Beach Trip and Samantha's 5 month birthday

We had a busy week with Samantha's first trip to the beach. We visited Ft. Myers Beach. FL to celebrate the wedding of Grammy (Tina) O'Leary to Doug (Papa Bear) Bean. It was so nice to see family and we got to hang out for a few days together. Samantha met Uncle Jim and Aunt Paula and Joanie for the first time, and loved hanging with Aunt Cori and Uncle Brian. It was sometimes a bit much for her but she was a really trooper going all day and seeing a lot of people... all while managing the stifling heat. The wedding was beautiful and it was nice meeting Doug's side of the family. It was quite a different beach vacation with an infant - not quite as relaxing but fun in a different way. And i got my raw oysters! Yipee!

Here are some wedding pics:

The family: Kristi, Nick, Sam, Tina, Doug, Cori, Brian, Aunt Paula and Uncle Jim

The crazy ladies of the family.

How sweet... Samantha was starting to fade here.

Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Bean.....

Here's Sam and me before the wedding.

As for the rest of our ongoings, Samantha continues to grow and learn more every day. While on vacation, Samantha learned a new sound and thankfully chose not to express herself on the plane ride home. Check out the video!

We had a new babysitter start this week and Samantha seems to love Ms. Scherree. We laugh because Scherree has a little daily plan for Sam that charts the books she read, songs sung, diapers made, naps had, etc. It makes me laugh but is really helpful. It has alleviated a lot of stress for me as I've been working some from home and some at the office.

We're looking forward to a long weekend to relax and watch the Flyers first game in the Stanley Cup finals. Can't wait to actually be able to watch it since it's been on a channel we don't get. We've been forced to watch the game at our friend's Lynn and Mark's in exchange for pizza. Not a bad sacrifice! Ashame he was a Canadian's fan. Sorry Mark.

Hopefully my creative side will come out for my next post... this was a pretty factual post without much fluff. It's been one of those weeks!

Ahh what a day! Time for bed.

Check back soon!

K, N, & S

Wow... 20 weeks old this week!

Okay followers...

I know it's been a long time. Nick has been very busy at work and honestly, Samantha requires a lot more attention than in the past few months, so blogging was put to the bottom of his list. So, I'm going to give it a go. I was against a blog initally... thought it was kind of cheesy, and that "why would people care?" but can't believe how much I blog stalk others, loving what is going on their lives and kids' lives. I am always wondering when people are going to have new posts and get antsy when people don't update. I feel your pain. So.... I have take on the challenge to keep this blog up to date as the best I can. You can continue to follow the ongoings of the Estes family and watch Samantha grow up as fast as she is! Man, time flies!

Let's see.... since 16 weeks a lot has happened. I'm back at work more than before, and I am realizing how hard it is to manage 2 different worlds. I'm not treating as much, but rather managing my company that contines to grow. It's great and stressful at the same time. I'm learning to balance it all. We had a little glitch thrown into our lives when we decided to have Samantha stay at our home during the day and now aren't using our babysitter anymore. So, my gracious mom flew down for a week and a half and babysat until tonight. I had to really twist her arm. I think she secretly hoped we'd need her! Gigi will be greatly missed (by us and Sam!). I think she realized she's not quite as young as she used to be. Sam kept her busy and was so happy. We have a new babysitter starting next week. Miss Scherrie. Love her. Let's hope it works out better.

Nick has been working and enjoying top-down weather (by himself of course, since Samantha's car seat will cramp the car's style). That's okay, then we have a date night car, i guess. He's been amazing with Sam although everytime he kisses her in the morning, he seems to "mistakenly" wake her up to get a morning smile. I know he does this on purpose as she is so amazing happy in the morning and makes a great start to the day (maybe making the commute better??) He still does bath and night duty most nights since Sam sleeps better with a good 6oz bottle in her! Samantha is beginning to love Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy, per Nick's report. She's almost spelling!

Samantha is just amazing. She's so happy and laughs all day long. She loves to eat and cries only when hungry - but, man, you better have some food ready for her when this happens! She's a little chunk of love. At her 4 month appt, she was 14 lb, 6 oz and 23 inches long. Growing great and very healthy. We may start food at 5 months, or later. We have to see how it goes. Samantha is rolling from her back to stomach, and just starting to roll from stomach to back - this presents quite a problem at 4am when she rolls and can't get back. That's where I come in to rush to her help. She is mostly sleeping though the night with occasional wake-ups and has gotten on a better routine since she's been home with the help of my mom.

She loves singing, dancing, her exersaucer, and wants to put everything in her mouth. Not sure when teeth will come, but maybe soon. She is very nosy, wants to be around people all the time, loves to talk, and is always on the go... sound like anyone you know? I think she'll be planning social events before we know it.

Here's Samantha trying to eat my nose!

Well, I am off to pack for the beach. We're heading to Ft. Myers for Grammy O'Leary's wedding this weekend and to see some family. Let's hope we avoid the oil slick and Samantha enjoys the sand and sun (well, shade I guess...). More to come after our trip.

Kristi

16 Weeks!

We made our first trip to NJ last weekend. Yes, this involved getting on to a plane twice! Samantha ended up doing very well on the plane. On the way up to NJ...Kristi had to fly by herself. She went up Wed afternoon (and I flew up Friday evening after work). The good news is that Kristi and Samahta got a row all to themselves in the back of the plane...but the bad news was that Samantha had 2 blowouts on the plane (one requiring Kristi to change her clothes). Everything was fine, except Kristi tried to use the airplane bathroom to change Samantha, but b/c it was so loud in there...it freaked her out. Samantha doesn't cry much, except when she gets scared which happens randomly. I don't think she was traumatized, but it certainly scared Kristi.

Our trip to NJ had 2 purposes: 1) go home to see family and friends and 2) go to a Erica Maurer's wedding.

There were lots of visitors in just a few days. We were able to capture this picture below...there are 4 generations in one shot. I guess Samantha didn't get the memo...where's your red shirt???


Samantha got to attend her first wedding. The original plan was that I was going to stay home for the wedding ceremony and then I would only go to the reception. We ended up changing those plans and fortunately Samantha had received a dress as a gift, so we dressed her up and headed off to the wedding. On Saturday night, we ended up getting a babysitter (Mrs. Hampton, who was Kristi's middle school teacher) and went to center city Philly for Erica's wedding reception.

As you can see below, both Kristi and Samantha got dressed up for the wedding. Samantha was so well behaved during the ceremony. I held her in my arms the entire time and she was so cute that the wedding photographer ended up snapping a bunch of pictures of her!


Flying back home to Atlanta, went very well. Samantha ended up resting on my lap, snuggled in her boppy and eventually fell asleep as we were heading towards the runway. She slept the ENTIRE flight home without making a noise. I started to wonder if the flight attendants might think that we drugged her...but we did not. Somehow all of the stars and moons were aligned and our flight time coincided with Samantha's afternoon nap schedule...miracle.

Below are a couple of pictures we took while waiting to take off to Atlanta:



Our next trip will be in about 4 weeks when we travel to Ft Myers for my Mom's wedding. Should be a good time. We'll get to see my Mom's side of the family and hang out on the beach for a few days...a much needed break from work.

Enough about travelling...here are some general updates on Samantha:

• Samantha has great head / neck strength. She'll keep her head up very well when lying on her stomach and loves to sit up in our laps
• Her new trick is that she's starting to find her feet. When we're changing her, she constantly bending her hips and lifting her feet up to her head and hands, although she's not fully grabbing them yet
• Samantha is starting to grab for things. In her car seat we have attached a bunch of hanging toys which keeps her entertained. She also loves to hold your finger when she's sitting in your lap
• Samantha continues to sport the cow lick, I'm still not ready to try hair gel to keep her hair under control...

Thanks for following...talk to you sooner rather than later!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone!

Samantha, Kristi and I had a wonderful weekend and a wonderful Easter surrounded by great friends (bummer we didn't have any family, but maybe next year). The weather could not have been better this weekend. With temps well into the 80s...the three of us ended up spending a lot of time outside soaking up the sun.

Saturday afternoon started with a visit from our friend Jeanne who drove up to the country to see Samantha. We ended up grabbing lunch out at our favorite restaurant, Taco Mac. For dinner, we met up with our friend Robbie & Daphne and went to our second favorite restaurant, The Iron Horse Bar & Grill. At both restaurants, Samantha was so well behaved! She slept for most of the time and woke up towards the end as we getting ready to leave. The trick to a successful dining out experience is to take advantage of the car ride. In both instances, Samantha would fall asleep as soon as we left our neighborhood and then would sleep through dinner. We've really lucked out through 3 months as Samantha has been such a sweet baby.

For Easter, we went over to our friends Bill, Natalie & Billy's house. Mark, Lynn, Claire and Laura joined us for a brunch (you can see an Easter weekend theme of eating going on here). We were able to get some family photos below (also available on our Picasa page link):















I've got to say that Samantha and Kristi take some great pictures!

Here is a picture of Samantha (13 weeks) and Laura (7 weeks). Samantha has a head start, but Laura isn't too far behind. They are already close friends and it appears that they are inseparable...as indicated by them grabbing each other's clothes:

Finally...we got to take some candids around the house this weekend. Samantha loves to laugh and giggle. Whether it be playing in the bathtub, getting changed or just lounging around...she's always smiling and making us laugh.

At the same time, she can be pretty serious and attentive. We've been working on putting her on her stomach and spending a little bit of time in her bumbo seat to work her neck muscles. Below...we caught her staring at me (and no...i don't have gray hair...its just the flash from the camera). Samantha is so precious and I love to stare back at her. She has the prettiest blue-gray eyes, which we hope stay that color (even though both Kristi and I have brown eyes)...















Happy Easter everyone! Welcome spring!

Oh that hair!...the post dedicated to the cow lick

Since day one, Samantha has had a full head of hair. It's not a bad thing, in fact, we love it and Kristi takes advantage of it so she can put bows and barrettes in her hair. One thing that makes Samantha unique is that she has a permanent "cow lick". For those of you who don't know what a cow lick is...its hair that sticks up and will not go down.

At first, Kristi and I were a little self conscious of her protruding hair, but over time we grew to accept it. Initially, we tried to comb her hair down with water, but then that just left her hair looking greasy. After each bath, we would quickly rush to get her dressed, sit her up and comb her hair, but it was always too late, the cow lick came back.

A few weeks ago, I thought I had cracked the code. I realized that we combing her hair in the wrong direction and we were actually causing the cow lick. See, her hair wanted to naturally part forward, but we were combing it backwards. After trying to remedy the cow lick by following the natural part of her hair, it still would not fall down. I feared it was too late. Her hair may be permanently set to stay in the cow lick position. 12 weeks of combing against the way her hair parts might be too much to overcome.

In the end, I've decided that I'm ok with it. Her cowlick gives her character and makes Samantha unique. When we take her out with the cow lick, she still attracts lots of attention. I can't tell you how many people tell us how beautiful she is. Could it be the cow lick or her eyes???...only time will tell. Heck, we should all embrace the cow lick. Just yesterday, I went out shopping with Kristi and we were rushed, I had not showered. I had a series of cow licks, but I knew a hat could cover my cow lick. Driving through the shopping center, I decided to stop by my local hair cutting shop since they were not busy. I walked in, sat in the chair and removed my hat...oh no...my cow lick. At first, I was embarrassed and explained to the stylist that I had not showered yet today and I had not planned on coming in to get my haircut. She quickly calmed my fears and said, "Don't worry, we'll just wash your hair...in 20 minutes, you'll be fine." Everything was going to be ok. She was accepting of my cow lick. With that statement, I thought of Samantha and her cow lick. She will grow up to be proud of her cow lick.

Our message to all of you is: Don't worry about your cow lick. If you wake up in the morning and your hair is sticking up, it's ok...embrace it! Sometimes its just natural to have a cow lick.
Samantha does a pretty good job showing off her hair.

On a separate note, Samantha turned 12 weeks old on Thursday. Happy Birthday Samantha!

And then there were 4.......

Well...we just wrapped up the last of our visitors today, with the visit of Aunt Cori and Uncle Brian. We had a wonderful long weekend with them. After 11 weeks, everyone, who was going to visit, has flown down to spend some time with us. It has been a lot of excitement and we have enjoyed having everyone visit us. Now its back to normal, no more extra set of hands and free nights out for dinner. Thanks to everyone who made for your company and help. Now its back to just Kristi, Samantha, Bailey and me...

Cori and Brian arrived Thursday night, when Samantha was sleeping, but got to spend a lot of quality time with her on Friday and Saturday. Kristi took advantage of the free babysitting and went into work for a little while. I, unfortunately, also had to work all day. I was in the stores working, versus sitting behind my desk...its was pretty challenging and certainly makes me appreciate my day job. (here is a picture of me in my "working in the stores" clothes).

The weather was beautiful so we all got to spend a lot of time out in the sun. Overall, it was a great trip with lots of fun and laughs. Here are some pictures we took of the weekend (click here). Below is a clip that we took of Brian and Samantha:

Kristi still continues to work with Samantha on her stomach. Samantha is really getting strong. She's able to hold her head up on her own and look all around. She also loves laying on the floor. She's very active and has even started leaning to the side, trying to roll over.

Today, we went over to visit our friends Lauren & Kyle, who just had a new baby girl named Jane Ellen (congrats Lauren & Kyle!!!). While we were over at their house, I put Samantha on the floor to play and kick around. While she was laying there, she kept trying to eat her hands and at the same time kept lifting her legs up and then rolling to her left side. A couple of times she got about 85% of the way to rolling on her stomach. She's pretty advanced, and we are so proud of her! Today, she even said "Da". I'm taking credit for Dad, because I was playing with her and making her laugh at that time. Marking this one in history books...Samantha first spoke at 11 weeks...March 21st, 2010 at 4:34pm.

Hello Blog...It's Me...Nick...

Wow...it has been way too long since the last time I updated the blog. I apologize that it has been so long. Candidly, I wanted to spend all of my free time with Samantha (and Kristi), which in turn resulted in a neglected blog. It's a little bit selfish, but you'll understand once you see the updated pictures (click here)...she's really cute and so much fun to be around!

So much has happened over the last 3 weeks and Samantha has grown so much. Samantha has developed an awesome personality where she laughs and giggles all the time. We took her to her 2 month doctors appointment a few weeks ago and she has filled out nicely. He cheeks are chubby, but not too big. Samantha weighed just under 12 pounds...but now at almost 11 weeks, she's probably a little over 12 pounds.

Kristi went out and bought a bouncer seat (pictured to the right) for Samantha. This was the best investment we've made to date...although gripe water is a close second. This seat is a vibrating seat that we usually put Samantha in when we're eating or getting things done in the kitchen. Most of the time Samantha will sit there and laugh, kick and smile. A quick comment on gripe water...this stuff is amazing...and its just sugar water. If Samantha gets too fussy or if she gets the hiccups, we'll give her a little gripe water, and everything is ok. Crying, hiccups, burping, you name it can be cured by gripe water. It's 1oz for $10...but I'll never complain about the price.

Kristi still has not gone back to work full time yet. We've been slowly transitioning to bringing Samantha to her new babysitter for half a day one time per week. For those of you that did not know, we did end up finding a babysitter, here in the neighborhood...which is really convenient. Her name is Amy, although some have called her the "baby whisperer". We're really happy that we found her. Kristi will probably start going back to work in the next few weeks. While she is at home, she's definitely been utilizing her OT skills to keep Samantha on track developmentally. They play on the floor a lot and Samantha spends a lot of time on her stomach working her muscles. The other day, she actually rolled over from her stomach to her back, although we haven't been able to repeat it again. Take a look at the video below...Samantha is really doing great holding her head up!

At night and during the days, we've had mixed luck with Samantha sleeping in her crib. Most nights she's been going down to bed around 8pm and then she'll sleep until 5 or 530AM...not bad. Recently, whenever we put her in her crib, she'll cry herself to sleep for 10 minutes. It really breaks my heart to hear her cry, but I get that its necessary. I will tell you that its the longest 10 min to sit through. Kristi's really been working on putting her in her crib during the day for naps. We're getting better, but not at 100% yet.

Gram and Gramp Estes came in to visit us this past weekend (another reason why I didn't update the blog...I didn't want to be rude while they were here!). We had a wonderful 5 day trip and Samantha loved meeting her grandparents for the first time. Aunt Cori and Uncle Brian come in Thursday for a long weekend. We've been lucky to have so many visitors. Many people ask if we get tired of having so much company, but I can honestly say that we don't. It's really nice to have an extra set of hands to help out or have some new folks to chat with...or in my Dad's case...an extra set of hands to lay vinyl floors and work on projects around the house! Don't worry Brian...I still have plenty of projects for you to help out with.

Until next time...but not as long as the last time...I promise...