a little cozy

Unlike her claustrophobic mother, Sam seems to enjoy finding her way into cramped spots...

Cracker

One of the most amazing things recently has been watching Samantha's vocabularly develop. It seems like every day there is a new word coming out of her mouth. One of her oft-used words, and one of our favorites, is "cracker." Here's a video in which she uses a few of her go-tos -- "no," "cracker," and "Dada."

Step by Step

The big news on the home front around mid-November was that Sam took her first steps! We were so excited and so, it seemed, was she. Following are a few videos showing the progression one night....

Then, since this post is so long overdue, we can also give an update. Sam's walking progress is still right about what you see on these videos. She seems to have the ability, but not necessarily the interest in walking over crawling. I mean, c'mon, why walk when you can crawl there just as fast or faster, and none of those falls get in the way? Anyways, we're excited watching this development, and patiently awaiting her decision to start walking on a more full-time basis...

City Girl

The weekend after Thanksgiving, we spent a long weekend in San Francisco. It was a great trip -- 65 degrees and sunny the whole time, and we had a chance to catch up with a lot of Karen's friends from college. Sam seemed to enjoy the urban life, with lots of time walking around the city, great people watching, and even a fish pond at our hotel! Here are a few pix from our trip.

Happy Thanksgiving

It's been a LONG time since I've posted anything, so I'm starting a ways back now with our Thanksgiving in Portland this year. It was Sam's first train ride on the Amtrak Cascades, which was a nice break from I-5 traffic and monotony! We had a great time visiting Nani and Papa, Aunt Laura and Uncle Josh, and cousins Jake (3 1/2) and Becca (1 1/2) -- everytime we see the cousins, it's more fun than the last, as they really are getting to know each other and interact. Here are a few pictures from our trip.

Big Move

Look who's riding facing frontwards in her car seat! You think she's happy about this move?

Take a Hike

Samantha went on her first official hike a couple weeks ago and, much to our delight, it went great! Paul, Grandpa Breckenridge, Karen and Sam managed to "summit" Little Si, a nice little 5-mile round trip with a little gain and a view at the top. Sam slept a good part of the ride up in the backpack, then chattered the whole way down. Definitely something we'll try again soon! Here are a few pictures of our time in the great outdoors...

Happy Halloween!

Halloween took on a whole new meaning for us this year with a one-year old! Maybe she was too young to really realize what was going on, but that didn't stop all of us from having a pretty event-filled day. First, there was the walk to daycare, with Sam in her mouse costume (she was surprisingly non-resistant to it!). Then, a day at daycare, which included a parade with lots of other kids in costumes. After that, it was off to our neighbors' house for an early dinner. Finally, we wandered around the nearby blocks, watching the trick-or-treaters and festivities. After a long day, Sammy the mouse tuckered out in Paul's arms on the way home.

Fall Days

A few pictures from one of the gorgeous fall days we had in October...

Happy Birthday Samantha!

Wow, Sammy is officially 1 year old! It sounds so cliche, but it really does go so fast. From our tiny little girl who spent most of her hours sleeping one year ago, we now have a wonderfully happy, spirited girl who keeps us on our toes! In this past month, Sammy has continued to master crawling, while also keeping her eye on the ultimate prize - walking. Whenever one of us is within reach, her hands are up, trying to grab ours so we can "walk" her around the house. Some other updates from this past month - we trimmed Sam's bangs for the first time, an in-house job (as if you couldn't tell from the pix!). She still has just the two teeth, though that doesn't seem to stop her from eating most things. She tried whole milk for the first time this week, and seems to like it. She continues to charm us by blowing kisses, clapping, and saying "Ba" for every ball-like object around her.

For her first birthday, we enjoyed breakfast at Burgermaster with the Cho-Thompsons, the Sousleys, and Aunt Abby (5 babies, three in high chairs - relaxing, yes?), and lunch and cupcakes at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Sam dabbled in the frosting but didn't get too far into the cupcake. She seemed to enjoy the spectable more than anything, with 5 adults gathered around, waiting to see what she did next!

Following are a few pictures, and a video, of the birthday girl...

A few more pictures

A few recent pictures of Sammy, taken by Pam and Dick Breckenridge...

Eleven Months!

Samantha is now 11 months old! Since we only posted her 10-month update just a few days ago, this update will be brief. This time period with Sammy has been incredible in that every day, we see changes and see her do new things. She's crawling a little faster each day, and we're doing our best to keep up with her! Here's a recent video of Sam crawling. You'll see, at the beginning of the video, Sam's mild frustration with us for walking away from her, followed by her "whatever-I'll-just-play-the-piano" mode, followed by a new sense of determination, and glee, as she makes her way over to us!

Ten Months!

Samantha is 10 months old! (Actually, this is by far the most delayed month-birthday blog post, as Sam's 11-month birthday is in just four days!). It's been a great summer and Sammy has been growing in so many ways. The most amazing development was this past week, when, after a number of weeks of backward scoots only, Sam began crawling in a forward direction! She is now having so much fun moving around the room, and it's a lot of fun for us to see what she chooses to play with, rather than the toy we put in front of her. She also still loves to stand, and her new favorite pastime seems to be crawling over to one of us, then using us as human jungle gyms to climb to a standing position. When she's finally made it onto her feet, the look of pure joy and pride on her face is priceless.

We have had a lot of fun adventures this summer and the following photos are just a few. Included in these are pictures from a nice summer evening on Lake Washington, and from two great trips to Whidbey Island with the Frees, and the McInstrys. Also a picture of Sammy hanging out with her friends Gus and Nathan, and a couple from her very first Husky game this past weekend (at which she did great and made it through the whole first half)! Finally, a couple "big girl" pictures, of Sammy standing oh-so-nonchalantly with just one arm for support, and a picture from her picnic dinner tonight.

More pictures, and a video of Samantha on the move, to come soon (I promise!)...