At the Park showing off new skills!

We took Sam to the park today because it was beautiful outside! Sam decided to show off her new skills - sitting on her own! She can only hold it for a few seconds and has to kinda prop herself up with her hands in a tripod-like manner. But it's a big deal for all of us and we're so proud of her!


The drool continues. We think she'll be getting teeth anyday!





This is the South's version of sledding. Cardboard boxes on a grassy hill. I haven't tried it yet but they do make it look quite fun! Having been real sledding though, I feel bad for these kids :(

Grandpa's Visit

Grandpa Hughes came up from Florida to visit this weekend. His new home is only about 8 hours away so we hope to see him more often! Here's some pics of Gramps and his favorite Granddaughter (and not just because she's the only one :)

Best Laugh Ever!

There is absolutely nothing cuter than Sam's laugh. And her favorite thing to laugh at is Rosco when he's chasing his tail (some of you may have thought that dogs don't really chase their tail - but some do - and Rosco is one of them).

I know this video is dark but the important thing is the sound. Sam's laugh is the BEST!

All dressed up for mom's birthday dinner

We went out with some friends for my birthday dinner at a new brewery that opened up near our house. I know, you're shocked that I would choose a brewery for my birthday dinner. Ratings: food was okay, beer was better. Definitely a better microbrewery than Big River (the other one in town) but still not Pacific Northwest/Alaska quality.

Anyway, Sam got all dressed up for dinner and looked SO CUTE!

Jamie's Birthday

Kirk and I went to Nashville for my 32nd birthday. Aunt Christy came up from Atlanta to watch Sam so it was our first night away! Since we know we're moving away from the South in August, we have started a list of "Thing to do before we go." In the top 5 on that list was to see the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. We both love bluegrass music and also like country - though Kirk likes old country and I like new country. The Grand Ole Opry is legendary to anyone who is a fan of bluegrass and country music so it was a must-do for both of us!

Christy got us tickets for Christmas for one of the shows at the Ryman Auditorium in downtown Nashville. The show was amazing and we had a great time out on the town for the rest of the night too. We saw a singer/songwriter at this local bar that was awesome and had some really good barbeque (really good for not being KC bbq at least!)

Here are some pictures from our night away:

Kirk in front of the Ernest Tubb Record Store - legendary amongst Old Country folks.

The stage at the Ryman. Our favorite performer of the night was definitely Cherryholmes - great family bluegrass band. We really hope to get to see them again at a bluegrass festival this summer.
Sitting in our seats at the show. The Ryman is an old church so the seats are the old pews. Close quarters with the guy next to you but very authentic.
The Ryman. Very cool experience.

Inauguration Day

I came home from work today so that I could watch the inauguration with the family. Of course, we dressed Sam in her Obama onesie for the big event! Here's some adorable pictures from the day.

Giggles

Sam is turning out to be quite ticklish! Her giggles are hilarious because they sound an awful lot like her screams. It's hard to differentiate sometimes if you're not in the same room with her. Here's a video of her laughing:

New Favorite Game

Sam's new favorite game is "throw the toys on the floor". Here's a video of her playing.

New Bib

Grandma Hughes sent a new set of bibs for Sam's 5 month birthday. Here's our favorite - "Toadally amazing!"

Stylish Lady

Sam spends most of her time at home so we don't get a lot of chances to dress her in all the cute outfits that we have. I can't remember where we went this day, but I wanted to take a picture of her wearing something other than her onesies and sleepers! Thanks to Jill for sending us these pants!

If you want to get a cute picture of Sam, you have to turn the TV off or she'll turn her head towards it everytime, just like this:

Fun Hair Moments

Check out this latest do...

5 Months Old!

Five months old already! Sam is more and more fun everyday - we are just loving spending time with her. They took her weight when we went to get her 5 month shots but I can't remember what it was. Sorry!

Playing

Sam really plays with her toys these days. She's content now if you leave her to play by herself for a while. Here's a picture in her exersaucerShe'll try to play with the toys for a little while, then she'll spend 20 minutes trying to figure out how to get them into her mouth. As you can see in the video, she doesn't really take no for an answer and it doesn't matter how big something is, it still needs to go in her mouth.

Our Living Room

Our house has transformed in the last few months. I was talking with a friend of mine who is pregnant and I was trying to explain how much a baby will take over your house. Here's what our living room currently looks like.

Full of Smiles

Sam is a really happy, wonderful baby. Here's a picture of her sitting with dad and just smiling. It's the best thing in the world!

Cloth Diapers

After Christmas, we converted full-time to cloth diapers. If you aren't familiar with modern cloth diapers, they've changed a TON from the old cotton and pins.

We've chosen to use "pocket" diapers, which are made up of a waterproof outer shell and a fleece or suedecloth inner. Between the two layers is a pocket that you stuff with inserts made of different materials depending on how absorbent you need them to be. The inserts pull the liquid away from the inner layer and the fleece dries super quick to keep the baby dry. They work great and are so much cuter than disposables! I took pictures of Sam in a few of our favorites:

Rolling Over

Sam has conquered another milestone! For a couple of weeks now, we would put her down on her stomach to take a nap and when we would go back in to pick her up, she would be on her back. But she wouldn't roll over in front of me (Kirk had seen it)! Only in the last few days has it become fairly automatic - if you put her on her stomach, she'll roll over. She's kicking and pushing to work to roll from back to front but doesn't quite have it down yet. Here's the "rolling over" video:

New Years Eve

Being the exciting folks that we are these days, we had BIG New Years Eve plans. First up was the KU bowl game. Sam got all decked out to cheer on the Hawks:



Watching the game:

Rosco got in on the action too. He watched the game while chilling out on his favorite pillow:
Sam was happy the Hawks won!
Towards the end of the Jayhawks game, a few friends came over. We set up with Wii (best Christmas present EVER!) and bowled and played tennis until midnight. Sam's schedule was a little off since we went to KC for Christmas so she stayed up until midnight with us.


In case you can't see it, the clock on our cable box reads midnight. Happy New Year! Hopefully 2009 will be as great to us as 2008!