Hannah Nielsen » Documentary Family Photographer Seattle Portland and Worldwide

PIN  Today little Sam turns 1! I’ve already shared images from his one year shoot, but I wanted to share a Day in the Life session we did when he was just 6 months old, and a little love from his mama. Happy birthday, Sam!! PIN  Dear Sam, My how you have take ahold of my heart, my sweet baby Sam. You are my happy, goofy, rambunctious baby boy. You are growing and changing so fast that I wish I could record every moment of every day, as I don’t want to forget anything. I should make a list. That’s it! A list of YOU. I’ll start with this letter, my little SamADoo! -You have a lot of nicknames: SamADoo, Little Dude, Little Boo, Little Monkey, SweetABoo, Sam-Sam, Sam-A-Lamma-Doo, Baby Boo… and I have never called you Samuel – You know, your real name. Before you were born, we called you “Weeboo,” as in “He’s a wee little boo.” -You smile all the time! I’ve never met a baby who smiles as much as you. Even when you are upset, you still try to smile. My happy, happy baby boy! -I love the twinkle in your eyes! That and your smile – Oh, you are going to break some hearts when you get older. -When I trim your nails, I sing the ABC song to you. I always have, and always will. I started this when you were an itty-bitty, and I was too sleep-deprived to think of any other song. I usually have to sing it three or four times to get through all of your fingers and toes. -You love hair! My hair, your own hair, your dad’s hair, Grandma’s hair, your nanny’s hair, other kids’ hair… anyone’s hair! When you drink your bottle at night, you always stroke the tuft of hair on your head. And anytime you meet or play with another baby, you go straight for their hair too. -Grandma Rades taught you how to say, “Baby” a few weeks ago, and now you call everyone (adults, kids, and babies) “Baby.” -You love it when we carry you around the house to show you all of the pictures hanging on the walls. We point at each one and then you say, “Pretty!” -Right now you can say, “Mamma,” “Daddy,” “Pappa,” “Book,” “Pretty,” “Grandpa,” “Baby,” “Done,” “Bear,” and the first syllable of a lot of other words. You also like to babble, blow raspberries, and say “A BOOOOOOO!”. -You like most foods, especially fresh tomatoes from Grandpa Rades’ garden and fish of any kind. Your first food was avocado when you were just four months old. Last month you ate Ethiopian food, and loved it! I hope you grow up to be an adventurous eater. -Sometimes you snore, and you sound like a little pug. It’s hilarious! -Before I go to bed, I take a flashlight into your room to check on you – and give you one last kiss good night. -You love water; baths, showers, pools, even cups of water! When you were a tiny baby, we’d call you “Spa Baby” because you enjoyed bath time so much. -You started chewing on our noses when you were less than a month old. It was like a special “Sam smooch.” Then you grew teeth. Now we’re teaching you how to smooch with your lips and not those sharp baby shark teeth of yours. -I take at least one photo of you every day. Most days it’s about 10 photos and three videos. Who am I kidding? It’s more like 20 photos and 10 videos. Yes, we will have lots of baby photos (and videos) to embarrass you with when you are teenager. -You love to tackle me when I am sitting on the floor. In fact, you even wrestle with one of your teddybears. You are not even one year old, and already you are such a rambunctious boy! -Any time you hear music, you start dancing. This is especially entertaining when we are somewhere like the grocery store and you are bee-bopping in the shopping cart. I love you to the moon and back, my sweet baby Sam. We welcomed you into this world last Thanksgiving, and it’s been the greatest year ever! You are so smiley, so happy, so smart, so funny, so entertaining – I can’t wait to see the person you grow up to be. I am, and always will be, so proud of you my SamADoo, Little Dude, Little Boo, Little Monkey, SweetABoo, Sam-Sam, Sam-A-Lamma-Doo, Baby Boo. I love you. With love always, Your Mommy