12/22/13: Brunch and ripping paper

December 22, 2013

Seth and I decided to take the little munchkin to brunch this morning. She was very happy and silly at the restaurant.

The silliness begins.

This is where she showed us some new moves and her funny personality.

This is where she shot a Cheerio out at Seth.

And this is when she thought biting the table would be fun.

Later on, Samara could not be deterred from opening presents early. You can see how first thing in the morning she was checking out the presents and lost all interest in the fancy milk cartons.

She silently crawled to the tree and ripped into the first present before I could stop her. She opened Nikki's dog treats and then I didn't feel like wrapping them again (sorry, Nikki).

Samara is checking out the paper. This paper must look very delicious.

I want to see if it is as delicious as it looks.

Mommy didn't let me eat it very long.

Wait, this is it? Just these dog treats?

But there are more presents under the tree that I can unwrap!

That paper is too far away. I forgot that I have paper in my hands!

Daddy, tell Mommy how cute I am so she isn't mad I unwrapped the presents!

12/21/13: Early Christmas present

December 21, 2013

Seth gave Samara an early Christmas "present." See how excited she is with her shiny new toy?

Just kidding! We put the tree up late and Samara has been very intrigued by it (see picture below). So to try to dissuade her from playing with it or the presents beneath it, Seth gave her a milk carton.

12/19/13: I can feed myself

December 19, 2013

Samara can finally feed herself an entire bottle. She has been capable of holding one for a while, but she would be lazy (or smart?) and make someone else hold it for her while she drinks it. Now I can plop her on the boppy and she will happily drink a bottle on her own.

12/17/13: Highchair fun

December 17, 2013

Samara's first Christmas is coming up, so I have been playing holiday music to get her into a festive mood. I think my attempts have been working:

She also has learned how to make a new noise.

12/16/13: Giggles and hats

December 16, 2013

It is always a good day when I can get Samara to laugh. She doesn't really do it that often. She screams when we tickle her, and most of the time her shrieks sound fake. However, we were playing with Sophie today and she started doing a funny little baby giggle.

Then we started playing with her stacking cups. I like how it sounds like she is counting when the cup is on her head in the beginning of the video. At the end, I like to imagine she is doing the baby equivalent of a rockstar trashing a hotel room. She starts throwing her toys around and then walks away.

12/8/13: Grandma Renee's family gathering

December 8, 2013

We were back in New York for a family dinner at Grandma Renee's house this weekend. After some snacks, there was an exchange of Hanukkah gifts, followed by a nice dinner. When everyone's stomachs were full, the kids were full of energy and having a good time playing with one another. Although Samara can't keep up with the bigger kids, she showed her excitement by ripping off her socks and biting them.


She looks sort of mischievous here.

Three out of the four grandkids stopped long enough for a picture with Grandma. Dina was acting camera shy, but a smiling Yoey and a tired-looking Ozzy joined.

This picture was difficult to get. Dina was reluctant to join the rest of the children, and many adults were taking pictures at the same time, so no one is looking at the same camera at the same time.

Samara has been teething pretty much nonstop since the fall, so she puts everything in her mouth. Sorry about your coffee table, Grandma Renee!

12/7/13: Playing with Daddy

December 7, 2013

Pop Pop and Grandma gave Samara an activity table for a Hanukkah present. She loves pushing all the buttons, dances to the music, and sticks her hand/toys in the hole in the middle. Here are some pics showing Samara and Seth enjoying her new toy.

It looks like Samara is busting a move here:

I sometimes find random toys stuffed in the middle of the table. Samara doesn't understand the concept of a slide yet.

I'm not sure what Seth is doing here. It looks like he is going to grab her face, though!

12/4/13: Look at me!

December 4, 2013

Samara recently hit another milestone: her hair is so long that we can do a full ponytail, rather than 2 pigtails. She has so much hair that I unfairly judge other babies. I see babies around Samara's age and I think, "Wow, that baby is BALD." And then I remember I have a mutant baby who had more hair on her head when she was born then lots of babies her age now and I have to remind myself that Samara is the weird one.

11/28/13: Samara's first Thanksgivukkah

November 28, 2013

Seth, Samara, and I headed down to New York for Thanksgiving/Hanukkah. Look how excited Samara is for her first Thanksgivukkah! (Thanks for the great picture Pop Pop!)

Everyone was excited to see Samara, but she was a little shy at first. With a little help from a toy, cousin Dustin was able to get Samara to warm up to him.

This attention quickly drew some of the other cousins. Lexi was the first to bombard Dustin.

Then, surprisingly, Taylor snuck over and smiled for the camera.

Here is another nice picture, courtesy of Pop Pop:

After a big Thanksgiving meal with lots of dessert, it was time to get Samara into her pajamas so we could get ready to hit the road and head home. Pop Pop snapped this family picture before we left.

11/25/13: A hat?

November 25, 2013

When Samara doesn't like to play on her own, I have to find new ways to play with her while amusing myself. One way I do this is to try to get her to make sounds. I love her little voice and her babbles, and here is one way I can reliably get her to make them.

I also pretend Samara's stacking cups are hats. When I place a cup on her head, Samara gets really still and she slowly tries to grab it. It doesn't stay on her head very long, but she tries to put it back in its place.

Samara also tried the rocking chair again. She didn't love it, but she didn't hate it either.

11/23/13: Little moments

November 23, 2013

I love watching Samara to see what she will do next. What is she trying to do? What funny face or sound is she going to make? Sometimes she just looks at me and smiles, which warms my heart. Here are a few clips of sweet little Samara smiles.

This last video is a clip of how Samara has learned how to get down from a stand. It didn't take her very long to figure it out and, luckily, there haven't been any crying baby in the middle of the night because she can't get down from the crib moments.

11/21/13: I can pull myself up to a stand!

November 21, 2013

Samara can finally pull herself up into an assisted standing position. Look how excited she is!

11/20/13: My arm goes through things?

November 20, 2013

It is interesting to watch Samara as she realizes new things about the objects that have been around her for a while. One example is the little house that she has had since she was 6 months old. It has shutters that have a little hole in the middle of them. She has the known the hole is there, as we have played peekaboo through it, but she hasn't really known things can go through it. Today, without being shown how to do it first, she handed a ball to me through the shutters. It was cute.

11/19/13: Early crawling

November 19, 2013

Samara is almost adept at crawling on her hands and knees.

And then she falls.

11/18/13: I am excited!

November 18, 2013

Now that Samara is super active, it is hard for me to capture moments with still photographs. Most of the time they look blurry or extremely unflattering, so I end up posting a lot of movies. Now, as a warning, these pictures are still pretty blurry, but they catch Samara in a fun mood, so I thought I would share.

11/16/13: Look what I can do!

November 16, 2013

Just a quick 2 days can make all the difference: Samara can now stay up on her knees and knock the tower over.

Although this picture is badly out of focus, I love so many things about it. I love the tenderness of her little hand grasping Seth's. I love her wonky-looking ponytails. And most of all, I love the look of "Daddy, I need you to pay attention to me."

Finally, I was able to capture the newest thing Samara has learned:

11/14/13: I like to knock towers over

November 14, 2013

Sometimes Samara looks like she is trying to get off her belly and crawl on her hands and knees. I have been stacking blocks into towers to try to get her to get on her knees to knock them down. Usually, she will just crawl over (still on her belly), sit down, then knock them over. Oh well. It is still amusing to watch her as she has to make sure every block gets knocked aside, including the block on the bottom.

I am a cute bug. Look at my antennae!

11/11/13: Trying the rocking chair

November 11, 2013

Today is Veteran's Day and everyone is home. We decided to have Samara try her rocking chair.

What did Mommy and Daddy just put me in?

I don't think I like this very much.

Daddy, what was that?

I'm too traumatized by the chair to smile for the camera.