1 Year Check-up and Pictures

Samara had her one year check-up this week. She weighted 21 lbs and is 29 1/4 inches long. ShShe seems to be growing over night. Samara is in the 50th percentile for weight and height. She had to get 2 shots and her blood checked to see if she is anemic. That seems to get harder as she gets older, especially when she looks at me with those pretty blue eyes that are so sad.

I took Samara to have her 1 year pictures made today. They turned out great of course I think she is just the cutest 1 year old ever!

So shy......

Not Really!!

First Birthday Party and First Steps....

Samara had a great birthday party. All her friends and family came to celebrate with her and I think she had a lot of fun!

Here is the big birthday cake! I think it turned out so cute! Birthday Girl!



She did not really care for opening presents. There were too many people and other fun things to do!

This box looks fun to play with!

Time for birthday cake! Not so sure at first. She just took little tastes with her finger.

Oh yay!!! Cake tastes yummy!

Forget being proper....I'm digging in!

Nothing better than a fistful of cake in the mouth....

except for being able to put your foot in it too!

All cleaned up now and riding my new horsey!

Samara was exhausted after her party...but she was one happy baby!

The day after the party we went to church and Mamaw and Peepaw stayed the night so they came with us. Then we had lunch at Pops in Arcadia. We ate outside and it was so hot! That afternoon after Mamaw and Peepaw left we were playing with Samara and she took her first 3 steps! I though my heart would explode! I was so happy that Dustin and I both were there to see her first steps. She then took 2 steps but wouldn't you know the stinker wouldn't walk anymore when we got the camera out. She would just lean over like she was doing a belly flop because she knew we would catch her. I'm sure it won't be long before she is walking everywhere! She is growing up too fast.

Only God Knew...

Only God knew.... the gift he had in store for us on July 9, 2008. It makes me tear up just thinking about how I had longed for a child for so long and was blessed beyond belief on this hot summer day. Samara Diane Penland was born at 5:59 p.m. She weighed 5 lbs 15 oz and was 18 1/2 inches long. I do not really remember her crying just staring wide eyed at me. I'm sure I was staring just as wide eyed back.

Only God knew.....the way we would worry about her constantly and check on her countless times throughout the night just to make sure she was okay.

Only God knew.....the special place she would have in her daddy's heart, the smiles she would bring into his life, and the tender moments that daddy's and little girls share together.

Only God knew....the way I would love her so much that my heart would feel like it would burst, the excitement I would feel everyday when I picked her up out of her crib, and the special way she would hold my hand at night.

Only God knew....the joy she would bring into our lives.

There is no way to describe the past year except such blessing. Every day with Samara has been special and I will never take this gift for granted. I only wish we could hold on to her and this moment a little bit longer.

Today we celebrated her birthday with just the three of us. We let her open her presents and we sang Happy Birthday to her about a million times. She loved it! Saturday we will be having her actual "party" with friends and family.

Just a side note...we had a diaper blowout and the birthday onesie was no longer wearable!

Here are some things about Samara as she turns 1.

• Samara has only 2 bottom teeth. She got these when she was 9 months old. I keep thinking she is getting some more in but not yet!
• She still does not have much hair although she is really working on it! Her hair is still light and in the sunlight it looks like she might have some red in there.
• She is pulling up and wants to walk really bad. She tried really hard today but not quite yet. That being said, she can crawl faster than I ever imagined.



• Samara loves to climb and mastered her first set of stairs at PaPa's last week. She about gave me a heart attack!

  



• She can say baby, mama, dada, nana, dog, no, turtle, and tickle-tickle.
• Her favorite toys are her baby dolls, stuffed animals, and her walker.
• Samara loves to eat big food and is learning to drink out of her sippy cup. I do not know of any foods she does not like.
• Samara is very alert and is interested in everything and how it works. She can be very serious. (Don't know where that came from!)

• She loves kids but is not so sure about strangers. She does not really like being touched by people she doesn't know. I guess that is a good thing.
  
  

  Turning 1 is such hard work!
  
  

Birthdays, Fireworks, and Independence

It was a crazy busy weekend but we had a great time celebrating our country's Independence! We ate great food, spent lots of time with family, popped fireworks, and just enjoyed being together. My grandma had to have an unexpected surgery on Friday and thankfully everything went well. She was released from the hospital today and is doing great.

Samara had a great time celebrating the 4th. She really wants to play with all the big kids. She even stayed up for the fireworks which is something for her since she is usually asleep by 8:00. Fortunately the fireworks did not scare her one bit. She was such a good baby all weekend and was so happy to be spoiled rotten all weekend by her grandparents!

Here are some pics of our little firecracker!Our family!PeePaw & Mamaw with the grandkids! We bought them all Old Navy t-shirts! Samara was too interested in other things!Friday night we celebrated Dalton's 7th birthday! Happy Birthday Dalton!Saturday morning, Samara and I took a swim in Mamaw's hot tub. She had turned the heat of earlier in the week so it wouldn't be hot. Samara was fascinated with all the bubbles the jets made.Kuper! He had played hard!Here is my precious Lyric! She was lots of fun as usual!

Isn't that a cute 7 year old!

It was hard not to think about this time last year. I was 9 months pregnant and we were greatly anticipating the birth of our baby girl. It is amazing how much change a year can bring. It was much more fun celebrating the 4th with her in my arms compared to in my belly!