Sami's First Sleigh Ride

Sami had her very first sleigh ride this weekend! She LOVED it! And so did her brother and father. I've never seen them smile so much. These boys love this girl SO much!

She was laying down inthe sled first because I was afraid that she wouldn't be able to hold herself up while he was pulling her and if she fell backward from a sitting position that would have been the end of it for her. She looked incredibly awkward laying down so we got the Bumbo and wedged her in it, lol. It was a snug fit with her snowsuit on, but it worked perfectly!

They had so much fun!!! It was AWESOME!

She was really happy, but I think it was too cold for her to smile, lol. She enjoyed it so much, I wish she could have stayed out longer but it was cold and I was getting worried. She never complained a bit and when we came back inside to warm up, we played for about 2 minutes and she was ready for a nap. The fresh air felt good.

Continued...

Daddy had to have his turn too. Ian was so happy, I've never seen him light up like this. He was just so proud of his kids and was soaking up this moment.

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Breaking News...

This just in....Sami's first tooth!!!

It broke through last night. Just a sharp little tip, but it's there. I have a feeling that the one next to it isn't far behind. She's been taking it like a pro. No complaining from her, no fever, just drool....lots and lots of drool!
She did great at her 6 month appointment too. Weighed in at 16 pounds (50th percentile) and 26.5 inches (75th percentile). She did great with her shots. Screamed a bit, but was quickly consoled and even smiled for the nurse immediately after the last shot when I picked her up. No fever after the shots this time either.
This morning she wanted nothing to do with her cereal so I gave her some Cherri0s and she was in heaven. I guess she just wanted to try out her new tooth, lol.

The boys took off first thing this morning on the snowmobile....well....Scott's snowmobile. Ian hasn't picked his up yet, or it hasn't come in yet. Either way, he's pretty jealous and has been using Scott's just about everyday since the snow started flying.

6 months!!

Wow, I can't believe it's been half a year since my baby was born!! Where does the time go?

I sent out pics to family this week from her 6 month photo shoot I did and they all said 5 month photo shoot, lol. I don't think I'm ready for her to be 6 months yet.

6 months seems like a big milestone. In all the baby mags and books it is the separation of the groups that they categorize our babies in. She's really becoming a big girl now.

We are in Kind*rmusik once a week now and she LOVES it! It's nice to be out and interacting with other moms and babies. There is a baby in our class that is exactly one month older than Sam and she is so tiny! I never thought Sami was big for her age until I met this little peanut. In another class that we previewed there was a girl that was 2 or 3 months older than Sam and they were the same size! Weird. I can't wait to go to the dr. this month to get her measurements. We go on Wednesday.



So as far as her milestones go...

• She can sit up unassisted


• rolls both ways


• is eating solids breakfast, lunch and dinner


• Has had...Blueberries, apples, bananas, pears, peaches, pineapple, squash, sweet potatoes, green beans, peas, and of course rice cereal and oatmeal, and multi grain cereal.


• She is just starting to get up on all fours and I assume crawling isn't too far away...we shall see.


• She is saying Ma ma ma and Ba ba ba ba, but neither of them actually mean anything to her, they're just the sounds that come out, lol.


• She is finally starting to take two regular naps a day(I'm sure I just jinxed that, lol.)


• She does not sleep through the night and we've tried EVERYTHING!
• We've tried Cheeri0s and gerb*r puffs, but I'm not sure she's too fond of them yet. I'm enjoying the faces she makes though.

I'm sure I'm forgetting some other amazing stuff she does, lol, but you've probably stopped reading by now anyway.

She absolutely loves her Jump a roo and her doggies. She just thinks that Bruno and Patches are the greatest things on this Earth and is constantly looking for them and laughing at them. They don't even have to do anything, she'll just look over and see them and start giggling away. It's so cute!

The other night she was having a hard time falling asleep and I tried to let her cry it out, didn't work, tried to nurse her, didn't work. Every time I would lay her down she would scream. So I held her and rocked her in her room (We finally moved the rocker to the nursery) and she cuddled in on my chest and held me tight and fell asleep. My heart grew 10 sizes! Sami is not a cuddly baby. Never really has been. She likes her bed and would rather sleep there than with you or have you rock or hold her, so the fact that she wanted to be held and snuggled was a rare treat for me and I soaked up every second of it!

Then it was back to, "Put me to bed Mama!"

She has truly changed our lives and Ian and I are loving every minute of this little girl. She's our pride and joy and I am forever thankful for her.

This morning I woke up with yet another clogged milk duct and am in incredible pain. This one is WAY worse than the first one and I am praying that it passes quickly, because I don't know how much more I can take. Anyone who has dealt with this...please give advise!!!!

Oh, I almost forgot...

Her first Thanksgiving went well. No turkey for her though :( Not from a lack of trying by Poppy, that's for sure, lol. He was trying to give her gravy and everything else he could dip his fingers into for her to taste.

She slept through dinner which was nice for us because we got to sit down and enjoy the meal with out passing her around. Dinner was EXCELLENT! We went to my mother's for dinner this year. We got to see my aunt and uncle and my cousins that I haven't seen in years! It was really nice to have them all together. One of my cousins. Nick, was recently diagnosed with brain cancer and has just started chemo and radiation. He's only 19 years old!! He seems to be doing well so far, but if you're the praying type, please throw in an extra prayer for him. Thanks.

6 month/Christmas pics

Scott is a teenager!!! OMG!!!
I'm not sure what kind of jig his father is doing in this picture, but here's the birthday boy cutting his cake.

Mama and baby

Watching the game on Turkey day

Waiting for some food...

Sami's BFF and Mama's BFF. We've been enjoying our time with them.

Family shot....these are rare, lol. We just got done decorating the tree...it's...umm...interesting, lol. I'll have to take a new pic of the tree as it looks alot better now that the branches have dropped. We decorated it 2.3 seconds after getting it in the house so all the branches were still pointing toward the sky.

Enjoying time with her big Bro

Showing me her stinky feet. Seriously, they are stinky! Peewww!

Singing, Dancing babies

Sami has been doing great the last three days, napping like a champ!! I think the time change has some how put her back on track...not quite sure what it is, and I'm sure by posting this that it will not happen again tomorrow, but I'm so proud of her naps!

She is such a joy on the days that she naps! The last two days she's been practicing her singing voice. It's just too funny. She will sit there and seriously sing. She makes faces trying to change the pitch of her voice, it's great!


I made a bunch of homemade baby food the other day...did I post about this yet? Oh well. Sami is curious about the sweet potatoes but I'm not sure she's totally sold on the idea. She tries a few spoonfuls and then just spits it all back at me...it's a huge mess!
She's also been refusing cereal the past three days. I even tried it with the blueberries again and she still didn't want it. This morning we tried to add bananas. She ate most of it, but wasn't really into it.
She seems to be stuck on apples and pears. If it's not apples or pears, she doesn't want it. I'm thinking we should have added veggies first. Oh well, we'll get there. So tonight I gave in and gave her some more pears, but we compromised and mixed them with the cereal, lol. It worked, so maybe I can ween her off the pears and then onto something else.


As promised...here is Ian's Halloween Dancing Baby video...


Ok...Videos suck at uploading! Check back later, I'll try to update when I can get the videos up.

Time for a tag

This one comes from Stacie...

1. Name one person who made you laugh last night? Samantha

2. What were you doing at 0800? realizing that it was 0800 and not 0900!!!

3. What were you doing 30 minutes ago? trying to get Sami to nap

4. What happened to you in 2006? I moved "home" and got prego!!!

5. What was the last thing you said out loud? "I thought you were napping...10 minutes is NOT a nap!"

6. How many beverages did you have today? A glass of chocolate milk and a huge glass of OJ I'm working on right now.

7. What color is your hairbrush? Black and Blue

8. What was the last thing you paid for? A birthday gift for Chris

9. Where were you last night? Home with the baby girl.

10. What color is your front door? Hunter green.

11. Where do you keep your change? In my car door...until Ian steals it!

12. What’s the weather like today? Was really foggy, but is starting to clear up a bit...looks pretty crappy out.

13. What’s the best ice-cream flavor? Maple walnut

14. What excites you? Anything new that Sami does...or just leaving the house, lol.

15. Do you want to cut your hair? just a trim, I'm trying to grow it back so I can donate again.

16. Are you over the age of 25? Yes...but I'm 26, even though my husband tried to convince me that I was actually 27.

17. Do you talk a lot? I don't think so, but Ian might say otherwise.

18. Do you watch the O.C.? used to.

19. Do you know anyone named Steven? My cousin-in-law...and a few others

20. Do you make up your own words? Who doesn't

21. Are you a jealous person? No. There's no time for jealousy, I think it can ruin you.

22. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘A’: Alexander

23. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘K': Keith

24. Who’s the first person on your received call list? Mom

25. What does the last text message you received say? It's a pic of baby Chris taking a nap. He's such a cutie!

26. Do you chew on your straw? not usually

27. Do you have curly hair? No. Not straight either, it's this awkward in between.

28. Where’s the next place you’re going to? The shower, lol. I think Ian and I are going to look at new mattresses today...exciting stuff people!

29. Who’s the rudest person in your life? I plead the fifth...

30. What was the last thing you ate? Blueberry muffin

31. Will you get married in the future? Ummm, no. I'm married now and plan on staying that way.

32. What’s the best movie you’ve seen in the past 2 weeks? Invisible

33. Is there anyone you like right now? Sure, I like lots of people.

34. When was the last time you did the dishes? Last night...I need to do them again :(

35. Are you currently depressed? Nope.

36. Did you cry today? No...

37. Why did you answer and post this? As a desperate attempt to get some comments, lol.

38. Tag 5 people who would do this survey...
1) You
2) you
3) You
4) you
5) and You!

A year ago today

One year ago today my heart stopped. I thought my dreams were crashing down around me.
I awoke this morning one year ago to spotting. Ian and I rushed to the ER. I was sobbing uncontrollably and Ian was desperately trying to comfort me. As we got to triage I was trying to explain what was going on and Ian said I should tell them about my previous miscarriage. That's when I really lost it. I could no longer speak I was crying so hard and was so scared that this was the end of the road for this little bean. They got us in and prepped for ultrasound. The tech fired up the machine, covered my belly with the goop...and then I saw the most beautiful sight I've ever seen, my little bean was alive and well and moving all around as if to say "it's ok Mom, I'm fine in here!"
I swear she was no bigger than a peanut, but I saw her little hand and tiny tiny fingers waving at me.
This little princess was God's gift to me and I am grateful for her each and everyday. I never forget what it took to get her here. The baby I lost that I believe brought her to us. I remember the fear, I remember the heartache, and every time I look at this angel on earth my soul is healed.

Also during this emotional day in my life, my best friend was experiencing the greatest day in hers. The birth of her son! She had no idea that I was even pregnant. As she was calling and texting me of all the details of my godson's birth I was trying so hard to be supportive and was so excited for her and so scared for myself at the same time.

So to me...November 3rd will always be the day that I got to see 2 beautiful miracles, my little bean, and this little man...

Happy Birthday Chris! I love you!!

5 Months!

My little peanut is 5 months old today. I can't believe how fast she is growing. She can sit up now, eat from a spoon, roll over both ways, blow raspberries, she knows her name and who Mama and Daddy are, and she knows her brother too. She is getting so big and learning so much everyday. I am so grateful for the time I have to share with her, she makes my days so wonderful.
Some issues we're still having at 5 months...Napping! She refuses, and is SO hard to put down for a nap during the day. She gets really sleepy after being up for about an hour but will refuse to lay down. I usually put her in the swing and say some prayers that she will fall asleep, but lately the swing only has about a 40% success rate. Other than that the only time she will sleep is if we go out in the car some where, and that is only if she's really tired. She has become really good at staying awake in the car and can even make it upto an hour some times. She sometimes falls asleep nursing when she is refusing to nap, but the second I move her she wakes up and refuses to go back down. I feel like I've tried everything and nothing is working for her. I feel bad when she doesn't nap because then she is just tired and cranky all day and just can't seem to be herself. Any advise out there? How can I get her to nap?

She also doesn't sleep through the night yet. We're stuck at the 6 hour mark. She had a couple really good nights this week, but for the most part its a consistent 6 hours. I think I just need to go to bed earlier. Sami usually wants to go down at around 8 pm and then I don't go to bed until around 11, so while she is sleeping for 6 hours straight, I am only getting a solid 3-4.

She's been exploring more and more foods and is doing great. Daddy loves to introduce her to new foods and she seems to love it too. So far she's had rice cereal, blueberries, apples, bananas, and pears. I have to get working on the veggies! I bought some sweet potatoes and squash to make her this week and I think I might try peas, green beans and peaches too. We are making all our own baby food, with the exception of the rice cereal. It has been going great and is way cheaper and more healthy for her.

Ok, all this talk about food...I have to go start dinner...

I still have a video of Ian to post from Halloween. It doesn't quite top the Nacho Libre from last year, but it's amusing certainly. I tried to upload it yesterday but blogger wouldn't let me :(

Happy times!

What a Happy Halloween!!
Here's our family shot of Sami's first Halloween...

Sami went trick or treating with her cousins

She has M & Ms in her stroller tray, lol. She was so good while out and about Halloween night.

And...Finally, introducing Baby Emma!!
She is SO beautiful!!
After 26 hours of labor, Emma arrived Via C-section and she is absolutely perfect!
Her mom looks great after a long 2 days!
I'm sure her mom will do introductions on her blog, but I just couldn't wait to share this precious little girl. Look at that beautiful head of hair! Gorgeous!!

Baby Emma is coming!!

My cousin Jamie is due to have her first baby on November 14th. She just called me and said Emma is coming TOMORROW!!!
I am so excited for her! I can not wait to meet this new little girl in our family and to have her and Sami grow up together.

Keep her in your prayers tonight for a save, quick and easy delivery tomorrow.

A new look

So what do you think?

Kind of more generic, but I really don't have much time these days to create new templates and I really wanted a change so this was my quick fix.

I just realized this weekend that I forgot to post about Samantha sitting up. She sits up now! Still a little tipsy here and there but for the most part she can sit on her own and she's learning to catch herself when she starts to lean too far to one side.

The nap strike has ended and she has successfully napped for the past 3 days now! YAY!!!

We had a great weekend! Got to see family on Saturday and Scott and I carved pumpkins on Sunday. Here are some pics....

These boots are made for walkin'

Sami's First Halloween!!
Sami's Baby Jack-o-Lantern and Scott's Pirate (He carved in "Arrrr" along the side)

Rolling Baby!!

Sami first rolled from belly to back in September. She's still not a pro at it but it can be done. Last night she rolled from back to belly!!! First time! She just did it again today. She seems to be better at this than the belly to back roll.
Her strength in her head and neck muscles has increased substantially in the last month. She sits in her swing now and holds her head up, trying to sit up while it's swinging. Same with her bouncy seat, she does baby crunches trying to sit up straight.

Her sleeping habits haven't improved yet. She is still up about two times a night. She usually goes down around 8-8:30pm and is up between 1-2:30 am and again around 4:30-6:00 am then up for the day between 7:30 and 8 a.m.
On Monday she took a long morning nap, almost 4 hours long! I think it was because it was dark and rainy out. She was confused, lol. But now she has been on nap strike! How do I fix this? She refuses to nap which makes for a very fussy day.
Today she napped for about 15 minutes in the car and then another quick nap for about 30 minutes. She is just fussy and wanting to nurse constantly. I am a human pacifier! She's not hungry, but wants to eat/nurse all day then spits it all back up because she's full! What a waste.

Not sure what the nap strike is about but I hope it ends soon. Tomorrow we go to pick up her brother after school so that means a 2 hour car ride which hopefully she'll sleep through and maybe that will put her back on track.
Wish us luck!

Blueberries!!

We mixed blueberries in her cereal the other night and she LOVED it! I've never seen her eat like this she was in heaven, lol. I wasn't sure if it was the blueberries or the fact that she hadn't had cereal in about a week, so I tried it again tonight and she loved it...again.

We're still only doing the cereal once a day, at night. We skip some nights here and there because she's still doing great on just breast milk so she'll be primarily just breastfeeding until 6 months. The cereal is more like a treat.

Video

Giggles

I've been trying to post a video of Sami laughing for over a week now and for some reason it just won't work :( I think I'll have to upload it to you t*be and post it that way...

Catch Up

So, I just realized that I never posted about Sami's 4 month appointment. She weighed in at 14 pound 3 ounces and a mere 23.25 inches! I think that they measured her length wrong because she was 23 inches at her 2 month appointment. She has definatly grown more than a quarter inch in the past two months. She is nearly busting her toes out of her 3-6 month sleepers and just fits perfectly into the 6-9 months. I don't know.

She recieved 3 shots. Two in one leg and one in the other, and then when we left the doctor's office she fell asleep 30 seconds after I put her in her car seat and she slept for 3 hours!



The night of her shots, she woke up around 1 am to nurse (she still doesn't make it through the night) and when I went in to get her she was burning up! She literally felt like she had been in an oven. I was freaking out! I nursed her and then Ian and I striped her jammies off and took her temp and gave her some tylen*l. She went back to sleep and wasn't acting like anything was bothering her, but I think my heart was going a mile a minute. I couldn't go back to sleep until I knew she was ok so I stayed up for another hour so that I could check her temp again. It went right down once the tylen*l kicked in and I went back to bed. The next day she had 2 more small fevers and then she was fone. Poor thing :(



So...since she's started cereal, she hasn't slept amy different. She still does her usual 6-7 hours and then nurses and goes right back to sleep for another 3-4 hours. Then she wakes up for the day between 7 and 8am and takes a 2-3 hour nap at around 10am.

She doesn't have a real afternoon nap routine. Usually there are a few little cat naps after nursing but no solid naps. Then it's dinner at 6pm, bath time at 7:30 and she's usually out by 8pm. She either falls asleep nursing after her bath or she'll stay up for about 20-30 minutes and then just looks so exhausted that I bring her up and put her to bed. She puts her self to sleep those nights. No crying or anything she just goes right to sleep. I can't believe it!



Last night was a rough night (up every hour!) and today she was pretty cranky and couldn't wait to go to bed. I had to try and keep her up as long as possible


***Ok, so I stopped writing this last night, lol. The laptop battery died and I was too tired anyway. Oh well, now I lost my train of thought.

Sami seems to be more and more fussy as she gets older. Unless I'm holding her or she's eating or sleeping, she's fussing. Unless I sing to her. She wants to constantly be sang to. It's kind of funny, but as soon as you stop she'll start crying. I can't figure her out.