Michigan Trip

Sam's serious side.

So we just got back from a great trip to Michigan. Samantha got to meet a ton of her relatives for the very first time! Unfortunately, she got a cold the day before we left and had it the whole time we were up there. Poor little girl! She is just now recovering. The flights went okay - I was very worried about taking Samantha on the flight. The flight up there was eventful...the first 15 minutes on the plane - in which you are required to sit in your seats - she screamed. She wanted to be walked around, but obviously we couldn't do that. After that she settled down and slept for most of the flight, but Lenny and I were "those" parents for the flight. On the way back she was pretty happy. I think it was because her cold was getting better so she felt better.

The trip was fun, we spent the first three days Lenny's folks' house and the last three days at mine. Lenny's sister Kalena and her husband Jon and two kids, Mathew and Ann stayed at his parents too. As a surprise for his parents, Lenny's brother Patrick also came into town from Australia. It was a lot of fun to see them - we had never met Ann (she's about 2 months older than Samantha).

The time at my parents house was busy too, we had a ton of visitors. We especially liked all the time we got to spend with my nieces. I also want to mention that my Mom made Samantha a beautiful blanket - thank you Mom! I want to make a special note here because I know how hard she worked on it - with one hand no less!

So there are a couple of things I really miss from up north that I thought I would write here - besides the obvious one: missing our families...
-Being able to store beverages outside (I love crisp cold pop - colder than a fridge gets it - something I will never get down in Houston)
-Cold water from the tap - I mean real cold water - not the "cold" water we get here
-Fresh air - it just feels fresher up there in the crisp cold
-Wearing thick comfy socks
-Rosy cheeks

Okay, I will stop with the writing...here are a few pictures from the trip and from the last month. I have posted all of the trip pictures at this link - Michigan. I have also added pictures of Samantha from Christmas until now at this link - 3 - 6 months.

Just for an update...Sam has been doing a lot lately - she tried Rice Cereal (and didn't like it...we are still trying), she is rolling over - the first time from back to tummy on January 4 and from tummy to back on February 22, she is talking more and more, she grabs and holds objects, she is very interested in her feet and toes, and she is really getting a little personality now.

Sam's first taste of rice cereal - "why is Mom doing this to me"

I'm cute!

Rice cereal try #2.

Samantha at 4 months.

Happy 4 Month Birthday Samantha

Today is Samantha's 4 month birthday! Yeah! She is doing so well! She is rolling over, holding onto toys for longer, putting everything in her mouth, and definitely talking more and certainly louder. We weighed her this week and she 15 lbs. Her hair is getting lighter and her eyes are still blue/green. I am starting to see a little more of me in her - she is totally a Lenny mini me so it's nice to see some of her mommy in there too! She is pretty attached to us now too - she knows her mom and dad (Grommit too!).

To celebrate a little early, on Sunday we gave Samantha rice cereal for the first time! Too bad she didn't like it! When I put it in her mouth she made a face that definitely screamed "what the heck is this!". She pushed the cereal out of her mouth so I tried again (several times) and she definitely didn't like where the situation was going and started to cry. Poor thing! She did want to hold the spoon herself though. We'll keep trying every once in awhile. I hope to post pictures too...we took a ton!

Laughing

So today Samantha did an all out laugh for the first time! She has been squealing when she smiles, but today it was a full out belly laugh. It was awesome. Lenny was holding her and I was making some silly faces and jumping around - she thought it was hilarious! I can't wait until she gets up from her nap so we can try to get her to laugh again - it's just the coolest thing I've ever heard!

Samantha's 4 month appointment

So Samantha had her 4 month appoint when she was 3.5 months old. Her doctor is moving offices and we had to go early or wait until March - to keep on her vaccination schedule we had to go early (plus it's fun to find out how she's doing).

So we went on January 16 - she weighed 14 pounds exactly (that's roughly 75th percentile) and 25.5 inches in length (90th percentile). We have no idea where she gets the length part :)

She is doing great developmentally - she's rolling over now. She's really good at rolling from her back to her tummy, but the other way (tummy to back) gets tricky for her because her arm gets caught. She is also "talking" more. It's pretty fun! She's also grabbing and holding onto everything and then sticking everything in her mouth!

Since the last post, I have also started back to work. Samantha stays with our friend Jess during the day and she is doing great other there. She's doing much better than her Mom! I really miss spending the day with her. Not that I don't enjoy going back to work, but to be honest I would rather spend the day with Sam. I never realized how hard it would be to leave her, but I also get really mad at people who say I can't go back to work - especially old guy engineers who just tell you that you won't want to back to work. That just grinds me!