Samantha's Place

Princess Weekend

2011-02-23T12:15:00.003-05:00

Samantha LOVES princesses. In fact our biggest problem in keeping her glasses on her is the fact that the crowns and glasses don't always fit on her head at the same time. The other weekend I spent two days reinforcing all of the seams on her princess dresses! They are not made for daily play. (although funny enough, she has no problem humming the Imperial March while playing Princesses, I think the fact that Leia is a Princess helps)

This past weekend Samantha was in her glory. Not only did we get to go to a Princess party at Jorja and Finley's house but then we went to see Disney Princesses on Ice which Samantha adored. She loved the costumes and was very excited to see all of her favorite princesses.

Too much Snow!

2011-02-23T12:09:00.002-05:00

Poor Samantha! We got so much snow this winter I had to shovel her a path to play in. She was so frustrated in the deep snow, only able to play in the driveway, that she didn't even want to stay outside. Who could blame her? Every time she walked she sunk in to her waist!

Samantha Updates

2011-01-26T11:21:00.002-05:00

Samantha, at the start of 2011 is in a very odd line between "baby" and big kid. She will alternate in almost a single breath between the higher toned silliness to a deep grown up observation. It's absolutely adorable and makes me realize that very soon she will be all big kid.

She's writing her name herself now and learning her letters. She loves computer games, usually dress-up or pony ones and still adores princesses. In fact they do not make those princess dresses strong enough, and I need to reinforce them. She loves playing with Dominic and I am so glad they are still best friends.

She wants everything to be girl. She likes listening to music with girls, watch shows with girls and read stories with girls. Dominic often has to reassure her that there are girls in a show so that she will watch it with him.

She is still doing Kempo and participates based on the day really. Some days are better than others. There have been classes however where "the boys" do and exercise "wrong" and Samantha can't take it! LOL! It's something she will have to get used to.

Thankfully the tantrums are becoming more and more rare and she truly is a sweet kid. :-)

The Mother of All Tantrums

2011-01-26T11:01:00.002-05:00

I wrote this the day it happened, but am just posting it now.

Ever see one of those enormous temper tantrums in the store where the kid is screaming and throwing themselves on the floor and everyone is looking at them? Yeah, we got to be those people today courtesy of Samantha.

Then to make it worse, I start going on the escalator assuming she will follow. She doesn't. I try to go back up it but seriously it's an escalator and Dominic starts freaking out trying to get her to come and pulls her hood off then he frantically gets on the escalator and starts crying because he thinks we're going to leave her behind.

So then we go back up the other escalator where of course a crowd has formed around Samantha who continues to throw her fit while Dominic practically begs her to stop and offers to give her his star wars toys forever is she just stops. So then I have to reassure my son that I would never leave them behind and talk to all of these people who have to comment. And seriously? They're not helping. "You're a good mommy" "She's probably hungry" "She's probably tired" "Is everything ok over here?" OMG! Do you not see me on my knees trying to reason with my possessed child? You're not helping!

I'm amazed they didn't call the cops though it probably would have been ok since we were in South Burlington and now I feel terrible, not because of her tantrum or the embarrassment but because Dominic was so sad, thinking I was going to leave her behind and watching him think he had to choose between us even for that second. :-( Today has not ended well.

Christmas!!!

2011-01-26T10:39:00.004-05:00

YAY! Christmas. Our favorite time of year. The kids were so excited for Christmas I had to get advent calenders to mark the time. They went to see Santa at the mall and they asked for puzzles! Which is one thing they had not told mommy they wanted for Christmas... They must have been good this year though because they got them, as well as a lot of other stuff. The kids made out well between Santa, Mommy, Daddy and the rest of the family. They loved every part of it and it was so nice to be able to bake with them and watch great Christmas specials.

Polar Express

2011-01-26T10:17:00.004-05:00

This year we went to the Polar Express in NH again and had a wonderful weekend of Santa, snow tubing and getting a quick visit to Ethan, Katrina and Aidyn. Samantha was shy on the train but I think she enjoyed everything...just very quietly. I think Samantha was coming down with a cold or just out of her element because while she did have fun she was also very quick to temper! We were so glad to go with Gee and Papa and the kids loved running between the rooms.

Christmas Pageant

2011-01-26T10:03:00.003-05:00

The kids have been having such a great time in their classes at church. It's truly a warm place and the kids have a lot of fun while also getting some spiritual education. I was so excited when the kids decided to participate in the Christmas Pageant. Samantha was an angel, of course, which not only meant a very pretty costume which she loved, but also singing "Go tell it on the mountain." At the first practice Samantha did not utter a word and sat on my lap the entire time. I thought, Oh dear.

But she persisted and soon she was singing away with the other angels and loved to pop up when the angels popped up over the manger. She did such a great job and I was so proud to see her up there on her own like such a big kid. *sniff*

Getting the Tree

2011-01-26T09:41:00.003-05:00

We had a great day to get our Christmas Tree. The wonderful thing about me working from home now is that we have many more opportunities to do things during the week on Daddy's days off. The tree was picked pretty quick and smaller than usual, but it was beautiful and the kids were very excited.

Weekend with Gee & Papa

2011-01-26T09:39:00.003-05:00

For the first time this past October, Dominic and Samantha spent the weekend with Gee and Papa. I was worried about how sleep would go, but they did great. They had a wonderful weekend being spoiled rotten and LOVED the bed that Gee and Papa set up for them. They each had their own special pillow and blanket and shared the bed together which was very exciting. We are so lucky to have Gee & Papa local and so involved with the kids!

Picture by Dominic

2011-01-26T09:34:00.002-05:00

A lovely picture of Samantha by our family photographer, Dominic.

Halloween

2011-01-26T09:03:00.002-05:00

These pictures weren't actually taken on Halloween, mommy forgot the camera then, but we took these when we went to a Halloween Party that the kids had a great time at. Halloween was especially exciting and Samantha was a little trick-or-treating machine! She outlasted Dominic and it was a long time before she agreed to go inside. Considering how bitter cold it was that was impressive!

Oh Samantha.

2010-11-19T15:15:00.002-05:00

Me: Wow, Samantha is being really good while I clean the kitchen. I should go see what she's doing.Apparently she was trying to draw a zebra.

Samantha updates

2010-10-04T09:46:00.002-04:00

There's very little baby left in Samantha now. She's potty trained, she's all knees and elbows and is getting so big! She has a fantastic imagination that is exercised regularly, mostly with Dominic. She is meticulous about her coloring. In fact she was the last kid still coloring on our project at the library last week. The librarian just told us to bring up the markers when she finished. Like Dominic she loves books, but unlike Dominic I think she's actually interested in learning more about letters. She also loves video games though she hasn't really gotten the hang of the wii so it's mostly the computer. She is still very much the girl and I can not get her into pants for the life of me. We'll have to invest in some leg warmers this winter I think!

Her new favorite word is "actually" which is really cute. Everything is actually this or actually that. The other day we were playing candy land together and she drew a card that would have sent her back on the board. I said "Oh no Samantha, you're way back here." She looked at the board and then said "Actually, I want to win" and she took another card. It was too funny that I let her cheat. :)

Fair Time

2010-10-04T09:35:00.003-04:00

The Champlain Valley Fair came out of nowhere this year. It seemed the summer had just started and then it was over in a blink of an eye! Samantha really enjoyed the rides at the fair this year though we did have one melt down on the carousel. Dominic got the pony with the "long hair" and Samantha threw a fit. I finally got her to accept her own pony by telling her if she didn't stop they weren't going to let her stay on the ride. Have I mentioned how particular she is? She was tall enough to go on a lot of rides although not on the big kid rides that Dominic went on with us. I'm not really sure Samantha would have enjoyed them as much as he did anyway!

Summer Pics

2010-10-04T09:13:00.004-04:00

Man, life has changed a lot this summer! I quit my job to start my own business and stay home with the kids which is fabulous. Samantha is loving going to preschool story time at the library and Sunday school at the First Congregational church in Burlington. She's doing fabulous at the dojo which I'm thrilled with especially since she's the only girl in a class of about 7 boys. That used to make her very nervous, but now she seems fine with it. Fall is in air now!

Picking Strawberries

2010-07-01T13:45:00.002-04:00

Picking strawberries with daddy!

Samantha Updates

2010-07-01T13:23:00.002-04:00

Samantha is a very independent three year old. At times this can be tough but it will serve her well. I would like her to suspend it a bit for potty training though!!!! She is stubborn and doesn't want underwear because "they let the pee out." She's missing something here.

She loves princesses and ponies although almost all ponies are called unicorns. She is very into what is for girls and what is for boys. I'm not sure where that is coming from but she is always telling me whether a show is for girls or boys and which toys are for girls and boys. I've tried telling her that they can be for both but she is adamant!

She is recognizing some letters lately and doing very well at counting. She sings all the time and there is something very cute about her little voice singing Beyonce.

Happy 3rd Birthday

2010-07-01T13:13:00.002-04:00

Happy Birthday big girl!

I can't believe 3 years have gone by so fast. You are all things princess and unicorns and are constantly wearing tiaras or other jewelery. Even still your personality is so strong. You know what you want and aren't afraid to say it. You play so well with Dominic and it is obvious how much you love him.

I love your hugs and the way you say "my mommy" as you give me a good squeeze. I love your imagination and the way you know the words to songs after only hearing them a time or two. I love listening to you sing and hope you keep it up!

I am so proud of you little girl.

I love you so much! Happy 3rd Birthday!

Love,
Mommy

Princess Birthday!!

2010-07-01T11:52:00.004-04:00

What other theme could Samantha's third birthday have but "princess"? It was a wonderful party and Samantha had so many wonderful friends come. She had a great time playing with Jorja, Finley, Evie, Leanne, Mei Mei and even though she didn't want boys to come to her party I think she was ok with Adam and Ahmad there. And of course Gee & Papa and the Connors family was a great treat. She even spoke to Hillary, the fact that Hillary gave her a Sleeping Beauty dress probably helped.

Dojo Day!!

2010-05-23T10:40:00.003-04:00

The kids always look forward to "dojo day." I'm so glad that Samantha is participating again. For a while she had stopped going on the mat. Understandable when you compare her to the 7 four year old boys that were taking the class. Sensei's daughter has started to take class though so Samantha is thrilled to be with Evey. Even if they don't always listen so well. Samantha also got her first yellow stripe!

Cake

2010-05-23T10:28:00.002-04:00

Samantha enjoyed "painting" the cake we made one rainy weekend.

Zonked

2010-05-23T10:23:00.002-04:00

I'm always amazed how kids can fall asleep anywhere.

Cinco de Mayo

2010-05-23T10:08:00.003-04:00

Cinco de mayo was a huge win for the party gods this year. We went from 6 inches of snow on wednesday to high 70s on Saturday! The kids had a great time running around all day.

Surprise!

2010-05-23T09:47:00.002-04:00

After some beautiful weather we were all surprised by a good 6 inches of heavy wet snow! The flowers covered in snow was pretty but we lost two trees to the stuff!

Washing the car

2010-05-23T09:38:00.002-04:00

Is it wrong to take advantage of your child's love of washing the car? ;-)

Easter

2010-05-23T08:27:00.005-04:00

Holidays seem to come in phases for these kids. First they got their baskets from Nan & Pop. Samantha's basket was filled with princess stuff. Boy, did Nan & Pop hit the nail on the head on that one. Samantha lives, eats and breathes everything princess these days. (You'll notice she was wearing her own princess stuff while opening the princess basket!) After that the Easter bunny came to our house of course and then we went to Gee & Papa's house where the weather was so beautiful that they got to look for eggs outside. It was a wonderful Easter.

Trampoline

2010-05-23T08:18:00.001-04:00

It's finally been warm enough for the trampoline and Samantha is holding her own much better this year!

Mea Culpa

2010-05-22T08:39:00.002-04:00

It's been a while since I've updated the kids blogs. In the last two months I've completed my thesis, taken the comprehensive exams on campus in Florida to finish my Masters, been tremendously busy at work and then we all got sick! It's been crazy.

A glimmer of hope!

2010-03-07T17:45:00.001-05:00

Samantha is showing interest in potty training again. Hallelujah!!!! She's used it every day for the last several days. Keep it up big girl!

Last night

2010-02-07T08:43:00.002-05:00

So last night I'm doing dishes and Dominic comes in and says Samantha took her pants off. Ok, better check this out since she's been changing her diaper lately and isn't always good about umm...solid stuff. So I go out to the living room and Samantha is taking off her clothes but she has brought down a new set of pjs, a new diaper and a wipe. She said it was time for pjs. This is Samantha to the core! She has to do things her way. Love you kid!

Florida

2010-01-21T16:55:00.002-05:00

Samantha got the crud/flu shortly after I did so we both spent quite a bit of time off to the sides of things. She did play a little bit when we'd get the fever down. In the course of our "vacation" we went through a bottle of children's tylenol and 3/4 of a bottle of children's motrin. Most of that was due to the alternating every two hour regiment we were keeping Samantha on. On the last day we went to the beach even if they probably would have been better off staying in. We were only there for about 20 minutes but Samantha liked the waves and shells.

Hopefully our next trip there will be better!

Magic Kingdom

2010-01-21T16:05:00.004-05:00

At the last minute we added in a day at the Magic Kingdom to our trip to Florida. Thankfully it was on the one healthy day we had. Samantha had a wonderful time, after the Haunted Mansion that is! She didn't cry like Dominic but she was nervous. At the end we were calming Dominic down and Samantha said "It's only a ride Dominic." I think we'll shy away from that one until their much older.

She loved everything else and loved seeing the characters. She waved at them all especially during the parade. During the fireworks a cast member was dressed in a lit up Tinkerbell costume and zip-lined from the top of Cinderella's castle. Samantha told me that the fireworks scared Tinkerbell and so she had to fly away. It was so cute!

I can't wait to go back. Then maybe we can replace the beautiful sweatshirt we got her and then left in a different hotel on our trip. I'm still kicking myself for that.

Potty Training

2010-01-21T16:02:00.003-05:00

*thud* *thud* *thud*

You hear that? That's my head repeatedly thumping against the wall.

Samantha is being pretty resistant to potty training. It's especially frustrating since she was doing so well in Italy. I was going to take the time during Thanksgiving to go cold turkey with her but I decided to forgo the power struggle, especially since we have to dilate her good eye three days a week now. On thing at a time I suppose.

So, in the meantime, or little girl is refusing the potty but is getting quite good at changing her own diaper. (sigh)

Snow!

2010-01-21T15:48:00.003-05:00

We got a great storm after New Years dumping a good two plus feet of snow on us. The kids played outside while daddy and I shoveled and Samantha learned the valuable lesson of when laying in snow, don't try to lay on your stomach. After learning that she decided to make snow angels in the shoveled part of the driveway. The snow was a bit too deep for her.

Christmas!

2010-01-21T14:12:00.005-05:00

Dominic definitely led the way with all things Santa but Samantha followed him all the way! We played Santa several times and she was very excited about him coming. I got a little nervous as Christmas approached since Samantha had started promising Dominic different toys!
Dominic would see a toy on tv and ask if Santa could bring him that to which Samantha responded with "Ok. You can have that Dominic." I stepped in a few times and made it very clear that Santa couldn't bring everything. Samantha did speak to Santa at the mall but wouldn't let me get a picture. Maybe next year will go better!

Christmas itself went great! Samantha actually opened most of her own presents this year and loved her new toys!

Playing

2010-01-21T14:09:00.003-05:00

Normally Dominic and Samantha play so well together. I love listening to them come up with scenarios and playing pretend. They always want to be together and Samantha has actually cried when Dominic rode in a different car with daddy. However, it's amazing how serious play is! One morning they fought over a pretend shark. Dominic pretended to throw the shark and Samantha yelled at him to stop it and ran off to go get it. Why she didn't just pretend that he didn't throw it I have no idea but I seem to break up the strangest fights.

Zonked out

2010-01-21T14:04:00.001-05:00

Sleeping kids are gorgeous!

Halloween

2009-11-15T13:16:00.003-05:00

Samantha had a great Halloween as a Ladybug. I think she would have stayed out all night trick-or-treating but she only wanted to trick-or-treat if Dominic was with her and Dominic had had enough.

Pumpkin!

2009-11-15T13:04:00.001-05:00

Samantha wasn't a big fan of cleaning out the pumpkin and she was a little too young to carve it but she did do a wonderful job decorating it!

Dominic's 4th Birthday Party

2009-11-15T12:40:00.002-05:00

Samantha is very excited for her next birthday and it has been very hard to explain that her birthday is really really far away! She had a wonderful time playing with Jorja and was so excited about Dominic's presents and cake. She did well with understanding that the presents were for Dominic but we did have to relight the candles on the cake for her to blow them out, although I think that was more out of a lack of nap.

Hanging out and playing

2009-11-15T12:22:00.003-05:00

Just enjoying a weekend! She loves Dominic's hamster too and is very gentle with her.

Sorrento/Pompeii

2009-10-18T16:44:00.006-04:00

In Sorrento we had another wonderful apartment which we greatly appreciated after the God-awful train ride to Naples. The apartment was great and Sorrento was a cute little town. We took a day trip to the beach in Meta which was great and the kids loved running through the ruins of Pompeii.

Rome Continued

2009-10-18T16:20:00.004-04:00

The one place in Rome we couldn't take enough pictures was St. Peter's Cathedral at the Vatican. Absolutely amazing! Of course I don't think the kids appreciated it as much as we did!

Rome

2009-10-18T12:43:00.003-04:00

Rome was crazy. A huge busy city where things were overpriced but the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain and other architecture was amazing. The kids loved climbing in the ruins but were ready to get ice cream after a little bit. Samantha even peed in the Colosseum. How many kids can say that about potty training?

Tuscany

2009-10-18T10:38:00.004-04:00

Tuscany was beautiful! We had a great apartment and the walled cities (Lucca and Volterra) were amazing.

Italy -Venice

2009-10-18T10:16:00.004-04:00

Samantha always chooses her own way so I was only mildly surprised when Samantha decided that waiting in the airport in Montreal to leave for Italy would be a perfect time to start potty training! The girl I could not convince to use the potty at home used it twice in the airport before we got the plane! The flight went well. She got a bit antsy and certainly had her moments but the tv on the chair was a huge help and the headphones I had bought them for the flight worked great. Finally she fell asleep for a couple of hours before we landed in Rome. From there it was a quick flight to Venice. Once we got to Venice it was a boat ride to our hotel and then a day of trying to stay awake until a reasonable bed time! Mommy didn't sleep on the plane and it was a long day! The kids however slept off and on in the stroller all day which really helped them with the time difference. Even still it took 4 or 5 days before they weren't staying up until 10-12 at night! That actually worked out well since Italy at night is definitely where it's at!

First Haircut!

2009-10-18T10:06:00.002-04:00

The last couple of times Dominic has had his haircut Samantha has asked to have hers cut too. Finally I decided we might as well give her some bangs and trim the back so I told her when Dominic got his hair cut again she could too. She was so excited! I had Dominic go first and probably should have let her go first since by the time Dominic was done she didn't want to do it anymore. (Dominic does very well with haircuts now so it wasn't anything he did!) I figured we'd try some other time so we left to finish some errands at the mall. As soon as we left Samantha kept insisting she wanted her hair cut and that she would sit for it. She kept asking and as we were still in town I said we'd stop by and see if they had time. They did and Samantha did wonderfully!

Fair Time

2009-10-18T09:59:00.002-04:00

I love the fair but it always signals the end of summer. The kids had a great time but we had to put a limit on the rides (they were so expensive) and Samantha was upset that she wasn't tall enough for a lot of them.

Granby Zoo

2009-10-18T09:27:00.002-04:00

We decided to go to the Granby Zoo on a rare dry weekend and it was a great spur of the moment trip. The zoo was very nice and a good size for the day. They had a water park as well that Samantha would have enjoyed more if it hadn't been such a long day!

Tea Party!

2009-10-18T09:18:00.003-04:00

Tea Party is one of Samantha's favorite games although sometimes it's "picnic" or just "party".

A rarity

2009-10-18T09:08:00.004-04:00

I can only attribute the pacifier to our weaning attempts since she never liked the pacifier. She did a great job though and at this point weaning was relatively painless! We substituted a cup of water at night and she did very well as long as it was always the PURPLE CUP!

Aidyn's 2nd Birthday Party

2009-08-08T11:47:00.002-04:00

Dominic, Samantha and I all took a trip down to Aidyn's 2nd Birthday party. The weather was wonderful and everyone had a great time. It's been such a cold, wet summer that I hardly have any pics of the kids where it actually looks like summer!

Playing in a Tree

2009-08-08T11:20:00.002-04:00

Trees...a kid's best friend!

4th of July

2009-08-08T10:44:00.004-04:00

We had a wonderful 4th of July even if it did rain for Gee and Papa's party. Apparently they just need to be nicer to the party gods! That was ok though because the kids had a wonderful time playing hide and seek in the house, over and over and over again. They all liked to hide together most of the time and giggles usually gave them away. During one game where Uncle Chris had to find them Samantha and Jorja hid on the bottom step of the stairs and Dominic hid in the pantry. Jorja called out, "Where are you Dominic?" and Dominic replied "I'm over here!" Stealthy they were not but they had a great time. Also note: Samantha's glasses. She has been fabulous with wearing her glasses all day. She asks for them first thing in the morning and wears them all day!

A couple random pics

2009-08-08T10:36:00.001-04:00

Samantha Updates

2009-06-27T14:21:00.002-04:00

Samantha is amazing! She knows all her colors and counted to 19 yesterday in the car. She is so in tune with music. She'll hear a song a couple times and begin singing it the next time she hears it. She's also started making up her own songs typically to the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. If she's paying or sitting in her car seat she may spontaneously start singing at the top of her voice! She's really into jumping and does a fantastic job at the dojo. She has her 1 and 2 blocks, a great kick, great horse stance and some pretty awesome push ups! It's really amazing how articulate she is and I admit that sometimes I forget she's only 2.

She has peed on the potty once but that has pretty much been the only interest in potty training. Oh, well, she'll get there! She loves Dominic and mimics every thing he does. She is incredibly strong willed. Some days that is very difficult! She loves picking out her own clothes.

We had her doctor appointment and it's official, she's still a peanut. She weighs in at 23 pounds (5%) and measures in at 33"(45%). Her height has gone up in percentile so that's great. If she follows her curve she should be around 5'4" which I think is perfectly respectable since that happens to be my height. LOL!

We also got a referral to an ophthalmologist. We've been bringing up her right eye at her 15 and 18 month appointments. You can see in the pictures that her right eye doesn't always follow her left eye. So yesterday we had our appointment and it went well. Her right eye is healthy which is great news. What's going on is that at some point her right eye started losing vision. The development of vision is based on equality. If vision is bad in both eyes your vision will still develop normally. Samantha's vision is unequal so it's not developing normally which is bad news for depth perception. So according to the doc, her left eye is farsighted to about a 2 which is normal for a kid her age, her right eye though is farsighted to a 6. So since your brain will only focus to one point, it's focusing to the 2 which is plenty for her left eye but not nearly enough for her right eye. So at some point she stopped using it. The doc says she's really not getting much of anything in her right eye. I didn't realize quite how bad it was until we did a tracking check and the doc had me cover her right eye. When I did that she followed the object with her left eye. When I covered her left eye though, it was like the object wasn't even there. She didn't even try to look at it. So we have glasses on order and they should be in next week. They are going to correct the vision in both eyes and she thinks that will start getting the eyes to work together again. If that doesn't correct it then we will also be patching the good eye to force her to use her bad eye. I really hope we don't get to that because it seems to cruel but I know it's for the best. The doc said at this age we can recover the vision in her right eye so hopefully by the time she's 9 or so she won't need glasses at all. Unless of course she follows our family at which point we'll get her over the farsightedness just in time to be nearsighted. LOL!

So wish us luck in keeping her glasses on. The doc wants at least 70% of the time with glasses on. I'm hoping her love of accessories will get us through it!

Samantha's 2nd Birthday Party!!!

2009-06-27T13:23:00.005-04:00

Samantha had a wonderful party on the 13th and of course, like all our parties, we had perfect weather! We had a Yo Gabba Gabba and Minnie Mouse themed party. Samantha couldn't decide when we ordered party supplies so we just did both! She had a great party! She refused to open her presents yet again and simply said "Open it!" to which Dominic was happy to obliged. She loved all of her presents, especially her accessories! She's such a girly girl. :-) She was shy about the "Happy Birthday song" but really, who isn't when they're the center of attention? (Ok, maybe not Uncle Jerod) I can't believe she's already two!

Awww...

2009-06-27T13:16:00.004-04:00

I had to take a picture of this! How many dad's would do their daughter's hair? So cute!

Random Pics

2009-06-27T12:59:00.001-04:00

Just hanging out or hanging in a tree! Yikes!

Hammock Time

2009-06-27T11:08:00.002-04:00

I love seeing my babies hug! Here they are in Papa's hammock.

Happy Birthday!

2009-06-15T22:34:00.002-04:00

Happy 2nd Birthday Samantha!

How can two years have gone by so fast? You are such a big girl now. You are so articulate and not only know your mind very well but you already speak it. You know what you like and have no problem asking for it. You are so into accessories and have to pick out your own clothes and jewelry. I love how silly you can be and how you look up to your big brother. You're always doing what he does, even when it's a little mature for you. You're so smart and you always surprise me with your question or your observations ("spiders don't talk"). I even love how particular you can be (cup of water, hello kitty with the blankets on you but not your kitty with me at the end of your bed reading "Yo Gabba") even when it would be easier to go with the flow. I am so proud of you and can't wait to see what you do next!

I love you baby girl! I'm looking forward to where you'll bring us next.

Love,
Mommy

Crazy Frog

2009-05-19T18:13:00.003-04:00

Have I ever mentioned Samantha's stubbornness and independence before? Yeah, I thought so. This has lately manifested itself in being called something other than her actual name. For several weeks now she has wanted to be called "Crazy Frog" (from Crazy Frog on you tube). Dominic has willingly obliged and calls her this when she doesn't respond to Samantha. Sometimes she gets very insistent and says "No, I'm crazy frog." We have also gone through the names "Blue Pony" and "Pink Kitty" as well as normal names like "Sophie" (I think from Mamma Mia) and "Penny" (from Bolt.)

Pizza Pizza

2009-05-19T17:39:00.002-04:00

Cooking with Dominic and Daddy!! (When I showed her these pictures she said that she "bammed it.")

Random Pics

2009-05-19T17:10:00.002-04:00

Here's some random cute pictures of Samantha!

Creemee stand!!

2009-05-19T16:51:00.003-04:00

It's that time of year again! The creemee stand is open! (that's soft serve ice cream to all you out-of-staters) Considering the stand is literally right next door, the kids do really well with not expecting ice cream every day. Although it is a great indulgence!

Sugar on Snow!

2009-05-19T16:32:00.003-04:00

Uncle Pete and Aunt Cyndi had their traditional sugar on snow party. Samantha was a bit shy put had fun throwing rocks into the pond and looking at the frogs on Gee & Papa's land.

Easter Continued

2009-05-19T12:39:00.003-04:00

Easter

2009-05-19T12:23:00.002-04:00

Easter morning Samantha woke up bright and early while Dominic was still sleeping. I wanted to let them both find the eggs together so we didn't point anything out. Samantha didn't miss it though and found half the eggs before Dominic even got out of bed! She loved her Easter basket and had a great time looking for eggs at Gee & Papa's house, well at least the candy filled ones! Everytime she found a real egg and Gee & Papa's she would shake it and put it right back down where she found it!

Decorating eggs

2009-05-19T12:02:00.002-04:00

Samantha loved decorating eggs! Especially coloring with the dye filled Q-tips. I can't believe how long it kept her entertained. This was so much better then me scrambling to dye eggs the night before Easter!!!

Pink Bunnies!

2009-05-19T11:48:00.004-04:00

Dominic had the fantastic idea of making Pink Bunny cookies for Easter. Samantha wasn't interested in making the actual cookies but when it came time to decorate, she was very excited. Daddy and I put the icing on and the kids decorated with sprinkles. While Dominic put the sprinkles on one at a time, Samantha piled them on by the handful!!

Congratulations Daddy!

2009-04-04T16:39:00.002-04:00

Last night at the South Burlington PD's Awards Banquet Keith was awarded the Heroism Award with Police Cross. It was the highest honor of the night and although Daddy is a bit embarrassed by the attention we are all very proud!

Samantha Update

2009-04-04T16:31:00.002-04:00

Samantha is talking away. She'll have whole conversations now which is so cool. She knows many colors now so when she asks for the "yellow one" it usually means the yellow one. She has been counting to ten lately and trying out the alphabet. She sings Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Old MacDonald Had a Farm, the ABC song, Row Row Row Your Boat and the entire Mama Mia soundtrack! She is incredibly picky about her clothes and I've decided that I really need her with me when I buy her clothes. She loves accessories and likes to pick out which earrings to wear and has been wearing her bracelet for the last 5 days straight. She always helps me take off my boots when I get home and last night as I was trying to get ready to go to Keith's work banquet she tried helping pick which clothes I should wear. She talks to Dominic all the time and often tells him what we need to do and of course she copies whatever he does. She is playing pretend more and more lately and is in another "I hate baths" stage. I really wish I knew what brought those on.

She's getting to be so mature! Dominic has even been calling her a big girl lately.

Outside!

2009-04-04T16:14:00.003-04:00

It has been so wonderful with the warmer weather! Samantha absolutely loves the trampoline and Keith recently acquired a "bouncy thing" from his friend which the kids love! I'll be glad when it dries out though, trying to keep them out of the puddles is a losing battle! At least Samantha has new galoshes now!

Planting Seeds

2009-04-04T15:59:00.004-04:00

We had a great time planting seeds and it's been very exciting watching them grow. It was a great kit and Samantha planted them all by herself. She does such a great job following directions when she wants to do something herself!

P.S. And yes, I realize she's in pj's. Samantha is VERY particular about her clothes. It was a weekend, we weren't going anywhere so when she said she wanted to wear dinosaur pjs (or "dinosum pjs" as she calls them) I didn't argue. And they did great, until we took the glitter glue out. :-)

Just chillin'

2009-04-04T15:34:00.001-04:00

Samantha hanging out with her Scooby Popsicle (actually go-gurt).

Peek-a-boo!

2009-04-04T14:31:00.002-04:00

The independent streak...

2009-02-21T13:45:00.003-05:00

A thought occurred to me the other night. How do you teach someone something when they don't believe you? Samantha and I were sitting in the rocking chair looking at a book when she pointed to a picture of a purple balloon and said "That's green." I said "That's a purple balloon." She said "no that's green." This went back and forth until I pointed to a green balloon and said "That one is green" to which she responded "no, that's purple."

Sigh...I give up.

Valentine's Day

2009-02-21T13:32:00.002-05:00

The kids loved their Valentine hearts and I was impressed that they didn't finish them in one sitting! We had a great long weekend while Daddy worked. We hit the pool at Mommy's gym (which Samantha was a bit unsure of), went to the mall and Barnes n Nobles and visited Gee and Papa!

Snow!

2009-02-21T13:14:00.003-05:00

This has been a rough year for playing in the snow. It seems like any time we have snow it's too cold to go out or the kids have had a cold. Daddy got them out one day though when it was nice and warm!

Jorja's Birthday Party

2009-02-21T12:13:00.002-05:00

The kids were thrilled when we got the invite for Jorja's 2nd Birthday! With baby Washburn due shortly after big sis's birthday we weren't sure if there would be a party. Samantha was a bit shy but did play after a while.

ELMO LIVE!!!

2009-02-21T11:51:00.003-05:00

Samantha LOVES Elmo, so when we heard that Elmo Live was coming to the Flynn we got tickets and I took the morning off from work. It was good that we chose the morning because not only was it a 2 hour show but it snowed pretty heavily! I was a little worried how she would do since our last trip to the movies was a disaster but she was completely enthralled for the whole two hours! She sang along and pointed out all the characters and asked where they went when they left the stage. It was definitely worth going to and I'm thinking maybe the key with Samantha is musicals. (since the Mamma Mia obsession is still going strong!)

Random Pics

2009-02-21T11:37:00.002-05:00

Inauguration Day 2009

2009-01-20T17:13:00.002-05:00

To my children on Inauguration Day,

Today President Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of this country. I sat in the lunchroom at work today watching the inauguration with my co-workers as it happened. People cried and cheered. I've never seen an inauguration day like today. Typically it just passes by without a notice. I freely admit that I have been anxiously awaiting this day. To me Obama represents a very new type of leadership for this country. He has truly been chosen as the agent of Hope rather than falling into the same trend of fear that is so often used in politics. He is educated, eloquent and focused on what must be done. I am very optomistic for what America will be under his leadership.

Additionally, this election is historic because we have for the first time sworn in an African American as our president. I think it is wonderful that you will never have known a time when there had never been a black president. I predict that by the time the two of you are adults there will have been a female president as well. It is a wonderful thing that the "melting pot" will not just be something that you are taught about in school as I was but that you will see as a given in life.I love you both!

Love,
Mom

"Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America — they will be met."

"On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord. On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics."

"This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed — why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath. "

"In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations."

"Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America."

Hal Donahue: "Complete strangers of all classes and shades hugged and talked and cried. On Tuesday, the immigrant cab driver taking us away from the mall to a hotel was literally crying with equal measures of joy and astonishment. This was massive change and everyone knew it. The road ahead will be long and uphill but for this one day; we celebrated the victory of our time.
Make no mistake. Tuesday was a revolution. We, the people, came together to make it very clear that this is a revolution."

18 month updates

2009-01-04T12:14:00.002-05:00

On December 15th Samantha turned 18 months old and on December 18th mommy forgot about her doctor appointment completely so I don't have any stats. She's still a peanut though and wears mostly 12 month clothes. A couple 6-9 months items and a couple 18 month items as well but mostly 12 months. Quite the difference from what Dominic was wearing at this point! She's still nursing although I have been putting her off unless it's nap or night time. Something about hearing "Nurse now please" is a little odd. Dominic had weaned at this point although I was pregnant and he always liked his pacifier which Samantha has never gotten into. It's definitely a comfort to her though because every time she gets hurt she immediatley asks to nurse. I've been saying no though to that and just cuddling instead.

Her independent streak continues and "no, I do it" is a very common phrase coming from her! And frequently she can actually do it which is very cool. Other common sayings are "my turn" or "that's mine." She frequently points out what she wants by saying "the yellow one." Now you may think that she must really love yellow. Unfortunately she doesn't seem to have any idea what yellow is. So if she says that she wants the yellow book, that doesn't actually mean the yellow book. It could mean the purple book or the blue book. It can be a little trying. She is trying to get some colors down though and counts a bit as well. She has also started responding to the answers to her question with "oh!" So a pretty typical conversation is "What happened?" "The cup fell down" "Oh!" It's very cute! She has become incredible verbal and speaks in phrases most of the time. Of course she's still prone to temper tantrums but we are strongly discouraging them and encourage her to ask for what she wants.

Her newest (and Dominic's as well) obsession is "Mamma Mia" the movie. It's a great movie and I was shocked when Dominic asked to watch it one day. They both love it and sing along with the music. Samantha's favorite song is "Mamma Mia" and if you start singing it she'll respond with "my my." I love it when the kids like something I actually like and it's a nice upbeat movie that I really don't mind having on multiple times a day! She has also gotten into "cooking" in the play kitchen and will often bring you food and say "here mommy, eat." She loves duplo and reading and plays great with Dominic although sharing can somtimes be an elusive concept!

Oh, a little quirk. Samantha is a sleep talker. Ever since she has gained a vocabulary she has spoke words in her sleep. Now that she's speaking more in phrase she has started doing that in her sleep as well. The other night she said "No, that's my chocolate milk! That's mine." I guess work as a secret agent is out!

I just can't believe how fast it's going by! She's getting so big every day!

Gee & Papa's

2009-01-04T11:53:00.004-05:00

After we finished opening and playing with the presents christmas morning we headed over to Gee & Papa's house to do it all over again!

Christmas Continued

2009-01-04T11:40:00.001-05:00

Playing with the new stuff!

Christmas

2008-12-30T17:31:00.004-05:00

Samantha was so gentle with the ornaments and she did a great job decorating the tree, although I did have to follow her and hang up the ornaments that she had laid on the tree!

Here she is on Christmas eve. She had a great day but didn't take a nap so she zonked out on Papa. Good thing I got her in pjs early!

On christmas morning she was much more interested in her chocolate than she was in opening presents. Thankfully Dominic loved opening presents so much that he opened Samantha's as well. Once they were open Samantha loved them, especially her Elmo Live!

Getting the Christmas tree...

2008-12-30T17:15:00.003-05:00

So with all good intentions we set out to the local tree farm to cut down a christmas tree. When we got there Samantha insisted on walking but kept falling in the too deep snow, the trees were all about 3 feet high and it was bitterly cold. After a few minutes I carried a screaming Samantha back to the car and we drove around until we found someone selling cut trees!

Sillyness with Dominic

2008-12-30T17:01:00.002-05:00

It is so great to see Dominic and Samantha play together. She insists on doing everything he does and he is more than happy to egg her on!

The Polar Express

2008-12-30T16:34:00.003-05:00

I was wondering how Samantha would do on our long weekend to the polar express and beyond a truly awful night of sleep the first night, she had a great time! She loved the Sleigh ride and seeing the deer. She was enthralled by Santa and when they finished singing a carol she would say "again!"

Cutie Pie

2008-12-30T16:28:00.001-05:00

Just a pic of my cutie! She just gets bigger every day!

YES WE CAN!!

2008-11-07T09:03:00.002-05:00

Woo Hoo! President Obama! Change is coming and I'm thrilled!

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves - if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time - to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth - that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we cant, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:

Yes We Can.
Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America!

Trick-or-Treat!!!

2008-11-02T19:01:00.003-05:00

Last year Samantha got carried around for Halloween, this year she got to collect her own candy! It was a beautiful night and Samantha sort of understood...She mostly tried exchanging the candy in her hand for the candy in the bowl so we had to intercept. She walked most of the way and was in great mood the whole time.

She wanted to carry this candy ALL night!!

First Snow of the year

2008-11-02T18:52:00.004-05:00
Daddy took the kids out to play in the first snow of the year. Ignore Samantha's sneakers, I bought her snow boots that day! Dominic's first boots were a size 7 so Samantha (who's a size 5) needed her own pair.

Enjoying the weather

2008-11-02T18:23:00.003-05:00

The day after Dominic's party we went downtown with Brendan, Kelly, Ethan, Katrina all the kids and Gee and Papa. We had a great time and since it was such a beautiful day we went for a walk with Gee and Papa after lunch. We went to a nice little park by the lake and had fun throwing things into the water.

Party Time

2008-11-02T18:04:00.002-05:00

Dominic's 3rd birthday party was on the 25th. Samantha had a great time with everyone around although as typical she was pretty quiet around all the people. It's hard to convince people she's a chatter box when it's just us!

Mini-Me

2008-10-19T16:12:00.002-04:00
(sigh) yup. I can't deny it any longer. Samantha is a miniture version of me. I knew we were in for it when at a couple of weeks old I saw my Papa's scowl on my newborn's face. Well, now that she can talk and express her desires it's pretty clear. She's me. She has the Richardson resolve. Things are very black and white for her. She comes by it honestly and it has served generations of Richardsons well even if we have been told to *eh hem* soften our approach.

Samantha loves her duck pj's. (The ones she is wearing in the nose picking post.) I had to buy a second pair of identical pj's because if the duck pjs happened to be dirty Samantha threw a fit! As it is, she has started to close her hands around the sleeves of her pjs in the morning when I try to get her dressed and every morning I have to convince her why her flower pants etc are superior to the duck pjs and promise that she can wear the pjs when it is night night time. She is not easily distracted, just ask Gee about the 30 trips back to the rocking horse in the Christmas loft!

Otherwise Samantha is becoming quite the conversationalist and strung three words together the other day ("Gee work too.") She does whatever Dominic does which is really adorable. She loves Mickey Mouse and Elmo and sings the words to the "Scooby Doo" song and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", well parts of those songs anyways. She even sings the Scooby version that Dominic made up. She is enthralled by horses. Definitely a girl thing! She loves her brother and they are so good together even if sharing has to be negotiated sometimes.

Samantha is so fun and is quite the toddler now!

Autumn in Vermont

2008-10-19T15:59:00.003-04:00
I love fall! It's my favorite time of the year and we have been having a beautiful one!

Bronx Zoo

2008-10-19T15:42:00.004-04:00

I had a conference for work in White Plains New York at the beginning of October and Daddy and the kids came with me. On the last day we went to the Bronx Zoo and had a great time looking at all of the animals. The zoo was absolutely huge and we didn't get to see everything. Definitely worth a visit!

Hanging with Papa

2008-10-19T15:29:00.003-04:00

Samantha is a Papa's girl! She is always asking where he is and following him around when we visit.

You know, weather this time of year is crazy. We go from wearing fleece to shorts and then back to coats.