Adam Miller and Family

We're in Portland, so everyone's sleep routin...

December 23, 2000 by Adam in Sam

We're in Portland, so everyone's sleep routine is a bit off. Last night, we were trying to get Sam to go to sleep. Jamie finally put Sam in the guest bedroom with me and went back to her bed. I tried telling stories to Sam and singing songs. Finally Sam just said, "I want to go to mom's bed. Mom's pretty cool."

Well, I couldn't resist that. I picked him up and dropped him into bed with his mom, where he slept soundly until morning.

Sam's been getting into the Christmas spirit ...

December 20, 2000 by Adam in Sam

Sam's been getting into the Christmas spirit these days. Just like during Halloween, he could spot a pumpkin a mile away, he can now pick out Santa in a crowd.

Sam's going to have quite the haul of toys after this Christmas. I bought him practically everything that I enjoyed when I was a kid - Legos, train set parts, and even Tinker Toys. Hey, at least I'll get to play with cool toys when I watch him.

Last Christmas, Darrel bought Sam a bear that...

December 09, 2000 by Adam in Sam

Last Christmas, Darrel bought Sam a bear that teaches numbers. The bear asks "can you find 1?" and Sam's supposed to push the button labeled one. He actually started to pick up some of the numbers. The bad part was the the bear talks in a southern accent, so Sam was starting to say things like "where's wuun?" Perhaps it's time to put it away for now. Some knowledge isn't worth the price.

Happy Birthday Sam! And thank you to everyone...

November 27, 2000 by Jamie in Sam

Happy Birthday Sam! And thank you to everyone who joined us in our celebration. We are a very lucky family.

Sam woke up at 2 am this morning, got out of ...

November 24, 2000 by Adam in Sam

Sam woke up at 2 am this morning, got out of bed, opened the door, and went into our room. He told Jamie "Mom, I want to sleep in your bed" and crawled right in.

Sam had a great time at our recent Nebraska trip. The airplane ride was fun, the snow was great, and there were lots of people and toys to play with. In this picture, he's playing with a top in the basement of the Nebraska relatives' house.

Sam's sleep schedule has been crazy the last ...

November 11, 2000 by Adam in Sam

Sam's sleep schedule has been crazy the last few days. Today, he fell asleep in the stroller as Jamie and Sam came back from the park. I held Sam on my lap as I upgraded my computer's BIOS and graphics cards drivers.

Last night, Sam wouldn't go to sleep at 9 pm like the rest of us. Instead he wanted to wear his "pirate hat" and play downstairs. Sigh.

We were at Jamie's brothers' house the other ...

November 07, 2000 by Adam in Sam

We were at Jamie's brothers' house the other day when I said something to make fun of them. Sam immediately repeated it, and I made him say it again for the web site. Listen to it here.

Sam's been pretty disappointed in the selecti...

November 04, 2000 by Adam in Sam

Sam's been pretty disappointed in the selection of bath toys as of late. Last night, he played with all of his existing ones, but none lasted more than 30 seconds or so. We went over to Toys-R-Us and picked up some MegaBlocks boats. As soon as we got home, he went straight to the sink to play with it. Ah, to be young again.

I was looking at my network folder at work an...

November 02, 2000 by Adam in Sam

I was looking at my network folder at work and ran across some scanned images of Sam's ultrasounds. This photo is one where the ultrasound technician was pretty sure that our gurgling fetus was a boy. She was so excited that she showed the photo to all the staff and they had a good laugh.

You can see the full images here, here, and here.

Sam was very cute in his Halloween outfit tonight

October 28, 2000 by Adam in Sam

Sam was very cute in his Halloween outfit tonight. At the party, there were zillions of screaming toddlers in bizarre outfits. It was quite the unreal experience. Sam took it all in stride, munching on an alien head made out of Rice Krispies and green food coloring.

Sam and I went down to Amazon park yesterday

October 25, 2000 by Adam in Sam

Sam and I went down to Amazon park yesterday. Parked on the curb was a fire truck, and Sam proceeded to quiz me repeatedly on it. "Talk about the front part again!" Evidently, the firefighters had parked their truck and gone for a run on the jogging path there. They returned, to a much excited Sam, and gave him a sticker. To sum it up in Sam's words: "Firefighter gave you a sticker. Said 'thank you!'".

Sam had a great time at the coast this weekend

October 23, 2000 by Adam in Sam

Sam had a great time at the coast this weekend. Every time I'm away from him for just a few days, he seems like more and more like little boy. His sentences are getting complex and his imagination is rich. We went shopping today and he brought along a dinosaur finger puppet. He kept wanting to play with the dinosaur, talking with it, dancing, and generally carrying about.

Sam also clearly worships his older cousin, Josh. Josh is in 4th grade and is quite advanced for his age. Fortunately, he doesn't look down on his younger cousin. Sam had a great time doing whatever Josh was doing. Sam had a great time with the drill and trains and he'd even play with it by himself for long stretches of time.

Jamie fixed up Sam's Halloween costume tonight

October 14, 2000 by Adam in Sam

Jamie fixed up Sam's Halloween costume tonight. She made a tail for the leopard outfit (again utilizing her fast textile skills). Sam loved it, roaring about the house and getting into the spirit of the thing.

The holidays are even better with a kid. Sam's excitement is ever present in our household, and things like Halloween bring out his vast curiousity. He's seeing pumpkins, Jack-o-Lanterns, and costumes, and he want to know what they're all for.

Sam got a new Barney toothbrush today

October 12, 2000 by Adam in Sam

Sam got a new Barney toothbrush today. We picked it up when Jamie went to my dad's for her weekly bookkeeping job. Sam seemed somewhat more comfortable around the dental chairs, which originally introduced him to the concept of "scared". He even wanted me to move it a little bit (but only once or twice).

The three of us went on a little adventure to...

October 10, 2000 by Adam in Sam

The three of us went on a little adventure to downtown Eugene today. Jamie got a new watch at 5th Street and Sam and I played with pumpkins. He especially liked one display with decorated pumpkins. I'd ask him to find "the ghost pumpkin" or "the elephant pumpkin" and he'd dutifully point it out to me.

When I was growing up, I fondly remember all the various family traditions. Once I got into adulthood a bit, the thrill waned. Now I find myself rekindling that love for sugar cookies in weird shapes and scooping the guts out of defenseless pumpkins.

Sam loves playdough

October 08, 2000 by Adam in Sam

Sam loves playdough. It's his latest thing - he makes little snakes out of it and holds long conversations with them. He really likes pressing it against things and looking at the impressions they made. Unfortunately, it led to Sam having little playdough chunks imbedded in his entire outfit.

Last night occurred what only can be describe...

October 03, 2000 by Adam in Sam

Last night occurred what only can be described as "The Hotdog Incident." Jamie had given Sam some hot dogs (vegetarian, of course). He then proceeded to impale one on his finger and talk to it.

Sam: "Hello hotdog."
Hotdog: "Hello." (in a deep voice)
Sam: "Hello."
Hotdog: "Gonna eat me?"
Sam: "Okay." (eats the hotdog)

Sam is constantly surprising us with the use ...

October 02, 2000 by Adam in Sam

Sam is constantly surprising us with the use of language. He's extremely polite, often saying "thank you, dad". It gets funny when he wants candy - he'll say things like "please have one candy - that's all".

He's also really into playing pretend. He talks to his stuffed animals and expects me to talk back for them. The other day, he was bringing up a Lego to his mouth. I gave him a look and he quickly said "Not really eat it - just pretend."

Another interesting thing is his use of the word "scared". He often lets us know that he's "scared of the dark" or "scared of the moon". My favorite was "scared of the planet Venus" (we were looking at the night sky).

It's hard to believe that just a year ago, he was still crawling around the house. Next month, he'll turn two. It's been an incredible year.

Sam is starting to get really funny

September 05, 2000 by Adam in Sam

Sam is starting to get really funny. Last night, he was crawling around the floor. "What are you doing Sam?" "Bein' a worm."

Last night, Sam starting singing the "Itsy Bi...

August 24, 2000 by Adam in Sam

Last night, Sam starting singing the "Itsy Bitsy Spider" song. After some practice, he could sing the whole thing through with occasional prompting, or half the song by himself. Whoa!

Well, Sam doesn't really see dead people

August 15, 2000 by Adam in Sam

Well, Sam doesn't really see dead people.

A few weeks ago, he started talking about someone named Dana. He talked about playing together, reading books, and other activities with Dana. Unfortunately, there's no one called Dana that we know (except for the X-Files character).

Jamie solved the mystery today. It turns out that there's a character on Barney called Dana. As soon as she came on, he started talking about her. Too cute.

Sam would not go to bed last night

August 09, 2000 by Adam in Sam

Sam would not go to bed last night. At 9 o'clock I put him down on the bed and layed down next to him, as I was so exhausted. He kept talking too:
"Dad?", Sam would ask.
"Mmm . . ."
"Dad?"
"Mmm . . ."
"Dad sleeping."

Sam's being doing well these days

July 26, 2000 by Adam in Sam

Sam's being doing well these days. His verbal skills continue to amaze all. He really enjoys expressing his opinion, from a simple "no" to "no poking mama!"

He's getting pretty good with the computer, though we only play on it from time to time. He likes his Jumpstart Toddler game where he can feed the dog, click on animals, and click on various letters.

He's also really getting into songs. It used to be that every time I'd start to sing, he'd cut me off with a "nope". Now, he'll try to sing along. I'll try to get a duet of Sam and I singing "Don't put your finger up your nose", which he enjoys immensely.

We're having some troubles around sleep for Sam

June 30, 2000 by Adam in Sam

We're having some troubles around sleep for Sam. We've all been sick the last few weeks, so he ended up sleeping with us for lots of that time. Unfortunately, he's used to it now, plus his bed time shifted to 9 pm. It's pretty hard putting him to bed and hearing "Moma, up. No nap. Up please. Downstairs. No nap." between bouts of crying.

Sam's sitting on my lap as I type

May 14, 2000 by Adam in Sam

Sam's sitting on my lap as I type. He just woke up from his nap. He passed another critical milestone today - he can use the computer's mouse! We had a great time this morning feeding Elmo cupcakes and putting weird eyeballs on a face. I'm referring to Sam's Elmo game, of course.

His development goes well. He's got lots of teeth now. He's speaking sentences and bossing us around ("sit down", "daddo slide", "throw it"). He's also getting better with his physical coordination. With some help, he can assemble his train tracks. He also loves to play catch, though he's much better at throwing than catching. Sam definately loves the outside, and you practically have to drag him in if it's nice out.

Sam is finally getting over being really sick

March 11, 2000 by Adam in Sam

Sam is finally getting over being really sick. It's been hard watching him cough and sneeze. The coughs are the worst, as he looks pained and confused. Poor kid.

He's been very active and verbal these days. These days, he likes to go outside into our backyard and tromp about. He's very interested in plants, saying words like "plant", "branch", "needle", and "tree". He's also very much into animals. Probably ten to twenty percent of his vocabulary is dedicated to animals, including bear, spider, and rabbit.

Sam is loving swim class

January 27, 2000 by Jamie in Sam

Sam is loving swim class..wants to swim right out of my arms before he even knows how to hold his breath underwater! He definitely has not learned to fear the water yet. Last week when I handed Sam a cracker, he actually said "Thank You". I got so excited that now he says Thank You all the time. Probably won't last long :-) Sam is very active and interested in "helping" everyone (cooking, cleaning and of course getting into everything!) We are looking forward to playing outside this summer, and visiting the zoo. Sam loves his "Animals" book, and I know he will be excited to see all those pictures come to life.

Adam made a list of all the words Sam can say, and it looks like he's over 50, and only 14 months old! (I have a feeling this kid talks too much) He's begun making two word sentences, and he's getting better at imitating some of the harder words with many syllables (i.e. kangaroo) He loves swimming, so I have signed us up for swim classes beginning February. He also enjoys the freedom of walking outside, hands and face into big mud puddles, even.

We're taking Sam swimming today

January 15, 2000 by Adam in Sam

We're taking Sam swimming today. He's gone a couple times before, though this will be the first time I go with him. Evidently he has a great time, smiling and laughing and dunking his own head into the water. It's nice that Sam's starting to do things that we enjoy too.

Sam's been growing on all fronts. He knows even more words. He's better at manipulating objects and getting around the house. He seems to understand what we ask him much better. His bedtime has even moved from 7 pm to 8 pm. It's all pretty amazing.

Sam's so active these days

January 04, 2000 by Adam in Sam

Sam's so active these days. We've lost count of the number of words he knows. He's very good at understanding what you're saying as well. You can ask him to get things, push things, put things in other things, and generally manipulate the world. Great fun.

He definately goes through phases as well. For awhile, he just wanted to play with balls. Next, it was bubbles. Now he likes to push buttons on things (e.g. the remote control, his singing Ernie doll, and the microwave). He's discovered that there are all these things that his parents do, and he wants to do them too.

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