Our Sweet Angel

Isn't this just the cutest little nativity scene you've ever seen? These are the kids at Sammi's Daycare. from left to right: Litzy, Xander, Lauren, Baby Alex, Sammi, Jonathan, Marissa, and Daneila.

Samantha's daycare Christmas party was on Thursday and she had a blast. She's totally loves Santa. When Santa arrived all the other kids were crying and upset but not my girl. She marched right up to Santa and sat on his lap. It was really sweet.

Samantha was the most beautiful little angel. at the party.
She continues to be a funny little girl. Last night when we took an alternative way home from work and she didn't recognize it she said "Ohhhhh Noooooooo, I lost." Out of nowhere she said that. Also when Ken had to apply the brakes in a somewhat fast fashion she yelled at him "Stop it daddy, stop it."

This morning Sammi slept in a bit (yeah!) and we heard her playing in her crib for a long time. When all of the sudden she says "Daddy, Where are you?"

She's also starting to get into her "Why?" phase. I thought the "What's That" stage was long. When she asked me this week "Why are my pants green" I had to fish around a bit for an answer. I mean, really, how do you answer that...and how is that even a question?
 

How we spent our weekend

Make note of the over-decorated cookie. Sammi did that one. And she ate it too. She said it was yummy. 

Bakin' Cookies

 

Being Sad

Last night was really hard. When Sammi and I got home from work we found Jesse in a seriously bad state. I thought we had lost her and was trying to keep Samantha away. Samantha was very aware that something was wrong and kept asking if Jesse was sleeping. It was so hard. Once Ken got home from work we realized that Jesse was still hanging on so we took her to the emergency vet. When we didn't receive good news and had to leave without our kitty, poor Sammi kept asking where she was. Ken tried to explain that Jesse had gone to heaven to play with Snoball and that Uncle Steve was going to take good care of her. She didn't quite get it. Which was really hard on me. Because she kept asking where Jesse was. When we got home she picked up the cat feather and said she wanted to play with Jesse. Jesse was the most beautiful cat, but she was so shy and timid and everything scared her. Its only been in recent weeks that Jess would let Sammi pet her. And Sammi got such a kick out of it. Our way of telling Samantha we're heading home is to tell her we're going to go see Jesse and Rosie. And when we left for work in the morning we always told Jesse she was in charge (because, Rosie would get into trouble!) Its amazing how pets become part of your family. I'm glad that Samantha got to know Jesse a little. Jesse was always so protective of her, since the first day we brought Sammi home from the hospital. I'll never forget Jesse attacking and meowing up a storm because we couldn't get Samantha to stop crying and Jesse thought Ken was hurting Samantha. I'm so sad this morning.

The Loss of My Beloved Friend, our Kitty

Sleep softly my dear Jesse. Your beauty and grace will never be forgotten. We love you and miss you already.

This Year's Christmas Card

I think we'll use this picture for the Christmas cards this year.

Tonight we took Samantha to see Santa Claus. She was so excited. She was also so good, a little shy but willing to go right up to him and sit on his lap.

Samantha is also getting better when we are out and about. Little Miss Independent had been difficult to take out the last few months because she didn't want to hold anyone's hand. She has been much better lately, including tonight. She held both her parent's hands in the mall. (yeah!) 

Giving Thanks

Its this time of year that we really like to take a moment and think about how fortunate we are. Ken and I are so fortunate to have such a beautiful little girl, inside and out. We are truly blessed with a wonderful family. Sammi has the opportunity to spend time with those that love her. We think about the memories we’ve made in the past and look forward to the memories created this weekend and in the future.

Samantha has really become an extraordinary little girl. Gone are the days when I had a little baby who was helpless, I have a little lady now. Independent, curious, inquisitive. She gets things now. You tell her to do something and she does it. We are so thankful to have Sammi in our lives.

Fall Fun

We had a great weekend in Pennsylvania. After Aunt Kelli's baby shower the kids all played out in the leaves. Sammi and her cousins enjoyed the leaves a lot! So did mommy!!! Sammi also enjoyed quality time with all her grandparents! Be sure to check out all the photos on Sammi's Picture page.


Also, Happy Birthday to Aunt Jen!

Sammi and her friends

Here are some pictures of Samantha's Halloween party at daycare. She enjoyed the party and seeing all her friends in their costumes. After the party we rushed home to greet the trick-or-treaters. We barely made it! We put the pumpkin on our stairs and sat and met the children to give out candy. Then we visited with a couple of our neighbors. Then we came into our house and handed out candy as the kids knocked on the door. Samantha loved it! She was looking out the window and looked for kids. She was so excited when she would see them coming. She would run to the door and get the bucket of candy and hand it out to the kids. She was so happy. And when she was finished she looked so proud. Now, getting her to bed after all the excitement and sugar was difficult, but totally worth it!  

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!

Pumpkins!

Samantha had another great weekend. Grandma came and stayed with Samantha and the two of them out-did themselves playing! Samantha had a blast! Today Samantha helped us prepare for Aunt Kelli's baby shower, she's such a little helper. Tonight we carved a pumpkin! Samantha loved it, as I cleaned it out she kept saying "ewwwwww!" I'd hold it up to her and she'd go running! It was a lot of fun.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

That's right, Sammi can count to ten. She keeps doing it over and over again too. Its very sweet. Today she also counted a few minutes and then said "ready or not, here I come" and pulled the blanket off of her head and said "boo!"

Speaking of "boo" I have a little flag pole outside our house. I put a flag of a ghost on it. She gets so excited whenever we see it and we make ghost noises. Its fun!

Sammi spent some quality time with her Granny in the last few weeks. We took her to color fest which is a huge outdoor craft fair up in Thurmont two weeks ago. It was great until she wanted to walk without holding anyone's hand. We left not long after that. Granny and Grandpa came out last weekend to stay with Sammi while Mommy and Daddy went to a football game. She enjoyed her day with them.

Right now we're watching "the great pumpkin charlie brown." Grandma is on her way down since Mommy and Daddy have another football game tonight (go Terps!) We're going to carve Samantha's pumpkin tomorrow, that will be fun.

I can't wait for you all to see her costume! I'll definately post some pictures this week!

BTW, this is a picture of Sammi watching Charlie Brown with her stuffed animals!

Pictures from the Pumpkin Patch

On Sunday the whole clan of us went off to the pumpkin patch. It was a beautiful 75 degree day. Miss Angie, Mr. Norm, Torie, Jordan, and Sydney came out with us and Grandma and Aunt Jen too. We went to Summer's Farm in Frederick again this year. We got lost in the corn maze until we finally had to bust through the corn. We rode the slides that go surprisingly fast! Then we played with the duck races and rode the real slide for awhile. Then we all hopped on the hay ride out to the pumpkin patch. Daddy picked the most perfect pumpkin and Sammi got herself a little pumpkin too.


After the hay ride we all had some apple cider and enjoyed the great weather. It was a lot of fun and got us all excited for fall, even though it was a little too warm!
 

Sammi's Discovered Mickey Mouse

The last few weeks Samantha has been very excited whenever she sees Mickey Mouse. They have these Mickey Mouse videos at day care that are recorded at the theme parks. She loves them, so much that of course we spoiled her and got her one or two.

She was also on another Monster's Inc. kick last week. Poor little girl spiked a fever last Thursday. I stayed home from work with her and she didn't do anything. She slept for most of the day and watched Monsters in between. She just layed in her sofa bed all day. Every five hours like clockwork the motrin would wear off and her fever would go back up. It topped out at 103.5. I actually think she might be getting her molars. She has been telling us that her teeth hurt. Its so nice now that she can tell us things like this!

Check out this picture from last night, aren't the Minnie Mouse ears adorable? She loves her microphone. And tonight the three of us played with her new kitchen set. And of course in her Dora tent. She loves all her new presents.

One Star for Six Flags America

On Sunday we traveled to Six Flags America in Largo. It was our company's "Family Fun Day" there. For $5 we got admission to the park, which was closed to the public so there were no lines, and a huge buffett. None of us had ever been there so we were looking forward to checking out the amusment park. Unfortunately, we were not impressed. It is not a young child-oriented park. In fact, they had a small carousel that Sammi enjoyed. But she was only able to get on two other rides. We were so glad we didn't spend the $50 admission price to go! We probably would have enjoyed it more if it were just the adults going since there were no lines. We did play a game there, but would you believe it cost $5 a person to play one game!! But it was too late, I had already promised (and I really wanted to play). Good thing we won, a huge frog!

At least it was a beautiful day and Sammi seemed to enjoy herself and seeing her friend Lauren at Six Flags.

Daycare Party

The party continued for Samantha, straight through last Tuesday. That's when we had Samantha's daycare birthday party. Elmo was the theme, because she loves Elmo!

One Diaper Saved

Two years and one day and already she's making another milestone. Tonight Samantha had her first bowel movement on the potty. Mommy and Daddy are so proud of our little girl! She told us her butt hurt and she quickly ran to the toilet and made us shut the door.

Two Years Old

Today my little girl turned two years old. You can tell. She looks two, she acts two, she's as smart as a two year old. There is no doubt about it, she's two. Two years. My, how time flies. Ken and I were thinking about what we were doing two years ago, how scared and excited we were. We were thinking about the changes we have gone through in two years, the changes Samantha has gone through in that time. Its truly amazing. She is amazing.

Samantha has such a wonderful personality. She is always happy. Granted, she's also two, so we have our battles and she even wins some of them. She is the friendliest little girl too. She always says hello to everybody, even strangers we pass. She is also very polite, thanks to Aunt Jen teaching her how to say "please" and "thank you." And even excuse me. Its hard to say no to her when she wants you to move "Excuse me Mommy" she says so she can vaccum the sofa with her new vacuum. And she is so sweet. She loves to give us hugs and kisses and we get lots of "Love You" even unprompted now. She had so much fun, and was so excited all day.

Yesterday was such an amazing day for her. We through her a huge birthday party so she could see all her friends and family. She had the most amazing day. Running up and down the stairs at Granny and Grandpa's house. She got to see Gabby and Cullen, Sydney and Jordan, her new cousin Jackson, Josh and Cailyn, it was such a great day. My favorite parts were when she sang happy birthday to herself and blew out the candle, then when she made us all sing to her three times after that as she sang along. She had me in hysterics. My other favorite part was her opening presents. She was so excited for every single present. Even the clothes. She would hold them up to herself and say "seeeeeeee" and "BeaUtiful"

Today was a great day too. It was so nice to wake up at home and play with all her toys, she loves her new easel, kitchen set, high chair, doll house, little car, books, vacuum, medical set, microphone and everything else she got. She ran from toy to toy to toy to toy all day.

We want to thank all those who really went out of their way to help us throw such a wonderful birthday party for Sammi. Granny, Grandma, Aunt Jen, Grandpa and Pappy. Samantha is so lucky to have all of you.

To my little girl:

Samantha, you are really my pride and joy. Your smile and laughter light up my life. Never stop being yourself, because no matter what I will always be proud of you. I love you.

Mommy

Happy Birthday To You Take 5 (and 6 and 7 and 8 and 9)

Sammi and Baby are singing Happy Birthday on Samantha's 2nd Birthday at home in Frederick.
 

Birthday Trip to Harpers Ferry

Since it has been such a beautiful day we wanted to get out of the house and do something fun for Samantha's birthday. So after sleeping in (Sammi slept until 8:45!) we straightened up the house, rearranged furniture to fit all her new toys, and went to Harpers Ferry West Virginia for a few hours. Here are some pictures:


Samantha was so excited for her first BUS trip. She clung to her Daddy and after a few minutes (it was only a five minute ride) she announced that she was done. The ride back went a bit smoother when she sat in her own seat.




Sammi loved seeing the water. We spent some time looking at the beautiful view.