My Beautiful Baby ...

I took Samantha to get some professional pictures taken of her this month. I purposely waited to do this until she could sit up on her own and started to show different expressions on her face. The following are some of those pictures:

Sitting pretty

One of my very favorites (this one is on my wall in the living room -- a lifesize photo)

So precious!

(Daddy has this one on his desk at work)

It's unbelievable how much she looks like me as a baby

Look at those toes!

Yes, she's a thumb-sucker!

I was so pleased with how the photos turned out and now have the difficult decision of choosing which ones are my favorites!

Just Hangin' Out ...

Today, Steve was slow-roasting some pork on the charcoal grill so that we could make pulled BBQ pork sandwiches for dinner. By the way, the meat was courtesy of my dad -- the pork that we get from him and the organically-raised hogs is phenomenal! Steve spent the majority of his time outside today, puttering around and managing the grill. In order to give me a break and to give Sam a little time outside, he took her out in the driveway and played with her on a blanket. I couldn't resist taking a few pictures of my little girl and her daddy ... just hangin' out.

The two loves of my life

 

Sam definitely has her dad's feet

 

Samantha turned 8 months old today and I can't believe how big she has gotten. We were looking at some pictures at Steve's parents' house yesterday and Steve and I were amazed at how little she was just a few months ago. Time seems to fly by these days and I find myself reeling from the fact that she will be a year old in just a few more months. She has changed our lives so much and we continue to look forward to all of the milestones in the next couple of months.

Our Weekend at Lake George

This weekend, we were invited to visit some friends at their cottage on Lake George. The weather was beautiful this weekend, and we welcomed the opportunity to spend some time outside with friends that we hadn't seen in a while. Samantha did wonderful (I am convinced that she was trying to be on her best behavior for some reason). She took naps regularly (which surprised me because we were away from home in a completely different environment) and she almost slept through the night (from 8:30 pm to 4 am). She regularly sleeps through the night here, but as I mentioned, this was a new experience for her. After feeding her at 4 am, I expected her to wake up at her normal time (around 7 am), but she surprised me AGAIN by sleeping in a little. What a good little girl!

Playing in the sand (she also tried to eat some of it)

Testing out the water in Lake George with Daddy

Posing for a family photo with Samantha in her life jacket

We went for a boat ride after dinner and we were required by law to put Sam in a life jacket. This was her first time ever on a boat ... and in a life jacket. She hated it! I think that she might have enjoyed the ride without the jacket, but obviously, we wanted to obey the law and more importantly, we wanted to keep her safe. She cried the whole time ... Once we got back to the cottage and I took the jacket off, she calmed right now. Maybe when she is a little bigger, she will be able to adjust a little better to the tightness and constriction of the life jacket.

Happy 4th of July!

Today, we went to a parade with some of our friends in a neighboring town. Our friends, Joe and Merissa, have a little boy, Niklas, who was born exactly 3 months after Samantha. When we showed up at their house, we were so surprised to see that Samamtha and Niklas were practically wearing matching outfits!

Our friend Joe holding Samantha and his son, Niklas

Posing for a quick picture before the parade began

Then, Grandma and Grandpa Lapinski came over to our house for a cookout. We had a great time!

Grandma and Grandpa Lapinski with Sam

My baby girl on her first 4th of July (if you look closely, you can see her two bottom teeth coming in!)