The Cutest PJs ... Ever!

Grammy bought these pajamas for Samantha a long time ago (like, back in January). She brought them to my house and I have been saving them all these months until Sam would be big enough to wear them. Well, the time finally came and knowing that my mom was coming over last night, I laid the pajamas out on the bed before I went to work. That way, Grammy could give Samantha a bath and get her ready for bed in the very special jammies. And doesn't she look adorable??? I couldn't wait to come home and see her after work -- and the best part was that she was still awake in her bed and I got to give her hugs and kisses (and a little "Mama time") before laying her back down. A definite highlight every time for me!

And aren't these socks adorable too? They even have little "grippers" on the bottom and tails at the back!

10 Months Old!

Samantha turned 10 months old today! It's unbelievable to see how quickly she has grown and how much her personality has really developed. These days, her favorite thing to do is to reach for your hands and use them to pull herself up. This was something that I taught her a few weeks ago (never imagining that she would catch-on so quickly). Now, if your hands aren't right where she wants them/needs them to be, she will move them to the right position and "whip herself" up into a standing position. During the last week, she has further developed this movement and now uses the standing position to take steps to wherever she wants to go (while holding on to your hands). She is still unsteady and wobbles quite a bit, but she is determined and stubborn. She always wants to be on the move ...

Trying to be like Daddy with the backwards cap

Giving our best smiles for the camera

Another tooth!

Samantha is cutting a new tooth! This is her third one -- her top left central incisor (to be exact). This has been a long time coming; after all, she cut her two bottom teeth in the middle of June within 3 days of one another. And then ... a long standstill. This may help to explain her fussiness the last couple of weeks.

The tooth has just started to break through (I can feel it with my finger). Although, I have learned that she can bite REALLY hard with those bottom teeth (and leave marks), so I don't keep my finger in there for too long. It's interesting to me that she cut her bottom left tooth first and now she is cutting her top left tooth before the right one. I wonder if that is how it typically goes?

Samantha loves to take her dad's baseball cap off whenever she gets a chance. For something different, we put a baseball cap on HER -- her very own special pink one. I couldn't resist taking a couple of pictures of her posing so sweetly with it on. (She did manage to keep her own hat on for a little while).

Isn't she getting big?

Oh, and she is so adorable with her cap on backwards too!

Just Having Fun ...

Today, we took a trip out to the orchard to see my parents. We didn't tell them ahead of time that we were coming -- we wanted to surprise them ... and we did! We also surprised Aunt Minnie, who showed up there a little bit after we did. The weather was gorgeous, so I took the opportunity to snap a few random pictures of Samantha outside in the play area with Aunt Minnie and me.

Ready to go down the slide!

Trying really hard to balance (Mommy still needs to provide some support though)

Look at those smiles!


Swinging with Aunt Minnie