Sam turns 4

Ok Sam, give me your best fake smile. 

And tell me how old you are now? 

And I hear you'd like a princess broccoli cake? 

How many presents would you like? 

My sweet little Sambino. 

I can't call him that much longer. 

Actually, he's already corrected me. 

Just Sam please. 

It's been a huge year for him. His first year of school started out rocky and had me questioning for quite a while if it was too early for him. But we've been so encouraged by his growth. He's making his own friends, loving all the fun things they do, and even learning a thing or two.
He's the Linus of the class, carrying his "bwoo bwanket" everywhere he goes. I hear it plays multiple roles though - often playing a ghost or masking a bad guy on the playground. By all the kids.
xoxo. 

His wit keeps me in stitches
and his affection wrapped around his finger.

My current favorite thing he says is when we are driving somewhere "far" (like more than 15 minutes)~
"Are we still on the pwanet earf"?
or,
"Is this place really far away, like in Africa?"

His brother is straightforward and black and white.
Sam, curvy and complex.
I love that about each of them.

Charlie's favorite color has always been blue. Always.
Sam's changes by the week.

While drawing a horse recently Charlie started asking all kinds of questions. "What color horses are there? Can they have spots? Are their tails like this?"
As usual, needing to get it just right.

Sam held his paper high and said, "Mom! Look at my blue robot horse!". 

And speaking of robots....

He's been wanting a robot party for 8 months. Never wavering. We weren't even sure he knew what a robot was. 

When I told him I made robot cupcakes for his class he was so upset...

"But Mom, I wanted a robot CAKE! With a controller!"

Geesh. 

But thankfully he was happy. So fun to see him all grown up with his friends at school. 

But I did pull through with a robot CAKE for the party. I just had to break it to him that the "controller" wasn't really going to make him move...

That morning our neighbor knocked on our door with popcorn that we had ordered from his boyscout troop. It went perfectly with a new robot movie. 

Then on to a party with his cousins. 

Despite it being at a park on a dreary day, and very little effort from me going towards food/decor/etc., it was all that he dreamed of and more.
His words when he opened his robot from Grandmama were, in a whisper, "just what I wanted".

I could have never dreamed up this little guy. 

And he is just what I wanted.