Sam is Five!

Sam, our high energy superhero, got to celebrate his birthday this year with two sets of grandparents. My mom & step-dad came to town especially for the occasion, and we had a great weekend before the big day visiting with them.

Some stats: Sam is now 43.5" tall and wears size 13 shoes. We don't have a scale at home, so I have no idea what he weighs... though it's a good guess to say he's about the weight of Isaac & Charlie combined, probably more. Sam is also growing in skills and maturity, and is excited about the new baby. He's always asking if the baby can hear him. (I'm thinking, "The neighbors can hear you, surely my little lime can." S/he's lime-sized now!)

Yeah, it's the posed-hug picture ("Stay here til someone points the camera this way!") but it's nice to have proof that I was there. Party time, Sam was a great sport letting, even asking for, his brothers' help opening presents.

He got a lot of great gifts: awesome books, some animal toys (like the grizzly bear, below), Legos, trains and more tracks, a DVD, a puzzle, and a cash register w/working calculator. He loves them ALL! (And I do too - since almost everything uses imagination and creative play. Good job, gift givers!)

I have to add that Isaac made Sam the most honest card ever - writing how sometimes Sam hurts him and his feelings but he (Isaac) forgives him and still thinks he's his best friend and that he deserves to have a great birthday. I'm paraphrasing, but it was priceless.
After the chocolate cake, that Sam helped to make of course, and some time to play with his loot, we had to say goodnight and goodbye-for-now to the Seattle grandparents.

Sam declared that he is FIVE and should no longer have a bedtime, so what could we do but let things run even later than usual that night. Thankfully (and oddly) he hasn't tried to pull that line since his birthday. Maybe he realized that Isaac goes to bed dutifully and is SIX. At any rate, we're glad he enjoyed his birthday and can't begin to describe how grateful we are that Super Sam is part of our family.