dear Samuel,
Happy Birthday! You turned 4 last Friday, leaving an absence in our family of a 3 year old presence. (At least for the next 2 months until your brother claims that spot). For your birthday celebration you had three clear wishes, which you had been quietly but consistently making known for the past several weeks. Pizza, a birthday cake, and building a snowman. Last week new sticky snow fell and it warmed up enough to go out, so we made two snowmen together the day before your birthday. And on Friday you got your wish for pizza and a chocolate birthday cake, plus a lunch date with your papa to Chipotle, and a sledding trip with our whole family. Even Uncle Isaac came along. Your Baboushka helped decorate the dining room for dinner so it felt like a real party, and everyone spoke words of life to you; ways we thank God for you.
We call you the scientist, because you love to figure out how things work. You like to ask questions about things, but also to express the discoveries you've made on your own. Last week you announced to me during snack time that two groups of five blueberries makes ten. I think you learn a lot of things like this, on your own, through experimentation. Sometimes this experimentation combines with your impulsivity and grows my patience. But mostly I love watching you figure things out. You are not doing any official school, but you like learning things with Isabella and on Mondays we do some letter work together. You know enough to have written HPBRD and an S by yourself on the whiteboard for your birthday celebration.
You still like doing puzzles, but legos even more. You are still so athletic and I'm sure by now your hand-eye coordination has surpassed mine when it comes to whacking balls out of the air with any stick-like object. You like to kick balls around and jump on the trampoline and mattress downstairs, but you still fall asleep on the couch with me most afternoons. You still love to read books and to snuggle with your mama and your grey owl blanket. And you love the outdoors! It is never too cold for you to want to go out and climb "Mt. Baldy"- the pile of snow that buries our back fence every winter.
You are shy and anxious around strangers and unfamiliar situations. But you are very attached to your family, especially Isabella. You and her play well together for hours every day. You are learning to assert yourself a little more when she tries to boss you around, which is good for both of you. We are praying for you these days to love your closest brother more, knowing he is the hardest one for you to get along with lately. I love hearing you two laugh together though. You are so gentle and kind to Nehemiah. You chase him around and make him laugh, then let him climb into your bed and snuggle with you. I pray that God grows your heart more and more in that kind of gentle strength.
We are so thankful to God that He created you and put you into our family. I can see so many ways that He has grown you in this past year. I pray that you hear His voice at a young age and don't fear to follow Him, no matter the cost. I love you my precious son. To the moon and back. For ever and always.
