A Wonderful Surprise

Yesterday, Grandpa Lapinski surprised us by finding a wagon at a garage sale. It needs a fresh coat of paint (which Steve is doing today), but Sam was so excited about it! We have been wanting a wagon so that we can pull her and her sand toys down to the beach. Until now, we have been using the stroller, but it is getting covered in sand and needs a total cleaning ...

Thanks so much for the wonderful surprise, Grandpa!

My Dad's Birthday

Technically, my dad's birthday was July 15th. But, any attempts to schedule a party around the busy lives of my four siblings and the guest of honor simply fell apart. We finally settled on a day when most of us (minus one sibling) could all be there. That day was Sunday.

Samantha took a morning nap (which is rare) in order to be well-rested when the guests arrived. When she woke up, she came downstairs and I found her in the pantry (AGAIN), helping herself to some snacks. I was outside preparing for the BBQ at the time. This means that we need to get a lock on the pantry door ASAP.


After a small snack (so as not to ruin her appetite for the party), I got her dressed in her party dress and she patiently waited by the window for the guests to arrive:

We had the best meal! Steve did BBQ chicken on the charcoal grill, complemented by portabella mushrooms. We enjoyed potato salad, baked beans, corn on the cob and watermelon -- all typical BBQ foods. After the food settled, we gathered back in the house for dessert (homemade raspberry cheesecake)! Here we are posing as four generations:

Shortly after that, we were itching to go down to the beach and park for some water-time and fishing for the guys. We put our suits on and headed down ... and it was such a nice day for that!

After hosing Samantha off and a quick wardrobe change, we settled in for some Sesame Street and popcorn. This was Sam's first time with popcorn and she loved it!

Overall, it was the most perfect day and we hope to be able to do this again soon at our house (if for nothing else ... just because).

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Just Because ...

I thought that you might need a little "eye candy" to start your day ...

Samantha turned 20 months old on Monday. She continues to amaze me every day with her independence and her ability to learn and retain information. She is trying to say more words now (which is something that I have been working on extensively with her). She knows every object and every person by name, but chooses not to say too many words yet. We noticed this week that she has started to say, "sing," "hat" and "hot". She also loves going around the house calling for me ("Mama, Mama???") and calling for her daddy ("Da-da, Da-da???").

A funny thing that happened yesterday: I was in the pantry getting a snack for her (and of course, she was right there on my heels) when my phone started to ring in the kitchen. She looked up at me, pointed toward my phone and said, "Da-da!" I laughed and asked her if she thought that that was Daddy calling. Sure enough, it was. Steve and I both chuckled over that one ...

The Highlight of My Morning ...

I won't lie ... mornings are hectic around here; especially on the weekdays when I teach. I used to be able to get up before Sam and be all ready for work. Then, by the time that she got up ... well, things were under control and went relatively smoothly on most days. Now that Samantha can get up by herself from her "big girl bed," she typically wakes up between 6-6:30 am and comes downstairs. I try to at least be showered by then; from there, we can work together to get everything accomplished before my mom or sister gets here to watch Sam and I leave to go teach for a few hours.

Here is an example of my morning not going so smoothly today:

Dumping oatmeal and granola bar pieces on the floor

Then eating the granola bar pieces before I can get to them:

In the big scheme of things, this clean-up wasn't as bad as it could have been. At least it was dry oatmeal. And, I have to blame myself more than her because I must have left the plate too close to the edge of the counter. She is a little monkey and thrives on reaching any items that I consider to be out of her reach. Maybe tomorrow morning will go a little smoother ...

Happy Birthday, Sydney!

Yesterday, Samantha and I went to Sydney's 4th birthday party. Sydney is the daughter of my best friend, Jennifer. Samantha was on her very best behavior at the party and she completely surprised me with how well she played with all of the others girls. Actually, I really don't think that she wanted to leave ...

Sitting pretty in the Fairy Princess Chair

Posing with Sydney's sister, Kiera (on the left) and Ava, one of the guests

Sitting with all of the girls while Sydney blew out her candles

Playing so nicely with one of the gifts

Putting bracelets on her feet??

Posing with her Princess Crown that we made at the party

Beach Baby

It has taken a little bit of time, but Samantha has finally adjusted to the lake. For the first few weeks, she would barely go into the water, but she has soon learned that it is nice and cool in the lake and that it is fun to wade around in the water.

Splish-splashing with Daddy

Pointing to the boats going by

Sitting in the water for the first time (and loving it)

Go Tigers!

On Friday night, Steve and I got the opportunity to go to a Detroit Tigers' game. We are both huge fans and they were playing one of the teams that they are tied for first play with in their league. It was a phenomenal game ... my favorite pitcher was pitching and they won the game! We had perfect seats and then got to enjoy the fireworks show afterwards. What a wonderful time we had!

Taking time for a quick picture

Our view was perfect

Snacktime!

Yesterday, I rounded the corner into the kitchen to find this:

My little monkey now opens doors on her own (including the pantry). I guess that she wanted a snack, so she opened the door, climbed on the stool to get her graham crackers and then sat down to eat them. I couldn't be upset -- afterall, she reached her OWN graham crackers and I didn't have to serve her myself. My little girl is growing up more and more each day ...

Happy 4th of July!

Yesterday, Daddy came home from Ohio (he was there on work-related business) and as soon as he got home, he took Samantha out into the yard to practice hitting golf balls. She took her job very seriously ...


Today, we participated in a small parade through our subdivision. This parade kicks off the 4th of July activities here and it's quite the celebration with refreshments, games for the kids, a bass-fishing competition, a cook-out and finally ... fireworks in the evening. We have met so many nice people and we are truly happy with our new home and subdivision.

After being at the park for a little while this afternoon, we headed back to our house for a quick rest before Grammy and Papa (my parents) came to pick-up Sam. They offered to take her for the night so that Steve and I could enjoy the cook-out and fireworks by ourselves (also, I worried about all of the loud noises that might wake her up after she goes to bed). Next year, she will be older and can enjoy them with us ...

All packed up and ready to go to Grammy and Papa's house for the night

Success!

One week ago, we officially put Samantha in her "Big Girl Bed." Earlier, I mentioned that she had not even attempted to climb out of her crib, but that we thought that it was time to transition to a bed anyway. I want to re-do her room and this would be the first step.

I am chuckling now because that very same day that I typed that, she climbed out of the crib after her nap and surprised me by attempting to open her bedroom door at the same time that I was ...

So that night, we put the bar on one side of the bed and then pushed the other side up against the wall. We put some her favorite "friends" in there with her and she slept through the entire night ... and from then on, she has continued to take all of her naps in there as well. The crib has been dismantled and put away (which filled me with some sadness), and my little girl has become a big girl.