Happy Birthday Sammie!

Wow. I can’t even believe that a year has passed since I gave birth to my amazing little girl. It makes me cry to think about how fast time has passed, and knowing that the next year will go by just as quickly. I love her so much and seeing her grow up is bittersweet. I love that she is so sweet, smart, and active but the thought that the first year went by so fast and that all of the following years will go by even quicker makes this a very emotional week!

Patrick took off Thursday and Friday so that he could be with us on Samantha’s actual birthday, and so we could go and get family pictures along with her 1 year portraits done the following day.

Samantha’s birthday started off really early. She decided that on her special day she wanted to wake up at 4 am! I snuggled and laid down with her on the couch until 6 when she got up for good and started playing. We all got ready, and even though it snowed the night before and the roads were a little icy we decided to take her to Cracker Barrel for her first big girl breakfast. We had such a great time, and even ordered Sam’s breakfast from the kid’s menu. She drank almost an entire pint of milk, and ate half of a scrambled egg with cheese on top, half of a biscuit, and half of my pancake! Our waiter was really nice and even gathered the rest of the wait staff and sang happy birthday to her. Sam LOVED the attention. We went home and let Sam take a nap while Patrick went to the dentist for a cleaning, then when she got up we had some lunch and picked up her cakes and the rest of the food and drinks that we needed for her party on Saturday. Sam loves shopping so she didn’t mind a trip to the store at all. When we got home we let Sam open her presents from us and played for a while and let her walk around before my parents came over for dinner. We let Sam open her presents from her Granna and Grandpa, then she ate some mashed potatoes and gravy and more importantly her first real sugar!!! Her little smash cake was a hit, and even though it took her a few minutes to really get into it, she loved it! Afterward, we gave her a bath and let my mother cut her first curl (which was starting to look more like a rat tail) in honor of her first birthday.

		2/10/11 Sam’s First Birthday! VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

I don’t think the day could have been more perfect. Patrick and I got to spend the entire day with our sweet girl, and enjoyed every minute of it.

Friday we all went to have Sam’s 1 year old portraits taken. She didn’t nap on the way there, and got really sleepy toward the end, but she didn’t get fussy at all, just a little drowsy eyed. Here are a few of our pictures…

1 Year Portraits! VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Once we got Sam in bed Patrick and I finished up the video of her first year using some pictures from her actual birthday and some of the new professional pictures too. We made the video to show at Sam’s birthday party, but if you would like to see it we have uploaded the files to youtube and here are the links:

Samantha's First Year 1 of 8                        Samantha's First Year 2 of 8

Samantha's First Year 3 of 8                        Samantha's First Year 4 of 8

Samantha's First Year 5 of 8                        Samantha's First Year 6 of 8

Samantha's First Year 7 of 8                        Samantha's First Year 8 of 8

Saturday was Samantha’s first birthday party *tear*! I was so nervous. I was sad and excited about her first birthday, but the party was such a big deal to me. I just wanted it to go perfectly! Patrick and I got the car loaded up, I went and picked up balloons while Sam napped, then when I got back to the house we got Sam ready and headed to our church. The only bad thing that happened was that our church’s heat had gone out the previous week, so the fellowship hall was a bit chilly even with the small heaters turned on full blast, but I think that everyone had dressed for cooler weather so we were all fine.  We decorated for a couple of hours with the help of my parents and sisters, and Patrick’s parents, grandmother, and his brother and sister in law. I don’t think we could have pulled this thing off if it hadn’t been for all of their help, so THANK YOU to our family for all of your help with decorating, bringing food, and for cleaning up!!! Sam and Jakob ate snacks and watched Sesame street while we set up, and Mackenzie slept. lol.

		Sam’s 1st Birthday Party VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

The party was PERFECT! We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family. There were 36 people there including ourselves. Everyone enjoyed talking, eating food, and seeing Samantha! She got so many generous gifts, and I don’t know how we fit them all in our living room! The best part of the day though, was when Sam got her Tinkerbell smash cake. On her birthday she just kind of played with it and licked some of the icing off of her fingers, but not on Saturday. At her party she picked up the cake and started sucking the icing off of the cake! It was priceless! It really was the perfect party!

We spent our second Valentines Day as a family together on Monday night. Patrick picked up dinner and we enjoyed it with Sam and shared a roll and some strawberry ice cream with her. We exchanged cards and gifts, and Sam’s hugs made it the perfect valentines day!

		Valentine’s Day Portraits! VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Today Samantha had her 1 year checkup. Dr. Meadows said that “she is perfect!”, which is something we already knew, but it’s nice to hear from your pediatrician. Sam now weighs 23lbs 6oz (80%), is 30 3/4 inches long (90%) and her head circumference is 48cm around (off the charts, but following her normal trend). She is doing everything on track, and our pediatrician is very pleased with her eating habits, but does want us to try to get her to drink more often. She got 2 shots, and only cried until her daddy scooped her up, and then she was fine! Such a good, sweet, healthy little girl we have.  Tonight I caught some video of her practically running instead of just walking, and was just in awe of how fast she is picking up on things. One day it’s tiny steps, the next she’s running! She is also talking like crazy “mama, dada (or daddy), bye, hey, uh ohh, no no, yay” are the words she says all the time. She started pointing at things that she wants. She is completely weaned to her sippy cup, and has dropped her bed time bottle since she started drinking only whole milk. She loves to close doors, and chases me into the bathroom, just so she can shut us inside. She now has 6 teeth, 4 on top and 2 on bottom. She loves to be read to, and will hand you the same book over and over again until she gets distracted. She is sleeping through the night typically about 12 hours, and still taking 2: 1-2 hour naps a day. She is wearing size 12 months clothes, and size 4 diapers.  Oh, and one of my favorite things she does now, is nod. If I say no no, she nods yes. If she likes something, she nods. Whens she hears music, she bounces her butt and she nods. It’s adorable!!!

I guess that is all for now, I hope you enjoy the videos and photos, and will stay tuned for another year of Sammie updates!

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Dear God,

Thank you so much for everything you do for us. Thank you so much for our beautiful, healthy, sweet, happy daughter. Thank you for everything that you have made possible this first year. Thank you for letting her have a wonderful first birthday and party, and for letting us be with her the entire time. Thank you for always taking care of us! Please continue to show your love through her with hugs and smiles and the look that only a child can give us to say everything is ok. Please continue to help Samantha grow and be a healthy little girl, so that she can one day understand the prayers we say every single night to praise your name. Thank you Lord for everything you do for us, our family, our friends, and everyone else in the world.

AMEN

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Praying for a stranger...

I am a huge believer in the power of prayer. I believe that God hears our prayers and always answers them, even if it isn't the answer that we want to hear. This week I have been praying for everything I have been blessed with, my family, my friends, all of the wonderful things God has given me, but I have also been praying for a stranger. I heard a very heartbreaking story earlier today about a man who after a freak car accident lost his wife, and was asking others to pray for his daughter (who was delivered shortly after his wife died, 3 weeks early). I'm not sure why this story touched me so much. I think it has to do with the fact that last year at this time I was just days away from delivering my own daughter and can't imagine what how he must be feeling. Sadly last night the doctors said that there was no way that they could save his daughter and removed her from life support. She died shortly after. This man had someone post on a fb page about how thankful he was for the blessings God had given him, and for letting him spend these last few days with his daughter Miranda, all the while he had just lost his wife and daughter. I can only hope that I could be this strong in my faith in God, that after having everything taken away from me, that I would praise HIS name.

So if you would, please pray for this man. I do not know him, I do not know his family, buy my heart feels the need to pray. If you are interested in reading his blog, here is the link. http://sadandchara.blogspot.com/

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Dear God,
Please watch over Chad in the days to come. Please continue to give him the strength to get through this heart breaking ordeal. I know that his wife and daughter are with you and that you are taking care of them, and I thank you for your grace and mercy. Please bless Chad with family and friends who care about him, and who will surround him in his time of need. Please let your presence be known to him, and give him peace.
AMEN
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I’m an Aunt again…

My niece is precious! My younger sister Jessica gave birth to her second child on Tuesday January 18th (6 days before her scheduled c-section) to a healthy baby girl “Mackenzie Faith Parris”. She was 7lbs 8oz and 20 1/2 inches long. So far she has been doing well, but is a lazy eater so they are supplementing a little, although my sister is actually trying to breastfeed. Hopefully she will stick with that. This was a week earlier than planned, so I wasn't expecting to have to keep my nephew until next week. Thankfully I am a planner and had gone to the grocery store over the weekend and picked up things that he likes to eat to have at the house. '

I went and picked up my mom (since she is still unable to drive), then picked up Jakob (my sister’s 2 year old son) from my sister's sister in laws mother (I know, but the girls mom was actually really nice), then went to the hospital to see Mackenzie. We got some pictures, then went to Wal-Mart and bought a booster high chair for while I am keeping Jakob, and my parents will use it at their house now that there are more little ones, and a few odds and ends (goldfish, teddy grahams and apple juice), then had lunch (Sam ate a few bites of Frosty for the first time, I know I'm mother of the year, but I gave in, she had a rough day of driving and she deserved a treat, besides it was only about half a spoon full), then headed back to my house with my extra kid for the next few days. We timed it just right and both of the babies were so sleepy that they napped the whole way home, which is great because Jakob is a terrible rider normally and it was a 2 hour drive!

Jakob was really good, all things considered. I was a little worried about how he would interact with Sam, since he doesn’t like to share, but overall he did a decent job. The first night was tough, Jakob had a time out and a spanking within the first 20 minutes of walking in the door. I tried the time out when he pushed Sam, but when he kicked her in the face I felt like I didn’t have much of a choice. That was all it took, the rest of his stay with us, a time out was all the punishment he required. Oh also on a good note, Jakob will not eat anything but junk food at home, but his first night he ate some chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, ketchup, and a spoonful of cole slaw. Then he actually said “eat eat” and pointed to the goldfish so he had a snack and some apple juice too! I was so afraid he wouldn't eat! I was also told he didn’t like bread, but he had no trouble gobbling down a piece of garlic bread with his spaghetti the next night either. lol. Oh and this kid loves bubble baths! :) I started running water for Sam’s bath and he got so excited. I bathed Sam and let Patrick get her dressed while I bathed Jakob. He probably would have stayed in there all night, but I promised him another one the next day so we didn’t have any fussing when it was time to get out. He is so fun and loves to snuggle. Anytime Sam was napping he was all over me, and when she was up he was all over my big teddy bear.  Another think Jakob never does for his mother is nap or go to bed when she tells him to. I didn’t have a problem. All I had to do was tell him it was time to go to sleep, put him down in the pack n play with Sam’s glow worm, turn off the lights, and lay down in my bed next to him. He was out like a light!

On Jakob’s last day with us, my friend Amanda and her little girl Lilly (2 months older than Sam) came up for a visit and we had a great time with all 3 little ones running around and playing with each other. Here I was trying to get Jakob used to being around one baby girl and then we threw him for a loop with 2 baby girls. lol. I was really glad that Amanda and Lilly came up though because it helped to have an extra set of eyes, and a chance for a restroom break. We watched YoGabbaGabba about 5 times (Jakob is addicted to the tv), and then it was time for our friends to leave, and time for us to pack up to take Jakob back to my parents house. My dad was sweet enough to offer to take care of Jakob the last night so that we could have some time with Sam (we really missed our alone time!) and said since he had Friday off he could take him back home to Jessica since she went home from the hospital on Thursday afternoon. Sam and I visited with my parents at the farm for a bit, and when it came time to say goodbye Jakob cried. He really does love us and we really do love him. I am hoping that sometime soon we can keep him for a weekend and just have some fun, without these crazy circumstances.

I'm looking forward to this age with Sam, but am glad I have decided to wait to get pregnant again anytime soon, because I really missed my time with just her. We had lots of fun with Jakob, and I loved the dynamic with two kids, but after 3 days with both of them I felt like I hadn’t spent more than 20 minutes alone with MY baby. Definitely reassured me that we are making the right decision in waiting for a while before adding another child to our family.

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Dear God,

Thank you so much for everything you do for us. Thank you for our amazing little girl and for everything that she is growing up to be. Thank you for the birth of a healthy baby, and for my sister’s delivery. Thank you so much for watching over our family and for allowing me to take care of Jakob for a few days, both for his sake and for ours. Thank you for your reassurance that we are following the plan you have laid for us, and for taking care of our family. Please continue to bless our family, and to watch over my sister and her children. Thank you for everything you do for us.

AMEN

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11 months old & snow storm!

Today Samantha turned 11 months old. I can hardly believe that her first year has flown by so fast, and that in one month she will be 1! I love this age so much, and think that it is one of my favorites. I joke that each new age is my new favorite, but it’s true. She is such a sweetheart, and loves to hug and cuddle. It melts my heart! She still hates table food, except for grilled cheese on wheat, goldfish, any kind of baked bread, and pieces of my banana. lol. She loves her fruit and will squeal for yogurt of any flavor, and has started using a sippy cup for meals (our first step to weaning from a bottle). She still loves to be held, but is sleeping in her crib most nights and naps. She can play very well independently, but loves for other people to play with her. Oh, and she got her first top tooth the day after Christmas, and her 2nd the Thursday afterward, and is working on the two teeth beside them. She can stand for almost 15 seconds at a time, but gets scared and falls on her butt on purpose. She is so curious that she runs at things before thinking, so unfortunately she bumps her head a good bit. She dances every time she hears music. She loves to be chased by her mommy and daddy, and likes being tickled. She will nod her head yes if she really wants something, and is not afraid to say “NO NO” if she doesn’t. She knows when she is doing something she shouldn’t, and turns around to see if we are watching. lol. She is waving and can say bye bye.  Her hair is starting to look more and more strawberry, and can hold a small bow, and even teeny tiny pigtails. She is so smart, and healthy, and beautiful, and we are so incredibly blessed.

11 months old!

When we got up this morning we had 7 1/2 inches of snow! The roads and driveways were covered with at least 4 inches, and we were definitely stuck at home for the day. Patrick was able to work from home for a few hours on some training, and took half a day of vacation so that he could enjoy the snow with Sammie for a little while. We were so thankful that we kept our power because we don’t have any other way to heat our house. This was definitely the wakeup call we needed to let us know that we should start looking for a way to heat our house just in case we aren’t so lucky in the future. They are expecting the roads to be a mess for the next few days, but I hope that they clear up soon!

Sam attended her first funeral this week. Unfortunately her Aunt Mandie’s grandfather passed away after a long hard fight with cancer. We went and picked up my parents and spent most of our day in the car, but it was important for us to all be there and support my sister. She said that he was starting to suffer, so she was glad that it was over, but her grandfather and grandmother helped raise her, so I know this can’t be easy for her. We were so thankful that we were able to go, and that I was able to drive mother, because she wouldn’t have done well riding in dad’s 5-speed pick up truck. Please keep Mandie and her family in your prayers.

Saturday we took Sam to her to her first hockey game and she loved it! We took Patrick’s parents with us, and had a blast. It was freezing cold, but we had her dressed warm and covered her with Patrick’s hoodie to keep her extra cozy. She watched the first two periods, and jumped every time the players hit the glass. The third period she fell asleep in Patrick’s lap, she was a couple of hours past her nap time so we knew it was coming. She slept through our team winning, and all of the cheering and speakers blaring that came with it. She didn’t wake up until we were almost outside, and that was only because she wet through her diaper and her clothes. Poor baby had to be changed in the cold bathroom at the hockey game, but she didn’t seem to mind since she got to play with her Mimi.

1-8-11 UAH Chargers Game! VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

I guess that’s it for this month, and I hope to be able to update more often now that we are trying to get into a routine.

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Dear God,

Thank you for everything that you do for us. Thank you so much for our healthy, beautiful, sweet, smart baby girl. We are so blessed, and you have given us so much. Thank you for keeping us safe and warm during the snow storm. Please watch over our family as the ice is still on the roads, and we are concerned about their safety as well. Please watch over my sister and help her to feel comfort in her time of loss. Please continue to take care of us all. Thank you again for all that you do.

AMEN

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Samantha first birthday invitation!

I can hardly believe that my baby girl is almost a year old, but alas the time has come to start planning her first birthday party. Here is a picture of her invitation, edited for the internets ofcourse.  Enjoy, and I can’t wait to share more info and pictures about her party!

Happy 2011!

New Year’s Eve

New Year’s Day