project sam—4 years old

i know this post comes a bit late, but it seems to me that "better late than never" is a good motto to go by. in any case, here are some bullet points for sam now that he's had four whole years of awesomeness:

• star wars is still VERY important. a day without star wars is a day that has not been lived to it's full potential.
• angry birds (and angry birds—star wars) are also key in a life worth living. and if he can manage to convince us that he deserves to use the ipad, then he is one happy fellow. also, he cannot be trusted to not explore via the ipad (this boy is a clicking maniac), so he needs to be watched like a hawk
• he has opened his own diner (with his sister as sous chef). it's a great place to grab a slice of pizza and an ice cream cone. he also makes a mean grilled cheese, and lots of interesting salads.
• he is not above playing with trains and cars still. this sometimes surprises me. i thought perhaps he'd outgrown that phase, but every once in a while it shows up with a vengeance.
• he's great at sharing toys with his sister (provided she doesn't put them in her mouth). 
• he still gets frustrated when he thinks he ought to be able to do something and can't. this includes playing lego games on the playstation as well as daddy does. i keep telling him daddy has had lots of practice (LOTS and LOTS of practice). he will be way too good at it before long.
• he has learned how to work the vcr, including what channel to put the tv on and enjoys picking out features to watch (particularly baby einstein and yellow submarine). he still hasn't mastered the idea of having to be patient while a video tape rewinds (he is the child of a dvd/netflix age).
• he likes to bake with mommy.
• despite the fact that he can dress himself perfectly well on his own, he enjoys having someone dress him (which basically means being in the room while he dresses himself).
• if you can survive all the lightsabering, bad-guy shooting, and general boyishness, he's a really sweet kid.
• he is learning how to sound out words. he calls it spelling. he gets super excited when daddy leaves new words for him to sound out on his little white board.
• is really starting to be interested in swimming. he can touch in most parts of the indoor pool at the gym, and enjoys jumping in and putting his face under the water. for a while it was a trauma to get his whole head wet, but not anymore! he has also starting practicing his kicking and moving his arms (not exactly successfully, but he's finally making the effort).

every day with sam is a great adventure, and i'm sure this year is going to be chock-full of new accomplishments!

the stats: weight 35lbs, 7oz (50.28%) and height 39.5" (37.62%)