My New Cleaning Lady

After a very long and tiring week, we are now moved into our new house! We still have many projects to tackle and need a little more furniture in order to fill this much larger home, but we are getting there... The best part is that Samantha has adjusted so much quicker than I could have imagined. She loves that we have more space to roam around in (I often find her running laps around the house), but I think that her favorite part is that she has a "big girl bedroom" upstairs that she can freely go up to and play anytime that she wants to.

She has really taken a liking to helping me clean (brooms, mops, etc.) and I was able to take a few photos of her in action:

I am so grateful that everything went smoothly during our move and that everyone (even the two cats) are adjusting very well. Sam is still a little timid to go near the water at the lake (we live in a subdivision that has a lake across the street from us). We are working with her on this every day and hope to have some progress on that soon. She has no fear of water -- she loves baths -- it's just a new and different experience for her.

18 Months

Samantha is 18 months old today and it makes me smile to think back to the day that she was born. It was the most joyous day of my life; every moment is completely engraved in my memory and I will forever hold those memories close to my heart. The first time that I heard her cry; the first time that I felt her warm skin against mine; and the first time that she looked at me with her bright, inquisitive eyes ... I fell in love immediately.

Watching Sesame Street with her "kitties"

Steve and I both commented yesterday about how tall she seems to be lately. (We go to the doctor for a check-up in a couple of weeks and we will know then exactly how much she has grown). She is doing much better with eating more table foods now. She loves to feed herself using her own fork as much as possible these days and her sense of independence grows stronger by the minute. Her personality seems to be more like mine (stubborn and determined) in comparison to Steve's personality which is more easy-going and laid-back.

She has enjoyed all of the boxes that are stacked in various corners of our house and I am including several pictures of her enjoying the clutter that exists:

She loves climbing on boxes (no matter how tall they are)

We emptied a laundry basket to fill with clothes for the move and Sam got to it before we did -- apparently it makes a nice spot to sit and read a book in it

My internet will be disconnected most likely tomorrow so it will be a little while before I am able to post again. But, I will be sure to put some pictures up of our new home once we are settled and I have internet access again. We are doing our BIG move tomorrow (Thursday), so things are going to be hectic for a few days ...

Brush, Brush, Brush!

Babies seem to thrive on routine. This is something that I learned very soon after Samantha was born. It gives the baby a feeling of security when he/she knows what to expect next. We created a night-time routine with Sam early on and this helped tremendously to improve her sleeping through the night.

Our night-time routine still includes a bath followed immediately by pajamas. In the last couple of months, we have added to that routine -- following pajamas, she brushes her teeth (with help of course) and then we let her climb the stairs to her own room (instead of carrying her). This works well for us and it seems to work well for her.

She loves brushing her teeth!

"Mommy, I'm kind of busy here ..."

We know that the transition to a new house (and her new bedroom) will likely be a challenge because of the change in routines and what she is used to. We are fully prepared for this though and are planning to make the transition as smooth as possible by still adhering to the same types of schedules. We want her to feel secure and safe (even though the house is much bigger) and we want her to know that not everything has changed ...

We will be moving next week (closing on Tuesday) and I will try to keep everyone updated on the move the best that I can in all of the hustle and bustle and limited internet!

Mother's Day Weekend

We celebrated Mother's Day over the course of both Saturday and Sunday this weekend. Steve took Samantha and myself to Logan's Steakhouse for a nice dinner on Saturday. Samantha was such a good girl during our meal and surprised us by devouring the peanuts that Daddy shelled for her. She's usually leary of trying new foods and this was her first experience with peanuts -- pretty soon, she was helping herself to the shells that fell on Steve's lap. The remainder of Saturday was spent packing boxes, boxes and more boxes.

On Sunday, we all dressed in our Tigers' gear in support of the afternoon game:

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On Sunday afternoon, we visited Steve's parents. Sam enjoys going over to their house because there is always something new and exciting to play with over there (especially because Grandma always manages to have something special for Sam to unwrap and play with).

Posing with Grandma for a quick picture

My mom is coming for a visit today so we will celebrate Mother's Day with her when she gets here. She is going to stay for a couple of days so that she can watch Sam while I pack up some more things. It is a definite challenge to accomplish all of the packing that I want to do since Samantha usually trails after me unpacking everything that I just put in a box ...

A Busy Day!

We officially closed on our current home yesterday afternoon. It was a very busy day for all of us, but an exciting one at the same time. We have until May 21st to move out and this should be sufficient time because we will be closing on our new home in about 10 days or so ... The boxes are starting to pile up in the corners of the rooms of the house and the basement is about half-way packed up (that is a significant accomplishment because our basement serves as a major storage area). Once I finish up the semester (I have two more days to go), I can concentrate more fully on packing up the rest of our belongings ...

Grandma and Grandpa Lapinski were able to watch Sam yesterday while Steve and I went to the closing. I put Sam in her special shirt that Grandpa had made especially for her. He surprised us with it about a month ago and it is so adorable! Both Daddy and Grandpa play on pool leagues, so it was appropriate that Samantha have a "pool shirt." And, it is the first monogrammed piece of clothing that she has ever had! We love the shirt, Grandpa!

The Packing Has Started ...

"So Mommy got around today to start doing some packing ... It was so nice of her to put the box by the front door so that I could look at the big red truck outside."

"Mommy didn't like me climbing on her box so she tried to fool me and put my toy box on top. No problem for me, I just climbed onto it. It sure gave me a better view! Thanks, Mom!"