July 2011

July- Happy 1st Birthday, Samara!!
In some ways I can't believe the whole first year is over, but in other ways I feel I have so many memories that it must have been an entire year. Samara is a smart, beautiful, strong (in will and physically) girl that we love so much and we know she is a total blessing from God!

Samara is most definitely a toddler now and not a baby. With her early walking, longer than many baby's hair and seemingly tall genes, she is usually mistaken for older than she is. At her one year check up she was 21 lb 5 oz (53%), 30.25 in tall (82%), and head circumference 46cm (75%). She grew 2.5 inches since her 9 month checkup! She is very independent and will even play by herself for a while now, which as of a month ago she wouldn't really do. So I just check in periodically, but can sit down to work on the computer or clean a bit. But, that doesn't last too long, she still wants to play together-yay! She loves doing animal sounds, putting shapes into her sorter ball and "gonna get you" where she will run away laughing but come right back for more. She loves her books too and even gets really excited about certain pages. She is imitating all the time - basically saying at the least the end sound of each word you say. A few she says often... Da! for Daddy, May-Mee for Mommy, can say Poppa and Nee Nee (Courtney), we are still working on Gemma, Grandma and Grandpa are still kind of jumbly but getting there, zzzz! for any bug she sees b/c she likes bees, "side" for outside, lots of other sounds and babbling, and will try to repeat any word you say, many with much success. She LOVED the fireworks! We watched a show from Shadow Ridge at our friends house and she kept signing "more" when there was a pause in the action.

We had her First Birthday Party, with a ladybug theme! We had a good turn out and were thankful everyone could make it! Everything turned out super cute, from her outfit to cake and cake pops. She opened gifts and got a variety of things from clothes, books, toys and even money for her college fund. She devoured her cake and loved every minute of it, even everyone watching her and taking pictures.

Jeff continued to work on his garden and everything is getting ready to harvest and bear fruit (well mostly veggies). Since it was a grand experiment, we are excited to see what all we get. It's looking like a lot of cucumbers and tomatoes! He is also starting to work on the garage and basement so we can move my sewing room downstairs instead of next to Samara's room, where the machine wakes her up.

I am learning all about cake pops! I really enjoyed making them for Samara's party. The "practice" batch then the real ladybugs turned out well (Courtney stepped in to help with the decorating). So, Courtney and I are thinking of making more cake pops... we'll see, will make some more batches this fall, experiment with some other decorating, etc. So, don't be surprised if you're asked to sample a cake pop or two in the near future! Anyway, that's about all for July...August will bring vacation pictures from our trip to San Clemente, CA!

June 2011

This summer has gone WAY too fast - sheesh! So here is a brief of June:
-Samara is walking all over the place!
-Favorite movie is Curious Buddies (a Nick Jr show)
-Says: Mama, Dada, up, ump (jump), bop! (for anything she is really excited about, like balloons), does her sign language and gives kisses and hugs
-She knows open/closed, up/down, eyes, ears, mouth, toes, knees, elbows along with many animals
-Loves shoes, carrying them around, trying on Mommy's and Daddy's
-She can finger feed herself, and wants to grab the spoon
-Very good at helping get dressed
-Separation anxiety is starting to kick in when Mommy leaves or drops her off somewhere
-Otherwise, happy girl and we are enjoying watching her grow and learn!