On turning 9 and 6

*** disclaimer: here's another loooooong, wordy post with too few pictures! I promise to get back to your regular programming as soon as I figure out how to get all those pics from my new iphone to my blog! ***

It was a wonderful week of birthday fun!

Of course, when you're coming off the holiday high and still trying to reconfigure the clothes drawers and toy chest to accommodate all of Santa's generosity it makes for a somewhat anti-climactic birthday. But Hamp & Sam have always been very accepting of whatever level of celebration we offer - and just happy to be a new age!

Anyway, we made the most of it. Hamp took cupcakes to school and I made him his fave for dinner: meatloaf & green beans. He had ice cream for dessert and opened many fantastic gifts from friends and family. Then he did exactly what he did last year - crammed a few buddies in the car and went down to Rifle to see a movie and have dinner. I opted out of that event, but Dad said it was awesome and hysterical and so interesting to watch his son in his "peer persona"! (i.e. silly 9-year old boy with friends)

As for Hamp, he is still a very typical kid - and all boy for sure! He loves sports, guns, Legos and video games. He plays well with brother (mostly!), he hates to lose, and is not exactly an enthusiastic reader. He is peer driven - which from a mother's perspective is both frightening and encouraging! - and despite the daily sass and eye-rolling he is truly a sweet and loving child that holds family (which includes his dog!) before all else and will probably go far on charisma and enthusiasm...

So what did his 8th year of life bring?

• Better skier - both in skill and confidence level!
• Continued to learn how to be a gracious winner and an accepting loser (although his baseball, soccer and flag football teams all won their seasons!)
• Moved up to 3rd grade where he is learning multiplication, how to write a proper paragraph, how to find a book he likes to read, and especially how to behave properly on the playground!
• Milestones were skiing well, playing baseball, understanding & accepting that he was not going to play tackle football, performing in his first musical, completing his first triathlon, and his first trip to Las Vegas and first Cirque du Soleil show!

Then there is sweet Sammy, who didn't exactly get the celebration he expected at all for his birthday - his friend had the flu and the bowling alley was closed! - but didn't let it get him down as he was happy to spend a quarter on a pinball game at the arcade and call it good! I took him and his friends out for pizza after kindergarten on his birthday, and then he too had a nice family dinner, with splendid gifts from generous friends and family.


Sam is still our atypical child! He is obsessed with Pandas and the color purple, he loves all things artistic including painting, drawing, writing, singing, playing the piano, and dancing. He will tell you that his favorite sports are bowling, soccer, volleyball and he enjoys academics and looks forward to going to school! He loves his friends, but is equally content to play with his stuffed animals all day - but most of all he loves his big brother!

And how about his 5th year of life?

• Rode a bike without training wheels
• Rode the ski lift without an adult
• First piano recital
• Learned how to do a proper cartwheel
• Learned how to read
• Started Kindergarten and loves every minute of it!

I look forward to what these next ages will bring - new ideas and understandings and hopefully a continued love for all things outdoors! Whatever we do I know it is always an adventure...