I Would Die for That

Yesterday, a friend of mine posted the following video.  I watched it, and cried as I held my little baby, my little miracle sent straight to us from heaven.  

I remember.  It wasn't too long ago when I felt exactly like this.  Exactly.  Those feelings are still very tender and still very real.  It makes holding my baby girl that much sweeter.  And not knowing if she'll be my one and only, I know to cherish every. single. moment.

My heart goes out to those that are still experiencing such pain.  I know how you feel.

I've been there.

I know.

It hurts.

A lot.

I love you.

Cross-Stitch

I don't consider myself the most crafty person.  And, I must admit that since the invention of Pinterest, my feelings towards myself and craftiness have dwindled.  It's really hard to compete with all of these amazing people that I never knew about before but are now plastered all over my Pinterest wall.

I also see people, my friends, who are stay-at-home moms and do all sorts of crafty things, PLUS keep their houses clean, PLUS make dinner every night, PLUS workout, play with their kids, visit teach, do their callings, etc., etc. It's hard not to compare myself to others.  It's especially hard because I've been used to working or going to school my whole life, not staying at home.  It's certainly an adjustment to be a mom and not have somewhere to be the minute I wake up.  I still wouldn't trade it, but I struggle to figure out what I can do to keep myself busy AND happy.

I haven't completely figured it out yet, and maybe it'll be one of those things that I continue to struggle with.  And maybe I'll go back to teaching when Sam's old enough to be in school.  Who knows?

But I did want to brag a little bit here and showcase what I HAVE been doing the last several months.

I started this cross-stitch after Samantha was born and I LOVE it.  I've been wanting to do this particular one for years and I finally bought it when Derek and I moved to Tuscany (the cross-stitch is called "A View of Tuscany" and even though it's a different Tuscany, I thought it was beautiful and it reminded me of our trip to Italy when we got to see the REAL Tuscany and it was gorgeous.  This is the first cross-stitch I've done that I plan on keeping for myself.  I usually buy them with specific people in mind that I want to give them to, but this one is mine, and I'm so happy with it!

I don't know why I don't consider this "crafty."  Maybe because it takes so long to complete so it's hard to see the progress (it's not a one-time craft).  But I love doing it, and it makes me happy.

I do really wish I could find a hobby that requires more of my body than sitting on the couch (with the TV on in the background), but hopefully once Sam's a bit older and can do more, I'll have some motivation to get out and about more often.

I also really enjoy making these for other people but it's one of those things that's hard to give to someone because I don't know their style, colors of their house, etc.  So, if you want something, I'm looking around for a new project to do and would love to make you something!

A Girl and Her Elephant--7 Months

Can't believe my baby's 7 months old.  The time just seems to fly by!  I wish someone knew how to slow it down so I could cherish it longer!

Samantha got to do so much this month.  Grandma Morgan came to visit, Auntie Michelle came to visit and we got to do lots of fun things!  Here's a peek:

Baby's first Stampede...and yes, those are cowboy boots on her little feet (WAY TOO BIG...but we had to put them on her!)

Sitting in her high chair.  She's a crazy little thing!

Lake Louise!

With Grandma!

Tired face!

Moraine Lake!

She loves that grandma Morgan!

She knows she's not supposed to go back there. 

But does that stop her?  No, of course not!

She's pulling herself up on things!  She wasn't too happy that I stopped to take her picture instead of pick her up!

Samantha is pure joy!  Love her to death!

She's still army crawling. Rocking on her knees and occasionally takes a small step with one of those knees but she prefers her stomach!

She's eaten avocados, peas, carrots, bananas (hated those), pears, apples, squash, and of course, cereal.  She does really well eating, although she has spit all over me, put her hands in her mouth and then everywhere and I'm pretty sure every time she's gotten some up her nose.   Don't know if that's my fault or hers.  We'll blame her!

She loves to drink water like a little birdie from a wet paper towel.  Whenever I wipe her up, she is always trying to suck on the paper towel so one day I squeezed a little water in her mouth and she loved it.  She'll now cock her head back and open wide for some water! She won't, however, drink from her sippy cup.  She chomps on it, and water eventually comes out, but she still doesn't know how to use it.  

We've spent the last couple of nights trying to train her to sleep better.  It had gotten to the point where we were spending 2-3 hours every night helping her sleep.  She'd fall asleep easily, but then we'd wait 10 minutes to put her down so she wouldn't wake up.  20-30 minutes later, she'd wake up and need to be rocked back to sleep and the cycle continued until about 9 or 10 when she'd sleep 2-3 hour stretches.  We were exhausted and she was too!  Last night, she fell asleep at 7:30 and woke up twice before getting up at 7:30 this morning.  I fed her both times and she went straight back to sleep.  I know she still needs those 2 feedings because this girl is a snacker like crazy and she's still pretty little (I'm pretty sure she still hasn't doubled her birth weight yet.  At her 6 month appt., she weighed 14 lbs 4 oz) so I don't mind getting up to feed her but if she can sleep by herself until those times, that is HEAVEN!!!  And last night it was!  We're hoping it just keeps getting better! 

Her naps are getting better too.  Today she fell asleep both times on her own and her second nap was 2 hours long.  She woke up in the middle of it, whimpered for about 30 seconds then fell back to sleep.  It was awesome!

Well, that's all for now.  I don't have any pictures of the actual Stampede or any of when Michelle was here, but hopefully I can get my hands on some that other people took.  

A Girl and Her Elephant--6 Months!

So, I've taken the pictures, but haven't updated this blog.  Oops.  A lot has happened since I've last posted! My mom and Derek's sister Michelle came for visits and we've done lots of playing! So here's the 6 month pictures first!

6 MONTHS

 SHE CAN SIT!!!

The outfit you see in the previous photos was the first outfit Derek and I bought for Samantha when we found out she was a girl.  We just went to WalMart (the closest store) and bought it for like 10 bucks.  But, it's super cute, right?

Here's a look at Samantha during her 6th month:

These are size 3-6 months and she was swimming in them!

Loves her some excersaucer time! 

This is the closest I've been able to get to her "sexy" pose where she puts her arm on her back and just chills out!

One of my favorite outfits she wore to church!

Poor dad is just trying to get a little snooze in, but she won't let him!

Puppy dog! (Oh, she started crawling...army crawling...this is her trying to climb on me!)

Her first taste of rice cereal!  We had to swaddle her down because it was the only way we could feed her without her grabbing at the spoon.  We hadn't gotten a high chair yet, so it was difficult to feed her on our lap with her arms everywhere.  She didn't do great with the cereal.  I mean, it's pretty disgusting!  Who can blame her?

Another adorable church outfit!

When Grandma Morgan came to visit!  This was at Samantha (and my mom's) first Stampede breakfast! 

(More pictures of my mom's trip to come...)

Samantha is still a joy.  Some things that happened this month:

She started sitting.

She tasted her first real food!

She started army crawling around the house! (baby proofing!!!)

She was baby-sat for the first time so I could get a manicure and pedicure!

She started jumping in her jolly jumper and LOVES IT! (she had one before but it was the kind that hooked on the door and there was only one door in our house that it would work on and that was our bedroom door, so we bought her a stand at a garage sale)

She loves bath time and splashing in the water!

She celebrated our 5 year anniversary with us by going up to the mountains overnight.

She's still as fun as ever! I'm loving this stage because she is able to do so much more.  She definitely keeps me on her toes crawling around everywhere!!!