Some call him The Great Destroyer

While the rest of our family tries to live a normal, ordered life, Sam speeds through our home, creating a massive wave of destruction.  

He still can't quite walk on his own, but he has been crawling at record speeds for many months.  He pulls himself up and pushes chairs around, using the chairs as his walker.  At any given moment in our house, the chairs probably look like this.  Who would tuck chairs neatly under the table?  I think they look much more creative this way.

He has no trouble climbing up onto chairs . . .

or the toilet, or any other similar platform.  This may not seem unusual to you, but it is BRAND NEW to Ben and me.  Neither Henry nor Ellis crawled before they walked, so they never learned to climb.  Sam is thrilled about the new heights he is able to reach!  Watch out, hand soap, lotion, and makeup bag!  You are about to be thrown across the bathroom at 35 miles per hour.

What could be more fun than unloading shelves?  It's so much fun to throw things on the floor!  Normally Sam goes around the house and does his daily chores: 

- Unload all toys from bins.

- Remove books from shelves.

- Remove all food from bottom three shelves of pantry.  Be sure to stomp on raisin boxes and remove all onions and potatoes from their bags.  Throw onions across the floor ("ball!") and watch those flaky skins fly!

- If you happen to catch the bathroom door open, unroll the toilet paper.  

- If you happen to find an unsupervised tissue box, empty the tissues -- and don't take your time about it!  If someone catches you, the fun is over!

When I grill on the deck, poor Sam doesn't get to play on the trampoline with his brothers.  I adore this picture of him, gated in, longing to be with the big boys.

"It's okay, Mom -- I got to unload the recycling bin!"