Dancing

Okay, so excuse my videoing skills. I took it vertically not even thinking I didn't have software to change it. It's still cute though.

Samantha has enjoyed watching a DVD of children singing at her grandparents and has really worked on her dancing skills, just take a look.

Vacation

This week Samantha and I are on vacation. We flew to my parents on Tuesday. Everyone has been asking how the flight went and she did very well. The shuttle down to Atlanta was a different story (stop and go traffic, early morning, etc. but not unbearable). She was a great little girl on the flight and I am proud of her. Luckily I requested an aisle seat which made it very easy to stand in the aisle and play. I had also bought several new toys and stickers to keep her occupied.

Grandma B met us at the airport and from there we made the quick trip over to Ikea. It was fun to walk through their store again and we identified a bed we will get Samantha when she grows out of her crib. From there we made a WalMart stop and then headed out to the farm.

Papa was here to meet us and we were thankful we were "home". I am reminded again how much I love the quiet of the country and all of the open areas!

Wednesday was spent catching up and relaxing around the house and Thursday Samantha got to spend some quality time with the grandparents as mom got her hair done.

Friday was the beginning of a very busy weekend. Uncle Paul, Aunt Jenney, Ellie and Dane joined us early Friday afternoon. After lunch we headed to a nearby county fair. There were LOTS of cows, pigs, sheep, bunnies, etc. The kids really enjoyed all of the animals and Samantha got the pet several of them. From there we went to the cheese house and got some fresh cheese for the weekend including cheese curds. If you've never had cheese curds that squeak when you bit into them you're missing something!

In the evening Papa built a bonfire and we roasted corn on the fire and had hot dogs. Samantha loved the corn and finished off a couple of moms ears. The kids didn't stay nearby long but wanted to wander all over the farm.

Sabbath we went to church followed by a potluck lunch at a park. In the afternoon the kids slept. I stayed home and napped myself while the others did other things. That evening we had another bonfire at a friends place followed by fireworks. Needless to say, we didn't stay for the fireworks. The lack of sleep and the loud noises weren't a good combination for Samantha so we came home. It sure wasn't long before she was asleep.

Sunday we had family come for brunch. It was so good to see them as it isn't very often that we do. We appreciated that they made the little jaunts to join us for a brunch. Early afternoon Uncle Paul, Aunt Jenney and their family had to go back home and the house was quiet. I think Samantha was looking for her cousins.

Tonight Papa and Grandma took us to Dairy Queen. Samantha has really taken to feeding herself and she enjoyed eating part of mom's sundae. She kept on saying "yummmm".

While here Samantha has enjoyed sliding with Papa outside, blowing bubbles with Grandma, chasing and giving hugs to Ellie and copying Dane as they sat in their high chairs.

We are sad that dad couldn't come with us on this trip, he really would have enjoyed his time here and a break but we are really looking forward to seeing him on Wednesday when we get back home!

Corn on the cob at the park...


Climbing the stairs with cousin Dane...


Dairy Queen with the grandparents...


Dresses grandma and papa brought back from Germany...


Playing in the yard...


Papa showing Samantha the turkeys. She loves them and can now say turkey...


Petting a calf at the fair...


Petting sheep at the fair with cousin Ellie...

Another Busy Week

This was a very eventful week for Samantha.

The busyness started on Wednesday. We had our mom's group at the pool. Wouldn't you know, it's been sunny and hot for days but that day it rained and was chilly. Luckily we were able to swim in the indoor pool. Samantha stayed in the water longer than she'd ever done before and I think she had a good time.

Thursday was a big day because Samantha stayed with a babysitter. We can't thank Christy enough for volunteering (insisting) to babysit her so that we could go out to eat for our anniversary. Actually, Christy and Kathryn came over Wednesday for a bit as a trial run while I ran an errand. I was shocked that Samantha wasn't crying when I got back. I had absolutely no doubt that Christy could handle her, I just thought that Samantha would cry the entire time as has happened in the past. Well, Christy must have brought her magic bag both times because she didn't cry a bit (or so the report goes). We are so thankful for friends like Christy!

This week Samantha has figured out how to put the star shaped toy in the star shaped opening. She is quite proud of herself! We've actually found her clapping a couple of times after she gets it in. She has practiced quite a bit and we suspect that the other shapes will come soon.

Friday was her 15 month check-up. Samantha continues to be in the "normal" range and weighs 23 lbs and is 31 inches long. While there she got three more shots and Dr. Carter discovered that her molars are coming in in the bottom and will more than likely be in before her bottom front teeth will be. This probably explains the extra fussiness!

Sabbath was a bad day for Samantha as she had a runny nose, was stuffed up and sneezing and just plain wasn't feeling well. By that night she was running a fever (her first). Sunday seemed to be somewhat of a recovery day as she seemed to be feeling better but not quite 100% at times. We're not sure if it's teeth, shots or a bug.


Feeding herself...


Figured out the shape sorter...


Playing in the bathtub...


Ready for Church...

Making Faces

Another week has come and gone. This past week we celebrated the 4th of July. Actually, we celebrated on the 3rd with friends. Samantha was all dressed in her red-white and blue outfit. She enjoyed the picnic which included homemade icecream and her first icee. She has picked up the word ice and loves cold things.

Our little one has also picked up making a very silly face. She makes a big old smiles and stretches the muscles in her neck. It makes us laugh and she will copy you if you do it back to her.

I think Samantha is still working on that top tooth. She's been unusually grumpy lately and chews on practically anything she can get in her mouth. Hopefully it will finish coming in soon.

Just out of curiousity, I counted up Samantha's words last week and she can say at least 20 words. She can also identify most of her body parts.

End of June

I believe the highlight of this week was a trip to the Tennessee Aquarium. We were thrilled that Aimee and Christopher invited us to go with them. We started out on the saltwater side because we wanted to see the new addition to the Aquarium—the penguins. Samantha immediately enjoyed the first thing we saw, a pair of blue Macaw’s. After that there is a tank where you can feel the sting ray and sharks. Swimming with them are yellow fish. Samantha enjoyed seeing them, putting her hand in the water and pointing to all the fish. As we were walking away she signed “more.” From there we saw the butterflies, shark and other big fish. She kept on saying “ooooooo”. The penguins were fun to see as they were swimming quite wildly through the tank right up against the glass.

By the time we got to the fresh water side both kids were getting tired and we didn’t spend as much time there. As soon as we walked out the door to our van the sky opened up and we got drenched. It actually scared Samantha but she survived!

We would really like to thank Christopher and his mom Aimee for taking us along as their guests.

Sabbath evening we enjoyed an impromptu supper with our friends Tom, Deanna and family and Dale, Abbe and family. The kids enjoyed playing together, especially in a big playroom filled with toys. Who could ask for anything more? Samantha, of course, thought the large staircase was best as she wanted to perfect her stair climbing. Thanks for the invite Tom and Deanna, we had a great time!

Samantha has another took that has stuck one corner of it through her gum. This tooth will make a total of six for her. It is the top right one. Now, if it would only finish coming through I think it would make her feel a lot better.

At last Samantha has figured out a pull toy. She has taken to pulling her little bus around the kitchen and throughout the house. She also likes pulling her little phone. It really doesn’t matter if the wheels are up or down, she keeps on pulling.