6 years ago...

We welcomed this little guy into our lives. Sammy was born on the first Sunday of Advent, and today he celebrated his 6th birthday on the first day of Advent once again. 

  I've always sort of mentally grouped children as Little Kids (age 2-5), Big Kids (6-9), Pre-Teens (10-12) and Teens. And I remember being mind-blown at the thought of having a "Big Kid" when Elena hit 6 years old. Now I have 2 in that category, but I guess I've gotten used to the idea since Elena and Sam are so close in age. Now I guess the next big shock will come in 2 1/2 years when Elena hits 10. Whoa!!! This just dawned on my as I typed that last sentence. 2 1/2 years???? Hold on for a second while I hyperventilate and then calm myself down....

Ok. I'm better now that I've blocked out any unwelcome thoughts. Anway, to celebrate today Sam had his classmates over for the afternoon. They made Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Xmas ornaments - man! that takes a long time to type. Couldn't they have come up with shorter name for that show? Elena put her Donatello ornament on their little tree upstairs and I was too lazy to go get it for the picture, but you get the idea.

Sam got a soccer ball and net from his cousin, Alex, as one of his gifts. Of course, they all wanted to go out and use it right away despite the fact that it was so cold they probably had trouble seeing one another through their gigantic breath clouds. They lasted an impressive half hour outside before coming in for hot cocoa.

 Too bad it couldn't have been like last year when it was warm enough to play football for 2 hours with no jackets. Apparently Sam considered it cold enough for a ski mask, though....

Happy Birthday, Sammy! Thanks for bringing so much joy into our lives. We love you very much.

Fake Injury Day

A couple of weeks ago they had Fake Injury Day at St. Ed's. Right after school, they had a class to go so Elena washed off as much of her make-up as she could. Sam lost the pencil, but wanted to keep the black eye and we didn't really have the time to wash it off anyway so off we went. 

About an hour into the class, one of the other moms approached me (not in a "Is-this-something-I'm-going-to-have-to-report-to-social-services?" way, but just plain old curious and a bit amused) and said, "I have to ask about what happened to Elena and Sam. I can just about imagine the fight they must have gotten into." It took me a second before I remembered that Sam still had his "black eye" and apparently we hadn't washed Elena's off well enough for the very well-lit classroom. 

When I told her it was just make-up, she burst out laughing and then told me I had better tell all the other moms because they were curious, too. We also had to explain to a few of the nuns whose convent is in the same building as the kids' class. 

Speaking of the nuns, one of the Sisters informed me last year how much Sam makes them laugh. Well he certainly has done his fair share of that the last two weeks. A week after explaining to them about his fake injuries, we were at the church again. I was talking with Father about something and didn't notice Sam hiding next to the door. Just as one of the nuns came through the door, he jumped out and scared her - I'm guessing that's not something they experience too often in the convent :) Luckily, it was one of the sisters who already knew Sam and she thought it was hilarious. Had it been one we hadn't met yet, she might have been a little thrown off.

Fart Elsa

The neighbor girl was over the other day and asked if I would play "Fart Elsa."

Me: Ummm...what?

Her:  Can you play Fart Elsa? You know....on the piano.

Me: I don't think that's a song.

Her: It's the song you always play.

Me: "Oh. You mean Fur Elise?"

Her: "Yeah. That."