06/20/13: Samara is 20 weeks old and new chair!

June 20, 2013

Yesterday Samara turned 20 weeks old. It is crazy how fast the time is flying, how big she is growing, and how quickly she is developing new skills, sounds, and faces. I bought a used Bumbo chair to see if Samara can better play with her toys sitting up rather than lying down. It worked out pretty well and now we have a new station to pass the time.

As was expected, with toys being above the floor, we have entered into the phase where we will have to pick up the toy every time it is dropped on the ground.

However, the good news is that she is always content to suck on her hands.

06/18/13: This isn't where you left me...

June 18, 2013

I have a routine when I pick Samara up from daycare. I bring her in the house and place her on her back beneath the play mat while I get the mail, bring in the rest of the stuff from the car, and organize her bottles. Today, when I came in to the house, my heart jumped a little when I checked on Samara. She had rolled over and was looking at me like, "Surprise! This isn't where you left me!" While I know perfectly well that she can roll over now, it still throws me off when I don't see it happening and I just see the end result.

I usually lay her down in the middle of the play mat, and as you can see in the pictures below, she rolls over all the way to the left side now.

06/15/13: Story time with Daddy!

June 15, 2013

Seth reads to Samara as part of her bedtime routine. The two books that get read the most often are The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.

06/14/13: My hands taste good

June 14, 2013

Samara has her hands in her mouth all the time now. As a result, she drools a lot more now. Lovely.

06/08/13: Photos from the old memory card part 2

June 8, 2013

These photos are from the second weekend in June when Pop Pop and Grandma came up to visit.

Pop Pop LOVES Samara. Look how smitten he is!

Here is the first decent picture I have taken of Samara in the Jumperoo:

Here is a tender moment with Grandma. Samara must have been comfortable because she fell asleep!

It was pretty bright in the family room when I took this picture, so I had to adjust my settings. Then, when Uncle Ira came over, I forgot to change them back so all these pictures are too dark. I tried to fix them as best as I could. I apologize for the graininess and lower quality.

And here is one of my favorite moments from the day:

06/01/13: Photos from the old memory card part 1

June 1, 2013

I have taken so many photos of Samara that they have completely filled a 4 GB memory card, which holds over 600 pictures. 600 pictures!!! I am so glad that we are in the digital age because this would just not be manageable with an actual film camera. Anyway, as a result of filling up the card, I started using a new one but quickly forgot about the old photos and didn't post about them. My apologies.

So the first set of photos are from the first weekend in June when Nana came for a visit. They are from the same time when the "Laughing with Nana" video was posted.

Boy is she cute! Look at her little body!

Here, Samara is hanging out with Nana. It is a rare treat when she falls asleep on you. Rare, but so nice!

Samara has also really started to like putting things in her mouth: her hands, toys, other people's hands, etc.

And here is a picture of Mark spending time with Samara:

06/12/13: Samara is 19 weeks old and rolls over!

June 12, 2013

Samara is 19 weeks old and rolled over for the first time today! Up until today she has been sort of rolling over; she never quite knew what to do with her shoulder so she would just hang out on her side. When she starting going on her side when I brought her home from daycare I had a feeling that I should get my camera out. Boy am I glad I did!

Here is her first roll:

Here is her second roll, which happened much faster than the first:

And here is the last, and final time (I like the grunting in the beginning. You know she is working hard!):

06/11/13: Samara plays in the water!

June 11, 2013

The theme of the month at daycare is water. Samara's teachers filled up a little pool with water and some toys and all the babies took turns playing in it. Apparently Samara had an awesome time as I received an email from the daycare director stating, "She really loved the water play today. She was laughing so hard!" The following picture was attached:

I was SO jealous when I saw this pic. I want to see her play and laugh. Not just laugh, but BELLY laugh, according to the director. I need to go to Target ASAP and track down a wind up ducky that apparently made Samara laugh so much.

Seriously, how cute is this picture? I am hoping I will get other pictures also. We shall see.

06/09/13: Grampi and Grandma visit!

June 9, 2013

Today Grampi and Grandma came over for a BBQ. There was a lot of quality time and you can see that Samara was very content:

Grampi loves Samara so much:

Samara is probably thinking: "Enough with the pictures, Mommy!"

06/05/13: Samara is 18 weeks old!

June 5, 2013

Today Samara is 18 weeks old. She is so much fun to watch now. She is a very happy baby with a great disposition. Lately, she has been all smiles and squeals:

06/01/13: Laughing with Nana

June 1, 2013

Nana visited this weekend and while playing with Samara discovered a new developmental milestone: the ability to anticipate. Samara only laughs/squeals when Nana's hand is somewhat close to Samara's face and body. The squeals are super cute!

05/31/13: Hair washing time!

May 31, 2013

Samara has so much hair that we have to clean it more often than we give her baths. We wash her hair in the sink, which she loves. She gets really calm and relaxed, and she looks up at you with a super cute look on her face. Plus, you realize how small her head is when her hair is all wet. It's like when a fluffy dog gets a bath and then you see how small the dog is.

05/30/13: Samara is 4 months old!

May 30, 2013

Today is Samara's 4 month birthday. When I informed her, she said, "Who? Me?"

I then asked her to smile for the camera and she gave me a series of cute shots: