Happy Birthday to Sam!

Sam turned 4 on the 15th. This was a fun birthday year; Sam asked every day for several weeks, "what day is it today?" He was very excited. As excited as he was, he could not tell us what he wanted for his birthday presents. He could only provide general instructions like, "I want that star wars guy, and that star wars be-hicle (vehicle)." Tyler's parents came, and we decided that we would just take him to Toys R Us and let him show us what he liked. Then he went to the car with grandma; grandpa, Jack, and I stayed behind and picked out some of the items. He also wanted everything spiderman. I decorated the kitchen table, and he was so cute and excited when he woke up. He about burst when he saw his presents all wrapped up and waiting. He kept picking them up and asking me, "Is this one my star wars guy?" He would go through the whole list of items that he saw at Toys R Us. After church, we opened presents, sang, and had cake. He was so excited about everything he opened. It was a lot of fun to watch him concentrate on opening. I love this picture of him with his tongue hanging out. That is such a "Ballard" thing.
I am also glad that he was thrilled with his spiderman cake. I get off pretty easy when all he needs is a spiderman candle to be thrilled with his cake.

Then we went for a drive to explore a new area. We found people picking huckleberries, so we joined the fun. We picked enough to make a home made huckleberry cobbler. Sam sat on a stump and ate huckleberries. Jack was all business and picked his purple little fingers off. Logan enjoyed being carried in the back pack and loved getting a huckleberry popped into his mouth every once in a while. For dinner, Sam requested pasta bake. I also made chicken parmesan and everyone gobbled up dinner.

I don't know where the time has gone, I still think of Sam still as my baby. He is getting all lanky and grown up. I miss his chubby hands and feet. Luckily, his cheeks are still soft and squishy, and oh that grin...! He also tells me that I am beautiful almost every day. I love my Sam!

It also must be documented that this is the 3rd year in a row that he got to his cake before it was served and used his fingers to get a little taste!