Pig Tails!!!

I am very proud to announce that Sami got to wear her very first pig tails just this past week. Of course it didn't last long, but it was so cute I just had to share it:) Sorry, the only pic of her from the front has red eyes so I'll have to fix it before I can post it...

Flash Gordon

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This is my mom's cat, Flash Gordon. He's so silly...

Samantha LOVES him and he surprisingly adores her. They have a lot of fun together:)

Samantha at 15-16 months

I can easily say that being outside is Samantha's favorite place to be... right next to on mommy's lap watching one of her favorite videos.

She's really growing fast... she's now about to turn 16 months (that's almost a year and a half for those of you who have not become comfortable with the month thing yet). Although she isn't incredibly vocal, she is adding some words to her list but her all time favorites are "No, what's this? and Da da da (she calls her belly button da da da).

Thanks to some wonderful lift-the-flap books she got for Christmas from her Auntie Boppy (Rebecca) she is well versed in body parts...

I am finally able to trust her with a bowl of yogurt and a spoon... as long as a put a napkin on her lap.

Some of the things that she does... that really define her at this age (personality wise):

She cares very much about her interactions with others. She will of course examine a stranger with extreme caution but within minutes she is waving for their attention. She is very affectionate, blowing kisses (or walking over and giving real ones) to us throughout her day.

She is very organized... she will arrange her toys in straight lines or perfect curves.

When she is eating something that she thoroughly enjoys she wiggles back and forth (her father does that too!), it's adorable.

She loves listening to Raffi and dancing to the music.

She still loves her Fisher Price "lawn mower" type push toy... she keeps our living room carpet very well manicured.

She is SO good about sleeping, we are so blessed about that!

That's all I can think of for now...

Sami is walking (13 months)

Sami started walking at 13 months (so did I I guess). It's stinkin' adorable seeing her waddle around. Well, she walks normal at this point. I have a video of the first night she was really walking on a vibe... look at my links: Samantha's First Night Walking

Our condo

10 months!?!

This one's for you BBJ...

Here is my little cutie... she will be 10 months old on Sunday! She's in the garden checking out the italian flat leaf parsley. I don't think she likes it as much as I do.

Let's see... as for physical achievements she is coming along pretty quickly. She's been walking along furniture and crawling for weeks now. Thankfully she's figured out on her own how to sit back down! She knows how to shake her booty to music she likes (as long as she's holding onto something), it's awfully cute. She's currently working on pushing walker type toys... (or riding them).

As for brainy stuff, she loves books and she's starting to understand how to play with those shape sorting toys.

I have finally gotten her to sleep though the night, too! (it's about time!) I won't wait so long to put my foot down about midnight feedings again.

She said her first word a few weeks ago: "Hi". We thought it might have been a fluke when we heard it, but then we looked at her and saw her waving. I think she knew what she was saying.

She also says dada and barba... va va and ra ra. But she only says mama when she is crying and every time she is happy she says dada. That's just plain sick...

She's learning how to use utensils and she's getting very good... She has five teeth now!

Her favorite game now is Chase... I chase her or she chases me around the ottoman in the middle of our living room. She was playing chase with her cousin (Sydney) one night for more than an hour! It's was hysterical!

But that's all the time I have right now, she needs me.

Larger than Life

Welcome to my world. This is my 'little' bundle of energy and curiosity. This was actually a picture of her from Easter morning... without any sugar in her. Can't imagine...
This is really an amazing stage that she is in. Almost every day she is doing something new or perfecting an old trick. Now she starts clapping her hands as soon as she hears just the first few notes of "If You're Happy and You Know It"... She's starting to eat chunkier things (but still mushy)... and she eats cheerios! Any moment now she will have her second tooth. This is great.
But this is also the hardest stage I have yet seen. Although she is more active and she can physically do more stuff... she can't really do any of it alone yet (safely). Then there is the teething and the separation anxiety. She's learning so fast she's quickly tiring on songs and games... it's hard to keep up with her.
It's demanding... she's needy... sometimes she's a tough crowd. She's excited... she likes to bounce bounce bounce and grab anything that you seem to like (phone, remote, laptop, etc.). She's all over the place.
I love her to death.

Yay!!!

She turned 7 months old on Sunday... but that's not as exciting as the suprise she gave me today... Samantha started clapping on her own!!! It was so stinkin adorable! Wondering if it was just a fluke... I sat down in front of her and encouraged her to clap again and sure enough... she did! And she seems to love doing it! Hey, she's doing right now too.
So freekin adorable!