Happy Birthday, Samuel

Birthday week continues with Samuel's birthday today.  9 years old!!!  Again, I am not sure how that happened.  The youngest boy is one year away from double digits.  I have thoroughly enjoyed watching Samuel grow up.  He is so fun and interesting to talk to. He is crazy fast with the one-liners, has a great sense of humor, a huge heart, an amazing sense of right and wrong and isn't afraid to stand up for what is right.  He reminds me so much of Parker in so many ways (and Parker is one of the neatest kids I've known).

He loves style and knows what he likes and doesn't like. He is picky about his hair and and loves his "orange" curls.  For his birthday he asked for an Amazon gift card.  Why?  Because he has never had a gift card before and he figured if he got one for Amazon he wouldn't have to wait to go shopping.  I chuckled.

Wal-mart does not sell Amazon gift cards and I was there getting the girls gifts. I saw this lava lamp and knew I had to get it.  Good idea...he LOVES it. Look at that smile.  He told me he could spend all day watching it.  Win-win for mom.

It was a hit with everyone.

Its been a tough year for Samuel. He doesn't like change and moving, twice, was hard. It made his struggles that much harder.  This summer we started having him see an OT weekly and a behavioral counselor twice a month.  It has been so helpful.  We also had testing done and we've made progress in helping him manage his frustration and anger.  We've discovered he has SPD and a processing issue.  He is extremely bright, but his brain just doesn't keep up with all the input coming in and it causes lots of frustration and then anger from him. It is going to be long and slow as we work on strategies, but he is taking it seriously and wants to start feeling better and that is so helpful. I know by this time next year he will have made more progress than we can imagine.

Happy Birthday, Samuel.  Your super power is still Huggie Power and you do give the most amazing hugs.  Your smile brightens my day.  You truly are an amazing young man, with so many gifts and talents and I know God has big plans for you.  All who know you and truly blessed by your friendship and love.  I enjoy talking with you and seeing how you view the world.  I love watching you, my last boy, grow up.