news and updates

So tonight I went to a Wild Edibles lecture and hike at a local reserve. The event only lasted an hour and a half but I have to say that when I got back home I realized that I had actually missed Samantha. I missed her...after only an hour and a half! I didn't think that could be possible but it happened. I am so glad I am not a mom that has to go back to work right away, I just can't even imagine how hard that must be.
The timing of my event tonight kind of stunk and I knew that Sam was going to be hungry while I was gone. I had pumped a little today and told Chris he might have to give her a bottle for the first time while I was gone. So I was very anxious to see first how she would do with the bottle and then how she would do on the boob after having a bottle...she did great with both. Chris said the bottle went fine, since it was just him here we don't have any pictures of her taking a bottle for the first time. And I fed her tonight again and she had no problem feeding on the boob after having the bottle. Exciting stuff cause this means that some night soon we could go out for wonderful Mexican and I can "pump-and-dump"! Life changing news for us. Fajitas and guacamole here I come!

Lastly, I have news about my duck, Mabel. If you remember Mabel was building a nest in our planter box next to our front door. She is not really "my" duck, just a wild Mallard that has nested in our planter box before and came back this year. She had 12 eggs and had begun her sitting on the nest until the eggs hatched. Well now she is gone. After an incident with a stray black cat, Polly (our golden retriever), myself and Chris the duck has left the nest and been gone for five days; I don't think she is coming back or that the eggs are still okay. So sad. I wanted to kill the stupid cat that started the whole ridiculous mess and crazy chasing scene. Chris is going to deal with the eggs for me so I don't have to look at them anymore (I have no idea what he is going to do with them and I don't want to know) and clean up the nest. Just wanted to update you all on the sad news of Mabel.

Okay, those are my updates and news. Sorry no pictures this post.

spying!

Today I feel like I am spying on my daughter. We are trying out sleeping in the crib, on her back, NOT in the bouncy seat. She loves having covers on her so I have to put a blanket on her when she is laying down; which I know is a no-no when they are this little. So, I am constantly checking on her making sure that she is okay and that the blanket is still in the right place.
As I tip-toe into her room to look into the crib I feel like I am spying on my daughter. Clearly she doesn't care or know the difference but I can just picture her screaming at me one day "mom get out of my room!" the way I use to yell at my mom. So while she can't yell at me I decided to really spy on her and take a picture of her successfully napping in her crib!And yes I know that it looks like her eyes are open and that she isn't a sleep, but that is just how she sleeps sometimes, eyes partly open.

Bad Thought

Today a thought entered my mind that I wasn't expecting and didn't like...being a mom can be boring. Isn't that horrible? I feel like such a bad mom, a bad person really, for thinking that. Moms should love being moms and enjoy being moms; but today I just didn't feel that way. It's just that there are only so many things you can do with an infant. It was raining most of the day so I couldn't go for a long walk like I have been the last few days to kill some time and get out of the house. And the times when she is sleeping and will let me put her down I feel like I need to get stuff done but laundry, dishes and straightening up aren't really all that exciting either. So today I just felt bored.

But I did try some new things to pass the time. When it wasn't raining we sat outside and I talked to Samantha about the birds and ducks that we saw. She really seemed to like being outside; she was awake and not fussy!
We also got out the playmat that Jodie gave me and although Samantha is still too young to really enjoy it she stayed calm for at least a few minutes. It was funny because her hands and legs were moving a lot and she would hit the toys handing over her head totally by accident. I thought it was pretty cute and decided to video tape her a bit.

So the day is over and I made it. Hopefully tomorrow will be nice out and we can go for a walk, run errands or spend more time outside to make it a better day.

But Sam is still adorable when she sleeps!

We love Family!

When Chris got the job in Stevens Point, Wisconsin I knew it would be difficult to be away from family but I was excited for a new place and a new adventure. Little did I know how much I would truly miss our families when we started our own family. I want more than anything for Samantha to have close relationships with her grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. That is hard to do when you are five, eight and/or "way too many hours to count" away from family. We have been so blessed since Sam has been born to be surrounded by family. So many people are coming to visit us, help us and check in on us; it has been amazing. So, in no particular order, here is a tribute to all of the wonderful family that has made long trips to see us. Chris's Aunt Cindy and cousin Amanda.

Chris's Aunt Barb.

Grandpa Hill.

My sister Jodie.

My parents Rick and Mary Jane.

Grandma Hill.

Chris's dad, John.

Chris's mom, Kathy.

Chris's sister, Lori.

So, THANK YOU FAMILY! It has been so great having so many visitors and all the great help. Uncle Craig and Uncle Chris we can't wait for Sam to meet both of you!

Samantha goes to the Golf Course!

For those of you that may not know my husband enjoys golf. I try to play, it usually doesn't go very well, but I try. Samantha will most likely get golf clubs at a very young age and for her sake (and my husband's) I hope that she at least enjoys the game as a hobby.
Today Sam had her first visit to the golf course. It was much nicer out than it was suppose to be so we packed her up and went to opening day at Sentry World to hit a few balls on the driving range. We enjoyed our first time out to hit balls and Samantha slept through the whole thing.
After golfing Chris and I played around with our camera trying to get some good photos of Sam and I. These three are ones that were actually not that bad of me, Samantha just wasn't cooperating. A fussy baby does not always look that great in photos. Sam's hair is not greasy, she had just had a bath.

All dressed up

I don't know if you noticed but in yesterday's post Sam was wearing jeans, a sweater and shoes. Well today we went one better. Check out Sam wearing overalls, shoes and a bow in her hair! With the way her hair grows right now I could not figure out how to put it in a ponytail so I just clipped it in the mass of hair that is growing straight forward.

Now that I have seen her with a bow I am in love! However, these were the only cute little girl clips that our Target had so if anyone has any suggestions on other places that sell cute baby hair accessories let me know! Too fun!!

Four Weeks Old

Sam is four weeks old today!

Her life is not much different from when she was born; she eats, sleeps and poops. However, she is getting bigger and has already grown out of some of her newborn sleepers and onsies (I know, I know, not really all that exciting, but this new mom thinks it is neat). We are also celebrating the fact that the very small amount of snow you can see behind me in that picture is the ONLY snow we have left anywhere in our yard. Warm weather is finally here and I am loving it.
Mom just left this morning, after staying with us since Sunday and it was very sad to see her go. We got so much done and had so much fun while she was here; a shopping day, lots of fun errands, a full day of great cooking and of course lots of time with Sam. Mostly it was really nice to have someone right here that could say things like "Yes, she could be hungry again already", "It's okay, sometimes babies just need to cry" and at 2:30am "Would you like me to take her?". It was a great visit.

Thanks Grandma! We love you!