Jack's First Sponge Bath

We have been giving Jack a sponge bath every morning now since he came home from the hospital.  The girls LOVE to help me get all of the supplies and then take turns washing his little body.  I love the smell of a freshly bathed newborn -- I could inhale him all day long!

Sophia bent down and whispered in Jack's ear, telling him that we were going to give him a little bath:

Sophia was given the job of washing his little head:

And Samantha washed his belly:

And his toes:

They did a wonderful job!

I suspect that Jack's umbilical cord will fall off in the next couple of days.  Once that happens, we will transition him to the baby bath tub and the girls will have even more fun helping with that.  We will also make the bath part of his bedtime routine.  This is something that we did with both of the girls, and they soon learned to associate that ritual with getting ready for bed and having a good night's rest.

Right now, I am working on getting Jack to sleep between 10-11 pm.  With a good feeding, he will sleep for about four hours and then after that, he typically sleeps for about 2.5 - 3 hours before wanting to eat again.  I am grateful for that first initial span of time, as that is when I get most of my rest.  Then, I just catnap for the rest of the night.  It seems to be working out just fine for me ...

Samantha's Last Day of Preschool

Samantha's last day of preschool was May 17th, the day that Jack was born.  While there was always the possibility that I could go into labor on my own, earlier than my scheduled c-section date (Memorial Day), I just secretly hoped that it would be after May 17th; I wanted to finish out the school year and then focus on our little one's arrival. 

It has been shown, over and over again, that I am not in control of these things.  And while I was initially upset that I would be missing Sam's last day of preschool, I eventually looked at it from a different perspective: I had the forethought to prepare the teacher gifts early, and we delivered them on the second-to last day of school.  I also managed to take a picture of Sam that same day in front of the preschool sign (like I did on the first day of school) and I took a picture of her with her amazing teachers. 

On the day that my little girl grew into a kindergartner, we welcomed our new baby into the world ... and I will always remember that.

I saw this idea online and LOVED it.  I had some clay pots just laying around in the garage, so I cleaned them up and painted them.  The rim was made to look like a tape measure, and the bottom portion of the pot was made to look like a chalkboard.  I wrote on them, "Thanks for helping me grow," and put Samantha's name and date on the back.  Then, we planted some flowers in them and I stuck a small thank you gift card to Target in the top.

The girls were so proud of them and posed with the pots before we headed to school:

In front of the Teddy Bear Den sign (never mind the big pregnant momma's shadow on the ground!):

Samantha and her teachers, Mrs. Hicks (blue) and Mrs. Alyce (pink):

Samantha has grown so much this year, both academically and socially.  I am amazed daily just how much knowledge she has absorbed and is able to apply on a regular basis.  She has known all of her letters, numbers and colors for a while, but she is now capable of putting letter sounds together to sound out words and can count by 5s and 10s all the way to a hundred.  Her penmanship is improving (she is still in the throes of deciding if she is right- or left-handed), and we are currently working with her to learn to tell time.  I am in love with this learning stage that she is in.

In the Fall, she will attend a local private school for kindergarten.  She will be going there all five mornings a week (as opposed to just three mornings a week like she did for preschool).  I am excited about her going half-days because I just wasn't sure that she would be ready to jump in, full force, for all-day kindergarten five days a week.  She has been to her new school already and eagerly points it out to me every time we drive by! 

"Touch A Truck" Event

A couple of weekends ago (before Jack was born), we took the girls to St. Johns for the annual "Touch A Truck" event.  We went last year and had a good time and decided to try it out again for another year ... even though it was overcast and chilly outside.  Samantha quite vividly remembered the "corn bin" and was begging to be able to go in it again. 

Sophia was a little unsure of the whole "corn kernels sticking to her toes" idea.  (She has never been one that liked anything sticky/dirty on her).  Eventually, she got used to the idea.

Posing with their chicken hats -- another highlight of the morning:

 

Sitting in the police car:

Testing out the gurney in the back of the ambulance:

Sitting up tall in the fire truck:

To conclude the event, we went inside (where it was definitely warmer!), and the girls got to make a special craft -- a flower that holds candy.  The girls don't have candy too often, so it was definitely a nice treat for them.

A Visit Out To The Orchard

Every Tuesday, I head to the orchard to do my weekly accounting work.  This is a task that I took on almost two years ago, and I am grateful that I am able to do most of it from home.  The one morning a week that I spend at the orchard allows me to deliver payroll envelopes and to tie up any loose ends there.  Sometimes the girls go with me to the orchard, and other times, I drop them off at my parents' house and they spend the morning with Grammy.

A couple of weeks ago, the girls were eager to go to the orchard because there were new baby pigs that had just been born and they couldn't wait to see them and hold them.  It was a rainy morning, but we made the most of it ...

Samantha exhibited absolutely no fear -- she went right in one of the stalls so that she could get an "up-close" view of the piglets:

Sophia preferred to stay closer to Papa (up off the ground and away from the LARGE momma sow):

The piglets were quite fast, so Uncle Jake caught one and then Sam was able to hold it on her own:

 Looking at some of the older pigs:

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While we were at the orchard, the apple trees were in full bloom -- this is always such a pretty time of the year there.  The girls couldn't resist picking a few apple blossoms ...

My sister girls:

Samantha is growing up so fast ...

And Sophia is too ...  In fact, Sophia always seemed so "small" to us, measuring in the 40th percentile on both weight and height.  But now that Jack is here, she seems so BIG!

Introducing ...

Jack Stanley Lapinski was born on May 17th at 4:48 am, weighing 7 lbs 13 oz and measuring 20 3/4" in length.  He is absolutely perfect! 

We were able to come home from the hospital on Sunday (2 days later), as we were both doing well ... and I was anxious to come home and just settle into life as a family of five.  The big sisters are so excited about the arrival of their little brother; there isn't a moment that goes by that they don't ask to kiss/touch/hold him.  I couldn't be happier ...

Baby Ducks

One of the highlights for Samantha in her preschool class this month was the hatching of butterflies and baby ducks.  This is something that her teacher does every Spring when teaching the students about new life.  When the ducks (all 15 of them) finally hatched out of their eggs in the incubator, the excitement that all of the kids had was incredible.  And even more thrilling than that was the fact that the ducks were able to go swimming the very next day in the kiddee pool!

had to laugh a little because I went to pick Sam up a little early that day (knowing that they would be outside with the ducks), and Sophia took off running.  She ran right over to the teacher, Mrs. Hicks, backed up and sat right on her lap; just like that was a regular occurance and was her designated place to be.

Sam was totally enthralled:

Sophia enjoyed watching the ducks, but kept a comfortable distance when they started splashing around!

They kept the ducks in the classroom for a week and then one of the families that lives on a farm, decided to adopt them.  It was a great learning experience for all of the kids, and I am so glad that Sam was able to partake in the whole event.

The Dirt Pile

After having some cement work done around our house last Fall, we knew that we would have to do some major landscaping once Spring arrived.  In preparation for this, we had a HUGE pile of dirt brought in and left at the back part of our driveway.  It was a major temptation for the girls, and we finally gave in and let them play away in it.

Playing Queen of the Mountain:

My little girl who normally doesn't like to get anything dirty/sticky/messy on her was still questioning this whole "dirt thing!"

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Before the girls became saturated in mud and dirt, I did manage to take a few pictures of them next to the beautiful (and sweet-smelling) hydrangeas that had just bloomed.  I only wish that those flowers had a longer life cycle.  They just don't seem to last long enough.

Sam just seems to be growing up so fast ...

Mother's Day 2013

On Mother's Day, we decided to keep things a little "low-key."  I loved going to the zoo last year with the girls, but the weather was quite cold this year and this momma just wasn't up for a lot of activity (in my very pregnant state).  So, we settled for breakfast at a restaurant, something that we very rarely do, and then we came home to open the special gifts that the girls had picked out for me at the dollar store.


The girls get such a kick out of helping open cards and gifts, and I am happy to allow them to help all that they want.  I have had years of opening gifts; it is still all new to them.

Sam's card was adorable:

Some new sunglasses:

The girls chose some lawn decorations for me, as well as a new pair of slippers.  They are very bright and colorful!

It was the perfect Mother's Day for me ...

Samantha's Bowling Field Trip

Samantha's preschool class does two field trips each year; one in the Fall and one in the Spring.  Last October, I took her to Andy T's for a hayride, donuts, cider, and to pick out a pumpkin.  It was so much fun (even if it was probably one of the coldest days that whole month).  For her Spring field trip, it worked out for Steve to take her and then I was able to do other things with Sophia and meet up with them afterwards. 

The students went bowling at a local bowling alley and had a really great time.  There were four students per lane and Sam was able to be with all of her friends.

After having only been bowling one other time in her whole life (the weekend before), she was a natural.

Her final score was an 81.  While she was able to use bumpers, Steve informed me that they weren't that beneficial and that it was still possible to get a "0" on a frame.  She even got a "spare" on the 10th frame!

The kids had pizza at the bowling alley and then headed back to Laingsburg so that they could burn off some excess energy at the park.  It was such a beautiful day, so I then took Sophia up to surprise Sam. 

Samantha was able to get her face painted there (one of the mothers had volunteered to do that for the kids).

She chose a butterfly!

And then Sophia wanted to get her face painted too (of course!).  She chose flowers:

One of the parents surprised the kids and brought popsicles.  What a wonderful treat!

We stayed at the park until close to the girls' naptime.  I knew that they were getting tired and would need to be cleaned up once we got home.  So, as predicted, there was a MAJOR meltdown once we arrived home and the girls found out that we need to clean their faces off before they could take their naps. 

Sam was the most devastated, as you can see:

Regardless of the fact that her perfect day ended on a relatively sad note, she DID tell us after her nap how much fun she had!  And that is all that matters ...

Samantha's First Dance Recital

Samantha's first dance recital was last weekend.  It brought back so many memories for me, as I was a dancer (and later a dance instructor) for 19 years.  She was so excited to show us her dance routine, but the biggest source of happiness from her stemmed from the chance to wear a "pretty costume" and wear make-up.  The blue eye shadow was a "must" in order to make her face show-up on stage with all of the extra lighting.

Posing at the high school:

On the big stage, the night of dress rehearsal:

And, like usual, Sophia needed to be included:

For her routine, Samantha was a daisy, and she danced to the Lorax song, "I Grow."  She did a phenomenal job! 



She now has the summer off, but has definitely expressed an interest in continuing her dancing in the Fall.  We will see if she still feels as strongly about it when the time comes ... I think that she will.