Fall Break

I just finished a wonderful full week off of work.
The week started with a 3-day weekend trip to the river as a family. We had a great time. Samantha is such a good river baby. She LOVES it. She loves living in the trailor, the boat rides, Ranger rides, swimming, visiting the horses, and playing with her friend Jamie. The best thing is she is so tired out from the fun, she sleeps awesome at the river! It feels good as a mom to see such joy on her face as she is experiencing these fun river activities.
The rest of the week I enjoyed engrossing myself in my toddler's world. We played with her Thomas trains (her favorite thing) for hours. She knows all their names and personalities. She gets so excited and claps happily as we push the engines down the tracks. I thought this Thomas thing would be a short phase, but Joe and I are now shopping for a train table!
Other favorite activities we enjoyed were:
Singing songs and rhymes. She has so many of them memorized. So smart for a 2 year old.
Reading books. She loves to sit on Mommy's lap and read book after book.
Cooking dinner for Daddy.This is new. When I am busy in the kitchen she now wants to sit up on the counter "I up dere Momma!" or pushes a chair over to watch and help. I let her poor ingredients in a bowl or sometimes just give her an empty one with a spoon to play with.
Listening for trash trucks. One of the most exciting things in the world! "Trash truck! Go fine it Momma!" We run outside and watch the truck drive up and down the street. Many times the driver will wave at us!
Tickles and sugar. Her giggles are music to my ears. When I stop she'll tell me. "Again Momma!" or "Get some sugar Momma!"
Stuffed animal piles. We pile up every stuffed animal in the house and then lay on top and talk about how comfy and cozy it is.
Samantha was such a joy this week. She has really learned to follow directions and now understands consequences to disobedience. This has made it much easier to get along. We were able to enjoy one another without mommy having to discipline too often. She also communicates so well now. She can tell me that she is excited about something we are going to do and can talk about the fun she had recently in the past. It is really cool to see how she is growing and maturing.
I really don't want to go back to work tomorrow. I loved my Stay at Home Mommy Week!