Busy, busy baby

It's 2 a.m. and I've now been awake for 20 hours, as Sami woke me up at 6 a.m. yesterday morning. I should be exhausted, but for some reason, I'm not. So I did some work, then watched a little TV, but yet I am still awake.

Another reason I should be exhausted right now is how busy Sami keeps us. She is now "furniture walking," meaning she is walking holding on to things. It's cute to watch but she falls sometimes so we have to keep a close eye on her. She is so busy, and just doesn't want to sit still. No matter where you put her down, she crawls to the closest thing she finds, pulls herself up, and takes small steps toward the next thing she sees, all while strategically holding on as she moves. If she walks with a toy in one of her hands and then drops the toy, she is able to bend down, pick the toy up, and then continue on her journey.

We also had to break down and buy a new high chair this weekend. The one we had been using was passed along to us by a friend, and the straps were missing. It had been working out fine, until the past week or so when Sami realized she could stand up in her high chair since she was not strapped in. She would stand up to eat, leaning over to pick each bite off of her tray. We'd keep putting her back to a sitting position, but she always got right back up. Then the kicker came when she realized she could actually climb out of her highchair by climbing out of the chair onto the tray.

So in other words, Sami is very busy, which in turn keeps us very busy. But I'm not complaining honestly. I love to watch her play, and she is just such a character. She makes me laugh all the time. And it's contagious because when she laughs, I laugh, and when I laugh, she laughs, which of course makes me laugh harder.

Feeling a bit emotional

Sami is becoming less like a baby and more like a little girl. It seems like it is happening all of the sudden. Everywhere we put her, she finds a way to stand up. She stands up in her crib, in the pack and play, even in her high chair! She crawls to me and pulls herself up to standing. She's also grown a lot more hair, and it seems like it all happened over night.

Of course these are all good things, and I am happy she is healthy and growing. But I admit it also makes me a little sad because I feel like she is growing up way too quickly. I don't know where the past 10 months have gone. It feels like it was just yesterday when I was so distraught missing her while she spent two weeks in the NICU after she was born.

She is just becoming so independent. She doesn't even want me to feed her so much anymore. She prefers for me to give her something to eat on her high chair tray that she can feed herself. She eats eggs, potatoes, cheese, chicken, waffles, pancakes, etc. She really loves all food.

Sometimes I can just sit and watch her play for hours. It makes me so happy when she is happy.

On Saturday I wasn't feeling well (after having a root canal on Friday), and was pretty much resting all day. When I finally felt better and got up and went over to play with her, she looked up at me excitedly and with a smile said "momma momma!" My heart just melted at that moment.

10 months old

Sami is 10 months old. It's so hard to believe. We are already starting to think about what kind of party we are going to have for her 1st birthday. How in the world is she almost 1 year old already? Time is going by way too quickly.

It's been almost one month since I've last blogged, so I've got a lot of catching up to do. Last week we took Sami to Orlando to visit Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. We go there every August for our anniversary, and this year was even more special than previous years, because we had Sami with us. She met a ton of characters, and the truth is that I am not sure if Sami liked the characters better or if the characters liked her better! She had no fear, and smiled with delight every time she was approached by a character. I've attached two photos here, one with Sami and Marilyn Monroe, and one with Sami and Thing 1 and Thing 2. Sami also was permitted to go on a few rides, and really loved those, too. Watching her smile and listening to her laugh made me feel so great.

Sami has been doing a lot of smiling and laughing lately. Our dogs, Penny and Java, have been making her crack up lately. She's been really playing with them, and she laughs so hard when they run around her and get silly.

Today we brought Sami to the Museum of Science and Discovery. I think it would have been a little more fun for her if she was walking, but she still seemed to enjoy herself, and Steven and I had a great time even though the museum is really geared toward kids. In fact, we probably had more fun than Sami did.

Sami bring so much happiness to my life. I never knew you could love someone this much. Making sure she is healthy and happy are becoming the most important goals for me, and watching her smile warms my heart like nothing I can explain. She continues to amaze me each and every day.

9 months old already

Sami had her 9-month check-up yesterday. Time is just flying by and it's hard to believe in just three short months, she will be 1 year old!

Sami weighs 17 pounds and is 28 inches tall. She is now in the 20th percentile for weight, and in the 75th percentile for height! According to the pediatrician, this means she is tall and a little underweight. but is doing fantastic. And at the pediatrician's office, Sami got her ears pierced today. They are absolutely adorable!

We can now begin to try feed Sami dairy products to see how she reacts. She will be starting with yogurt, and then we will go from there. If dairy agrees with her we can then try regular formula, instead of the hypoallergenic one she has been on for months. This would be better because it's easier to find, and half the price!

Every day brings something new. She changes so much all the time, but what doesn't stop changing is how much happiness she continues to bring to my life.

It's official!

Samantha Leah officially became ours on July 8. Of course she was already ours in every sense of the word, but now it's legal and nobody can take her away from us--a fear I lived with every day.

Our moment at court was exactly that: "a moment." We got all dressed up for our court date, nervous and excited for the process to be finalized at last. We waited for a little while before Steven, Sami and I, and our attorney, were invited into the judge's chambers. I honestly do not think the judge even looked at us. We were asked a few very quick questions, and he pounded his gavel and it was done. The whole thing took less than five minutes. Our attorney explained to us afterward that by the time it gets to the judge, all the work has been done, and it's just a formality for him to finalize the adoption. But I still feel that judge should understand what a big moment it is for people like us, and show a little emotion.

Anyway, we didn't let it ruin our day. After court, Steven, Sami and I went out to lunch near the beach to celebrate together. Steven apologized to Sami for giving her a last name she will be forever spelling to people. And as for me, well I just couldn't stop hugging and kissing Sami all day long.

Dear Time: Please Slow Down!!

It's been a while since I've written, but not because there hasn't been anything to write about! So much has happened in the past couple of weeks.

What I am most excited about is that we finally have a date for the adoption finalization. On Friday, July 8, Steven, Sami and I, along with our attorney, will be going in front of a judge to officially welcome Sami as our own. Of course, she is already ours, in every sense of the word. But now it will be legal!! It's such a relief, and I can't wait until the judge makes it official!

This week also brought two teeth for Sami! The first one broke through her gums on Wednesday, and the second one on Friday. They aren't much more than sharp white dots, but they're there!

And of course, two weeks ago, Sami had her baby-naming ceremony in the synagogue. I am so happy that all of her aunts and uncles, and most of her cousins, in addition to three grandparents, a great-grandmother and several of our friends were here to share it with us. The weekend couldn't have been better. The only bad part of the weekend was saying goodbye to her aunts, uncles and cousins who do not live nearby.

As for the naming itself, it was very emotional to hear Sami being named after my father, and I hope he was there in spirit at temple with us. I hope he is proud, and I hope Sami one day understands what a great man she is named after. Time goes by so quickly, and it's hard to believe that Sami will be 8 months old on Monday. There are so many moments when I say that I wish I could freeze time, and just hold onto that moment forever.

latest checkup, and plans for next weekend!

On Monday, Sami had her 7-month check-up. She weighs 15 pounds and is 26 inches long. On the chart, she is 20 percent in weight, and 50 percent in height now! The pediatrician said that Sami is doing extremely well, and that looking at her now you'd never know she was such a tiny preemie when she was born. She is sitting up, and she is now holding her own bottle. Steven even lowered her crib this week. I feel like she is growing up already!! Sami can now eat anything in Stage 2 except for dairy products (due to her reflux) or anything I cook if it's able to be mashed or pureed. (Her only rules now for food are no dairy, nothing that ends in the word "berry," and nothing spicy.) Sami is chewing on her fingers, and is a drooling machine, but there is still not a tooth in sight.

We are getting excited for next weekend for Sami's baby naming! We have a lot of family coming into town and we are thrilled to get to see everyone, and for everyone to meet Sami! We are trying to work out how to coordinate our time to be able to spend as much time as possible with everyone.

So far, our tentative plan is:

Thursday night: to drive close to where Steven's parents, brother and sister-in-law and our niece and nephew will be staying to meet them for dinner, if Steven is able to skip his basketball game that night. He is now waiting to hear how many players the team will have that night.

Friday night: we are having a big crowd of about 30 people over for dinner at our house, for pizza, pasta, salad, etc.

Saturday morning and afternoon: the big day--Sami's baby naming! Services start at 9 a.m., and Steven, Sami and I will be called up to open the Ark early in the service. Then a little later in the service we will all be called up again for the baby naming. Services are long on Saturday, ending a little bit before noon, and then we are having a luncheon after temple for our about-40 guests.

Saturday evening: we are planning to meet my sister, brother-in-law and niece for dinner.

Sunday: we still haven't worked out the details, but are hoping to find a way to see everyone that day--perhaps some people during the day and some in the evening.

It's going to be a busy weekend, which I am sure will go by way too quickly.

I am really so excited for Sami to see everyone. I know she will have a fantastic time being the star of the weekend, and watching her smile will be all I need for next weekend to be considered a success to me. Just thinking about her now safe and happy sleeping in her crib literally makes me feel warm inside.