Sam Visits Thomas!

On Saturday, we visited Thomas the Train at Greenfield Village in Detroit! It was a VERY exciting trip for Sam that he has been looking forward to for several weeks. His grandma and grandpa Beckham and Aunt JoJo bought us all tickets for Sam's birthday present. Promptly at 11:30, Thomas arrived at the station to the awe and wonder of Sam.

After riding on Thomas, Sam got to participate in many fun activities such as: playing with trains, making bubbles, reading Thomas stories, riding a little car, meeting Sir Topham Hat, walking through an actual Roundhouse (train shed in case your not up with train lingo!), getting a train tattoo, plus much much more. It was a very overwhelming and fun experience for our little train obsessed 4 year old! We were very proud of how nicely he shared trains compared to some of the other kids. It was quite amusing to watch other train obsessed children fight over specific trains or throw a complete fit when their parents announced it was time to leave. Luckily, Sam was having a good day. :)

Next we checked into our hotel, took short naps and then went swimming in the pool. Sam had a blast being crazy with his daddy. He has NO FEAR along with a wicked doggy paddle!


Doesn't he look like such a big boy with his Thomas backpack?
On the way out of town, we stopped at IKEA and mom went hog wild stocking up on storage shelves and bins for our overcrowded toy room at home. It sure helped to organize the room and I'm loving the extra space it created.

OUCH!

This week, Sam had his 4 year old immunizations and boy were they painful! 4 big pokes in the thighs and the poor kid hasn't been able to walk comfortably for 3 days. :( He woke up in the middle of the night sweating with a fever too. Today he finally seems to be doing better.
On a good note, yesterday we did some garage sailing and found a GATOR! We were hoping to purchase one for Sam's birthday, but they were way too expensive. We found this one for a great price so Sam spend all day yesterday afternoon (a gorgeous day!) motoring around the yard. He was so cute and all smiles. He actually thought he was mowing the lawn and would occasionally stop to pick up sticks, etc. in order to be "daddy's big helper". :)

Spring Break Fun

On Wedneday, Mom and I took Sam and Alex to the Double JJ Waterpark Resort. We all had a blast and the kids never stopped playing for almost 5 hours straight! After all the water fun, we headed back to our "rustic" cabin which was nicely equipped with a jacuzzi tub, king size bed and loft with twin beds. Sam crashed hard around 7:15 and slept through the night.

Then on Friday, Brian and I headed up to the Weathervane Inn in Whitehall for a night alone...without Sam! Thanks mom and dad for taking him for the night! We've been to the Weathervane several times before and we love it everytime...in room jacuzzi, stone fireplace, deck overlooking the water, dual showerheads...you get the point! And it's very reasonably priced for anyone who is interested! We went out to eat at a fabulous restaurant right on Lake Michigan called the Michillinda Beach Resort, but most of the time, we just relaxed without having to deal with work, Sam, phones ringing, dog barking, etc. Check it out... http://www.theweathervaneinn.net/

Samuel's 4th Birthday Party

Tonight we had a great time celebrating Sam's 4th birthday with family members. For the 3rd year in a row we had a Thomas the Train themed party and cake! (Samuel insisted on Thomas despite my other great ideas). The party was a lot of fun and Sam received many nice gifts from all his grandmas and grandpas and aunts and uncles. He is so blessed to have so many people in his life who love and care about him.

Some of Sam's gifts included: more Thomas trains (Harvey, Harold, and Duncan), Thomas the train shed/station, a basketball outfit, a new baseball glove and ball, a personalized water bottle, Thomas videos, and a crazy sprinkler. Even though Jon and Jen couldn't be here (livin' large out in Cali. until May), they sent the bball outfit and Harold the helicopter (he has been asking for Harold for years!). Great Grandma Everett and Great Aunt Nancy sent a cute outfit with camo shorts and a big boy belt (Sam thinks he will be just like uncle Alex now that he has a belt!) Uncle Dwight and Aunt Jane sent some fabulous books (which included a dinosaur book, a Magic School House book, and a Little People's books...all of which I have had to read at least twice already!) Also, Grandma and Grandpa Beckham and Aunt JoJo sent a cool gift...tickets for Sam to go to Detroit at the end of this month to ride the actual Thomas train and meet Sir Topham Hat! Thank you everyone for being so thoughtful!

25 weeks

25 weeks and feeling great, but big. I can't imagine what I'm going to look like in July! Most people think I'm ready to give birth at any moment, but nope... I've still got 3 months to go! Thankfully, I'm feeling really good and not having any back issues or heartburn right now. (with Sam I did). Tonight at Sam's birthday party, we took a few pics of me with some other family members with similar looking bellies!

Happy 4th Birthday Sam!

All is quiet in the house. After several hours out in the yard playing and doing yard work, Samuel and daddy are now napping and I'm just enjoying this gorgeous warm sunny day. What a day to celebrate our beautiful little boy's 4th birthday! I can hardly believe that it's been 4 years already. We've been through so much with him... from heartaches (open heart surgeries, an accidental overdose, broken bones) to the terrible twos (temper tantrums, time outs, stubborn stare downs) to more joy than I ever thought my heart could contain (his sweet laughter, snuggling in bed every morning, hearing his precious voice say "I love you more mommy", and looking into the most beautiful brown inquisitive eyes that God ever created). I could never have imagined how his arrival into this world would complete change me. I burst with pride when I consider the little man he is becoming. Challenging at times, yes, but so proud of how he is developing into a very bright, inquisitive, caring, sweet, fun-loving, easy-going and VERY active boy. He is no longer a baby, although I constantly tell him that he will always be my baby and he laughs at me everytime and says, "No mom, Jesus told me that I'm suppose to grow up!" He has an amazing ability to say the most adult like things that make you wonder where he heard that or what he must be thinking inside. As another example, today he announced to me, "Mom, I'm not 4 years old yet." Reassurringly, I tried to convince him that he was indeed 4 years old because it was his birthday. With a very serious look he replied, "No mom, I'm not 4 because my voice still sounds the same!" I couldn't help but burst into laughter and just gave him a big hug. What could I say to that?! Well, enough of my sentimental ramblings...it's not often that I get to reflect on what an amazing "Gift from God" I was given. Ironically, that is one interpretation of what the name "Samuel" means. The other interpretation is "God Has Heard" and I love that too because I believe God has heard our many prayers to watch over Samuel's life over the last 4 years.

Other than that, today has been a low-key day. Tomorrow is the big "Birthday Party" with family so I will post more pictures then. This morning, Brian and I allowed him to open a few gifts from us which included...a remote control car, 2 pairs of crocs, and a Thomas train named "Toby". The car is already broken! but he had a great time chasing the dog with it. I've included a short clip below of the chaos and giggles that broke loose when the remote contro. car went out of control and Murphy was trying to attack it. :)

Happy Easter!

This morning, Sam and I made Easter eggs with funny faces, so of course, Sam has been running around since then making his own funny faces. We made a few more eggs, but Sam got a little too rough with them and so...we ate them!
Another pics from early this morning. Sam and his "pet" giraffe named Cole. He insisted that I take this picture to show how carefully he was holding his pet. Apparently he is practicing for when his new baby brother arrives. Yesterday he felt him kick for the first time and it was a precious moment...his face lit up and he was sure that his little bro was aready trying to play games with him. :)