Sam, what are you doing?

At 6:55 am this morning Will quickly sat up and looked over me to the video monitor. He then sprang to his feet and rushed into Samantha's room in which I heard, "Sam, what are you doing?" This is what she was doing. Usually when she wakes in the morning I always hear her because she either cries or talks to her bunny. This morning she quietly pushed herself to the corner of her crib, sat up, pulled herself up, and when trying to reach for the monitor on the rail, pushed it off the side. That was the thunk that made Will sit straight up in bed, and look at the monitor. By the way, she had disappeared in the monitor view. As I laid there listening to Will ask Samantha what she was doing I knew exactly the look that she gave him. She has this melting, "I'm not doing anything Daddy" grin. So, tonight Will is lowering the crib and we will probably take the bumpers out since that is what she used to climb her way to that position.

On another note, today she is staying with a friend while I get my hair done. Hope we do okay. Cross your fingers and send a little prayer out for us.

Tuscan Pizza, ITS SO PRETTY!!

There are very few times that I am proud of something that I cooked, this is one of those times in which I am very proud and I am going to write about it. Will and I have really started to like Tuscan Pizzas. We usually get ours from Papa Murphy's, but we also got one at Boston's in Rapid City that was very good. I started to think about what was in it and decided, I can do that! And, I did!!! And, it was sooo yummy! The pictures in order are: my homemade pizza crust and it looked so pretty, the raw pizza and it was so pretty, the cooked pizza and it was so pretty and Will loving my pizza and he is so pretty. So, if you want to cook this yummy pizza here is what is in it:

Homemade pizza crust: (from the wonderful cook Jo Hardwick)

1 package of dry yeast

1/2 warm water

2-2 1/2 flour

1 tsp sugar

3/4 tsp salt

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp oil

Put the dry yeast in the water and dissolve for 5-10 minutes. Then add 1 cup flour, sugar, salt, egg, and oil. Slowly add up to 1 cup flour to keep it from getting sticky. Put in greased bowl and then cover in plastic wrap and let rise.

Toppings in this order:

1. Olive oil with oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary, and a dash of black pepper. We eyeballed the amounts. Do what you think will taste good. Make sure you put evenly over crust and don't be shy. Also, brush olive oil over crust ends so it becomes golden.

2. Mozzarella cheese

3. Fresh spinach leaves

4. Chicken- I baked chicken breast in the oven with seasoning salt and lemon pepper. Then I diced it into little pieces.

5. Sun-dried tomatoes

6. Black olives

7. Feta cheese- I don't love feta cheese so I don't put that much.

8. Sprinkling of mozzarella cheese just to get the ingredients to stick together.

9. Basil and oregano

Cook for 15-17 minutes on 400 degrees.

Let me know if you try it. We loved it!!!

Faces of Samantha

This is what we call Samantha's old man's face.
It is almost time to lower the crib mattress.

Documenting a Milestone and other stuff

Well, I like to use my blog to document what Samantha has accomplished. I plan to print out my blog one day and put it in a book so Samantha can read it. Well, after several trials and errors and one big "Oh, dang it!" Samantha sat straight up. I was told that once she accomplishes this that crawling is not far behind. It was surprising. I don't even think she realizes that she did it because she was playing with her flower mat. She is getting so big and I love her so much.

Other news... we are doing aquatots at the recreation center and she loves it. It is swimming lessons for 6 months to 2 years. We sing and practice our back floats and Samantha squeals and laughs at all the kids. We also put the kids in fish shaped boats and go around the lazy river. She loves it. The only thing is that when we are suppose to be blowing bubbles she just licks the water. Samantha's schedule has also come into shape complete with naps! She takes an 1 1/2-2 hour nap in the morning and then two hour naps in the afternoon. She is doing pretty well with solids although she seems to have lost interest in some of them. I started giving her little puffs this week to see if she could pick them up and put them in her mouth and slowing but surly she is figuring that out too. It is so funny because she doesn't stop something until she accomplishes it, so the puffs keep her busy because she does not stop trying to pick them up until she does. What else.... she is still a huge talker and I think I love that most about her. We are having a great time right now.

Will and I are good. We have had a cold bug and that is no fun. We just bought a dryer because it was going to cost just as much to fix my old one as it is to buy a new one. So far things seem to be falling apart in our house here is our list: garbage disposal (will), hole in upstairs bathroom wall (will), hole in downstairs bathroom wall, and dryer. :(

Lastly, I will be gone between July 23rd-Aug 15th. I will be in Abilene, Austin, and Saguache.

My arm workout

Ten things I have learned from my 6 month old...

10. I truly can function on only 3 hours of sleep. Even as I type this I think about all the thingnasdlgazzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

9. If all the world is a stage, then all the carpet is a playpen.

8. One pot of coffee will take the place of a cup.

7. Sweet peas and spit-up will remind you of a classic horror movie.

6. To see what I have to baby proof, I too have to crawl.

5. Teething sucks in more ways than one for all parties involved.

4. The volume and velocity of the poo is in direct proportion to your lack of wipes and diapers.

3. There was a time in everyone's life that you could touch your toe to your nose. Now you're just old.

2. She trains me.

1. Where every loose floorboard is in the house...

Sam's First Word? You be the judge...

We think Sam's first word happens around the 40 sec mark...you be the judge. And if it is...blame Ashley... ; )

6 months pictures

6 month Update

I will put pictures up this weekend in her chair. She is getting so big and life with a baby is really fun now. We went to the doctor today for her check up and shots. She weighted 15 pounds 6 oz. and measured 25 inches long. I think she is still in the 50% which is good. She will always be tiny. She did really good with her shots and this time she didn't cry when the doctor checked her over. She still has a heart murmur, but at this time there is nothing that we will do about it. There isn't much to report but I will kind of give you an idea about what our days are like.

* Samantha can sit by herself although she is not pulling herself to sitting yet. I don't worry about her falling over any more.

* She rolls everywhere. I can't leave her by herself any more.

* We went through a 2 week phase of not wanting to play or be put down. I think do to a growth spurt and teething. But, now we love to play and be in our bouncer again.

* She loves to be bounced on your knee. When you stop she kicks like to start a motorcycle.

* I have discovered that if I put her in her highchair and put in Baby Einstein Baby Noah in the laptop she will watch it intensely, which allows me to cook and keep an eye on her. Plus, its educational :)

* Nap wise: We are napping!!!! She takes an 1 1/2 nap in the mornings and then usually 2 1hour naps in the afternoon. If one of those afternoon naps goes longer, then great! She is taking her naps in her crib now, again great!

* I think she is starting to grow out of needing to be rocked. She wiggles a lot and stretches out and I end up putting her in her crib and she fusses for a bit and then falls asleep. We will continue to play that by ear.

* Oh, I'm becoming one of those moms who has to be home for nap time, because if we are out she does not nap. This includes the car. There is just too much to watch if we are out and about and Sam doesn't want to miss a thing.

* Samantha is sleeping on her tummy or side. I have a video monitor which is great. I don't put her on her tummy, but now that she is an experienced roller she rolls herself over.

* No teeth.

* Eating: She loovesss sweet peas and apple sauce. She likes sweet potatoes, squash, bananas, carrots, and pears. She HATES peaches. The cereal that she eats now is rice and barely.

She eats okay. Some meals she eats better than others and some days she eats better than others. Her main nutrition is still from breast milk and she gets one formula bottle a day, therefore, I don't get worried about how much solids she does or doesn't eat.

* I talked to my doctor today about weaning from breastfeeding. It is not my intentions to wean her until 1 year but I think she is weaning herself. She eats great at 7 am and great right before bed at 7 pm, but during the day she does not enjoy being stuck in one place. She eats, plays, eats, plays, and breastfeeding this way is very difficult. When she has her bottle she eats it much better. We are just going to be flexible with this and see how she goes.

I think thats about it. We are having a blast and as I keep telling folks, or if they are on the phone with me while she is up can hear for themselves, she is a talker. She talks to her toys, she shrieks in delight, she growls, and her new favorite thing is smacking her lips and making gurgling sounds. She is also a people person and loves making others smile and laugh at her. I think she is going to have big personality and I can't wait to see how it continues to develop.

We are so thankful for a wonderful little girl, who is the absolute joy of our lives. God has blessed us tremendously and there isn't a day that goes by that I'm not fully aware of how He has blessed us.