Happy 3rd Birthday Sam!

 

 

Our little guy is suddenly such a big kid!  I can't believe Bammers (as his sisters lovingly call him) is three years old.  He's such a character, such an individual, so uniquely wonderful.  Sam decided months ago that he wanted a Spiderman cake for his birthday and Scott just happened to have a pretty awesome drawing of Spiderman so I used it as my inspiration.  Not too bad, but definitely did not do Scott justice.

 

His party was a riot.  Sam also got a toy chainsaw he had fallen in love with during a trip to the toy store and every time you looked up Sam was chasing his party guests in Spiderman mask, revving up that chainsaw.  It was like some strange B movie cross of Texas Chainsaw Massacre meets Spidey. 

 

 

Sam was born on his grandmother's birthday and we were so glad that she and Grandpa T. were able to join us.

 

 

 

We're so lucky to have this little guy in our lives.  It's hard to imagine we could ever have thought our family was complete without him.    

 

 

Wild Flowers and Fancy Attire

Awhile ago I wrote about how I was envious of Loretta's ability to find a reason to celebrate every single day.  Last night, the kids and I went for a pre-dinner walk while John cooked.  Usually, Loretta is flying ahead of the rest of us on our walks, wanting to be the first to experience whatever may be just around the bend, a quiet bunny, a neighbor walking their dog; and we're always reminding her to slow down so we can all walk together.  So I was surprised when I noticed she had fallen behind and when I turned to find her, she was picking wild flowers on the side of the road.

In Loretta's world, taking pretty blooming weeds and turning them into a formal dinner party is a completely natural evolution.  First, we went home and filled out her bouquet with flowers from our wild flower garden.  Next, candles were demanded.  Then, she came bouncing over to me and defied gravity as she raised up to whisper in my ear (Mommy, can I PLEASE dress you for dinner?).  Fifteen minutes later we had all been dressed by Loretta, including picking out my jewelry and shoes.  Sam came bounding down the stairs in a button down, tucking in his shirt, Caroline went through several dressy dresses before choosing a black dress to match mommy.  John wore slacks, shirt and tie. 

We had a wonderful time and John promised something fancier than finger foods if Loretta gives him more notice next time.  I'm sure there will be many formal dinners to come with Loretta the driving force behind them.  Loretta's world is colorful, dramatic, fun and exciting and I highly recommend visiting whenever you have the chance. 

The Cape

Our Cape vacations are getting better and better every  year.  The kids are getting older and up for just about anything.  We spend several evenings on the beach for sun set (which we hadn't done in the past), made it to Chatham for our first Cape Cod Baseball League game, took a bike ride on the CCRT (Cape Cod Rail Trail) and took a ferry over to Oak Bluffs, Martha's Vineyard.  In years past we wouldn't have attempted these things with the worry of no nap melt-downs etc.  The kids play so well with their older cousins and having baby Tanner in the house is a joy for all of us.  I can get my baby cuddle fix with zero desire to go for baby #4!  I took well over 300 pictures this year, so I'll try to just pull out the best ones.