Third son..... Dinobaby3

Sam is our third son. The first free gift that God gave us. He was born only 18 months after Paul and because of his pre-term birth, shares a birthday with his eldest brother, John Henry. He is now 6 years old, but during his early days on earth, I doubted whether he would make it home to live with us. He was born after a traumatic pregnancy that involved a kidney stone, surgery to remove said kidney stone, and 7 weeks of preterm labor requiring medication. It was a horrible experience that I never care to relive. Sam is a survivor. His father named him Samson after the strong man in the Bible. He needed every bit of strength in his tiny body to survive his neonatal days.

Sam is a very intense little guy, independent to a fault, but with the biggest heart of all our children. He is stuck in third place amongst the boys, never big enough to beat them at anything, but always wanting to come out on top just once. He is smart, witty, talented, and athletic. He is so precious sometimes and then five minutes later, he is making me want to pull my hair out. LOL! His anger is quick to spark and quick to resolve. His love is complete and his happiness is contagious!

The day of his sister's birth was a new chapter for Sam. He became a big brother and was unceremoniously stripped of the special baby place in the family (which he hated!!). He never looked back and has never been jealous. Sam loves Lizzie more than any brother has ever loved a sister. He gives her anything she asks for, no matter how big a sacrifice it may be for him. Sam and Lizzie share a room and he loves that.

Again, Sam has challenged my parenting and stretches me to new heights. I've been known to cry at every new thing he does, because I guess I never thought I'd get to see him riding a two-wheeler or losing that first tooth. Thank God for modern medicine and Sam.