Pictures from Hershey Park

Pictures from Pappy's Birthday Party

The best of times, the worst of times...

Sammi is asleep at my feet right now. She curled up in her little sofa bed and is sound asleep. She's been really sick since Monday morning. Last night she really gave us a scare when her fever spiked up to 104.7 and she started hallucinating (I use that term loosely). She was giggling and being active in her crib but we couldn't get her attention. Today she has been much better but I took her to the doctor just to be sure. It looks like she's got a sore throat and she's just not as active as normal.

We are coming off of a couple of great weekends in Pennslyvania. Last weekend we went up to help throw Pappy a surprise birthday party. Sammi got to see a bunch of her cousins which was a special treat.

This past weekend was a lot of fun too. We went pack up to PA on Friday night and spent the whole long weekend up there. On Saturday while Daddy, Aunt Jen, and I went shopping and then off to Hershey Park, Sammi hung out with Grandma and Pappy. Sounds like they had a lot of fun! Then on Sunday we all went to Hershey Park! Pappy, Grandma, Aunt Kelli, Uncle Matt, Aunt Jen, Daddy, and I all took Sammi on her first trip to the park. Her first ride was the carousel and she loved it. She sat on my lap and kept looking around the whole time. She was fascinated! Later we let Sammi get on the tiny scrambler all by herself. I was so proud of her because she enjoyed the ride by herself, yet, I think a part of me was disappointed she didn't call out for Mommy at all. I even shed a tear because she is getting so big! We were at the park when it opened at 10 am and Sammi didn't leave until after 6 p.m.! She didn't even nap! Then she went home with Grandma and Pappy for a quick bath and dinner before passing out! Daddy, Aunt Jen and I went to the Kenny Chesney concert later that night and let me tell you we were tired after that long day!

Then on Monday morning I knew something wasn't right when Sammi went right back to sleep after waking up. Although after a long Sunday I thought maybe she was just tired. When she got up again I noticed she felt warm and the day went downhill (for Sammi) from there.

Thanks to Grandma for making such a fabulous supper yesterday, BBQ chicken, ribs, and corn on the grill with potatoes and macaroni salad (yum yum yum!) followed with homemade strawberry shortcake (shortcake, strawberries, ice cream, whipped cream), and of course Ken's favorite sweet tea!

Sammi is starting to wake up now, so hopefully I can tell you more about our awesome trip to Hershey later this week!

A Few Steps Back

"A B C D E F Cheese"

Did Uncle Matt practice the alphabet with Sammi?

Fun and Games

Here's what we have been up to lately!

Mother's Day
Our mother's day was very quiet this year, which was nice because we feel like we hardly ever slow down! Aunt Jen was out visiting and Samantha slept until 9 am (indeed a Happy Day!) Then we played most of the day. It was perfect. Sammi got me the most beautiful gerber daisys, a mouse pad, and a magnet for my fridge. She's the best!

Games
Sammi loves to play games with us. Her favorite is "where are you?" when she yells out for us. "Jen, where are you" [note the lack of respect, no Aunt in front of Jen] or "Mommy, where are you" and she looks around for us. Sometimes she hides behind her hands and we look for her. She also loves to hind under blankets with us. Usually she and I whisper about daddy, it usually has us laughing a lot! Sammi loves to chase us around the house and of course, we love to chase her too. It can be really tiring but that's probably because we are laughing so hard. She is great exercise.

Tea Time
Granny gave Samantha a little tea set and she loves it! She is always pouring us tea and passing out plates and spoons. We stir the tea and pretend to drink it. This morning I was pouring her tea, she drank it, and then said "more."

Babies!
Mrs. Angie brought the twins over to see Samantha on Saturday. Sammi was so good with them. She even placed spoons from her tea set next to them (see, she CAN share!). We all had a lovely time since I made a mexican fiesta for dinner. Of course Sammi enjoyed the diced tomatos the most.

The Alphabet Song
She's still tackling some of those letters but loves singing her alphabet song. Right now she can get up to about I, kind of avoids J &K and then does the most hilarious thing with LMNOP. She just moves her tongue like she's saying "la la la" and then says P. We're getting there, its a blast singing with her.

Reading and Coloring
Samantha is getting so much better at playing with books. Before we could barely read one page in a book to her before she was done with it. These days we can get through whole books! She has this one book that Aunt Jen got her that she loves. It has Elmo on it and she likes to point out the apples, babies, dogs, and other pictures in it that she recognizes. She is also getting a lot better with crayons. She eats them less, which is a good thing. She also spends more times drawing on paper rather than on my windows.

Miss Independence
Sammi loves walking all around these days. The weather is so nice that we're not in a big rush to get inside. She loves to walk to the mailbox with her daddy every day to get the mail. She likes us to pick her up so she can see what is going on, then she carries the mail back for her.

Bed Time
Seriously, what 1-year old goes to bed on their own? Mine does. Its fantastic! I was actually a little disappointed last night. By the time we got home, went grocery shopping, cooked, ate, and cleaned up a decent meal, it was 8:30. I was just finishing up and aching to play when Samantha announced it was "Nite-nite" time. And she started climbing the stairs. I even tried to convince her it was time to play, her response "no." Seriously, she is an angel! What is also cute is that now she gathers up all the toys she can handle to join her for bed time. Last night it consisted of her tea pot, a plate, a little backpack, and her keys.

Monsters!
Samantha loves "Monsters, Inc." It is her favorite thing on television. Every night she starts saying "Monsters, Monsters, Monsters" sometimes we can't quite figure out what she is saying, but we are kind of used to it by now. She still loves her Elmo and Wiggles too of course.

She loves my cooking!
Finally, somebody who likes to eat different things! Last night I made a great chicken and broccoli casserole and Samantha loved it. I haven't made it in years because Kenny is too picky!

A B C D E F G H I

A B C D E F G H I

That's how far Sammi can get singing the alphabet song. After that, all bets are off. It becomes A B C D E F G H I B I G B C B... But it is still the sweetest thing ever. Sometimes if I start to sing with her she stops and says no. I guess I mess her up!

This past weekend was a lot of fun. on Saturday morning we went out to drop Samantha off at Granny and Grandpas so they could babysit while Ken, Jen, and I went to a derby party. It was extra exciting since Samantha's Great-Grandma is visiting Granny and Grandpa. We all got to play outside for a while. Samantha was so excited to see the bubbles there. She ran around the backyard chasing the bubbles for some time. Granny and Grandpa were so happy that Samantha fell asleep in each of their arms. She is not much of a cuddler so that is a big deal!