Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Chattanooga Weekend

We spent last Friday night and Saturday in Chattanooga at the Mitchells. Samantha LOVES going to see Uncle Bill, Aunt Elise, Will and Caroline ... there are so many new things for her to play with! Including a real-life dog, Chipper. It didn't take Samantha too long to warm up to sweet Chipper. From now on, we will actually be going to "Chipper's house." Sorry guys, you've been trumped!

Saturday was a gorgeous day, so we went down to Coolidge Park to wander around. Oh, how I wish we had a place like that in Knoxville! Samantha was thrilled to be outdoors. We will definitely be back very, very soon. We have yet to take her to the Chattanooga Aquarium, but Saturday was too pretty to be indoors. We'll put that on the agenda for the next trip.

Samantha's first experience with a powdered donut, courtesy of Aunt Elise. There's probably still sugar in that chair, unless Chipper has managed to get it all up!

Enjoying the beautiful weather, strolling through the park. Samantha liked walking all by her big-self.

Samantha checking out an alligator in the water, which was really just a log. She has a very active imagination!

Bringing up the rear with Daddy.

Bill, the keeper of the sweet teas, while we went for a whirl on the Coolidge Park carousel.

Samantha has an imaginary tiger friend, so we thought it would be appropriate for her to ride the tiger. She was a little apprehensive at first ...

Caroline on Coolidge, the horse. (All of the animals have names.)

Once the carousel staring going, and the wind started whipping through her hair, Samantha was hooked!

She got to a point that she did not want any assistance from Daddy.

Leading Caroline around.

Enjoying Aunt Elise's super spicy chex mix while watching her t.v. She wasn't too interested in golf, which was on the big t.v. courtesy of the Wii.

Monday, February 8, 2010

A Visit from Big Guy and Grammy

We had a big weekend, complete with a visit from Big Guy and Grammy. Samantha was sooo happy to see them. (Mom and Dad were, too.) We didn't do much of anything all weekend, but we played, played, played! Samantha showed them all of her latest tricks, and Big Guy and Grammy played their fair share of "inch", "hawk", "sleep" and "hide." And, of course, we danced! Mom and I even managed to sneak away for a little mother-daughter shopping while Samantha napped on Saturday. She saved up 2 days worth of poop for her Big Guy and let loose while we were gone. So, that was an unexpected bonus for me! Dad may disagree, though both he and Samantha seemed to survive the ordeal unscathted. We can't wait for them to come back and visit soon!
Score! Samantha checks out her goodies from Gran and Grandaddy - a whole bag full of yummy, yummy Kit Kats!
A big moment - sharing the Kit Kats with her Big Guy.

Wow! New boots!

Modelling her Valentines happy from Big Guy and Grammy.

Blowing up an already inflated balloon.

So happy to be playing with Big Guy and Grammy!

In her Sunday finery, lolling around on the floor intently watching a bug.
Playing the "inch" game with Big Guy. Dad made it up when I was little, and it's still a big hit.

Friday, February 5, 2010

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

We had a great day this past Tuesday, which was Steve's 34th. No matter what, he'll always be older than me!! By 2 measly months, anyway. Samantha and I took him to a very fancy lunch at Chick-fil-A. Jerry and Connie tried mighty hard to top us with a steak dinner at their house Tuesday evening. I won't say which Steve liked better ...

Samantha helping Daddy open his "pesent".

Her signature - coloring and stickers. Oh, how she loves stickers!

Dancing in Daddy's birthday hat at Wawa and Papaw's house. I'm still trying to get all of the glitter off of her scalp!

Having a few appetizers with her baby.

Dancing with Daddy.

Dancing with Wawa and Papaw. (Are you noticing a theme for the night yet?)

Helping Daddy blow out his candle.

Why bother waiting for a fork? Sampling Daddy's cake.

The birthday boy!

Reading their favorite book, Love You Forever. Connie and Jerry gave Steven a copy to put up. Our copy isn't going to survive toddlerhood. It's a very well loved book!!

Her newest thing ... flying.

She's not going to be able to walk under Daddy's legs much longer. She'll be sporting her own pair of those long legs (I can only hope) sooner than I want to think about.