H-A-Double L-O-W-Double E-N

I took this Saturday morning. It is the first time she wore her new hat and I just HAD to take a picture!

Since today is actually Halloween, I got one more use from her holiday outfit. I thought it would only be fitting for her Daddy to be in the picture.

Her shirt could not be more true...she has her Daddy under a DEEP DEEP spell.

Her baby blues!

Trick-Or-Treat

Mooooooooo..... Tonight Jeff, Samantha and I went over to Mandy's for Trick-or-Treat night! It was chilly out so we all had to bundle up. But Grady was nice and warm in his cow costume.

Samantha and I hanging out....ready for all the ghost's and gobblin's.

Playing with Daddy....Doesn't the tree in the background look really cool and spooky?!?!

Samantha loved feeding me her mittens!

Helping Aunt Mandy pass out candy!

Her Gram would be so proud....hoarding all the candy!

My Chris Farley baby!!!

Trunk-Or-Treat

Wednesday, Jeff and I took Samantha to Trunk-or-Treat with Mandy and her boys. All the kids were all dressed up and looking cute.

Walking to the festivities!

Samantha admiring her daddy!

Unfortunately, Samantha had not gotten an afternoon nap at the babysitters and melted down really quick. So Jeff walked her home while I got to Trunk-or-Treat with Grady!

Morning Fun...

This morning after Samantha woke up and had breakfast we went to Hannah Park in Blacklick. This was our first visit to this particular park and it was very nice.

(As usual, Samantha woke up happy and beautiful! This is the "Good Morning Mommy" picture Lauren received today).



(She loves swinging...)

(Here she is getting ready to slide down)

(She has her tongue out as she is concentrating hard on navigating the tunnel)

Surgery was Successful!

Today Jeff and I took Samantha to Children's Hospital to have some follow up testing. After her surgery we went back for an ultra-sound and there was some question about whether or not the surgery had worked. So today was the day we were going to find out. First we had a regular jelly-on-the-belly ultra-sound, and even though it is painless, Samantha really hated it. I mean she was shaking with fear. And to make it worse, Jeff and I had to hold her down so they could get good picture. (Above, Jeff was singing to her to keep her calm.)

Here is Samantha and I after the first ultra-sound. She was so happy to be done.

Next we had a NM Ultra-sound. This is the really bad one b/c it includes a catheter and an IV. They wrapped her up in a Papoose to keep her still and also I think it calms her down. Once they got her situated and put on ELMO, she was a happy camper. This test take an hour to complete so the ELMO really helped pass the time for her.

She loved checking out her bracelet, aka: hospital ID. After her test were done we headed up to see Dr. J to see the results. It was actually really hard b/c we had to wait for over an hour to see him...it was hard to keep her entertained for that long. But she is really social and made friends with everyone in the waiting room! Once we finally got to talk to Dr. J it went all uphill from there. He said he was really impressed with the function of her 3rd kidney and he said the surgery was very successful. So at this point all we have to do it go back in 6 months for a jelly-on-the-belly ultra-sound. All I can say at this point is....GOD BLESS PRAYERS!

As soon as we got in the car to head home Samantha fell asleep. And once we got home, I was able to move her from the car to her bed without her waking up. She definitely earned a long nap!

Circle S Farm

Tonight we took Samantha to Circle S Farms in Grove City with Nick, Mandy and the boys!

So cute! I know!

Grady and Samantha checking out the goats!

Running wild in the Pumpkin Patch.

Playing in the hay loft.

Our group, minus Nick, on the hay ride.

Our little family picking pumpkins.

Nick, Chase and I.

A day at the park.

Today I took Samantha to the park because it was too beautiful outside to stay in. We went out to the Jefferson Township park on Clark State and had the whole place to ourselves!

She actually loved swinging this time!

I couldn't get her off the swings!

She was so smiley and laughy!

Jeff forgot to add this cute one too!

Still my baby

I really thought once Lauren got pregnant I would be the cool Dad who's attitude was more laid back and "they'll figure it out on their own". Well, each day that passes I become more and more obsessed with my daughter and words cannot even describe how much I love her. Yes, it is exhausting at times taking care of her alone on the weekends but I think how blessed I am to have so much quality one on one time with her. I used to prepare her breakfast on the weekend and put her in her hi-chair and let her feed herself. The last few weeks, we have gotten in the habit of her sitting beside me on the couch and me feeding her yogurt bite by bite, following by some cereal. As simple as it sounds, I really do look forward to those moments of just her and I being together.

(The picture below is the "Good Morning Mommy" picture I sent Lauren Saturday morning. Just imagine seeing this beautiful, smiling face first thing in the morning...you have no choice but start the day off in a great mood.)




(I know it is a simple picture, but this picture below is from Saturday when Samantha and I were hanging out w/ my folks. We went over to visit my Mom who is recovering from knee surgery. Samantha is just having a blast playing with a little toy dog).

CREEPside

My little bumble bee! Tonight Jeff and I took Samantha to the Creepside Festival. Mandy and a bunch of her friends had planned the whole night out and Mandy invited us to tag along. And I really did not need a reason to get Samantha dressed up!

A half-way smile.

Getting in to the whole dress up thing.

Ready for candy!

Since Samantha would not keep her antlers on I wore them for her! (I guess that makes me the Queen Bee!)

We all met up at Wendy's for a quick bite to eat before all the fun!

My super cute nephew.

Daddy and his Bee.

Grady admiring the Fire Truck.

Getting to be the "driver".

Samantha's turn!

Sitting on the front of the Fire Truck.

She thought is was so fun to spin spin spin...but I could never catch the front of her! I do have to admit that those curls are worth a picture of their own!

Smiling so big for her mama!