What We've Been Up To ...

We seem to be fitting a lot of activites into our schedule lately.  I suspect that it has something to do with the weather becoming a little bit warmer and the itch to fill the seemingly longer days.  I don't really mind because it seems that the busier we stay, the happier the girls seem to be.

Last week, we went over to my sister's house to see of the new foals that had just been born.  Sam was overjoyed to say the least.

It wasn't long before she reached out to pet one of them:

And even better than that: She got to sit on Fire, one of her favorite horses on the farm:

********************

Steve brought home an old basketball hoop for Sam.  The net needs a little bit of work, but Sam doesn't know the difference and is thrilled about it.

She's gotten pretty good at it already.  Sometimes, I just sit back in amazement over how quickly she grasps a concept.

Even Sophia has had a chance to get in on the action:

********************

Samanatha helped me plant some bulbs that were given to us by Steve's parents.  They smelled wonderful the whole time that they were in our house, and I am hopeful that they will come up nicely next Spring.

She was such a good helper.

She even went and got her own watering can so that we could make sure that they were well-watered.

********************

While Sophia was finishing up her afternoon nap last week, Sam and I snuck outside to play a few games of hopscotch.

********************

Steve showed Samantha that she can play some games on the computer and she really enjoys it.  All of the games are educational, and she is learning good coordination skills as she manipulates the mouse.

********************

And finally, just because I want to remember this ...

On Friday, I announced to Sam that we were going to be going to Sam's Club that morning because we needed to get a few items.  She started in with the usual, "I don't want to go to my club, etc. (which is what she refers to the store because it bears the same name as her).  After listing the few items that we needed, she eventually gave in and we got ready to go.

We were driving on the highway and I got behind a semi-truck, and was patiently waiting my turn to pass him.  All of a sudden, from the back seat, I hear Sam declare, "Momma!  You said that we were going to Sam's Club, not Meijer!  That truck says, "Meijer!"  It was written across the back of the semi-truck.

Yup, that's right.  She recognized her first word (well, her second word actually -- she recognizes her name, Sam).  I was absolutely amazed, to say the least.

I guess the recognition came from the fact that we go to Meijer once a week and she always says, "I found it, Momma!" as we pull into the parking lot.  Now I know that she actually recognizes the name/word, not just the parking lot.  This is one of the first steps to being able to read ...