Retro Sammy

Fun with the super sweet Retro Camera app that Sam heard about from her friend Abby!

Thirty-Seven Weeks

Thirty-Six Weeks

IOU...

...LOTS of blog posts.

Sorry I'm so behind; life has been crazy busy! I have several "Week" pictures for you, and an 8 MONTH update for today that I will try to post ASAP!!!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful 2011 so far!

Eight Months

Dear Samantha,

Today you are 8 months old. You are growing so very quickly. Every day you can do a little bit more! You are really getting the pincer grasp down now so we put little bits of food on your tray so you can practice feeding yourself. It gets messy sometimes, but you do a little better each time.

You are still not crawling, but you roll all the time and occasionally you will get up on all fours and rock a bit. You will throw yourself forward from the sitting position in the direction you want to go, but then you get frustrated when you can't make yourself move any further. You are much happier if we pull you up to your feet and hold your hands so you can walk. You are taking really big steps now, and you've balanced on your feet for a few seconds. You haven't figured out how to pull up on furniture just yet, but I'm sure it's coming soon! Your Daddy never did crawl, and he didn't start walking til pretty late, so we are wondering if you are going to be the same way and go straight to walking.

We are still waiting for your teeth to break through. I can't believe it's already been 4 1/2 months since I first thought a tooth was going to come through. You hardly have any signs of teething right now, so I'm not expecting them to come through anytime soon. I'm sure they'll be here eventually. For now I love seeing your gummy baby smile!

You make all sorts of sounds now. Almost every day you are making new consonant sounds. You have a different sort of cry for pretty much everything that's bothering you. And of course, you laugh A LOT. I have never met a baby that smiles and laughs as much as you do! You try to make friends with people everywhere we go. You will try to catch someone's eye by smiling at them, and if you succeed in getting a smile in return, you are incredibly happy!

This month was a very exciting one for you. We celebrated Christmas at home before we went on vacation, and you were thrilled to play with all the wrapping paper. You got all sorts of fun presents! A couple days before Christmas you got to go on your first plane ride. Mommy was a bit nervous that you wouldn't do well, but you were great! The take-off and landing didn't seem to bother your ears at all, and you were really well-behaved during the flight. You only got fussy a couple of times and it was very easy to distract you with something else to play with. On the flight home you were actually laughing so much that people were turning to look and see the cute baby. What a nice change from the other screaming babies on the flight! While we were in Ohio you had so much fun seeing your grandparents again and meeting lots of new relatives. You did really well for having a disrupted schedule almost every night. You are such a social baby. You weren't shy around new people at all! It was funny to see which people you instantly gravitated towards, and others that took a while for you to warm up to. You enjoyed spending time with everyone eventually though!

We are still working on sign language with you. Sometimes I think you're trying to sign "milk" or "all done" but they seem to be out of context most times when you do them. Hopefully we'll be able start communicating that way with each other very soon!

Each month with you has been better than the last. You get more and more fun every day! You have such a fun personality, and a great sense of humor. You make Mommy and Daddy laugh so hard every day! I couldn't ask for a more fun baby. I love you with all my heart!

Love,
Mommy

Thirty-Five Weeks

Crafty Moms - How do you do it?

I need advice from you crafty types. I've always had lots of hobbies: sewing, painting, book making, etc., and I'd love to get back into it. I just can't seem to find the time in my busy days full of motherhood. I know there are SO many other moms out there who are able to make a business out of their creative hobbies. The question is, how do you find the time?! I'd love to hear your suggestions and ideas!

Thirty-Four Weeks

Thirty-Three Weeks

Thirty-Two Weeks

Update on my insurance troubles.

Thanks to everyone who has called me and offered me advice on this! I ended up calling Aetna and appealing their decision to not pay for my anesthesia. The girl on the phone was very nice and understanding and helped me submit my appeal over the phone. She told me it would take 30 days to get an answer. I then called the medical billing office and explained the situation to them. The girl there was also very nice and understanding and told me that they would also appeal the decision. She told me that it wouldn't be a problem to get it covered. A couple days later I got a letter from Aetna (dated the day after my appeal!) stating that they had reversed their decision and would pay the full cost.

Hooray! That wasn't so hard...I wonder why they even made such a fuss over it in the first place if it was that easy. :P 

Samantha's First Christmas Tree

The other night we went out for a family adventure to choose Sam's very first Christmas tree! In the past Mommy and Daddy have had a fake tree, but last year it was really on it's last leg (or trunk, ha ha) so we decided that this year we would buy a real tree. We had so much fun going out tree shopping! (Sam fell asleep on the way home, so she was EXTRA excited to find a tree in her house when she woke up the next morning!

Thirty-One Weeks

Now I'm really upset.

Not only have I had serious feelings of guilt and inadequacy for not being able to give birth medication-free, but now the insurance company is saying that the bill for the epidural is not allowable and they are going to try to stick us with the $1500 bill. I could scream right now.

Seven Months

Dear Samantha,

Today you are seven months old! I am still amazed at how fast you are growing. You have become so much more like a little person in this past month. You are developing and learning so quickly!

This has been a very exciting month for you. You learned how to sit up, which was very exciting for Mommy and Daddy. You still fall over sometimes, but you are getting better and better at holding yourself up. You have been rolling over a lot now, and you are really trying hard to figure out how to crawl. You rest on your belly and push up with your arms and sometimes you even bend your knees. You haven't quite figured out how to raise your belly off the floor yet though. You know what you want to do, you just haven't been able to make it work yet. You reach out your arms for me to help pull you along for now.

You have also been using your walker a lot and you have figured out how to walk around the kitchen and living room. You really enjoy being somewhat mobile now! If I hold out my hands to you, you will walk your way over to me. You are doing really well with real walking practice, too. Mommy and Daddy hold your hands and help you walk. If you really want to go see something or someone, you will take huge steps to get there.

This month we took you on your first road trip to Colorado where you got to see Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Joanna again, and you got to meet more of your aunts, uncles, and cousins. You LOVED being around so much family! You had a great time with the kids and you did great with other adults that you knew you could trust. This trip was also a great week of bonding time with Daddy. You seem to have learned that you can trust him more now. When there are other people around, you realize that Daddy is almost as good as Mommy. One morning while we were in bed, you were ready to get up, and out of the blue you said "Dada!" We were very surprised and Daddy was very thrilled.

On our trip you also went to visit a farm and you loved meeting the animals. The goats and the chickens were your favorite. The chickens made you laugh! You also surprised us and showed us that you can drink out of a straw now. You are so advanced! Your personality has started showing through so much since our vacation. You are a very outgoing and social baby. You love to meet new people and have FUN!

I am pretty sure it won't be long before you are crawling now. Just in these past couple of days you have been trying really hard, and you are very active in rolling and scooting yourself around. In a couple of weeks you will be going on a plane trip to Ohio to see more family, and I'm sure it's going to be very exciting. I can't wait for another wonderful month with my beautiful girl!

I love you,
Mommy

Giving up on cloth?

Lately I have been so tempted to quit cloth diapering. Not because it's too much laundry or because they are too stinky or messy. Honestly, the number one reason is because they are so dang big. Half of Sam's outfits don't fit or they look ridiculous because of all that bulk. And it looks so uncomfortable for her sometimes!

We used disposables while we were on vacation (and we already use them overnight), and it was SO easy. And all her clothes fit so well. With Amazon Mom I've been able to buy disposables for much cheaper than I had imagined I could. And the laundry detergent for the cloth dipes is so expensive.

I'm just so tempted to make the switch to disposables permanently!

Sam's First Thanksgiving

Samantha had a great first Thanksgiving! We celebrated big time by hopping in the car and making a quick little drive to Colorado. Oh, did I say quick? I meant 19 hours. Split up over 2 days. She actually did great though. She slept a lot, and only had a couple of short little tantrums. Most of the time she was content to play in her seat with Mommy or Daddy sitting next to her. She did great in the hotels we stopped at too! Once we got to Colorado Sam got her first experience with cold and snow. None of that was a big deal compared to HOW MUCH FUN she had meeting her cousins and aunts and uncles!!! Grandma and Grandpa were pretty exciting, too. On the way home, Sam had her first Vegas experience. We stopped at the M for lunch and ate at the Hash House A Go Go. She was mesmerized by all the lights and sounds of the casino. So now she can say she saw Vegas, and doesn't need to go back until she's 21. ;)

 We stopped on the way to see Sam's Great-Grandma and Great-Aunt.

 Cousins are the coolest!!!!

 Grandpas give good backrubs.

 Girl cousins forever!

Sam thoroughly enjoyed her first visit to a farm.

Thirty Weeks

Twenty-Nine Weeks

Sam can sit!

It's official...we have a sitter!

Twenty-Eight Weeks

6 Months - Doctor Visit

Sammy finally had her 6-month checkup today. She is getting to be a little tank! Let's get right to the good stuff:

Height: 28 inches - 98th percentile
Weight: 17 lbs, 14 oz - 80th percentile
Head Circ.: 42 1/2 cm - 50th percentile

I was surprised to find that she has gotten so much taller. I guess I should have known though, since she has a much easier time standing in her exersaucer now! Her weight constantly amazes me. She weighs almost a pound more than I would have guessed. She is definitely a good eater! She is right on cue for all of her development. We are still having lots of constipation issues, but hopefully we'll get those resolved. I'm going to keep her on solids, but we are not feeding her ANY binders - no rice, no sweet potatoes, bananas, etc. Today she had oatmeal, pears, and prune juice. Mmmm....
We have to take her to a specialist in a couple of weeks to look at her head and make sure her cranium isn't closing up too soon. I'm very nervous - hopefully everything is okay!

Next visit? 9 months!

Twenty-Seven Weeks

Six Months

Dear Samantha,

It's hard to believe it's already been half a year since you joined us! You are growing so fast and are becoming such a fun little person. This month you have been growing by leaps and bounds.

You decided to show us that you DO remember how to roll over - both from front to back and back to front! You did it quite often for about a week, and then quit again. We think you are too busy trying to figure out how to crawl and walk to have time for simple things like rolling over!

You became very ticklish. Your thighs are a great tickle spot, and your ribs and back are SO ticklish that you are almost in tears when Mommy tickles you too much. You just laugh and laugh when you are tickled!

You are more and more responsive now. Daddy came home one night and waved at you, and you waved back at him! You have started giving kisses too, not just receiving them. They are very wet, open mouth kisses, but you are getting the idea now!

You have been doing great with eating solid foods. You are over the whole idea of rice cereal - it must be too bland for you. Your favorites are pears and sweet potatoes. You aren't a huge fan of bananas and especially peaches and prunes, but you at least try them. We are going to try plums, mangoes, and oatmeal very soon! Your meal options are really expanding now. You are going to start eating solid food 3 times a day now instead of just one. You are a growing girl!

This month you started sleeping in your crib at night instead of with Mommy and Daddy. You are doing great! Some nights are better than others, but over all, you are starting to sleep longer and longer stretches at a time.

You are getting to be so much fun to take to the park now. You love to swing in the baby swings! Pappy bought you your very own swing, and Daddy just put it up in our back yard. You are SO excited to swing at your own house! The holidays are going to be so much fun with you. Your grandparents are all thrilled to have you come visit soon. It's going to be a great next 6 months for you!

We love you very much, Sammy!

Love,
Mommy & Daddy

Twenty-Six Weeks