9 months old

Samantha had her 9 month check-up and here are her most recent stats:

weight - 18 lbs (45%)

height - 28 inches (50%)

Here are a couple of videos:

I introduced Samantha to the cheerleader doll. She likes to wave at her and give her kisses.

Lollipop and Samantha like to play tug-of-war with the birdie.

Eating Out

Since Samantha was born we have gone through a variety of restaurant experiences. In the beginning, Todd and I would frequent restaurants all the time and even late at night because she would just sleep in our arms or in her carrier. Then we went through a stage where it was impossible to take her out to eat because sitting still was out of the question and she was not yet eating solid foods so keeping her occupied was tricky.
Fast forward to the last couple months and we are back out on the town. She loves to sample whatever Todd and I are eating intermixed with the pile of cheerios we put in front of her to keep her busy. Some of her other favorite things at restaurants are menus, straws, lemons, bread, pickles (this was a recent discovery at Brophy Brothers this weekend), cucumbers and waving to all the people around her.

I have a feeling that once she starts walking we will be back to avoiding restaurants. So until then, we apologize to all the restaurant staff for the mess we leave underneath the table and in the high chair. We do try and clean up as much as possible and make sure to leave a better tip :)

Beach Date

Samantha and Connor enjoyed a beautiful day at Butterfly Beach.


First he loves her

Then he leaves her

What a heart breaker!

Ouch!

*****WARNING This photo is GROSS

Todd was removing some old Spanish tiles at the new house and one of them fell and landed on his shin making a pretty deep gash that required stitches.

On a more positive note, the remodel is really moving along. I need to get over there and take some new photos, but in the meantime, here is what has been happening recently:

-Plumbing completed
-Heating completed
-Electric completed
-Sky lights installed in the kitchen
-Started the new deck leading out to the backyard
-French drains outside
-Recessed niche above fireplace for flat screen TV
-Re-framing done throughout the house for built-in cabinets, windows, and doors

Healthy and Happy

Samantha is back to her old self!

Puppy Love

We dog-sat the Stone's dog, Zuki, last week. Lollipop and Zuki will puppy play for hours. Lollipop is definitely the more aggressive of the two going for Zuki's legs, neck and ears. Zuki gets fed up with Lolly and will take the chew toys away and hide them from Lolly. At the end of the day, the two of them will end up napping on opposite ends of the room. It is a true lover's quarrel!

Here is a clip of the two of them in action plus a small cameo of Samantha:

Update on Samantha

On Friday we ended up going back to the doctor because Samantha was still running a 104 degree temperature. The doctor decided to run a urinalysis and some blood tests. Poor little thing had to have a catheter inserted in order to get a urine sample. This was then followed by having blood drawn which was an awful experience because the technician at the lab ended up missing her vein several times before telling me she felt someone else better experienced with babies should do it!!!!

Her urinalysis came back "suspicious" and her blood test came back with a high white blood cell count. We are treating it as a urinary tract infection with antibiotics. On Monday we will get back the blood culture test which the doctor was confident would reveal a urinary tract infection.

She still is running a fever - 102 degrees this morning. The antibiotics should really start to kick in soon and we are thinking tomorrow the fever should subside and she will start to feel better. We are still working on trying to get her to eat. Unfortunately the medication she is taking requires food to prevent an upset stomach and she has no appetite. One of the worst parts of all of this is having to literally pin her down in order to get her to take the medication. Hopefully the fever is gone soon so we can stop giving her the Motrin/Tylenol and then we will only have to give the antibiotic twice a day.

The doctor has recommended doing some more testing this week including an ultrasound to make sure there are not any other problems with her urinary tract system.

Here are some pics of our little patient:

"Dad, don't expect me to smile after all I have been through"
"Mom, I am tired!!"
"Okay, I will give you one smile if you stop taking pictures"