Do you see what I see?

No, this isn't a post about a Christmas song! Take a close look here that this little beauty....see? right there? HAIR! HAIR growing over her ears!! Yippee!! She's getting long little girl hair!

No, it's not Easter yet

Sammy found a plaster rabbit I have in the backyard. Naturally, with any animal she finds or sees, she wants to kiss it. Except horses. She has a love/hate relationship with horses. She loves them, but is wary of them. I guess it's Love From a Distance.

Let me in!

Here we are again, outside, with the big dogs. Sammy so wants to run with the big dogs! But we keep them kenneled up because Ginger would knock her over running around and Madison would growl at her. But that doesn't stop Sammy. She loves doggies. Grumpa held her up above the gate so she could get an unobstructive view of them. Daddy holds her on their dogs so she can get a horsie ride on a German shorthair!

There's a mouse in the house!

Sammy has discovered the various mice we've painted on the walls in secret places here. She shoved some things out of the way and was so delighted to find this one. She likes to kiss the mice she finds. She has even said "mouse" a time or two.

Happy Thanksgiving

We're busy here in the kitchen...hope you all have a wonderful blessing-filled day!

Cookie

I was named after a cookie my mom craved during her pregnancy with me. Guess which one? I've always given thanks that she didn't crave Fig Newtons. But let me tell you, I LOVE Fig Newtons. And so does Sammy!

Little piggy toes

Sammy wore her Uggs this morning and promptly took them off. I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt with her feet being too hot in them and decided to walk around barefoot. But while she was doing that, I just couldn't help but take a few shots of those stinky little monkey toes! Within a reasonable distance, of course.

Scrapbook time!

I'm sure with time, Sammy will display an interest in what the heck Mimi is doing with all those pictures she takes. I will introduce her to the fun of stickers and glue and glitter and all the things that make up scrapbooks. She will soon tire of it all and only be interested in the stickers I can attach to her shirt on her belly. So be it. We'll both walk around with stickers on our bellies.

Velcro

I always remember a friend of mine whose sister owns a daycare. When velcro was first introduced and the little children would sit down to listen to storybook time, there were always those kids who couldn't be quiet and pay attention for very long. They would play with their shoes; their new velcro shoes. The teacher would have to speak over the sound of velcro opening and closing, opening and closing. So it was when Sammy decided to sit with me at the computer and play with her velcro shoes. Open, close, open, close, open, close....time to learn how to tie laces!

Bend and stretch

And when was the last time you could bend over exactly like this and touch the floor? Sammy had to call the paramedics for me afterwards.....

Monochrome

The beauty of this child shines through even in black and white.

Uggs

I asked Mommy the other day if Sammy still fits into her Uggs she got last year. Here's proof. Love those legs!!

Legacy

All dressed up and ready to ride horsies. Sammy is ALL about horsies these days. And I can't help but think of Nana and her horse filled childhood! Sammy's taking after you here....(Auntie Sissy went through a horse phase for a few weeks one autumn when she was about 12. This was in between the ice skating phase and the gymnastics phase!)

BUG!

Sammy is yet at that stage where she sees a bug and runs screaming for the first adult. And if Daddy has his way, she'll never do that. She'll either feed it to one of the dogs, put it in Mommy's closet, or eat it herself. But she won't be afraid.

Jump

Daddy has taught Sammy how to jump really, really high and she's not even in her PF Flyers!

What's in there?

We showed Sammy her little boy cousin the other day.....she wasn't sure if she should pet it, poke it, or runaway!

Poor little bunny

Sammy is suffering from her first cold of the season............our lives revolve around Kleenex, hand sanitizer, nose bulb, and Tylenol. The last two are for all of us.

Spanx

I was getting Sammy dressed the other morning into a nice outfit. Part of the outfit was some little tights. Once I had them pulled up she looked so funny as she patted her belly. I asked her to show me her belly and she started pushing it in and out. I was laughing so hard I was near tears.

Date Night

So last Friday night, Daddy took Mommy on a date and Grumpa and I babysat Sammy. We consider this a special treat. Don't know how Sammy feels about it but we think she had a good time.

I couldn't help myself. I just had to do this.

This is the first photograph of Sammy's little brother or sister. I see the family resemblance, don't you?

A lifelong habit

I hope that Sammy enjoys a lifelong love affair with reading books. Mommy and Daddy love to read and by the looks of it, so does Sammy.

C'mon!

Sammy's desire to go outside and look at the dogs is, um, shall we say...insistant? Thankfully this door is too heavy for her to open by herself otherwise I would find her outside constantly. I blame Grumpa because every time he comes home for lunch he takes her outside to see the big dogs, to see the leaves, to touch the bark, to examine bugs. He is as much of a kid as she is. Now, if only he would stay in time out when he's in trouble....

Oatmeal Masque

Now I know that I just posted one very similar to this, but this morning? Wow. What a mess! Her insistence of feeding herself despite the mess is fun to watch but the clean up.....it would be easier just to stand her outside and hose her off...

Horsie

This is Sammy's new version of her Horsie. Grumpa MUST pick her and the footstool up and bounce around with them. Grumpa gets tired. Sammy loves it.

Autumn Leaves

Sammy didn't want to hold still for any photos today even though the colors of the trees are beautiful. Taking pictures of active toddlers in picturesque settings are for faster photogs than I am!

Such a big world!

She looked so small out here today when we were walking around! (and now you understand why I like close up shots!)

Handy Helper

I had a few more clean up jobs in the back yard before winter finaling kicks in and Sammy decided that she was more than willing to help out. But first, she needed some gloves. I had to get them from Grumpa's truck (Hi, Grumpa!) so that she wouldn't get any stickers in her hands. After having them on for oh, 10 seconds, she decided that this particular chore wasn't very exciting and decided to go pet the big dogs. Thanks Sammy!

Reading time with Sammy

Hunting

Daddy, Grumpa and Uncle Mike went hunting for a week. Sammy missed her Daddy very much and when he returned home, she wouldn't let him out of her sight. Daddy, Daddy, Daddy...her favorite word and favorite person. But she didn't know what to make of his burly beard...it was scratchy!

Look Ma!

Sammy is conquering the fine art of self-feeding. She managed to eat a bowl of oatmeal and a bowl of applesauce all by herself today. Of course, finger food is still the easiest and the spoon sometimes slips. The results of all this resemble a facial mask she's using as part of her beauty treatment.