Night - night

I laid you down in bed tonight as you were drinking your juice. I was turning of the lights and turning on your music, when you said  "juice" and handed me your cup. I asked you for a kiss and you very willingly sat up and gave me one, which does not always happen. Most nights you resist bedtime at least a little. But the very sweetest moment is when you turned over to hug your baby and told me "night - night" just before l left your room. My almost two year old. My big girl told me goodnight.

Lazy Sunday

     Our only destination today was imagination land. The whole family joined the fun.  Brandon built a fort for you.  The two of you crawled in and out and hid from each other. Daddy took you flying through the air with bouncy landings on the couch. He flipped you upside down and all around. You and I spent a good part of the afternoon playing with your mega blocks and your little people playhouse.

     After changing out the laundry, I went back into your room to check on you. You were playing with your blocks, and you looked up at me and said, "Play?". Then you patted the floor next to you and said, "Sit."  Well how could I turn down an offer like that?  I'm not sure how long you and I were in there playing, but we sure had fun. The Little People had a party at their house, took a bus trip and a plane ride. Then we built countless structures with Mega Blocks. Singing, dancing, reading books, we explored, imagined and has a great time on or lazy Sunday.

Hopes and Dreams

Samantha Jean,

      Your Grandma Vogt came by today to drop off some farm raised beef for us. She couldn't stay long, but it was still a nice visit. Well, it is January 2013 and we are but a couple months from your 2nd birthday.  You have uttered your first full sentence.  "I want Baby and Blue Bear."  You are saying so many words, I can't keep up with them all.  I can still just sit and watch in amazement at you.  But, you know, I think I'll always just enjoy watching you be you for as long as you let me, no matter how old you get.  You'll be my baby when you are 37 (like me).  Which would make me...73...oh my.  I hope I'm still around to see you.  All my hopes and dreams wrapped up in one little girl, but don't worry, my hope is for you to be happy and my dream is for your dreams to come true.  Some days it will happen.  Some days it will not.  That is life.  Happiness belongs to the people who appreciate it.  Happiness comes in small everyday packages delivered to you.  It doesn't come in some big shiny box.  Happiness, true happiness comes when you choose to see the good in life.

     Now dreams.....I haven't mastered dreams yet.  My dreams for my life have changed over time.  I don't know if that is reality setting in, or my needs changing.  A combination of the two is likely.  When I was in Junior High, I wanted to be an astronaut.  It wasn't until college, when I couldn't pass calculus, when I realized that an astronaut was a bit out of reach.  It was my senior year in college that I realized I wanted to be a mommy, but the time wasn't right.  I was 23 and headed for the Army.  My enlistment was to pay off my student loans.  The military is a great way to go to college for free, but I don't recommend it during war time.  I went through college and the Army without a clear destination other than to make it through.  At the end of my 3 years of enlistment, I came home to no direction or drive whatsoever.  About a year after my return home, I had a dream to be a physical therapist.  Alas, 11 years later, that dream has come and gone. BUT, there is one dream I had when I was 23 years old that came true at the age of 36.  It is a sacred dream shared by many people in our family.  It is a dream that took time and love.  It was my dream to have you.  So I can say without a doubt that I am happy and my dream has come true.  Be true to yourself and follow your heart. If your heart fails to guide you, you can ALWAYS trust your gut.

     So, Samantha, be what you want to be...

a musician

a pilot 

a cyclist

an analyst

a farmer (like Pa-pa)

an at home mom / homemaker 

or a doctor

Follow your dreams...

Hide and Seek

     It is Friday on your 21st  montherday. I took care of all my chores earlier this week to spend the day with you.  You started off the day perfectly by sleeping until 8:30. Ahhh, beauty sleep; we love to sleep in.  This morning we had one of your favorite breakfasts of cheesy scrambled eggs with milk.  We read our books and played this morning before your nap. The fun really started this afternoon when we played a brand new game.  This is game that you'll play for years to come with your friends. It's a little game called hide and seek.  We took turns hiding and seeking. You sure had fun popping out of your hiding place!  I showed you where you could hide, and you ducked down and popped right back up again. We hid in great places like under tables, behind the Christmas tree, next to furniture, under a rug, and covered in pillows.  I especially enjoyed when you found me, because I was Samantha attacked. You said, "Mommy!". When you were hiding, you would say your name as only you do. It sounds like Santha. That's pretty good if you ask me.

     We ate our supper of Chicken Gouda sandwiches courtesy of your Daddy and went on to play some more.  Your Momma always has an agenda. Sometimes my day is shared with you and bookkeeping or cleaning or grocery shopping but today was dedicated to you my precious girl. All for you.

   Well enough typing, the day isn't over. Back to you baby. You are playing with your brother as and its time for Mommy to join in.

Just another day?

     Samantha, I so enjoy your company. We didn't do anything exciting today, but you make everyday an adventure. We went Walmart to get one more Christmas present for your Daddy. You put a smile on so many faces just by being your normal smiling, happy self.  We talk the whole time in the store about what we see and what we need to get. As we were walking in the seasonal decorations department, you smartly pointed out that we were near TREES; Christmas trees, that is. Throughout the store you pronounced your observations:  DOLL, DOG, MONKEY in the toy isle.  You saw MILK and SODA at the back of the store. My goodness, what a trip. You and Mommy got everything on the list with smiles all around, and let me tell you that true smiles during the Christmas season at Walmart is hard to come by.

     After a nice long nap and some food for the belly, we were off to Columbia to drop off the picture files for a custom print I needed done for other presents.  I park on South 9th and get out my baby wrap, which is a long piece of fabric that wraps around both of us and holds you on my front, side or back. It's a little helping hand leaving me 2 hands to take care of business while you are in loving security.  You are in front of me today. As we wait to be helped at the store, you and I chit-chat about our surroundings. That gets old, so you just lay our little head on my chest for a moment and rest your eyes. So precious.

     Once the dropped off to pictures, we headed over to Toys R Us. I wanted to find a chair for your room to read in.  I'm looking for one that can hold both of us, because we love to read together. We didn't have any luck, so it was time to head home.....getting dark.

     At home, more food for the cute belly, then I decided to give you an early bath. It had been a long day of running so I thought I'd make it an early to bed night if you were willing. Bath time is so much fun...
splashing, swishing, filling up and dumping out your cup. Mommy made a spike on your head. You didn't seem to mind, so I took pictures.

Camdenton Airshow

	We have very good friends. This weekend our good friends Curtis and his kids Bud & Lexi with Matt & Erin and their son Mason asked us to go to the Lake of the Ozarks to a condo for the weekend.  Saturday was an airshow in Camdenton.  It couldn't have been a better weekend to be outside.  The sky was clear, the sun was warm and the adventure was new for you.
The condo was on the lake's edge with a lovely view of boat docks, but the view on the balcony was much better.  Just watching you experience new things warms my heart.  You spent a good portion of the time inside trying to climb the full staircase to the 2nd floor.  You did make it all the way up unassisted, but going down in another matter.  It is much scarier when you have to look down.  After this weekend you will have no problems with stairs.  You are the stair master (of going up).
We walked through this cargo/passenger carrier	The Jet Truck
We spent a good part of the day at the airshow, packed a picnic lunch and enjoyed the show.  You and Mason (2 yrs old) played and were happy to be able to walk freely where we parked.  You and Mommy rested a while in the car after lunch while Daddy went to watch that silly jet truck.  We headed back to the condo after that to start supper and relax.  You had no trouble going to sleep that night.  Neither did Mommy and Daddy as we snuggled in on either side of you.  You had a good time at the condo.  We'll have to do it again.

The Swinging Bridge Adventure

	The adventure begins the night before with some research.  The following day  is forecast to be low to mid 80's, sunny and beautiful.  We plan a low budget outing to Lake of the Ozarks State Park to explore parts of it we have never seen before.   The plan is to pack some food and drink, fill up the car and drive a new route to the South East corner of the park.  The countryside is so beautiful in the southern half of Missouri.  We take a highway to a county paved road to a gravel road.  This bridge is off the beaten path, but there were a few people there enjoying it's beauty.  We go across a small bridge made of cable, iron and wooden planks.  The "best" part of this one was the material on the driving surface was corrugated steel.  You know, the wavy metal used for barn or shed siding and roofs.  Samantha enjoyed it.  She was making and ahh noise so it sounded like she was talking into a fan.  Paul and I were glad to be off of it. As we rounded a corner, we saw the bigger bridge; the one I had seen pictures of on the internet.  It did not disappoint.  It stretched over a small finger of the lake with wide gravel beaches.  There was access to the water and primitive camping just after the bridge were a man and his small son were playing with a remote controlled car on the rocky terrain.  We parked near the water to take it all in.  Daddy took Miss Samantha over the uneven ground while I took pictures.  We were able to walk all the way down and underneath the bridge.  The view from underneath this 90 year old bridge was a sight to behold.  The picture to the left does not do it justice.  A design like this really tests the bounds of physics.  To know that a full size SUV can travel on a bridge made well before vehicles became so large.  Spectacular.  For more info on the 2 bridges check out this link: SWINGING BRIDGES, BRUMLEY, MO Once under the bridge, we found a nice open area to let Samantha explore.  No doubt an area created by the many footsteps of visitors before us.  She checked out the ripples in the water and the foliage nearby.  Watching her reaction to every new environment fills my heart with joy.   We left that area to go back down into the water.  I can't be that close to clear water and not put my feet in.  I wear sandals for a reason.  The gravel is small enough that we let Samantha have a look around.  She was wearing her brand "new" Nike shoes, blue jeans, t-shirt and hat. My girl, comfy, casual & ready to explore, not to mention the sunscreen applied to every spot of exposed skin. We were able to see 3 blue herons hunting for their next meal.  We were about 50 yards from one of the herons while it took flight.  Such a beautiful place, we'll have return with our tent and gear to do some fishing, swimming and enjoy the view of the bridge next summer.  Samantha will be 2 1/2 years old next summer and will be unstoppable.  Maybe Samantha and her grandma and grandpa can spend a weekend together while Paul and I have a quiet weekend at this jewel of a spot.  Hmmm....that sounds good.  I don't know, Samantha sure is fun to be around.  We'll just have to wait and see.