He’s almost four… and he’s getting smarter, funnier, sillier, and more loving every day! Samuel has been cracking us up lately with his incredible imagination and creativity. This will be a post full of “what he’s doing lately”, because there are several things I want to be sure we don’t ever forget.

So, if you haven’t heard already, we have a new addition in our home. Actually, two new additions. The first is “Ba” (pronounced like bat, without the t). He is a “big boy”, just like Samuel, and he and Samuel are BEST BUDS! They play together, sleep together, act silly together, and make HUGE messes in his room together. Where did Ba come from, you ask? We have NO idea, but what we DO know is that he lives in Samuel’s wall, and he is available at his every beck and call. I haven’t actually seen him yet, but I’ve talked to him numerous times. And I’ve kissed him goodnight quite a few times! (Per Samuel’s requests!) He likes all the same things Samuel does, and whenever I hear Samuel in his room laughing and carrying on, I can bet that Ba is around. Oh, and Ba DOES have a mother, and HER name is Tall! (I told you there were two additions!) I haven’t met her either, but she seems like a pretty cool mom, ’cause she lets Ba come over to play whenever Samuel calls for him! I’m sure I’ll have more to share about Ba, because we talk about him (and to him) quite a lot these days.

What else… oh yes, Samuel has found a love of nursery rhymes and stories. He walks around reciting Little Miss Muffett, and Humpty Dumpty, and so many others. Any time the word pig comes into the conversation (and that happens more than you might think!), he reaches for his toes to recite This Little Piggy. (Of course he must take of his socks and/or shoes to do this - VERY important part of the recitation!) He also loves to sing, and he likes to alter songs to his liking. His new favorite is one I think he and Daddy Dale dreamed up together, but he LOVES to sing it EVERY night and EVERY day before naptime. It’s “twinkle, twinkle little star” with a twist. It goes, “Twinkle, twinkle little star, how I wonder…. WHAT YOU HAD FOR BREAKFAST!!” The last part is not sung as much as it is shouted directly in my face… but you get the idea. He can’t go to sleep without this little ritual. Of course, being a fun mommy, I’ve joined in with my own riotous versions like, “twinkle, twinkle little star, how I wonder… WHY YOUR BREATH SMELLS SO BAD!” and “twinkle, twinkle little star, how I wonder… WHY YOU FART SO MUCH!” Yes, I am a COOL mommy and I talk about stinky breath and farts to my almost four year old. It’s a requirement, I tell you!

So, besides silly songs and nursery rhymes, Samuel has also turned into a LOVING soul. He tells us about 50 times a day that he loves us. (And it’s not ALWAYS in connection to getting in trouble, so we know it’s genuine!) He has also become more physically loving, giving lots of hugs and kisses and staying as CLOSE TO MOMMY as he can get, on a regular basis! It’s a lot of fun when cooking dinner or trying to leave the room to go to the bathroom… (I really DO love it.. it’s so great to have a kid full of so much joy and love).

Samuel has also begun what I call “dialogue-ing”. He has entire conversations, alone, but with other people. Sometimes he is practicing a conversation, like the day before Grandpa’s birthday. “Mama, I’m going to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY Grandpa…. no wait, I’m going to say Grandpa, HAPPY BIRTHDAY… no wait…” etc. etc. Or there was the time he asked if he could go with Allan to pick up his cousin. I told him he’d have to ask Daddy Allan. So he went and sat on the couch and said, “Daddy, can I go with you to pick up Matthew? Yes, ok? Good… Mama, Daddy said yes!” I said, “uh no… Daddy is at work right now…” These kinds of conversations happen on a regular basis. Now that we know about Ba, I have figured out that a lot of his conversations are with Ba, and not JUST with himself, but it can be hard to tell (since Ba is hard to see and all).

I guess that’s all for now. I have more, but the baby is crying and Samuel is calling, so I’ll save it for later. I have more layouts to upload too… next time!