All About Sam

As a middle child myself, I'm aware of the lack of distinction that comes from being "somewhere in the middle" in terms of birth order.  Of course, Sam doesn't have to share the title of "Middle" with anyone else, whereas I had three other siblings to join me inside the family sandwich.  I'm not sure if it is he or I that had the advantage though.

Either way, Sam sometimes comes up short on the attention scale.  Seth has the advantage of being the oldest and usually the first to get to do things and Henry...well...Henry is Henry and between the two, it can be hard for a person to get noticed.   Thankfully, Sam and his amazing Sam-ness make that all but impossible.  The boy is a star.

Because he turned eight this last month, I have quite a lot of photos to share.  But before I get to those, I want to remember how Sam is at eight.  I don't think I'm insulting my other children or giving them a complex by stating that Sam has always been my easiest child.  As a baby he was good tempered and that hasn't changed in eight years.  He gets along with others.  He makes friends easily.  He eats, sleeps, plays and works all in a manner that would delight any parent.

Before I make him sound too perfect, and come off as a braggart parent, Sam, like every one, has some things to work on.  He can be a defeatist.  He doesn't handle criticism well and can mope for longer than most situations warrant.  And some of his good behavior seems to be motivated by the pure sake of being competitive - simply wanting to be better than others - i.e. one-up-man-ship.  Still, I'll take his crooked smile and his eye that won't stay straight without glasses and enjoy his quirky habit of creating his own March Madness brackets all year long.  Or his astonishing (because it's so, so absent in his brothers) cleanliness.  A lover of comfortable pants, he refuses to wear jeans.  He still sleeps with a beloved pet bunny and favorite blanket made by Aunt Peggy.  He loves math.  I admire how quick he is to learn things and how willing he is to help his classmates with their work when asked to do so by his teacher.  I love his athleticism.  He is so naturally athletic that I already know he'll be successful in whatever sport he eventually chooses to play.  During soccer this fall, he was hard to stop.  He instinctively knows where to be on defense and how to use the field to get around defenders.  Now, watching him play basketball, I marvel at his hustle.  The boy loves sports and is blessed to be able to play them.

Best of all, Sam is a boy of great faith.  He loves singing and he loves the gospel.  His baptism yesterday will be forever a highlight in my memory as a mother.  He planned his own program from start to finish with only a few things needing to be adjusted by Jay and me and my favorite part was Sam singing "I Belong To The Church of Jesus Christ" right after he was confirmed.  All by himself.  So adorable!!

Happy Birthday, Sam!

I brought gluten-free cupcakes to his class as he has had to miss out on many class treats.  All the boys enjoyed them (post edit:  I realized I wrote "boys" and not "class."  That is because his class is made up of 20 boys and only 8 girls.) and when they tried to answer my challenge to see if they could tell me what was different about these cupcakes, most said, "They taste better than other cupcakes!"  I'm not sure about that but I'm glad it wasn't the other way around.

Chocolate was the choice for the school treat.

Thanks to Grandma for sending a chinese candle for the birthday boy.  Don't you think these should be legal in the US?

It calms down soon as the rose unfolds and sings, incessantly, "Happy Birthday to You!"

It's pretty (And bigger than the cupcake below)

Three girlfriends!  He strongly disagrees as he "doesn't like girls at all.  And they don't like me!"  Apparently, a group of girls like to tease him by pinching him and kicking him.  I'd be worried if Sam was the kind of kid who could be bullied, but he isn't.  Which makes me think this is more along the lines of Second Grade flirting.    Or, they could just be really mean girls.

His own set of scriptures with his name engraved!  It's like a rite of passage.

All boys need to know how to make proper paper airplanes.

All set for scouts!

A few days later we had a birthday party for him at the bowling alley.  He chose some friends from school and we had pizza and soda and two hours of bowling!  I thought it'd be so much easier than having a party at my house, and I suppose it was, but I've decided keeping track of this many boys is hard no matter where you are at.

His glasses always make it hard to have a really good face shot, but I think he looks so handsome here.

Most of the group.  I love hos Henry celebrates.

Watch how Sam bowls.  First, get a ball that is too heavy.

Next, use two hands to swing it back while you run towards the waxy lane.

Finally, throw the ball into the air towards the pins.  I am amazed by how hard those floors must be to not have any dents in them.  Because Sam can't be the only person to bowl like this.

Finally, yesterday evening we had Sam's baptism.  Yes, we are those super fun people who scheduled a youth baptism right in the middle of the Super Bowl.  Fun fact:  Sam was born on Super Bowl Sunday.  So, even though we knew it was an unpopular time, it seemed fitting (and necessary as Jay had to work both Friday and Saturday and this was the weekend my parents had arranged to visit).  I was surprised by the number of people who came.  I was expecting only family.  My parents and my sister, Sarah.  Jay's parents and brother's family.  But, friends from the ward came, friends from our old ward came and even people who I never would have expected came.  The room was full and the spirit throughout the program was wonderful. I am so, so proud of Sam and who he is.

Sam with his dad.

Sam with Jay's parents.

Sam with my parents.

Sam with me.

Sam and his brothers.

Sam in his baptism white.

He is my friend.  He is a constant source of happiness to me.  He is essential to our family.  He is my wonderful, compassionate, fun-loving, dare-devil, gluten-free, bespectacled, charming, eight year-old, middle son.  

I love you, Sam.  Always.