Scooter Rides and Trick or Treats!

Well, the Vespa is for sale.  Yes, it's killing me.  I really love that scooter and last week had the pleasure of a gorgeous night time ride under the full moon. I could smell the mesquite, the creosote, and the occasional horse. Was a total AZ experience.  One of those nights I want to etch into my brain to remember AZ by. Was really spectacular.  If the Vespa has to go, at least my last ride was a spectacular one.  

Halloween!  What a week of partying we had!  Samantha helped me get out all the Halloween decor and decide where they should go. She is becoming quite the little decorator.  Apparently she helps Mimere do this as well! Friday morning, I volunteered at the the Bridges to help with the Halloween party.  (I can't believe I ever wanted to become a pre-school teacher, yowza!) There was games, they made spider hats, and 5 little pumpkins to go along with their song.  Then there was a snack.  It was good to see exactly what goes on in her class all day, I don't know how Miss Dianna does this EVERY day!

Friday night redbrick had the annual Halloween party, the who office was converted into a haunted house, complete with VERY scary decor and animated battery powered creatures!  Was quite scary for a 3 year old, but she wanted to go through the scary part over and over...after her initial shock!  I think she like to face her fears...I am very proud of her for that!

Saturday we had dance in the morning, then rested Sat afternoon, a wonderful pumpkin carving party at Lauren's house!  Donna went ALL OUT and everything looked fantastic, tasted great and the kids had a blast! 

Dad and his prize pumpkin! 

Samantha and her bud, Lauren

All the little goblins lined up! 

Then of course the big day itself!  Halloween! It was hot...of course, but the night cooled down nicely.  Ben, Erin, Megan, Paula, Sage, Mel and Ross all came over.  Megan has trick or treated here her whole life, and Paula and Sage were new to the group this year! Mel and Ross came over to ooh and ahh at the costumes and hold down the candy fort while  we took the kiddies around!  Was a fun night! Samantha could have gone another hour I think but the 8 year olds were complaining about their feet and ready  call it a night after about a hour.  Uncle Ben loaded everyone up in the back of the pickup to get to the spookiest spots in the 'hood! Samantha again was a little afraid, but insisted on going up to every door, scary or not!  Then she would wave good bye to the scary guys!  I can't believe this was our 3rd Halloween with her, time is flying.  It was a magical weekend, and one we will never forget.  Life is good. 

Megan the "Aggressive Cat", Sage Cleopatra and Samantha, the Lady-Bug-Princess! 

Samantha's  friend the skeleton!

Vacation Back East!

We are back!  As usual we had an incredible time!  The trip started with the long long drive from AZ to Hampton Beach.  Samantha was AMAZING!! We couldn't believe how well she took to the road trip.  The first morning after 1 hour in the car she asked if we were there yet, I thought, "oh boy!" but that was the last of it!  She was a trooper! She had her little table from One Step Ahead http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=534362&parentCategoryId=85184&categoryId=85218 that was great, she played games, colored, did her puzzles etc.  She watched a couple of movies a day, but really way less than I thought she would want to!  We played a game that we made a wish every time we crossed over into a new state and whoever saw cows/horses first raised their hands!  She did sooo good. We will definitely do it again!

Once we got to Hampton Beach however the clouds opened up and the wind started.  We were just steps from the beach, but got sandblasted!  So that was fine, we hung out, went to our favorite breakfast place in Maine http://congdons.com/ and on another day we went to the Acton Discovery Museum which was perfect for Sam and her cousins! They had a blast!

We did manage to have one fabulous hot beach day!  Was fantastic!

Then we hopped in the car again, this time for a much shorter drive to the lake!  Lots of friends family, and fun things to do!  Sam was swimming with her cousins and Grandpa, running all over the place, climbing trees, walking in the woods, boat rides, apple picking.  We saw some fall foliage, and had hot days and cool days.  She also got to the barn with Gramp and Gram and clean Piper's stall!  I am afraid she is bored now!  

My Crazy little Swimmer Girl!!

We are so proud of out little swimmer!!!  She is doing so well in swimming school that they are she is moving up to the next level after 5 weeks!  She is a little fish!  Check her out!  (Of course just because I WANT her to jump...means she won't...so a little reverse Phych is in play here!  hee hee hee)

Little Miss Pretend Girl!   That's what she is these days.  She is either Belle from Beauty and the Beast, with her basket swinging and her books in the basket complete with yellow dress. Yesterday, it was all about Cinderella, she has the rag type dress on, and she is on her hands and knees, cleaning the floor.  I love it!  Lets hope this one lasts!! 

Crazy Times!

Well, Summer is officially here.  Last week The Bee had the week off from school.  The whole time she is asking me if she is going back to school?  Where did her friends go? All the while my partner is out of town, and I am insanely busy.  The Bee did very well considering Mommy was telling her she was too busy all of the time.  Was a tough week.  It ended a good note at a birthday party though, and we had a good time.  Sunday we went swimming over at Mel and Ross's, and the swimming lessons are most definitely paying off! She was diving in the water to fetch things and like to jump and "swim" to me.  She want nothing to do with floating devices, so, even though thats good for her, that means, she is clingy and hanging all over me!  It's all good! 

Best news of the week!  She is potty trained!!!!  Woo hoo!  She decided it was time.  We bought some undies and she is excited about wearing them.  No accidents in a week!  She even goes in the middle of the night, although we are not quite as trusting, so we back up with pull ups. She is so proud of herself and we are proud of her too!  :)

We are loving this pool too! We all like to cool off in it! 

Memorial Day, Goodbye E-Pre and Big Girl Beds!!

I can't believe it, but as of yesterday my little baby is now in a big girl bed. Daddy turned the crib into a toddler bed!  She was very excited about it, and helped me make it right away. She was so happy to put her stuffed animals on the bed, and get in and out by her self! 
She took a long nap there, and slept there no problem last night.
Friday was also her last day of e-pre at Bridges. They had a pool day with popsicles!  We gave Miss Kim and Miss Misty a little gift of thanks.
Next week she starts regular pre-school with Miss Diana, even though she says she is too little for this.
We went to Mel and Ross's for a pool party yesterday and we tried on the floatie suit again. She never minded this before, but now that she is keenly aware of what she is wearing, she was not excited to put it on, and didn't believe that it would keep her afloat. So....she clung to me...and only Mommy would do.  I am tired.

The Princess in her bed.

Happy Gotcha Day!!!

I don't know how, but 2 years have passed since our beautiful girl was placed in our arms!  She is a joy!  She is funny, smart, caring and confident little lady, and we could not be happier! 

That day 2 years ago in Nanchang, seems like minutes ago.  I can remember every detail, from how I was feeling, more nervous that I have EVER been! Then hearing Sally say, "Renee, your baby is here!" and there she was.  So concerned, so worried, but not batting at eye.  She just looked and looked at us.  Studying our every move.  Who are these peeple?  What is going on?  Then of course the famous name tag, she would not let go of for anything in the world.  Sweet little thing. 

Look how far she has come!  We are the luckiest people in the world.  What a wonderful way to start a family. 

Mother's Day 2008, Gotcha Day                                        Mother's Day 2010                            

The Bee is Three!!!

The Bee is three!!  She is a big girl now!  The night before her birthday, I told her that I did not want her to be 3, and she said, "Don't worry, Mommy, I can be little again someday if you want."  Oh how I wish!

She was awoken with balloons that morning, and we brought pink cup cakes to school that day.  Mimere came over and made a wonderful cake and we had dinner.  The hightlight of the day was presents!  We finally found a playhouse, that was tall enough, and had all the elements the little Diva would want. A phone, a doorbell and a mail slot.  It's also tall enough that she will fit in it for a long time.

Sat, we had her party.  We didn't do a whole kid thing this year, we had the usual adults that she sees all the time, and Gracie, Jiandra and of course Megan were all here. That was just enough.   She and Gracie had a lot of fun chasing each other around the yard and blowing out the candles.

Today, was Mother's Day!  Phew! Frank and run out and picked up breakfast for us, and we ate out on the patio. He gave me my card and Samantha ran into her room, and came out with a card for me she had hidden with Mimere's Help in her room.  I was soo surprised!! 

Was really a perfect weekend, and my 3 yr old is sound...asleep!  2 Years ago today we left for China, phew.

Cupcakes for School!

Woken up via balloons!

New Playhouse!

All Excited for her party!

Mimere made the cake!

Entertaining the masses

Swim Lessons and Birthday's!

This has a been a big couple of weeks!  Last week we started our swim lessons!  She and her friend Grace are doing it together and they had an awesome 1st lesson!  They last about 1/2 long, and the instructor was great, the girls were very comfortable with her from the get go!

This is the birthday week.  On Friday, my baby will be 3.  How is this possible?  She has been asking for her birthday for a few months now, so we are going to make it a special week...  She is very excited.  I decided against doing a kid party this year again, she still has limited amount of friends her age, so it will be family with and Grace will be here.   I figure I can still get away with that.

Easter and Bye Bye to Gram and Gramp

Easter has come and gone and so have Gram and Gramp. They left yesterday morning, at the crack of dawn, and Samantha was definitely sadder than usual yesterday.  She was clingy.  We will see them in a few months when we head back east.

Easter was wonderful and the Easter Bunny came and brought Samantha some sunglasses, a piggy, a necklace, some jellibean...she had a blast and loved everything in her basket.  Gram, Gramp, Patti, Ken, Erin, Ben and Megan all joined us for Easter dinner and it was a gorgeous day.  We ate and played outside all day.

The day before we of course colored eggs, and Megan came over for that.  We had also gone to lunch that day with Gracie and got to see her new baby brother, Cash, so sweet!

Samantha is going through a little change I think, she is getting more of a mind of her own, and is insisting on picking out her clothes etc.  Sometimes I let her, and sometimes I don't.  I try to choose my battles carefully.

She is in school this morning and we are back to her needed to be held by me for a little while when we first go in.  That's ok.  No crying when I leave.

Now life is getting a back to normal for us, somewhat.  Birthday's are coming, and we have someting planned it seems every weekend until the end of May! 

Sam and Grace

Coloring Easter Eggs

More decorating

The Easter Bunny AND the Easter Dog came!!

Mmmm Chocolate Bunny.......

Lovin her Piggy

Sam with her Grandparents

Listening to Megan in sing in church

California Here We Come!

We had a fun adventurous week! First Auntie Margy came from Maine on Wednesday.  We took her to see some AZ sites and had fun in the desert!   Then on Friday we hopped in the car and drove to San Diego to have a little beach time see Aunty MaryAnn, who was in town on business!
The trip was 6.5 hrs long, and Samantha did very well.  She only slept for about 1/2 hour but we all kept her entertained.  We saw many trains along the way, and that helped too!
We stayed in La Jolla and had a wonderful view of the ocean from our room.  On Sat. we all headed to Coronado and checked out the old hotel, and the little town.  Samantha was exhausted so Frank and I put her in the car seat and toured around by car for a while.  She slept for 1 1/2 hours! Then we had ice cream and back to the hotel. While at the Coronado Samantha got to dip her feet in the sea for the first time...and it ended up being, her feet, AND her face! The approaching wave scared her so as she turned to run....down she went and came up all wet with a face full of sand.  There were some tears, being so tired didn't help.
Then on Sun. we had breakfast at a fabulous little place in La Jolla, called the Coffee Shop, it was 50 years old, full of charm. Then we went back to the beach, there was a fabulous little playground right on the beach, and after playing there for a while we ventured back to the sand.  Samantha loved loved loved playing in the said and building a sand castle.  We could not talk her back into dipping her toes in again...that was not going to happen.
We all had lunch in Del Mar, again a little beach time there, time on the playground and walking around then we headed back to AZ.
Samantha took a very long nap on the way home this time, and about an hr before we got home, started really fussing...she had HAD IT! Luckily, Auntie MaryAnn gave us  her DVD player that she is no longer using, and that helped entertain Sam. 
All in all was a great time, and Frank and  I both said we need to go back there ... alot more!!

Auntie Margy and Sam at Tortilla Flats, chekcing out the river.

Aunties and Daddy in Old Town San Diego

On the Beach in Coronado

View From our Room

This is what I call a playground!

Happy Sand Castle Building Girl

Posing for a picture in Del Mar

Another Busy Weekend!

We had another busy, and rainy weekend!  Well, Sat. was nice, but Sunday...bleck! I feel like I spent most of the weekend away.  I went shopping with my motther, and worked a little before we left, and worked a little when we got home! Daddy had Sam most of the day.
On Sunday I had a baby shower, and again Daddy was in charge. Why do I feel guilty about these things??  I just do.
I am very very excited though because friends we met through the FCC waiting families group, are in China and have the're little Jiandra!  She is gorgeous, and at least in the pictures, looks like all is well.  Lets face it though, those of us who have gone through this, as long as out babies are WITH us, all IS well. 

Great weekend!

We had a great weekend! It was Apache Junction Lost Dutchman Days.  I know I know, AJ is a little hokey...however, this weekend is the best of the year.  It's the weekend that makes it fun to live in the far east valley, and also reminds us we live in the wild west!  It all starts with a parade on Main St. We arrived early, and it was still packed!  The parade is 2 hours long and features, horses, mini cars, some bands, people throwing candy...lots of fun. Samantha loved it, and even liked the clown as we were leaving.  He posed for a picture with her, and when he left, Sam says; "I love him"! So Cute.
Then later on me and my dad took her to the carnival!  She went on 4 rides, and teased to go on the big ones, but Mama is happy she is still too little....god help me when she is not!  She also won a littel stuffed animal, on a floating duck game. 
We had food that's bad for you, saw the wild horse and burrows, and pet baby pigs and goats!  Lots of fun.

Lollypops being thrown at you is a good thing!

Other fun stuff was thrown too!

Our parade party!!

Gramp and Sam enjoy the carnival

Sam and the clown