Sam: Months 55 & 56

Big Buddy,

Your legs are a mile long, your new haircut makes you look ready for high school, and your vocabulary never ceases to amaze me. Please stop changing into a man-child.

You still love to dress up. For weeks before Halloween, you could be found in uniform wandering the aisles of Target, eating at Peet's Brass Rail, and frightening unsuspecting passers-by on the sidewalk. I love that you still love costumes and I especially love the different combinations you come up with (i.e., robot cowboy construction man).

On picture day you donned this dapper little number, bowtie, corduroy jacket and button up. You were so handsome I couldn't help but take you out to lunch. Your requests: a burger and root beer. How could I say no?

You are a sweet and affectionate big brother. Nearly every morning, you greet him with a "Hiiiii, Evan!" and a big kiss or hug. You can get baby brother laughing like nobody else (except maybe Maddie) and he adores your funny sounds. If anyone speaks and appreciates minion, it's Evan. I'm excited for the day he can play legos and dress up with you. I hope he gets your unique fashion sense, generosity, love of life, and eye for design.

It was not a huge surprise that you were less than amiable at our family pictures. I seem to remember a similar theme at the last photo session when you were two. Not much has changed: you're a man who knows what he wants, and sitting still for a camera is not on the short list. At the creek where we met for our session, you were much more interested in building a fort of big sticks, pretending fallen limbs were guns, and eating the promised bribe of M&Ms. That's my boy!

You are always stockpiling various items for very particular uses and surprising us with your entrepreneurial skills. Here you had set up a "weapons museum" and were hoping to invite all the neighbors to see. It was organized, comfortable, and perfectly Sam. Other stockpiles end up in the craziest places: there are "office supplies" under a desk in the garage, a "robot fort" on the side of the dresser in your room, and lord-knows-what in the space beneath the bed (there's a reason the trundle won't go completely underneath).

This last month you were a superstar for a series of tests as part of your ongoing speech assessment. You amazed me (and all the assessors) with your crazy smart brain. As it turns out, after all those tests, we discovered what we already knew: you're a super intelligent boy, with an incredible ability to sit and focus, who happens to have a very specific speech issue. We'll continue working with your speech teachers in preparation for Kinder next year, knowing that you've got so much going for you! I'm so proud of you, my smart boy.

You've got your Mama's heart. I'm so glad I get to be your Mama, even on the days you make me crazy. I'm always on my knees in prayer, trusting our God has a great plan for your life, bud!

Love,

Mama