A Future Pool Player?

For those of you that don't know, both Steve and his dad play pool regularly on a pool league. Stan even has a pool table down in his basement and Steve never misses an opportunity to challenge his dad to a few games of pool whenever we are over at their house.

Yesterday, we celebrated Steve's mom's birthday by going out to a mid-afternoon dinner and then going over to their house for presents and apple pie with ice cream (one of Barb's favorites!). We took Sam down the basement and set her on the pool table (after the guys were done playing) and these were some of the photos that we were able to get of our "future pool player ..."

She immediately reached for the balls!

She managed to snag the "1 ball" and of course, it went directly to her mouth

Grandpa wanted to see which one she preferred, the black ball or the white ball ... but she was distracted by Mommy

Isn't this a fun game????

9 Month Doctor's Apporintment

Yesterday was Samantha's 9 month doctor's appointment. She is now 28 inches long and weighs 15 lbs. 10 oz. She continues to follow her same growth curve and the doctor feels that she looks really good!

Samantha only had to get one shot this time and she did really well with it. I have to say that Sam has never really cried too much after getting her shots (or getting her ears pierced). She typically screams for about 10 seconds and then it's all over with. Even so, I did something a little different yesterday and remembered to bring her "special blanket." This blanket has definitely become a favorite and she uses it whenever she nurses or sleeps. The blanket minimized her crying after the shot even more ... if that is possible. Here is a picture of her with the special blanket.

I am going to continue nursing Sam until she is a year old. At that time, she will be able to have cow's milk. I've been weaning her for a few months now ... since she started on solid foods. She still nurses about 3 times a day and the doctor said that that was perfect. I've started teaching again in the evenings (after only having less than 3 weeks off from the summer semester that I taught), so Steve gives her a partial bottle before bed. This seems to work out nicely. I always check on my sleeping beauty when I get home from work ... and last night, I even got to hold her for a few minutes before putting her back in the crib. I don't know if that was more for her benefit or mine, but it felt good nonetheless.

Sam can now have all kinds of meat (including red meat). Up until now, I have only been giving her organic chicken and turkey. It will be nice to start introducing more variety. I make all of my own organic baby food for her and this has proven to be very easy and convenient for me. I am also excited about all of the wonderful organic produce that I can find -- Sam LOVES avocados and kiwis (among other things) and these are never found in prepared baby food. She still is not a real fan of carrots, but everything else seems to be enjoyable for her. I just mix carrots in with some of the favorites and that way she is still enjoying all of their nutrients.

Samantha can now start having yogurt. The doctor warned me that this would probably spur on a small growth spurt for her (because of the calories), but she can afford to have one and the extra protein will be a bonus!

All in all, I am so excited to see all of the changes that are taking place in our little girl. She smiles so much these days (showing off her 2 pearly whites on the bottom) and even laughs out loud. Her dexterity with self-feeding is becoming more and more developed. This morning, I even watched her pick up a piece of her puffed cereal and put it in her mouth after she dropped it. Until today, she would drop her small pieces of food and not bother with them. Now, she roots around looking for them and then puts them in her mouth. It makes me smile.

Some Random Pictures

Samantha turned 9 months old on Wednesday -- how fast the time is flying! Here are a few pictures from the last week of our growing girl:

Our bubble princess

Chewing on a slice of green pepper (still only two teeth, but the others on the top MUST be trying to come in!)

Spending time with Daddy

A Visit From My Aunt and Uncle

On Saturday, my Aunt Beth and Uncle Todd (Sam's great-aunt and great-uncle) came down from Grayling for a visit. They brought steaks with them and we had a little cook-out here at the house. It's a long drive down and it was a hot day, but they had a great time and Samantha loved playing with the new guests in the house!

Of course, Big Bird is never too far away!

Samantha's New Toy

The look on her face just says it all!

Yesterday, my mom was in town for a visit and she told me that she wanted to get Sam a new toy that she had seen at the store. We went shopping and found it right away. While Samantha was taking a nap upstairs, my mom and I put this together (and my mom used a bunch of Sam's toys to decorate every possible square inch of it).

For those of you that don't know, Samantha seems to require a lot of stimulation and tends to get bored easily. The multiple (possibly excessive) number of toys hanging from it is an attempt to make sure that she has lots of entertainment.

When she woke up from her nap, I brought her downstairs and put her in the toy immediately. She loves it! She will continue to get a lot of use out of it because her feet just barely touch the ground ... and it is on the lowest setting!

Digging Deep ...

I got Samantha's "toy box" out today so that she could choose which toys she wanted to play with on her activity mat. Normally, I grab a few toys and books and place them on her mat and she entertains herself for a a short time before she becomes bored. For something different, I thought that maybe she would like to choose. Well, she LOVED digging deep and picking out each and every toy/book that was inside her box. You can see for yourself ...

She loves books

I guess that she wanted more (like there wasn't already more than she could handle on her mat)

Going even deeper into the box

An Apple A Day ...

Today was the Koan Family Reunion out at the orchard. This is an annual event, but it was first time that we hosted it at the orchard (instead of downtown Flushing at the park). It couldn't have worked out better because the incredibly rainy weather (i.e. torrential downpours) that we experienced today made us thankful that we were inside and dry.

In honor of the reunion, I dressed Sam in her apple dress ... afterall, the Koan family was raised on and is known for our apples. We couldn't resist taking a picture of Sam posing in a bin of freshly-picked Jersey Mac apples. For those inquiring minds (Stan), a bin of apples holds 20 bushels. That works out to approximately 800 lbs. of apples, depending on the variety.

Samantha immediately picked up one of the apples and tried to eat it. She's definitely a part of the Koan family!

A Balancing Act

Samantha loves to stand on her legs and she's very good at it. In fact, at her 6 month doctor's appointment, her doctor commented on how strong her legs were and how beautifully she stands on her feet. Most babies curl their toes under or roll to the sides when they are first trying to stand ... not her -- she stands very flat-footed. Today, I let her balance on the side of the couch and she was so excited to do that that she even let go with one hand and smiled for me. (Double-click on the picture and check out those two bottom teeth that are coming in!)

Daddy's Hat

One of Samantha's favorite things to do when Daddy comes home from work is to take his hat off his head. Every time that he bends down to give her a kiss and hug, she immediately goes for his hat and takes it off. Here she is playing with Daddy's hat ...

Just look at those big beautiful eyes! We're still not sure what color they are going to end up being ... maybe gray?

Oh so happy and smiling at Daddy