oh, sam

 this is a sad story.  one of those great mom moments that you feel so good about.  i had been spray painting some frames, and left the can within reach.  the rest of us were eating dinner with our backs to sam, he grabs the can and sprays himself right in the face and eye.  screamed bloody murder.  shawn and i panicked, thought he was going to be blind.  but shawn shoved him under the sink and ran the water in his eye for a while.  he was a sad little boy.  he looks like he's been beaten to a bloody pulp.  poor kid.

 grandma and grandpa riding went to disneyland over sam's birthday and brought this home for him.  let's just say he does a killer goofy impression and him and shawn love to talk to each other as goofy and mickey.  sam's 3rd birthday was a great one, again lots of family and good food.  my favorite thing was when i asked him what kind of cake he wanted and without hesitation he said "a purple cake!".  okay.  so i made a chocolate cake, covered it with purple frosting and sprinkles, and the kid went nuts over it.  (do i have a picture of the purple cake?  nope.  i don't believe in cute pictures that help make wonderful memories.)  love him.

one day, sam and i were hanging out, jack was somewhere else.  i was cleaning the kitchen and sam was happily entertaining himself.  i turn around and find this. the kid did it all by himself.  put down the colored felt, went around the house and found objects for each color.  some favorites: my brown flip-flops on the brown piece, and some white paper bills on the white piece.  he's too smart. 

 this is the backside of my mom's guinea pig, guido. the boys love to hold him and feed him lettuce.  his face says it all.

 sam boy loves sticks.  well, here we are at our annual riding reunion (which was fabulous) and sam goes off on his own for a while.  then he comes tramping across the lawn, which is no short distance, mind you, hauling this thing and says "look, mom, a stick."  a stick that was 4 times bigger than him.  it was true love.

and last but not least, here is puss in boots.  at least that's what he calls himself when he puts on shawn's ginormous winter boots.  bwa ha ha ha!