A busy morning

Just to give you an idea of what we do now, Sam and I did poop patrol in the morning outside, which needs no further details added. Sam blew bubbles with her bubble machine outside the kitchen door. We went to the Reservoir for a half an hour and wiggled around int he water. Sam can go out five feet further past the rope this year than last. She is now 39 1/2 inches tall, according to the measuring wall at Storyland. We changed in their bathrooms and went to the Harvard Childhood Developement Laboratory so Sam could participate in some of their research. It consisted mostly of Sam piling 4 lemons, apples or berries in a basket. Sam had fun and didn't want to leave. Arli gave her a slinky for a prize which made her very happy. The spray stones in front of the Science Center sounded cooling, so we romped around there. A young girl named Phoebe, maybe ten years old, acceded to Sam's request to chase her. So they romped for a bit. It was too hot for me to run like Sam wanted. Sam said she was hungry, so we had a yogurt and milk snack inside the building. Sam loves the cement wall mural on the first floor. It has lots of squiggly lines and shapes on it, and even some bubble gum! Sam was most excited about the naughty person who must have put the bubble gum there. We went to the second floor which was lined with begonias, rubber plants and spider plants. Sam walked the whole corridor shaking each plant's hand and asking "How are you plant? Are you growing well today?" One professor came out and showed Sam the giant lens in the hallway so she could look through it. Everyone gave this little one a big smile. She wandered the halls in her shiny Nemo bathing suit and faded denim hat with aplomb and style. We had lunch with daddy at Similans, the Thai restaurant with two big salt water fish tanks and a koi pond.

Home

He liked the balloons. Sam is now snuggled in next to Daddy in bed with a big smile on her face and an arm over Matt's back. Ella is sleeping in her bed and seems equally at peace. Life is normal once again.

Fish tank

I put some shiny metallic silver wrapping paper on Sam’s wall about head height and below. Then I stuck a coral reef wall hanging up, some single fish as well. I suspended two fish from the ceiling. Sam is tickled pink and is now sleeping on the floor right next to it so she can touch it as she falls asleep.

Daddy's Home!

Sam is a frosting girl, just like her daddy. I gave her a two-inch piece of cake, and she swipes off the blue rose and downs it in about two seconds. I see her a minute later, wandering through the kitchen with the rest of her cucumber in her hand. The entire piece of cake, less one frosting rose, is still sitting on her plate. I am amazed.

We are awaiting Matt’s arrival from Ireland with great anticipation. We have balloons, and Sam drew all over the card we got him and added Thomas stamps. Sam picked out a blue elephant balloon that is adorable. I can’t wait to see his face.

goblins

Sam and Oliver ran around and around in the backyard, in and out of the tent yelling, "Oh no, Monster!" Then Sam runs up to Oliver and says, "My daddy says he is King of the Goblins." I said that is right. Sam gets a puzzled look on her face and, "Who is king of the goblins while Daddy is gone?" I told her Daddy picked a prince of the goblins to take care of things while he was gone and he gave instructions to keep us safe from the monsters. Ella was the prince and was making sure there were no monsters. Of course, Ella picked that moment to wander into the tent and became the dreaded monster, but that was just for fun.

We miss Daddy very much while he is in Ireland.

Dogs

I hear from the other room, "Down dogs. Down, Down, Down. Down. Good Stay" I look in the other room. Sam is sitting in her chair at the table, and both dogs are lying down at her feet. Not bad for a little girl.

She is eating with her knife now. She uses the fork to stabilize, then slices with her knife.

I must call her watoto most of the time, and I am Mama Duma. She is my little cheetah(duma). I also must say 'asante sana' instead of 'thank you.' Who knew her first language would be Swahili?

Rain and the bears

We have a brief thunderstorm going on now. Sam looks at me and says, “We better batten down the hatches, Mommy!” After I stop laughing, I ask her where she heard that. Berenstain Bears, Mommy! Of course, where else.


So now she is running around the house closing the windows, “We have to batten down the hatches, keep the rain out, mommy, come on! Thoroughly delighted by the patch of torrential rain.

Language

Sam has been very funny lately. Or maybe just to her mom. Her language is so like an adult sometime, it is funny to hear words coming out of this little person. "I think that would be good." "Would you like that, Mommy?" She negotiates with fervor and purpose and is hard to resist. "Can we go to the Aquarium today, Mommy? I need to make sure the Lionfish is okay. Where is he sleeping? Did they kiss him goodnight for me?" This, for one of the most deadly fish in the world. Or, when it was so hot: I want to play in the pool. That would be refreshing! said with a big grin and a nod as though to encourage me to just agree and not think about it.

Be gentle

I guess some of what I say about the dogs has been sinking in. The other day I was at Sue's house telling her elder Jack Russell to get down. Savannah ignored me and kept poking me, so I (gently!) pushed her to the floor. Sam, in a perfect imitation of me, said, "Don't shove her!" I explained I was being very gentle. She still was upset and leaned over to pet Savanah, which made the old girl very happy. Our dogs get mangled by Sam, and loved, but the little terrier gets nothing but gentle care. Maybe something about the size?

We have gone bike riding a few times lately. She bikes about 30 feet and wants to walk. I end up carrying the bike home. Sort of discouraging. She bikes very well with her training wheels, but she doesn't want to go far at all.

Breakthrough

I just looked at the chalk board as I cleaned up the mess in the breakfast room. Sam wrote her name "SAM" on the chalkboard and circled it in yellow. She wrote her name! Wow. I am so proud of her.

I just need to wake her up so we can go to Robert Neill's birthday party. She won't open her eyes when I poke her and talk to her. First she won't take a nap, then I can't wake her up when she finally sleeps.

I am still wowed.

Life moments

Yesterday was my birthday, so I was already thinking about being older and how do I want the rest of my life to go. Sam kept asking me what I wanted for my birthday and was concerned that she had no present for me. So I told her she was my best present. She’d yell, “No, I’m not Mommy! You’re picking on your little girl!” but she’d be grinning the whole time. She made a beautiful card with flowers glued on and gorgeous zebra and elephant stickers (thank you Carolyn!).

Angelika was able to take Samantha for the afternoon as she took care of her own little boy, baby girl and a friend’s little boy. They played well together, she said, and the game of the day was, “Oh no, Monster!” They’d run into the big box, scream, “Oh no, Monster,” run out of the box to the grass, run in a circle and back in the box again, over and over. Aaron said something about Sam was well able to keep up with the two boys, (no surprise to me) and she was very good at letting the boys know when they were getting too rough for her. I thought that was a nice way of putting ‘bossy baggage’ but they were impressed with her. Good people. And kudos to Angelika for managing all of them so well. Sam was very tired and very happy when we picked her up. She even convinced Aaron to read her a story.

We were out in the afternoon because our friend’s mother died this week and we wanted to attend her funeral. As he daughter stood at the podium to deliver a eulogy, I thought, what do I want my daughter to say about me when I have gone. I did not really know Alex’s mother, so I learned yesterday what an extraordinary life she had. I was seeing her through the eyes of her family, friends and colleagues, and she came through as unique from every lens. Makes me think about my relationship with Sam and how precious it is. How I want it to last for 50 years and more and still have deep respect and love there. How do I make that happen? Still thinking.

Breakfast

Sam is such a capable little girl. She got her own breakfast this morning. She asked me, with a please, to take the plate off the paper plates so she could pick one herself. I removed the plate and she stretches up to grab the whole pile. She sorts through them carefully to pull out the purple hippo and puts the rest back in the cupboard. The banana bread was sitting on the counter, so she pulls one of them out of the plastic bag and puts it on her plate, then she asks for cream cheese and a knife, please. She says, “Oh, I want some yogurt, is there some yogurt?” as she pulls open the fridge and gets her yogurt. I tell her I need to open it for her, and she smiles at me, “No, mommy, I can do it myself.”

Indeed she can. I got her settled on the table. She takes one bite of the banana bread, one bite of the yogurt, announces she is done, and goes and reads her B. Bears books. Welcome to the diet of a toddler. I was told she ate three peas for dinner last night. Eventually she’ll eat. I can’t eat in the heat either, even with the air conditioning.

Big Girl

Sam just counted 16, 17, 18, 19! to leap off the ottoman. I didn't know she could count that high.

Today Cole said something Sam took exception to, and she turns to him and yells, "Friends that love each other don't say things like that!!!" Becky and I looked at each other and laughed. I guess Sam has the concept of boundaries down pat.