Hello there!

I have been meaning to post this video for over a month. While Samantha may be a little late to crawl, she is very advanced in other areas, primarily waving. Don't worry I won't be signing her up for any pageants, but she does have that wave down: elbow, elbow, wrist, wrist.

48 Hours Away

Before Samantha was born I was sure I was going to be one of those moms that left her daughter for long weekends, went out to dinners without her and had a long list of babysitters lined up. But, the truth is, I don't really like being away from her for very long. Now, don't get me wrong, I enjoy a few hours away. I've talked about my job being a very positive experience and my mother in law watches her while I workout twice a week and I really treasure the "me" time that gives me.

This weekend we are going for the weekend to a friend's wedding in Detroit and leaving Samantha for the first time ever. She will stay with my parent's and my cousin and her family are in town as well so she will have plenty of company.

I know she will be in good hands but it still makes me sick thinking about it. My mom says she can't decide if I am worried because I think Samantha will miss us too much or because Samantha won't miss us at all!

Caught Off Guard

I would not say I am an overly emotional person. Sure, those weeks when my hormones were raging out of control after giving a birth, I was a regular crier but generally speaking, I don't cry too much.

Since becoming a mother, I have been overwhelmed by just that: being a mom, a few times when I was least expecting it. One was today at work. I volunteered to help out with the opening activities for "Bring Your Daughter and Son to Work Day". As I walked into the room, I was struck first by how many kids were there. We had a fantastic turn out of close to 30 kids. Then, I just looked at all those faces with their unique personalities and thought of what Samantha would be like, or look like, at age 4, 7 or 12 and I got all choked up.

Parenthood is an adventure and Samantha changes every day. Today I couldn't help but realize that we are just getting started. Samantha is just beginning to show sides of her little personality. She is a picky eater (like her Dad), a bit bossy (like her Tia Molly)and a chatty Cathy (I guess I'll take credit for this). I can't wait to see what kind of person she develops into over the years to come.

If It's Not One Thing....

It's another! I am learning to be very careful once I think I am in control and on a roll as a mother. Last week Samantha was napping like a champ and sleeping through the night from 8 pm to 7 am. She was laying down to sleep in her crib without protesting and I thought I had it all down.

This week, not so much. The good news is that Samantha has learned to push herself up into a sitting position. She has also learned to pull up to a standing position. The bad news is that she does this in her crib and then is unable to lay back down and go to sleep.

At 5:30 am I go into her room to find her deliriously standing up in her crib and crying. Naps have also gone downhill, I peek in to see why she is screaming and she is just sitting or standing there hysterical. I am hoping this is a phase we can blaze through quickly.

Good thing she is so cute!

Doily Baby

Dave does not like lace, it reminds him of doilies. Our friend Sara thinks that is so funny that she has been known to send doilies to Dave in the mail in unmarked packages much to his dismay.

So maybe this outfit for Easter wasn't Dad's favorite but we thought she looked pretty darn cute. She was all frills this Easter in her doily dress. This dress belonged to my sister Madeline and we have equally funny and adorable pictures of Madeline for her first Easter.

Samantha had an exciting week celebrating her first Passover, her first Easter and her mom's 31st birthday!

You can see more of Samantha's latest photos here.

Perfectly Average

Today was Samantha's 9 month check up and according to her stats, she is perfectly average. Well, except for her head.

Height: 27.5 inches - 48th percentile
Weight: 18 lbs 9.5 ounces - 50th percentile
Head Circ: 18 inches - 90th percentile

I think they say big heads signify smart kids!

1 of 20

I was seriously starting to wonder if Samantha was going to live her entire life toothless but low and behold her first tooth has finally appeared just in time for her 9 month birthday. One bottom tooth is poking out. I read that babies get ten teeth on top and ten on bottom so we just have 19 more to go!

In other news, Samantha is beginning to show interest in crawling. Interest, not necessarily actual movement. And, she attended her first Bat Mitzvah for her second cousin Rachel in Las Vegas. She had a great time dancing at the party and playing with all of her cousins and she was a trooper on our very long trip back (two hours on the runway and we still don't have our bags).

We have her 9 month check up on Wednesday, details to come soon!