Samantha at 45 Weeks

This past week was a little crazy with returning from spring break on Sunday evening.  It took us a while to get back into the swing of things with work and school.  It has been so strange lately because the weather has been unseasonably warm.  It was warm enough one day that Ben and I were finishing off some popsicles left in our freezer that were sugar free (leftover from a class party I had at school).  When I was eating mine, Samantha was showing a great deal of interest in the orange colored thing on a stick that I was eating, so I decided to let her try some of it.  Wow!  She was a HUGE fan!  When she first got a taste of it, I don't think she knew what to think of it, especially since it was so cold, but after she got the flavor in her mouth, she cried out for more.  She kept coming towards me, reaching out, and opening her mouth so she could have another lick of my popsicle.  Here are some pictures of Samantha's first popsicle experience!

The other interesting thing of the week was possibly Samantha not feeling well.  The reason I say possibly is because she didn't really show many signs of not feeling well, but then a couple days after I got pretty sick with some type of stomach bug and looking back, Samantha may have had some form of it as well.


On Wednesday morning, after nursing Samantha for only five minutes, she acted like she was all done, so I picked her up to switch her around and when I did she spit up all over the place, more than she has ever done, even back when she was a little baby and spit up more frequently.  Needless to say, she got spit up all over herself and me, the rocking chair and the floor.  I quickly changed her into a fresh pair of pajamas and tried to continue nursing her, but she didn't show much interest.  This lack of interest in nursing, and really in eating any food at all, lasted for the next couple days.  When we would try to feed her baby food, she would just gag on it.  It was almost as if her body was saying it couldn't handle any food intake at that particular time.  Well then, on Friday morning, I woke up extremely sick and ended up calling in sick to school.  I could not keep anything down and felt nauseous every time I would sit upright.  I ended up staying in bed all day, sleeping on and off, until 1:30.  Anyways, I'm glad Samantha didn't have anything nearly as bad as my little stint, but I wonder if her spitting up episode was something like throwing up for a baby.  I think a baby's body is almost smarter than an adult's body because it knows how much food to eat and what to do to protect itself when there is an infection or illness.


I got much better on Friday evening and was able to keep food down, so the family decided to make the trip to Upland as planned.  We were having another cousin get together weekend.  We spent Saturday hanging out and playing, sitting outside on a blanket in the warm sun, and going on a walk around the new science building at Taylor, getting pictures of the girls in the future offices of Grandma and Grandpa Toll.  We had a great, relaxing weekend in Upland.  


Samantha slept great both nights we were there.  Saturday night, Grandma and Grandpa even kept the monitor for us so that we could go out and see a movie (I know, I know, I fell for it...I just had to see "The Hunger Games."  Read all the books, bought into the hype.  I did really enjoy it though).  However, it was the first movie Ben and I had seen in a movie theatre since we lived in Waco two years ago, so it was fun to get out and go on a date together.  


Samantha's normal eating habits came back as well.  In fact, there have been several times in the last week that Samantha nursed for almost 45 minutes at one time!  That is a new record, harkening back to newborn baby Samantha.  I'm always glad to see her bounce back to her old self quickly because being a first time mom, I always get nervous when her habits change from normal.


Here are some pictures from our weekend in Upland:

This last picture is priceless.  Ben was playing peek-a-boo with her from behind the door.  She thought it was hilarious and was just squealing for joy every time he popped his face back up for her to see.  She loves laughing with her daddy.

Samantha at 10 Months: Our trip to the Smoky Mountains

First of all, I need to give you a warning.  This post may be very long and have many pictures because I have SO much to talk about.  We had a wonderful spring break trip with my parents to the Smoky Mountains.  We stayed in a beautiful cabin up in the mountains for four nights, spent time hiking, relaxing, playing games, and enjoying time experiencing new sights with our new little explorer.  I love introducing Samantha to new experiences.  Everything is so exciting to her, and I so look forward to re-experiencing life through the eyes of my little girl.


We left on Wednesday morning and arrived at our house around 5:00 p.m.  Samantha did great in the car.  Ben and I would take turns driving and riding in the back seat with her when she wasn't napping so that we could interact and play with her and keep the boredom at bay.  Our house was GORGEOUS!  It was called "Grand View" and oh my, it certainly did have a grand view.  The people that owned the house were actually Christians, which is neat, and many guests made comments in the guest book about this being as close to heaven as you could possibly get while on earth.  I think I would have to agree with that.  All of us enjoyed sitting out on the wonderful back porch rocking chairs, taking in the fresh mountain air, watching the fog roll across the mountains and into the valleys, observing the thunderclouds blow in and bring strong downpours of rain, as well as beautiful rainbows.  I love being in nature because I feel like it brings my life into perspective, reminds me of God's omnipresence, and how He is reflected in all creation.


Here are some pictures of the house and view on the night we arrived:

Thursday, the first morning we were there, a thunderstorm came through the mountains early in the morning.  After it was over, there was a beautiful rainbow across the sky, my favorite reminder of God's promises to His children.  We waited out the storm and enjoyed time at the house before heading out on our first hike to Laurel Falls.

We reached the start of Laurel Falls just when the last of the rain was clearing up, which was perfect timing because we beat the crowds and had the trail mostly to ourselves.  One of the reasons we picked this trail was because is was paved and therefore, stroller friendly.  Samantha loved her stroller ride up to see the falls.  She shows her interest in the world around her by sitting straight up in her stroller, holding onto the tray in front of her, and looking around at everything.  When we got to the falls and she first caught a glimpse of the rushing water, her face was priceless, beaming from ear to ear.  She was astounded and amazed.  She loved it and couldn't take her eyes off of it.  After we got some great pictures of us and the waterfall, I pushed up Samantha's pant legs and allowed her to put her feet in one of the shallow pools forming at the bottom of the falls. The water was pretty cold, but it seemed like Samantha loved the feeling of the water rushing over her feet.

Visiting Laurel Falls reminded me of when I visited Iguazu Falls in Argentina back during my Taylor days.  While we were at Iguazu Falls, next to the falls there was a plaque that read, "Mightier than the thunder of the great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea--the Lord on high is mighty," Psalm 93:4.


That evening, after Samantha got a good afternoon nap in, we went on a driving tour of Cade's Cove.  It was too beautiful for words.  We saw wild turkeys and deer, and the weather was very warm and pleasant.  Samantha loved it.  We think she really enjoys exploring the outdoors and seeing new things.  She particularly likes to ride up on Daddy's shoulders.

The funny thing is, that after we took this above picture, I noticed that Samantha had a sliver in her foot from this wooden fence.  It didn't seem to bother her at all, and once we got back to the house, my dad helped us pick it out of her foot with tweezers.  He's an expert at this, as he's had plenty of experience with it over our years of growing up.


The next day, we hung out at the house in the morning and then drove off to Clingman's Dome, which is the highest point in the Smoky Mountains.  The radar looked clear before we left; however, after we got there, had lunch, and began to climb the steep incline, it began to hail and then pour down rain.  Ben, Samantha, and my dad were up ahead of my mom and me.  Ben spun Samantha around in her stroller so that the rain wasn't coming at her head on, and ran while pushing her up the steep incline to the top of the hill.  Luckily, there was an overhang at the top of the observation tower and people cleared the way for Ben to get the stroller protected from the rain by the overhang.  My mom and I waited underneath some trees to see if the rain would pass by, but it didn't seem to be going anywhere so my mom ended up heading back down and I ran up the rest of the way.  We were all soaking wet, except for Samantha because Ben did an exceptional job protecting her from the rain.  Nevertheless, it was an extraordinary view from the top and well worth the drama of the climb up to the top.  We will not quickly forget this memorable hike in the Smokies!

One of the best things about our vacation really was our rental cabin.  It was great to be able to go back there in the afternoons and evenings to play with Samantha, play games, and just enjoy time with each other.

Also, on Friday, March 16th, Samantha turned 10 months old.  We took our obligatory pictures of her being a monster, crawling around and attacking the sign.  You can't really tell in this third picture, but when we were all taking pictures of Samantha, it almost seemed like she was forcing herself to smile at the camera.  It's just hard to get clear pictures because she moves around so much!

Our last day there, we went out for breakfast and went downtown Gatlinburg and took a tram ride up the mountain.  Samantha was a very tired girl, but still did really well, much better than the other baby that was crying during the whole ride.

After giving our tired girl a nice long nap, we headed back towards Gatlinburg to do the Roaring Fork motor tour.  While we were on our way there, there were a whole bunch of cars pulled off on the side of the road.  We stopped as well to see what the excitement was about, and we noticed two bears.  One was walking around on the forest floor, the other was up in a tree.  Ben attempted to take some pictures, but it is kind of hard to tell what they are showing.

The serene motor tour around the mountains was the perfect conclusion to our stay in the Smoky Mountains.  I don't think I'd ever get tired of looking at the spectacular handiwork of God's creation as evidenced in the mountains.  Samantha slept great every night we were there with no problem sleeping through the night, even though we all slept in the same room.  We got her a good solid nap every day, but still had plenty of time to see the sights as well as just spend time relaxing as a family.  It will be fun, when Samantha is older, to show her pictures of her first family vacation with Mommy, Daddy, and Grandpa and Grandma Kappel.  She is such an easygoing baby, and we can't wait to expose her to more new experiences like this in the future.