Samantha: 15 Months, Week 1

This week was my first week of school with students, and it was a lot harder than I expected it to be.  My class is definitely going to be a challenge this year, I was at school late many days, and worked late at night getting ready for the next day.  It always seems like however much I prepare ahead of time, there are always so many last minute things to do at the beginning of the year.  With all the stress and exhaustion, it made it even harder for me to leave Samantha every day.  I would have much rather stayed home with her, enjoying her company, playing with her, and not having the stress of work.  There were a couple nights this week that I cried myself to sleep because I missed being with Samantha every day and wasn't thrilled about returning to the classroom again the next day.  I know I have posted about this before, but it is extremely hard leaving Samantha every day, and the beginning of the year is exceptionally difficult.  I know it is just for a time, and I pray that God will give me the endurance and perseverance I need to be both a full-time mom and a full-time teacher.

Samantha also turned 15 months old this week.  It's hard to believe she is that old already.  Time just seems to be flying by.  She seems so big to me now.  I don't know if it's just because she is walking now and acting more like a toddler or what, but she just amazes me every day with how much language she understands and how much she learns.  She can respond to simple questions and commands, like picking something up and bringing it to us.  She understands when we ask her to come upstairs with us, to go outside, and to take a bath; and she definitely understands when we say "no" or "yucky" or "ouch-hot."  Here are pictures of our cute 15 month old!

Ben's Uncle Don and Aunt Sandy gave Samantha a book with baby pictures and little sayings, and it has fast become her favorite book.  She has it memorized. We read the pages and she will tell us what little phrase comes next, in her own words of course.  We can even recite the book without looking at the pages.  We will say the sentence, and Samantha automatically repeats the little phrase.  Here is a video of us reading that book:

Samantha's hair is one of my favorite things about her.  It is almost a strawberry blond color and getting curlier and curlier the longer it gets.  She doesn't let me do much with it yet because she just yanks out hair clips or ties, but this Sunday I decided to put it up in a ponytail after she woke up from her nap.  It didn't last long, but it was adorable while it lasted!

Samantha has begun climbing into and onto anything she can, the couch (with help), benches, even baskets around the house.  In these pictures you can see that she took all the toys out of her basket and then sat in it for awhile and played.