New Shoes!

Someone finally got her first pair of shoes last night!~

I don't know if I've mentioned it recently or not (chances are, no) but Sam has been more or less walking... in spurts. She's been cruising around like it's no one's business, and has been flying on her FP walker back and forth across the room. She's also started standing up on her down, and can crouch down and back up again, so she's been working on her balance and leg strength. And within the last week or so she has been taking 5-6 steps out from the couch, stopping, turning around to smile at me, and then proceed on her way! With her birthday coming up this weekend, we decided that it was time -- people were going to want to walk around with her, and if her party is mainly outside I wanted to see her feet protected, so there you have it!

We decided to go to StrideRite for her first pair because personally I think they have the best reputation for children's shoes, my first pair of sneakers were from StrideRite, and I wanted her first pair to be a good pair of sneakers as she's trying to learn to be steady on her feet.

We got Sam measured and she's currently a size 3W -- poor thing has her dad's wide feet! And because she's almost walking, we decided to go with the Step 3 shoe rather than the Step 2 because although the Step 2s were a little more flexible for her, she was going to be growing out of them faster than we would want, and they're only good for the first 5 months of walking, so why not just jump forward to actual walking sneakers and save us the cash? So we went with a size 4 of the Step 3s because that's the smallest they had -- we tried them on her and they fit well, and her toes were where they needed to be, so we went with that.

Speaking of cash, going in, I knew what to expect, and even though I had given Chris the website for his viewing pleasure, he was still stickershocked... but what are you going to do? Sure, there was a 20% off sale going on for select styles, and of course Sam's feet were too small for the cute pairs on sale, and sure, the pair we both fell in love with (see above) was one of the more expensive, not-on-sale sneakers in Step 3s... but the way I look at it, her feet are developing, she needs a decent pair of learning sneakers, and you only get your first pair once!

Granted, I would never spend $50 on a pair of shoes for myself, but this is my daughter -- I'm allowed to spoil her.

But baby feet grow fast -- about half a shoe size every 2-3 month, so she's going to be out of these sooner than she's in them, so I think that's another reason why we bought her the size 4 Step 3s because there IS some growing room still, so we'll be able to get the most for my money.

Next time though? StrideRite Outlet. Or Payless.

But for now? Adorable sneakers. Watching her trying to walk with these news things on her feet is way too cute. She's not a fan yet though, you can tell -- more weight to hold her back, and if the doesn't lift her feet high enough, she does fall... sometimes she'll catch herself, others, like last night, she just loses her balance, and it's sad. =( But she'll get used to them eventually... right now I think her favorite part is undoing the Velcro. CUTE!

11 months down...

... 2 weeks and counting until we hit the big 0-1 and there's so much to do before it gets here.

This past weekend really made me realize exactly how much stuff we have to actually get ready and prepared for her upcoming birthday party, and yeah, it's got me in a little bit of a panic. But have no fear -- I have been known to perform my best under pressure, so rest assured, Samantha's party will be spectacular!

Like just today Chris went out to price banquet tables, and we drew a map of our backyard to figure out the placement of said tables, nd I'm starting to work through the menu and decor, and I'm not going to lie, but Pinterest has been giving me some fantastic ideas. And with 50+ people coming, and this being the largest gathering we'll have had at our house to date, I better make sure I have my shit together.

And yes, I do remember that this is for Samma, and everything I am doing, I'm doing with Sam in mind, but that doesn't mean I can't do it up right, right? Right.

That being said, there's much still to do, which means much still to talk about in the next couple of weeks, so stayed tuned!

1st Birthday ideas

The Date: Saturday, September 17, 2011

The Place: Our house, in Braintree MA

The Time: 1pm

The Theme: I think I'm gonna have to go with Cupcakes for this one...

The Menu: Something grilled, something smoked, all awesome

The Cake: Nikki is going to help with this one, so I think we might have a small decorated "smash" cake to hold the candles and allow Sam to destroy, and then there will be supplemental cupcakes for the guests.

The Presents: Samma's WishList

The Ensemble: Something Carter's -like, I think. I already have a Birthday onesie that would be cute with jeans and that damn tutu for her 1-year pics, so maybe we'll wear those at the party... other than that I have no idea.

The Guest List: Created, the FB Event has been established, and invitations have been bought. Family and friends no so much on FB should expect them after this weekend!

More to come! :D

I have done it...

I may have bought Samantha a tutu....

... and a headband.

Now all I need are the pearls... -_-;;;

Guess who's 10 months old!

And a chunkah to boot! Within the last month, she's almost gained a whole pound, now weighing in at 19 lbs, 12oz! Growing girl... and here I was worried about her eating habits.

Nothing TOO dramatic has happened in the last month. Still crawling, still pulling up to standing, still cruising. She wants to walk SO bad, you can just tell by teh way she reaches for things while she's standing. Soon, little girl... soon enough.

Samma has been getting my nerves and axiety up lately, that's for sure... over the last weekend or so she's been starting to do this head-bobbing thing similar to a nod when you're drifting off to sleep mixed with the spasm you might do if you have a shiver going down your spine. Honestly, it's really been freaking me out, and after she did it multiple times the other night, I finally decided to bring her to the pediatrician's office yesterday to have the doctor look her over to see if there was anything glaringly wrong. Well, she made me feel like a fool because according to the doctor, developmentally and behaviorally she is beyond where she should be, and her reflexes and reactions as exactly what they should be. Of course, she reassured me that I wasn't in the wrong for being concerned, because she remembered hows he was when her daughter was Sami's aged, and she even thought for a while she was having seizures. Yeah, seriously. But she also said it wasn't abnomal for ticks to occur while they're growing, and there's a possibility she could be doing it voluntary as she learns what her body can now do. So she told me to keep an eye on her, monitor when it happens, and what's going on when it happens, and try to get it on video, and then we have a follow-up on Monday to see how things are. My sister and I both saw it happen last night, and after a bit of research via Google (sometimes not the best thing, I know) and what we found was that it seems like babies similar in age to Sam have done the same thing across the board, and that it goes away as quick as it began... so I'm hopeful this is just a thing, and not something more serious...

So other than feeding anxieties, that's about it. We went away for not just one night, but TWO nights last weekend, and we entered Sami into a Diaper Derby race.... she came in second place, along with all the other babies who didn't move, but hey, the effort was there, and it was fun!

Up next? First birthday plans!!!