Adventures in Samanthaland: January 2010

Saturday, January 16, 2010

7 Month Update

It feels like it's been forever since I've updated the blog, and unfortunately, both Allen and I have been so busy with work that we don't have many fun activities to share, but hopefully come February all that will change. The New Year is starting off well for all of us, and despite my INSANELY crazy work schedule, we are somehow managing to keep our sanity. A couple of Sundays back, Allen, Samantha and I spent a morning hiking in Harvey Bear Park and we had a great time. We have decided to make Sunday hikes a weekend tradition and are looking forward to heading out somewhere new tomorrow!

Thought it would be fun to share some pictures from our day. Samantha seemed to enjoy the hike and clearly she feels very relaxed in nature, as she fell asleep while we took turns pushing her up the hill in her stroller.

Here's a shot of the hills as we started out

And one of Al and Sammy mid-hike

We even saw some cows

Working my way up the hill (still trying to lose those lingering pounds!)

Allen and Sam at the top of the hill (she's totally zonked out!)

In other Samantha news...

Sam just turned 7 months old! Can't believe how quickly the months are going by. Before we know it, she'll be a year old! She still doesn't have any teeth, but is drooling like crazy and puts EVERYTHING in her mouth. We've noticed that she loves to chat and is making all kinds of "ba" and "da" sounds.

Some of Sam's new favorite things...

pureed butternut squash, pears, oatmeal and multi-grain cereal (she hasn't been all that jazzed about the peas that I made)
she loves when we pant like dogs and laughs hysterically (the things we will do to make this kid laugh! she's probably just laughing at how stupid we look!)
morning Ichat sessions with Aunt Cari on Nona JoAnn's computer (we're hoping to have her speaking fluent French by age 2)
SCOUT!!!!
socks...hers, that is. She loves to grab her foot, pull it up to her mouth and use her mouth to take off her socks

Samantha's 7 month pictures to come...

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Happy New Year!

We had a wonderful New Year's celebration this year, though it was quite "low key" compared to celebrations from years past. On New Year's Eve we had an "early bird special" dinner at Aqui (Carla--I totally stole that one from you!) with friends, and we stopped by the Cymanski house to say goodbye to Cari and wish Ron a happy birthday.

Marianne & Addison, Samantha & I and Carla & Kaylee

Brad, Brian, Allen and Rocky

Smiley Sammy

Hanging out with Rocky

Samantha was extremely curious about Addison. We have pictures of Cari and I around the same ages, looking just like Sammy Bear and Addi!

Al & Samantha and Rocky & Addison

Carla took Sam for a bit so I could eat, but Samantha was fixated on Kaylee (more specifically on pulling off her socks!)

We spent New Year's day with the Ishibashi side of the family and I managed to take only a few pictures. Here's a cute one of Samantha's cousins Emily and Kayla

New Year's Dinner was a delicious spread of Japanese food. This year, Allen was in charge of the sushi and he took his responsibility VERY seriously. He got quite creative with some of the rolls and I have to say that I was extremely impressed!

Though we were all in bed early, we had a wonderful time and are looking forward to a year filled with fun, friends, laughter and memories!

More Pictures

We've been having so much fun over the Holiday break--Al and I both agreed that we could definitely get used to this kind of schedule! :) Here are some pictures from our time at home with Samantha--can't believe that we have already celebrated her first Chrismas and New Year and she is nearly 7 months old!

We took another trip to Christmas in the Park, this time with JoAnn, Cari and Benoit. While we were there, we were lucky enough to run into Uncle Pat at his coffee stand--what a fun treat!

Benoit, Cari and JoAnn in front of the Swiss Clockmaker display at the park

Samantha LOVES to play "peek-a-boo" and thinks it's hilarious when Allen puts her burpcloth over her head.

Getting ready for a walk with the dogs

Can't believe that Sam is now big enough to ride front-facing in her Bob stroller! Even though it makes me a little bit sad, I know that she enjoys the views much more. With the cold weather, we have to dress her in layers and throw on a few blankets, but she loves it! Look closely at the outfit in the picture below--can you tell that daddy dressed her? :)

Strolling down East Dunne Avenue in her monkey snowsuit with Peterman

Samantha is definitely growing and changing on a daily basis. She is extremely vocal and makes all kinds of funny (and extremely cute) noises. In addition, she is all about touching and grabbing everything she can get her little hands on. At this point, she is almost sitting up on her own, but still doesn't like to hang out on her belly. When she is tired, she'll rub her eyes with her hands (it's way too cute) and when we put her down, sometimes she'll hold her arms up like she wants a hug. I'm not sure if that's really what she wants, but I'll make myself feel good by saying that it is! :) Sam is all about imitating these days, and has been known to stick her tongue out at Allen and wave at the Mello Aunties. She's starting to eat more "real" food, and it looks like my efforts at making baby food are FINALLY paying off--she likes the pears that I made!

Dreaming of a White Christmas

Christmas has come and gone and it always feels like a bit of a letdown to say goodbye to the holidays. Al and I took nearly two weeks off of work at the end of the year and the three of us had such a fun and special Holiday season. We spent Christmas in Truckee this year with the Cymanski family and we had an absolutely fabulous time. Ron and JoAnn rented a beautiful home in Truckee and it had plenty of room for everyone--Ron, JoAnn, Cari, Benoit, Mike, Amy, Chad, Connor, Caitlin, Allen, Samantha and I (and a partridge in a pear tree). Allen, Samantha and I arrived on Tuesday and missed a pretty big storm, but were able to reap the benefits with a day of snowboarding at Sugar Bowl. While I took it easy, Allen, Chad and Connor had a lot of fun exploring the mountain together. This was actually my first time back on a snowboard since my back surgery in 2006, so I was determined to take it easy.

It was Samantha's first time in the snow, and we both agree that she loved it. Allen is determined that she will be snowboarding in the next few years, so I assume that this was one of the first of many trips up to the Tahoe area. We took a ton of pictures, so I have tried to scale it down to my favorites from the trip. Enjoy!

Hanging out on Christmas morning--Samantha is wearing her special Christmas outfit which was a gift from Auntie Kim

On one of the days, Allen was determined to head to South Shore to hit his favorite sushi restaurant. Cari and Benoit were adventurous enough to come with us, only to find out that Sato is closed for lunch. The four of us and Samantha headed over to the village at Heavenly and had lunch at a brewery...and a stop for cookies.