4 Month Stats

We took Samantha for her 4 month check up today. Good news!! Steve and I still have not ruined her. She weighed in at 14 pounds and 9 ounces (67th percentile) and was 24 1/4 inches long (46th percentile). Her melon came in at 43 centimeters, in the whopping 91st percentile. Dr. Herron was very pleased with her progress. She is right on target (or slightly ahead of) the major milestones. She is sleeping great at night, well enough that we will start phasing out the 11:00 "dream feed." Still working on naps, though!! We will also be starting rice cereal at some point this weekend. We wanted to give it a go tonight, but she had her second round of shots and is not in the best of moods this afternoon. I also think I managed to give her my cold, so she has a mild case of the sniffles. We're told its nothing to worry about.

Samantha has had a very eventful week. On Tuesday, she rolled over for the first time. It took her 20 minutes, but she got there. Now she's an old pro. If we put her on her back, she'll be on her stomach in no time, lifting her head a chest, looking around. She still has a problem going from her chest to her back, but that will develop soon. She's still "talking" a lot ... no idea what she is saying. She also discovered her feet last week. Needless to say, it is much harder to get a diaper on her now!

Thanks for checking on us. Have a great Labor Day weekend!

Lest I Forget ...

Samantha turns 4 months old on Saturday. In 4 months, you wouldn't think I would be forgetting things quite yet. The truth is, she is growing and changing so quickly, some things are escaping my memory. I'm trying to be better about capturing the moments that make me smile, even if they'll make her cringe down the road. I don't ever want to forget how precious she is every single day, whether we do something exciting or we just do our regular business. Here is a small sample of "little moments" from the first 4 months ... Steve and I can't wait to see what kind of entertainment she'll provide in the next 4 and beyond!

Check out that pacifier ring - a perfect oval.

Sometimes we have a problem drooling at bottle time ...

She gets the cutest bed head!! How in the world does her peach fuzz hair get that messed up?

Needless to say, this photo was taken after she had excessive spit up. Watch out! Mt. St. Samantha could blow at any minute!

One of my favorite photos yet - Steve snapped this one after she fell asleep while I was rocking her. She had had a long day at the pool. Love those cheeks!

The first - and only - attempted car diaper change on a road trip.

Not happy about her first tub bath.

Even though Samantha is filling out nicely, she has the tiniest waist. Sometimes she has a small problem holding up pants and diapers. This "cracked" us up, literally!

A face only a mother could love ... the infamous choke hold burping position, which she actually likes. It is very effective!

Smile

You know what a great thing about babies is? They have the ability to make you smile, no matter what your circumstances. They are so very innocent ... they don't really know pain or despair, confusion, sadness, grief. They don't truly comprehend illness and the frailty of life. They don't know how difficult it can be to turn situations over to our Maker, or to beg Him to make sense of things that make no sense. No, when life seems to be totally out of our control, they just keep on keeping on. They wake up smiling, ready to face the day. They look to you to give them bottles and change dirty diapers. They babble and squeal, enticing you to play. They are oblivious to the world around them, welcoming you into theirs.

Because I know a smile is much needed by people I love and hold dear today, this one is for you. Big Guy, I knew you'd especially love the overalls since you hand picked them for your girls. I wish I was home with you all. Since I can't be, I hope you can feel Samantha sending you love across the miles. And looking at each of you with a big ol' smile!

Happy Birthday, Garrison!

Two weeks ago, we went to the first birthday celebration for Garrison Pierce. It was Samantha's first official birthday party. We had a great time. It's hard not to when you're being held and doted on all evening. I'm not entirely sure Garrison knew what was going on, but Brent and Jenny (okay, mostly Jenny) put on a great party. Congrats on the big one, Garrison! We will be looking forward to celebrating many more birthdays with you.

Samantha with Aunt Sharon

The birthday boy


Watching Garrison open presents

Garrison had his very own cake, which was made by Jenny

Samantha hanging out in Garrison's room

Family photo

Our weekend in West Tennessee

We had a nice trip to West Tennessee over the weekend. We actually moved our trip up a few weeks so we could spend some time with my dear, precious Memaw. She has been having problems with her foot, and she wound up having surgery on Friday. She did amazingly well, but she still has a long road ahead of her with her rehabilitation. She will be in the hospital for another week, and will then move to a transitional rehab facility so they can get her moving again. Any and all prayers on her behalf would be appreciated. She is so very deserving of them. Her faith is as solid as a rock, and she is a true Southern Lady. I aspire to be as much! Love and prayers to you, Memaw.

No matter the circumstances, it is always nice to see family. These are a few pictures we took of our weekend activities.

Samantha with Big Guy and Grammy

Will taking a spin in Mom and Dad's new "toy" - he got his permit last week!

Samantha with Aunt Elise

Playing with Gran and Will in the bouncy seat

With Gran and Grandaddy

And the torch is passed ... Samantha scored her own $20 bill from Gran and Grandaddy.

With Gran's little sister, Samantha's great-great-Aunt Teddie

For my favorite Aunt Elise

"Happy Birthday, Aunt Elise! So, how old are you today?"

"Whoa!"

"Daddy, how much older than me is that?"

"Wow! I know I can't count, but that sounds like alot!"

"Well ... ummm ... just forget I brought it up and have a great day! I love you!"

Mark it off the list!

Sorry we've been a bit slack on the blog. We've have a few things going on that have just demanded our attention. I am a notorious listmaker. The one sure fire way to get me to do anything is to put it on my "to do" list. So this is my feeble attempt to pacify my OCD and mark "update blog" off the list. These are a few more random pictures from July. In the very near future, we'll be posting photos of Samantha's first trip to Hooters and Garrison's first birthday party. For now, these will have to do. They don't require as much thinking!

Big surprise! Napping with Daddy.

Love this photo of her sleeping on her playmat. She looks like she's been shot!

She likes to sit up now, with some support of course, though her head is getting stronger every day. I left her in the chair while I washed some bottles (only a few steps away), and when I came back to get her, this is how I found her. She was still just jabbering away! Too funny!

Samantha still loves to be swaddled at night. She usually works hard to get those arms out, though. I love this picture because she got her hands out and held onto the blanket. She loves to grab hold of cloth ... burp cloths, shirts, her dresses ... pretty much anything she can get her hands on. I think she's going to be a blanket girl like her Mommy!

We bought Samantha a tent to take to the Isle of Palms in September. We decided to open it up and see how easy it really was to set up. (Not bad, by the way.) We put her on her "front porch" with her wrap around shades purely for a photo op. Doesn't she look like she belongs in a retirement community in Florida? Love it!

We went back to Aunt Sharon's pool to celebrate Jenny's birthday. Samantha really took to the water this time. She didn't whine at all ... just kind of chilled out.

In one of her favorite spots - sitting up like a big girl in the chair.

Samantha's talking more than ever now. I have no idea what she's saying, or if she even knows what she's saying, but it is adorable. She is also working very hard at rolling over. She can spin around with the best of them, but the rolling over is still alluding her to date. One other funny - I was showing her her "Who Loves Baby?" picture album last night. When we got to the picture of Big Guy and Grammy, she licked them. Ha! I guess thats her way of saying I love you. With a big ol' lick.

Thanks for checking in ... more later!