Politics

Starting early, huh?

Oh Sammy, we do!

Who couldn't with that smile?

Rapunsel

This is all that's left of Sammy's darker hair. A mullet. She has peach fuzz all over the rest of her head. If she continues like this, it will take a very long time until we will see any length whatsoever. You can see the fuzz in the light. It's, oh, about 1/32" long. No braids yet.

Bonus Friday

I'm offering a second photograph today because of yesterday's post of her piggy bank. Not exactly Samantha, huh? In my defense, it was of Samantha's piggy bank....no dice? ok, I don't blame you. Take a gander here: don't these two have the same grin? (Thank God that Mommy has all her teeth though, unlike the other subject...) I absolutely love this picture!

Also? There is a new feature called "Followers"...click on that link and put your name or nickname or alias or aka or make something up...but! We can all see who is looking at little Sammy. The blog account calls them Followers. I call them Groupies.

Old Friends

Feast your eyes on this Christmas scene: a little baby boy, half undressed Daddy, and under the tree...a stuffed teddy bear. Our first Christmas with our son was so special to us. With very little money but with so very much love, we celebrated that special day with our son and his first Christmas. Everyone told us that babies don't understand presents and the hoopla that accompanies Christmas morning. But we did and we started our family traditions that very day. That teddy bear probably cost us, maybe $20 and that was $15 more than we had to spend. That little teddy bear became known as Quiet Bear. It didn't make a noise if you squeezed it; it didn't rattle if you shook it. It laid quietly in your arms falling asleep with you whether it was nighty-nite time or nap time. Christopher slept with Quiet Bear for his entire childhood. Once he put QB on the shelf his younger sister Auntie Kenna slept with QB. Through the years, Christopher recieved many more stuffed animals but none equalled the importance of this Bear. Quiet Bear and McKenna's Puffalump named "Puffy" (so far ahead of any rap star's name!) are the only toys that I kept from my children's past.

Today, Sammy was introduced to Quiet Bear for the first time. QB is a little older now; his nose has been kissed almost all the way off. I gave him a bath and he smells sweet now; like a small child himself. Everytime Sammy sleeps here, she'll have QB laying next to her, watching over.

And for Sammy's first Christmas? She'll recieve her very own Quiet Bear, to join the QB Family. I have included a song that brought me to tears many years ago. It was a SEQUEL to a song the same singer did years before and when I heard the sequel, well, those who know me...gulp....sob. It ALWAYS reminded me of my own Christopher Robin and his Pooh, aka Christopher Winton and QB. Click on Life's Soundtracks and the song title is "Return to Pooh Corner".

New Post

Hey everyone! There is a new post up at "From This Moment On"...check it out!

Stuck

This is Sammy's piggy bank. It plays music when you drop coins into it. I had a handful of coins that I wanted to put into it the other day but I had to stop at 30 cents worth of donation. The song it plays, well, it made me run screaming from the room. I have heard that song one bazillion, no, one gazillion times. It gets stuck in my head. See? Over there to the right of this post? Under "Life's Soundtracks"? It's the very first one. Click on that link and it will play for you.

I'm waiting.......

Did you press it? Are you listening to it? Good. It will now get stuck in your head.

My work here is done.

Maria Callas

Sammy has discovered her voice can go REALLY high this past weekend. This is Daddy's new favorite noise she makes.

Doctor's visit - Four month check up (and 100 posts!)

Hi, I'm just chillin' with my daddy in this pretty office.... Hi nice lady doctor. Um, can you warm that up next time?
Ah..Mommy? I think I remember this....Is this Nurse Ratched?
It IS NURSE RATCHED!!! EEEOOWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!! Four shots!
Crap...hold me, Mommy!
Officially: 14 pounds, 15 oz. 25.5 inches long.

Family sayings

Barking spiders.



House apes.



Carpet frogs.



These are a few of the sayings my mom would use in reference to kids. When Sammy had on her little green onesie this morning, she reminded me of a little green froggie. And so with that, what sayings were used in your family?

Well, because.

Wedding central here:

I'm launching a brand new blog at www.bergerkingstory.blogspot.com

This will not be a daily update because I kinda have my hands full with, er, wedding things. But I will post frequently until after the wedding. This new blog will end with the wedding photos. It will not continue on like Daily Samantha. I have my limits, people. Hope you enjoy it!

P.S. If you do start to read that blog, remember, you have to scroll to the bottom of all the posts to get to the beginning and then work your way up.

P.P.S. Also? I've added the link to here over on the right side of this page. See? "From this moment on"

Need a towel?

This is what Mommy looked like before she picked up Sammy.

And this is what happens after you hold her for awhile.

Slime happens.

No ego here

Why, yes, yes I am the center of the universe.

I'm here all week, folks

The other morning, Sammy and I were reading the newspaper together and she remarked about one article.

"SWF, goes by the name of Muffet, has been charged with defrauding an eating establishment"

Sammy reported. "what does 'defraud' mean?"

"Ah...the old dine and dash manuever. That means she ate but didn't pay for her meal, honey" I replied.

"Maybe she didn't like it. What's curds and whey?" She asked.

"Cottage cheese", I replied.

"What's a tuffet?"

"A small seat. Like what you sit on. Usually for smaller people." I answered.

"Like you, Mimi?" she asked.

"No silly, like you. Very small. What else did the article say?"

"That the health inspectors were called, too, due to an infestation of spiders."

"They should call Terminex, huh, honey?" I commented.

"Mimi, that food?"

"Yes, love? Don't worry, Gerber doesn't make it."

"There's no WHEY, I CURD eat it!"

Oh, Sammy.

Blue Moon

Blue Moon:
a second full moon in a calendar month. As there is a full moon every 29.5 days, a blue moon is a comparatively rare event.

Stop me if you've heard this...

So Sammy and I were talking the other day and she wanted me to tell her a story about some pigs. "Pigs?" I asked. Yeah, pigs. Or piggies...whatever...anyway she tried to explain to me about this family of pigs. The oldest and apparently fattest was always going to the supermarket. "Costco or Whole Foods?" I asked but Sammy didn't know and stop interrupting! The next oldest has agoraphobia and is a couch potato. The poor middle pig feasts on nothing but roast beef. Pretty ballsy for a pig, I thought. The next one is a vegan and finally, the baby of the family. This poor thing does nothing but weweweeee all the way home. To either change into more Pampers or Depends. I don't know how old any of them are. So do you know this story or is Sammy pulling my leg again?

Bits and Pieces

Mommy's influence on Sammy's phyical traits are finally starting to shine through. It's a bit hard to make out, but Sammy has two dimples here at her lower back. When I powder her up, these two hollows are quite kissable!

Caught on Tape!

The elusive rollover...much discussed...never seen yet by Mimi or Grumpa or YOU! Sammy rolled over officially last Friday and has not performed in front of a camera for it. Until now....watch and behold! (um, and oh, yeah, she's a YouTube baby)

2008 Summer Games

Representing the US, is gymnast Samantha Hayden who will now do a double flip, one legged half pike, two hip rotations on the mat in the all around floor exercise. She found her horizonal...She's going for the gold.....and SHE NAILS IT!!

She is 16 years old.

and 15 pds!

Cleavage!

Daddy, watch out!

Hipchops

A long time ago when Daddy and Auntie were little, little kids, one of them got the hiccups. This tickled the other so much that when they came to tell me all about the hiccups, the actual name got mangled into hipchops. And so it's been for the last two decades. Hipchops.

Mother/Daughter

Sammy has eyes only for her Mommy!

It's too bad that I can't make this photo even larger because in it you can see that Sammy's eyes are smiling at Mommy and she is on the verge of a big full out grin!

Special Request

Here we are in all of our camping finery.

(This is for my niece who wanted to know why Mimi doesn't appear in any photos. Well, because Mimi is behind the camera, that's why!)

Shout out to Yvonne! Hi baby doll! love you!

Breakfast Lunch or Dinner

When Sammy smiles at me like this I could almost dig into her with a spork.

Got Drool?

Drool bothers some people (Auntie) but not me. In fact it can make them gag. But drool or spit up I'm fine with. Anything else I become an empathic vomiter.

All Tongue

Samantha is now tasting everything from the nipple on her bottle to your shirt to anything that she accidently grabs and brings towards her mouth. The beginnings of the drool stage.




Today she is 14 pds 10 oz.

Lingere Shower

Sammy attended her very first Lingere Shower for her Auntie Kenna. This smile on Sammy's face says one thing: "With these clothes, I'm gonna get me some COUSINS!"

The Big Day

Well, you knew it was coming didn't you? I can't share our photos of Samantha without telling you how she arrived, right? Ok, here goes:

It was a dark and stormy night.

Lord, I crack myself up. Ok, really...here.

*snerk*

Sammy's arrival story starts a few days before she was born. She was almost born on Daddy's birthday. Traditionally we all go out to dinner on birthdays in our family. Daddy picked going to Melting Pot because, well, he wanted to pig out. Last year his birthday sucked as he was in the hospital (don't ask). Anyway, he wanted to make up for the prior year. The six and a half of us went out. Mommy didn't feel well, but not bad enough to stay home. Well, she probably did but she's a trooper. Knowing Daddy was in the hospital the year before, she wanted to make his day as nice as possible, you know, being 11 1/2 months pregnant and all. She didn't eat much at dinner; Daddy took care of that. It was a nice evening and we all went home. We told her if she didn't start feeling better or worse, start having contractions, to call us. We didn't recieve a call that night. Ah, dodged a bullet then we thought.

Daddy did call us the next day telling us that, why, yes indeedy he was in the hospital again for the second year in a row on his birthday because Mommy felt like dog turds during the night. They monitered her, gave her a saline drip and sent her home with encouraging words like, "Almost, honey. Hold on." "See you in a few days" " No labor yet...no dialation" They took it easy the next day. On Monday, Daddy took Mommy back yet again, because poor Mommy couldn't keep anything down and started to feel even worse. Yes! Worse than dog turds! Again, they hooked her up, no labor pains, just stomach pains. Probably from hunger we thought. Good thing we're not in the medical field, eh? While I was there during my lunch break, they took some blood because Mommy's temp was slightly elevated. Mommy didn't know squat that day because she was trying to catch up on all the sleep she missed over the weekend. She nodded to them, sure take my blood and while you're at it? Please deliver this baby, too, ok? I'm really tired, and would, like, you know, try to sleep on my stomach again? Please? She fell back asleep and I went back to work. By the time I set my purse down at work, Daddy called and said get right back here! Mommy is having an emergency c-section at 3pm! Grumpa and I raced to the hospital, calling Auntie Kenna and telling her to get there also. Daddy said that something showed up in the blood test that was bad (and here you thought I would get technical and all Grey's Anatomy on you, right?)* and they needed to deliver that baby ASAP. We went to the closest waiting room next to the maternity ward, just the three of us, Grumpa, Auntie, and I. Waiting for Daddy to come out and tell us the news. Praying for Mommy's and Sammy's safety and healthy delivery. Just praying. We were the only ones in the waiting room trying to make small talk knowing that Daddy couldn't be in the delivery room due to the 'emergency' nature of delivery. He was waiting with his nose pressed to the doorway glass, tapping his fingers..."open, open, open".......At quarter after 3pm, Daddy walked into our waiting room and suddenly, Grumpa's and my world shrank to a square of 3 feet by 3 feet. All four of us silently drew together and hugged as Daddy said, "Mommy's fine and Sammy is beautiful! I have a baby girl!" The family that Grumpa and I started so many years ago came together as a single unit again enveloped in such love that now grew to include this brand new person. I marveled at my son, now a father and the enormity of experiences he would have.

It would take a few minutes before Sammy would arrive in the nursery so we watched the nurses, smiling and nodding at them. "Oh, yeah, our Sammy will be here soon and THEN the show would begin!" I have no words to explain how my heart felt when I took this, the earliest time stamped photo of my son and his daughter for the first time as he was getting instructions from the nurse:

This was at 3:58 pm...approximately 45 minutes after her birth. And the following picture is the first time Daddy held his daughter:

Mommy was still out of it and would be for a few days as all the heroin and cocaine and crystal meth they used on her found its way out of her system. She was drugged! And in a fair amount of pain, too. This is the earliest photo of Mommy and Sammy and it was taken at 6:57 pm. Mommy could have been holding a used tire, she was so OUT OF IT.

So there you have it. Yes, I teared up writing this, reliving those precious moments that will live in my heart forever. I'm sure that Nana and Grampa Ed get a lump too thinking of the day their little girl gave them a new little girl to love.

*HELLP syndrome. HELLP — which stands for hemolysis (the destruction of red blood cells), elevated liver enzymes and low platelet count — syndrome can rapidly become life-threatening for both mother and baby. Symptoms of HELLP syndrome include nausea and vomiting, headache and upper right abdominal pain. HELLP syndrome is particularly dangerous because it can occur before signs or symptoms of preeclampsia appear.

Snuggle Time

Doesn't this just make you want to curl up next to her and snuggle and nap? Yawn........

(please note the tightness of the diaper around the thighs.....)

She is getting so looonnngggg........

Abs of Steel

Uh, Grampa Ed? I keep looking at this computer monitor, but I just don't get it.

Is it C\\:format? or what?

And who exactly is this Alfred Hitchcock guy I kept hearing about?

Strong, Like Bull

This is my new favorite photo of little Sammy. It captures her happiness at looking at her Mommy who's taking the photo. It captures (finally!) her dimple, the blonde fuzziness of her hair, and most importantly, how strong her neck has become.

So Close!

Sammy is this )( close to rolling over. Her shoulders are already there, she just needs to pivot that hip over more and she'll end up rolling over onto her tummy surprised at finding herself there. I'm sure that Mommy and Daddy will wake up one morning very soon to find her on her tummy and ask, "Didn't you put her on her back last night at bedtime?" And they will question if they did or didn't, like most parents. Until the second time. Then it will be AHHA! She rolled over!

Just in time for the Olympics

Here Sammy shows her true colors....go TEAM USA!

She weighs 14 pds 3.5 oz (with a diaper on) and still is 25 inches long.

August 3

I didn't post on Sunday because within 20 minutes of pulling into our home we were faced with this:

Two sets of neighbors didn't realize that their fence and then garages were on fire until Grumpa alerted them and told them to call 911. He then tried in vain using the garden hose to help put out the fires before it reached one of the houses. Thankfully, only the garages were lost, not the houses and everyone was safe. The winds targeted one home with the fire but the trucks and personnel got there in time. It only recieved minor damage with scorching. One of the garages held a hunter's stock of ammunition. Those shells and bullets exploding were very scary and made us all take cover. When it was all said and done four hours later, one and all were grateful and exhausted.

August 2, On the Road Again...

Goodbye Grand Teton National Park! We take this photograph each year for Grumpa. We pull off at the same pull out, squint at the fool holding the camera (me), our eyes are watering because we're staring at the rising sun and smile in the general direction of the voice we heard yelling to us. Next stop is 9 hours away in Elko and then home.

August 1

What? Too much like Jack Nicholson?












Last day on the boat for our vacation. You can see how much Daddy's beard has come in. He only stops shaving on Day One of vacation and doesn't shave it off until he's back at work.

July 31

This sums up our family's reaction to dinner at Jackson Lake Lodge. YUCK. I keep banging my head on the counter when I think of us going there again. And encountering crap food again. The menu reads like heaven but the execution is more like hell. Internet, next year, please remind me, "Just say no to Jackson Lake Lodge" with a sledgehammer, ok?

July 30

This was an extraordinary shot. Sammy had been asleep for about 20 minutes when I decided to take her picture. She looked so comfy there wrapped up in her pink blankie in Mommy's arms. Right when I snapped it, she smiled. And kept on sleeping.

July 29

Does this look like a relaxed little girl? It's funny because the photograph highlights more of her hair than you actually see. She pretty much doesn't have any of her birth hair left EXCEPT a tiny tuft in the back of her head at the bottom near her neck. Yes. You're right. That's what it's called. A Mullet.

Today we spent just us girls reading, relaxing and watching movies as Grumpa and Daddy went fishing again. I don't think that we changed out of our pj's until noon. ah...vacation.

July 28

Here we are at Jackson Hole Golf and Tennis. Sammy is smiling at Mommy and Daddy because she knows that it is forced smiles. This golf course we have played before but you couldn't tell us that. Those stupid mountains distracted us, the course was a reverse course, the weather was hot, we couldn't find the 'on' switch on any of our golf clubs, and oh, yeah, the earth is flat. We kept calling her Naked Baby because she was only in her diaper. This was the first time that she managed a full 18 hole game. She was a trooper!!

And after all that fun, we went into town to shop and to take another obligatory photo in front of the town antler archway.


There are four archways on the town square. Each winter the Boy Scout troop takes a trip to the National Elk Refuge (about one mile from town) to gather all the antlers the male elk drop during the fall. After that, the BSA troop make repairs and fill in the archways.

July 27

Um, can you guess where we went today? Sammy's picture in front of the Old Faithful Geyser is a continuation of a family tradition. I have photos of Auntie Kenna and Daddy in front of this sign beginning when they were little kids. Of course, they weren't sitting on the sign then.