All Boy

I have not talked much (if any) about Sam's personality. Mostly I have just told you about how he is adjusting and how doctor's visits have gone and our everyday life. I don't know if you remember that Sophie once said when Baby Sam comes home he will be wild. Well did she ever hit the nail on the head.

Sam has totally rocked my world. To completely understand where I am coming from, I should back up and tell you a little about Sophie's personality. We like to joke and call her Miss Safety Patrol. She is a stickler for rules. She is that kind of child that (for the most part) you only have to tell her once to do something or not to do something. If she thinks she has disappointed you she is really torn up. We could take her anywhere and not worry about how she would act. I never had to move anything, lock any cabinet, or worry about what she was doing. Now don't get me wrong, she is not perfect. She has had her fair share of time-outs.

So I (naively) thought Sam would come to me behaving very similiarly. Here is where one of my institutionalized child theories come in. They learn to tow the line early on - that must be why Sophie was so "easy". Well I was wrong. Sam is everything but Mr. Safety Patrol. He is a great kid and I have seen him grow so much in the three short months he has been home. His behavior has improved dramatically. His fits have almost gone away completely and when he does throw a fit he can usually be redirected and calms down pretty quickly. He is very affectionate. He loves to give hugs and kisses, and there is nothing sweeter than seeing his smile and hearing him say "mamma." However, when he hears the word "no", he takes it as a dare and he has left no stone unturned in this house (or any other). If it can be opened he opens it; if it fits in his mouth in it goes; if it can be climbed on, you guessed it, up he goes. So it was not surprising this week during VBS several people said things like this to me, "Oh, Sam is so sweet (or cuddly or loving) but he is all boy. He loves to climb." Here are just a couple of pictures just to prove my point. This is a picture of his art - on the wall. That boy can find a writing utensil anywhere.

Here he is climbing on the table. Now I will admit I let him do this for that sake of blogging.

So there you have it. My Sam - sweet, loving, happy, determined, and all boy.