This morning Nana and Samara were having a nice moment on the couch. Nana was showing Samara the meatball video and Samara was smiling while snuggling. I wanted to capture the cute moment, but ended up distracting Samara. However, it made for a nice picture where she is looking at the camera.
When Seth came home from work, he started playing with Samara and a pillow. You can hear her screams of excitement in the video below:
Samara has become increasingly more curious and observant of her surroundings. She really likes to look outside when the wind is moving the leaves or when birds fly by. You can see she likes to sit on the back of the couch for this:
Later on that day Nana and Samara went for a stroll while I jogged around the track in DeFazio park. A ton of high school football players from neighboring towns were also using the facility for a football camp. Samara was so excited to watch hundreds of kids either moving as one or bobbing and weaving through various drills. She couldn't keep her eyes off of all the activity around her. It was really cute =)
One of the best pieces of advice that I received while pregnant was to join a New Mom's group; specifically, the one at Isis called "Great Beginnings." It was something that, in addition to appointments with the pediatrician, got me out of the house. I met 10 other mothers all in the same state of sleep deprivation/craziness/sadness, etc and found a safe space to voice my fears, concerns, confusions, and frustrations. I still meet with many of those moms for playgroups, lunches, and dinners.
When we do playgroups, we use the space at Isis. They put out chairs, mats/rugs, and plenty of toys! Of course, all it makes me want to do is purchase those toys, but I have only purchased 2.
One toy I might want in the future is this pony (Samara has some crazy eyes going on in the first pic):
And here is a video with more Samara giggles. It isn't hard to make her giggle. Just wave a piece of fabric in front of her face and she just giggles away.
This weekend Seth, Samara, and I headed down to New Jersey to celebrate Grandma's birthday. After a wonderful and filling brunch, we said our goodbyes and headed back to Massachusetts. At a rest stop, I fed Samara in the car while Seth walked around outside to stretch his legs.
I was burping Samara when Seth came back; he smiled at her through the window. She saw him, smiled, and lifted her arms in a "pick me up, Daddy!" way. Seth beamed while my heart melted a little.
Seth opened the door to pick her up and she did it a second time!
Samara has recently discovered that she has a tongue. The majority of the time she just barely sticks it out of her mouth, but she will just let it sit there. This is slightly unnerving for the first millisecond because I think there is something wrong with her, like she is having an allergic reaction and her tongue is swelling. Then she puts it back in her mouth and I realize she is fine. It gets me every time.
I was talking to Samara, and I must have called her a "meatball" in passing. She started to laugh hysterically, so, of course, I had to record it. I set up the camera so that I was using the lens on the front of the phone. This explains why about 1.5 minutes in I start getting really close to Samara's face because she can see herself in the phone.
I remembered that Samara has some toys that she is now old enough to use. The toy I introduced today is a baby rattle-type thing with three jingly bells on it. It really grabs her attention and she likes shaking it around, but mainly she just sticks it in her mouth.
Seth, Samara, and I headed to a BBQ after Grampi's visit. It had been a long day and Samara was starting to get tuckered out. She started to put her head on the ground like she usually does when she is tired, but her new thing was that she would rest her head on her arm. It's pretty cute.
I can't believe that summer is already half over. Soon I have to go back to work and tear myself away from the cute little munchkin. I think it might be harder to be away from her this time around!
Today Aunty Sarah stopped by for a visit. Aunty loves Samara so much! She always brings Samara a gift and showers Samara with lots of love.
A while back, I noticed that Samara watches if you start drinking something out of a glass. She soon became interested in watching me drink out of a water bottle as well and, for some fun, I put it up to her mouth. She sucked water right up the straw and when the cold water hit her mouth she pulled back in surprise! When Aunty was here, Samara was watching me drink out of the water bottle again. I put it close to her mouth and she immediately opened wide like a little bird! It seems all she really wanted to do was suck on the mouth piece and not actually drink it, but perhaps I should find a sippy cup and see what she does with it.
And here are more shots of Samara tripod sitting. She starts off sitting nice and straight:
Then she starts to get tired and begins to slump:
Then she really slumps over, but it's ok because she makes this cute little face.
Today Samara is 6 months old! Where is the time going?
Samara has been doing very well at doing the "tripod." That is, she is able to sit using her arms as the "third leg" to hold herself up. Here she is playing and smiling on her half birthday:
After Seth's parents left, Seth and Samara were hanging out and being cute. You also get to see how much Samara likes hanging upside down.
Just look at those cheekies:
Here, Samara decided she wanted to hang upside down. Often times, she will suddenly throw her body so that she will be upside down. The following series of pictures gives you a glimpse into how much she enjoys it.
Today Samara tried peas for the 3rd time. For those of you who think we are being mean by feeding Samara peas time and time again: 1) it takes up to 10 times for a baby to get "used" to the way something tastes and 2) it's funny.
This time Pop Pop fed her. As you can see, he is better at making the pea-eating experience a lot more fun and interactive than Seth and I.
This is the third and final part in a 3-part series for today. This weekend Grandma and Pop Pop came for a visit.
Here is some Grandma and Samara love:
Here are some more pics of Samara. She was sitting with Seth and Pop Pop is trying to get her to smile and look at my camera. As you can see, she was not looking at the camera very well, but she was smiley and cute!
