It's already been 4 years since Mommy first got admitted to the hospital 8 weeks before her due date and had her little premie at 34 weeks, how time flies!
At his 4 year appointment Sammy weighed in at 36 lbs and measured about 3'4". He had to get a needle but was very good about it as needles go. Since he was a baby, I have never had to fight Sam about these things, which definitely makes it easier on Mommy. (Thanks Sammy!)
Overall, Sammy is still a sensitive and quiet kid. Well, perhaps quiet outside the house, but at home he has become a bit of a chatterbox. Some of the things he says surprises and amuses Mommy and Daddy and most of it comes out of the various tv shows he watches. Expressions like, "We gotta get out of here", "Let's do this", "What's happening?" (one night Jasper cries woke him up and he came into Jasper's room half asleep asking what happened), and "I'm gonna get'cha". Other things he says, we know comes from us, for example when we confirm something for him he says, "gooood", if he wants to find something he says, "let's check" and if we pass a level in a game on the iPad for him, he says, "Good job Daddy!" or when we confirm something he knows already, it is "You're right!"
Though Curious George remains a constant fave, Sam's choice of shows varies from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Bugs Bunny, the Smurfs and even Baby Einstein still. (good for Jasp if he was interested in watching tv) Sam still watches his shows in cycles. One dvd for a few days and then a change up, much to Mommy and Daddy's relief! (It is the same for books too!)
Sammy is still not interested in food. When I tell him it is dinner time, he responds, "But I already ate" (referring to breakfast and/or lunch). No use bribing this kid with sweets because he could take them or leave them as well. Once, we had a whole pack of oreos on the table and Sam was happy to just have one for dessert. He does love his milk though, sometimes he can go through a litre of milk a day! I guess Mommy and Daddy could be a stricter with his eating habits but we honestly don't want to have every meal become a fight with Sam. Plus if we are going to blame anyone, it should be Daddy since Sammy's dislikes of certain foods mirrors Daddy's dislikes exactly (mushy foods such as bananas, raisins, cereal sitting in milk too long, and even candy in general) - some things you are just born with I guess!
So what does Sammy get from Mommy? Well, what comes to mind right now is a few funny expressions, especially when we play Angry Birds together. Copied from Mommy, when Sammy passes a level, he does a fist pump in the air and says "Yessssss!", when he misses something, he says, "Darn!" and when he uses the black bomb birds, he says, "Kabooom!" Other miscellaneous expressions he got from me would be "omigoodness", "oopsie daisies" and even one day he declared, "donut face" after he had donut icing all over his face. Luckily Mommy doesn't use bad language!
Especially with school, Sam is becoming more and more independent everyday. Sometimes I think I am the one holding him back because I just assume he is not able or ready to do things for himself. For example, he dressed himself from head to toe the other day. I didn't know he could do it because I just automatically do it for him in the mornings. I will have to keep in mind that he needs to do more things for himself because it is just a part of growing up.
I truly miss my little guy when he is at school sometimes, just thinking of his sweet mannerisms. I told him the other day after school pick up that I missed him and he said, "It's okay Mommy, you just drop me off at school but then you come back, you don't have to be sad" (exactly what I told him at the beginning of the year!) And now he asks almost everyday if Jasper, Daddy and I miss him.
Sam got a bad case of the "Whys" when we got back from Alberta this summer. Everything was "why? why? why?" Mommy and Daddy just keep answering until he is finally satisfied with our answer...and sometimes it is just "because".
What Daddy doesn't miss is Sammy crawling into our bed. When we moved into our new place, Sam was amazingly good at staying in his new bed but now he is slipping into our bed about 2-3 times a week, saying he is scared. I think part of the reason is because he has been sleeping beside us for about 3 years and it would be hard to all of a sudden switch to sleeping by yourself. Sam always liked to reach out and touch my arm while he slept just to know that I was there. I guess I don't mind as much because I get the head part and Will gets the feet in his back and neck when Sam sleeps t-bone style. Poor Daddy. As a treat though, when Daddy goes away for business, Sammy sleeps in bed with Mommy and he sure doesn't care about hogging up all the space before I get into bed. Need to add here that Sammy is fully out of diapers and pull-ups. He has been only wearing them for naps and nights since he was 2 1/2ish but kept them dry for the month of September so Mommy finally decided that he was ready to wear undies to sleep (and no accidents so far!! knock on wood!)
Sam is still on the most part a risk-averse kid, (maybe another accountant in the making?) though he is more willing to climb and jump at the park now. The other day when I climbed on the counter to reach something on an upper shelf, he said, "Mommy, be careful, don't fall down and bump your head." Another idiosyncrasy he's had since he was a baby that still sticks is his aversion towards messes. No goopy stuff on his hands please!
On Sam's actual birthday, we bought some balloons and a cake to celebrate. He wished for a Transformers toy and his nice little brother fulfilled his request.
Sammy's birthday party was very easy to plan as he requested a Curious George party at Kids Zone, exactly like last year. Since he had so much fun last year, we thought, "Why not?" Daddy did an amazing job decorating the cake again. Sammy actually had a cold the week leading up to his party and even missed school the whole week but was well enough to go on with planned celebration. Sam had a blast but was not too keen when all the attention turned on him when everyone sang "Happy Birthday", which actually is not too surprising. We were however surprised that Jasper did not go full out on the jungle gym. Perhaps too many big kids? Daddy got some playtime out of Jasp but I am sure he will enjoy it more when he is older.
Especially with school, Sam is becoming more and more independent everyday. Sometimes I think I am the one holding him back because I just assume he is not able or ready to do things for himself. For example, he dressed himself from head to toe the other day. I didn't know he could do it because I just automatically do it for him in the mornings. I will have to keep in mind that he needs to do more things for himself because it is just a part of growing up.
