Samantha: 24 Months, Week 3

On Tuesday this week, the day after Memorial Day, we made plans to go to an Indianapolis Indians baseball game.  Ema, Papa, and Alaina were going to join us there as well.  We left as soon as I got done working at school, cleaning up and packing up my classroom.  We ate dinner at a Noodles and Company before the game and got mac and cheese, but Samantha wasn't even interested in eating her favorite food in the world because she was too excited about going to the baseball game.  She had been talking about this for over a week now and was really looking forward to it.

We had great seats in the front row right on the third base line.  We got to watch the baseball players laying on the grass stretching and warming up (one of Samantha's favorite things for some reason).  The girls were so cute together watching the players, taking in all the sights and sounds around them, dancing, and sitting on the seats like big girls.

A highlight for Samantha was meeting Rowdie, the mascot, or as Samantha called him, Flynn Rowdie.  (We think she added the Flynn part onto his name because of Flynn Rider from the movie Rapunzel, which we watched recently together as a family.)  He is a big red bear, and Samantha was very excited every time she got to see him walk by.  At the beginning of the game, one of the players gave Samantha a baseball they were using to practice, so once they made the announcement that Rowdie was going to give autographs, we figured Samantha might enjoy having Flynn Rowdie sign her baseball.  I took her up to the table, and while we were walking there, I explained to her that she will give her ball to Rowdie,  she will ask for his autograph, he'll sign it, and then he'll give the ball back to her.  We practiced asking, "Can I have an autograph, please?"  I wasn't totally sure if she would be too nervous to approach him once we actually got there, but she was very brave.  She walked right up to Rowdie, and in a quiet little voice, asked "autograph please?"  He signed it and gave it back to her.  He held out his hand for a high five and she willingly gave him.  She was SO excited and proud of her ball that she didn't want to let it go or put it down.  For days and days after the baseball game, she talked about Flynn Rowdie and how fun it would be if he could come to our house to play.

I think Samantha enjoyed her first baseball game as a walking, talking toddler.  We can't wait to bring her back again.

Wednesday, I spent another day at school, finishing packing up my classroom, cleaning up, and checking things off my end of the year check out list.  It was weird packing everything up, knowing that I would not be returning next year, knowing that, if everything goes according to our plans, I would not be returning to teach until all our kids are in school.  I got a little sentimental.  I put a lot of work into planning, preparing, and implementing the curriculum at Lighthouse, and now I am just packing all my work into brown cardboard boxes.  However, I am thrilled about the opportunity to stay home with Samantha, and she had the greatest reaction when I came home that evening.  I stayed a little later than normal to get the last few things done in my classroom so that Samantha wouldn't have to go back the the babysitter on Thursday.  When I walked in the door, Samantha came running up to me from the living room shouting, "Stay home with you!"  It just made my day and made me so excited for my first official day as a stay at home mom.

Later that evening, we got out one of Samantha's birthday presents from Ema and Papa, her Little Tikes basketball hoop and ball.  I figured out how to put it together, and Samantha figured out how to use it right away.  She really likes to play basketball with this and pretend she is bouncing the ball.

On Thursday, we had such a relaxed morning together.  We didn't have anywhere to be until ten o'clock when I had to meet Mr. Wilson at school to get my check out paperwork completed.  Samantha had a fun time playing in my classroom and trying to drink out of the water fountains.  Since this was going to be my last day, I decided to eat with my teacher friends one last time, and of course, took Samantha with me.  Before lunch, we stopped by the recylcing center.  I have felt convicted lately about throwing out all these items that can be recycled, so I decided that now that I'm home and have more time on my hands, I have no excuse but to recycle as much as I can.  Samantha was really interested in the recycling center and loved helping me throw our cans, paper, and plastic in the different bins.  We ate lunch at Wendy's with my teacher friends, and Samantha did so well sitting in the high chair eating while we talked for quite a while.  I'm so glad that she is well behaved enough that we can do things like that with her.  They enjoyed being around her as well and were amazed at how much she was talking.

On Friday, we had to take Roscoe to the vet to get shots and his annual check up.  Samantha was very curious about Roscoe being at the doctor and was worried when they took him out of the room to draw his blood.  She listened and behaved very well as we waited patiently for the doctor to check Roscoe's health.  After the vet, we dropped Roscoe off at home and went to the Banneker Center for some free play time.  Samantha enjoys herself there, although on this particular day I think she was just tired, as she just sat in the little car and watched kids play around her.  I always feel awkward going to the Banneker Center by myself because it seems like all the other moms go there and meet up with someone, so I feel strange sitting there by myself.  However, Samantha always has a good time, so it's worth it.

Friday afternoon, after Samantha woke up from her nap, I decided to use a tip from my friend Mindy and make sidewalk chalk paint.  It's just cornstarch, water, and food coloring.  Then the kids can use paint brushes to pain the sidewalk in bright colors without getting their hands dirty from chalk.  Samantha had a wonderful time painting the front sidewalk as we waited for Daddy to come home from campus.

After Daddy got home from work, we decided that Friday night was calling for a pizza night, so we went out to our favorite pizza place.  After eating pizza, we went grocery shopping and took this crazy picture of Samantha in the cart.  Her hair was pulled up earlier in the day, but she had taken it out, hence the crazy, poofy hair.

Saturday was a colder, rainy day, but we were enjoying the break in the heat and loved having our windows and patio door open.  We love this early time of summer when it warms up during the day and cools off so nicely at night.  We took the picture below because it reminded us of a picture we took back when Samantha was a little baby, and they were both looking out the window.  I thought it would be fun to end this blog post with that comparison picture.

Here is Samantha at 1 Month Old.

Here is Samantha at 24 Months Old.

Samantha: 24 Months, Week 2

This week marked my very last week teaching full time, and I think I may have been more excited about it then my students.  Daddy has been talking to Samantha a lot about Mommy staying home with her after this year, so Samantha now says, "Stay home with you!" with a huge smile on her face and a high, squeaky, excited voice.  It makes me so happy that I get to finally stay home with my little girl, that I don't have to feel like I am missing out on teaching her and playing with her and being there for her.  And I'm so glad that she's excited too.

Samantha likes to get in our bed and pretend she's asleep, cuddling underneath our blankets.

Daddy lets Samantha pick out his ties in the morning and on Thursday morning, she pulled them all down off the hanger and wanted to put on all of his ties!

Thursday after school, Samantha had her two year check up at the doctor.  The last couple of times we've gone to the doctor, things haven't gone too well, sometimes just walking into the office will upset her.  I guess she's at the age where she remembers the shots that she got last time and wants to avoid that place at all lengths.  Well, this day was no different.  Daddy picked Samantha up from the babysitter to bring her to the doctor, and I met them there after they had already gone back to the exam room.  When I got there, Samantha was walking out into the hallway to get weighed and measured and was already crying. With Samantha, I think it's the apprehension of what's to come that is the worst. Nothing was even happening to her yet, but the act of having to take her clothes off and walk into the hallway made her very anxious and upset.  

She didn't need any shots at this visit, but they did have to prick her finger and squeeze out some blood.  They did this as one of the first things (which also probably wasn't the best idea on the part of the nurses).  Samantha was sitting on my lap, and I was trying to distract her with her new book, but she couldn't be calmed.  She cried extremely hard, very loudly, and it escalated up to her little hyperventilating cry that she does when she's really upset.  She will shake and her head will twitch to one side as she seemingly gasps for air and tears stream down her face.  It is really hard to get her to calm down, especially in a doctor's office with nowhere to go.  

Another problem is the fact that Samantha doesn't like band-aids.  Her finger was bleeding quite a bit, so they had to put pressure on it for longer than normal and then wrapped the band-aid around pretty tight to keep the bleeding down.  Well, immediately, Samantha wanted us to take the band-aid off, not understanding that it was there for a reason.  We eventually got her to calm down while waiting for the doctor to come in the room.  She was a little apprehensive of the doctor checking her out too, but at least there were no shots and no more upset Samantha.  Her checkup went well, everything is looking healthy and normal.  Her height was 36 and 3/4 inches in the 97th percentile (Wow!  We have a pretty tall little girl, already 3 feet tall!).  Her weight was 29 pounds and 11 ounces in the 75-90th percentile.  Her head circumference was 48 1/2 cm in the 75th percentile.

One of the cutest things that followed her doctor's appointment was Samantha calling her band-aid, a "band and," with quite the southern twang to her voice.  For days afterwards, she would point to the exact finger that she got pricked, saying "I need a band-and."

Fridays are Daddy-Daughter days around here, and this Friday Daddy was helping to get all packed up for a weekend in Upland with Ema and Papa.  Apparently, as Daddy was packing the suitcase in the morning, Samantha spent a good 20-25 minutes playing in the suitcase and buckling and unbuckling the straps inside.  She certainly likes playing with buckles lately!

Daddy likes to take silly pictures with his little girl.  There was a whole progression of pictures with them making silly faces together, I chose just a few that I thought were the best.  Daddy loves is daughter and is such a great Daddy to her.

We had a busy weekend planned.  We decided to go up to Upland to celebrate Samantha and Alaina's birthday, a joint party, kind of like what we did for their birthday last year.  However, Aunt Jeni went into the hospital last Monday night for emergency surgery, so our plans had to change a little bit.  Ema and Papa came down with Alaina on Friday which was so great because the girls got to spend so much more time together that weekend.  They had lots of quality time together playing with the new kitchen, shopping cart, dollhouse, and ponies that were given to them from their neighbors.  They also played outside with balls and rode up and down the lane in the wagon more times than we can count.

Ema and Papa have neighbors with young girls that live right down the lane from them.  Samantha saw the girls climbing the tree and wanted to give it a try as well.  We put her up in the tree, and she stayed up there for quite some time.  I think she will enjoy climbing trees when she gets older.  I would always climb the tree in my backyard when I was little.  There was a perfect place in the tree where I would sit and read.  I would tie my book to a rope, climb the tree, and pull the book up by the rope, having my own refuge to read in the quiet of nature with no one to interrupt me.

Saturday morning Uncle Timmy also arrived in Upland to visit for the weekend.  Samantha was VERY excited to see her Uncle Timmy.  We talk about him a lot and talk to him on Skype or Face Time every once in a while.  Alaina wasn't quite so sure about this big man with the hairy face at first, Samantha seemed to warm up to him really quickly, like she does with most people.

The girls also got the opportunity to ride in Uncle Timmy's car.  They were both very interested in sitting in it and hearing the horn honk.  They were extremely excited when Timmy came out to give them a ride, and loved that they didn't have to sit in their car seats, but just got to sit on Papa's and Daddy's laps instead.

Ema and Papa really love spending time with their granddaughters, as you can tell in the following video.  They are great with the girls and the girls have a blast with them.  Samantha gets so excited when we tell her we are going to visit Ema and Papa, she squeals with delight.

Saturday morning at breakfast time, the girls were being really silly, saying "Za," back and forth, making silly faces, and laughing.  They are so cute together and love interacting and being silly with one another.  I know we have a video of this somewhere, but it may be on Papa's phone.  I'll have to see if I can get it from him to post on a blog some day.

Saturday night we slept in the same room as Samantha, and it's always interesting being in the same room with her when she wakes up.  She talks a lot during the day, and even starts her day off talking to herself, making noises, and playing.  Ben decided to get his iPhone out at record her waking up on Sunday morning.  We know it is these cute habits that we enjoy now that we will miss some day in the future, and it will be fun to go back and listen to what Samantha sounded like at two years old.

Sunday after church we ate lunch and drove up to visit Jeni in the hospital, open presents, and have cake.  Since we were going to be driving right during nap time, we decided to tell Samantha what our schedule is going to be.  She seems to do better in new situations if we prepare her ahead of time and let her know what we expect of her.  So, on this day, we told Samantha that we were going to eat lunch and then get in the car to drive, and we wanted her to close her eyes and take a nap so she could have a good day of playing with Alaina and not be cranky.  When we got back in the car after lunch, I drove and Daddy read her stories, she had her blankets, and we sang her songs, just like we do at nap time.  It took her awhile to fall asleep though, she's just much too sociable.  There was one time where she had her eyes closed, but she kept saying "I'm sleeping!"  (Daddy and I had to try really hard not to laugh out loud.  Or, as we drove, she would narrate what we were passing, "going down the hill," "going up the hill," "through the mud," whatever would come to her mind.  Eventually, Daddy turned around and told her, you need to stop talking and take a nap now.  After that, she finally listened and let her eyes close and drift off to sleep, and we just had to take a picture of our sleepy little girl.

Our first stop was the hospital to see Jeni, to let Alaina see her Mommy, and to let the girls open their presents so that Jeni could be a part of it.  Alaina was very excited to see her Mommy and Daddy.

After we were done at the hospital, we went back to Alaina's house to play and have birthday cake.  The girls were so excited to have "Happy Birthday" sung to them and to blow out their candles.  They then ate their cake and ice cream at a little table together, and it was so precious.  I love that we kept up the tradition of celebrating their birthday together, despite the busyness of everyone's lives.

I want to end this post by sharing a few sweet things from the weekend.  Lately, when she plays with her ponies, she will have one be the Mommy and one be the baby.  The ponies will talk to each other, saying "I love you Mommy" and "I love you baby."  Then they will hug each other and she'll make a sound like they are squeezing each other really hard in their hug.

Also, in the Little People dollhouse that Ema and Papa have at their house, there is a little baby bed that you push and a "Mama" sound plays.  Samantha really has enjoyed playing Mommy/baby games lately, so after hearing that button, she kept saying "Mama, Mama!" when playing with her toys and even in her bed at night.

Samantha is a sponge lately, soaking up everything around her, repeating things, remembering things, learning new things every day.  One night when I was putting her to bed, I was reading the Bible to her, showing her the stories and pictures about Jesus.  When I asked her what Jesus did for us, she told me that Jesus died on the cross.  It is amazing to me what she knows sometimes, and I love that she is learning about Jesus at such a young age.  Other than when she is sleeping, the time when she is most calm is when we pray.  I cuddle her on my my lap, hold her little hand in mine, and pray for our family and friends, for anything or anyone that she mentions, and we always end with thanking Jesus and saying I love you Jesus.  The whole time we pray, she doesn't move a muscle.  It's like the presence of God calms her little body down, and she is quiet and reverent.

Samantha: 2 YEARS OLD!

On Tuesday this week, Samantha had another dentist appointment.  Ben had to take her by himself because I had a meeting after school.  She was somewhat apprehensive about it and was trying to do what she needed to do, opening her mouth and saying "Ahh!" even while tears were coming down her cheeks.  She was uncomfortable but was trying to be brave.  Everything was looking good and they were impressed that she liked to floss her teeth.

Samantha has been really into ponies lately.  These ponies in the picture below, we got for her for Christmas and she didn't pay much attention to them until recently.    I figured that I would include some pictures and a video of her just playing, acting like her natural, toddler self (can I really call her a toddler anymore, do I transition over to preschooler?), and trying to get her to talk about her what she wants for her birthday and how old she is going to be on her birthday.  She was pretty excited about her upcoming birthday and was talking about it a lot, especially the week before.

That night after Samantha went to sleep, I worked on making her birthday cake.  We decided on making red velvet cake with cream cheese icing.  We then made a simple buttercream frosting and dyed it pink for the frosting decorations.  One of my friends lent me her cake decorating tools so I could attempt at my mediocre cake decorating skills.  Needless to say, it turned out better than I thought it would.  As Samantha's birthday was approaching and we asked her what she wanted for her birthday, she always replied, "Ponies!"  Since Samantha was going to be getting ponies for her birthday, I decided to decorate her cake with little pony figures that I found at Target.  I thought Samantha would be pleased with her My Little Pony birthday cake, and I was so excited for her birthday and to celebrate my little girl being a two year old!

We had a special day planned for Samantha's birthday.  We went out for pizza at Mother Bear's, one of her favorite restaurants.  Then, we met some friends at our local mall and let all the kids take a ride on the train that drives around the mall.  Ever since this train showed up at the mall, Samantha has wanted to ride on it, but we never have let her because we wanted to save it for a special occasion.  We thought her second birthday was a perfect special occasion, and Samantha was so excited to be riding on the train with her friends, as you can see by her reactions in the videos below.  Her joy and enthusiasm is priceless.  It's wonderful experiencing the joys of first experiences through the eyes of your child.

After riding the train at the mall, our friends came back to our home for our small birthday celebration of cake and presents.  Samantha LOVES having friends over at our house and was so excited to see them pulling into our parking lot.  When Daddy brought out the cake for Samantha to see, her chin dropped and her eyes sparkled.  She was thrilled to have ponies on her birthday cake.  She even was able to blow out the candle all by herself!

After eating our yummy red velvet cake, we had Samantha open up her birthday presents.  She got a little potty book with sound buttons, an Alphabet Train puzzle, and Clock puzzle from Chicago Ema and Papa; Duplo blocks, ponies, and a T-ball set from Mommy and Daddy; and more ponies from our special friends.  She enjoyed opening her presents, but always wanted them out of the package right away.  Plastic packaging is torturous to little kids!

We had such a wonderful time celebrating Samantha's birthday, and I can't believe I now have a two year old.  I think she had a good time celebrating her birthday as well, and she got to stay up much later than she typically does.  We also continued our annual tradition of having people email Samantha at her own email address so that someday she can go back and read the messages from her loved ones all through the years of her growing up.

Just for reminiscence sake, here are pictures of Samantha when she turned 1.  It's amazing how much children change in just one year.  Still the same little girl, but with longer hair, walking legs, and a blooming, exuberant personality.

On Friday evening, we had a school party to attend.  We played outside while we were waiting to go, and I took the video of Samantha sitting on the slide, that you can see below.  Samantha loved the party, got to be around a lot of people, spend time outside, and even got to swimming with Daddy and jump on a trampoline with Mommy.  We stayed there until almost nine o'clock.  Two late nights in a row!  Samantha loves it though, she is such a socialite, she probably could have stayed longer.

On Saturday morning, we kept up our tradition of going to the farmer's market.  Samantha loves listening to the people playing live music and helping us pick out vegetables and fruit.  This week she was really interested in the radishes, I think because of their pinkish-purple skin, so since they were only a dollar, we decided to indulge her and let her try some radishes.

Samantha not only hooks together a few words at a time, you can carry on a conversation with her and most of the time you will know exactly what she is saying.  I sometimes forget that she is only a two year old because of how well she can communicate.

On Sunday, since Samantha is now two years old, we were able to move her up to the two year old Sunday School classroom at church.  She was pretty ready to move because all the kids in her old class were much younger than her, so I'm sure she was getting bored with those kids and more babyish toys.  This new Sunday School room is great because they do a Bible story plus a craft of some kind every week.  They have puzzles and play-doh in the room, which are both things Samantha loves.  She did a great job in there for the first day.  I even peeked in at her during the church service, just to see what she was doing.  The kids were all gathered around the teacher on the carpet, listening to the Bible story, Samantha wasn't sitting down, but she was standing there listening intently to the teacher's story, very much engaged in the lesson.

Here are some cute pictures of Samantha after her Sunday nap that day, snuggling on the couch with her Daddy.

Wow!  A two year old!  My dear Samantha, I can't wait to see what the next year of your life will hold and all the ways you'll grow.  I feel so honored to be your Mommy and to be able to stay home with you this year.  I love you my sweet girl.