Dear Sam,
The time has come for me to reflect back again over this last year. I can’t believe you are four… really I can’t! There are few things that warm my heart more than that adorable little grin you give, that sweet chuckle of a laugh you make, your hilarious grunty voice that often doesn’t sound like it should belong to a 4 year old. You light up a room kid. I’m so honored to be your mommy. That Jesus would choose me to mother your tender heart, your goofy personality…
I thought I would want you to stay my little baby forever, but honestly, I think that this little big kid era may be one of my favorite stages. You’ve really outgrown toddlerhood this year. I love keeping you up late with me and watching our big kid shows like Cake Boss and Master Chef Jr. Those are our favorites! I love that you are old enough to think for yourself and to have extended conversations with me. And we’ve had some good ones this year. You still like are obsessed with dinosaurs and animals. Most of our conversations center around this subject matter and you tend to relate everything back to animals, being the center of your world view. Remember the time you were watching Dad trim his beard, and you said, “Dad, lions don’t trim their manes… why do you?!” You seemed pretty serious in your questioning! Or the time you were listening to sports radio in the car with us and said, “Why are the Patriots playing against lions. How do lions play football?” I love the way you think kid. I have so much fun hanging out with you.
This year was a big year of change for you. You became a big brother and we are amazed at how much you love your little buddy Ben. I remember the time you overheard him crying in his crib before I did. You marched right into his room, somehow climbed inside his crib, and began comforting him, telling him that you were there. As you left the room, you said, “Mom, are you sure you got this? If you need me I’ll be in the TV room”. Sometimes your motives are misconstrued…I suppose you weren’t intentionally trying to trap your brother inside of that big cardboard box that afternoon. You were just trying to keep all of your “little cubs” in their cage. Actually, you often coax Ben into your toddler bed to pretend that he is one of your baby cubs. He is always a little lost without you when you are at school or away. He loves you so much. I’ll never forget the time I found you both hiding inside of my closet, giggling away, doors closed, with all of my clothes pulled down from the hangers around you. You’re still working on the whole sharing your toys thing and certainly aren’t perfect but I am amazed every day at the way you love on your brother.
Life isn’t perfect. Its messy… way messier than I thought it would ever be. I can’t for the life of me figure out why you can’t seem to eat your yogurt without dropping multiple spoonfuls. You somehow magnetically attract yourself to every cup of water or milk that doesn’t have a cover. And you thoroughly enjoy crushing the cheerios on the kitchen floor that Ben drops from his seat before I get the chance to sweep it up. Life is loud. You and your brother are definitely not quiet kids. You both take turns shouting into those toy microphones and playing that darn recorder that you always seem to find no matter how many times we hide it. But life is more fun and adventurous with you then I could ever imagine. You teach us new things every day and show us a perspective on life that I am grateful for. So, thank-you sweet boy, for making us laugh a whole lot, for showing us what it means to have child like faith, and for making me see the beauty in loud and messy.
We love you Sam… so so much! Your one smart cookie and I know that God has a tremendous plan for your life. Raising you and your brother is our highest calling and we are thankful that God has entrusted your sweet little heart to us. Now its time to show you how big you’ve gotten with our annual visit to that big red door. I’ll intersperse these images with my favorite “Sam-isms” of 2014…
Us: “Sam what did you learn in school today?”
Sam: “Well, when the pilgrims got on the mayflower ship they didn’t have any clothes so when they got off they had to wear deer skin.”
While grocery shopping on a day that you really didn’t want to be sitting in the cart any longer, You screamed at the top of your lungs, “Please! Is there anyone out there who can help me out of here?!”. Awesome.
One day this past summer, with the most serious face, you asked me, “Mom do I have to go to prison?”… referring to your nap…
After meeting your baby brother for the first time in the hospital… “Sam, do you have any questions about your baby brother?” Sam – “Umm, yeah! Does Baby Ben like tacos?!”
“When I’m done being three, I can be two again!!” Us – “No bud, when you are done being three, you get to be four!” Sam- “NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!”
Happy Birthday to my amazing big kid! We are so crazy about you!
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