This week Kathryn invited us to go swimming again at her Gigi’s Her mom Christy also invited us over for lunch which was very yummy. We headed over to the pool with overcast skies and by the time we got in it was sprinkling. We played a bit but finally got out after it started to rain very hard. Samantha doesn’t like to stay in the water long but likes to jump off the edge or walk down the stairs.

Samantha continues to be silly and tease us. This week we were all getting ready for church. Samantha and her dad were in our room getting ready and Samantha had shut the door (another thing she loves to do along with turning the lights on and off). I knocked on the door asking if I could come it and opened the door. Samantha stuck her head out and said “no” and closed the door again. She keeps us laughing.

Another instance was while we were traveling her dad asked her for her binky as we don’t like her to have it any more than she needs it. She took it out of her mouth and promptly pulled her hand back while pushing her dad’s hand away and said “no”. She is really getting this “no” thing down good!

Sabbath we again found ourselves at Kathryn and her parents place. They invited us over for supper and playing at the park. They have a really nice park nearby where the girls were able to play.

Sunday was work day. Many of you know that we are building a spec house and today we all decided to spend time out there. Dad really worked hard all day and we spent quite a bit of time there ourselves. It was hot but Samantha kept herself hydrated by drinking Powerade. By the time we were done we all had blue tongues!

I am so excited that I figured out YouTube. Here is a video I uploaded of Samantha.





Sorry, the blogger wouldn't post the pictures correctly. Maybe I can fix them tomorrow.

Learning Lots!

It seems that every day Samantha is learning something new. Maybe it’s just the stage that she’s at.

This week she really started to say “water”. It amazes me how she knows that there is water coming out of the faucet, water in a pond and water in a waterfall. How do little kids do it?

Samantha has also picked up saying “onion” and “amen” as dad nears the end of prayers. Sometimes I think she tries to speed him up. We have been working on raising her arms when we say “touchdown” and she can get it most of the time. We were with people all weekend and everyone asked for high fives which she readily gave them.

I believe Samantha understands what the word please means. This week I was doing something and unable to give her what she wanted right away. The next thing I know she is signing and saying “please.” It makes it especially hard to say no when she is saying please!

We had another quiet week but we did have a full weekend. Tracy and Cheryl invited us to spend the weekend with them and some friends/business acquaintances that were in town. We thank them for inviting us to all of their activities (Dad got to go golfing and rafting). Cheryl is a great cook and we enjoyed her yummy food.

While dad was rafting this morning we decided to get out of the house so we washed cars. Samantha loves to wash cars because she can get wet from top to bottom. She even helped today as the got a rag herself and tried pushing it across the car.

A Busy Weekend

Our week was pretty quiet this time. Dad has been working a lot so we convinced him that we needed a family day. We really didn’t do anything special except ran a few errands but it was so nice to spend some quality time with dad. It even included our “buckaroo breakfast” that we love so much.

Our weather has been pretty hot, reaching 90 nearly every day. Our neighbors have a small pool that they let Samantha try out. She was in and out in no time flat. Maybe with a little bit more coaxing she’ll spend some time in it.

Sabbath was a big day. We skipped church (yes, I know) and went to Raccoon Mountain http://www.tva.gov/sites/raccoonmt.htm with some friends. We spent time at the welcome center, had lunch and then enjoyed walking on a trail. All three kids fell asleep at some point during the hike. We had such a good time socializing with the Myers, Ashmore’s and Lalic’s.

Sabbath evening we went to the nearby greenway with the Kathryn and her parents and Andrew and Ethan and their parents. We feel privileged to be part of Andrew and Ethan’s first outing as they are only three weeks old! After a nice walk everyone came back to our house for food. We thank the Kathryn and her parents for the pizzas-they were yummy! Nobody stayed long as it was bedtime for everyone including Samantha who only had about a ½ hour nap all day!

Today dad worked on projects so we stayed home and worked around the house. Samantha and I played a bit today. Samantha especially likes playing in water so I put a waterproof blanket down on the kitchen floor and gave her a bowl of water. She played for quite some time and got water everywhere. It was well worth it though!

It's Already June!

Yes, this post is late. Sometimes I think it would just be easier to go back to a weekly blog!

On May 20th Samantha enduring going to a flea market with her parents. We sold things from 6:30 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. I brought Samantha home for about a one hour nap but besides that she spent the rest of the time at the flea market. She was a real trooper and endured staying right by mom and dad.
Tuesday Christy and Kathryn invited us to go swimming with them. We ate lunch then got into the pool. It was a bit chilly but as soon as Samantha hit the water in her floaty she began to kick. She didn’t want to sit in one place but enjoyed moving across the pool. I think the water was a bit chilly for Kathryn but she didn’t make a fuss at all. A big thanks for Kathryn’s “Gigi” for hosting us!

Samantha’s vocabulary has increased. I sometimes think that I’m the only one that can understand some words because I’m with her all of the time but she sure tries. She says Annie (our landlord’s dog), Ellie, choo choo, and spaghetti . She has also gotten down some sign language. She knows “more”, “milk” and we are working on “please”. Samantha can also hear an airplane in the sky way before we can.

Samantha has also learned to give kisses. Right now they are big and sloppy but we still enjoy getting them. You have to watch her though, she tends to be a big tease.

Samantha has gotten quite brave and went down some stairs all by herself as if she was an adult. She used the wall to stable herself but she made it down. Now I can’t leave her on the porch thinking she’ll be fine for a minute or so! She continues to be a climber and has started to stand on the bottom drawer of the bathroom cabinet.

Keep scrolling, there are more pictures below.

Enjoying her first smoothie. I believe she said, "yummmmm."

Samantha fell asleep during a walk.

Bathtime all by herself now.

Family picture on Sabbath.

Enjoying the swing all by herself (Dad is right there to catch her in case she falls).

Helping mom wash the car in her Kansas City Chiefs jersey.