The Westphall Family: A Post for Sammy

My sweet Sam Roman,
This is the most overdue item on my to-do list. When your birthday rolled around I thought, "I need to write down the cute things he is doing." Well, it never happened. In fact, I never even blogged the pictures of you from your party! As more time passed I planned to write about you on your half birthday. Now that date has passed, too! Without further ado (or excuse), here are some of the things you are doing at age 2 1/2.

Size: You are about 37 inches tall. That is an estimate, for sure. You weigh about 35 lbs. All of your 2T clothes are too small; you wear mostly 3T and some 4T shirts. Your shoes are a size 7 and you have been wearing them all school year; it doesn't seem like your feet are growing at all!

Food: You are still a great eater. You like all kinds of fruits and vegetables. You especially love green beans and peaches. Right now you are not a big milk drinker--you would rather have juice, which you only get at Oma's house. Peanut butter sandwiches are also a favorite. You ask me if you can, "Have some bread? With peanut butter? And jelly?" Unlike your sister you like to eat meat. Hot dogs are popular, as are chicken nuggets and sausage (healthy choices, buddy!)

Speech: You say everything. We have no problem understanding you and you have no problem telling us what you want or need. People who meet you can also understand you. It is funny to hear you make jokes. Whenever you need mittens you say, "I call them MITTIES!" with this funny high voice.

Smarts: Right now you know all of your letters, capital and lowercase. You can count forward to 15 and backward from 10. Of course, you can name the majority of the Wild roster and you know most of the NHL team logos. You love Opa's phone because it has an app with all the goal horns from all the NHL teams. You ask for "Ducks horn" or "Abawanche horn". You also know all your colors and shapes.

Social Skills: Right now you are very outgoing. We were shopping on Saturday and you were saying, "Hi" to anyone who would listen to you. You do this cute thing where you press your fingers all together and give a little "pageant wave" to people. One man was not responding to your greeting, so you said, "Hi. Hi. Hi, guy. GUY! HI!" until he answered you. Then you commenced to tell him, "I'm Sam. I'm 2. That's Annie. Annie's 4. My birthday is August"

Family life: You are a good second child. Most of the time you let Anne be the boss and you go along to get along. I can tell you love your sister because you get upset if she won't play with you! Occasionally you will do things to push her buttons, but not too often. You are sweet and sensitive; you like to hug and snuggle and give kisses.

Playtime: You play anything that is stereotypically "boy" You love your hockey sticks, golf clubs, footballs, cars, and tools. You also like to play the piano and "drum" on a cake pan. I would guess that 95% of the time you choose to play hockey; the other 5% is divided among everything else. You are very good at playing by yourself and keeping yourself entertained. It is hilarious to watch you play "catch" alone. You pretend to throw a ball and then pretend to catch it!

The Potty: Why, oh why, sweet boy, do you love your diapers so much? Any time you are without a diaper you ask for one. You are very specific, "Mom, I need a diaper" If we ask you to try the potty you say, "No, I wear a diaper" It is so bizarre because you aren't stubborn about anything else.