Our 2 year old

I can't believe Sam is 2! While he looks like a "mini Aaron", he couldn't be more unique in his personality. Here are some fun facts about our little man.

• Sam is happiest outside. Whether he is picking up sticks, moving around mulch, climbing on his slide, coloring the sidewalk with chalk or throwing a ball, as long as he is outside, he is happy with life.
• It is only a matter of time before we will have to get him a puppy or kitty. The joy on his face is priceless when we go to Aunt Nancy's house and he sees Mimi or Gus, her cats (in fact he calls most cats that he sees in person or in a book, Mimi), or when we see the neighbor's dogs, Munchie and Bayless. We have an animal lover on our hands!
• Much to our delight, Sam is still quite the snuggle bug. He usually runs to greet his daddy with a hug when Aaron comes home from work. He has also started trying to hold a few of the little girl's hands in our music class.
• When he wants us to sing, Sam will making clicking noise and wave his finger like a conductor. He loves being sung to and it has become a favorite part of bedtime routine.
• Veggietales, Sesame Street and Curious George are his favorite shows.
• He still enjoys being read to. Dr. Suess, Curious George stories, and many of the books we get from Imagination Library, tend to be his go-to books.
• Some days he can be very picky about what he will eat, then he will surprise us and eat hummus or black bean and spinach lasagna. It seems like the more I want him to try something, the less likely he is to eat it. I guess it is a "toddler thing".
• Chick-Fil-A is defnitely his favorite fast food.
• He refers to the color red as "Elmo"
• He can probably say 50 or more words, but doesn't always use them. He has a constant stream of jabber and I often think he sounds like he is speaking Chinese.
• Some kids are dumpers and some are sorters, he is a 100% dumper, which often makes is 100% sorter mom crazy!
• In the art world, Sam really enjoys his sticker book and playing with play dough. He likes to color, but will usually end up spending more time dumping his crayons into different containers.
• Right now, he is into giving people "assigned seats". He got very frustrated the other day when my 81 year old grandmother wouldn't sit on the floor with him.
• He is very stubborn and strong-willed, but we are seeing some progress in his obedience, which gives me hope. He is usually very good about helping clean up his toys and likes to "help" me clean or cook. I learning alot about letting go of control and picking my battles. I guess that is just a normal part of parenthood.
• Sam teaches Aaron and I so much about God's love and grace for our lives. We feel ill-equipped to be his parents most of the time, but we are constantly trying to remind ourselves that He will provide all we need to grow and love this little boy. Thankful that His grace is sufficient and that God can overcome all the mistakes that we will make as parents. Praying Sam will never know a day without Jesus and His love. As our little guy loves to "pray", we are hoping that is a sign of things to come.

Birthday Party #2

We did another birthday party for Sam at my parents house so that some of my other family could celebrate with us. We sure wish Bibi and Pops could have been there, but look forward to seeing them this weekend!

Grandpa's are great for "wrastlin'"

Birthday Hat which could probably double as a wizard hat

Sam LOVED everyone singing Happy Birthday to him.

Playing basketball with cousin Brady

Motorized car from Aunt Debby and all the cousins. He loves pressing the button, but won't sit on it yet. No one loves a good button like Sam does:)

First Step Towards Potty Training...

Apparently we have given Sam the impression that you can't sit on the potty without some good reading material. :)

Birthday Fun!

Birthday breakfast of blueberry scones.

Fun at the park doing his favorite activity....mulch relocation

Favorite neighbor puppy, Munchie

Happy Birthday to Me!


Birthday fun with Nana & Grandpa