Eight is Great

Last month Samuel turned eight. He has been looking forward to this birthday since January and not just for the party and the presents. Eight years old is a big deal! In our church eight is the age of accountability when we believe a child is old enough to decide if he wants to be baptized and officially become a member of our church. After baptism they are then confirmed a member of the church and receive the Holy Ghost to be a constant companion and advisor. Samuel is a sweet, sweet boy. He has the biggest heart I know and just wants to love everyone around him. He has a wide-eyed innocence and imagination that has somehow, miraculously survived two years of grade school. (Longer than I expected!) He is very smart and loves to play and learn and do all those things that boys do at that age. He has a huge spirit and more faith than I ever had when I was a kid. He was SO excited to get baptized! He has been anxiously awaiting his turn since his cousin, Nathan, was baptized last February. We have talked about the baptism non stop since then. Unfortunately, we had to make him wait a couple of weeks after his birthday to get baptized so that we could give family members a chance to finish school and get to Philly. But it was totally worth it! We had a great time and Samuel felt loved with so much of his family around him.

Some things about about Sam at age 8: He loves to read ( especially the Magic Tree House books- which are too easy but he loves the stories). He loves to play with Legos and would do that to the exclusion of all else if I would let him. He loves playing kickball and dodge ball. He can ride his bicycle without training wheels but it makes him a little nervous. He LOVES the water- ocean or swimming pool, it makes no difference to him. He loves the Narnia movies, Star Wars anything and Harry Potter 1-3 (he is still too young for the rest). He loves the fads: bey blades and silly bands and webkinz. He still wants to be a zebra doctor when he grows up. He is really excited to be a cub scout and enjoys passing off the various tasks in his manual. He is a great big brother who maybe teases a little too much but clearly loves his brothers more than anything. His best friend is still Keith- has been since Kindergarten and he is still friends with as many girls as boys and sees nothing wrong with that. As far as he is concerned, there is no such thing as cooties.

I love my Sam and his big heart!

Here are some of my favorite (recent) pics of Samuel:

The boys in their suits.

Our new cub scout

Red, white and blue- Happy 4th!

Can't you just see Sam as a zoologist?

The day he learned to ride minus the extra wheels.

Baptism Day!

All ready!

Singing with cousins?