Samantha's first blog

pamelamyers | July 28, 2015

There has been a lot of random stuff going on, nothing major, just summer days full of nothing to do (at least for Sam, some of us have to work…) One day, Sam spied something I have had packed away in a corner for probably 10 years. I bought this paper house at one of those craft stores a lifetime ago with the intention of painting it, decorating it, etc. and just never got around to it. Then after I had Sam I thought I’d save it for her to do, but she always seemed to young to really do a good job. After she saw it and begged me if she could have it, how could I say no? She is such a big girl now and so crafty, I said, why not? and let her go at it. She was as happy as could be for such a long time, painting away her beautiful house.

The smile on her face says it all. She was so surprised I think that I let her have the house, that she felt like the luckiest kid in the world.

I do have to give her credit, when she is crafting, she concentrates really hard and does a great job.

In other random happenings, it’s cooking time! Sam likes to help me cook (not that it spurs on any interest in actually eating the food we prepare). She always wants to help chop but the idea of her using our knives scares me to death. I have let her a few times but I get too nervous, especially now that she is always yelling, “I can do it!’ and swatting me away. I looked online and found this set of cooking knives for kids (thanks, Amazon!) that are actually supposed to be functional, but safe. Sam was thrilled when I gave them to her. First recipe, some caprese salad. She happily chopped away at tomatoes, mozzarella and fresh basil from our garden.

And speaking of the garden, it was carrot harvesting time! I totally forgot about those carrots, I will admit, but Sam didn’t!

Ta da! Our first carrots!

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pamelamyers | July 27, 2015

Since we were down the shore on my mom’s actual birthday, we needed to have a celebration at home. We can’t leave Poppy out of the fun! And of course, we needed cake. Sam picked out the flavor (chocolate on chocolate) and helped bake and decorate the whole thing.

Grandmom was turning 70 and Sam added a 5 because she is 5. The Cinderella coach was also Sam’s special addition.

For some reason, Sam wouldn’t sing Happy Birthday, but she did sit on my mom’s lap.

When it was time to blow out the candles, she helped with that though.

And also with the eating of the frosting. Not the cake, just the frosting. She licked every bit off the decoration and ate all the frosting off of her slice of cake too.

After cake while we were cleaning up, Sam played with Poppy. She showed him how to work her cash register.

Present time! Which is Sam’s favorite time. She helped my mom open her presents and her card. You don’t get 5 seconds to actually read any cards with Sam around, but still.

Kisses for everyone!

I got my mom a Kindle Fire for her birthday. Once Sam figured out what it was she was very excited. She loves playing on mine (which does contain some books, but a heck of a lot of her games). I made sure Sam understood that it was Grandmom’s Kindle, not hers, and it was not going to be full of games. She gets enough screen time as it is. But you can see the look on her face like, “Yes! Kindle at Grandmom’s house!”

From the look of befuddlement on my mom’s face, maybe Sam will have to teach her how it works. Don’t worry, Mom, you’ll figure it out. And if not, tech support is onsite 3 days a week. 🙂

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pamelamyers | July 25, 2015

I have been working with Sam for what seems like forever on learning to read. I am not expecting miracles or anything, but she knows all her letter sounds and I think she can sound out words if she tries. Not only that, but in preschool last year, they gave them a short list of sight words to start learning. Sam knows some, but not all of the ones she was given. I wish she’d try a little harder, honestly. I hate getting frustrated with her, but I know she is so smart and capable of so much, that when I don’t see her trying her best, I, well…get frustrated.

At any rate, I have been doing all I can to get her to sound out words when we read together. Simple words. Three letter words. Nothing hard, nothing with complex letter blends. Nothing. She just doesn’t want to, I think. I really believe she can do it, she just doesn’t want to right now. Why I have no idea. She insists I read three books every night at bedtime, she is thrilled to death with new books, she loves the idea of reading, she just won’t do it. She “reads” me stories she is familiar with, although I know it is just that they are so familiar, and the pictures prompt her a long. But still. It is her version of reading and I do like it.

One of the last hopes I tried was buying a set of Bob Books. These are the easiest readers imaginable. Boring, but easy. Simple words, lots of similar sounds. We tried a book a few times and Sam just didn’t get it. Well….guess what? She finally did! Sam sounded out each and every word in the “Dot” book. She stumbled a few times, to be sure, but she did it! I was so proud of her. Here is the book, in its entirety:

Dot has a hat. Dot has a cat. The cat has a hat. Dot has a dog. Dog has a hat. Dog has a rag hat. Sad dog. Sad Dot. Sad cat. Dog has on a rag hat. The End. (FYI – Everyone is sad because Dog’s hat seems to have slightly fallen apart. He then wore it again thus problem solved).

Congratulations, Sam! You did it! You did it! I can’t believe you did it, but indeed you did! I hope there are multitudes of books in your future that we can share. I look forward to you reading to me one day.

 

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pamelamyers | July 24, 2015

Our last day at the beach. It was one of the nicest days. It is like the beach and the ocean are trying to beg you to stay, just a little longer. Come on….you know you want to….it’s so nice here….

Believe me, if we could have stayed, I think we would have! I have no idea what she was trying to talk me into here, but she probably succeeded.

Ryder had a blast this year, that’s for sure! He was so little last year that he couldn’t really do anything, but this year he was ready to go! Covered from head to toe in sand….

I think Sam enjoyed Ryder’s little pool more than he did!

One of our many relaxing moments. It really was so much easier this year. Sam amused herself a lot and we sort of took turns amusing her when she didn’t.

Kite flying time again!

The house we stayed in had a sort of beach paddle ball set. Mark thought Sam might like it. It took her a while, but she did get the hang of it and loved it. I think we might be buying one of these for ourselves for future years. She is obsessed with the idea of playing tennis, so maybe this is the next best thing.

Mark bought Sam a new shovel this year. It was a huge hit, not only with Sam, but with all of us. It really makes it easy to dig, and we do a lot of digging. Mark always taught Sam to fill in the wholes before leaving the beach because you leave nature the way you found it, and I will say, she always fills them in.

Our last day at the beach was also my mom’s 70th birthday so we all went out to a nice Italian restaurant to celebrate.

After dinner was ice cream. Sam decided she liked Grandmom’s more than her own so she snagged quite a few licks of Grandmom’s cone. As you can see. Yikes.

That night at the ice cream place, Marita’s, was a charity event so it was really crowded but Sam didn’t mind, since there were tons of games and music set up for everyone to enjoy.

Bedtime, but not before giving Grandmom a gift. But really, it is our gift that Grandmom comes on vacation with us every year. Thanks for giving Sam such amazing memories. Happy Birthday!

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pamelamyers | July 23, 2015

Before it got too busy, and too cold up there (the wind can be brutal), we decided to ride the Ferris Wheel. When I think back to how many years Mark and I rode that by ourselves, and how many years we have now been able to take Sam, boy oh boy, I am getting old! We all love the Ferris Wheel, Sam included. I don’t know what we would do if she didn’t enjoy it. Look at that gorgeous face! Hers, not mine. Geez.

Little Miss Sassy Pants. Oh, the boys are going to have to look out!

After the Ferris Wheel, we went on an old favorite, the spinning bears. They are pretty low key, as long as you don’t mind some mild spinning. Why does she like all the spinning? If she is a roller coaster kid, I am doomed.

Sam wanted to ride a new ride this time, the Crazy Submarine. Not so crazy, but she liked it. It just went up and down in a sort of slow, circular motion. Sam actually said if you didn’t look out the window, it didn’t even feel like it was moving. She’s kind of right. Boring, but she says she wants to go on it again next time. Go figure.

Last stop of the night, and last ride of the trip — the Carousel. Yet another ride Mark and I always shared when we were a Two and not a Three. Riding the Carousel instantly turns her into the 5 year old kid she is. No sass, no grown up behavior, just a little kid riding a horse and loving every minute of it.

The joy on her face makes every penny spent on vacation 100% worth it.

Sam and Mark stopped to take in the view while my mom and I went to get some refreshments.

Sam was so excited to tell me when I got back that she saw bunnies! Beach bunnies! (And not the bikini clad kind). They are hard to see in this picture, but the little brown spots are there in the dunes. Three of them, just hanging out. Sam has the best eyes. Even in the dim light, she spied bunnies.

It was hard to leave, but it was getting late and it was time to go. Bye Boardwalk! See you soon!

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