Still no tooth!!!

My sweet, always happy, quiet, observant little girl has been missing for the last 2 weeks & in her place is this little one who can go from the happiest little girl to mad screams in half of a second. AND STILL NO TEETH!!! Samantha is eating more than she was last week & isn't fussy for as much of the day; but when it hits nothing helps, it's inconsolable misery. My heart goes out to her & I wish those stinking teeth would pop out already. Ours is now a world of tylenol, teething tablets, & teethers in the fridge.
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On a more upbeat note, Sami LOVES to stand! I guess now that she can sit on her own really well, standing is her delight. She locks her waist so that we can't sit her anywhere; this is our new battle! (It's rather funny actually.) She is also into banging things now; give her a rattle & watch her bang it against whatever is nearby over & over again.
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Lance told her this morning, "You're almost 7 months old little girl." That startled me. I guess because 7 months is the downhill slide to 1 year. Wow! time is going so quickly; and even with the joys of the never-ending teething process Sami is so very precious! She knows exactly how & when to smile to melt your heart & win your favor. She is adorable when she blushes! She pulls her head down into her shoulders, looks up at you with her eyes & gives a flirty little smile. It's amazing how quickly little girls learn how to 'work it!'
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Our Valentine's Day was very quiet & nice. On our first Valentine's Day together Lance made me dinner & we watched movies. This has been our tradition ever since. (Even the same meal & yes, Lance still cooks it!) We hope you all had an amazing Valentine's Day as well.
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I moved the rug & coffee table for Sami to have room to 'zoom' around.

Which decade do you think this fashionista came from?

Grumpy, the Maynard dwarf

What a grump!!!!! We began this week with our 6 month well-baby visit & left a sick baby! (From what my mom tells me this was not uncommon for my brothers & I growing up!) Samantha got her last round of shots, including a flu shot & spent the evening projectile vomiting. On Tuesday the flu shot kicked in & she was achy, just wanted to sit bundled up on the couch. On Wed the fever began & so did the screaming. Inconsolable screaming; this continued through Saturday morning. She refused food all week & instead was pumped on Tylenol.
However, this morning she woke up with an appetite!! Still no teeth but the returned appetite gives me hope for a better day! Poor girl was so miserable but nothing seemed to help. I'm glad she's feeling better though, Lance even got a couple of laughs from her this morning!

Lance & Sami in the waiting room.

Weighing in, 16 pounds 4 ounces. (She measured 26 1/2 inches long.)

Waiting for Dr. Kara. Yes, my daughter has a big mouth!

Sami enjoyed chewing on my spatula while we made rice krispy treats.

6 months old!

Yesterday was another milestone in our family, Samantha turned 6 months old! She is such a darling! She loves to watch & attempt to imitate, especially when it comes to eating. She enjoys her jumper & activity centers but also really likes playing on the floor. Tummy time isn't quite so fun as it used to be; although every chance she gets she rolls over onto her tummy, then looks around a bit & cries. Sometimes she'll string her rolls & go back over again. She gets really excited & kicks her heels into the floor; but by far her favorite position is on her side playing with something on the floor, or sitting or standing. She likes to be in the action & as chatting much more than she used to. I haven't weighed or measured her lately (her 6 month checkup is Monday so I'll let you know her stats after that.) but I'm guessing she's around 25 or 26 inches & probably 16 pounds? We'll see how far off I am! Here are some photos of my little 1/2 year old girl!!

On the occasion of Samantha's half year birthday here are her monthly photos:
1 week

1 month

2 months

3 months

The 4 month photo is buried deep in archives so we'll skip to 5 months.

Lastly, 6 months!!

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On a side note I have to show off a cute gift! Nichole made me these for my birthday; isn't she clever & talented?!?! Thanks girl!

Happy Birthday Lance!!

Happy Birthday Lance!!!

Yesterday was my sweet husband's birthday! Happy Birthday to him! He is out goose hunting right now with some friends & then the Superbowl! What better day? Yesterday he got to "sleep in". (I put that in quotations because it's later than he'd sleep on a work day but still not as late as I'd love to sleep given the opportunity!) We caught the tail end of Christmas Vacation with Chevy Chase (Lance's favorite Christmas movie) as we ate our hearty breakfast of cinnamon rolls! (That should give you an idea of how the rest of the day progressed!) We did whatever he felt like doing & ended our day with a hearty steak dinner. Happy Birthday Lance! I love you!
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Bottle Time?!?!

We had gotten some sushi Friday night to celebrate Lance's birthday with my parents. (I had been craving the pimp roll since my birthday 2 years ago; but due to pregnancy & breast feeding certain things fall to the wayside.) Needless to say I had to "pump & dump" yesterday, so Sami had a bottle all day. She took it eagerly at first; then flat out refused! It was heartbreaking because she was so hungry & kept trying to latch on through my shirt but screamed whenever the bottle came near! So we filled her up on peas & rice cereal until she finally relented to the bottle around 3pm!! Then she wouldn't let go of it; go figure! Since we haven't really been giving her bottles it was neat to see her grab it & hold onto it herself. Also she kept rotating the bottle in her hands while she ate- it was rather cute.
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I never thought that we would have a problem when it came time to wean Samantha but after her screaming refusals yesterday I realized that we just might. Also, this morning when I breastfed her again I realized how much I had missed it, even after just a day. It's truly an amazing experience. Now I just have to get her to quit biting!! She has no teeth but seems to think it's fun to chomp down & pull. OUCH!!!
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My little darling just woke up so I will add some photos later of the birthday boy & his princess. Until then, enjoy the Superbowl!
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Time for cake!! Just after I put the camera away (actually AS I was putting the camera away) Lance sat Sami really close to the cake to "see if she would go for it". Of course she did & chocolate frosting went everywhere! All over her & everything remotely near her got frosted, including Lance!



Samantha with her bottle.

Hello again...

I really don't have much new or any photos but just thought I'd pipe in to say hello & that we are still here. Lance has been getting in a good deal of goose hunting (to me it seems like a good deal, to him he 'barely goes'!). Poor guy has been working hard so I figure he deserves some time for fun, right?
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As for Samantha, well she's starting to connect her rolls together & get mobile. I haven't seen her do more that 2 in a row; but that's enough to start bumping her head into things with momentum! I guess instead of making sure the floor is clear just around her, I now need to make sure it is all clear! She is coming into her own personality & that has been a treat to see! She's VERY observant with new people, but once she deems them okay she gets talkative! My old roomies (Terri & Lindsay) were over on Tuesday & as we sat chatting Sami had to get in on the action! I've noticed her doing that quite a bit lately when I'm conversing with someone. She's not very talkative but when she decides to be vocal she can get rather loud!
She definitely has favorite foods now! Sweet potatoes are the best!!! She tolerates carrots & peas, doesn't care for squash, but oh those sweet potatoes!!! Yummy! Lance thinks she's going to be the weird girl who brings her sweet potato to the party while all the other kids are chowing on cake. The mom in me says, "Is that so bad?"
Samantha is also learning about parks! Oh the joy?!?! I took her to her first park & she was her typical quiet, observant self in the swing & on the slide. No smiles. Then I took her again Thursday with my mother (our washing machine is on the fritz, so it was laundry day at my parent's house!). After about 3 minutes on the swing we got intermittent smiles from her & even 2 coos. She might just decided that she does like it! Still no smiles on the slide though.
We hope you are all enjoying 2009!

Our first attempt at swinging- this is the closest to a smile that she mustered!

Strolling it nana style! (In nana's realm there is no such thing as too many toys!!)

Our second attempt at swinging was a bit more fun!

Not sure what to think about the slide.

Standing on the slide is fun though!

2009, Birthdays & Food!

Happy New Year!!!

With the New Year we decided to start new things- such as solid food for Samantha! She did really well with her rice cereal & tonight she tasted carrots. Overall she's really taking to eating solids. We had noticed that she was watching us eat pretty intently & when she would sit on my lap while I was eating she would go for my spoon or fork; so we figured that she was ready. So far, so good. The only bad face she's made is when I didn't put enough milk in her rice cereal. Her little mouth twisted into such a grimace!

Getting ready for our first solids! We put a little rice cereal on her tray for her to explore.

When it got into her mouth she paused a bit when she realized something was on the spoon; but then she just kept going!

Lance helping Sami figure out this eating thing.

Sami is learning the eating thing pretty quickly, now she has her own spoon to play with while mommy or daddy feed her.

Oh yeah- we are also eating our toes now!! Yummy!

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Happy Birthday Nana!!!

So Tuesday, 1/6, was my mother's birthday! Happy Birthday! She was sick & had business to tend to on her actual birthday so we celebrated on Friday. We (Lance, Sami, my brother Chris & I) joined mom & dad for dinner (fried shrimp & oysters!! yum!) & cake. I hope you have gotten a chance to relax & kick some of the yuckiness of being sick. Also I heard your granite is in the kitchen!! Yeah!!!! Happy Birthday Mom!

Notice how well Sami is sitting up now! (Also notice the bling on her wrist!)

We got all dolled up for Nana's birthday- isn't she adorable??!!

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Go Avalanche!!!

Yesterday my parents watched Samantha while Lance & I went to the Avalanche vs Penguins game! Thank you very much!

My Av's fans!

Merry Christmas to all!!!

We hope all of you had a very merry Christmas!! We told Samantha that she was a very lucky girl because her first Christmas lasted 4 days! The temperatures here were nice & chilly & we had a couple of days of snow but it was a fast & furious week for sure! Hope you are in for a long post! (It's okay if you just look at the photos!!)
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Arts & Crafts!

We began by doing arts & craft time with the 3 of us. We decided to make 3 plaster ornament molds of Sami's feet; one for each grandparent(s) & one for us.

The mission: plaster mold ornaments of Sami's feet!

Plaster poured & Sami is naked & ready!

Mom do I have to???

One left to go- this isn't too bad!

Done!

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On the first day(s) of Christmas... (Christmas Eve)

On the 19th My Aunt Carolyn, Uncle Mike & cousin Cathy came into town. Then on the 20th my cousin Jen & her 2 boys, Kaleb & Noah joined us. The lot of us were quite busy. We went shopping- what a day!- and tubing & sledding & cooked up a storm! We ate dinner with them on Christmas Eve.

Samantha on her first gondola ride. Her ticket has her name on it!! (Yes it was free.)

My folks & little brother!

Uncle Mike, Noah, Aunt Carolyn & dad.

Jen, Kaleb & Cathy.

Noah rode up the hill inside the tube!

Aunt Carolyn & Uncle Mike.

Chris, dad & I.

Samantha sleeping peacefully!

Jen & her tired boys!

The guys doing dishes!!

Everyone took a turn at the Wii.

Jen & Cathy helped Kaleb & Noah create a gingerbread house.

Samantha even played with Uncle Chris! (The doll that she is playing with was a gift from my grandmother- it was the doll I played with at her house when I was little. Thanks Meme.)

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On the second day of Christmas... (Christmas Day)

On Christmas Day we woke up & did stockings & gifts between the 3 of us. Samantha paid attention to her daddy as he opened all of her gifts; she quickly got tired though. As she was taking her nap, Lance & I got to check out our gifts & then it was off to the Patinos for dinner & games with the Thomas family. (Thanks to my husband for my Photoshop Elements software & winter jacket & he got decoys)

Samantha digging into her stocking.

Checking out some gifts.

A bottle from dad.

Sitting among dad's decoys!

I remember you guys!

Aunt Shelly

Gift exchange. (Thanks for the peace sign Mike!)

Sami played with Uncle Fred.

Aren't I cute?!

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On the third day of Christmas...

We spent the 26th with my parents. Lance went hunting in the morning & then we all went to their new house in Elizabeth- looking good!- and the exchanged gifts with them. (I don't have these pictures just yet so here she is enjoying the gifts!)

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On the fourth day of Christmas...

Linda came to town the 27th & 28th to spend Christmas. The 3 of us spent the morning together then headed to Norma's house to hang out with her & Linda. Wow...4 days of Christmas...what a luck little girl!!

Aren't I cute in my Christmas dress from grandma?

Sami & grandma


Sami & dad.

Opening gifts with grandma.

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5 months old!
I realize that we accidentally skipped her 4 month post (which occurred at Thanksgiving) but here are her 5 month photos. Happy 5 months little girl! She is grabbing for things now- her spatial awareness has increased greatly & she is getting much better at sitting! Sami is also much more tolerant of new people- she let Uncle Chris play with her & Uncle Fred hold her! Also we are laughing for real now!

Playing with deer (4 1/2 months)

5 months old!

A video of Samantha laughing. I coughed & she thought it was funny so I kept doing it!

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Teaposies

These are too awesome!