11 months old!

Hard to believe Sam is almost a year old. Here she is playing with a toy stroller from Grammy and Poppi (NIck's parents). She loves to push it around, but will not let anything ride in it. Anything we put in it gets immediatly taken out and carried while she pushes the stroller. She is such a riot. Here is the monthly picture of her with the panda. She almost cooperated.

Atlanta Christmas

We also opened presents with my parents. Sam really hauled in the loot this year. You would think she needed toys and clothes. We are going to have to build a new wing on out house! But here is Sam with what may have been her favorite present, a new hairbrush. She just cannot get enough of it. Although she has been playing with all her new toys from both sets of grandparents.

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season. I cannot believe it is 2009! We had a great trip out to Phoenix. It is hard to get back into the groove. Samantha did great on both flights and while we were there, although the time change was a bit rough. Here are some highlights.

The top 3 are at Zoo Lights at the Phoenix Zoo. It was pretty cold. Sam even kept her hands under the blanket for more than half the time.

This was at a Christmas Eve party at some family friends of Nick's. Katherine, in the green, is just over a month older than Sam. They look so coordinated, red and green. There were so many babies and kids running around, it was cute. Santa even made an appearance.

This was at the teddy bear tea at the ritz carlton. It was fun to see all the cute girls (and some boys) all dressed up in their finest.

Almost Christmas!

Here is a cute pic of Sam with santa. He was so nice, taking her from behind so that she was not freaked out. She did well while we all smiled and clapped. Then someone was filming for the mall and he turned her, which made her turn and freak out, but no pictures of that as I rushed to grab her.

What a cute dress and bow! All dressed up for Izzy's baptism.

This onesie says Mom and Dad's best present ever.

This one says who need Santa, I have grandparents.





Here is Sam with our giant inflatable winnie the pooh santa. If you play it with sound, you can here her say ohhh!

Graduation!

Graduation was last Friday night. Sam wore her GT cheerleading outfit and was so cute! She was such a great sport, staying up until 10:30, way past her normal 8-8:30. She had a great time. She really likes clapping right now, so all the clapping was a lot of fun for her.

That's me, with the balloon. They dropped a bunch on us.

Here is Sam with my cousin Linda and her son Blake.

This is me getting hooded by Nick's advisor, Dr. Greg Corso. My advisor could not make it since they cut the zoo's budget and Greg was nice enough to step in and sit through the ordeal.

Sam was not too impressed by Buzz.

Sam taking a few steps

After she tore up the napkin, she decided to leave the scene of the crime and I caught it on my camera. Not her best display of walking or my best example of videography, but it includes a few steps. I hope to get a better example soon.

My little overachiever

So Sam went in for her weight check. She needed to have gained 8 ounces and she had gained 9! She has become a much better eater, but it was a bit of a struggle, so it is great to know our hard work paid off. Here are some funny pictures. She loves to tear paper. I ask myself all the time why we have all these toys. But she got ahold of a napkin and did a great job in her application to be a shredder. She spends most of her time "reading." Here she is with her favorite book. And check out these adorable elephant pj's. They say "Elephants are very big, even the little ones."