Our six-year-old and our six-month-old!!

Could it really be that SIX years ago today our first child was born? That the years have been so much fun and memorable and amazing that they've flown by so quickly?

Sammy arrived on a Thursday--just like today--and we were ecstatic to welcome him into the world. Lucky for us, he was more than ready to soak up all of the love that a first child (and grandchild on both sides!) receives. With the birth of each of our children, we've experienced true joy, wonder, and awe. With Sam, it was all that and more...and he was our first!

The days of sweet, happy, smiley Baby Sammy passed quickly...he's now an enthusiastic, chatty, fun-loving kid who keeps us on our toes. In many ways, it doesn't feel like it's been that long since he kicked off parenthood for us, but when Tony and I look at Sam and how tall he's gotten, how many teeth he's lost, how much he can do, and who he's become, we think, "Yup, it's been six years!"

Every year, I like to post a short list of the things that the kids are doing (and who they're becoming) around their birthdays that make me admire them so.  Here are Sammy's:

• His reading and writing skills have grown leaps and bounds this year...he's like another person! While neither activity is his favorite, the foundations have been laid.  I am certain he will become a strong reader and more adept writer over the next few years.
• He is excellent at inferring the meaning of words in the context of a sentence/paragraph. Words like "defeat" and "sinister" and "scowl." (Can you tell his favorite books have some dominant antagonists in them??) Oh, and he's equally good at telling you the definitions using words of his own. I thought that was tough in high school!
• Sam's pretty excited about math these days, which makes me pretty excited about it, too. We've been watching him master the fundamentals without stress...and taking them to the next level with little help. In school, they're working on addition and subtraction, but the other day he told me and Tony that, "10 plus 1/2 is five." He's figuring out basic multiplication already, but doesn't have the vocabulary to talk about it! Can you see why we're so excited??
• And love. Tony's parents think Sammy is a true Neapolitan--by definition, a lover. Our six-year-old definitely wears his heart on his sleeve. He's affectionate, loyal and very caring. He is still ELATED that Sebastian has joined our family...can you tell?? His heart gets broken pretty easily, too, so fingers crossed for the teenage years!

I'm proud that Sam's himself and that that person is kind, silly and full of surprises. I also love that he has my grandfather's name; they're similar in many ways and our Sam would make Granddaddy Sam very proud.

And what about our six-month-old (tomorrow)?? Well, this time last year, we were celebrating (through bouts of morning sickness) the idea of a new addition to our family...

and now he's here!!

Rolling over, learning to sit up and giggling up a storm; grabbing for things; and gobbling down rice cereal. Tony calls him "Twinkle" sometimes because he has a way of blinking, looking right at you, and smiling. There really is a twinkle in his eye. We love seeing him connect with people like that.

Honestly, there's so much to love about Sebastian...and we love it all!

Happy 6th Birthday to Sammy and Happy Half-Birthday to Sebastian!!