Swim Fishy, Swim Fishy

Mommy found a bunch of goldfish in our pantry and has decided to cave into toddler pressure.

Behold, the greatest snack on earth!  Don't forget the amazing wa wa to wash it down.

I just knew I could get these blessed treats out of this super small package.  What?  Do they make them toddler-proof?

Hooray for fish!  Goodness, I might just be a bigger ham than I ever realized.  I am totally posing for the camera.  And, if you know my Mommy, then you certainly know how long I had to stay like this before she got the shot.

I couldn't hold that precious smile forever.  

Enough posing, back to fish!

Roar!

After a great Saturday I woke up this morning and thought it was a great time to reflect on the many, many good times I've had in my amazing life.  What better way than fawn all over beautiful pictures of me and my family?

Mommy has coupon envy.  The Washington Post has about 19 times more coupons than the dinky NY paper we subscribe to at home.  So, she hunkered down and started clipping, sorting between what we wanted and what Grandpa wanted.  Every one for Grandpa was handed to me, raced over to show Grandma and then pony expressed to the kitchen to give to Grandpa.  Truth be told it was such a site that  Mommy started clipping extra coupons just to see me race my poor tush off.  That bugger will do anything to increase my steps per day and I went along with it because those silly adults got such a kick out of my exuberance.

Then I hopped into the shower and got all cutsie for the day.  And wondered just how the adults were going to top the petting zoo.  Can they do it? Yeppers!  The National Zoo- here we come!! 

Look!  Me thinks there are two HUGE elephants!

And they did tricks just for me!

Roar!

Noses!

Goats Just Love Me!

Greetings from NoVa.  That's northern Virginia to those who aren't from the area.  I woke up bright and early, shared a great breakfast with my four-legged uncle, Joshua, and then got all bundled up for a cold day at the Reston Zoo.  

Pony rides?  Not without my Mommy and they only let kids up to 65 pounds parade around the ring.  That totally knocked Mommy out of the ticket booth.  Darnnit- next year!  

I settled for Grandpa petting the pony and me watching.

Can you see the pretty birds behind us?  Super cool!

Oink, oink!

My turn.  Pigs aren't so scary as long as you're on the outside of the food cup. 

Same goes for the the goats, but man, are there a lot of them all comin' at me at once.

We now pause for an all important photo op.

Wanna guess what I'm looking at?  A super cool animal whose name totally escapes me, but trust me- it was super cool!

Check out those horns!

Anyone know what kind of animal this is?

Thank goodness for Grandma protecting me from big horned animals way bigger than me!

Totally cool picture of me with Grandma and Grandpa.  See the family resemblance?

Did you know camels are huge and their humps grow bigger and shrink depending on how much they eat and drink?  Kinda like my belly!

We had such a fab time, but it was time for this here kiddo's nap time.  So, back to home we went.  Grandpa took this time to ask me the usual serious life questions.

And I replied with as much seriousness as I could possibly muster.  I should also add that we stopped by McDonald's so Mommy could snag caffeine and I ended up with my very first, very own Happy Meal.  All I cared about were the fries.  Daddy would be so disappointed that I snubbed his favorite eating establishment.

After a fantabulous nap we all headed out for a walk and went to the neighborhood park.  There I showed off my amazing slide-climbing skills.

No help needed.



Seriously....

Hooray for the fearless toddler.  That's me!

We had our fill on the slide and then headed over to the swings.  Grandma took her position.

And Grandpa took his.  This visit rocks!

And got even better when I got to use the big kid swing with Grandma!

Southward!

Today was quite the day.  Daddy got home in the neighborhood of 2am.  Both parents didn't sleep too well.  Me?  Slept like a Samantha should, well and all night long!

Mommy and I woke up late and rushed about the house to pack and get everything in the car.  Daddy left for work and us girls made the executive decision to stop by Dunkin' Donuts for breakfast.  I swear to you that will buy any grown-up a solid sixty minutes of Samantha peace and quiet.  Vistors take note!

We ended up making it to Maryland about an hour late, but thankfully Miss Stacy kindly waited to eat brunch with us.  We ended up at an amazing restaurant called Eggspectations that served a menu to rival Cheesecake Factory. Oh, and I earned us two free smoothies for being the cute baby of the day.  I am cute, aren't I!

I totally fed myself my kid's meal brunch of eggs and toast, rounded out by milk with a straw. After all, I'm practically two and on my way to the old folks home!

We then went to Grandma and Grandpa's house when Mommy tried to take a nap while Joshua (puppy dog!) and I did everything to keep her away.  We won and ended up heading over to our playdate a little early. 

Hello, Elizabeth and Vanessa!  I sure missed you!!

Not only did they welcome me with open arms, but they shared their toys super well.  I'd like to say that I learned a bit more about sharing, but in reality I'm still Miss Mine these days. Check out this amazing girlie bike.  I'm totally diggin' the feminine roughin' it side of life.

Oops, did that internal timer go off?  Time to rotate toys.  Boy, this sharing is a lot more work than I thought it would be!

Yet somehow worth it when you see the happy look on your friend's face.  Yay for sharing!

Is that a lemon I taste?  Nope, just the look of complete concentration as I attempt to shove a ball large than my mouth into said mouth.  Yes, Mommmy DOES get embarassed that she raises me.  Whatever!

Hmmm, spoke too soon. The sharer only gets one phone.  Samantha, the non-sharer, gets many more.  

Ta-Da!  I made it into the castle.  Just call me Princess Samantha!

Seriously, I had the bestest time with Vanessa and Elizabeth.  Vanessa tried to teach me how to hop.  She taught Elizabeth, but Elizabeth is much older than I am.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it!  We read books and made spaghetti out of play-dough- we're all chef's in the play-dough kitchen!  We had a great snack of yogurt and graham crackers for me and grapes on the side for the fruit eaters.  Seriously- fruit?  

Their Daddy came home just before we left and we showed him our great tricks with the castle, singing songs and puzzles.  We're amazingly talented kids, if I permit myself to be humble for a second or two!  We all talked about how much fun it's going to be when they come visit us in June.  Mommy even told a Paul Bunyon tale or two about New Jersey being cooler than New York and the Statue of Liberty really being in the garden state.  Now Vanessa can't wait to visit us even more!

Sadly we had to go, but we had family time ahead.  Mommy just about fell out down the stairs when their Mommy started dinner from scratch.  That never happens in our house! How does their Mommy find time to be a saint?  Wonder if she wants a loaner kid for the summer?

Travel Daddy Travel

Goodness, Daddy has left us again and we sure miss him! Hurry home!

Yuckers

So, for the first time since before Thanksgiving week I was sent home for being unfit for playtime. Yes, I was diarrhea and vomit city. It wasn't pretty or pleasant. I felt okay, but my body didn't want to cooperate.



I spent all afternoon cuddling with Mommy while watching Barney. Mommy was secretly thrilled to have me be so cuddly and was even more thrilled that I haven't tossed my cookies since she picked me up. Score!

Sit Tight- It's A Busy Saturday!

You wouldn't believe me if I told you how busy my days can get, so sit tight and enjoy photographic evidence of my jam packed Saturday.


Up and at em, I always say when the weather is great and I'm ready to boogie. Off to the garden to be, please.

Thank goodness I got my own gardening tools for Christmas. Samantha sized trowels are the best.


Crappers. Noone said anything about dirt getting on my tools. Yikes! Must get clean off trowel.

Phew- much better. Let's try this again.

I think I just self nominated me for the most inefficient gardener of the year award. More dirt that needs to jump off the trowel.

After gardening all morning it was rest time with a super long nap. When I woke up it was time to welcome Kayleigh and Peter to the house for a playdate.

We hunkered right down in the world of art and let our creative juices flow.

Can you believe the Mommies inquired what we were up to? Blank stares go really far!

Peter was a bit jealous of my highlights but didn't want to copy too much. He grabbed the brown crayon and took a shot at lowlights. Kayleigh stared in shock and I pretended to be distracted by the grandness of a blue chair. Oh, Peter, we like your hair just the way it is!

Thankfully he listed to us gorgeous kiddos and redirected his artistic talent to paper.

And then he realized how much fun chunky crayons are. I knew we were kindred spirits!

PS- see Kayleigh headed right for the perfect toddler sized easel to get her marker on.

After some indoor fun it was time to head outside for some bouncy house escapades. Throwing three toddlers in a bouncy house is guaranteed fun for everyone!

See me trying to escape down the inflated slide.

Baby steps- made it to the top of the slide. Ah, enjoy the moment!

Kayleigh wasn't so sure about the bouncing doohicky, so she approached it with a bit of trepidation. Smart girl! Who wants to jump into something that might bounce them without permission?

She loved the slide so much she wanted to slide up it to go back down again. Yay!

Kayleigh's Mommy is super nice and helps her up the slide- maybe Mommy will follow her lead!

What is better than your bestest buds and a bouncy house? This is such a great afternoon!

Yes, Peter, the sky is beautiful. It's been a super long winter and it's wonderful to be out in the sun without heavy coats on.

Gosh, I'm darned cute!

Imagine the scene, up and down- repeat!

Sadly, my new swing set wasn't installed on time and the playdate was over before the swing set was fully up and running. So, Mommy and Daddy made the executive decision to prolong the normal nightly activities and break in the swing set and then have a picnic dinner on the back lawn.

Here is my first swing ride on the new set.

Boy, I never noticed my thunder thighs before. Maybe I should go back to pants until I slim down.

Or stop looking down!

Daddy saw me having so much fun he decided to try out the rock wall.

Mommy, not to be outdone, grabbed me and we went a swingin' on the glider.

This is a picture perfect day- look at all that green! You can't see them now, but a family of blue jays lives in those huge Christmas trees. I am blessed!

Wowsers, this is one big, wavy slide!

I'm Queen of the World!

With all this activity, it used up all my energy and it was time to refuel!

Yummy!

After a great dinner it was time to head in and hang out as a family. Daddy and I got in our chairs and made faces at Mommy.

Mommy really needs to step up her entertainment skills. Super boring! Daddy resorted to watching me make faces.

See how much fun I can have with just my shoes and a balloon?

What? You can do better?

Good night!