Ten Months Already

Samantha is ten months old today! I realized I missed posting on her 9-month . . . we were in Denver with Dave's family: A great visit (though we missed Dave greatly) with all the aunts and uncles and some very special additions, too, and a great celebration of Dave's parents 40 years of marriage! So, let me bring you up to date on Samantha's growth and development.

She is now 20 pounds! and 28 inches long. She is using her sign language for both "more" and "all done." She has 5 teeth already, with a sixth tooth on its way in! She has taken a maximum of eight steps, but usually it is only about 5 or 6. She practices walking all the time and still crawls (much to my delight!). She loves and adores her big sisters. I am also thrilled that she has really developed that early bedtime, which our other girls so easily slipped in to, and, at least for now, she is going to bed at 6pm! We are having to fight to keep that 9am nap, which she still needs but doesn't always want!

Home again, Home again

We try to keep Sunday dinner simple - to give a little break from the meal prep and clean up; I know, just the opposite of the way I grew up, when Sunday dinner was a nicer meal. Sometimes we do a "snack dinner" but this Sunday we had make-your-own-pizzas! The girls had a great time. Anna Kate gently prepared all of her toppings and laid them precisely on top. Lucy pushed her toppings into the sauce, despite reminders that that was unnecessary. Samantha is a great eater! Some nights, fruit in one of these mesh eaters will really occupy her, so I can eat dinner, too!
Yep, she can get where ever she wants. Standing, taking multiple steps. Here she is watching the "big girls" out the back door.
The rain has kept us from visiting our favorite parks. Finally, it let up and we walked to the shady park for a (hot and humid) afternoon of play. One of the play structures was replaced while we were out of town. The new structure will be fun for Daddy and for the girls as they grow older. Lots of climbing and monkey bars! We still enjoyed ourselves.

In the Garden

We were delighted when we returned home to a massive cucumber plant, already yielding yummy cucumbers and plenty of cherry tomatoes to eat off the plant and enjoy for dinner. I was thrilled not to have missed the hydrangea blooming and the black-eyed susans (new to our yard this spring).