All done!!

This little phrase is significant in two ways...Kate has learned to tell us when she's "all done" with her meals by throwing her hands up in the air as if she's cheering (her interpretation of the sign.)  Too cute.  Steve, actually, is all done with GRAD SCHOOL!!  Tonight was his last night...two years of long nights - finished.  We're so excited!!  Congratulations, Steve!!

6 month pics

Our friend, Travis Cunningham took Kate's 6 month pictures and some family pics. They are great! Thanks, Travis!!

9 months!

Hard to believe that our baby Kate is already 9 months old! Every day is something new and exciting. What an amazing 9 months this has been! Kate's first tooth just popped through the other day...I've yet to see it, but we've definitely felt it. Luckily, she hasn't been very crabby and has been sleeping well. She's working on standing on her own and occasionally looks like she's thinking about taking a few steps away from the comfort and safety of the furniture.

This is a recent picture just before bath time

Crawling!!

About a week ago...

Kate.started.crawling!! Absolutely amazing...in addition to that, she's been pulling herself up to everything! It is so much fun to watch her little arms and legs moving so fast. She loves chasing max, crawling on/over max. We're so lucky to have such a good pup!

Raspberries

Ok, so that previous post actually posted on the date I started it, not finished it. Now, I kinda look like a crazy person. Big surprise.

So, my child's newest craze is blowing raspberries. As I type this, she is covered in her spit. haha.

May is almost over??

What is today, October?? I'm obviously off a little. I started to write this post about a month ago and here we are. Anyway, are we noticing a theme here?? Slow down, Time...geesh.

We are on the move and busy lately! Kate is coming up on 6 months. We've been (trying) to enjoy the weather. It's been so hot and Kate has been on some meds that she's not supposed to have too much sun exposure, so that makes being outside a little tough. Kate's development has really exploded in the last week. It's absolutely amazing to watch her learn and grow. Her newest hobby is sitting.

Here are some of Kate's 5 month pics:

April is almost over?!?

Where did this month go? One might think I decided to give up blogging. No worries, my friends. I'm back. :) Not sure where I went, but here's an update. Ok, an update...I'm drawing blanks. The obvious update is that Kate is getting bigger and doing so many new things! Bet you could have guessed that! She is trying to roll over either when placed on her back or tummy. Who knows what she'll do first. Her favorite hobby is standing. Love, loves to stand!

Other than that, I apparently need another hobby or something. :)

Oh! I thought of something...

Steve was just approved for a permanent position as an assistant principal at Ben Davis Ninth Grade Center. He's been working as one of the assistant principals on an interim basis. Now he's legit. Yay, for him!

Meet and Greet 2/26/11

Grandma and Grandpa Hakes hosted a Meet and Greet for Kate to meet my side of the family, and family friends in Huntington. What a fun day! Kate had a great time at Grandma and Grandpa's!

Tummy time

Kate decided that she did not like tummy time when she was about a month old. We've been working on it still and just about two weeks ago...she decided it wasn't so bad.

Kate - two months

Kate was two month old in February...she's getting close to catching the cat in size! I had wanted to catch this picture for while, but Opie would not stay still long enough. Finally, success!


Visiting with friends in Kokomo. Not everyone was happy to have their pictures taken! :)

Two month picture with my lovey!

nothing exciting

I'm sure that got your attention. :) But, really...nothing too exciting going on around here. Soon I will be returning to work. I can't believe it's March already and Kate is almost three months old! My, how time flies. We're getting into a nice routine - just in time to switch things up in a week when I go back to work. I'll be working just three days a week and we feel very lucky that I'm able to do that!

Kate is busy these days just talking up a storm, smiling and working on tummy time. We recently started some baby yoga at home, which she seems to enjoy! I can't believe how big she is getting. At her two month ped appt - she weighed 11 lb 5 oz and was 23 1/4 inches long.

Ice, Ice Baby...

Just a few pictures of the dreaded "icepocalypse" of 2011.
Looking out our front door - our front step is covered with ice. Poor Max eventually learned to take it easy when leaving the house after a few missteps.
The backyard

A layer of ice off one of the cars

Kate - one month

Kate is getting so big! At her 5 week appointment, she had gained 2 1/2 pounds and grown 2 inches. She is starting to coo and smile, reaching for toys and enjoys eating, sleeping and pooping. :)

About a week old. Sleeping after a middle-of-the-night feeding. I love how her legs were still curled up in her fetal position.

Baby's first christmas! 6 days old

10 days old - with my lovie

One month old! With the same lovie - my how she's grown!

Family

We were so lucky to have our families visit us during the holidays!

Grandma Nell and Grandpa Tom

Grandma and Grandpa Samuel and Cousin Alexis

Aunt Michelle and Uncle Doug

Cousin Jack

Aunt Amanda and Uncle Jared, Uncle Dustin, Jack and Aunt Megan

Christmas 2010

Our first Christmas with Kate! She's obviously enjoying opening the presents.
Our "fireplace." Haha, we found this on one of the music stations on the TV. It's perfect, since we don't use our own - except, it doesn't really heat the house much.

Samuel Family Christmas

Hakes family Christmas

Love this kid. What a great outfit. He even put up with me when I put the reindeer antlers on him. Just for a little bit, though. :)

another new addition to our family!

Haha! Now that I've got your attention...

I have good intentions of putting up pictures of Kate and talking about all the fun things she's doing now, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

Anyway, we have a new pet that lives in our attic. An exterminator came out today and set traps...can't wait to see what we'll catch!

Introducing Baby Kate

Kate Lillian Samuel arrived December 19, 2010 at 5:19 pm. She was 6 lb 14 oz and 20 3/4 inches long.

We were admitted to the hospital on Saturday, the 18th since my blood pressure was high. The doctor started a magnesium drip to depress my nervous system (due to the high blood pressure) and pitocin to induce labor. Unfortunately those two drugs kind of counteract each other. One is to relax your muscles and the other is to make the uterus contract. Kate was not in any hurry to make her way into this world and after about 30 hours of labor and very little progress - we decided to complete the c-section and meet our baby girl!!

We had originally planned to deliver at St. Vincent Women's hospital, but due to the timing - we ended up at St. Vincent Carmel since our OB was on call there that weekend. We absolutely loved our stay there. What a wonderful experience - the staff there is amazing. We couldn't have asked for a better stay!