The only one who loves Buckeye!

Last night Samantha loved playing with the dogs. She was so nice and shared her time between Buckeye and Maggie. They are both really good with her, but sometimes Buckeye gets jealous of the lap time that Samantha gets. Buckeye will get as close as he possible can to my lap without actually being on it! Luckily Maggie and Buckeye are both really good with Samantha because she likes to pull at their lips and ears! Here is a picture of Buckeye "cleaning" up Samantha's bib!

Christmas evening with my Mom!

At 3:30 PM today we went over to my mom's for our Christmas celebration! Within a few years I think the children will out number the adults at these get togethers. But this year it was nice because we all got to take turn holding babies. I think that Samantha looks a little jealous in the picture above!

Mom with all three of her Grandchildren. Grady kept trying to get out of the picture...I wonder why? LOL And poor little Chase was looking for food in all the wrong places!

Here I am with my sleepy girl. She REFUSED to take an afternoon nap so we got a lot of cuddle time in today.

Me and Chase. Although he was crying a bit in this picture we got in some good quality time today. I think my "soft" belly was like a water bed to him and he nestled right in.

Here is my mom with what I think is her favorite gift of the season. Mandy and I had pictures of the kids done about a month ago and gave Tina a collection of these pictures. My mom just loves pictures of family in general but when they are of her grand kids she is especially emotional. So she REALLY loved this gift!

Christmas afternoon with The Hauser's!

Jeff getting some much needed zzzzzz!

This afternoon we went to Jeff's parents house for Christmas lunch. It was really nice because Lisa's kids got to be there for a little bit before they had to go to their dads. Samantha fell asleep on the way over but did not stay asleep very long once we got there. So she went from grumpy to happy to grumpy back to happy. Above she is playing with Nana and was in one of her happy modes.

While we ate lunch we put Samantha in a high chair to play. For some reason she really loved sticking her tongue out and spent most of the afternoon with it out!

Jim and Libby do ALL of the cooking! I know that Tonia and Jess brought some desserts! (Thanks for the Buckeye Bars! My personal favorite) but other than that Libby and Jim take care of everything. Now I know this sounds really lazy, but it was so nice to walk into their house and just be able to spend time with everyone and lay around on the couch since there was nothing for me to do. The meal was great and I over indulged myself. But Jeff and I get to really relax so infrequently that we really took advantage of that today.

Lisa and Gary opening their gifts.

Jessica, Samantha and Jillian playing.

Pa and Granny. (Libby's parents.)

Christmas morning with my Dad!

Here is Samantha on her first Christmas ever! We even had a special outfit to document this momentous occasion...shocking, I know! She played in her Jump-a-roo while Jeff and I got breakfast ready; looking super cute I might add!

This morning my Dad, Nick, Mandy, Grady and Chase came over for breakfast. It has become a tradition the past few years to get together with Dad in the morning and have Monkey Bread. For the past two years we have had this get together at Nick and Mandy's since we did not have kids yet. So this was the first year I was in charge of the Monkey Bread. I messed it up a little, I have to admit, but it was still ooey gooey good! Jeff made eggs and sausage and Mandy brought fruit and orange juice. Look how big my dad's hands look holding little Chase!

Jeff and I this morning on our 3rd Christmas together!

Christmas Eve

Tonight we went to my mom's for a really nice Christmas Eve dinner. She makes the best chicken dish in the world and it has become a Christmas Eve tradition! Hopefully her chicken dish and our Christmas Eve tradition is here to stay. It is so nice to get to spend some time with the family before the hectic-ness of Christmas Day. Here is Samantha all dressed up as Mrs. Clause showing off her 2 front teeth and dimples!

Scott Winfield (AKA Uncle Scott) and Chase!

Daddy and Samantha playing on the floor!

Me!

Nick and Grady.

My Uncle Larry and Samantha. I think this is the first time he has held her!

Santa!

Now Jeff and I are normally not procrastinators. We like to get things done early so there is time to relax later. But we waited and waited to take Samantha to meet Santa. So today we waited in line for 2 1/2 hours at Easton just so Samantha could tell Santa her wish list! Luckily she was able to nap while we waited. And was in a good mood when she woke up!

At least 5 of the kids that sat on Santa's lap before us HATED him. So I started to worry that Samantha would have a similar reaction and go into total meltdown mode. But she was much more interested in his beard than being afraid. I think being around Uncle Keith this week piqued her interest in beards!

Samantha couldn't take her eyes off Santa! She was so into his beard!

Overall it worked out well and Samantha got to meet Santa. But next year, I promise, there will be no procrastinating!

Hauser Christmas Dinner

(L-R: Derek (Jessica's boyfriend), Matt, Hannah, Jessica, Jillian & Samantha, Joe and Katie)

(Jillian and Samantha playing on the floor.)

(My beautiful niece Katie!)

(Matt being silly. He had no clue I took this picture!)

Tonight, after work, Jeff, Samantha and I went over to the South Columbus Freewill Baptist Church fellowship hall for the Hauser Family Christmas. Since I did not get off work until 5:30 PM, we did not end up getting over there until after 6 PM. The whole extended family was there except for Pa and Granny. We had lot of food and too much dessert! We ended up pushing Samantha way past her bed time and she started melting down around 7:45 PM so we ended up having to duck out early. Hopefully we will get to visit with Pa and Granny on Christmas Day!

Pre_Christmas Dinner with the Marysville Hauser's!

Today we went to Jim's sisters house in Marysville for a Pre-Christmas Dinner. Aunt Becky always has us over a little before Christmas to have dinner and the kids open gifts. I was a little grouchy and a lot tired since I worked the overnight shift beforehand. So I was not the life of the party to say the least. But it was really nice getting to see family that we don't get to see very often. Had I been a little more awake I would have remembered the camera to get some pictures of the party. However the only one I have from today is the one above that Jeff sent me from when Samantha woke up. I love this one because you can see her two bottom teeth!

Girls Day out...with my BFF!

Today Samantha and I went shopping for some last minute Christmas shopping. I realized last night that all the hats we have for Samantha were MUCH too small so first stop of our day was to get her a warm winter hat! (See Above) Then we stopped by a variety of places picking up gifts then we went to California Pizza Kitchen to meet up with my BFF from work...Brenda.

Brenda and I really got to know each other when we both worked the Virginia areas at work. See Brenda knows EVERYTHING there is to know about being an Assigner, so I bugged/asked her questions all day. I was finally able to wear her down and made her become my BFF. So today we met up for lunch since she is on vacation this week and I was off too. It was fun getting to hang out with her outside of work.

Samantha fell asleep towards the end of our lunch so we came home and I put her to bed. She was so sweet and Brenda loved getting her hold her when she was sleeping. A sleeping baby is so precious, but at almost 20 pounds of dead weight she can make your arms fall asleep fast! Good thing God made me strong because I just love holding my sweet girl!

Samantha's 6 Month check up!

Jeff took this picture of Samantha sleeping last night! She was all sprawled out like she fell asleep just how we laid her down.

This afternoon I took Samantha to her 6 month check up! I still cannot believe she is 6 months old! She was a very happy camper playing on the crinkly paper and looking the mirror. She is now 19 lbs 13 oz! Talk about a big girl! The doctor said she will never shop in the petite section...haha!

Samantha was entertaining herself with anything she could get her hands on! She especially loves her apple (seen above). She was in a really good mood right up until she got her shots! The one is especially bad because the nurse said it really stings and all babies cry when they get that one. And Samantha was not excluded from these tears! She wailed as soon as the nurse stuck her. I felt terrible for her, but I was glad that she was able to fall asleep on the way home and has been asleep ever since. She really is the greatest baby in the world. We are blessed!

Happy 6 Month Birthday Samantha!

On this very day, 6 months ago, I brought this sweet baby girl into the world! Never in the world has there been such a great blessing. This baby, my sweet Samantha, has been the light of my world! Her daddy and I could not have asked for a better baby. So Happy Birthday Samantha! Keep shining your light wherever you go!

Big Bird Baby

This morning Jeff sent me this picture of Samantha. She is such a happy girl in the mornings. A few weeks ago at our Small Group one of our discussion questions was, "Are you a Big Bird or Oscar the Grouch in the morning?" Well, I have to say that my sweet baby took after her father on this one and is a Big Bird in the morning. I on the other hand...

Relaxin baby!

Here is a picture of Samantha today sitting in a high chair all by herself! My mom, Samantha and I ate lunch at Scramblers. She was such a happy girl, but she kept spitting up the carrots that she had earlier this morning. There is some evidence of this on her bib. She slouched back in the high chair but she enjoyed sitting up!

PS: I am going to be working for the next 6 days straight...so forgive me in advance if the blog is not updated for the next week or so!

Church

Samantha just couldn't make it through church today. She woke up early this morning so nap time also came early. Jeff took her into the nursery and rocked her to sleep. Then he laid her down in the crib. She just looked so cute in her outfit this morning!

X-Mas 2009

For the love of carrots!

I just couldn't wait to start Samantha on baby jar food. But Jeff has ALWAYS been good at convincing me to wait. Well tonight I wore him down. So I sat with Samantha on the floor, in her Bumbo, and gave her some carrots. As soon as the spoon got close to her mouth she opened up wide! But she did not seem to like the taste and instantly made a bitter-beer-face. All in all she ate about an eighth of the little jar. But it is a start...

Samantha and I sitting on the floor. See her reaching for the spoon and food?

After her tiny meal, she REALLY enjoyed playing with the spoon. I mean really enjoyed this. She sat on the floor and played with her spoon for about 1/2 and hour! Cheap toy?!

Bathtime!

Today I braved bath time with Samantha ALONE. For those of you that know me well, I am not too into bath time myself. So to take on bath time with Samantha alone is a huge deal for me! Jeff has mastered bath time with her so normally it is something that he takes care of. But we fared well and she came out clean! So in the end it was a successful venture!

Our baby is growing up!

Here is my beautiful little girl! I still cannot believe she is almost 6 months old! Today I got her all dressed up in her "thrift store" GAP sweatshirt! She just looked so cute I had to get her picture. I was a little surprised that she just sat there looking at me just like a big girl! I cannot wait to start feeding her baby jar food and for her to start crawling. I am sure those days are just around the corner!