ME!

This past week, like every other American in this country celebrated Thanksgiving. We celebrated with just our little family but we had enough food to feed a lot more. Dad always fixes the bird and I’m in charge of the other things. I made the pumpkin pie and mashed potatoes the night before which made the last minute preparations just a little less stressful. Samantha enjoyed a small bit of it, she only ate the green beans and a portion of a roll.

We’ve always known that when Samantha was born our life would center around her. Lately she seems to have caught on. It’s a little joke between Travis and I because when he says, “It’s all about who?” she always says “me!”. Boy, does she know it. I’m afraid she’s going to have a rude awakening when little brother gets here!

Today Samantha woke up with what appears to be her first cold. She doesn’t really have a runny nose but has a nasty sounding cough every once in a while is a bit more clingy. I’m hoping she’ll get over it soon because we have a lot going on in the next couple of weeks.

Friday we got our Christmas tree. Samantha kept on saying “tree, tree”. Saturday night it had fallen enough that we could put on the lights and decorate it. We made sure to put only Samantha friendly ornaments on the tree and so far (knock on wood) she hasn’t really bothered it. She does love the lights though. It was one of the first things she asked for when she got up this morning.


I took a few pictures of Samantha this week just for the fun of it. Here are a couple of what we got...



Our Thanksgiving spread...


Pie is good to the last lick (that means the whipped cream)...


There's been a request of a picture of me pregnant so here I am at 24 weeks...

It's Already Thanksgiving

It seems we've had another quiet week. I think I'll look back on these quiet weeks in a month or so and be dreaming of them! We are definitely starting to gear up for the holidays!

Samantha continues to be a joy. It is amazing how she listens to everything. We only play "her" music in the car (she asks for it if we don't) and all of a sudden she'll start clapping or doing something with the music. I haven't been paying attention that close and wonder what she's doing. I then realize what song she's been listening to and know what's going on. At the end of "The Wheels On the Bus..." there is a lion with a big laugh at the end. Samantha roats and then mimics the laugh every time. We listen to the song over and over just to hear her huge laugh.

Samantha seems to be starting to pretend things. I sometimes catch her giving her doll her binki or the other day, feeding her froggy peas and macaroni. It is fun to see her little mind working.

Sabbath we went to our annual bonfire. The weather couldn't have been much better. Although her and I dressed in our winter coats it wasn't necessary. In fact, I had mine unzipped most of the time. The family that hosted it have a 350' zip line. Dad had to take Samantha down it and once she got down she asked to go again. It is amazing because it is pitch black on the way down and it goes fairly fast. I think she was the youngest one to go on it. Dad also took her on the hayride and half way through she said "done". I guess it wasn't going fast enough.

Today we helped our friend Kathryn celebrate her first birthday. Her parents planned quite the cowboy party and thought of every last detail, right down to bringing toys for the kids. We had a good time, not to mention the great food (thanks for the "leftovers" Christy!!). I thought Samantha did real well at the party and lasted even through clean-up.

I had another doctor's appointment last week. This was Samantha's first time to go along with me. Her and dad heard the heartbeat (150 bpm) and talked to the doctor. Everything is going along quite well. Our little guy has been moving around quite a bit and I have just recently been able to see some of his movements from the outside if I watch real well.

Lastly, this being the week of Thanksgiving, we are so thankful for Samantha and our unborn baby. Samantha has brought us so much joy and we know our little boy will do the same. We continue to pray for the health of both of our children.

Fast asleep...


Helping mom and playing with a few leaves...



At the bonfire...




Samantha playing with the birthday girl...

This week I’m just going to highlight several things that Samantha does…

*Samantha sees her shadow and immediately says “me”. I don’t know how she figured this out but she did it all by herself.

*While I’m in the shower Samantha has the run of the house. She is always nearby and I can generally hear where she is or what she’s doing. It doesn’t fail however, when she hears that I’ve turned off my water she will come into the bathroom and hand me my towel. I have never asked her to but it is just so cute!

*Samantha loves to have us chase her or play hide-and-seek. Several times we’ve chased her to the point of where she is laughing so hard she snorts. After every chase she asks for more. We always have to tell her that this will be the last time. Friday night we played hide-and-seek with her. She loved finding one of her parents and being scared. It’s two games she just doesn’t get tired of.

*On Wednesday we found another bottom tooth. This brings her total to 8 plus some partials. I swear she’s teething again because she hasn’t’ slept well, has a runny nose and is drooling. Did I mention she wants to be held all the time??? Maybe those molars will finally come all the way in.

*You’d probably be surprised if you stopped by our house in the early afternoon. With Travis working nights he generally doesn’t get up until around 2:00 p.m. Samantha generally starts taking her nap around 12:30 or 1:00 and sleeps for about an hour-and-a-half. Me, being pregnant, doesn’t need much of an excuse to take a nap so often we all end up sleeping in the afternoon.

Sabbath we had a very busy day. We had potluck after church and were able to visit with friends. After just a couple of hours at home we headed to Kathryn’s G.G.’s. She had organized a small Guam reunion. It was so fun to see people we hadn’t seen in a while and catch up. Most of us have small children, in particular, girls. Thanks G.G. for the great food and fellowship!

Baby note…
Our little one continues to grow and move around. I have started to wear more select maternity clothes. Some still don’t fit though. I have another appointment this week to check up on everything.

Samantha has enjoyed coloring lately...


Playing outside...


Helping mom around the house...


The girls that had parents on Guam...


All ready for church...


Wishing she could be outside...

Celebrating Fall

This week we celebrated fall and Halloween. Wednesday we went to a soybean maze. The morning started off crisp but it soon warmed up and we all enjoyed going through the maze and filling in the blanks to the nursery rhyme “Little Boy Blue.” Before that we were able to see a calf, sheep, goat and milk a pretend cow. After the maze the kids took a cow train ride. Samantha went by herself and did great even though she had started crying at the end.

After a lunch by the river we all headed out. Christopher and his mom Aimee rode with us and we had a nice visit during the ride. Samantha fell asleep on the way home but Christopher just wouldn’t give in and lasted the entire time!

That evening Kathryn and her parents had invited us over to hand out candy. They also had invited us over for supper and we enjoyed yummy stroganoff (one of Samantha’s favorites!). The girls looked cute dressed in their Halloween outfits. Samantha passed out some candy but backed off a bit once she saw some pretty scary kids and wasn’t nearly as enthusiastic about it after that.

I keep on forgetting to write that Samantha had her 18 month appointment and is going great. She wouldn’t have had to get a shot except I had them give her a flu shot again this year. She continues to be in the 50% percentile for both her height and weight.

18 months seems to be a great stage. Samantha catches on to things so fast and pays attention to everything. She is really enjoying it now when we chase her around the house. She always asks for more. She has conquered kicking a ball and this week started to say “ready, gooooo.” The word “go” gets drawn out a bit and it’s adorable!

Baby note:
I’ve really started feel the baby move, even from the outside. Travis got to feel it move on Friday and when he comes to bed rests his hand on my tummy just in case the little one is moving around.


Samantha and I at the soybean maze...


Waiting for everything to begin at the maze...


Making her way through the maze...


Riding in the cow train...


Samantha and Kathryn (do you know how hard it is to get a 12 month old and 19 month old to pose...impossible!)...


I brought home some ballons leftover from a baby shower. Samantha loved them and grabbed them first thing in the morning...