come to OUR window: a birthday boy

my middle baby turns FOUR.

where has time gone? just four very short years ago... my mom picked me up (daddyc had the stomach bug) and took me to deliver my most precious and perfect Samuel Dean Smith.... Big Daddy had my biggest baby.....i was so proud of sam right from the start, he turned down any guesses the doc.s had about him and his fluid on his lungs and his in womb positon, etc. etc. (TMI i know!) The two of us hung out together at hospital while everyone care took my two year old and really sam hung out in the baby "back pack" bijon deal for oh about 5-6 months, you know, until i was too pregnant with WHIT to make it do-able. He suggested STRONGLY that he was just not doing the infant car seat, he rather like to sit up, thanks!!! And really, if you were getting picky (WHICH WE WERE after about 10 minutes of SCREAMING) he really preferred his mama to hold him.... So i did just that.... 24 hours a day... He slept through the night for the first time while i was in hospital delivering whitmore..... Bless that baby....

he liked ONLY the foods he liked or would just assume fast if that was the option....

Sam, you really needed sleep but not-so-much a nap at ANY GIVEN TIME... only sleep at night. You would cry ENDLESS hours, for which we never knew why.... NOT FUN!!!! Aunt Katie talked to me over glasses of wine more days than in that year alone.... sorry Mccann family for taking your own mama away....while you would scream as we checked off the "what ifs" from our list..... And i ponder at HOW. WHY. WHAT THE HELL i was thinking when i think back to our rental house while building our house now... i would be feeding whitmore and send you out, DOWN the flight of stairs, across the yard (it was fenced in, we hoped the gate was shut?) right there next to the big creek which i feel for sure hosted many a snake and critter, and you would climb a LADDER to jump on a BIG trampoline and i would just enjoy my time feeding whit, i don't remember ever worrying about you sam.... you would climb the ladder to the tree house and slide for hours....You never fell, always had great balance, i guess i just knew??? or God knew to deliver you with cat like ways so your mama would keep some sanity. You managed to polish off my prenatal vitamins too. Talk about scary... we were so scared, we prayed and took one look at our THEN HORNET OF A BABY and knew "which that kinda stubborn and that hard of a head" you were going to be just fine.... Thank you God for that. (i think we did call poison control? right daddyc? its a little fuzzy.) we let you sleep with us for almost a year... just 'cause. we loved snuggling with you just as much as you loved to snuggle with us.... You chose when you were ready to move to a big boy bed and never look back (i admit, i was nervous about the change!), you chose to be potty trained, and when you no longer liked milk to drink, and still to this day you mostly chose your way...its SAM'S way no dout.... most of the ways are good, a few corrections here and there. wink wink. You are by far our most compassionate child. YOU LOVED your grandmother, Lolly, my mom... you would run to her anytime we were near.... And when she was sick you continued to run to her lap and the two of you would read books for hours with no breaks in between..... You spent a year REALLY into horses.... and now the past two years we have been REAALLLy into superheros...... you love them. You love your brothers and your friends. You love Abby Norris and ask me last week where the "ring" was to give her (news flash: i'm not yet giving it to you nor am i ready to give you up), You love school and ask to go as much as you can, they only allow 3 days and that is 3 too many if you ask me. you love your teachers and kiss them on the mouth upon arrival and departure... You love your girl cousins more than anything in the world and you will be their biggest protector (i've got money on it), You love your grandparents Mimi and big daddy a heap of an amount. Your favorite place in the world is the BEACH (i am secretly SO mad and sad we didn't spend this weekend there with you like last years birthday). Swimming is your all time favorite thing, you are enjoying gymnastics (i have you and whitmore doing this together, a great activity for you both) and you ask me to play baseball for your birthday, i wish i could grant that wish but i don't make the rules (thats another blog on WHY mama SHOULD make the rules, wink wink)

You ask your daddy all the time to play tennis and golf with you. You will run change into your orange and blue stripe boxers to play golf you call them your golf undies (we have NO idea why, we quit guessing your strategy a LONG time ago) You are content with most ANYTHING.. You hated car rides for the first almost year of your life... it was A REAL deal breaker on traveling and kept us home more than not.... We sure did miss the beach and lake and ANYwhERE in the car....

Dear Sam,

we love you more than life itself. Like crazy. and WAY WAY too much.

you never cease to make us so proud.

(Daddy just text me from the dinosaur exhibit downtown : Sam is such a sweet kid helping others, so proud!)

I hope the time slows down and am so glad God gave us you, Sam.

all my love. ALL OF IT.

Mama

here is some snaps of YOUR day.

your daddy surprised you with some baby bites .... you LOVE these little cakes...

Happy Birthday to you! I went and met the krispy kreme truck at western and got you some donuts. Your favorite breakfast... followed by pancakes, bacon, sausage, waffles..... (i'm not concerned with your health....yet!)

Daddyc's second cousin sent you some superhero books.... We have read them multiple times already! You were in heaven!!!!

You decided to have yet another...superhero birthday party and because you were born in February are locations are limited... usually it is cold on your birthday.... not this year but usually! Your bestest Abby, joined in to celebrate her 4th year of life too. the the more the merrier.

Abby's mama and Cici made these adorable cupcakes, with the help of Abby of course. perfect.

we re-used all decor painted by me from last year....eeeekkk!! i know. Think free and i didn't store those under my bed for A YEAR for nothin' .... up they went.... we ran out of tape so daddy and mr. tom got creative..... whatever!

Our little lamb was not to be left out.... a little confused since his b'day is in t-minus 9 days.....

This picture captures my big 4 year old to a t... minus the look of tiredness.... laid back, just chilln' looking for a good time, out to bother NO one!!! oh. and edible if i don't say so myself....

Our baby showed up... she is the baby for two more weeks or LESS.... We feel the need to esort her around like the princess she is..... Until.... they split the girls and boys so i leaned to boy pictures for remaining of partay time....

these monkeys will be the bestest of buddies, already are.... their daddies are best friends and sister is God daughter... a whole lotta love.... from way far back.... and just FYI...they were asking to do something again and answered with "its time to do the trampoline and slide" which got the look below..... what????

how can you not? looks to fun.... i'm sorry i missed the flip.

We decided to let sam chose are every minute and he thought the cooking by fire sounded like the perfect ending... that and sitting with his uncle wade.... I think i forgot to menion sam's love for phone games, ds games, wii games, etc. We got electrified this past Christmas with gadgets galore and Sam, my dear, YOU LOVE THEM and seem to really really love to play with in uncle wade's lap, arms, or watch him play..... Anything Uncle Wade does is cool.

I mean seriously, they sat as far away from parents as they could, used chop sticks, chatted ONLY with Mimi.... they are so big and SO pretty slash handsome, wink wink.

Lucy delighted in sam's gaming... kate sat with her Mimi and whitmore sat with his daddy and in my "try to be sly" taking pictures and un-tourist like i didn't get them....