Our Little Monkey

We've been busy the last few weeks, here is a recap:

On Saturday, April 28 we went to the University of Maryland for "Maryland Day." It wasn't quite as exciting as we had hoped but it was good to be back on campus. Samantha enjoyed the kids carnival and walking around campus. Her favorite part was picking ducks out of the fountain and laughing at daddy who had powdered sugar all over him from the funnel cake. She got to sit in a helicopter and walk through the chapel where mommy and daddy got married.




On Sunday, April 29 Samantha and I planted flowers in her garden (aka, the back deck). She had such a blast helping mommy plant the flowers. Good thing mommy got a head start during her nap!


On April 30 we had to make a 3 am run to the emergency room. Samantha was having a lot of trouble breathing and her heart was racing. Once there we discovered her oxygen levels were in the 80's and her heart rate around 160. Samantha got really frightened when they put the mask on her to give her a nebulizer breathing treatment. I told her that she would be like spiderman, halfway through the treatment she said "I don't want to be spiderman anymore." Poor little thing. After an X-ray we discovered she had pneumonia (btw, she was fine when she went to bed that night). They actually admitted her to the hospital. Of course that didn't slow her down. Try keeping a two-year old entertained in a hospital! Fortunately Grandma and Pappy came down to visit Sammi in the hospital and we made frequent trips to the playroom there. On Tuesday we were discharged with a nebulizer in tow and orders for no daycare until the next week. Thanks to Granny and Grandpa for coming out and staying with Sammi on Thursday and Friday. A follow-up doctors appointment on Friday confirmed she was back to normal (except for a painful diaper rash).

On Sunday we went to the Zoo with Mrs. Angie, Mr. Norm and family. Samantha had a lot of fun playing with the 16-month old twins. She also enjoyed seeing the orangutans crossing over the sidewalk on ropes. She waved hi to them!

The best part of the day had to be the chocolate ice cream cone she wouldn't share with anyone! As we left the zoo she said "Bye Zoo, I'll be back!"

Beautiful Weather, Beautiful People

I had to go into DC this morning for a meeting. Since parking is impossible Ken and Samantha dropped me off at the subway station before daycare. We figured this bump in Samantha’s routine would throw her for a loop. As we pulled into the drop-off area she did indeed question where we were. Ken explained that they were dropping Mommy off at the train station so I could go to work. Samantha knows my office well (and loves coming for a visit) so she knew this wasn’t my normal office. Apparently she continued to ponder this bit of information after I got out of the car. She couldn’t quite grasp that I was taking the train to work. But she did tell Ken that she needed to go on the “train to get Daddy lunch.” We can’t quite figure out where she came up with that one!

We had another awesome weekend. Finally, the weather was great! We got up bright and early on Saturday to meet Granny, Grandpa, and Aunt Jen for breakfast at Denny’s. Then we were off to visit Samantha’s GG in New Jersey. We were so lucky to see most of our NJ family. Samantha got to go to the park and run around and play in Aunt Pat’s back yard too! Finally, she got so tired that she crashed hard and we hit the road.

On Sunday Sammi stayed at Granny and Grandpa’s while Aunt Jen and I went and got pedicures (Thanks Jen!). She got to play outside a lot on Sunday: playing kickball, chasing Klondike, blowing bubbles… After an awesome dinner from Granny we hit the road back to Frederick. It was an exhausting weekend and we can’t wait to do it again!

Easter and Disney

Its been a great couple of weeks for Samantha. We spent Easter weekend in Bel Air. Samantha got to go up early with Aunt Jen and then we even took her up to Aunt Peggy and Uncle Ted's house on that Saturday for an Easter lunch. Samantha and her cousins Gabby and Cullen had a major Easter egg hunt. Aftwards they sat at a table and ate tons of candy! Smart kids. Sammi also got to play with the new babies, Kylee, Kamdyn, and Jack. She really had a good time there. She certainly did not want to leave. But of course she fell asleep as soon as we got her in the car.

Then we went out to dinner with Aunt Jen and Granny back in Bel Air. Easter was really quiet. Samantha was a little cranky so we headed home earlier than planned.

Last weekend was the best. We spent the weekend at Grandma and Pappy's house, the highlight was Saturday night. Aunt Jen, Grandpa, and Granny joined us up in PA and we enjoyed a fabulous dinner at Grandma's house. Then, we headed out to the Giant Center to see Disney on Ice: 100 Years of Magic. Samantha LOVED it! The show had all her favorite characters, Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, the pricnesses, the incredibles, Nemo, Lion King, and more! I think the highlight for all us grown-ups was just watching Samantha's excitement. She was fascinated. Her eyes got so big and she was having the best time. And of course she was spoiled rotten by all her grandparents!

The next day that was all Samantha talked about. Ken said that out of nowhere she started "skating" across the kitchen floor. Saying "Skate, Skate, Skate, Skate...I Skate Like Mickey." She still talks about it all the time.

TV is Better than Books Anyway

That's what I told Samantha tonight. We stopped by the library on the way home to return some books and of course Samantha didn't want to leave. We stayed almost an hour but it didn't stop her from crying her eyes out as we left. So, on the way home I told her TV was better than books anyway because she was entralled in her Curious George TV. Geez...what kind of mother am I?

Today at work I wore my polka dot skirt. Samantha has a polka dot dress and the last time I wore my skirt she had her dress on. She was so excited then because we were the "same." Well this morning when she first saw me she declared that she wanted her polka dot dress. There were tears for this too, real genuine tears. Because not only is her dress a little too dressy for daycare, but she spilled bubbles all over it the other night and its in the laundry. "I want to wear polka dots like Mommy" She's such a sweetie.

Bowling

Its been such a long week, but Samantha was such a good little girl all week long. She didn't understand what was going on but even during the Mass for GG she was so quiet and interested. It was so nice to have her there to squeeze when I was feeling sad. I'm very lucky to have her.

We spent the weekend in Pennslyvania since we took Sammi up there on Thursday. Pappy babysat her on Friday and he did a great job! He took her out to breakfast and even took a nap with her.

After we arrived back in PA on Friday, Grandma and I took Sammi to Chocolate World to ride the Hershey ride and shop for--you guessed it--chocolate. When we got home we tried to put her down for a little nap. Well, apparantly she didn't want to nap. After she had been up there for about 20 minutes we suddenly saw her "Baby" roll down the stairs. Then, another toy. Next thing we new Sammi was standing there. She had climbed out of her pack n' play. We knew we had it good that she hasn't climbed out of her crib in 2.5 years, but I guess that is coming to an end.

On Saturday we went bowling. Samantha had a blast during the first game, but the second game proved to much before a proper nap. By about the 8th frame she was hysterical with tears. Nevertheless, it was a good time for all. Here's a little video I took.

A Great Loss

This morning Samantha's beloved Great-Grandmother "GG Z" passed away. While this is a terrible loss for our family we are grateful for the memories we had with GG and will continue to live by the principles GG has instilled in us, that family is our number one priority.

WLUGGZ , God bless you.

Little Legs

So Thursday night was really windy and it felt cold out when we got home. But Samantha was taking her sweet old time. I started to go ahead of her and Ken when she made me wait. I told her I was coldy and she said "I'm coldy too" and I said, "then why are you going so slow." She said, "because I have little legs Mommy."

At dinner Samantha noticed a picture of Ken and I with Mickey Mouse from our last trip to Disney World. Well, this excited her so much. After that she declared that she wanted to go to Mickey Mouse's clubhouse to play with Mickey Mouse too. She couldn't get over that we ha actually met Mickey. She said, "Lets go get in the car." If only...