Amos 3.5

Well it's happened. Amos has made it through another half of a year, and we can tell.

He is becoming more independent: he can play upstairs by himself while I am downstairs cooking; he goes up and down the stairs by himself; he can dress himself, mostly; he is mostly potty trained, being able to do most of that by himself and loves to help me, which I am trying to continually ask of him.

His vocabulary is continuously growing. He loves to say big words, although, only can say them partially right, and it's really funny when he tries. He likes to say things like, "Mommy, my pants aren't paying attention!!" meaning his pants aren't cooperating with him while he tries to put them on. He also asks us daily (at night) if "the sun is out?" When we say no, he says again, "Awe! I miss it," to which we always reply, "Don't worry, it will be back tomorrow."

The other really cool thing he is done a few times is to ask a question, but repeat back to me the thing he is asking about...not to just say why or what is that but to say, "Mommy, what is a we-fwection?" Apparently I used to say big words too when I was his age. So that's been fun.

He loves his stuffed animals and they all have names. At night, they all say goodnight to either Nathan or I and it goes something like this:

"Woof!! Night-night Mommy!" (in a deep voice) -- "Night night Big Doggy," I say.

"Woof! Night-night Mommy!" (in a slightly less deep voice) -- "Night night Mama Clifford."

"Woof! Night-night Mommy!" (in a higher pitched voice) --"Night night, Snoopy!"

"Brrrrrr, night night Mommy!" (in a very high pitched voice) -- "Night night, Big Elephant."

"Grrrrrr, night night Mommy!" (in a deep growly voice) -- "Night night, Bear Bear!"

"Night night, Mommy, I wuvyoutoo!" -- "Night night, Amos, I love you too."

And then, I try to get out the door. Sometimes the animals give us kisses too. But it's all part of it...our little guy is so relational and creative and loves to talk!

Another thing, that I referenced earlier is that Amos says "Iwuvyoutoo, Mommy," usually after he's been disciplined or scolded, I think as his way to make sure we're still ok. It kinda makes our hearts sad that he would think that we wouldn't love him, but he is a sensitive guy. So we just go with it for right now.

Everyone asks how Amos feels about being a big brother. So far, he loves to be affectionate with my tummy, as much as possible. And we talk about how he will be my helper when Baby Sister comes. But other than that, I don't think he knows what life will be like for him after she arrives, nor do I know what life will be like for any of us. That's kind of the scary part, but it's also exciting. So we'll see.

Finally, it was about this time, (the end of January) in 2006 that we found out we were pregnant with Amos. Four years later, it's crazy to think that soon, we will be finishing another pregnancy, hopefully to meet our second healthy child. It's also crazy to think that four years later, we've had four years of Amos in our lives, as a focal point and soon, that will change. I know it will be good for him to not be the center of our universe, but there are parts of having an only child that are sweet and that I am trying to savor. He is still a cuddle bug and will climb in bed with us sometimes in the morning or after nap, for more sleep. He's such a sweet little guy that I find it hard to believe that I'll love another child just as much. But I know it will happen...I already love his baby sister and can't wait to meet her!

All in all, we love our little Amos and look forward to continuing to see him grow.