Developmental Update

Well last week Samantha started developing more eye-hand coordination.  On her discovery center there is this bar that makes a C shape with the open part of the C facing the tray.  It has 3 little rings on it.  She had figured out how to slide those rings down the sides but at first could not figure out how to get them back up the sides and to the flat part on top.  Oh my did this make the little missy MAD.  So we started off by putting them back up there.  She would watch and then spend 10 minutes getting them down and then fight with them to get them back up.  It didn't take long to figure out how to get one back up but it took a couple of days to get the other two.  It seems like the purple one is the one that is the hardest for some reason.  But by Monday of this week she had it all figured out and will spend at least an hour each morning doing it. 
Our mornings go like this:  Get up around 6 or 7 and she is up and very active and talkative for about and hour and half, sometimes two.  Then it's naptime.  This is the only part of our day that is very consistent.  She usually naps around noon and then maybe a nap mid afternoon and then an evening nap. 

Cereal is going well.  Last week she started sleeping well again.  She was going to bed around 8 and then up around 12 or 1 and then up around 5 and then up around 7.  I finally thought, ok we're getting better.  Than this past weekend she started teething badly again.  I mean, she never stopped but it wasn't as bad.  Sunday she started drooling really bad again and just grabbing at her gums.  Cue the crankiness, sleepiness but no long naps and frequent distrubances at night.  She just doesn't get sound asleep and then writhes around and wakes herself up.  Sometimes I can go into her room and turn her bear on and she can drift back to sleep.  I thought that was a small victory.

Also last week she began talking even more.  She usually is really talkative in the morning but now she is in the evening too.  And to watch her is so cute.  She really moves her lips around and kind of frowns.  You can tell she is really concentrating.  She gets the high squeal in there and then smiles and laughs because she thinks it's funny.

Last weekend we had planned on staying around home, but needed to make a trip down to my Mom & Dad's to get JM's deer cameras from where we hunt.  We left Samee with Grandma and Dad, JM and I went down to the bottoms on our 4-wheelers.  We did some food plot maintenance and fought off the giant mosquitoes.  They were HUGE!  JM and I had planned on going to Terre Haute Saturday anyway so we waited for Mom and Dad to get ready and we all headed over.  After a short trip to Once Upon a Child, and Gander Mountian, we ate at Rick's BBQ.  It was "ok".  A storm was rolling in so we skipped our trip to Sam's.  Sunday JM wanted to go to the Bow shoot at Oblong.  So he talked me into getting up with him and dropping him off at Oblong to shoot his bow with Dad. Sam and I went on home to see Mom and Dad and JM were home later.  We made sure that we left around 4 so that Samantha wouldn't be "off" her schedule.  Saturday was a little rough.  Too much running around I guess.

This week has been pretty uneventfull.  Monday I mowed a little while she slept and I started cleaning out kitchen cabinets.  The clutter has become a little unbearable.  Tuesday, I finished the mowing and gave Samantha her first 4-wheeler ride.  I was using the 4-wheeler to pull the lawn sweep to pick up grass.  She loved it!  A nice slow 4 mph was perfect for her.  She chewed on her hands and just looked around.  She only stayed on for a few rounds and then JM took her back inside. 

Wednesday Samee went to her Aunt Joy's for part of the day. I had to take kids to FFA camp in Monticello.  I was nervous about leaving her for so long because she tends to scream.  However, she did really good.  Joy said she only got worked up once.  Samee loved Joy's big hamock on the front porch.  She also loved it when Joy turned the faucet on and let her play in it.  hehehe Samee loves her Aunt Joy!
JM wanted to go to the Oblong Demo Derby that night.  He had taken the camper down to his shop at work to look at some wires underneath.  So he took the camper on down to my parents.  I picked Samantha up from Aunt Joy's and then took Chief to the Vet.

Chief:  He started acting pretty lame in his hips.  Long story short - it's not his hips.  Our veterinarian is hoping it's just a hurt back and has him on an anti-inflammatory for a week.  If it isn't better after a week, then it could possibly be a slipped disc.  Yea for X-rays - if that's the case.

The Demo Derby was fantastic.  It was HOTTER than Hades, but fun none the less.  I had forgotten how much fun it was to to go out, I guess.  They even had a lawn mower derby class and that was probably one of the funnier things I have seen.  Grown men on little mowers .... kind of like monkeys riding little donkeys at various rodeos.  Samantha did really well for Mom and Marisa.  They even got her put to bed but she had woke up right before we got there.  She wasn't very happy to have woke up and not been picked up by here momma but other than that it was great.

Then that weekend we had planned to stay home but ended up driving down to Mom and Dad's on Sunday.  Deer cameras and pictures are very serious stuff! =)
I finally shot my bow after man many months of it sitting idly in the closet.  I didn't do to bad and now have the bug again to shoot.  And I can actually pull it back fairly easy... Samantha's getting my arms in shape, that's for sure!