santa came... santa came!!!

You woke this morning almost like it was a normal morning. You were excited about something, you just were not sure what. Then Daddy reminded you that it was Christmas morning and your face just lite up! You started asking, "did Santa come, did Santa come?" You helped wake your brothers up and we headed downstairs. And as soon as we got downstairs you happily exclaimed "Santa came!!! Santa came!!!!" You woke up your cousin Lily and starting looking at the the presents. I helped you find your presents and you started opening them. Almost after each present you would look at me with a look on your face, like do I have more? And I had to keep showing your that this huge pile of gifts were all yours! You got some Batman and Power Ranges figurines, Legos, books, and lots of other toys. You are really into Transformers and you opened a box that had Optimus Prime in it and got a sad look on your face. "I didn't get Bumblebee," you said. Bumblebee is your favorite Transformer and was the toy that you asked Santa for in the letter you wrote to him. I hurriedly looked through the stack of presents, looking for the right shaped package and handed what I hoped was the right one to you. You open it and couldn't be happier... it was Bumblebee!!! Your Christmas was made and you got the biggest smile on your face! It was then handed off to Daddy to "transform" and since then you Dad and I and Jacob have transformed that thing 100 times! You also got a Polar Express train from your Grandparents! You love that train and had me put it together as soon as I could. Some pictures of you playing with the train here! You were also very concerned about Santa eating the cookies you made him and to make sure that he didn't eat the ones that you made for Jacob and you. But we found his letter saying Thank You and you were happy with that. You had a great Christmas.... and you are already talking about "next Christmas."

extra pics of you shaving with your pretend shaver!

"All Alboard... it's the Polar Express!"

You got this train for Christmas from Grammy and Papa and had to have me set it up right away! You love the movie Polar Express, during the Christmas season you could watch it every day or more if we let you. It's one of the very few movies that you will watch all the way through. So when you got the Polar Express train for Christmas you will elated!

more pics here!

Breakfast with Santa

Today we went to the local Boys and Girls club and had a breakfast with Santa. We met your friends, Jake and Kaylie there also. You were so happy to see Jake and Kaylie! You rode a Christmas train with Jake. You decorated your own Christmas cookie, which had plenty of yellow frosting and green sparkles on it. And you ate all of it! You also colored some Christmas pictures and sat on Santa's lap! It was so nice for you to be able to play with your friends that you have not seen in awhile. Here are some pictures!

String Blankie

You got this blanket when you just a month old from your Great Aunt Cheryl. And for a long time it was up in the closet and never used. Until you were about one and half or two I think, then it was probably dragged out of the closet while I was re-organizing and it has stuck with you ever since. You call it your string blankie, because of all the big strings that hold it together. You love how soft the strings are and you like to hold onto them them on your face. You like to look for the cozy ones. These are the strings that have gotten un-tied and are longer than the rest of them. You have your favorite cozy ones and I even have my favorite cozy ones and you can always pick them out pretty quickly. You sleep with this blanket every night. When we are going on long car rides I know to bring this blanket with us. You love this blanket and I know it's going to be around for a long time!

Clothing Dilemmas

Lately you have been very picky about the clothes you were. I usually pick out your outfit for school the night before, to save time in the morning. And most mornings you throw a fit because you don't like the outfit. It's not cozy, it's not cute, it's not green (your favorite color), it's not soft, it's not warm. Some mornings I try and have you pick out another outfit, but that is not an easy process either most of the time. I love that you are interested in the clothes you are wearing, but sometimes it does not make the mornings easy. And I do hope you keep wanting to match clothes and looking nice when you are a teenager, because who knows what kind of styles will be around then! Maybe my shopping is just rubbing off on you. The other day we went to GAP and you were helping me pick out shirts, "that is so cute mom" and "I think you should get that color." You even insisted on picking out a new shirt for yourself and what color to get. You helped me with picking out new shirts for Ben too, "I think Ben would love good in that shirt." Oh my... I might have a shopping buddy for life! Even this morning on the way to school you said, "Mom I really need a green coat, I don't like this blue coat. Or maybe a red coat, now I would like a red coat. Mom can you look at the store for a green or red coat today." I'll get right on that sweetie... (in fact I am hunting one down online while I am typing this!)

Fall Pictures

I decided that I would yours and Ben's pictures in two sessions. We went up to the park, which Ben fell asleep in the car, which gave me the perfect opportunity to take some great pictures of you without chasing after him! You did pretty good for the most part. Sometimes you just wanted to look the other way and other times you flashed me that adorable smile of yours. I love the different faces you make. Sometimes you look so serious and other times you are just a goof! You are really starting to loose that baby look, when I compared these pictures to last year. You look so much like your brother Jacob that it just amazes me. All in all I got some awesome pictures of you (even enter a couple of them in the babyGap contest).
All the pictures are here!

Fire Pops

A couple Saturdays ago we visited with Dad and Mom's friends John and Kelly and their kids. You really like playing with their daughter and you both had a lot of fun together. After dinner Daddy and John made a small bonfire and you all had smores. This was the first time you had smores and you absolutely loved them! You also loved watching the fire (not a surprise since you are so into fires and fire engines these days). A couple days after our visit you started playing "fire pops" in your room.

You spread a blanket out of the floor (this is the ground for the fire). You lay out your big magnetics sticks (these are the sticks to make the fire).


You get your fire extinguisher and get the fire started with that.


You then get some pretend sticks, marsh mellows, chocolate and crackers.


You then will pull up your little rocking chair, give Daddy, Mommy and yourself a stick with a marsh mellow on it and we roast them!


Then after they are done (which you have to inform us when they are done) you put the smores together. Every night that changes, sometimes you have to add some salt and pepper, sometimes you add a special sauce and sometimes you add an extra piece of candy. We then eat the pretend smores (which are VERY tasty) and then you get us all some milk and napkins. Sometimes we have two or three smores and sometimes you want to ten! You love doing this and it has become part of our bedtime routine for the past few days. You have such a wonderful imagination and I just love to watch you play! Oh and the name "fire pops" came from the noise the fire makes... the popping noise!

Fire Station Visit

You LOVE fire engines! You want to be a fireman when you grow up (or a police man, depends on the day). The latest bunch of books you checked out from the library with Daddy were all fire engines books. Which you painstakingly have to pick just two (of the five) to read at night before bed. You have a couple fireman hats, a fire jacket (also serves as rain coat when needed) and a water bottle that looks like a fire extinguisher. Everyday there are several fires in the house or around the yard that you need to put out and sometimes you need someones help too.

So, Daddy's friend John is a fireman at the Lake Orion fire station and he said that you could come on by and check out everything at the fire station. John also let Jacob do the same thing when he about the same age as you. (I will have to dig out some pictures and post those too!) You LOVED the fire station. You got to play in the fire engine and pretend to drive. You got to turn on the lights and make the sirens go off. John even put the full fireman gear on you (of course it was 10 sizes too big), you looked so cute! You got to see the fire hoses and all the fire equipment. I think it was one of your best days ever!

See all the pictures here!

(I think my picture taking is finally rubbing off on Daddy, because he took over 50 pictures and most of them were perfect!)

You're a Chair...

Sam..."you're a table"
Mommy... "you're a plate"
Sam... "you're a cup"
Mommy... "you're a fork"
Sam... "you're a spoon"
Mommy... "you're a chair"
Sam... "no... i'm not a chair... i'm Sammy"

We play this game almost everynight while eating dinner. We think of different things for each other to be. You think this is so funny and the funnier things we can think of the more you laugh. And I love to hear you laugh, it is the sweetest sound ever.

Bob the Builder

You LOVE "Bob the Builder" trucks, otherwise known as construction trucks. The septic field is being replaced in the backyard this week and this evening the big truck was driven over to start the work. When you got home and saw this huge Bob the Builder truck you were so excited! You got to touch it and even sit in the driver's seat! You saw how big it was, even the tires were taller than you! Everyday that work was being done outside you grabbed your construction vest and your tools and sat in the family room watching the truck work. You were so excited to see this huge truck right in your own back yard, nothing could have made you happier at the time! And of course I took some pictures for you to remember!

Poor Little Guy...

Daddy and you were watching the movie Water Horse downstairs in the basement. You love this movie, Grammy even took you to see it at the theatre when it came out. You were jumping all over the couch (like you normally do) trying to pretend to be Water Horse, with a huge blanket wrapped all over you. And like always while jumping you fell off the couch. But this time you didn't cry right away after you fell and when I went to pick you up to see if you were okay you were not conscious. Right away Daddy called 911 and within minutes there were lots of EMS and medics at the house checking you out. You got your first ride in an ambulance, which you did not like at all. You were very scared and since you fell so hard on your head they had a neck brace on and another brace that went from your head down your back and around your tummy. You could not move at all and that really made you upset. Once we got to the hospital, they did a cat scan and x-rays to make sure everything was okay and everything came back negative. You were okay and there was no damage to anything. And of course by the time we were leaving the hospital you were back to your old self, trying to bounce around on the hospital bed! You really gave Mommy and Daddy a scare, but you bounced back like you always do!

HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY!

You celebrated your birthday this evening with Daddy, Mommy and Ben. You wanted to green cupcakes (a little food coloring did the trick) and so we had those instead of cake. You got some new jammies (Spiderman, Power Rangers and Thomas the Train) and a new GeoTracks set. We also got you some new books and a pretend tool set (you love to pretend to be Bob the Builder). We celebrated the next day with Grandpa, Grandma, Aunt Becky and Aunt Jeanette. You helped decorate your cake with Aunt Becky (which looked like a Halloween cake when it was finished, but hey it's your birthday). You got lots of new toys from everyone, including a new camera (a real one), Cars toys, dinosaur toys, some new shirts and a sleep over set with pillow and blanket. You love all your new toys and had a lot of fun at Grandpa and Grandma's house. Hope you had a wonderful 3rd birthday!!! Here are lots of pictures!

Three Years Old

Another year has past and now you are three years old. You have changed so much in the last year it's just amazing. You talk like nothing else now, and we can carry on conversations with you like anyone else. You are certainly a boy and can be very rough and you love to jump, run and crash into as many things are you can! You love to be tickled and you love reading books at night time. When it's daylight outside, you call it "wake up time" and mommy and penguin are "your bestest girls in the world." There are times when you don't stop giving kisses and hugs and then there are times when you call everyone a "bad boy" because you are not getting your way. You absolutely adore Jacob and look up to him in every sense. You think you are just as big as your Jakey and you that you can do everything he does. You love taking baths with Ben and you are a gentle big brother for the most part. You are starting to be particular about what you were, and sometimes it a struggle to get you to wear "nice clothes." A huge thing that you accomplished is potty training!!! One day you woke up and wanted to wear underpants and from that day one you have used the potty! You love Thomas the Train and Cars and Spiderman and the Hulk (even though I won't let you watch those movies just yet). You love being my "bestest helper in the world" and you always like to pull your chair up to the kitchen counter to see what foods are being prepared and cooked. You have your favorites friends at school (daycare), Zachery, Jake, Kaylie and you have a lot of fun together. And you have had a lot of fun going over their houses and playing. Your getting taller and starting to loose that "baby" look in your face and you have declared that you are a big boy (although sometimes when you don't want to be a big boy, you say "I am just a kid"). You certainly have to have things a certain way (which you get from me, sorry). You love the days when it's just you and Daddy and all you do is play with him all day. Sometimes when I ask you to do things, you say "I am busy now" or "I have lots to do!" I love how you repeat the things we say in your own little way. Yes, another year has gone by and you are getting bigger and smarter and can do so much on your own now. And you will always be "my bestest boy in the whole wide world."

Three Year Check-Up

I just like to document your yearly doctor appointments so that is what this post is for. Today you had your three year check up and you were not happy about it! First you had to be weighed (36 pounds) and then measured, which you did not want to do at all (but after Mommy showing how to stand there and the nurse holding Ben, so that she couldn't touch you either, we got your height), at 38.25 inches. For height you are in the 75% and weight you are in the 90%. Ben also had his check-up and the nurse and doctor looked at him first thinking that it would make it easier when it was your turn. But, nope that did not work and you clung to me like glue. But the doctor checked you over and you looked great! And the good news.... no shots and we don't have to go back for another year!

Thomas the Train

Today we went to see Thomas the Train at Greenfield Village. You were very excited to go and I even got you a new Thomas the Train T-Shirt for your special day. As soon as we pulled into the parking lot we could hear Thomas's whistle and you couldn't wait to find him. We got our tickets and found the path to Thomas, stopping along the way for some lunch. You loved riding aboard Thomas and had a great time. After the train ride, we stopped at the carousel and you got some Thomas tattoos. You also played with lots of the Thomas tracks they had set up and I let you pick out something from the gift shop, which you picked out a Thomas the Train watch. We also walked around Greenfield Village and you found all the train stuff very interesting. You even got to see Thomas and Percy's shed were they sleep. It was a great day and you had a ton of fun! Here are some pictures and there is a little video below.

Pump It Up Party!

Today your friend Jake had his birthday party at Pump It Up! You were very excited about it (you are always excited about birthday parties) and couldn't wait to play with all your friends. When we got there you kinda hung onto my hand, but when we got inside and you got to see what you got to play on, you took off and never stopped running! There were huge inflatable slides, bouncers and obstacle courses. You ran from one to next and around again. The slide was your favorite, up and down you went, over and over again. You were excited to see your buddy Dean too, since him and Ms. Lynn are not at Kindercare any longer. After some very hard playing we had some pizza and ice cream and cake. I think you had an awesome time!!! Here are some pictures (it was hard to get a clear picture of you and your friends, since you wouldn't stop running)!

I am Big Boy now!

It's been three days in a row now..... you are wearing big boy underwear and using the potty!!! You can use the potty all by yourself and you are doing great at it. You went to school all day yesterday in your underwear and did great! You just decided to do this all on your own. I mean we have been trying to work with you for about the last year, but you had your good days and bad days and didn't mind your diaper or pull-up. But all of the sudden you decided you are a big boy! I am so proud of you!!!

soccer... (not so much)

I have been wanting to get you started into sports for awhile now. Probably because you have so much energy and I figured it would be a good way to release some of it! I was looking through our local sports schedule and saw that they offered soccer for your age. I was so excited and signed you up right away. I talked about it with you a lot and you seemed to get really excited about it to. We would pass by the field and talked about how you were going to play. We went to Target and got a new soccer ball and knee pads. The first day of soccer came and you were pretty excited. We went out on the field and you loved kicking the ball around and running around. You really seemed to have a good time. The next week we of course went again and it took you just a little bit longer to get to the field (that swing set looked a little bit more fun). But you still had fun, as long as I stayed right by you. The third week we made it again, but you were a little bit resistant. You really were not nearly as excited as the first week and I think I kicked the ball more than you did. Week four, I think we left halfway through, because you mostly just stood on the field. Week five, we skipped. Maybe will we try again next year....
Here are a few pics I did manage to get!

Penguin

About a week or two before we moved to Grammy and Papa's house you found this yellow duck that I got as a gift from your baby shower. But you didn't call it a duck, you called it a penguin and it stuck. This penguin has become your new best friend. You carry him everywhere, to the grocery store, to school, to church, to dinner, to your friend's houses. And most importantly you have to have him to sleep with every night. There are times when we cannot find your penguin and you are not happy until he is found. There have been times that we have forgotten him places (usually at school) and I have to turn around and go back and get him. At night time when I am tucking into bed, penguin also gets kisses and hugs. You are not always nice to penguin, he is thrown, kicked and is dirty only a few hours after I secretly throw him in the washing machine. You think a lot about your penguin and I truly think that you care a lot about him.

Babycakes

Lately you have been very lovey. And I really need to get you on video, because I know before I know it, it's going to be a struggle to capture hugs and kisses from you. But for the past couple weeks you just love to give hugs and kisses and say "I Love You." Daddy calls you his babycakes and you tell us that we are your babycakes (along with your penguin too). I love the way you hug too, you have to have your cheek touch the other person's cheek and when you give kisses you hold onto the other person's face and pucker up! You are just the sweetest little boy and I know you have to grow up, but I don't ever want you too. I want you to stay this innocent little boy that you are right now and that loves to give me hugs and kisses and I love yous every ten minutes. You just make my heart melt and I hope that this stage lasts a long long time.

Shovelin'

Today Daddy stayed home with you and Ben while Mommy was at work. It was nice and sunny out and the driveway really needed to be shoveled, so you and Daddy tried to get some of it shovel while Ben took a nap. Daddy said that you had a lot of fun helping him shovel and you also made a snowman together!

Some Time with Grandpa & Grandma

You had your first sleep over with Grandpa and Grandma tonight! We were all together that afternoon for Aunt Becky's graduation and when you said that you wanted to go home with Grandma (since you have asked a couple times now), I said, okay and that you could! Grandma and I already had it planned and I already had your bag packed for you. You had a great time with Grandpa and Grandma. They spoiled you of course! Some toys and two trips to McDonald's! They took you to Tip-Up-Town which you loved! You loved the snow-mobiles and the huge ice slide (you would only ride it with Grandpa). You had a ton of fun playing out in the snow and ice and said several times that you did not want to go home! I am glad that you had such a great time and so much fun! Here are some pictures.

HOT coffee

Lately you have been helping Daddy make coffee in the morning. You love to help put the coffee machine back together and wait for the coffee to be done. Daddy and I have come up with a couple different ways to make your own "coffee." Sometimes it is hot chocolate with some ship cream and sometimes it is just warm milk with a little sugar and cream added. You like to take your hot coffee in a to-go cup like Mommy to school with you. You look like this little grown-up with your coffee to go! Couple more pictures here. (This particular day was wear your jammies to school day.)