Samantha Smiles

This week Samantha is getting some very cute facial expressions. It's hard to get a photo but I managed to get a semi-smile yesterday. She's wearing her adorable Valentines outfit given to her by her cousin's Hannah & Julia.

Today we made our first family trip to Medford (about 1 hour from home) to do some shopping. It was a nice day, the girls did great, and I enjoyed getting some things we needed and just being together. Of course it helped that our last stop of the day was for ice cream! Danielle requested PINK ice cream, no surprise that her Daddy got it for her.

Mommy's Littlest Girl

Today my baby girl is 5 weeks old. The days and weeks are flying by so fast, but I really don't mind it for the first 5 weeks because those seem to be the hardest. Now Samantha goes to sleep well in her own bed, sleeps a 5-6 hour stretch at night, breast-feeding is a breeze, she is on a fairly predictable schedule and my favorite thing of all...she smiles!! It will be awhile before I can post a photo of her little grin because she mostly does it in the morning when I am alone with the girls. I'll get a picture once she smiles when Jeff is home so I can be the photographer and he can be the one getting her to smile.

More snow fun

Yesterday we planned a sledding trip with quite a few of our friends. It was a wonderful time. Danielle was a little young to enjoy it as much as the older kids but she still had fun. She enjoyed watching all the kids come down on their sleds and she went down one time with Daddy. At the bottom of the sled run Daddy asked her if she had fun and she said...."uhhh, yes". So, she had to think about it but then realized that it was fun. We are so thankful for the snow and that we were able to enjoy it with our friends. It's hard to get action photos when it's freezing, snowing, etc, but it was nice to at least get a photo of the 3 of us.

Danielle & Daddy in the snow

Yesterday was Danielle's first time playing in snow. We went sledding earlier this winter but she didn't even want to get out of the car! It probably didn't help that it was at her nap time but still we were not sure if she would be willing to go another time. Well, after work Jeff and Danielle put on their boots, coats, and gloves and had a really good time in the snow. Jeff did a great job taking it slow with her, showing her she could make her own footprints, etc. Then he got out the sled and pulled her very slowly. She wasn't too sure about the sled part but she did it! Then after about 15-20 minutes she was ready to come inside. We thought that was pretty good for her first time. The two funny things she said were, "Danielle be alright?" and "I won't fall down?" Her favorite part was when Daddy made her a snowball and she got to throw it at him!

Samantha's Baby Shower

Last night our friends put on a baby shower for Samantha. It was a small group but I loved it...we all had a good time. A few people got to snuggle little Samantha and Danielle got to play with other little girls. I am blessed to have such wonderful friends who made it a special evening for my family.

People gave such thoughtful gifts...special books, music, gift cards, diapers, and fun outfits. Lots of useful items for a mother of 2 kids, too...bibs, diapers, and the much needed spray 'n wash!!Several people thought to get a little something for Danielle, too, very sweet. Some of my favorites were the homemade gifts. A good friend made Samantha a pair of little pink/brown fleece pants. They are adorable! Another had her grandmother make these neat bibs out of washcloths. Also, Danielle and Samantha's Grammie crocheted a beautiful blanket for Samantha and even made a mini-blanket for Danielle to use with her babies. So sweet. Here is the picture of Danielle snuggling her little pink kitty with the beautiful blankie. I plan on taking a picture of Samantha wrapped in her special blanket soon.

Samantha sure had a great night last night. Went to bed at 9:30 p.m. and slept 5 hours until 2:30 then ate and went back to sleep until 6:00 a.m.! I am very pleased since she is only 4 weeks old. Speaking of sleep, though, the girls are in bed and I'm quite tired. Today was a really nice day.

Going for a walk

Yesterday we bundled up the girls and took a walk in the afternoon. Samantha was awake when we put her in the stroller but fell asleep by the end of the driveway. I am not back to walking 2 miles a day yet, but it's nice to get out for awhile and get a little excercise.

The days are flying by and I'm trying to keep up with photos, etc. I remember having a hard time getting good pictures of Danielle in the first weeks so I'm guessing I'll get better pictures as Samantha gets a little bigger and starts smiling! Also, Danielle still does this fake smile so it is tricky to get a good picture of her, too.

Well, last night Samantha slept 6 hours straight! (11pm-5am) I even woke her up at the 6 hours because she's only 3 weeks old and I wanted her to eat. Then she went right back to sleep another 3 hours. Not too bad...we'll see if it becomes a pattern anytime soon.