Welcome Back Grama and PaPa

We visited the Grans this evening since they got back this afternoon. We heard about their vacation and celebrated PaPa's birthday (which was yesterday).  They had lots of pictures to show and it looked like a lot of fun!
Samantha got some hand-made Native American dolls and a purple dress stitched with kitty cats.
The story with the dolls is special. The lady that made them always made a man and woman/ husband and wife, until her husband passed away and now she only makes the woman. It's sweet that Sammie got a husband and wife doll set. She even made them kiss. 

Choo Choo, I'll Miss You

We brought Gramia on a train ride this morning before she had  to go to the airport. The weather was cool and a little wet, but it was just as much fun and the ride is beautiful!
We headed to the airport for Gramia to go back to "New Orleans" and Samantha was a bit fussy. She was so tired, she fell asleep on the way there. I was disappointed that she would sleep through the goodbyes, but she woke up just in time. Once we drove off, she was a little sad that Gramia was gone, but we'll see her again!

Doodlebugs!!!

 

 

 

Calling Dr. Mango

Holding Baby #4 ever so gently...

 Mmm.. A breakfast snack! Gramia shared a mango with Samantha. She was a tiny bit hesitant at first, but once it touched her lips we couldn't stop her from scarfing it down!

Going shopping and it POURED! Sammie loved watching the rain from the store front window. She clapped her hands every time it thundered, too. We even got to watch the lightning strike!

 

 Dr. Gramia was finally able to perform surgery on Baby #1. She's finally filling out quite well! Unfortunately, Samantha noticed no difference at all. Personally, I kind of miss her being all slouchy, but she really needed help.

TGIF

Need we say more?

Gramia and Sammie walked to Walgreens and saw big trucks, then went in the pool. Gramia got a picture with her phone... now how do we get it on here?!?!

My Lil' Dollie

Gramia bought Samantha new doll stroller that she is fascinated with. She says "I love it!"

 

Thanks, Gramia!

A favorite saying, "CooCoo Namas" (coo coo bananas)
"Mama/ Gramia is silly."

Wednesday

Shopping around. The Halloween decorations are out and this witch hat was amazing! Too bad we didn't have it last year. This year Samantha is going to be...... {we're not telling!}

Look at this smile!!! What a perfect shot!

 Pool Time!

 Grandma brought Sam a few 'new' bathing suits. This one was the cutest one, but a little too big.

 Gramia and Say Say looking at a new Trucks book. Well, Gramia has to check her phone calls during, but Samantha's always interested in looking at phones.

Gramia's Day- Today I am 22 Months

Well, Gramia had Samantha all to herself today. She said that Sammie was such a good girl and didn't fuss once. It's been so hot outside that they went to the park in the evening. Samantha says "too hot" when she walks outside and answers that she wants to go to "New Orleans" on an airplane.
We fixed her a special dinner with sweet potatoes and she gobbled it ALL up!

She also pooped in the potty again. I guess, one month potty trained and she's used to it all now.   What a big girl!

Gramia Brought the Rain!

Daddy took the day off to "relax" and get some painting done, which helped Samantha get used to Gramia take care of her this week. They went to the park and she played wildly! Gramia even brought some rain from New Orleans... it poured this evening!

 

 Sams' favorite thing to do is watch videos on Mama's phone. She knows how to open YouTube and play a video. Her favorite(s) right now is Silly Symphony's "Big Bad Wolf"- the one with the three pigs and the one with the three pigs and Little Red Riding Hood ("Red Hood"). She especially loves waking up then laying in bed with Daddy and watching them.

Gramia Is Here!

What a wild morning it was for having little sleep. Sam drummed on paint cans (video) with a screwdriver and got into Daddy's paint, she spun around in circles and was ever so polite all morning. Her short nap didn't change much of her behavior, but she woke up on time for us to get out the door and on our way to the airport to get Grandma Maria (Gramia). They were both excited to see each other judging by the major giggles coming from the backseat. We stopped for fro-yo and Gramia tried helping Sammie put a puzzle together, but she was more interested in the 10,000 babies she'd just received.

 

 

She also pooped in the pot three times (by request)! She is so excited and proud of herself, as are the rest of us!

I have also realized that I blog about Samantha's day to day activities and forget about the sweet little independent girl that she's growing into. She's very caring and helpful, very strong and so smart. Gramia also says that her vocabulary is very clear to understand. I love that she's so nurturing with her babies and with others around her. She feeds Ali, Niko and Shadow, blows Cousin Nate's nose when it's runny, she tries to spoon feed me and kiss my ouchies, she gets things Daddy needs to get to work, like keys and his hat. She loves to help clean, put dishes away, sweep, vacuum, throw the trash out and clean up messes. She even hugs other little kids at Gym when they fall. She really is a sweetheart. Although, there are some activities she doesn't care for like puzzles or art, she has an interest in so many other things like cooking (or anything in the kitchen), reading, and being physical. We look forward to watching our little flower bloom!

1-2-3-Spa Day!

Dont be fooled... I wasn't at the spa all day. It was a Healthy Women's Expo at the hospital. We mostly went to socialize and get the free stuff and information ;)

Samantha loves hanging out with Marti

Samantha is an amazing lil' learner. She knows her last name and will call out everyone in the family's name: Shaler, Adrianne, Cousin Nate ("Po-tatey"), Aunt Pam, Abby dog (whom she gets confused with Whitey, RIP) and knows our last name. She will also sometimes call out Uncle Brian and Abigail ("Ahgail"). Besides knowing the family's names, she is really picking up her One-Two-Three's. She can count to Ten in such a frickin' cute way, "One, Two, Three, Four, Nine, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten... Eight." Yeah, that's just the way she says it.

With having an extended nap and a trip to the grocery, our schedule was pushed back quite a bit. Unfortunately, it was about 11:30 before she fell asleep, even though we got some good moments out of it. As I was rocking her, she got up (I thought to give Daddy another kiss) but never came back. When I finally got up to see what was going on she was snuggled in his arms on the couch, relaxed watching Classical Baby. Thinking she was tired enough to fall asleep, we put her back in bed, only to get up 15 minutes later with her crying "Poop! Potty!" Now how can I ignore that?! She calmed down when I put her on the potty, but screamed out when she started pushing. She was pooping on the potty! Long story short... She still didn't go to sleep for awhile later, but I caught this picture in the monitor around 11:00 of her sitting up reading...