Happy Birthday Sam

Dear Sam,

What a joy you have been in our lives Sam. The time seems so long ago when it was just Donald, you and I. You have always been a fun addition to our little family as our first born. For the first 6 months of your life you got to hang out with us travelling parts of Canada, the Rocky Mountains, the snow, the prairies and beautiful gardens. 

Everywhere we went people would stop to pinch your cheeks and tell us how beautiful you were. Then we moved to Sydney and people still did the same in the supermarkets and at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. You brought joy to people Sam, they loved to see such a lovely healthy blue eyed baby boy with such chubby cheeks.

When we were in Jasper National Park you took your first bite of food.  Even though you were only breast feeding at 5 months old, you grabbed Donalds hamburger and took a chomp out of it. You just thrived on mums milk for your first 20 months which gave you such a lovely healthy physique.  Hamburgers are still one of your favourite foods today.

When you were two your favourite movie was the Iron Giant and you would find anything you could to dress up like the Iron Giant or Hogarth Hughes. You used my cheese cake pans around your neck to make the iron giants mouth....

...and fire hat, boots and my swimming goggles to be Hogarth. You had such a vivid imagination in your play and you still do.  I love how you used to feel the wonderful happy/sad spirit at the end of the movie. You've always had a fascination with the iron giant being able to fly and rockets and blasters shooting and your sound effects for them are amazing.

Your first night in your big bed saw you realise your freedom, with blankies, water bottle and toys in tow you snuck into our room around midnight and stood by the bed waiting so silently.

You were so excited to meet Ethan your first little brother 

and then Toby your second little brother.

Sam you are so blessed to be such good friends with your brothers, they love you so much and I know you love them and love sharing a room with them.  They are and will always be your best friends.

Sam you have always been a very happy, confidant boy, who is inquisitive and very well spoken. You are still the same now, with your vivid imagination for play, your wicked laughter and sense of fun and the want to make people laugh.

I love how you tell me I'm beautiful and that you love me. I love that you'll happily go walking with me early in the mornings for a bit of quiet time together. I love how you and Ethan have such a great mateship and understand each others games. I love how you let Toby play with you on the trampoline and join in his games. I love how you want to draw comics and draw what's in your mind in your sketch books, even if it is full of explosions and stuff. I wish that you didn't have bad dreams in the night but I love that you still need me in the middle of the night when you do have a bad dream. 

You are my Sam, my first born. I'm sorry that as a first born you have to experience everything first and have to break through boundaries to train your parents.  But I'm glad you are you, because I love all the things about you. Your beautiful smile, your eyes that have changed to green like your Grandpa Hammonds, your strong legs and tall body and your very smoochy lips.  Your patience and understanding of me.  You have such a beautiful spirit, I think you are fantastic.

Happy 9th Birthday

Samuel

Lots of Love

Mummy

xxx