Sammy turned 5 on April 20th, which also happened to fall on Easter this year. I remember that day being very busy with church, little birthday party with the family and then Easter dinner with some extended family.
Sam really seemed to enjoy the fact that it was his special day, and funny thing, his favorite gifts seemed to be the watering can and the clip board that I got for him. Those two things say so much about Sammy. The watering can was important because I have been talking about planting flowers since probably December! He's been so excited about helping me with planting and especially the care of the flowers. When we went out shopping one day for some soil and supplies, he spied some flowers and was determined to get one. We finally allowed him to get one provided he purchased it with his own money. He pulled that little piggy bank up and proudly paid for his pretty little impatien. He got such a thrill out of the whole process! He brought it home and told anyone who would listen about his beautiful flower. We potted it, and recently moved it to the flower bed. He has faithfully watered and cared for that little flower. He's also been so good to water the new grass and the other flowers. He can be quite the little helper.
He also asked for a clip board like Mike from Monster's, Inc. He likes to make lists and clues, he calls them. He does seem to like being in charge, (I sometimes call him the other mom of the family, haha) and he enjoys organizing things.
He's a little thinker, and he likes to talk - a lot. Once, when he was playing with some kids during a Bible study, the babysitter told me that the little girls in the group were telling Sammy that he talked to much. He's a talker, that one. Even now as I type, he's been in bed awhile, but he just called to Peter to tell him what was on his mind. He wants to make a snowman out of mud and rocks.
We worked at school last fall and this spring. We don't spend a large amount of time on sitting still learning which is why I love the idea of home schooling especially for little guys. They do have a hard time sitting still for long periods of time, but boy are they ready to learn. He's learned to read which is so fun! He's also enjoying his math and the bit of science and history we throw in mostly through hands on learning and library books. He'll be an official first grader come fall which is hard to believe! Where does the time go?
Last week a city pipe broke and we took a walk down to check it out since it was just down the street. They were letting the water pour out of the fire hydrant so they could enough water out of the pit they had dug and get to the broken pipe. The kids loved that, and walked down a couple times to view the progress. They are so fascinated by the way things work, and by the big machines and, of course, the river of water that was running down the street. Sammy and Marcus now note every hydrant we pass - just fyi, there are a lot more than I realized!
Sam's been a blessing to our family in so many ways. He does keep me on my knees which is one of those blessing in disguise. He is very different from me in his determined and sometimes defiant self. I don't want to change him because I know God has made him the way He has for a good reason. I just often have to ask God for wisdom because his personality is so very different from my own. He is very responsible and cares for Isaac very well. He does tend to let Marcus get under his skin, but, hey, it's a sibling thing. :-) When they get along, they are so cute to watch as they giggle and wrestle each other. Sam is also such a big helper to me. We sure love our Sammy!
Here we have our little thinker a few days after he was born...
And here we have our crazy, fun, dramatic 5-year-old...
Happy belated birthday, little man!
