Bryan & Laura's Journey into Parenthood: My Baby is 6 Months Old!!!

Our Six-Month Old

On July 20th Sammy had her 6-month doctor's appointment. She measured 16 lbs 2 oz and 27 inches long. Weight was in the 53 percentile but her height was in the 90th percentile! The Dail genes have struck again! We've got another tall girl on our hands. At least for now. I knew she looked bigger but she's already grown 8 inches since birth! It shocks me every day.

Besides getting physically bigger, she's getting bigger in terms of development too. She is now a sitting champ. She can sit alone without fallng over for long periods of time. She can even balance herself when she leans over to grab a toy. She also likes to hold on to the edge of the couch and stand. She can't pull herself into these positions yet but she's still a lttle young for that. She refuses to be on her tummy now and turns over immediately when put down belly first so not sure when crawling will kick in. Her other new achievement is clapping. She's been hitting blocks together for weeks but last week she finally got her hands together. At first it looked more like she was dusting her hands off, which Bryan loved, but now she's got a full clap going. It's so cute! And she's babbling up a storm. I swear she says "hi" when she first sees us in the morning or when Bryan gets home from work. She gets more and more fun everyday.

Busy Summer

We've been busy trying new things and visiting new places this summer, at least new to Samantha. We took her to our HOA pool a couple of weeks ago and she loved it. I hope she is a little fish like Tracey and I were growing up. A few days later she got her first taste of the ocean, literally. We've been to the beach and we walk on the 101 every day but she'd never felt the water. Again, she seemed to like it and wasn't too scared. Fingers crossed it stays that way. She also discovered that she doesn't like the taste of sand but that it feels good between the toes.

We've been playing tourist in our own town. We attended Opening Day at Del Mar to celebrate Grandma Reed's birthday. It was really crowded and hot but it was fun to look at all the fancy hats and women in 4 inch heels. What are they thinking?! Sammy loved hanging out in her Bjorn and held up better in the heat than I did. She also went with my mom and I to Old Town and Seaport Village to find the perfect gift for Aunt Tracey's birthday. Fortunately we found it pretty quickly and were able to have lunch and browse the shops. We tried to ride the carousel at Seaport Village but the line was long and mommy was dying in the heat. I'm not handling the heat too well this year. Extra baby wieght?

My Uncle Willy, Michelle's dad, came down for a visit last week and we all got together for a mini-reunion BBQ at my parents' place. It was fun to get the family together and Sammy got to show off her sitting skills. She loves to watch the kids run around.

Yesterday Tracey and I took the kids to Quail Botanical Gardens, just minutes from our condo. I'd never been there but I think we'll be going again. It's so beautiful! We especailly loved the Bamboo Garden and the Rainforest. Great lillypads and waterfalls. The kids loved the Children's Garden! It has an amazing treehouse, musical instruments made from gourds, rocks, bamboo etc. and the garden with the smelly plants like sage and something that smells like chocolate. Anyone with kids should definitely check it out. Ian and Nicole especially loved the little paths they have throughout the garden. They liked to pretend they were traveling through the jungle.

It's been a fun summer so far and still more than a month to go!