Happy Birthday, Samuel!

A week ago, our Samuel Wisdom turned 3 years old! The next day we had his birthday party, and it was awesome.

I asked Sam beforehand who was coming and he said, "Everyone!" And, in his little world, it was. And even the out-of-state relatives made it by phone - he was tickled to get the phone, and then hear Happy Birthday sung on the answering machine, because the phone calls and messages usually aren't for him. And at his party, he crawled from one person's lap to another, just basking in being loved and having all the attention, I think. It was very sweet.

Our Sam is so sweet. He spends lots of time playing with trucks, both up on the landing (where his matchbox cars are safe from his little sisters) and out on the patio in the sand. And in the dirt of the landscaping when he can do it without getting caught!

He plays pretend with Brigid a lot (a favorite is chasing after her with a sandal yelling, "hey, wait, come back! I don't even know your name!" - pretending to be the Prince from Cinderella, of course) and laughs at Jane and Kate, calling them "little jumpadees" (his own nickname - don't know where it's from). He's learning memory verses easily and can sit down and "read" whole books - he has his favorites memorized.

He's getting tall and has lost his baby pudge in every place except his cheeks, which still bounce when he runs. But other than that he's all legs and arms and (still) square shoulders.

Sam is also snuggley, and is most likely of all our kids to want to just be held - not because he's upset, but just because he likes being physically close to us. It's pretty sweet.

Happy Birthday, dear boy, we love you!