Current Books: Right now, at the top of the list is Harry Potter. We are currently in the middle of The Goblet of Fire. While I think that some of the more mature themes of the books -- friendship, death, loss, good vs. evil and the many shades of gray between, are not landing as deeply as they one day will, he is loving the adventure, the fun, the suspense, and the complicated plots. He begs for me to read just a little bit more each night. I could read for 2 hours and he'd say please just 2 hours and 10 minutes? One time he begged if I would just read one more word. He is also very into these books called Wayside School which he discovered through his teacher. He enjoys non-fiction a lot -- all types. He likes the Stink series, the George Brown series, and has recently discovered Choose Your Own Adventure books too. He is definitely a reader and almost always has a book nearby. For instance, he has about 4 pleasure books in his backpack at all times, there is one sitting next to his booster seat in the van, he keeps one in the basement, there is one in both the living and family room, and they are always spilling all over his bed from his headboard. Funnily enough, this morning, he could not find the one book he WANTED so that he could read it on the bus, and was very upset that he only had his 4 in his bag that he wasn't in the mood for. (I found the one he wanted later this afternoon. It was in Henry's bookcase. It's like he's afraid to have a room that doesn't have a beloved book in it.)
Current pleasures: Reading. Dancing in his room. He often disappears up there and closes the door and we hear those wild dancing footsteps pounding around. Taking guitar lessons off the iPad. Taking his socks off just before he crawls into bed and wrapping his feet up in his baby blanket. Eating. The boy is perpetually hungry and eats a lot of food, but grows thinner anyway. I can't keep up. Yesterday for breakfast he had 2 waffles, 2 pieces of bacon, a banana, a yogurt, two glasses of milk, a string cheese, and then he finished Henry's breakfast too. He asked for more, but I had to cut him off because we had to leave for school.
Current toys: His magic wand. His Bop It Tetris and Bop It Smash games. Legos. His football. His basketball.
Current songs: There are a lot of songs Sam really likes and they range in type from classic rock, heavy metal, pop, country, and show tunes. He likes it all, honestly. He really gets excited when that Rihanna/Eminem song "Monster Under my Bed" comes on the radio. He sometimes requests Katy Perry's "Firework." And he adores the song "Eye of the Tiger."
Current outfit: Today he is wearing jeans which are actually long enough. (We are sort of in a constant state of oh, that's too short now because he is growing at a rate that is hard to imagine, so I guess the food consumption/thinness makes sense.) And a blue zip up sweater with yellow stripes on the sleeve. He is wearing his gray suede high tops (though he would prefer if he could always wear his crummy sneakers that he doesn't have to tie but just slide on his feet.) He refuses to wear the socks I tell him match but instead just chooses socks that suit his fancy and usually do not match -- his shoes, his clothes and sometimes not even the other sock. His orange coat is always dirty, because the moment I wash it, he goes outside it in to play basketball and the snowy slushy yuck gets on the ball and then the ball gets on him.
Current things to eat and drink: Well, what have you got? His manners have gotten much better about trying things he doesn't think he'll like and about keeping quiet when he doesn't like something. Favorite go to items are: hot dogs, corn dogs, pizza, string cheese, yogurt, cereal bars, popcorn, and hot chocolate. But really, as long as it's not a casserole of all the ingredients mixed up or covered in an unknown sauce, or mashed potatoes, Sam is up for it.
Current wish list: For summer to arrive, to be old enough that we let him play football on a team (middle school!), and to go camping again. To go back to Disney World. I actually can't think of any stuff that Sam wants.
Current triumph: Getting to 100% on his XtraMath, the few songs he has learned on his guitar, and his dancing ability during Brain Breaks at school. His teacher plays musics and videos and the kids dance along with them -- a way to break the tension and sort of reboot the kids. Sam LOVES brain breaks and I think he secretly thinks he is the best dancer in the class. Though, to Sam's credit, he always claims that there are a couple of people better than he is at something -- but I can sense that deep down, he knows he is the best dancer. He is an excellent big brother -- especially to Gus who hasn't learned how to be super annoying yet. He is a wildly good big brother to Gus. And he is a great big brother to Henry, though they still fight sometimes. I mean, who can blame them. It is the job of siblings to fight sometimes.
Current bane of his existence: He hates going to sleep. He is never excited when it's bedtime, but more than anyone I've ever known, even Craig, Sam has an off time. Like a time when everything just clearly powers down in him and he is in desperate need of sleep. He frequently complains about how he is not old enough to watch R rated movies and is extremely confident that if we just talk about it a little bit more he can convince us that he is emotionally mature enough to handle ANYTHING. He has this weird fascination with the movie Chuckie and he really wants to see it.
Current crush: Sam would be extremely embarrassed to answer this question so I won't answer it for him except to say that I think he does have a little crush at the moment.
Current indulgence: He really knows how to savor and enjoy his food. He sometimes overdoes the toothpaste and then licks off the extra. He loves to lay in bed in the morning and listen to the radio for like 30 minutes before he comes out and says good morning. On weekend mornings, he likes to sneak downstairs before anyone is awake and play a long game of NFL on the Xbox. We never actually ok'ed this for him, but it has become clearly one of his great pleasures and I don't have the heart to stop him from it unless he has set up like 15 minute quarters for himself, because that is just not fair and I am afraid his brain will rot and leak out of his ears.
Current excitement: He is always excited for the weekend -- he likes family time with all of us and especially with dad, he likes special outings, he likes staying up late and he likes not having to do homework on the weekend. He is excited to get further along in Harry Potter. He is looking forward to his birthday and has already asked me to begin brainstorming a party plan. He is excited for our trip to Missouri this summer and to see 2 of his 3 sets of grandparents.
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