Oh boy Oh boy...

Looked at our little monkey on ultrasound last night and it looks like Sam's going to have a little BROTHER!!

Our Visit to Spokane

Here's some more pictures of our quick trip to Spokane for Sam's BIG announcement...

Mommy tickling Sam to try and get a smile out of her

Watching Buns closely as Daddy used it to get a smile out of her with Papa and Grandma Huffman

Sam had just watched us pack up the van and I think she thought we were going to leave without her...so we got a half scared smile out of her with Grandpa and Grandma Chamberlin

Sitting with Grandma

Eatin' cereal on the step at Grandma's when Mom and Dad did leave her to go on a date!

Three hours past bedtime with no nap for the day and getting ready to try her big girl bed out for the first time...she loved the new bedding Grandma bought her!!

Sam's BIG news...

We've been in Spokane now for the past four days...the main reason was so that Michael could interview (along with 80 other people) for a job, BUT another really good reason to come up was so that Sam could show off her new shirt...

Although she has really no idea what her shirt means she did find the monkey very entertaining...and everyone else appreciated the phrase I think :)
So that's it, we're going to have another somewhere around the time frame of March 22, 2011.

A visit from Auntie Angie

It's been a while since I updated my blog and honestly I cannot say why. Perhaps because I have been busy, worn out and haven't taken any pictures over the past month :(

Well, Michael's sister, Angie, has been here for the past 2 1/2 weeks now so I've been trying to snap a picture here and there...I think I've got like 5, so not like me!! It's been really nice having her down here, she's been a big help with Sam and the yard! It is so neat to see Sam interact with her!! I have noticed a huge difference when people come to our house vs. us going to theirs pertaining to Sam's comfort level! It only took the two hour drive home from the airport and Sam was instantly comfortable with her!

Sam wearing one of Auntie Angie's headbands...

Sam loved to hang out on Auntie Angie's bed, partly because there's a mirror that she can admire herself in like she's doing here...

And she's still looking in the mirror...vain lil' girl! :)

Sam's been picking up words like crazy...although she only uses them when SHE wants to! She's also very much into mimicking faces and sounds that people make. Michael said "woo hoo" about three nights ago and still I randomly catch Sam saying it just like he did sporadically throughout the day. I am really enjoying this age, she's like a sponge, and although she doesn't always follow directions, you can tell that she understands everything that you say :)

So, today we're heading back to Spokane to take Angie home. It'll be a SHORT trip as always, but it'll be good for Sam to see her grandparents!

Camping with our friends, the Rosenaus...

This was our first attempt at taking Sam camping...
We went up near Hailey, Idaho and found a spot right off the road with lots of trees and a creek that ran along side of it, it was perfect!! The only thing that wasn't perfect was the weather! It was pouring rain and hail the moment we pulled in, which in turn soaked all of our stuff in the back of the truck! Unfortunately our suit case had a hole in it and everything was soaked by the time we set up camp, so we had wet clothes all three days :) As we unpacked we realized we forgot our camping chairs as well as all of Sam's warm clothes...I had them all in a pile on her dresser to go but forgot to put them in the suit case. :( So, Michael and Kirk went to town as soon as we got there and picked up a sweatshirt and a pair of "pants" for Sam, they were really capris for a much larger child, but did fit her like pants. They looked for camp chairs but the cheapest they could find were $60 a piece!!! Needless to say they were smart and did not buy these, so they called dispatch and ended up getting hooked up with a Blane county officer who let us borrow his....so wonderful!! Thank you officer we've never met, I greatly appreciated it!! When it came time to sleep the first night, Sam decided she was going to lie awake until after five am and if she caught eye contact with Michael or I she would start jabbering, otherwise she just laid awake looking at the top of the tent. The second night she fell right to sleep, but woke up screaming in the middle of the night, I assume she had a bad dream...from then on she cried any time I took her into the tent :( We got rained on off and on the whole trip and the last night we were supposed to stay all we could see was clouds so we decided to pack up camp and head out a night early...after stopping for ice cream in Hailey of course :) We had a lot of fun and had some great fellowship with some really good friends that we don't hang out with nearly enough!!

Mommy and Sam on one of our hikes...

Sittin with dad by the campfire

This was Sam's favorite way to hike!

S'ghetti-Os!!

Sam loved sitting in the middle of the creek on this rock!!

And this is what happens when she's told no...

The lid was really on, she just thought she was drinking it...

Walking through the puddles with dad...

Putting rocks in the creek

Mommy and Sam by the campfire

Two out of three of Kirk and Kira's kids with Sam on the rock in the creek

Kira and her daughter, Andi, who is just about the same age as Sam

Grandma & Joey's Visit

Grandma and Joey were able to come down and visit for a few weeks and it was wonderful!! Unfortunately we took them to the airport today :(
I was amazed at how instantaneously Sam seemed to be so comfortable around them when we picked them up!! It was so exciting to see how she remembered them from previous visits!!! Sam is in a "kissy" stage where she loves giving kisses...she started this the day grandma came down, way to time that one mom! Grandma enjoyed many kisses from "Ssssss" as Sam refers to herself as!!

Happy Independence Day!!

Happy Independence Day!! It's the fourth of July and we are fortunate enough to celebrate with my mom and little brother, Joey! We began the day fairly uneventful, but ended with a bang!! I've been really wanting to go to this one location and take pictures of Sam where a few of my friends have had professional pictures done. And since I haven't had professional pictures done since Sam's birthday I figured I'd take a few amatuer ones :)...The only problem was my child was much more difficult to get to smile for me than she is for the professionals! Although she did learn to stay where I told her to...lol...she would start to walk away and I would tell her "back back back" and she would mimic me "ba ba ba" and go back to where I had put her and plop on the ground for about two seconds before doing it all over again!

Happy girl after getting some of Grandma's candy...

Grandma sharing...

Samantha begging...

Dance, dance, dance...