Election Day

Today Samantha got to participate in her first presidential election!  So exciting.  Chris had to work today so we didn't head out to the polls until around 3:45.

Here is Samantha all set to go to the polls.  Thankfully, although the line was long, it moved rather quickly.  All in all we were there for about 40 minutes.  Samantha did great walking through the line and staying by us.  One lady was there with her dog which Samantha loved.  Once it was our turn to vote, Samantha "helped" me and I think she really enjoyed it.  She got to hand our little electronic card to the exit guy which she loved and then she received an "I Voted" sticker.  Hooray Samantha!

And finally, a belly picture of mine!  Today I am 34w3d.

We will be eager to hear who wins the first presidential election of Samantha's life!!

Halloween

So I said I would get back into posting and here I am 2.5 months later without a single post.  Whoops!!  Maybe this time I really will get back into it.  Anyways, last Wednesday was Halloween and since Samantha has been super obsessed with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse lately, we decided to dress her up as Minnie.  She was thrilled!!  Her way of expressing MMCH is by saying "Hot Dog" since they do the Hot Dog Dance at the very end.  The second we took out the dress she kept saying hot dog over and over again.  She loves anything Mickey related.  It's really rather cute.  So, without further adieu, here is our little Minnie Mouse.

Chris and I took Samantha trick-or-treating to two houses in our neighborhood and then Samantha and I went out with some playgroup friends while Chris handed out candy.  Samantha had such a great time trick-or-treating and I think she loved that she got to do it with friends.  She was right there with them running up and down the sidewalks and driveways.  I could just feel the excitement radiating off of her and it really makes me want to cry.  After all it took for us to get pregnant with her, you appreciate all these moments so much more.  Seeing her so happy and enjoying life so much really makes my heart melt.

Hey!!

Wow, it's been ages since I last posted.  Last entry Samantha had just turned 1.  She is now 16 months and has changed SO much since her birthday.  At her birthday she didn't have a single tooth and now she has 8.  Yes, EIGHT teeth!!  She is also cutting 3 molars and I'm sure the 4th isn't far behind.  She is walking all over, starting to talk more, and is just SO much fun.  It's hard to believe how quickly they grow and change. She is so amazing.

About 2 weeks after Samantha's first birthday, we also got a HUGE surprise.  We found out we are expecting again!!

This here is our little BOY!!  We found out August 3rd that our new addition will even out the family.  We are thrilled to say the least.  Samantha just loves babies and I think she will really enjoy having a little brother.  He does have a name, but we aren't revealing it until his birth.  Our due date is December 15th so we will be loving having a new baby for Christmas.  What a great holiday season.

Sorry for my lack of posts lately and I promise I will start to update on a more regular basis!!

My beautiful little flower!

Full House!

Today we had the last of Samantha's birthday parties.  We hosted a party for our playgroup, and had a TON of people over.  In total, I think we had 14 moms PLUS all of their children.  It was pretty packed...and pretty loud.  But we had a blast.  It was so great to celebrate with all of our friends and we even got to meet a newborn little baby.  So adorable!!

After Samantha's party as I was trying to get her to take a nap, the doorbell rang with a delivery.  It was the UPS man delivering a brand new Radio Flyer wagon from Grandpa.  Samantha could hardly contain her excitement so I set to assembling it right away.  It took me about 30 minutes to put together and Samantha was right there next to me the entire time!  Probably just wishing me to hurry the heck up.  As soon as I finished I plopped her in and we headed out.  She had a BLAST!  We went around the block twice and she just had the greatest time.  During our walk we ran into a neighbor who happened to almost start a photography business a while back.  Who knew!  She offered to snap a couple of pictures and they are stunning!  She offered to take family photos one day and I definitely want to take her up on that.  I could see us using her a lot.  (If she is willing, of course!)

Although I am sad all her parties are over, I must admit the time to relax and not stress over planning is going to be really nice!

Happy Birthday Samantha!!!!!!

This morning at 12:47am Samantha turned one!  It it so hard to believe that its been a year since she's been born.  It has been such an amazing year and I just feel so blessed to be her mommy.  She is so amazing!  Happy Birthday Samantha.

First off, I have some pictures from her one year/Easter portraits this morning.

^^they liked this one so much they had me sign a release because the manager wants to use it as a display in the store!!

I could post a million more but I'll spare you and post some from her party on Saturday!

Our 5th Anniversary!

Wow...as of 10 something this morning, Chris and I have been married for 5 whole years!  So crazy to believe.  The past five years have been such a whirlwind.  I moved to Long Island right after we got married and only 6 weeks later Chris' job relocated us to the suburbs of Washington DC.  We rented an apartment for a year and then moved into a townhouse.  Just after that, my mom passed away.  We were in the townhouse for a year until we decided to buy.  Getting our house is a whole story in itself but we ended up moving into another apartment for 3 months while we waited to close on the house since our landlord already had a new tenant for the townhouse.  In October 2009 we became homeowners!!  And of course, in April 2011 we became parents.  Probably the best part of being married for me!

So that's our 5 years in a nutshell.  It's been a great 5 years and I can't wait to see what the next 5 years and beyond will bring to us!

Happy Birthday!

Today my nephew Joey turns 6 years old!!!  6!  I remember the day like it was yesterday.  I was up in New York/Connecticut for my sister-in-law's baby shower and to visit Chris and even though Jessica wasn't due for a few more weeks, I had my fingers crossed that Joey would be born while I was in town.  Well sure enough, Jessica went into labor and had Joey while I was still visiting.  Thankfully Chris was able to miss a few classes and we drove back to Connecticut to spend time with our new nephew.  He was so tiny and adorable.  :-)  Hard to believe that that was 6 years ago!!

I was going to add a few pictures but for some reason, I can't access my external hard drive so I will try to add some later.

grumble...

Did you miss me?  I've had things to post about every day this week but of course life gets in the way, but now, here I am!

For a quick play by play, Samantha started swim lessons on Tuesday!  We had SO much fun and I am hoping that Samantha continues to enjoy them.  Our class is two times a week for 30 minutes each.  There is a lot of singing which Samantha loves.  Really, I don't think there was a single thing about it she didn't like.  If only Chris could get a day off to come watch and snap some pictures.  ;-)

Yesterday, Samantha and I went to one of Chris's coworkers house to meet her newborn baby boy, Michael.  He is SO cute and so tiny!!  I love squishy newborns.  :-)  Samantha absolutely loved him as well and just kept smiling and dancing all over the place.  Samantha is definitely going to be an awesome big sister one day!!

After we got home I was all set to post...and then Samantha threw up.  I cleaned her up, fed her...and she threw up again.  She probably threw up 7 times last night.  Poor cuddlebug.  We called the 24 hours nurses hotline through Chris's work and they said we could treat her at home.  Thankfully she nursed well through the night and we didn't have any issues.  However, she threw up her breakfast this morning.  I put in a call to the pediatrician who said there is a tummy bug going around.  She suggested after vomiting, wait 1 hour and then give a few sips of pedialyte every 15 minutes.  Continue for 2 hours.  If after two hours she hasn't vomited give her a few oz pedialyte.  If that stays down, then go back to breast feeding.  Well the first pedialyte went well.  However, the second time around, she knew what was coming!!!  She pressed her little lips together and refused to even look at me.  Little stinker!  Then she practically attacked me trying to get my shirt down, so even though it was against what the nurse said, I breast fed her.  She did okay and didn't throw up!!  She had a second feed a little while later that also stayed down.  This gave me a false sense of things getting better so I was so bummed when she threw up her fourth feed of the day.  :-(  She took two 3 hour naps earlier today and now she just fell asleep again.  Hopefully all this sleep is helping her to recover.  I just fed her and so far, no barf!!

I'm really hoping this passes quickly because I hate seeing my baby girl sick!

Happy Birthday Drew!

Today is Drew's first birthday!!  It's so hard to believe as I remember the day like it was yesterday.  Here is Chris and Drew the day after he was born.

Drew and I.  Excuse my puffy exhausted face.  This was 12ish hours after giving birth to Samantha.

Cuddling with Oma at his very first Bauer family reunion.  July 4th weekend.

Mr. Drew at 7 months old.

Drew and Samantha's first Thanksgiving.

This is Drew at 10 months old, getting so big!

A cute one from Drew's weekend with us.

And finally, another few shots of the birthday boy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DREW!!!

Goodbye Drew!

Sorry I didn't get a chance to update yesterday!!  After Drew went home I was exhausted and today poor Samantha woke up sick.  Hopefully the illness will be short lived, it's always so difficult to see your little one feeling miserable.

Drew woke up happy!  Maybe he knew his mommy and daddy were coming to get him.

Samantha enjoyed a snack of puffs bright and early.

Wrigley, Cobalt, and Penelope watched from the background.  Chloe was over there too but she didn't get caught in the picture.

Chris and I each took a baby when it was time for diaper changes and getting dressed.  Shame on me, but Samantha was in sposies all weekend.  I just couldn't keep up with two kids and diaper laundry.

Then Drew was the little assistant when Chris was fixing our entertainment center.

After a little more playing Katie and Charlie arrived for Drew.  Unfortunately I didn't get a family photo before they left.  But right after, Samantha conked out!

And then Samantha was happy to have mommy all to herself!!

We had a great weekend with Drew and we miss him already!!

Drew: Day Four

Today was Drew's last full day here.  :-(  I was planning on going to church this morning but Chris didn't wake up in time and I wasn't brave enough to venture there with two little ones on my own.  So today was another PJ day.  Good morning Drew!

We started off the morning by playing with the shape sorter.  Each piece makes a different rattle sound and they had a blast making music together.

Samantha even mowed the lawn!!

We were all super excited to watch the Dayton 500 today and were super bummed when it got rained out.  Everyone had fun dancing to Lenny Kravitz at the beginning though.

I let them play alone for a few minutes and when I came back, this is what I found.  Little stinkers!!

Drew waved to the camera during his nap, haha.

Today, when Drew wasn't sleeping, he was eating.  He must be going through a growth spurt because he seriously wanted to eat.all.day.  The second he'd finish whatever I gave him he would be crying for more!!  After baths and a little more play time he finished the day by, you guessed it, eating.  Although this time, he enjoyed a plastic cookie!

Yummy!!  Day 4 was definitely a success!

Halfway Point

Drew's stay is half over already.  Where has the weekend gone?  Today Mr. Drew woke up snotty and cranky so it was quickly declared a PJ day.  In Samantha's 10.5 months, we have only had 1 PJ day, and it was pretty recent so this was quite a treat.  He started off the day with a nice warm bottle.

After everyone was fed, we decided to play house.  Drew absolutely LOVED this toy!!

More dancing by the gate.  This gate is brand new so I'm still cracking up watching them stand there trying to get through to me.

Chris was a lifesaver this morning and made a coffee run.  I'd be lost without Dunkin' Donuts and the day would have been far more miserable.

Drew had a photo op with the cats.  Unfortunately Wrigley and Cobalt weren't too into it and I wasn't able to get a great picture.

Then the cranky was upped a few notches.  Poor Drew!

After a much needed nap, it was time to play at the activity table.

This afternoon, we Face Timed with Aunt Pam, Gram, Jimby, Aunt Joni, Aunt Audrey, and Uncle Dave down in Florida.

Since it was happy hour, Samantha decided to throw one back with them.

Next in the line up was Samantha's Grandpa Babu, Drew's Great Uncle Bruce.  (my dad)

Then all the stinky babies got a bath and we decided to have their last snack as a picnic.

Samantha's close up.

And Drew's close up.  It pained me to put him in these pajamas but I figured we're going to church in the morning so he'll be forgiven!!!

Day Three was long and exhausting, I'll give it a 75% success!!