Love Those Fingers!

These past couple of weeks Samantha has started sucking on her fingers. We would hear some slurping and look down only to find her fingers in her mouth. We would quickly pull out her fingers and put in her pacifier. But then we looked up "thumb sucking" in the book "What to Expect the First Year" (Thanks Maryann and David-we love this book!) and found that it is natural and that we didn't need to worry about her becoming a permanent thumb sucker. My favorite line from this section of the book reads "Well, stop worrying and start letting your baby indulge herself." I think it's funny that finger sucking could be an indulgence, but it sure seems to be one for our Sami.

The New Toy

My friend (and ex-boss from the preschool), Tiffanie, let me borrow her Jumperoo for Samantha. I cleaned it up and put it together on Tuesday night, and I wanted to put Sami in it for just a few minutes to see if she would like it. I know that these toys are for older infants, but Sami is really good at holding her head up and she is tall, so I just wanted her to try it out. It took her a few minutes to figure out that her feet could touch the floor and that she could make herself bounce. When she did figure it out, she loved it!!

We love Sami's smile! Nothing makes us happier than our sweet baby's smile. She has filled our home with so much joy and love. We love you Samantha!!!!

The Favorite Blanket

Our friends Colby and Suzanne sent Samantha this really soft blanket right after we came home with her. It is soft and fuzzy on one side and has silk on the other side. She loves to put the silky side over her face. It used to really freak me out. I would pull it off her face and she would just put it right back. My friend Lisa's baby girl does the same thing with a similar blanket. Who can blame a girl for liking silk?

I've Gone Bow Crazy!

The last couple of nights, I have stayed up way too late making hair bows for Samantha. I have had so much fun making bows to match her outfits! On the back of each bow, I have sewn on a clip and then I just clip the hair bow to the headband. It is a really fun hobby. I am so grateful to my friend Anngel who taught me how to make them.

My Valentine

Before I met Jonathan, I HATED Valentine's Day! I thought that the person who invented this holiday should've been shot. I had enough insecurities without an official holiday making me feel like a loser. But then I met Jonathan. Jonathan was my first real boyfriend, and my first kiss. It was a horrible first kiss, but I will never forget it. I was 24. Then came our first Valentine's Day together, and I was finally excited for this holiday. My mom called me first thing that morning to tell me she hoped I would have a good day. That should have given me a clue of what was to come, but it didn't. As it turned out, Jonathan had called my dad the night before to ask him if he could marry me. Jonathan came over to my apartment that morning with some balloons and asked me to take him to the chemistry building so he could pick up an assignment, but he insisted that I drive. That also should have been a clue, since he always drove. But I complied, and it was in the stairwell that Jonathan pretended to break his ankle. He called EMS (which he was in charge of, all of his buddies were in on his scheme.) The EMS van came rolling up with all the lights on, and they took all his info and told me to run and get the car. I ran. When I got Jonathan into the car, he insisted I take him to the emergency room. Well, he volunteered in the ER, and his aunt was a nurse there, so they were all in on it too. The nurses wheeled him into the hospital and I went and parked my car. When I got back in the hospital, the nurses led me to the room that Jonthan was in, he was on a bed and his aunt was taking his temperature. He jumped off the bed, and said "We met in the ER a year ago, and I knew then you would be the love of my life. Will you marry me?" (We met in the ER when one of my EFY girls got sick and Jonathan, who was a health counselor, took her and me to the ER. Don't worry, the girl was fine.) Well, I must admit I hesitated before answering, not because I didn't love him, rather it was because I was confused about his broken ankle. But after I figured out that he was okay, I answered with a firm "yes." And I have never regretted it. So now Valentine's Day is the anniversary of our engagement. We were married three months later in the Mt. Timpanogas Temple. Life with Jonathan is never boring. He is so much fun and helps me remember to always laugh. His faith has sustained and inspired me through our trials. He is such good husband and father! Every day he tells Sami and I that he loves us, and his actions show that that is true. I love you Jonathan!

Sleeping Beauty

I love watching Samantha sleep. Those cheeks are amazing, and look at how cute her lips are!

If you look closely, you can see where Sami scratched herself right between her eyes. I am so bad about remembering to cut her nails. This day, I felt so bad that I cut her nails and I went to Wal-mart and bought her mittens. She wore them all that day, and I try to put them on before she goes to sleep because most of the scratching happens when she is tired. But I don't have her wear them all the time because I love it when she holds my hand, and I like feeling her wrinkly little palm.


Samantha used to be a sweaty sleeper. Actually, it was just her head that sweated. When I pulled her out of her crib, the sheets would be wet. And by the time I was done feeding her, my sleeve where she rested her head would be soaked through. I used to have to change my shirt after a feeding. We called her our "little sweatball." She doesn't sweat anymore though. It's amazing how they change and grow.

Love the Chub!

I love Sami's cheeks, I just want to pinch them all the time! We just can't get over how cute she is!!

Girlfriends

We have made some great friends while going to school. Last night we hung out with some of our best friends. All of us have had beautiful daughters come into our homes recently. We hope that all of our little girls grow up as friends. I am so excited that most of us are moving to the same place in Michigan. Mindy and Spencer, we will miss you tons and we will keep in touch!

After we took pictures of all the girls, we had to take pictures of all the dads with their little girls. I love seeing these doting fathers with their little girls.