay, buddy, let me find it. (listening to the first part of each CD to find the right one)
Sam: That's not it! That's Ariel!
Me: (finds Peter Pan)
Sam: There it is! Great job, Mommy!

Seriously.

So, since I know that his cute little not-quite-right-isms won't last long in the face of such verbal advances, here are some of my favorite little Sam-isms.

cupcake: cakecup
pear: parrot
elephant: ephalant
toucan: coutan
orange (color): oranges
yellow: lellow
noodle: boogie (???)
Yogurt: woah-gurt
Oatmeal: oh-peel
when he has to put down the book he's reading in the car: Pause the book! Pause Little Gorilla!
when he wants me to read to him: talky you, Mommy

I can't believe I'm already to the point where my teeny tiny sweet little baby is making me laugh with his Sam-isms.

Sam is 1 yr, 11 months, and 2 weeks old.

Conversations with Sam

Oh, that's right.

With SAM.

Because my itty-bitty-teeny-tiny-forever-my-baby? He's pretty much talking non-stop now. And it's funny to see how different his little personality already is from his big sister. He's pretty matter-of-fact with his convos . . . but still every bit as heart-meltingly sweet.

Sam had a tummy bug this week (thankfully the 12-hr variety, though it pretty much knocked him on his tuchas for those 12 hours). He'd tell me his tummy hurt ("Mommy, tummy hurt!"), and I'd tell him, "Oh, it does? I'm so sorry!" while snuggling him and gently stroking his tummy.

That little exchange eventually turned into:

Sam: Mommy, tummy hurt! I sorry, tooooo.

No pause for Mommy's part. See what I mean? He's kind of a let's-get-down-to-business kind of guy.

And then this little exchange, when Alex was putting Sam's pjs on after being gone all day and evening on a business trip.

Sam: Hug, Daddy, hug!!
Alex: Aw, you want a hug, buddy?
Sam: Big hug!
Alex: :::leans over the changing table to hug Sam:::
Sam: I lub you, Daddy. I MISS you.

Well, if that doesn't just make you melt, I don't know what will.

Sam is 1 year, 20 months old, and we are at the beginning of a whole new talkative world.

Ali's First Story

As narrated to me by Ali:

Once upon a time, there was a daddy of Ariel's, and his name was King Triton. And one day, he was crying. Ariel, his daughter, swam up and said, "What's the matter, Daddy?" and he said "The Sea Witch hit me today." 

Ariel swam up to the Sea Witch and said, "That's not nice. That's not okay to hit my daddy." So they were swimming, and while they were swimming, Ariel said, "This is the plan." The Sea Witch said "Yes." "We are going to swim up to my daddy, and you are going to say you're sorry." 

So when they were there, the Sea Witch said "Sorry," and then he, King Triton, said, "It's okay." And then Ariel took the Sea Witch back to her cave, and they piled in her bed for a nap, and then Ariel and King Triton went back to their castle in the water to take a nap. And then everyone was sleeping, Ariel, King Triton, the Sea Witch, Ariel's sisters, Ariel's friends and Sebastien. Everyone. The end.

Ali is 3 yrs, 3 months, and 2 days old.

Conversations with Ali

All of these convos happened with Ali today.

Ali: Mommy, watch me jump off the couch!
Me: We don't jump off the couch, love, especially not toward the coffee table. You could get hurt!
Ali: Oh . . . Mommy, watch me carefully climb down off the couch!

(When discussing The Little Mermaid)
Ali: Isn't there a but in that story?
Me: What?
Ali: Isn't there a but in that story?
Me: A but. You mean, like the word but?
Ali: Yeah. Isn't it in that story?
Me: Oh, I'm sure it is. Like, I could say "Ariel loved being a mermaid, but she wanted to be a human, too."
Ali: No, it's 'but it simply grazed her arm.'" (an exact, obscure quote from The Little Mermaid)

(When finishing up telling her the story of The Three Little Pigs)
Me: And the wolf decided he wanted to build a house, too, so he built a house out of bricks.
Ali: No, he didn't use bricks. He built his house out of the American flag.
Me: The American flag?
Ali: Yes, because that's even STRONGER than bricks. 

Ali: I'll have to do my hurry walk!
Me: What's your hurry walk?
Ali: Well, I have two hurry walks. One is slow and one is fast!
Me: Wait, wouldn't the slow walk be called a slow walk?
Ali: No, it's one of my hurry walks.
Me: But why is it a hurry walk if it's slow? If you're going slow, you really aren't hurrying.
Ali: Well, that's just the way God made it. Two speeds for a hurry walk.

(During her bedtime routine)
Ali: Will you come and check on me and wake me up?
Me: Yep!
Ali: Awesome good.


Ali is 3 years, 2.5 months old, and probably my most favorite person to talk to.