Mom's 57th Birthday!

Today Jeff, Samantha, Mandy, Nick, Chase, Mom and I went bowling at the Gahanna Lanes for my moms 57th birthday! She just got home from Florida yesterday so it was fun getting to spend some time together. Even though I am not a good bowler, to say the least, we still had a great time. We played two games and I scored a 98 and then an 81...I had a few gutters that second game. Jeff, Mandy and Nick were the best bowlers of the day and I think Nick actually won both games. Above is a picture of Nick in his own blowing shoes and his own ball...nerd!

Here is mom and Chase. It is a little fuzzy b/c I took it with my phone. But isn't Chase stylin'?!?!

Another fuzzy but cute picture of Samantha and Nick. Despite not getting an afternoon nap Samantha held up pretty good. She did fall asleep half way thru dinner.

Here is a picture of my cousin Tara that Grady took. I held the camera but he loved pushing the button!

Yes, I got my mom a Snuggie. She was so excited. Can't you picture her all cozy on her couch?

Here is mom blowing out her candles!

Here is mom with her cake! I just love birthdays! The best part is getting to spend time with all the family. Even my mom's cousin Sharon and her husband Don were able to come all the way from Springfield! Hopefully we will have lots more birthdays to celebrate in the future.

I'm standing!

It is really hard to see in this picture but in the middle of the foot stool Samantha is standing with, there is a little button. This button use to be held on by a string. Then Grady discovered the button and it was like baby crack! He could not stop pulling / tugging at it. So, being the smart woman I am, I glued that button down with Gorilla Glue. However; the glue did not take away the allure of the button. Despite being glued down; my baby is getting the same "fix" her cousin got. On a side note... MY BABY IS STANDING UP ALL BY HERSELF! Well, she is holding onto the foot stool, but still, she is figuring out to be an independent little girl.

Pig Face!

Believe it or not, this is a smile...a pig face smile!

Pictures from Mawmaw and Pawpaw's.

(Jillian, Samantha and Matt)
(Matt and Samantha)

And she's off...

It is with much pride and excitement I announce that our baby girl has started to crawl! We knew this would come very soon as she has been rocking for a while and army crawling for a while. I took Samantha to my parents house so they could spend some time with her for a couple of hours today. Lauren was sleeping and I wanted to steal an afternoon matinee of "Shutter Island" (movie was good, book was MUCH better; they usually are). Anyway, at one point Samantha was just playing on the floor and I looked down, and off she went across the room. It was really cool. I wish Lauren would have been there to witness it too. I am attaching two videos of this.

Hell MUST have frozen over!

Yes, you saw it right, here is Buckeye actually laying on the same bed as Maggie. Now Buckeye has always been a momma's boy. I know that sounds gay, but he really is a momma's boy. He loves curling up on the couch with me. He will even get inside my sweatshirt just to be close to me. Then Jeff came along...and Buckeye seems to get along with him well enough now but he really prefers to be with me. He got very angry with me for bringing Maggie into our life. He was really use to being the only dog around. We had a good routine. Then we adopted Maggie. She followed him around like a lost puppy and he avoided her like the plague. There are very few moments that he is actually sweet to her. 1.) When it is raining outside. He loves to lick her dry once they are back inside. Crazy, I know. 2.) If it is cold outside. He will get into the same dog house with her and steal her warmth. 3.) When she leaves a bone/treat unattended. Quite the opportunist! But the line is drawn there! Under no other circumstances does he enjoy her company. And they have been together for 4 years! You would think they would have bonded by now. But it still seems that Buckeye is only tolerating his sister. But last night I caught him sleeping on Maggie's bed...with Maggie on it. I have never even seen Buckeye walk on her bed...let alone lay down on it. And that is without Maggie being on it. So to see him actually get on her bed while she was on it really proved to me that HELL MUST HAVE FROZEN OVER!

Samantha's First Class!

My mom really loves buying Samantha clothes. So for Christmas we asked Jeff's parents to focus on some fun baby toys. And boy did they deliver! I think they got her every single toy that Fisher-Price makes. Since we hit the mother load on Christmas I have just been slowly bring out new toys for her to play with. Today we opened the little mailbox. When I first saw the back was open I thought that was odd, but then I was able to get down on the floor with her and we could see each other thru the opening. Above is a picture of her trying to get her mama thru the mailbox! Can you believe how blue those eyes are?

Here she is trying to get out the little letters and packages that came with it. She also loved trying to get the little birdie on top!

Here is a short video of her playing!

Winter Wonderland!

Today when I got home from work I started shoveling the driveway. I got a 5 x 5 foot section cleared in about 5 minutes when my neighbor saw me shoveling and asked me if I would like him to do it for me. I was like, I would LOVE that. So with his 4-wheeler / plow he had the driveway clear in less than 15 minutes! When Jeff pulled up, our neighbor was just finishing up and Jeff rolled down his window and yelled, "I love you!" Since the snow is still coming down the driveway is going to need another sweep before bed, but it should be much easier this time around.

My mom got Samantha this baby sled for Christmas and there couldn't have been a better time with all this snow! I bundled her all up and we headed out. She really like being outside and seeing new things! We only stayed out for a few trips up and down the driveway. But I think we will go out again tomorrow since the snow, I am sure, will still be there.

Happy Valentine's Day

Here is a picture of Samantha and I this morning before church. (Keep in mind I just got off a 10 hour overnight shift! HAHA)

Tonight Jeff is going to cook us dinner. We decided to just do a low key dinner for V-day because we have been so busy lately we would rather stay home then go out. So Jeff is going to re-create our first date and make the same meal he made for me over 3 years ago... Tuna Steak with Shrimp Alfredo! I cannot wait.

Samantha is 8 months old today!

Here is Samantha this morning after her getting her hair done. So cute, huh?

Here is Samantha playing with Maggie. Normally Maggie avoids interacting with anyone other that Jeff or myself. But this morning she wanted to play with Samantha. When Samantha would scoot away, Maggie would inch closer. Samantha would pick at her feet and face and Maggie just laid there wagging her tail. I know most people would think I am CRAZY for letting a 100 lb dog near my baby but I was sitting right there the whole time. And they both seemed to really enjoy it!

Blizzard in Gahanna!

Today around 10 am the snow started falling. We are supposed to be getting a foot of snow here in Central Ohio. For us that is a TON of snow. So today I went and picked up my mom so we could go get some lunch. Then I came home and shoveled! Now I love the cold weather and all that comes with it. And I really do not mind shoveling. (I would MUCH rather shovel than rake leaves!) But when the snow is coming down faster than I can shovel it up I get frustrated. So after two sweeps of the driveway I threw in the towel and Jeff will take the next round of shoveling when he gets home. Above is a picture of the fruits of my labor!

Here is a picture of Mom and Samantha today at lunch. Doesn't she look so ornery? (Samantha that is!) You can see all the snow on the trees in the background!

Here is Samantha all bundled up at Scrambler's getting ready to head home! I normally do not bundle either one of us up this much but the snow was coming down so fast I wanted to make sure she stayed warm. I even packed an extra bottle in case we got stuck somewhere! Luckily we made is home safe and sound! Hopefully I will make it to work ok tonight...ugh!

Random picture from tonight...

Mom mom came over to watch Samantha for me today @ 3 pm so I could go to work. Samantha took a nap until 4ish and my mom said she was in a great mood when she woke up. Then Jeff said she was in a great mood while they ran errands too. I think it is because she got sooooooo much sleep last night / this morning. She went to bed a little after 7 pm last night and did not get up until 8:30 am. Then we laid in my bed for an hour playing and she started curling up next to me sucking her thumb, my cue it is her nap time. So I put her down for a nap and she did not get back up until after 11:30 am. Again, all this beauty sleep is what makes my princess so pretty!

Tonight I worked an overtime shift and we had another showing on the house. So Jeff had to take Samantha and get out of the house for an hour. They went to Home Depot and Meijer to kill time. Jeff took this really cute picture of Samantha at Home Depot. I really love this baby!

Babies...

Here is my very cute nephew Chase Davidson. Today Nick dropped Chase off at my house so that my mom could watch both Samantha and Chase. As soon as my mom got here I handed off Samantha to be fed so when Nick walked in the door I was able cuddle my cute cute nephew for a few minutes before I had to run off to Physical Therapy.

Samantha's new thing is to scrunch up her face (we call it her "pig face"). I was finally able to get a picture of it today. If you make a pig face at her she will make one right back at you!

Here is Samantha trying to get the camera from me! She loves anything with strings on, especially hooded sweatshirts! But my camera has a little string on it and she was just dying to get ahold of it!

And here is my little princess trying to tell me she is done jumping and ready for a nap. Which is where she is now. I swear I have the best baby in the world...in case there was any doubt of my feelings! LOL

First Time in the Big Bath Tub!

Today at work I was talking to some of my co-workers about Samantha's feet hanging over the edge of her babies bath tub and they were shocked that I still bathed her in the babies bath tub. I guess I never even thought about moving her on up to the big bath tub before. To me she is a BABY therefore belongs in the BABIES bath tub. But they were probably right... So tonight Samantha and I got into the big bath tub and she loved it! It was more difficult because she was slippery but I think from now on I will be bathing her this way just because she loved it so much!

Here is a picture of Samantha this morning all loaded up to go to Whitney's, our babysitter. She is just such a happy girl, especially in the mornings. And she has gotten so use to getting her picture taken that as soon as she sees the camera she starts smiling. I am sure it is only a matter of time before she starts hating it! But for right now I am going to take advantage these smiles and take as many pictures as possible.