So pretty :)

| February 7, 2011

Mark likes to take photos of Sam when she is in the doorway of our porch door looking outside. The light is wonderful there.  Here is a collection of recent photos.  I don’t have anything especially poetic or interesting to say, I just love looking at my miracle and wanted to share these with all of you.

Sam in some of my favorite pajamas for her.  They look like Fruit Loops!

Look at that smile!  She is such a happy, happy little girl.

My big girl.  She looks so tall here — not a baby anymore.

Pretty in pink!

This was the first time she ever had grapes.  I cut hers up into pieces, but she stole mine, as you can see. In this picture, she has quite a mouthful!

One final picture, Sam looking outside.  She loves the outdoors as much as we do.

I love you Samantha, my beautiful girl!

Our little mimic

| February 7, 2011

Sam is such a ham and is turning into such a mimic.  She copies our expressions and our actions all the time doing everything from simply trying to brush her hair to making the faces we make.  Today she was doing a lot of sighing and I couldn’t figure out why.  It finally hit me that I think she was copying me.  She was all wound up today, and although she was very funny, she was exhausting, and at times, exasperating.  So I did a lot of tired sighing today as I chased after her.  She catches on fast and it doesn’t take long for her to do exactly what you do.  Now I understand why people always say you have to watch your actions and your words because even though they are small, kids absorb everything, even at this age.

She is always trying to do things we do now.  Yesterday I saw her trying to put her sneakers on (unsuccessfully) and she is always brushing her hair (a little more successfully).  She likes to brush her own teeth and on Friday she walked a little bit in my shoes.  Today I used a dust pan to sweep up some crumbs off the floor, and then gave Sam her miniature dust pan and brush.  She of course tried to copy me and sweep the floor too.  Someday, maybe she will actually help Mommy clean!  Yeah, wishful thinking, right?

The cutest thing she did today was at dinner.  The whole thing started a few days ago when I gave her a waffle for breakfast.  It must have been a little too hot for her out of the toaster because she never did this before, but she put it back on her plate and said, “ow”, which is what I always do when I touch something hot.  So, today at dinner, I was giving Sam carrots and she did the drop and “ow” thing, then she picked up a carrot and blew on it!  It was adorable!  It was a tiny little blowing motion but it was very clear what she was trying to do because she did it quite a few times.  I am not even sure if the food was truly all that hot or if she was just trying to do what we do.  Either way, it was so cute.

She is getting so big.   I know I have been saying that a lot lately, but it really amazes me when I look at her.  She went from being a baby to being a toddler seemingly overnight.  I think the fact that she is walking all the time now really shows it best.  Just watching her walk all around the house is so different to see than when she was sort of helpless and scooting around.  She is so independent now.  This weekend we went to the mall to shop and have dinner.  After we ate I needed to go to one more store so Mark walked Sam out to the car while I shopped.  And I do mean “walked”.  He told me she walked by herself all the way from Carrabbas through Macy’s, which means nothing to most everyone reading this blog, but trust me, it is a LONG way.  She held Mark’s hand the whole time and he said everyone who passed her smiled at her.  We had let her walk a little bit in Target as well and she loved going through the toy aisles!

Oh, and one other thing — she has pretty definitely moved to one nap a day.  She only naps once now, after lunch, for about 2 hours a day, 2 1/2 if I am lucky!  It’s nice that she has been taking a regular nap (finally).  Let’s hope it lasts.

I am really looking forward to the weather clearing up, the snow being gone, and some outside time with our little girl.  I want to see her playing in our yard, tossing around her ball, and exploring everything there is to see.  Come on Spring!

Sam and her kitties

| February 4, 2011

There was pretty much no way living in our house that Sam was not going to love cats.  After all, we consider our feline friends a big part of our family.  Sam is always fascinated by Zephyr and my parents’ cats, Blackie and Bella.  She loves trying to pet them and she follows them around all the time.  We have really tried to teach Sam the proper way to be with a cat — pet, don’t pull, don’t bother them when they are eating or sleeping, etc.  She does pretty well.  Only once did Sam grab Zephyr’s tail.  She is generally very gentle with all of the cats. 

The cutest thing happened yesterday at my mom’s house.  I was sitting on the couch holding Sam on my lap and my mom was sitting next to me.  Blackie came over and put his paws up on the couch for attention.  My mom picked him up and put him on her lap.  Sam got really excited because he was so close.  I really thought she was going to freak him out by grabbing at his face or something, but instead, she wrapped her little arm gently around his neck, and buried her face in his fur.  She stayed that way for a while, and Blackie, the sweet cat that he is, remained still as a statute.  Sam pulled away, looked at him and smiled, then wrapped her arm around his neck and did it again.  And again.  At least 4 or 5 times. Each time Blackie just let her hug him.  Eventually, he got tired of being grabbed and he jumped away, but we were so proud of him for being so sweet and loving to Sam.  And so proud of Sam for showing her love in a nice way to her kitty friend.  Blackie is by far the nicest to her of all of the cats.  Not that any of them are mean to her, they are not, but he actually sits on my mom’s ottoman and waits for Sam each morning and hangs out with her a lot during the day.

Maybe now that Sam is getting bigger and older and seems a little more like the people they are used to, the cats will get more comfortable around her. I would love for Sam to be able to bond with Zephyr in a real way.  We will just keep on trying!

*UPDATE — Sam hugged Zephyr tonight!