Four

My little Sam is 4. Whew!

That means I've been a mom for almost half a decade. I still feel like a rookie. I make mistakes and come up short so often it surprises even me (who is so completely aware of my own fallibleness...fallibility...imperfections. There we go, I'm sure that one's a word.)

But no matter what, this face is smiling at me every morning, giggling at my silly voices, blowing me kisses every night.

I may never be the perfect mother. But I am his mother. I'll take that any day.

Four Traits I Love--

• Sam is my best helper. And Dad's best helper. And Emily's best helper, whether she knows it or not. He's always ready to scoop, pour, mix, sweep, carry, lift, open anything I am. He gets so excited to fix things with Andrew that the other day he got extra screwdrivers, just in case. He helps Emily up, down, and over :) 
• He spent an hour on his birthday sweeping, raking, and shoveling leaves with Pop.
• Sam is an amazing brother. He lights up when he sees Em. And she lights up when she sees him. He shares with her, talks to her (and waits for a response), sings to make her happy, shows & explains how to do new things. And he "tects" her. He protects her when she's going toward the stairs, when she's on the slide, or whenever else she's going somewhere or doing something he thinks she shouldn't.
• Andrew's cousin Lily, 11, told me how Sam was such a good brother- playing, laughing, and guarding her from the grabbing hands and poking fingers of another little girl.
• Sam is smart. He remembers details from experiences months ago, stories he heard once. He surprises me with the questions he asks and the explanations he gives. He is learning to "use his brain" to remember, think, and solve problems.
• Last week he said the flames in the fireplace looked like tigers dancing and the blue flames looked like water.
• Sam is a child. I never realized how precious that is. We're told to be like a little child. Because of Sam, I understand better what that means. He sees the world with wonder. Everyone he sees is a friend. He loves and forgives without restraint. He seeks and follows guidance. He is eager to learn. He doesn't let fear of failure keep him from trying. And he has the courage to try again when he makes mistakes.
• He laughs out loud, makes up songs, and dances whenever he hears music.

Sam got an extended 2-day celebration this year, because Andrew was here Friday, but had to leave early Saturday morning. That's right, Andrew was here for 37 hours. (Don't worry, we packed it full.) Friday, Sam got to wake up to the best gift--Dad! After 4.5 days without him, Sam was missing his best buddy.
We visited Gigi at Costco, had dinner at Mimi's Cafe, and enjoyed $1 night at the Children's Museum of Richmond. All with Sam's homemade birthday king crown.

Saturday, Sam slept in, had his dream breakfast, played, ate a mini muffin tin lunch, raked leaves, jumped on the trampoline, went to Chick-fil-a with Pop and played with his new friend Jacob on the toys, had a favorite dinner (stir fry), watched a roadshow, decorated his cake, and opened presents.

Four Birthday Highlights--

• When I asked Sam Thursday night what he wanted to do with Dad the next day, Sam said "Play around...with everything". So we tried: dinos, cars, making pretend food, jumping in leaves.
• Friday night at the Children's Museum, Sam was playing on some wobbly circle thing when he paused and looked around. "Where's Emily?" I told him she was playing with Pop & Grandma in the Tiny Farm. "Let's go play with her." Man he loves his sister.
• Saturday morning, Grandma was all set to make Sam Mickey Mouse pancakes. But my sweet guy asked for "Cereal. Like from the store-- in a box." (Apparently, he's a little tired of our raspberry oatmeal and wheat waffles.) Good ol' raisin bran for this birthday boy.
• Saturday night at the roadshow, Sam & Emily were digging through my bag for snacks. Sam broke a little corner off the graham cracker Emily was eating. She smiled at him, took the cracker out of his mouth and put it in Sam's. Man she loves her brother. (The rest of the story: Sam accidentally bit her finger. Her eyes went wide and welled with tears. And she bawled. Sam's face fell, looked shocked, and sad, and sorry. I took Em out to the hall where she calmed down. When I brought her back into the rear of the gym, Sam was sitting quietly in his seat, looking back at us. I waved him over and he came running to give Emily and hug.

Sam's "muffin cup birthday lunch"

Leaf-blowing Sam... and the leaves

Yes he wore his polo shirt backwards and inside out.

It's genius if you think about it- when we went out that night, he just flipped it right ways and it was spotless!

"Dinoland" cake and it's inhabitants. Just what he asked for.

Because this cake deserves a glamour shot :)

Red & green sugar t-rex, purple/orange/black 'ceratops, yellow & orange pterodactyl,

rainbow sprinkle brontosaurus (his head broke off), trees, '4', & 'SAM"