Great Grammy Doris

We are sorry to say that Doris Flaherty, Paul's grandmother and Samantha's great grandmother, died on Saturday, March 29. Doris was 94 years old. On one of our last visits with Doris, she asked if she could hold Samantha. Sam proceeded to sit there on Doris's bed, tucked in Doris's arm, for over 15 minutes, totally content. Grammy Doris was a much loved grandmother, and will be missed by all of us.

Happy Easter!

Five Months!

We can't believe that Sam is already 5 months old! Maybe we say this every month, but this past month seemed like the most fun yet, as Samantha continually surprised us with new things. A few highlights in her development this past month: she had her first official roll two nights ago, while playing on her activity mat and trying to roll over to see dad. She has developed a heightened awareness for what's around her, becoming extremely interested in watching us eat, watching cars go by, or listening to music on the stereo. We're afraid she's also just started teething, a stage we've heard much about and weren't really too excited to enter! She's handling it well so far, though, and continues to give us lots of laughs and smiles. Here are a few recent photos of Sammy at 5 months.

In Loving Memory

We are very sad to report that Karen's grandfather, and Samantha's great-grandfather, Don Traverse, passed away on March 11, 2008. He will be greatly missed. We feel very fortunate to have had the chance to see him and Karen's grandmother on March 9, when we were in Portland for the weekend. Grandpa Don had a chance to hold Sam, and laughed as she stood on his lap and squirmed around in her usual manner. Here are a few photos from our visit.

Sports Fan

Samantha went to her first official sporting event a few weeks ago, when we took her to the UW Husky basketball game with our friends Brad and Christy. Fortunately, she had the appropriate attire! She seemed to enjoy the first half, taking in all the sights and sounds, but preferred spending the second half napping in the Bjorn while we walked the halls outside the gym. Maybe she just couldn't tolerate the Huskies' poor performance? Anyways, it was fun to try, and we're looking forward to trying again come football season!