"Sh*t with noodles..."

I've been trying for a few days to get a recording of Sam singing his song o' the week "My Favorite Things." Finally, after about 2 hours of trying and countless bribes including m&ms, a PB&J sandwich and a trip to the zoo, I got it! Although, I can't figure out why, for the very first time, he added the word "not" in there a few times...Anyway, enjoy!

(Sam is 2 3/4 years old in this video.)

Now, I have to get us both ready to meet Carson at the zoo!

Gas Money

I was tempted to sell Sam on eBay this week. I won't. But I was tempted.

Tuesday evening, we met some dear friends at Chick-Fil-A for an impromptu 3rd birthday party for Bradley. Here's the birthday boy:

Sam had a ton of fun...watching all the other children climb up to the top of the indoor climber!

We had a heck of a time getting him to climb up. And when we finally got him up, we couldn't get him to come down! Twice, a team had to be sent in to rescue him and bring him down. He would not go down the slide or climb through the tunnel. This is as close to the slide as he would get, and no, he wasn't coming down it:

All the other children, who didn't even know Sam, were trying to coax him through the tunnel or down the slide. They were so sweet and patient! We finally got Sam to climb up the other side and into the one area he had been wanting to explore:

Sam had a lot of fun playing with all the big kids and Bradley. Leaving was not so much fun. He cried and cried! "My Bradley! My Bradley!" I got lots of fun looks from the people in the restaurant. I wanted to scream "He's 2!" or "Hey! I'm sure you did this, too!" But I didn't. I just patiently walked him out, holding his hand, thanking God that I wasn't the dad who was carrying his child out kicking and screaming! And as soon as we got settled in the car, he was fine.

So I won't be selling him...this week. Besides, a friend asked how much I thought I could get for him. I'm thinking I wouldn't get enough to fill my tank with gas. So it's really not worth ithe trouble anyway!

By the way, here's Bradley's little french fry grabbing sister, Tori. Isn't she a cutie?

I Never Knew Fear Until Tonight

Panic set in as I felt the worst feeling I've ever felt tonight. Sam ran away from me in Wal-Mart this evening. He took off through the clothing racks. I couldn't find him and I was panicked and terrified at the same time. I just tried really hard to listen for him and finally heard him calling me, a slight tone of panic in his voice. But he was OK when I found him. I hope I never have to feel that again. If it does happen again, though, and it probably will, I realized later that I may have had better luck if I had gotten down on the floor to look through the racks.

Funny. Last night I wanted to auction him off on eBay for crying so loudly in Chick-fil-a. Tonight, I'm thanking God for letting me feel that fear for only just a moment and for then returning him safely to me.

Ew, what an awful feeling.

That's Right Ladies...He Bakes, Too!

I had a great surprise one day this week when I picked up Sam from Ms. Pat's house. She met me at the door with a bag full of diapers and pull-ups. "Here, we don't need these here anymore." I asked her three times before leaving if she was sure. Sam had been three days without wearing anything but underwear, even at naptime! So, to celebrate, Sam and I made cupcakes!

Sam chose the cake mix, the frosting and the decorations for the cupcakes. He is a man that obviously knows what he wants because he very quickly chose a chocolate mix and chocolate frosting. Thank God he seems to be more decisive than I am or we could have been there all day!

Once I cleaned the kitchen so we could find the countertop, I got out everything we would need and prepared all the ingredients so that Sam could add everything to the bowl.

He did a good job, only spilling a little bit of mix. "Oops!"

He was determined not to miss a speck!

After adding the cake mix, the oil, the water and the eggs, he was ready to mix. This being his first time using the mixer, I had to actually teach him to keep his fingers out of the bowl while the batter was being mixed. (I can't imagine who taught him how to lick the bowl!)

Time to fill the cups! This step wasn't so bad...

...until Sam realized he could use the spoon to eat the batter! I had to finish filling the cups!

The cupcakes finally went into the oven. We made two dozen! Here are the decorations Sam chose. He really wanted to find monkeys to put on them. I have no idea where that idea came from, but we went to three stores. No monkeys! Thankfully, in the last store, he found the hearts and seemed happy with those.

With the cupcakes out of the oven, Sam could hardly contain himself! He didn't seem to mind that they were hot. He couldn't keep his hands off!

Finally, the cupcakes cooled off enough for Sam to add the frosting and the hearts.

Amidst all the cake mix, spilled water, dropped batter and crumbs, this is the only time that Sam seemed to notice the mess.

After almost 2 hours, we were finally done and ready to eat.

Can't you just see the anticipation on his face?

You might think that after spending money for all the ingredients, cleaning the kitchen...twice, accepting that the white t-shirt was ruined, and spending almost two hours in the kitchen with Sam making cupcakes that I would be upset that this is all he ate:

Not at all! We had so much fun! And it does my heart good that he didn't want to eat the whole batch. I have trained him well!

Kudos to you if you noticed that Sam ended up wearing nothing but his Thomas underwear by the time we were finished. You didn't expect anything less, did you?

By the way, Allison, you don't have to worry. Sam did not put his grubby hands on or dip his spoon into any part of the cupcakes we took to Ms. Pat's! I made sure I took special care of those!

See?

I was talking to my sister the other day when Sam took over the phone. He was having fun walking around the house telling her all his news and reporting all the events of our household. He also enjoyed showing her all the things he was telling her about. I had to laugh as I followed him around. He showed her the picture he drew on his computer and his fish. Then he showed her his tent and showed her the movie he was watching in his tent. He was even so kind and held the phone for a while for her to see some of the movie. He refused to give the phone back. Apparently he had lots to say and lots to show. When he noticed that I was stalking him with the camera he told me to take a picture of her. I don't know. Should I worry??