So I realized that I forgot to mention something in my last post.  A fairly big something actually.  Samantha and I attended my older sisters wedding in October.  Tammy married on October 8th and I was one of the attendants.  Our original plan included Samantha and I flying out early with Brent driving in later that week.  However, Brent happened to be in budget season (busiest time of year, like don't come home till 2AM every night busy) and he couldn't make it.  So, Samantha and I ended up staying in Tulsa for two weeks and flying home. 
It was wonderful to be with family and friends for such an unexpected long period of time.  Lots of people from South Dakota came down for the wedding and got to meet Samantha as well.  My cousin Jessica was able to come with her new baby girl, Tayla, and it was great to see her.  My brother, Troy, and his family also stayed at mom's house so we got so spend some time with them as well. They have four kids, Trevor (11), Brady (9), and the twins Hayden and Halle (5).   Tammy married John Trammel and he has two boys, Tyler and Kegan.  Not sure how old they are but I think 11 and 13.  It was nice to meet them and welcome them into the family.  
Here are a few photos of the wedding and our time in Tulsa!

The Family . . . everyone but Brent! 



In her pretty dress, and teething!

Not sure she wants to dance.  Avery and Halle are having fun!

My beautiful angel!

Nana Judy with Abby and Samantha (late in evening so dress was OFF)

The bride with Halle and Avery.

My beautiful sisters!

My Dad, Harley; and my brother, Troy

The Boys . . . Trevor, Hayden, Brady with Kegan and Tyler. 



First time swinging, she loved it!



Playing with cousin Abby in the kitchen! 

First time for a sandbox as well, didn't ever want to get out! 

Swinging with Halle and Aunt Andree! 

Loving on cousin Abby, she loves to give hugs and kisses! 
Abby wasn't so sure.

Eating, strawberries I think. 

Nana's playroom includes all the toys that I played with as a kid. 

Talking with cousin Brady. 

End of 2011

Okay, well it's been a super long time since I've updated this blog.  I had a feeling it would get this way once Samantha got bigger and busier!  It's almost Christmas and the end of 2011, one full year of watching Samantha grow and change.  I'm glad I've chronicled a little of what she has experienced but it's hard to capture every moment.  All those spontaneous moments that only a mother, or the parents, can experience.  Just last night she did the most adorable thing.  She was sitting in my lap being super cuddly and she would grab both of my cheeks and then rest her forehead on mine.  Absolutely melted my heart.  It was like "how does she know how to be so sweet?"

She's changed a little bit since turning one year old in August.  She has four top teeth and almost four bottom teeth.  Her hair is lighter in color, more blond, and alot longer.  She has a twist of curl in the back too.  She is walking like a champ and really likes to "chase" around the house.  With just a little look of my eye I can start a "I'm gonna get you" game and it's off we go.  She also loves to hide behind walls and pop out like she's surprising you. 

She's eating a whole bunch of different foods and she seems to be over the "puree everything" phase.  She really likes to feed herself, which is fine when we're home but not so easy when we go out to eat.  Although going out to eat happens very rarely anyway.  Lately I will chop up some pieces of apple and put them in a small wooden bowl.  She will carry the bowl from the kitchen to the living room and sit there and eat her apple, when she wants more she hands me the bowl and smiles.  We haven't mastered any words yet but I tell her to say "please" and she smiles big and tilts her head to the side.  Works for me! 



mid-morning snack, apples

 For Halloween Samantha dressed up as a cow.  Saying "moooo" was one of her first words so when we came across this outfit we thought it was to cute to pass up.  Of course we didn't do any trick or treating but it was fun to wear the outfit for an hour or so.  She didn't seem to mind it to much, even liked wearing the hoodie part of the outfit.

First Halloween! 

Later on in November we traveled to Tennessee for a quick weekend.  It wasn't officially Thanksgiving but Brent's parents came up and we celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas all at once.  Since we'll be going to Tulsa for Christmas this year we wouldn't be seeing them over the holidays.  It was a super fast weekend and the time we spent together was only a few hours.  However, we shared a great meal and Samantha opened a bunch of wonderful Christmas gifts from Poppa Bear and Grammie.  One of the more special gifts was the recorded story time books that each one of the family members had made, including Great Grandparents Jordan.  I think that is something that Samantha will treasure for a long time and really appreciate as she gets older.  Another gift she got was an over sized animal pillow, meant to be a giraffe.  After we returned home the pillow took up permanent residence in the middle of our living room floor.  There you can find Samantha lounging for a quick rest when she needs to relax.  Not to long however, there's to much to do to sit still for to long! 

It'll be Christmas in less than two weeks.  I am thrilled that we will be spending it with my family for the first time in three years.  This will also be Samantha's first Christmas with my family and I know she is gonna have such a fun time with all her cousins.  We will be making the long drive to Tulsa starting a week from now.  We plan on staying overnight at the house in TN and making it a two day traveling event.  Samantha does okay in the vehicle but this will be the longest drive to date.  I think I'll need the most help, traveling in a car for 18+ hours with a young child is enough to make you pull your hair out.  Oh well, it's all worth it in the end! 

It's always worth it.  As a parent you are constantly making sacrifices but when they squeeze your cheeks and rest their forehead on yours you can't imagine doing anything else.  I guess most people call it "sacrifice" but it's really just the way it's suppose to be.  Children teach you whats important in life and how to enjoy the true meaning of giving.  Which is why Brent and I were thrilled when we found out that we are expecting our second child!  As of right now I am over four months pregnant.  We were definitely surprised by this pregnancy since it took us so long to get pregnant with Samantha.  However, my body is healthier now and balanced hormonally, but I still didn't think it would happen that quickly.  The children will be about 21 months apart.  It's all very exciting but does put some pressure on our living situation.  Questions need to be answered on whether will be sell Tennessee or not, find a permanent residence in North Carolina, or wait it out and see if Brent gets transferred again.  Alot to worry about if I let it but I know it'll all work out, it always does! 

Until next time . . . Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to Y'all

First Birthday

Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, my baby is ONE year old!!!!!!!!!  Well, actually she turned one almost four weeks ago.  I am still in shock that she is over twelve months old.  This has definetly been the best year of my life.  I am daily amazed at the beauty and joy a child can bring to one's life.  My world feels so complete with this little girl in my life.  She has given me more direction, ambition, and joy than anything I have ever known.  She has made Brent and I a family and brought us closer together! 

We had a super busy month, traveling to Atlanta one weekend and to Tennessee another.  Our trip to Atlanta took place on Samantha's birthday.  The entire family, from grandparents to aunts and uncles to cousins, all traveled to Scott and Amanda's house to celebrate Samantha.  It was a fast and furious weekend but much fun was had and priceless memories made. 

I guess we were all in a "pink" sorta mood.

I made Samantha's birthday cake, it was nothing elaborate.  It was, of course, a sourdough chocolate cake with chocolate icing made from coconut oil.  She wasn't sure what to think of it.  She had a couple bites but didn't go crazy.  I think if I would have given her a spoon she would have enjoyed it more, and made much more of a mess.  She really likes to use a spoon to feed herself, well, attempt to feed herself. 

Samantha got lots of cards and gifts from her family.  Lots of pink stuff and fun girlie things.  Aunt Amanda got her this adorable tutu.  She didn't keep it on long but it looked cute while it lasted. 

I was really impressed that most our relatives from Mississippi were able to make the journey to Atlanta for the event.  It was great to have Samantha's great-grandparents and grandparents all together.  And I was especially grateful to Aunt Amanda for housing all ten house guests! 



Great Grandparents Jordan, Amanda, Pamela, Dale, Mary Alice

A couple weeks after that trip we traveled home to Tennessee to spend the weekend with my parents.  It was actually Labor Day weekend so Brent had a little extra time away from work to make it a long weekend.  My parent drove ten hours from Oklahoma to see us all.  It had been six months since my parents had seen Samantha so she wasn't real sure about them at first.  She warmed up to them eventually but never really let them hold her to long.  By the end of the weekend she was giving them kisses though!

We took one day to travel to Chattanooga and spend the day with Cassie and her family.  Cassie had wanted to see my parents and had planned on driving to the house but I thought it'd be fun for mom and dad to see Chattanooga.  My parents had never been to Chattanooga and it was only a short one hour drive south.

We ate at a great little hamburger joint.  I can't remember the name but Cassie picked it because they focused on local and organic foods, which I thought was super thoughtful of her.  She always remembers the details!  Anyway, after lunch we headed to downtown.  Cassie's daughter, Georgia, loves the carousel in the park.  Actually, she loves anything horse and so we all had a great time riding the carousel.  Samantha wouldn't sit on a carousel pony but she had fun riding around in Brent's lap.  I can't remember the last time I rode a carousel, it was quiet enjoyable.  Kinda makes you feel like a kid again. 

We did a little bit of walking around downtown, including the bridge that crosses the Tennessee river.  But since it was a little on the warm side we eventually walked right into an ice cream shop.  It was a lovely afternoon and so much fun to spend it with so many wonderful people. 

    





Cassie with Waylon, Samantha and I.

I'm still in shock that my little baby is over a year old already.  Looking back on this first year is a blurr, it has been so fast and furious that its hard to remember all the details.  However, that is my main reason for doing this blog . . . so I can remember most of the great memories.  
As of now Samantha is not walking on her own yet.  She will walk around furniture and hold my hands so I can help her walk but not quite sure of herself enough to let go.   I looked at a couple of walking toys that she could use but I wasn't going to pay $30 for plastic junk.  I did find some wood toys online that I think I'll have to order.  Anyway, before I know it she'll be running around this house. 
I know she's ready for some different foods too so I'm hoping she gets more teeth soon.  She currently only has two bottom teeth and about half of a top tooth.  We keep finding new foods all the time but she's really ready for more finger foods.  She enjoys feeding herself and will use a spoon most of the time.  She still makes a nice mess though.  I think I need to invest in a portable hand-held vaccuum! 
Some new foods we have tried include chicken, chicken livers (she loves), peaches, strawberries, blueberries (all fruit mixed with dairy kefir), dairy kefir cheese, soaked oatmeal, peas, carrots, and a few other standby's.  I try to add raw butter or coconut oil to every dish I put together, and lots of unrefined sea salt.  They're aren't to many things that she'll spit out.  If I get the texture right she will eat almost anything.  I'm just thankful she is a good eater.  And of course she is learning how to use the sippy cup, she likes to dump it out on her tray more than she likes to drink from it at this point.  But alas, must start somewhere right? 

getting every last bite of avocado!

And like every new mom I got some one year pictures taken.  I knew that going by myself was a mistake because I had nobody to tell me "you don't really need all those pictures."  So, I got to many pictures but lesson leanred.  She was just to darn cute and I couldn't decide! 

       

Crawling, standing, teething, and swimming!

Okay, its way past time for an update!  Last time I posted anything about Samantha she was 8 months old, today she is 11 months and 4 days old! She is growing so fast.  She started crawling at 9mo, 4days!  She is a super speedy crawler and we love to chase eachother around the house!  Now she is easily pulling herself to a standing position. She gets around very well and has no problem reaching something she wants, including the remote control and my phone. And she knows when she's not suppose to have either of those items because she speedily crawls away with the item in her hand.  It's just such a joy to watch her develop and I thank God she is so healthy and happy! 

 I can't believe she will celebrate her first birthday in less than one month.  We have plans to go to Atlantha, GA for her birthday so we can celebrate with some family.  I don't know "how" we will celebrate because I'm not a fan of the modern "let your child dive into a birthday cake" celebration.  In fact, Samantha has never really had sugar, I mean the sweet treat kind.  I am definetly not feeding her stuff that other babies might eat.  No grain/cereal stuff, no juice, and lots of fermented foods, and raw milk . . . call me crazy but with all the research I've done I feel like a traditional diet is best.  And I know that I can't control what she eats forever so I'm motivated to give her a strong foundation and introduce her to traditional foods and taste her palette will hopefully prefer later on in life. 

Healthy chunky monkey! 

She is still nursing, only two times a day now.  She had a case of hives a couple weeks ago so I stopped nursing to narrow down causes and my supply went south really fast.  I had continued to pump but it didn't help much.  So because of that I recently started supplementing her milk source with raw, organic goats milk.  She seems to like it fine and takes all eight ounces from the bottle very easily.  She's also discovering some new foods and seems to like most of them.  One of her favorite foods is avocado.  I let it ferment in whey for a couple hours and that gives her more probiotics and enzymes.  She eats it up with eagerness!  She will eat other fermented foods as well, sweet potato, dairy kefir, and cod liver oil.  I just try to keep it simple and let her tell me if she's ready for something different.  At about ten months her bottom two front teeth came in so she will knaw on a carrot from time to time.  She loves to chew on some carrot and will carry it in her mouth as she crawls from room to room! 

Crawling around with carrot in tow! 

 

Finally got a high chair.  She loves to sit up high and see all the action in the kitchen. 

She's handled teething very well I think.  I can tell when she's a little sore so I'll give her some gel but other than that she seems to be taking it in stride.  Although recently she has starting chewing on the furniture.  She can easily pull herself up to a standing position and will do so with the dining room table.  She can reach the bottom of the table with her mouth so she tries to "bite" it.  She doesn't do any damage and soon realizes that it's not very comfortable to her mouth.

Like I said, she can easily pull herself up to a standing position and is exploring a whole new world two feet up.  She amazes me with her strength and has great leg control.  She has recently started picking up her feet and trying to walk as she holds on to something.  Once in awhile she will let go and be hands free for a second.  I wonder when she will really start walking?

Boxes are one of her favorite toys.

 The day before Samantha turned ten months we participated in our first swim play-date with some mommies from our church.  A lady who routinely takes care of Samantha in the nursery invited us over to her house to swim with other babies Samantha's age.  It was so much fun and Samantha took to the water like a fish.  She did so well that we've gone back to the pool a couple times since then.  It's a great way for her to interact with other babies and she really likes the water.  I guess I need to be thinking about swim lessons.  



Busy little swimmer! 



 

We went home to Tennessee for the Fourth of July weekend.  It was a fast trip but we got to see Celia and enjoy the house for a bit.  Brent did alot of work on the yard and Celia helped him clean up some debris, making the house look really nice.  Samantha did well for the most part but she didn't sleep very well in the pack-n-play.  She's quicly outgrowing that thing so I need to find another option.  We have a few trips in the near future and getting good sleep is essential to having a successful trip.  In October we will be going to Oklahoma for Tammy's wedding and then January brings the big trip to Cancun with my entire family!  Looking forward to Samantha meeting and interacting with more of her cousins. 

Quick pitstop on the road! 

Well, I guess thats all for now.  Time to get back to work, nap time is over! 

Southern tour

It's been about a month since we made our journey home to Tennessee and then down to Mississippi.  The first of April Brent had a conference in Nashville so we took the opportunity to spend some time at home and then head south to Mississippi to visit Brent's family.  It was the longest car ride Samantha had taken up to that point.  She did fairly well and as the journey went on she got better at sleeping in her car seat.  I was a bundle of nerves because it's frustrating to not hold her while in the car, just have to let her cry it out sometimes.  Anyway, we all survived and thoroughly enjoyed our time with family and friends.  Here are a few pics to document our journey.

While we were in Tennessee Samantha and I had the opportunity to meet up with some of my old co-workers.  When I was working at the VA Hospital in Nashville there were two other woman who were also pregnant at the same time.  Our children were all born within four months of each other.  It was so much fun to catch up and see how much all of our lives have changed.

Samantha was the oldest, and biggest, of the three babies.  Ethan was born a couple months after her and Maria's baby girl, Isabella, was born in December 2010.  I hope we can all meet up again in the future.

On Sunday, April 3, we left Tennessee for Laurel, Mississippi.  It was going to take us longer than normal because we decided to take a detour and see some old friends who had recently moved to Tennessee.  I met Todd and Kari Vincent when we were living in Illinois, they were the first farmers to sell me raw milk.  I have a deep admiration and respect for this family because they gave up their modern, suburban life to follow the call of God and become raw milk producers.  The catch is that they have nine children!  Kari, only a couple years older than me, is such a strong woman and an inspiration to me on so many levels.  Whenever I went to their house to get milk I would end of staying for a couple hours because I could always learn something from them. It always put life into perspective for me because no matter what I was going through it seemed minuscule compared to what Kari did on a daily basis.  Between breastfeeding her youngest (or two youngest), harvesting the days milk, homeschooling the older kids, cooking and baking from scratch, making soap, and just doing all the necessary things it takes to keep a household afloat I had no room to complain.  So, when I found out that Kari and her family had moved to Tennessee I knew it wouldn't be long before our paths would cross.  Kari's youngest baby was born two weeks before Samantha so it was wonderful to meet the newest addition to their family and to introduce them to Samantha.  We spent a couple hours visiting, just catching up on all that had happened since all of our lives had changed so dramatically.  I wish we could have spent the entire day with them but we had to allow ourselves enough time to get to Mississippi before dark. 

We got to Mississippi just after dark.  Brent's grandparents had stayed up and were really looking forward to meeting Samantha.  It had been a long day so she wasn't in the best of moods but everyone was so excited to finally have Samantha in Mississippi.  We spent the next five days visiting with family and friends.  Samantha got to spend some real quality time with her great-grandparents. 

Playing catch with great-grandma Jordan!

cousin Wilton helping Samantha with the electronic book the gr.grandma Jordan gave her!

Brent, Samantha, great-grandparents Jordan, and Wilton

These two girls are the daughters of Brent's best friend. I think Samantha enjoyed her playmates! 

Opening her Easter basket from Grammie and Poppa Powers! 

Samantha is their first great-grand baby! 

Grammie left her Christmas tree up because she had saved a gift for Samantha. 

We left Laurel on Friday, April 8th, and drove to Atlanta, GA.  We planned on staying with Brent's Aunt Amanda so we would not have to drive all the way home to North Carolina in one day.  We had a relaxing evening at Amanda's house.  She had cooked a fabulous meal and I wish we could have stayed longer than one night.  However, it was time to get back home to reality.  We left the next morning and were anxious to get home because a major storm had hit our house while we were gone, leaving our horse barn roofless and downed trees in the front yard.  The landlord had cleaned up most of the mess by the time we got home and we were grateful that the damage wasn't as bad as some of our neighbors. 

So, all in all it was a good trip.  Alot of people and places were visited and many memories were made.  We are so blessed to have many people in our lives who care so deeply about us.  And now that Samantha is in our lives we feel God's blessings tenfold.