Nicknames

Most of you probably know that we are a nickname-loving family. While I was laying down with Sammy tonight, I started thinking about all the names that she will answer to.

Some of my favorites:

Sammy
Sam
SamSam (in response to MaMa or DaDa)
SamSamSam (in response to MaMaMa or DaDaDa)
Sassafras
Sassafras McSassypants
Sassy
Sass
Stinkerpants
Stinky Mink
Stinky Monkey
Climber Monkey

Monkey
Monkey Doodle
Doodle Bop
Doodle Bug

Doodle
Ladybug

Sweet Girl

It's a wonder that she ever figured out what her given name is!

And because a post is never complete without a cute picture, here's one of Sammy's recent outfits that she put together herself.

D-I-V-A

Diva Sammy insisted on wearing her sunglasses and boots all morning the other day. She pitched a fit when I tried to take them off for breakfast, so I let her keep them on.

Memorial Day Vacation

Pat is in the middle of three weeks of training at the Yakima Training Center in Eastern Washington, so to help keep my sanity Sammy and I went to see Grandma and Grandpa. In retrospect, two 4+ hour flights alone with a toddler and an 8 hour road trip from St. Louis to Nashville were probably not the best ways to stay sane, but everything worked out much better than I had anticipated.

First we flew to St. Louis to spend a couple of days at my Mom's house in Hermann. We took Grandma lunch at school one day, and I was able to see some of my old High School teachers. We also got to see Great Aunt Nancy and Great Grandma Rea and Great Grandpa Jim. I even got to spend a couple of hours with a close friend from High School. We took full advantage of being near St. Louis and introduced Sammy to both Steak 'n Shake and toasted ravioli. Here she is eating leftovers of both of them for lunch.

Richard came into town on Friday, and we all headed to Nashville after Mom got off work. Kurt and Abby made the trip too, so the whole family was able to spend Memorial Day weekend together. Activities for Samantha for the weekend included shrieking with laughter while playing crazy games with Grandpa.

Insisting on wearing Abby's lobster slippers around the house.

Playing with bubbles in the backyard despite the 90 degree weather.

Playing in the sprinkler for the first time ever.

And communing with nature (she watched this frog on the window for about 15 minutes).

We'll be back in St. Louis in late June/early July for a few days, and then we're heading to D.C. for a few days to see the other side of the family. Pat will get to come with us on that trip, so flying should be a little less stressful (although Sammy was a trooper and barely complained this time around!)