Girls weekend away for me, and Samantha walks for Dan!!!

So this weekend I went to Oklahoma for my sorority reunion..I had been looking forward to this for months... It was the first time in like 5 years my BFF Seetal and I had been able to hang out with no kids and no hubbys... It was also my first weekend away from Sam without Dan. Dan graciously stayed home with Sam (he played golf, etc so not a rough time..) I drove up to OK on Friday and picked up Seetal who had flown across the country with her 2 kids (serioulsy how do people do that) and off we went to get manicures/pedicures, a little shopping, dinner and then bed by 10...Seriously so sad but we were exhasuted... Saturday we had a house tour (wow the house did not look like that when I lived there) then off to lunch at The Mont ( a favorite college hangout with awesome Swirls) and then a drink at Classic 50's (this is like a Sonic) which is a favorite college hangout, then back to the hotel for a quick nap (we both passed out instantly when our heads hit the pillow) then off to dinner in downtown OKC at an Italian place...It was a 4 hour dinner but had a great time catching up with everyone...It was quite entertaining... Then home on Sunday after breakfast with Seetal... Here are a few pics from our little girls weekend away...
Me, my big Sis Susan and Seetal...

One of the groups from dinner (that took 4 hours)...well worth the time to chat and catch up.

So before I left Sam had been taking a few steps here and there but by the time I got home she is full on walking..She looks a little FRankenstein-ish but oh so cute.... I took a video last night on her 11 month birthday...Can you believe she is 11 months???

Alyson's 2nd birthday party.....

Well Alyson (our niece) turned two this weekend and they had a great party at a local park. It was so fun. There was a pavillion where we had lunch, awesome food Sarah....Lots of details like butterfly sandwhiches and cupcakes... That might have been the best peanut butter sandwhich I have ever had...The girls were able to play at the park on some really fun equipment too. And after the presents were opened we did a long hike with the whole family through the park. Such a nice way to celebrate her birthday....It was family only so nice and intimate... Here are a few pics..

Alyson showing off her new purse from GG and Popeye (yup Alyson has changed my dads name from Papa John to Popeye...we all think it is so cute and i just think it might stick..heheh also she calls me "E"...love that)

Samantha got some ribbon off one of the presents and would not let it go for a very long time..she was mesmerized by that bow and the twirler thing her Aunt Sue Ann got her...

This is probably one of my favorite pictures from the party of Alyson as she kept handing all her clothes she got as gifts to Dan...So cute!!

A couple other things to share a few people asked me what Samanthas Easter basket looked like so I took a picture a couple of days ago since I have yet to put it away... I love this basket and Dan likes to say she will have it til she goes to college..heheh

One last picture Samantha LOVES her books....If we are ever in her room she crawls right over and pulls them all out and she turns some of them to certain pages as those are her favorites... So one evening I got a picture of her surrounded by all the book she had pulled out.. I think this is a good sign she will be a little reader..yeah!! i have worked very hard to expose her to books as much as possible since birth...

Ear Infection and Easter...What a combo!!

Well Sam had what we thought mid last week was a minor cold. You know runny nose, a tad cranky etc..By Thursday when she really wasn't eating anything or drinking much I got a tad concerned picked her up from school and ran her into her pediatricians office. We were unable to see our doc so late in the day so we saw the nurse. Well we had her check her ears to make sure no ear infection. Nope everything was clear. So fast forward to us being up all night Thursday with her just crying..And this is a huge panic thing for us since Sam does not cry in pain very often if ever. We got concerned enough to keep her home from school and good thing we called in reinforcements. My parents came over to watch her while I had to go to work. Then Friday evening she was so bad and we were worried about dehydration we took her into the minor ER clinic right down the street from our house (all in our pjs must have been a sight) and she was diagnosed with an ear infection. Really it can form in 24 hours?..apparently soo.. After they gave her a high dose of Motrin and some anti nausea medicine we left (with a prescription for antibiotics) and got home where she proceeded to scarf down a bottle and fell right to sleep..Which was so nice...She crashed all night..yeah..She woke up Saturday feeling much better no more fever and a whole new baby...yeah!! We did skip the Easter Egg Hunt as it was a little chilly and she had just gotten her first dose of antibiotics and did not want to risk anyone else getting sick..We took it easy Saturday and with me (Erin) being sick too we took lots of naps..

Sunday (Easter) we were all feeling much better and ready for the Easter bunny and some family fun..We met at the folks place for a nice brunch at the club house..So busy and so yummy.. Here are a few pics..

Sam in her Easter dress and of course a new bow....I loved how the other headband and bow looked on her so I got a new one to match her dress...Dan had no choice in the matter....She did however hate the dress because she couldn't figure out how to crawl in it so she would fall over and lay down and roll around..Pretty funny...

Another quick family pic with Sam with her sweater on as it was a tad cold out there..
The whole family getting together for a picture in the clubs library..What a good looking bunch of people...

And of course after nap time the girls got to play together...What cuties....

Easter was a lot of fun.....It was Sam's first Easter and even though she was combating an ear infection she was such a little trooper...

Lots of firsts this weekend....

Well Sam had a lot of new experiences this past weekend.

She got to attend her first baby shower with me. Dan had to work so instead of getting a nice relaxing morning with friends I was running around chasing Sam. She loved it though and I think was the hit of the party. There was another little girl Olivia and Sam just wanted to follow her and kept staring at her in awe...So cute. Also Sam kept trying to help Annette (the mom to be) open her presents by ripping off the paper (well before she even opened her presents) All in all it was a great experience for both of us... I also learn something new every time I go to one of those. I learned of a great kids books author so can not wait to get some of them as Sam loves her books.

Here is Annette opening her presents..She is the cutest pregnant girl ever!!
Here is Sam and Olivia. Sam is completely taken with her book. Olivia had been looking at it with her a few minutes before and that was so cute..

Here we are Saturday morning before Dan left for work and Sam and I left for the shower. I thought I had Sam all dressed up why not take a quick family pic. Of course Dan is mortified when I put any sort of bow on Sam's head but what the heck she looked so cute!!

Then on Sunday Dan, Sam and I all attended the birthday party for Adam (1 year) and Will (3 years old)....They are the sons of a dear friends Chuck and Jenny (who we went to Mexico with last year while prego)..It was a lot of fun and what a great party. They sure know how to do it right. While I proceeded to keep track of Sam and try and talk to friends (it was a little challenging with so many fun things to do the kids all seemed to go in many directions so parents were all over the place keeping up with the kiddos) Dan proceeded to drink a beer and eat a yummy brisket sandwich (I did steal a bite or two)..

Last night Sam and I had dinner with our neighbor Laura and her daughter Kate (only 2 weeks older than Sam) at Matittos (Mexican).... It was a girls night out and I am sure when the waiter saw us coming he said oh no..now that Sam eats table food she makes a big mess (another reason why I am a big fan of eating out whenever possible)...When we got up to leave there was food galore all under the girls high chairs...Oh well it was nice to sit down and have dinner with another mom and get to know our neighbors better. I am sure we will repeat that again real soon as they had fantastic margaritas and great conversation..Really what more could you ask for...

Also Sam's new favorite thing is to walk with us. So cute here are a few pics from the past few nights... This really is exhausting.. We take turns walking with her..heheh

Yes we are all in our pjs..This is our nighttime routine of chasing Daddy to her room for story time.. She loves story time and the chase...

Here Dan is working on getting Sam to walk with her walker..So funny..she can only do it on the carpet as it is wayyyyy to fast on the hardwoods...

We are really looking forward to Sam's first Easter!!

Erik and Sarahs birthday party..

So this past weekend we met up with the whole family for Erik and Sarahs birthday party at a yummy local BBQ place...Sam did great she ate everything we fed her, we tried pulled pork, brisket, and chicken and all kinds of veggies..Then after lunch we went back to SArah's folks house for some yummy cake and gifts (and well playtime for the girls). So here are a few pics from that...

Erin Dan and Sam at Sue Ann and Steves house for cake...

GG and Grandma playing with Sam

Sam and Alyson...Alyson loves to share all her toys with Sam..Sam loves to take all the toys Alyson will give her..so cute together...

Also Dan and I had an adults night out on Saturday and attended my old boss's wedding..So much fun..It was nice to get dressed up.. Check us out!!

One last picture I was able to get on Saturday morning before going to Erik and Sarahs birthday party..This is just priceless...

Lots happening in our house now that Sam is almost walking/crawling and getting into everything with her fearless sidekick Chewy....

Sam is walking...well sorda.....

So last night Sam was cruising around in her scooter before dinner but after dinner she had a better idea she would push around the scooter as she walked behind it..At first it was a miserable failure as she was pushing so fast she kept falling. But once I stepped in and started helping her slow down the scooter she was doing great. Here is a few minutes of her walking with the scooter with Dan when he got home from work..So cute!! And don't you love those black sock...nice sweetie!!