Sam is Eight!

It has been several weeks since Sam had his birthday, but things have been so busy around here that I haven't had a chance to write anything down about it. Sam is now eight years old! He had a special day. That morning we took him and his two best friends (Lewis and Sky) to the Family Fun Center. The boys played laser tag, arcade games, and miniature golf. Sam won a lot of tickets on one particular game, which made him especially happy.

After Sam opened his presents, we called this day "The Lego Star Wars Birthday." He got several things that weren't Lego Star Wars, but the majority of his presents were Lego Star Wars sets, and we also gave him a Kylo Ren Lego figurine.

The boys wanted to pose for a picture inside the play gym circle (see above). The glare of the light sin the building made it hard to see their faces, but I want to remember that they had the cute idea to pose for a picture. It was really amusing to listen to them chat as I drove them to and from the Family Fun Center. The dare that they were giving each other - which no one would agree to do - was to say the phrase "Girls rule and boys drool!"

After Lucy's nap that afternoon, Sam wanted to go and see the Angry Birds movie as a family. We met up with Bop and Gram afterward, and we ate at Panera (Sam loves their macaroni and cheese) and then returned home for brownies.

It's hard to believe that Sam is eight years old. He still loves to read, and his currently favorite books are the Geronimo Stilton series, Garfield comics, Calvin and Hobbes comics, the My Weird School series, and the Boxcar Children series. This year Sam read Alice in Wonderland with J, and currently he and I are reading The BFG together.  

I am still teaching Sam how to play the piano, and sometimes J will also help teach Sam in the evenings. Really, though, Sam does a good job at figuring out how to play things on his own. Right now his favorite song to play on the piano is "The Magician" from the Alfred's Basic Piano Library series. He likes to play Minecraft and Survival Craft on the iPad. Just about two weeks ago, I downloaded "Pokémon Go!" onto my phone, and he likes to play that game when we go on walks. He also really loves to play with Legos, especially Lego Start Wars figurines. He is involved in swimming lessons (he was just promoted to "Flying Fish" level), but still isn't interested in learning how to ride a bike. Right now he wants to be an inventor when he grows up; the other day he was telling me about his idea for creating a robotic hand that uses "The Force" by manipulating atoms.

Sam is a very obedient, helpful, and kind person. Lately I've been really aware of how often he uses "please" and "thanks" when speaking to to me and J. When I ask him to help with something, he always comes over to help without complaining. He is very kind and attentive to his little sister, and he also is patient when she demands that Sam play certain games or watch specific shows with her. I have had some friends tell me that children start to get a little more belligerent and argumentative around the time that they turn eight years old, but that isn't the case with Sam. He is still very much a sweet little boy, and he still even likes to hold my hand when we go for a walk! We love Sam very much, and I feel so lucky to have him as my child.