23 Weeks Old

This was a pretty quiet week around our house. Both sets of grandparents left by Monday afternoon so everything slowed down fast.

(The picture on the left shows all of her toys and books, we were cleaning her toy box.)

Samantha was so tired from all of the excitement of the weekend that she slept 7 hours during the day on Tuesday. Now, she didn’t sleep that great at night but she is back to sleeping all through the night.

We have started a nightly routine before going to bed which seems to work well. We begin with getting her pj’s on. Sometimes she gets a bath beforehand. She has really learned to love the bath and we are giving her “play” time in the water. After getting her pj’s on we give her a bottle, read a book, say our prayers and go to bed. Samantha generally goes to sleep before 10 o’clock and gets up around 6 or sometimes sleeps as late as 7:30! Now when she does wake up during the night it’s easy to complain.

We took Samantha in a walk in the stroller – but this time without her car seat. She seemed to enjoy sitting up and seeing everything from a new perspective. She looked all grown up just sitting there.

22 Weeks Old

This week was a very busy week for Samantha. Grandma Linda and Grandpa Willy Renfro arrived mid afternoon on Wednesday. It’s been a while since they had seen her but they arrived while she was taking a nap and had to wait just a bit longer. They enjoyed seeing Samantha and letting her show off all the new things that she can do now.

Thursday Samantha ran around with Grandma Linda, Grandpa Willy and Dad while Mom ran errands for the weekend. That evening all of us went out to eat. Samantha was a bit tired so Mom and Dad took turns eating and walking with her.

Friday was a very long day. In the morning Samantha stayed at the house and played a bit while the parents ran errands. In the afternoon we packed up and went to the mall and out to eat again. Samantha took the occasional short nap. Since the grandparents have been here, she has been short on sleep during the day. By the time Grandma and Papa Britain arrived late that evening she was pooped. When she had her last bottle around 10 I sat her up to burp and she was already sleeping!

Sabbath was the “big” day. We had Samantha dedicated during the second service. We again realized how many friends we have when many of them stayed for her dedication even though they had already attended the 1st service. A special thanks to the Esteps for taking pictures and videoing the whole thing.

After we had all gotten up on the platform and Pastor Gettys said a few words he took Samantha for a prayer. We were all holding our breath a bit because Samantha had rediscovered her very high pitched scream. Instead of screaming, she decided to reach for the microphone and tried to stick it in her mouth. With a little help from Mom she let go. She did real well.

After the service we had lunch ready at the church. We were joined by our good friends Scott and Christy (thanks for the yummy lasagna and helping!) and a friend whom Mom grew up with, Jeff and his girlfriend, Jana.

We spent the afternoon visiting and making sure that Samantha had a GOOD nap.

Sunday we went to Cracker Barrel for brunch and got very full as usual. We ran into Dale, Abbe, Anna and Aaron there and talked with them briefly.

Believe it or not, we came back to our place and either rested, napped or read until we got ready for polo.

This week there were a lot more people at the match and we were thankful that some went ahead to get seats. It was a very exciting game again and the visiting team, this time from Nashville, won. We believe the grandparents had a good time. Poor Samantha was so tired that she fell asleep in her Dad's arms when it was over.

The weekend is wrapping up and both sets of grandparents will be gone again and the house will be quiet. Travis and I joked that we will have to “de-program” her once they leave.

21 Weeks Old

This was an “oh my” week for Mom. It just sunk in that Samantha should be sitting up by the time she’s 6 months old and we haven’t really been working on it, we’ve been focused on rolling (which she does quite well). I mentioned it to Dad (a.k.a. Trainer) and by the end of the weekend Samantha is doing much better. We aren’t there yet by any means but has made big strides. As you will see by the picture, we are using a Boppy to help support her.

We told you before that Samantha found her feet but this week she discovered that she can actually get those toes attached to her feet into her mouth. It’s so silly to see her do it.

Today, Sunday, was another big outing – we went to a polo match! A nearby farm hosts a couple of matches every year and this is the first time we’ve been able to attend. The host was Bendabout Farm who played a team from Argentina. Most of these players are full-time players who travel the world playing. We met our good friends Dale, Abbe, Anna and Aaron Estep, Tracy and Cheryl Ashmore and Bill and Gloria Estep there. We enjoyed watching the horses race up and down the field as the players chased after the ball. During half time we even got to fix the divots. The home team pulled out a win. Samantha was an angel as she always is when we go out and about. She survived the entire match without taking a nap but fell asleep on the way to supper.

We are looking forward to both of the grandparents arriving this week for Samantha’s baby dedication next Sabbath.

20 Weeks Old

We had an awesome experience with Samantha this past week. Because of the long weekend we decided to visit the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. This is one of the world’s largest aquariums that boasts it has over 8 million gallons of water and has 4 whale sharks (visit their site at http://www.georgiaaquarium.org/). We took off about 10 o’clock Friday morning. Samantha slept most of the way there so she was refreshed and ready to go by the time we actually got to the aquarium. As we entered the first exhibit we saw lots of little tropical fish in an aquarium shaped in such a way that you fee that you were underneath the water. You could look up and see fish swimming about as well as waves crash from underneath. We had no idea that Samantha would react the way she did. While sitting in her stroller she was able to see the waves and fish swim above her. She was awestruck and became very excited. The smile on her face described it all. It was so much fun to share this “first” with her. However, by the time we made it to the whale sharks she was pooped and fell asleep while riding in her front carrier. She’ll have more chances to see them when she gets older and able to remember.

She has pretty much conquered rolling as she can get from her tummy to her back and vise verse. Although she can’t crawl yet, she seems to maneuver in place somehow. We often find her turned 180 degrees in the morning from where we laid her down the night before.

Lastly, this week we have purchased a highchair for her. She seems to be dwarfed in it, but we know she will grow into it all too soon.