Sam has a tee-shirt that so aptly describes his temperament that it makes me chuckle when I put it on him. From the morning when he awakens and screams, "mom, come get me up" until the moment when he demands to fly to bed like an airplane or hop like a bunny, he is full of emphatic demands. He went through a stage a few weeks ago where he would request something and then always add in the strictest of tones, "Right Now". "Mom, I want some water, RIGHT NOW", "Dad, put my shoes on, RIGHT NOW". Yesterday, when I picked him up at a friends house, I learned his knew phrase, at a rather embarrassing price. I walked in the door, and Sam ran away. When I said, "Hi Sam, it's time to go home", he yelled, "I Don't Care". He's been using it every chance he gets. "Sam, it's time to change your diaper" incurs: "I Don't Care". He yells it like an undisciplined 8 year old, while he's just 2 years and one week. The problem with Sam is that he not only talks precociously, but he yells whatever he is saying. He yelled it today at Target when I told him if we wanted to earn a cookie at Target he needed to stop biting his brother, and keep his bottom on the seat. He was sad for a brief moment when Max was the only one to get a cookie. Then he quickly forgot it.
Happy Birthday Sammy.
He has little interest in toys or movies. Ella was very verbal and curious as well, but she loved to watch movies and I had a small respite from all the havoc she wreaked. He has an innate ability to find something to mess or tweak, he broke a guitar string on Ryan's guitar (which he had recently restrung) (Ryan accusingly asked me, "Did you see this happen"? As if I were responsible and somehow able to control this maniacal two year old.). Last Monday, when I was absolutely consumed with multiple tasks, he discovered that I forgot to put the rubber band back on the laundry cabinet, and he spread laundry detergent all over the room, then gathered Max and his hotwheels to make car tracks through the detergent (did I say he wasn't interested in toys?).
His real passion though, is water. He is enthralled with simple water. When you move him from one water activity, he quietly goes to another favorite spot and resumes his fun. He drags chairs over to the kitchen sink to turn on the faucets and fill and empty cups. He fills numberless cups, water bottles, bowls (anything that looks as if it has a cavity) with water from the refridgerator, and then transports it to the sink (usually kitchen, but if he's in trouble and we are watching the kitchen sink, he's been known to transport it to the laundry room sink, bathroom sink, and outside over the deck), and persists in dumping into the cavernous bowl. He is not tall enough to get more than 20% of the water into the sink. He will also transport water from one cup to a bowl or another cup, and back and forth until the water has escaped it's containment and is all over the floor. The only time he strays far from me is for water's sake. He will go up to my bathroom, climb onto the side of the bathtub, which acts as a stool for him to reach my sink, and he will take whatever containers he see there and dump water, or he will clean toothbrushes and other items that do not need to be cleaned. His new favorite hiding place is the bathroom on the main level, because it hides him from view, and it's not too far away from me. I will often realize that I've heard the water running for 5 minutes and know that Sam is playing in the sink. This is another usual flood zone. To add insult to injury, Sam now locks the door when he is done playing in there, and I cannot unlock it (it has a really tricky catch that only Ryan can get), leaving me, Max and the girls running upstairs every time we need a toilet. The oddest aspect of his infatuation is that he cannot stand to have water on his seat when he is eating. If he spills water or milk or any other liquid, he will carefully get down from the chair so as to not get wet, and say, "ooh mommy, I spilled water", and he won't sit down again until I've wiped it all up.
Ooh, I must say it's cathartic to get this fanaticism off my chest.
However, this post's purpose was to celebrate Sam's arrival two years ago.
Max and I had a wonderfully adventurous day with Sam. We went first to the gym, where Sam somehow managed to fall of the teeter-totter and scrape his chin. The workers told me he didn't even cry. Then we went to a toy store where I was hoping the boys would sit for music/story time, but when they saw the train tables they refused to do anything else but play with trains. There Sam intimidated a boy twice his age and size who had come over to investigate the train table as well. Sam gave him a menacing look and said, "No, you can't play here". He walked away head between his shoulders and even when I and his grandmother encouraged him to come back, he was hesitant. Sam had been practicing that line on a little 1 year old who ran away crying when he said that to her, and he figured it would work. I explained to him we would have to leave if he said "No" to another child. We did end up leaving early.
Birthday boy getting a back-ride from Madeline
At home, he enjoyed wrestling and rides with his big sisters. We had chocolate cake (which Max wouldn't eat- he said he only likes pokemon cake now) and ice cream, and opened presents, and the Ryan and I lay exhausted on the couches while all the kids build a game out of the dumps trucks Sam received for his present.
augh. This string is killing me, take it off.
Three hat Madeline
While much of the time, I can hardly keep up with Sam's antics, I am amazed by his sweetness and also his curiosity. He is so different from Max who will play for hours entertained by his toys, while Sam is not interested in toys for toys sake. He is so loving, always giving hugs, kissed and zerbers, that when I am not exhausted, I count myself lucky to associate with him. He's definitely a keeper.
