the purple hat

When Sam was around three years old he began to talk in phrases and sentences. One of my very favorite things to have him say was "purple." He could say the word quite clearly but it was his inflection and the pitch of his voice that was so very cute. For some reason, known only to him, he squeaked out the word purple in a very excited voice. We never got tired of asking him to say "purple." My Mom knit Sam this little purple hat, in honor of the cuteness that was Sam saying purple, and it quickly became his very favorite. He would wear no other hat without an abundance of tears and thrashing around.

Fast forward seven years. Sam no longer sounds like one of the chipmunks when saying "purple," but his love for that little purple hat remains strong. I can't even believe he can still fit the darn thing on his head. I may have to retire the little purple hat this year, but it's not going in the donate box. This one I'm keeping. I'll pull it out from time to time when I need a little help remembering the tousle haired little boy who happily squeaked "purple!"

And yes, I KNOW his gloves don't match. But when you're trying to get out the door to go somewhere, you let some things slide.

okay, okay...I didn't even notice he had on two different gloves until I cropped this picture.