The Lapinski Family: Weekend Randoms

Sophia is the "Queen of Accessories." She is never without her headband; it has become her signature piece and she worries whenever she is going someplace without it. This summer, she has added sunglasses into the mix and a cowgirl hat once in a while.

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

Exhibit C:

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We have been encouraging Samantha to work on various activities on the computer this summer. She is more than prepared for the start of 1st grade this Fall, but any extra help with math or reading doesn't hurt ...

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Sophia is my little helper in the kitchen. Any chance that she gets to pull out "her stool" and assist me is a good day in her book. I am giving her more and more liberties this summer (with close supervision) while stepping back and letting her learn. One of her favorite things to make is eggs.

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I dug this toy out of the closet for Jack a couple of weeks ago. It is a walker, complete with an activity center on the front. He is not quite ready for walking with it independently yet, but he is excited about the music and has learned that he is capable of standing with it.

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Looking at the next two pictures makes me smile. This was always Sam's job when she was Sophia's age. Sam used to take her role so seriously -- count to 10 as you water each plant and then move on to the next one. Sophia is just as determined to keep everything hydrated.

Squatting to get a better angle:

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Celebrating Aunt Deb's birthday at our house:

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Sometimes, even when it is not raining, you need to use an umbrella to keep the hot sun off your shoulders:

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Decorating for the 4th of July:

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When we were down at the beach, one of the neighbors let the girls use their boogie board in the water. Sam loved it so much that she is asking for one now.

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We bought a new truck last weekend. This is something that we have been planning for a while now (and Steve has spent endless hours researching!), and we were finally able to make it happen. We are very excited with the new truck and took the kids out in it last night. While it is a little tight in the back seat with three car seats, it is still doable.

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Samantha surprised us by putting on a show last week. She even handed out tickets. When it was time for her to enter the "stage," we looked up to see this:

Very creative. She had turned a tutu into a flower headpiece and taped green paper onto her arms to signify the leaves.

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Having a popsicle with Daddy:

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We did another "stained glass" project one morning while Jack was napping. It was a surprise for Grammy!

Sam made a collection of fish (I was amazed how she chose and blended the colors so nicely):

Sophia did a flower with a worm (also quite impressive, as this task does require a steady hand and lots of patience!):

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We have been starting to teach the girls how to play more and more games -- several card games, like Crazy 8s, Old Maid and Uno ... along with more and more board games. Just recently, we taught Samantha how to play Dominoes. I was surprised just how quickly she caught on to the game -- and won!

A rousing game of Dominoes with Momma and Daddy before bed one night:

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The girls had a play date at our house with one of Sam's friends. In order to make things go more smoothly, I always try to plan at least one activity for the kids to do together -- painting, decorating, crafting, etc. For this play date, I baked pink lemonade cupcakes and frosted them ahead of time. Then, I let the girls decorate them with sprinkles. Abigail then got to take a half dozen of them home to share with her parents!

Sophia is so careful with the sprinkles. I think that she simply picked up on that technique after spending hours in the kitchen with me baking and decorating cakes and cupcakes!