I really, really, really never ever thought I would say this

I want to move back to Pennsylvania. More specifically, Yardley. Actually, If I could move right back into the house I grew up in I would. (Don't be offended Mom but I'd probably make some changes.) Anyone who knows me is probably picking their jaw up off the floor right about now. We have spent 7 years in Texas. Almost all of which I have spent insisting that we will never move back home. We will never move anywhere the has actual winter. But we just spent 5 fabulous days back at home. And now I'm all over the place.

I'm not sure if it was the fall weather, my favorite season at home (no summer humidity, no spring rain, and no frigid winter temperatures). Fall in PA is brisk and bright colors and the best smells (burning leaves is at the top of my list). It might be the wonderful friends and family we have there. I can't help but envision play dates and dinners out, days at the local farms. All of it made me nostalgic. I passed by my elementary school and saw where our 5th grade picnic was, the community pool where we spent so many summer days, the favorite local restaurants that might encourage me to never cook again. I think becoming a mother did me in. Growing up where we did was so much fun. I don't know what Sam's experiences here in Texas will be. But at home I know what pumpkin patch we would hit every year (Shady Brook Farms) and where we would go to cut our Christmas tree down every year (Indian Walk) where we would play miniature golf on warm summer nights (Snipes). It's hard not to think about what our life would be like if we lived back in PA.

Now, before you get all "WHAT?!? You're moving?!?" we're not. In less than 2 years we will officially have no family left in the area. As much as I love, love, love all our friends but we want our kids to grow up with family. And not family that 1,000 miles away. Family around the corner and over for dinner on Sunday afternoon.

The fact that it has snowed in Philadelphia in the last few days has tempered my wistfulness for living in PA. That is just what I needed. Thanks Mother Nature!

Chompers

I didn't really believe. Everyone kept telling me that she was teething. And while I agree that she chewed on everything in sight I thought isn't that what babies do??? We have been chewing on things for what seems like forever with no teeth in sight.

A tooth arrived. Not a full fledged tooth but the tip of one popping through the skin. Apparently this tooth arrived between the hours of 11pm and 5am last night. We have somehow avoided getting too sick (thank you nursing) and a real boo-boo so this was our first venture into baby pain. It sucks and it is a place I never, ever want to go again. It is possibly the worst feeling in the whole world looking at that sweet little face and not being able to fix it. Having 2 grown ups without sleep and a baby in pain made for a lovely family gathering in our bed from 2am to 7am. Yes, I know that we made all kinds of promises to ourselves about Peanut sleeping in her bed and not in ours but cutting a tooth throws any rule right out the window. And our resolve was strong for the first three hours but with no signs of relief our bed looked like a good place to weather the storm. Honestly, Sam could have asked for pretty much anything she wanted last night and we would have agreed - car of her own, semester abroad, designer purse collection, this was her chance. Since she can't talk and we seem to be doing much better this morning her window of opportunity is now closed.

We go for our 6 month check up this afternoon and get to see how much we have grown in the last 2 months. At our last appointment we weighed 13 lbs. 15 oz. and were 24.5" long. Any guesses?

As soon as I can I will post a picture of her smile. You may or may not be able to see any teeth but I promise the beginning of a chomper is in there.

House Rule: A 2 Lick Limit

Over the past month Sam has changed quite a bit. We now roll over all the time, including when we are trying to dress her, grab for everything we may be able to get our hands and hopefully into our mouth, and show a suprising amount of interest in the morning news. But most of all we love animals. More than anything else in the house our 2 labs fasinate her. Since they weigh a combined 170 pounds we have always been a little concerned about what would happen when Sam noticed them. So far they are very patient and equally enthralled with her. To Raja and Jake she is a mini person perfect for licking and sniffing. And best of all she likes it! She doesn't say "no, off, down, stop it, RIGHT NOW" so they love her right back.

She hasn't quite mastered how to get them to play with her at her command but she's certainly working on it.2 of Sam's favorite things - the Around We Go & Raja Bell

"Raja, up here. Pay Attention!"

As a first time mom I fell squarely into the camp of "Keep ALL Germs Away from my baby." I had no shame in handing people the bottle of sanitizer when they reached for the kid. This image would have sent me over the edge about a month ago. Her hand in raja's mouth?!? Now, Raja gets a little bit of "Be gentle" and "ok, 2 licks is enough" and a "stay away from the face please" if we catch this in action.

Between 2 dogs and one active baby, even looking away for a second can spell dog slobber all over the place. Besides, how clean can every other thing that she puts in her mouth be? I have put "clean the remote" on my short list of things to do since it's her favorite toy of the moment and I can not remember the last time we cleaned it.

Just to give the grandparents a little piece of mind - we always wipe Sam down after any licking (that we catch).

A long, long time ago...

I actually updated this blog. And now I am going to try again...(but please note I am making NO promises that this will happen on a regular basis)

The obvious did happen. Peanut arrived. 2 weeks early via c section. Mom and baby were great right from the start. I won't bore you with what has happened in the first 5 months and 2 days of her life other than to share the important stuff. We named her Samantha. It took us 2 and a half days to decide on the name. That's 2 and a half days AFTER she arrived. She goes by Sam, Samster, Samberina, Sammy, Munchkin (if you ask me), Lovebug (if you ask KC), and of course Peanut. Aside from some eating issues in the beginning she has been an absolute joy and motherhood is so much better than I ever anticipated.

She has very little hair and what is there is blond. I am hoping she ends up with white blond hair like her dad had as a kid. She has these gorgeous blue eyes. Hopefully she keeps them! She was so bowlegged when she arrived but it has slowly changed. (At least now her knees can touch. Her dad is very excited about this). We think she is going to be left handed (He is actually REALLY excited about this). And she has the chubbiest thighs, which I love. I swear there is skin on her thighs that has never seen the light of day. She also has these little bits of hair on the sides of her ears. Sam is going to kill me for this when she is old enough to read and be embarrassed by her parents. She has had it since the day she was born. I call it her werewolf hair.

Here she is wearing the hat that Mom-mom knitted for her to come home from the hospital in. The day she came home from the hospital it was 80 degrees out (December 7th) and her mean mom made her wear it anyway. I spent too much time picking out a coming home outfit to let the weather ruin it! My first of many, many Mother of the Year moments.

At about 3 months old. Now that I look at it again she kind of looks like a boy here. Sorry Sam!


The past five months have been pretty busy. We have had Mom-mom (my mom) visit for a total of 9 weeks. 6 after her arrival and 3 in March to take care of Peanut when I first went back to work. We are lucky enough to have found a wonderful woman to watch her for most of the day and then Grandma (KC's mom) picks her up and takes care of her for a few hours. Peanut has already had one plane trip, back to Philly for a visit to Yardley. She has had quite a few house guests - the Palsky's in Feb, Pop (KC's Dad) almost every month, Auntie Kara from Houston, and Auntie Ande at Christmas. So now we have had 2 visits with our future hubby Chase. The most recent went well. He lent Sam his Around We Go for a little bit, played a little grabby face, and then Sam, being the sweetheart that she is, shared her first cold with him. Sorry Christina!

She gives these coy little smiles that almost always end up in a big, open mouth grin. She hasn't developed a belly laugh yet but she does have this quiet laugh that is infectious. Whenever we discover a new thing that makes her laugh we will repeat it endlessly. Until we drive the other person absolutely crazy with kissy noises, or feet tickles, or whatever else it may be. Her favorite thing is to blow raspberries. We have found that this means she is frustrated or well on her way.

She had to have one flaw and it is the unbelievable amounts of spit up that she can create. She is still gaining weight perfectly and is happy so the doctor has told us not to worry just do lots of laundry. We are completely unfazed by the spit up now. I think we only realize how bad it is when we are spending time with new people (people without babies that puke everywhere) and we see the look of terror on their faces. Sam doesn't make a sound when she spits up. It just kind of falls out of her mouth - onto the floor, your shirt, the table, the couch. You name it Sam has thrown up on it. Unfortunately for Dad she even got it in his mouth once. Punishment for playing airplane with a baby already prone to spit up immediately after a meal. Thankfully we are still nursing so the stains have been kept to a minimum.

Before I end my first entry post Sam I have to redeem myself with a picture of my daughter where she doesn't look like a boy.

All dressed up for Mother's Day

Yes, that is spit up

(See we're so used to it that it doesn't even faze me to post a picture of her spitting up - again a Mother of the Year moment.)

One more note - Mother's Day rocks! It is like getting another birthday. I told KC if he had given me a sneak peek at Mother's Day I might have gotten knocked up earlier.