hey you! look who's two!

Sam turned two on November 30th, and I, of course, am in awe of how quickly the time has passed. Broken record, I know. I'm so proud of the little boy he's becoming. Temperamental, yes, but full of love and joy and mischievousness. He keeps my days interesting, and I'm so thankful that God has blessed me with the opportunity to be his mom. I know all mothers must feel this way, but it just about knocks me off my feet when I think that of the millions of moms in the world, God chose me for Kate and Sam (and this new little fella). It is my divine appointment, and although I fall short far more often than I would like, I relish every moment. My prayer night after night is that God will grant me the wisdom, love, and patience I need to point these little lives in His direction and to fill in all the gaps (and there are many, I'm sure) with His grace. What a relief to know that I'm not on my own in this grand adventure.

So, here's a look at our little Sam Man on his 2nd birthday. My handsome boy...




Sam loved his football cupcakes. Stephen took him to the party store and let him choose between super heroes and football, and he made a great choice! He's also into dinosaurs these days and often stomps around the house pretending to be one. A few other cute Sam-sayings:

• "The most!" Explanation: this is how Sam tells me that he loves me. He gave up on arguing who loves whom the most and instead beats me to the punch.
• "Papaw's house..." I can't really do this one justice. You just have to hear him say it. Very cute, and it comes with several variations (Pop's house, Ivan's house, etc.).
• "Date!" Sam's pronunciation of "Kate"
• "Bendamen" Sam's pronunciation of his baby brother's name, Benjamin.
• "Bitamin" Sam's pronuciation of "vitamin." Kate's pronunciation, "violin."
  

Kate's had her fair share of funny sayings lately. Here's just a few:

• Halloween night, Kate stood outside and YELLED "No candy for monsters!" and she meant it.
• Talking about what she's thankful for : "Pony tails and ribbons and flowers that smell pretty. And my clothes and the mall."
  
• She's adopted a nifty little method of categorization for the animal kingdom. Any time we talk about a new animal, she asks "does it bite, sting, or knock you over?"

More to come!