Too Cold For Toes in the Sand, Day 4

Today was windy, rainy and COOL (65 degrees) in the IOP. Steve and I decided to take Samantha to the South Carolina Aquarium, thinking she might like the activity of the fish. We were right! After making a pit stop at Target to buy her long sleeves, pants, shoes and a hat, we set out for Charleston. She was really captivated by all of the activity. She even snoozed for a bit in her carseat so Steve and I could eat at Hymans Seafood. After driving around the Battery, we headed back to the IOP for rice cereal, a bottle, and bed. Here are some photos from the Aquarium.

Stomping on a Gator!!

Checking out an octopus.

Loving the school of fish.

At "Camp Carolina" with Mommy.

Fireside with Daddy.

With her Hymans Seafood sticker. She was a hit there!

Toes Back in the Sand, Day 3

We had another great day ... great weather, great tide. Samantha enjoyed both the beach and the pool. I even managed to get a little reading in with the ocean coming in around my feet. Heaven!! On to the good stuff, the photos -

My favorite place in the world - toes in the sand!

Hanging on the beach. Daddy got us a beach chair this morning.

Playing with Daddy.

A new adventure today - the inflatable baby pool. Samantha thought it was just okay.

She LOVED being in the swimming pool with her baby float. She smiled and laughed the whole time.

I just love this picture. She's starting to ham it up for the camera.

The chilluns ... Lane, Charlie, Kate, Samantha and Harper.

Napping with Daddy at the end of a great day.

No Toes in the Sand, Day 2

While today was sunny here on the IOP, it was a bit breezy down on the beach. We decided to let Samantha have a non-beach 5 month birthday. I don't think she minded. We played in the house this morning. I was planning on taking her shopping after lunch, but she decided to take a snooze instead. I went shopping (alone!) while Steve was on monitor duty by the pool. We all regrouped late afternoon and headed over to the Mount Pleasant Farmers Market, a yearly tradition. Samantha enjoyed her Baby Bjorn, while Steve and I perused the goodies. We left with sweet cherry jam, honey sticks, cream cheese twist, homemade pickles, kettle corn, ginger snaps, and mango sweet tea. If that doesn't sound like enough, we are getting ready to feast on steak, mashed potatoes, fried green tomatoes, bread and sweet tea. Do you think we are having a good time?

Lane and Samantha - the pacifier girls

Ready for the market! Samantha is sporting sunglasses that Aunt Krystyna bought her.

With Charlie the Riverdog

Daddy's girl

Toes in the Sand, Day 1

Samantha did great on the trip yesterday. I think she really enjoyed all of the activity in the house once we got here. Most importantly, she slept great! Our room has a large walk-in closet that has become her makeshift bedroom for the weeek. She didn't mind the beach, either. She got sandy and wet, but didn't fuss. Kate and Harper gave her a sand bath in the tide pools this afternoon, and she loved it. Here are some pictures from Day 1.

Her very first dip in the ocean

In the water with Daddy

Taking a siesta in her beach tent

Hard to tell in the photo, but she had sand all over her sweet face!

With Mommy in her pink ballcap

Post beach ... covered in sand and rice cereal

Isle of Palms or Bust!

After another abysmal performance by the Vols, we are packing up and heading out of town. We'll be leaving shortly for a wonderful week on the Isle of Palms with friends the Pyles, the Lanes, and the Brambers. I think our house has wireless internet, so hopefully we can update the blog this week with photos of Samantha first trip to the beach. Have a good one!

30-6?!? 30-6?!?

Forget the Vols! Lets get outta here!

Welcome, William Garner!

Samantha would like to proudly announce the birth of her new cousin, William Garner Fletcher. Parents are Uncle Russ and Aunt Amy. Garner's big sister is Anna Grace. He was born on September 19, 2008 at 5:47 P.M. He weighed 8 pounds, 4 ounces, and was 21 inches long. Samantha is looking forward to many hours of torturing Garner, along with cousin Anna Grace, by forcing him to play dress up, Barbies, and goodness knows what else. Mom and baby are both doing great. Dad is still questionable. (Ha! Love you Russ!) In fact, Samantha's Mommy is a bit miffed at how incredible Aunt Amy looks to just have delivered a child.

William is a Fletcher family name. Garner is my mother's maiden name. Russ and Amy chose Garner to honor my Gran and Grandaddy, since Grandaddy never had a son of his own to carry the family name. We love you all and cannot wait to see/meet you!

Let the fun begin!

Since the day our Sweet Pea discovered she could roll over, I knew this day would come. I had no idea it would come so quickly. She was laying on her UT quilt this morning, playing away, while I did some work at the computer. I heard her get fussy, so I peeked over the sectional to determine if it was a whine-laugh, whine-I'm about to melt down, or whine-I'm seriously getting hungry. The answer: (d) none of the above. It was actually a whine-I've rolled halfway across the bonus room and I have no idea how to get back to my comfy quilt and toys. Being the outstanding mother that I am, my first reaction was to run for the camera. Enjoy ...

"How the heck did I get over here? And how the heck do I get back?"

"Seriously Mom, a little help would be nice!"

"Hey! Mom and Dad have a Playstation! Cool!"

"Wow! They have The Sopranos on DVD, too. And is that the Rock Band drums I see over there? Why yes, it is!"

Vol Baby

It is with a heavy heart that I submit this next post, with pictures of Samantha's first UT game 2 weeks ago. Why a heavy heart? you may ask. Because we stink. Again. Steve and I may not be Fulmer supporters, but we are not fair weather fans. So we will dress our Sweet Pea up in her orange on football Saturdays come rain or shine. Besides, shes got too many cute outfits not to!!!


Jared and Katie were in town and watched the game with us. We always love it when they are here. While we dined on M&M barbeque and Jared's soon to be world famous baked beans, Samantha had rice cereal, a bottle of formula and an 8:00 bedtime. I should've gone to bed when she did. I wouldn't have missed anything. At least she wasn't up to witness the whole debacle.

This shirt was a gift from our friends Russ and Sara Edwards. Sara made this, along with a few other snazzy outfits for Samantha. Sara took a plain white t-shirt, embroidered it, and added tulle and pom-poms around the bottom. Very snazzy! The bow is compliments of Michael and Hope Boyce. We may have stunk up the football field, but at least Samantha looked great. By the way, if you want to check out some of Sara's other great creations, visit her blog the Edwards Extra. Her beautiful daughter Ella has a great wardrobe!

This terrible moustache was a gameday experiment only. In light of the loss, we will likely never see it again. At least something good came out of the game!

With Uncle Jared and Aunt Katie

I had to include this one last picture. It is an exclusive sneak preview of Samantha's UAB gameday outfit. It also was a gift from the Boyces. Their granddaughters, Kate, Harper and Lane Pyle (daughters of our friends Jason and Krystyna), all have matching dresses. She looks adorable in it! We'll post more photos of gameday #2 next week. Here's hoping for a better outcome!

Back to School Blues

This post is long overdue, considering Connie has been back in school (she teaches 2nd grade) for well over a month now. As with so many other things in my life, better late than never! I have an amazing mother in law. (And father in law, Jerry Lee, just so you don't get miffed!) She has the biggest heart of anyone I know. She and Jerry have accepted me as a part of their family literally since day one. I am so fortunate to have not just one set of wonderful parents, but two. I hardly consider Jerry and Connie in-laws anymore. They are just my family.

Connie was at my beck and call all summer long. Well, she was at Samantha's beck and call all summer. If I needed a nap, she came over. If I needed to get out of the house and run errands, she came over. If I needed to take a walk, she came over. If I needed to meet with clients, she came over. If I wanted to clean the house, she came over. When I didn't want to go to the pediatrian alone, she came with us. You catch my drift! Needless to say, she and Samantha did quite a bit of bonding and she checked out her options for early retirement!

This is my official Thank You, Connie, for being there (and continuing to be there) when I need you. Samantha is so lucky that you are her Wawa!

Family photo - Samantha is staring at the ceiling fan.

Can't see the ceiling fan from the kitchen!

Samantha in her custom made "Samantha loves Wawa" bib ... you can't exactly pick stuff up at the store with Wawa on it!!!

Some of you may be wondering about the origins of Wawa. Steven's grandmother, the original Wawa, did not want to be a "Gran" or "Granny" or anything of the sort when he was born. If you knew her you know exactly why! Don't get me wrong, she was elated to be a grandmother, she just didn't want to be called that. She was a stylish lady, and the traditional names just don't suit her at all. One of her co-workers told her "Ya-ya" is Greek for grandmother. Liking the sound of that, they set out to teach young Steven. Babies being babies, young Steven had a problem pronouncing his Y's, so it came out Wawa. You can figure the rest of the story. (As my mother, "Grammy", is reading this, she is silently praying none of the grandkids go with "Big Mama" since my dad is the "Big Guy.") In her honor and memory, Connie decided she should be a Wawa as well. Though they are figuratively big and literally expensive shoes to fill, Connie is more than suited to the task!

The bunny that saved my sanity

Some things are just too funny to keep to oneself. As you may know, the pediatrician gave us the go ahead to wean our Sweet Pea off of her 11:00 bottle. The first night, she woke up around 3, drank 3 1/2 ounces and promptly went back to sleep. The next 3 nights she slept through until 6:15. Early, but sleeping through the night quite nicely. It was night before last that I went to bed with a false sense of confidence. The following was not too funny to me at the time, but recounting it to Steve the next morning, and again to Elise tonight, I cannot help but laugh.

(cue 24 intro) The following takes place between 3:30 A.M and 4:30 A.M. ...

I am awakened by a whining Samantha. Upon peering into her crib, I find that she has completely freed herself from a patented Daddy-swaddle, a first. Not only has she broken free, but she has flipped to her stomach. She is stuck (she is only rolling one way right now), thus the whining. I put my mommy skills, all obtained in the past 4 months, to the test.

Attempt #1: I pick Samantha up, and that little booger, who is wide awake, has the gall to smile at me like its time to play. I resist all urges to smile back at her sweet face so that she knows this is not "play time." It's "sleepy time" and Mommy is TIRED. I rock her for a few minutes, reswaddle her with a larger blanket, put her pacifier back in her mouth, and head back to my warm, comfortable bed. By the time I lay down and look at the monitor (its a video monitor), she has already busted free, spit out her pacifier, and rolled back to her stomach. More whining ensues. Baby:1, Mommy:0.

Attempt #2: Back to Samantha's room, I decide to give her a bottle, even though she doesn't have her "hungry cry" going. Sometimes a bottle soothes her to sleep. She takes 2 ounces and smiles at me when shes done. Then she spits on herself. Tough luck, kid. It's not enough that I'm changing you in the middle of the night! I decide this time I will use an official "Swaddle Me" blanket complete with velcro closures this go round. She's not happy, but she's in. Back in bed, I find that her arms are already free and, you guessed it, she has flipped over. Dang it. Baby:2, Mommy:0.

Attempt #3: I decide to get the back positioner out of her closet. We have never before used it, but tonight is as good a time as any to start trying. Sans any sort of blanket, I position her with the little wedges on either side of her torso, like the picture on the box. I go back to my bed and lay, wide awake at this point, watching the monitor. She kicks and squirms, and eventually worms her way down the contraption. As in, her head is now located between the wedges. Not good. I go back in, she looks at me and smiles. Baby:3, Mommy:0.

Attempt #4: I finally give up on any devices whatsoever, positioners, blankets or otherwise. This is just one of those times where she is going to have to work it out. I put her in her crib, turn on her aquarium, stick in the pacifier, and give her the closest lovey I can find. She calms down and starts to drift off. Baby: 3.5, Mommy: 0.5.

Attempt #5: Back in my own bed, I have an attack of conscious that I have put my 4 month old down with a blanket-type lovey. I immediately have flashes of the dangers of suffocation. I get up, trudge downstairs, and get her Nya-Nyan bunny. Nya-Nyan has no stuffing and is relatively small. It doesn't cover her whole face, despite what the above picture may look like. I trust Nya-Nyan. I head back upstairs, pry the lamb lovey out of her hands, and quickly replace it with the best bunny in the world. She grabs it and pulls it close, falling into a deep sleep. Baby: asleep, Mommy: relieved, Daddy: never woke up, Nya-Nyan: my new best friend.

Steve, though he slept through it all, must have sensed that I hadn't slept much. When Samantha woke up at 7, he offered to get her up for her morning bottle so I could snooze a bit longer. His suspicions were confirmed when he went to her room and found 2 blankets, a Swaddle Me blanket and a back positioner on the floor.

Samantha now sleeps with no swaddle. Thankfully, she slept last night and took 2 great naps today. For both, she slept on her stomach with Nya-Nyan firmly in her grasp. She holds her even as I type this. The bunny that saved my sanity!!!

Samantha's Big Weekend

PaPaw saves the day!

Have I got something on my chin?

This cereal stuff is alright . . . what's up with Daddy's facial hair?

Look at me Mommy! I'm a big girl in my high chair!

Wow . . . . did Mommy and Daddy even attempt to get any of this stuff in my mouth?!?!

Happy Labor Day to our faithful readers of amy-n.blogspot.com! We hope that everyone has had a safe, fun, and relaxing holiday weekend.

Samantha has been quite the busy girl since her 4 month check-up last Thursday. Here is a day-by-day account of her activities:

Unfortunately she had a REALLY rough afternoon after she got back from the doctor's office on Thursday. She was in "meltdown" mode for the better part of 3-4 hours. We think it was some after effects from the shots and missing her morning nap. It got so bad that Mommy had to call PaPaw in for reinforcements. PaPaw left work and flew in to save the day. We are not sure what PaPaw said or did to Samantha, but whatever it was he had the magic touch and got her to calm down.

Then on Friday Samantha got to go spend the night with WaWa and PaPaw and give Mommy and Daddy a night out with their friends Ryan and Carly Jewett before they have to move off to Philadelphia. We were very thankful for a night out and the opportunity to SLEEP IN on Saturday morning! Daddy was also able to get some much needed work done around the house while Mommy did some case work. We got a lot accomplished.

Samantha's big weekend kept on getting better as on Saturday she got to travel with WaWa and PaPaw to Gatlinburg to visit her Great Grandma Ersa. Samantha got to spend some quality time with Great Grandma and even go and eat with her at the Mountain Lodge (a must if you're ever traveling thru the Gatlinburg area).

After sleeping for the entire ride back from Gatlinburg it was time for a major milestone on Saturday night . . . . RICE CEREAL! Samantha was hilarious and so cute trying to figure out what in the heck she was supposed to do with the cereal. Needless to say it was quite a messy experience that we captured on video, photo, and anything else we could get to remember the moment forever (check out the video below).

The hits just kept on coming for Samantha as on Sunday she got to spend the day at Aunt Sharon's pool and hang out all day and night with Jared and Katie! Jared and Katie flew in from Austin, TX to spend the holiday weekend in God's Country (East Tennessee). Each time we visit Aunt Sharon's pool Samantha becomes more and more comfortable in the water. This time she did not cry a single time and enjoyed floating in the baby float and having Daddy throw her up (not too high of course) and catch her just as her legs landed in the water. We then all came home and she slept THRU the night w/o a "dream" bottle as Mommy, Daddy, and the Becks rocked out to some good ol' fashioned Rock Band.

Hopefully the holiday weekend will keep on getting better for Miss Samantha as tonight is her FIRST ever Tennessee football game. Here is hoping Fulmer and the Vols put the perfect ending on Samantha's first ever Labor Day weekend . . . . one of the best weekend's she's had in her short 4 months here on Earth.