You know, I was all ready to write up Sam’s birthday post on his actual birthday, but I decided to wait a few days to make it fashionably late — for old time’s sake. It’s just no fun otherwise.
Sam is now a jumping, running, destructing four year old. It’s like the previous years’ Sam iterations, only more intense.
This boy is strong. He is a muscular little thing with maybe an ounce of fat on him. He even sports a six pack. That plus his tan and the way his swimsuits hangs off his hips, I sometimes call him Abercrombie.
Last fall there was a big change in the family dynamic when I left my job to homeschool Lydia. After a month and a few experimental test runs, we ended up taking Sam out of daycare to be home full time with us as well. Lydia was in great need if a playmate, a role Sam is usually willing to fill.
Now Sam spends most of his days playing with Lydia, working with Math Bears while Lydia concentrates on her multiplication, or doing his own thing while Lydia sulks because she’s momentarily lost her playmate.
Sam still has some of his obsessions from previous years — he still likes anything orange and is always in the water — but some have dropped away to be supplanted with new loves. There is no more Yo Gabba Gabba in the house — now he is all about Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood and Frozen. Oh my goodness, does he love Frozen.
Another new one is car washes. How can I describe his love for car washes? It is simply on another level of obsessiveness. On his birthday we treated Sam by going through a car wash, but then he talked about that car wash for hours.
Even his birthday party was car wash themed. It was his own idea and we ran with it.
Overall, his temperament has been much better this year. If he has a fit over something, it is a dead giveaway that he is tired. I have learned that you never wake up a sleeping Sam, even if said Sam is still asleep at 9:00 a.m. This indicates he was probably up in his bedroom until 10 p.m. the night before.
Though Sam has grown a lot over the past year, he still has not overtaken his sister, who is reeling from a growth spurt of five or so inches. He’s a couple of inches shorter than her, but the “Are they twins?” question comes more and more often.
As the kids get older, it is getting easier to travel with them. We made another attempt at a beach vacation last fall and it was a resounding success. Sam loved digging in the sand and swimming in the pool. We are already looking forward to going back at the end of summer.
We also made the trek up to Louisville to visit Ken and Lisa. Though Sam was a little scared of their dog, Melody, he enjoyed the trip. I was so afraid he was going to dive right into the Ohio River.
There were two new additions to the family this year. The first came in December — a new cousin, Jonathan! Sam is very cute with him. He is always wanting to hold Jonathan or touch him. He asks his Aunt Cathy, “Can I pet the baby?”
The second addition was a new cat, Watson, who arrived in February. We lost Hermione last fall and had been catless for a few months. Sam calls Watson ‘Lotson,’ and he enjoys the cat more than the cat enjoys him.
It was such a busy year. There was snow,
and anniversaries,
and holidays,
and broken things.
it gets harder and harder to keep track of it all. The years are going by fast. I shall try to enjoy it as best I can. Except for the broken things. I could do with less of that.
