Special Times-post by Robin

Samuel came to visit us in Laurinburg a couple of weeks ago. He was here for about 4 days during the week and Beth and Justin came for the weekend. I stayed with Mom and Dad while Samuel was there. Mom and I took turns:). Oh, we had the best time. I wanted to post these pictures (Beth's computer is on the way) and give you a little window into his personality. He is full of personality. Samuel is sweet, hilarious, strong-willed, curious, inquisitive.... I could go on and on




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I can't see the pictures while I'm typing so I'll just tell you a little about all of them.
Finley and Samuel playing the piano- they are too cute together. Finley thinks she is about 5 years older than Samuel. She used to say, "ooooo, Sammy's a big ole boy." Now we can't say Sammy to her, it's Samuel. I taught them this song about baby Moses ("Itty bitty Moses was crying in his room..."-to the tune of itsy bitsy spider). When Samuel came to visit, we were upstairs singing and he said, "Moses". He remembered that we sang a song about Moses (from his previous visit) and would try to sing along with me. Now he replaces "daddy" for Moses and won't have it any other way.
Look at that smile and those eyes-adorable!
While he was visiting, Mom had early morning duty. Mom said he would say, "Wake Ra Ra up" and would not rest until he could wake me up. I would hear his little feet coming in my room and would hide under the covers. He would pull them back and say "Boo, Ra Ra det (get) up." Once I was up, it was non-stop!
See the picture with Samuel and Dad? He does the cutest thing. He has the Richard Scary Big Word book. If you've never seen it it has pages with different categories, like vehicles, daily activities, food, etc. One page is winter and it has a bear ice skating with one leg up. Beth said one night Samuel was in the bath tub, lifted one leg and said, "skating". This was our favorite thing and we got him to do it all the time. So much that it eventually became a little kick but we would still cheer.
He also let's you "sneak kisses" and will squint his eyes and let you kiss him all over! We take advantage of that! He is getting to the age of fighting for his independence. EVERYthing, from cutting his food to pouring milk, is "Samul (that's how he says his name) do it".
In one picture he is licking meringue and you'll see the mixer has a cloth on it. He loves the mixer so much that we have to tell him the mixer is going sleepy time and put a "blanket" over it. The next morning he will pull the cloth from the mixer and say "BOO". Then it's up and running for the mixer too.
Leslie brought her bike over since it has a seat on the back. Mom and I rode him around the neighborhood (sorry no picture, but just think Dorothy's mean neighbor lady and hum the song:) ) and to the wholesale where dad works! What were we thinking on a 90+ degree day? It was fun though. It reminded me of us doing that with mom growing up.
We took him to Exploration Station-it has a little grocery store, bank, housekeeping, etc. He really enjoyed shopping. I took a couple of pictures and Samuel would say, "Cheese" flash a big smile and by the time my camera would click he would be looking away. He's fast!
Every night after his bath, we would go in Papa and Gam's bathroom and Samuel would put on some of Dad's deodorant (just a little), aftershave, shaving cream, and powder. He would sit so still while I rubbed his neck with powder. Another thing I took advantage of. Then we would go into the den and ooooo and ahhhhh over him and how good he smelled. PaPa would do sandman with him-rub his fingers together over Samuel's eyes. He did the same thing to us when we were little. We would lay in the bed, stare without blinking while Dad rubbed his fingers over our eyes. We were out in no time! Samuel would say "Sandman". Then we would go in his room and have to read books with his big stuffed Elmo beside him. After that he and Elmo (this thing is bigger than he is) were tucked in with blankets in the crib. I make this night routine sound simple, but it was anything but.
He does not like sitting in a high chair anymore and wants to be like everyone else. The night they left, we went out to eat. I sat in the booth and here comes Samuel patting the seat next to me saying, "Samul sit right here". After dinner, they headed back to VA and we went home to a quiet house with his little toys scattered about, but no Samuel. It was so sad!
I'm just thankful for the special time we had with him. Sometimes Mom, Dad, and I would look at each other, smile, and say, "Can you believe he is ours?! What a priceless gift!
Oh, before I leave, a little update on Beth. She is doing well, but really uncomfortable and ready to have Annalee. Her due date is Aug 29th, so she still has some time if she doesn't deliver until that date or after. I'm sure she would appreciate your prayers! We'll keep you posted.