Good day and personal shopping

Last Sunday was a good day... Nana and Samantha joined me for a shopping excursion, then we went to "Elementary Park" (it's an elementary school) followed by a family dinner with Nana, Papa and Grammy.

Sam was exhausted by her adventure at the store with Nana. This was demonstrated by Nana's telling of Sam in the fitting room (politely) asking the sales lady to get a bigger size and clearly relishing the time to embrace her inner diva. Grammy says that Sam's shopping style will be her revenge on my diva shopping style that she endured from me. Ah, the circle of life.

The kids did not want their grandparents to leave and to curb their meltdowns, we all went downstairs to watch TV and snuggle for a bit. It was the first chance I had to sit still all day and what a great 30 minutes it was! We don't watch a lot of TV at our house (at least while the kids are awake), but once in a while it's nice to cuddle up on the couch. It was relaxing and we were together. Who can complain about that?

This is a short video I took of the girls to show the joys of laughter...

Papa

Samantha and Sofia adore their Papa. From his first day as a grandparent tearing through the hospital to see a newly born Sam to his glee at taking them out, he is the girl's hero. If he's upset with them, their world is ending and when he's proud of them (usually so proud he has a ear-to-ear grin), their world is perfect.

We are all blessed to have you Papa! Who could ask for anything more?

Here is shot from a recent park outing... go Papa!

Father's Day

For Father's Day Daddy took it upon himself to get some golf clubs and the girls had their presents ready for him when he woke up this morning. At Leslie's house they painted life-size versions of themselves which you will notice below. Pay special attention to Sam's headband and Sofie's running position! All Daddy wanted was a relaxing day and I hope it was! Nana and Papa stopped for a visit and brought lunch. Thanks for that! Everyone (except Sam) took a nap, we had a quick trip to the park before it started to rain and lots of playtime.


We are incredibly blessed to have Daddy and are all fortunate to have each other.

Sofia at 19 months and 1 day old

Another interesting tidbit from today was Sofie... what a wild child. She has been singing the ABC's lately and has even picked up a bit of the Greek alphabet thanks to her wonderful big sis. All day today, it was, "A B C D E F G, H I J K L M N O P, Q R S, T U V, W X, Y Z, now I know my A B C D E F G...".

This morning she told me she had to potty. The lesson I learned after a lengthy training period with Sam taught me that I should wait to train Sofie. At this age, it seems impossible to be consistent so I'm not starting yet. Sofie doesn't accept that (as demonstrated by her playing in a toilet, ewww... scrub those hands!), so I finally took out the potty seat to appease her. She enjoyed it, sitting on it and even lifting her dress and taking toilet paper to wipe herself (diaper still on). Her strong insistence on sitting on it led to the seat being moved from Mom and Dad's bedroom to Mom and Dad's bathroom to the living room.

I don't know if it's the age or just the kind of person Sofia is, but I'm getting glimpses of what people mean when they refer to her as: spirited, strong-willed and holy terror (meant affectionately by a relative). A friend of mine recently had a second child and described it as "intense". Oh yeah buddy, you ain't kidding! It is definitely an adventure!

The photos below depict her angelic side. Don't be fooled... she's not always sweet, but she is always loved!

The joys of toddlerhood are illustrated below:

She went upstairs to my drawer in the bathroom to get my lipstick and proceeds to show us how she applies it. I wonder if that's the face I make when I put it on in the morning?

Lovely pre-summer day

Daddy went with Papa to play in a golf tournament so the girls and I were on our own. This morning Nana watched Sofie while I took Sam to her swimming lesson and took care of an errand. We all went to pick up lunch and headed to "green park" for fun with the water sprays and playground for a bit. Then it was time for Sofie's nap, which she blatantly refused. Once I gave up on her napping, I called Grammy to join us for a return visit to the park. This time I was prepared with a camera (and towels). We stayed for over a hour and due to Sofie's resistance to going near the fountains and water sprays, the grown-ups decided to head home. Literally on our way out, Sofie embraced the sprays and all things wet. Sam found friends and it was bliss for both of them. Fonzie and Grammy found a little shade after their stroll and enjoyed the kids who were interested in him. (Grammy loves to show off Fonz.) I had a blast watching them and it was another few moments of serenity for me.

Finally it was time to head home and feed my brood. The kids enjoyed another ice cream treat for dessert, followed by some playtime and bath. "Thomas the Tank Engine" is a favorite as of late so I enjoyed a segment with the girls before letting them pass out. We missed Daddy, but it was a fun (and exhausting) day!

Here are some shots of the girls... Yes, I let her wear the bikini.

Mom, you can go now!

Last week Samantha was invited to a birthday party. I asked her if she wanted me to stay (the answer has always been yes in the past) and she said no. She's growing up, asserting her independence more and both Daddy and I are very proud of her. At the birthday party, I was talking to some of the other parents who were waiting when Sam ran up to me and said with an annoyed tone, "Mom, you can go now!" I was shocked at this, but gathered what remained of my dignity and left. It was a realization to me that life keeps moving even though I may be perfectly content with our lives now.

This was reinforced the other night when I chauffeured her to a friend's house for a play date. I was again encouraged to leave and received another good report from her friend's mom, "She was a total angel and very polite." Yeah Sammy! You are growing into a wonderful young lady! Still it was strange to think, "Sam's at a friend's house now and she doesn't need/want us there".

I have listened to many people when they talk about how precious this phase of family life is and they are all correct. We are incredibly blessed to all have each other. There are so many things for us to be grateful for and I never dreamed I could be this lucky. Thank you to my family (both blood and not) because you are my inspiration!

Sam has her first swimming lesson

Sam is no stranger to water and like most kids, loves to play in it (or with it, wherever an opportunity presents itself). She goes to "Grampy's pool", (Leslie's dad) and both Daddy and I have worked to make every pool experience a positive one.

Today Sam had her first swimming lesson. She was nervous about going and I showed her one of my tricks when I'm nervous about a new place (good posture with your head held high), which seemed to make her feel better. Daddy and I both joined her while Grammy stayed with Sofie. We went in, got situated and watched our eldest daughter shine. Sam listened and did very well - so much so that the instructor mentioned her surprise at it being her first lesson. Sam is turning out to be very athletic, which is definitely not a bad thing. She is passionate and as focused as a 4 year old can be. (Lord help us if she's as persistent as her parents!)

Daddy and I are very proud of our girl and love her so much! Sammy... you amaze us every day!