i slept

Okay the night of uninterrupted sleep was pretty nice but I still miss her. Nana called last night to let me know that the afternoon had gone great. Sam had eaten a good dinner, taken a bath and went right to bed. She is doing fine. It really helped to know that she was doing good.
One night down...five more to go.

Missing her already

Sam has been with Grandpa and Nana for five hours and I am missing her more than I thought possible. How am I going to do this for six days? I am sure they think that I think they are morons because I was giving them the most detailed instructions about EVERYTHING related to Sam but I was just so nervous about leaving her that I couldn't stop myself. I know that she will be fine and they will have so much fun with her because even teething she is a fun and fairly easy baby. But for her first time away from me overnight this is too long! With the crazy week that Chris and I have coming up with his exam and my conference I know we didn't really have a choice and I am so thankful that they were willing to help us out, but my heart is aching tonight. Is it weird that I am not really looking forward to an uninterrupted night of sleep? I am going to probably lay awake missing the sound of her middle of the night chatter and occasional screaming (not crying screaming, just awake and needing to yell screaming; yes our child is nuts!) and I am not looking forward to missing her in the middle of the night.
So here is to hoping that this week goes fast...really fast!

So close!

Crawling is just around the corner and I am not ready. She needs to wait about a week and a half longer before she takes that first forward knee. See, this Sunday Chris and I are driving to Kenosha, WI to drop Sam off with his parents (they are in WI for a wedding). Then Sam will be headed with them down to IL where she will stay with them for the WHOLE WEEK! Why? you ask. Next week is our HELL WEEK. Chris has actuarial exam number nine that he has been studying for the last six months. This is a major thing for his career and it is very important that he passes, so its a little stressful. And I am headed to Milwaukee on Wednesday for the annual Wisconsin Association for Environmental Education Fall Conference, which I am helping to run. This is our major event of the year and I am running all registration, organizing presenters, exhibitors and the auction. Just a little bit stressful. So Sam is being shipped off to spend the week away from all of our stress. I am mad enough already that I have to miss her first Halloween but now if she starts crawling and I miss that too, well, I will just be really upset.
Anyway, here is some footage of just how close she is.


And yesterday while she was scooting around and I was doing laundry check out where Sam ended up!
I think we have some baby-proofing to do considering if she would have reached up and grabbed that cord hanging above her head the computer would have come crashing down on her head!! I will figure this all out soon, I promise.

st. louis playtime and the reason we went

While the big girls were napping the little ones got some play time. It is so fun to see them interact and I cannot wait until they are just a little older and can really play together.


Notice what Grayson is playing with? It's Sam's foot!!


He actually got it in his mouth! Sam didn't seem to mind. Too funny.

My father was the real reason that Sam and I went to St. Louis last weekend. He has spent the last year building a church in a small town about an hour outside of St. Louis. The Episcopal diocese hired my dad's company to oversee the building of All Saint's Episcopal Church. The consecration ceremony for the church was this past weekend. There were clergy from all over the diocese and the bishop was even there to bless the church! It was a great ceremony and the church is beautiful.
We grew up with such an amazing connection to our church, very much our second home. The idea that my dad has created the place where other people might be able to have that same connection, that same comfort, is amazing.
I don't have too many pictures cause Sam was loud and not cooperating so I had to focus on her but I at least got some good ones of the outside of the church.
Dad the church is beautiful!!! I can't wait to see the next one...

*On a side note - my sister has been having a rough couple of days (sick babies, injured baby, flat tires, and not enough time in her days). If you are a blog reader PLEASE head over to her blog and send her some comment love!!

ahhhh, sleep.

Jodie just stop reading now cause the rest of this will just make you mad.

Last night Sam slept through the whole night. She had been doing this pretty good for a while but St. Louis kind of threw off her schedule and I was glad that she was sleeping all night again. She woke up at 6:00am drank a bottle and fell back to sleep. It is currently 8:38am and she is just starting to make noise in her crib. I got to go back to sleep and wake up on my own!!!! It felt amazing.

Jodie I know in your mind you are thinking "I hate you" which is why I told you to stop reading!

No work today just laundry, Target, Kohls and playing at home.

So let's go Tuesday.

st. louis weekend

where to begin...so much to describe...
This weekend was awesome, stressful, tiring, happy, funny (pee in your pants kind of funny!), therapeutic, comfortable, and WONDERFUL! Weekends with family are always too short. We really had a great time although that drive is very long with a seven month old (yes, that's right, Sam is seven months old now!).
So, my talented sister took the best pictures of Samantha this weekend.


She also got some great photos of Sam in her halloween costume. This was my time to enjoy Sam in her costume because I have a conference halloween weekend and won't be able to take her trick or treating. You have no idea how upset this makes me but my work schedule is non-negotiable. Chris and his parents are going to take her so that someone can enjoy this "first" in her life so they are on strick orders to take A LOT of pictures. Okay, so here are the adorable pictures.


And here are all the Enlund/Allen Grandkids. You have no idea what it took to get them all to sit still and look at the camera. We were acting like fools trying to get them to smile and hold their attention. The funniest part if that we were doing all of this in my parent's side yard, the neighbors probably thought we had totally lost our minds!! Bailey and Parker are monkeys and the yellow thing laying there is my nephew who is a banana. He was not feeling well and very tired. But what a moment in our lives that she was able to capture.

Okay, enough for tonight. I have more to share and more to talk about...tomorrow.

My bed is calling.

tacky day

Isn't she adorable in her winter hat? Just got this and though it doesn't match anything we have I think it is so cute.

Okay, now on to the ridiculous look of Sam the other day. See it was cold but we were having a comfy day, so I wanted Sam to be warm and comfy. This is the result; pink socks, a pumpkin outfit and the argyle hat. Clearly I need to purchase some other comfy all-in-one type warm outfits. Oh well.

Sam and I head to St. Louis tomorrow and although I am SO excited to see my nephew, nieces, sister, and parents the drive is terrifying me.
So be wishing and praying for me that she does not scream for the 500 mile long drive tomorrow afternoon.

Holy Crap! Where did she go?

I actually uttered those words today.

Sam, on her own accord, disappeared!! I was cleaning our bathroom and had a blanket with toys all set up for Sam in the bedroom. She was happily playing when I started cleaning the bathroom. When I finished she was GONE! She had actually scooted all the way to the bedroom door and, going backwards, was almost out the door!

Our life has changed forever!

not so embarrasing

Okay how about a video that won't totally gross you out or make Sam hate me when she is bigger!

REAL pooping!

Go back and watch the fake pooping video. Seriously, watch it.

Okay, now watch this video of real pooping. I finally caught her on tape and yes I know this is kind of weird and creepy but some people do not believe me that she isn't actually pooping when she is faking it. So pay close attention to the faces! Hilarious!


Don't you just love the drool!!

pictures from the week

She drools a lot!

Holding the bottle all by herself. And I don't remember if this corduroy jumper/outfit was a hand-me-down or a gift from someone but we LOVE it! So thanks whoever gave it to us.

First trip to the park!

Playing with a new toy.

noises of Sam

Right now it is either screaming or fake pooping. Take a listen.









Are you on Sam overload yet? Okay now how about some fake pooping!



I know, wonderful, right? The screaming gets so loud sometimes that I actually get a headache from her. Is it too early to start scolding her? And the fake pooping is just SO embarrassing when we are out somewhere or worse if someone else is holding her. The faces we get from other people when she starts making those noises and then we have to try and explain that no she is not really filling her pants, she just thinks its fun. Typically they don't believe us.

But even with noises like these I am not looking forward to the days when she can actually talk back because I remember some of the things that use to come out of my mouth when I was little and it was NOT good.

status report

I feel it is time to get back to Sam.

I decided you all needed an update on all things Sam. Let's start with the numbers...

	2 months	4 months	6 months
Head	95%	95%	95%
Height	23 3/4 in - 95%	25in - 85%	26 3/4 in - 80%
Weight	12lbs 10oz - 90%	14lbs 10oz -	17lbs 9 oz - 80%

She is a growing girl. But is it weird that her percentile in height and weight keeps dropping?

Eating -
Sam is now eating a wide range of fruits and vegetables. We recently introduced carrots and she HATES them. This is the first food that she has really refused. Pumpkin is next on the list to introduce and I can't wait to see what she thinks of that because it is the first one that I am giving her that I do not like.

Sleeping -
She continues to sleep pretty well. We have our rough nights and early mornings, but every baby had those. She doesn't take long naps on a regular basis but I am okay with that too. She loves curling up with a blanket and a few choice animals.

What she is working on -
Sitting up: getting pretty good but still topples over after not that long.
Drinking from a sippy cup: she just sort of chews on it and can only hold it up for a short time.
Scooting: she is getting so close to really being able to move around on her belly.

What she loves:
Polly! Whenever Polly comes around Sam stares at her, reaches out to touch her and wants to watch her as much as possible. Polly loves the attention and will lay on the floor by Sam.
Being outside. She is still totally captivated by leaves, trees and everything outside. She loves looking up and watching leaves move in the wind.

For a viewing pleasure, here is a little shot of her playing...and falling over!



Okay, so that is SAM in a nutshell.

She is sleeping peacefully and I am enjoying cake and my shows, it's a good night.