Samantha: 27 Months, Week 5 {Fun with Friends, Wedding in Indy, and Samantha in Upland}

This week continued to be an action packed week of activities.  Sometime soon our life will slow down, right?

On Monday I watched Jesse for the Brashers while they started cleaning out their storage unit.  He had a really good morning nap.  (Ahh, how I miss those days of morning naps!)  Samantha and I had a really good time playing around the house together.  Then, we all went down to the swings in our apartment complex to play for a little while before lunch.  Both children ate a really good lunch, and then it was off to nap.  Jesse went down really easily for me, which was good, I wasn't sure how he would do with someone he had really just met.  It was my daughter that gave me a hard time napping.  Lately, getting her to fall asleep has been such a chore.  She will talk and sing in bed, or sometimes jump and kick, for at least a half hour, sometimes up to an hour if I would let her.  Even though she is really tired and you can tell she needs a nap, she resists falling asleep so much.  I don't know if she is just so extroverted that it takes her that long to unwind, or if it is just her attempt at avoiding sleep (like if she stops making noise then she will finally cave in to what we want her to do).  Sometimes it's cute and endearing to hear her singing and talking in bed, but most of the time it's frustrating because she is missing out on sleep time.  Then, I have to decide if I go up there and tell her to be quiet and go to sleep or if I just leave her and avoid giving her any social interaction.  Does anybody else have trouble with their two year old and nap time?  Any wise suggestions for me?  We know she is not ready to give up her nap yet, so we will continue enforcing it for the time being, trying different things to possibly help her fall asleep faster.

Monday night, after eating dinner by ourselves as a family, we went out to Once Upon a Child to buy a birthday present for Ainsley's party that we were going to the next day.  I let Samantha pick out a pair of pants and a sweater for her.  The sweater was pink with red cherries, and the pants were jeans with a pink sparkly belt.  (I think I notice a trend in fashion from Samantha's point of view. :)  We also picked out a Noah's Ark puzzle for her, but were then distracted by the gigantic tub of Barbies.  I think Samantha could have taken all of them home, but I made her choose one.  This decision took a LONG time.  It's hard to choose between things that are all your favorite.  She finally decided on an Ariel Barbie, and from that moment on, for the entire week, Ariel hardly left Samantha's hand.  We had to take her everywhere.  This also started our week long, and possibly the beginning of a lifelong obsession with everything princess.  More to come on that later.  After buying the present, we went to play at a local park that is surrounded by trees so that Samantha could get some energy out, and we could still stay cool in the shade.

Here is our cool girl wearing her Minnie Mouse sunglasses, except she always puts them on upside down thinking they are the right way.  Oh well, makes it cuter, right?

Tuesday morning was the birthday party for Samantha's friend Ainsley, but it was SO hot outside, it was almost miserable.  Samantha did a really good job playing well by herself and with other kids so that I could take care of Sadie for part of the time.  Even though all the moms were practically melting, the kids could have cared less, and Samantha really enjoyed her doughnut and child-sized water bottle that she could drink out of all by herself.

Since I am staying home now, I have the opportunity to be involved in more things during the day, which is wonderful.  One thing I really wanted to do was be involved in a Bible Study somewhere.  I was debating between doing one at our church or joining a local BSF (Bible Study Fellowship).  I have known a few women over the years who have done BSF and always speak highly of it.  The part that intrigued me the most was that they have a preschool program for Samantha where they learn truths from the Bible, sing hymns, and learn Scripture.  Samantha has been such a sponge lately that I knew she would grow through being exposed to that each week.  I really want to encourage her knowledge of the Bible and of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  How wonderful would it be if she were to ask Jesus into her heart at a young age because of being exposed to the Bible so much at BSF and at church and at home!  So, I decided to join BSF, and Tuesday night they had a welcome night that I attended so that we could get registered for class.  I am really excited to be a part of this, and I am really excited to dedicate myself to studying the Bible every day in a structured, in depth way.

And now, I just have to include a cute picture of Smoky the Bear on the piano with they hymnal open like she's playing.  Samantha put her this way before going to bed for the night, and I thought it was hilarious that she had this set up so realistically.

And here's a cute video of a message that Samantha made for Upland Grandpa and Grandma.

On Wednesday, since it was still so incredibly hot outside, we had a morning outing to the Banneker Center to play.  Learning from our potty accident last time, we took a break in the middle of playing to go use the potty and get Sadie in the Ergo to take a nap.  Samantha always has a great time playing here, and even cleaned up nicely before it was time for us to leave.  It's always nice when we have a pleasant time out with no tantrums and everything goes smoothly.  I think I'm getting the hang out balancing Samantha's activities and Sadie's sleeping schedule.

Right about lunchtime that day, Jesse was dropped off at my house for me to watch this afternoon.  Lunch with Jesse and Samantha went well, but the time after that, getting all three kids down for their afternoon naps was a little crazy.  I had to really think through how I was going to pull that off.  So, I first changed Sadie and laid her down in the pack and play in my bedroom.  Then, I told Samantha she had a special chance to play quietly in her room while I gave Jesse his bottle and laid him down in his pack and play in the second bedroom.  Then, it was Samantha's turn.  Everyone went to sleep pretty well, and all the kids were so tired, that everyone had a really great nap that afternoon.  I was grateful that they were all asleep at the same time so that I could have a little time to myself.

Wednesday night, since it was the Brashers last night in Bloomington, so we had a girl's coffee night get together.  Michelle came over with Sadie, Andrea came over, and we even got to Skype with Gennie in Florida!  It felt almost like old times, except for the fact that people are slowly moving away and there are more kids in the picture.  We had a great time hanging out, eating pizza together, and chatting about our futures.

Thursday morning was our first Mom's REST Stop meeting at our church.  I am so excited to be a part of this group this year.  I haven't ever been able to go before since I taught full time.  It was great to go and hear Melanie talk more about how God is leading them overseas and how to let go of our children, giving them over to God.  It was an emotional morning for me, and I was really sad to see Melanie and her family leave.  We both cried as we said good-bye to each other at church.  Luckily, I think our friendship is close enough and our families are close enough, that we will keep in touch over the years through emails and prayers.

On Friday we had a wedding to go to in downtown Indianapolis, so we had plans to meet Ben's mom in Muncie to drop off Samantha for the night so we could go to the wedding by ourselves.  Since we were going through Indy, and also to maximize Samantha's opportunity for a nap in the car, we decided to take a family trip to the Children's Museum.  It is so wonderful having a family pass to the Children's Museum.  Samantha calls it the "musicizam" and talks about it all the time.  She particularly loves the carousel.  They have a new kid's play area for ages five and under, so we were anxious to try that when we got there.

The new playscape had a water area where they could pretend to go fishing.  We tried putting the water jacket on because she was getting her shirt all wet, but she wasn't a fan of that so quickly moved on to a different area.

They had another area where they could climb on these platforms that look like leaves.  I went in with her to help her climb, but we didn't get too far up before she wanted to come back down again.  Our little girl isn't the most physically coordinated two year old in the world.  She's fairly cautious when it comes to trying new physical activities.  Hopefully this will change as she gets older and more used to trying these things by herself.  She is definitely stronger verbally than physically at this point in her development.

One of Samantha's favorite places at the museum is ScienceWorks.  There is a fun place with a slide and a tunnel you can climb through as if you were crawling through the ground.  As you crawl through you can see fake animals in little windows on the sides of the tunnel.  There are foxes, snakes, groundhogs, and mice to look at along the way.  There is also something called a Health House, which is what you see in the picture below.  Samantha likes to go in the bathroom and use the gigantic toothbrush to brush the dinosaur's teeth.

And, of course, we have to hit up the carousel.  Since we are members, we get to ride for free.  The first ride I went on with them, but it was making me too dizzy, so I let Daddy take her on the next two rides.  I think she would ride the carousel all day if we let her.

Our last stop before leaving for the day was the train area.  Samantha likes watching the little train go around the track on the ceiling, and she also likes riding in the pretend car.  Someday we need to take this little girl on a real train ride.  I think she would really enjoy that.

We had a full morning/afternoon at the Children's Museum, and it was time to drive up to Muncie to meet Ben's mom and drop off Samantha so that we could get back downtown Indy for the wedding.  Samantha is so good at falling asleep in the car, as long as she has her blankie, blanket, and goes through her normal bedtime routine, she will fall asleep quickly in the car.  We are glad she is such a compliant little girl in situations like this.  It makes it easier to take her places and be out past her nap time.

It was a little hectic getting back to Indy, checked into the hotel, getting changed, and getting to the wedding venue on time.  However, we made it there a little late, but the wedding hadn't started yet.  It was a beautiful day for an outside ceremony, and the reception was very nice.  We were at a table of some Sammy II guys and their wives, so it was good to talk and catch up with each other again.  It was especially nice having a night away from Samantha.  It would not have been fun to have her at that wedding, chasing her around and dealing with her getting sleepy.

Ben and I decided ahead of time to get a hotel room in Indy for the night so that way we wouldn't have to worry about driving to Upland late that night after the wedding.  The hotel was right by the new J.W. Marriott, and it was pretty modern for our taste, but again, it was nice having a night away.  It's amazing how different life feels without Samantha around.  We love her and can't imagine life without her, but it's great to get some time for just Ben and me every once in a while.

We were pretty tired Friday night after the wedding, but Saturday morning we just had a nice, relaxing morning together.  We went swimming in the hotel pool, ate breakfast together, and got ready in a leisurely manner before checking out of the hotel.  We left our luggage at the front desk and went for a walk along the canal.  This is always something I've wanted to do, but we haven't ever done it before as a couple.  It was great to walk and talk about things that have been going on in our lives and dreaming of our future plans together after our time in Bloomington comes to a close.  We also walked down to Monument Circle before getting our car and driving to Upland.

When we arrived in Upland, we were excited to see that Aunt Jeni and Cousin Alaina were still there.  It was great to catch up with Jeni and compare diverticulitis stories (ha ha).  I always love seeing the girls together, observing how much their interactions change from one month to the next.

The other fun thing Samantha discovered at Grandma and Grandpa's house is the bag of dress-up clothes.  It had been there for quite awhile, but Samantha has just recently gotten into dressing up.  Well, these clothes were even more exciting because they were mostly princess dresses.  Samantha is in a huge princess phase right now.  She had to try on every single princess dress in the bag, but the Belle dress was by far her favorite one.  She wore it pretty much the rest of the weekend except for when she ate and slept.  Here are some cute pictures of Samantha in her dress playing outside.

And, you gotta love the silly daddy-daughter pictures.

After Samantha's nap on Sunday afternoon, we drove down to Indianapolis to meet Ben's college friend, Tim, for dinner.  We ate at a local pizza place, with Samantha still in her princess dress, and had a great time catching up with each other again.  We decided that after dinner, we needed to get some Dunkin' Donuts coffee (and doughnuts).  The lady at the store was so nice because Samantha wanted a doughnut with sprinkles, and she was nice enough to take a pink frosted doughnut and put sprinkles on it just for Samantha.  I think seeing Samantha made Timmy's day much better. :)