Sam has moved into her big girl room!

That's right....Samantha has moved into her nursery...officially! We started this on Friday night, since we knew the first couple of nights might be tough. The first one was for sure....I think she woke up three different times, and took about an hour to get back to sleep each time. Second night was great...bed at 9pm, woke up at 4:30am...Third not, not so lucky, but at least it seems like she is getting used to it. One thing she does that's so cute is that she wakes up and starts looking at and "talking" to her creature friends hanging from the mobile...so we get a good hour or so of off and on sleep while she's talking to them before we actually need to get up. This is good for Phil, but not so great for me since I'm a light sleeper. I hear everything over the monitor, and can't seem to tune it out. Being a Mother I guess!!

We are still looking at day care facilities. I thought we had decided on one, but now I'm branching out to check on a few others. I have two tours lined up for this week. Day care is SO expensive!! But I like the fact that they do educational programming for infants on up...it's hard to keep them stimulated all day, and sometimes I wonder if I'm doing the right things for her developmental progress (although there isn't a lot for a two month old). Right now, I'm trying to get her to do tummy time without crying! She is starting to reach out to grab or at least touch things with her hand...this is so neat to watch. She also is kicking up and storm..she has strong legs....sometimes when I have her up on my shoulder, she will try to stand and put pressure on her legs. So cute!! Sam is growing up way to fast!

The weekend before July 4th, we went to the beach with our friends Jen and Chris. We had such a nice time....Sam only made it to the beach for one day, as it was really hot and humid, and a 2 month old out in this environment doesn't last long! We went shopping the next day and she was passed out most of the time. I took her on a tour of my old stomping grounds in Myrtle Beach where I grew up...true, she was napping during that time (and perhaps Phil wishes he was at the time), but at least I enjoyed it...ha!

My Mom has been taking off a few days here and there to spend with Sam and me while I'm off of work. This is very nice, as we won't have this kind of time again. I head back to work on July 16th....already???? 12 weeks flew by.....it seemed long at the beginning (I can't deny that), but now that Sam is interacting and I know her habits now and how to manage crying better, I would love to have more time off. I guess I will be rushing home after work to be with her now. My co-workers said how this would change my outlook at work, and for sure it will. I of course will work hard, but also want to balance family time too...Phil and I both are going to work on this!

One thing that will help me be at home more (instead of joining a gym) is the new Wii Active http://www.easportsactive.com/home.action . Phil bought this for me for my b-day. I was kind of skeptical at first, as I'm not a video game person...but once we started this workout program, we have really enjoyed it. Right now, we are both so sore that we can't really sit down. Too many lunges!!! Sam likes to watch us, since we do it one at a time. Now, I can come home and do this after she goes to bed or early in the AM, so I don't have to go to the gym. Thanks for getting that Fee!!

We had a very nice 4th of July, sharing it with friends. We tried a new restaurant in downtown Raleigh, and then watched the fireworks near the state fairgrounds...it was a fun time. Thanks to my mom and dad (oma and opa) that watched Sam...I think she slept most of the time, so I'm not sure they were happy about that...they wanted to play more!! :) Hope you all had a great holiday weekend...

Thanks for reading!