The Shepard Crew

Samantha is eating, tickling, fake laughing and imitating animals

2009-12-24T16:19:00.000-08:00

Here are some more videos from the last couple of months. Just a little glimpse for those of you who are far away and want to see how Sam is doing. As noted below, the first two videos are repeats from videos I uploaded to Facebook, but I put them here for my non-facebook friends and family.

Don't bother me... I'm eating (20 seconds)
10/8/09 - 16 months old
(If you're on Facebook, you may have already seen this one)

This video is a perfect example of how much Samantha loves her breakfast. You do NOT want to keep this girl waiting when it comes to breakfast. I make her breakfast using ground up grains (like millet, quinoa, brown rice, etc) and ground up legumes (lentils, split peas, chickpeas, etc.). I then mix in some pureed kale and peanut butter or an egg. YUMMY... Want me to come cook breakfast for you? :) As you can see, though, Samantha isn't complaining! I figure if I feed her this in the morning, even if she refuses to eat anything else all day, she's had lots of nutrition to get her brain going!

Tickle Tickle (11 seconds)
10/24/09 - 16 months old
(This is another one that I posted on Facebook)

I was SO happy when I captured this on video. This is video of Samantha making what we USED to call her Turkey sound. But a few days after she started making the sound, we realized she was saying "Tickle Tickle Tickle" because she'll usually do it while trying to tickle our tummy, our armpits, our feet or anything else she thinks might be ticklish (including her stuffed animals). This video is now 2 months old and I'm happy to say that Samantha still says "Tickle Tickle" on occasion. I tell her that if she's smart, she'll keep saying it because it makes me laugh everytime and could really help her get out of trouble sometime in the future!

Animal Impersonations (12 seconds)
11/26/09 - About 17 months old

This is probably the clearest video we have of my little munchkin making animal sounds. We are particularly partial to "Lion", but honestly, love listening to Sam make all her animal sounds. The amazing thing to me is that every time she learns a new one, it surprises us. It's not like we're making her practice with flashcards. She learns all of her words and sounds just through us reading with her and talking with her. I wonder if she'll learn algebra this easily... :)

Fake Laugh (12 seconds)
11/10/09 - 17 months old

Listen to this little actress! I guess she's trying to convince me something is REALLY funny. And lo and behold... it WAS funny!

Sam using her fork... and a few fingers (24 seconds)
10/29/09 - almost 17 months old

I promise not to post every mundane video about Samantha learning a new skill, but this one is really funny to me because it shows Samantha's need for structure and order. As she stabs her cantaloupe with her fork, a piece slides off. Of course, she doesn't just pick it up and eat it. No... it has to go back on the plate. Samantha has quite a few of these "yikes, there's something out of place" tendencies... and at the same time, has no problem if all of her toys are laying around the house. Go figure...

Mommy's Shoes (15 seconds)
12/1/09 - Almost 18 months

Samantha is definitely inheriting her Mommy's fascination with shoes (yes, you did just hear Sean sigh in the background). I have to admit... I was pretty impressed with her coordination with these ones, especially since she put them on herself. I hope the paparazzi doesn't get a hold of this video... I'll be lambasted for letting my little girl wear high heels!

As usual, I hope to get more pics and videos uploaded soon... hopefully it won't take me months like it did last time!

Lots of love from LV...
The Shepards

Samantha is singing, dancing, spitting, swimming and just loving life!

2009-12-23T22:39:00.000-08:00

Hi there (and Merry Christmas)!!! Here are a few videos that hopefully give you an idea of what Samantha is up to these days. I have been very remiss in updating the blog, so a few of the videos go back to October, but some are from just a few days ago. I hope to upload a few more over "Christmas Break" as I'm hoping to have a little bit more time to sort through all the videos we take.

"Open Them, Shut Them"
12/20/09 - 18 months old
Video is 50 seconds long

Samantha and I have gone to "Story Time" at the library quite a few times. The last time we went, we learned a new song that has recently become Samantha's favorite. This is video of her singing the song with me.

"Ring Around The Rosie"
12/20/09 - 18 months old
Video is 13 seconds long

Samantha still doesn't do the whole "we all fall down, part", but you can get an idea of her great rhythm and dancing skills!

Sam and Daddy in a Blowing Match
10/13/09 - 16 months old
Video is 34 seconds long

While getting Samantha ready for bed, Sean started blowing on her face to make her laugh. Sam, of course, decided to copy her dad, and they wound up in a blowing/spitting match!

"Opening the Hamster Dance Card"
12/4/09 - 18 months old
Video is 8 seconds long

A few weeks ago, Samantha got a present in the mail (not a Christmas present, so she was allowed to open it early!). She loved the gift she received, of course, but she was even more interested in the musical card we got. I included this video beause it shows Samantha's joy in the little things! I can speak from experience when I say that the "Hamster Dance Song" can get stuck in your head really easily! :)

"Trick or Treating with our Little Ladybug"
Halloween - 16 months old
Video is 9 seconds long

When we got Sam's costume for this year, we thought we'd just put her in it for a few seconds, take a couple shots, and call it quits. But she LOVED her costume! And she really enjoyed Trick-Or-Treating (until she got really tired, of course).

"Swimming Hard"
10/21/09 - 16 months old
Video is 18 seconds long

This video is from a couple months ago, but it shows that Samantha is starting to really kick and paddle. Most importantly, she LOVES to get in the water, and that's our biggest desire.

Video of Samantha eating and tickling...

2009-10-27T21:01:00.000-07:00

Here are just a couple random videos of Samantha so you can get a bit of an idea of what she's up to! (BTW - if you're on Facebook, you already saw them, but I wanted to make sure to post them here for my non-Facebook friends!)

Feeding Time!!

Oct 8, 2009 - 20 MB

This is a video of Samantha chowing down on her breakfast. Probably only interesting to about half of you! But it cracks me up because the girl just doesn't breath... do NOT get in between her and her Super Cereal (made of millet, quinoa, lentils, egg and kale... YUMMY!!!)

Tickle, Tickle, Tickle
Oct 24, 2009 - 22MB

I had been trying to capture video of this for a couple of days. This is video of Samantha making what we ORIGINALLY thought was her Turkey sound. Now we know she is saying "Tickle Tickle Tickle" because she'll usually do it while trying to tickle our tummy, our armpits, our feet or anything else she thinks might be ticklish (including her stuffed animals).

Where have we been???

2009-09-07T20:53:00.000-07:00

It has been 3 months since our last post. That's ridiculous. I guess if we weren't so busy, I'd have time to update our blog more often... but then again, I wouldn't have anything to tell you about because there'd be nothing going on! It's kind of a Catch 22, isn't it? :)

Over the next few blogs posts, you'll see a bit of a recap for the past few months. In the meantime, here are some answers to a few questions you might have.

1. How is Samantha doing?

Samantha is doing so well! Yep, we're still convinced we are the luckiest parents in the world, but you may beg to differ if you have your own gems in your family.

Samantha turns 15 months old on September, 10th. Physically, she is growing leaps and bounds. We weighed her a few days ago and she was about 20.5 lbs (which is pretty small for her age, but definitely getting bigger!). She started walking about a month ago (see video in one of the posts below) and she sprouted her 8th tooth on Saturday, September 6th (Finally!!! It had been 4 MONTHS since her last tooth came in... we were starting to wonder if her bottom one existed!).

Beyond physically, Samantha is also sprouting mentally and we are in amazement each and every day. She has a few words in her repertoire (like dog, dada, mama and woof, quack, etc. if you can count those as words!). But what we find even more impressive than her speech is just how much of OUR speech she understands. We've been talking to her in full sentences since the day she was born and we were very used to not getting any response. But now, when we tell her that it's time for a snack, she heads to her high chair. Or when we tell her to turn around to crawl down the stairs backwards, she turns around. If we ask if she wants to get on her horse, she walks over to her horse and climbs on. We still aren't past the shock of realizing that she's actually soaking in everything we are saying. Of course, Sam doesn't do exactly what we tell her to do all the time, but even so, it is extremely fun to watch her personality blossom!

2. How is Las Vegas treating you?

Pretty well! We can't believe we have been here over 10 months! We are past the two hottest months of Summer (although September is still very hot, of course). It's been a huge adjustment for us to stay inside in the Summer (when in Oregon, you hide inside in the Winter and blossom in full glory in the Summer). When it's as hot as it is in July and August, there just really isn't a great time of day to walk the dogs, go to the park, etc. That being said, the heat has not been as unbearable as we expected. For example, we don't spontaneously combust when walking from the grocery store to our car. We're definitely ready for the heat to subside so we can have more freedom for our activities, but with that said, the hibernation in the Las Vegas Summer is not quite as difficult or as long as the hibernation in the Portland Winter, so we are counting our blessings.

Besides the weather, we are definitely getting to know more about Las Vegas in general and are trying to make it our home. This has been a little difficult due to the fact that we have to schedule around work schedules and our dear daughters nap/bedtime schedules, but we are working on it. Fun activities like an occasional bike ride at Lake Mead, a hike at Mt. Charleston, or a picnic dinner at an outdoor theatre at the base of Red Rock Canyon bring us hope that maybe, just maybe, our Northwest roots can thrive in this desert! :)

3. Have you done anything exciting this summer?

Although we haven't ventured anywhere exotic this summer, we have managed to make a couple trips to Portland and one trip to Boise. We've also had a couple people visit us here in Las Vegas. You'll see a few extra details about these trips in subsequent posts.

4. How is Sean's work going?

Sean is staying very busy at work. It's a very challenging environment given that the gaming industry is definitely tightening their belts due to the economy, but he's hanging in there.

5. What is keeping Lisa so busy that she can't update the blog (for crying out loud)?

The travels to Portland and Boise and the visits from friends have definitely made the summer a very busy one. But like I mentioned earlier, we wouldn't avoid those events just so I had more time to work on the blog!! :)

I have also been working as a contractor for WebMD for a little over 2 months. I'm currently working about 30 hours per week for WebMD (from here in Las Vegas). I work 10 hours a day two days a week (while Nana takes care of Samantha) and then I get as many hours in as I can on the other days (before Samantha wakes up and during her afternoon nap). In a nutshell, this means that from M-F, my schedule is pretty packed and there aren't a whole lot of spare moments left over for writing in blogs, reading books, calling friends, etc.

6. Wait... I thought one of the reasons you guys moved down to Las Vegas was so Lisa could stay at home with Samantha?

You're right... but that just goes to show that if you want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans! :) If there is anything we have learned over the past couple of years, it's that we are not necessarily in control, and God sometimes has other plans for you than what you made for yourself. When WebMD approached me with this opportunity in May, we thought long and hard about it. I didn't want to give up the opportunity to be a Stay-At-Home mom (especially after moving all the way to Las Vegas to make that happen) but at the same time, we could certainly use the extra money to help with the Oregon house that hasn't sold yet, pay off an IRS debt due to a ridiculous Federal mess up in 2006, etc. So we decided as a family to go for it. As it stands, I get to spend 5 days a week with my lovely little girl, she's watched the other 2 days by one of the most loving care providers I could ever hope for (her Nana) and I get to work at a company I know extremely well and make some extra money for the family. Oddly enough, I still consider myself a Stay-At-Home mom, so I think I have a slight problem with denial or split personalities.

7. What else can you tell us?
Well... check out the next few blogs to see pictures and video of some highlights from the past couple of months.

Samantha's 1st Birthday

2009-09-07T19:40:00.000-07:00

Samantha turned 1 on June 10th. We had a birthday party for her in Las Vegas with family and friends on Saturday, June 13th. We also had a birthday party/bbq when we were in Portland in late June. We won't bore you with the 900 photos we took of her with friends, opening gifts, etc., but here are a couple of the highlights!

Here's our little birthday princess. Yes, we did make her wear a party hat.

In this life, you have to do a few things that your child will be mad at you for later! :)

This is the birthday cake we made for Samantha.
What girl doesn't like a flourescent pink cake for her big day?

While the rest of the partygoers feasted on the cake above, this was Samantha's special banana cake with smooshed banana and food coloring "frosting". You're right, it seems hardly fair that Samantha didn't get to partake in the sugarfest, but at this point in Sam's life, she still hadn't had any refined sugar and we had no idea what a shot of sugary cake and frosting would do to the little angel! :)

As you can see, Samantha was pleased as can be with her banana cake. In fact, a couple of months later, I tried to give her a cupcake with frosting and she would have nothing to do with it, so I guess we aren't so mean afterall!

Yummy!

This is our little 1-year-old princess with cheeks stuffed.

I think she was ordering up a tall sippy cup of milk to help wash down all that cake!!

Videos of Samantha: 14-15 months

2009-09-07T17:33:00.000-07:00

There's only one thing more time consuming than sorting through the thousands of pictures we have of Samantha. And that one thing is sorting through the hundreds of video snippets we have shot of her in the past couple months. If I were to wait until I had them all sorted to post the best ones, our next blog post would probably be some time in 2013. So here are a couple that hopefully highlight what she's like right now. If you want to see some of the other historical favorites, you'll have to come to the video Show-And-Tell scheduled for some day in 2013! :)

Samantha is walking!
August 5, 2009

While in Portland, our friend (Teresa) and her two boys (Brayden and Noah) came over to visit. Brayden is 4 and was running circles around Samantha. After about 30 minutes of not being able to get to the toys fast enough, Samantha decided to quit crawling everywhere and just up and decided to start walking. (Up to this point, she had taken steps to go between mommy and daddy, but never voluntarily walked anywhere). Here is video of some of her walking from that first day... we were so excited!

Walking to Momma
August 19, 2009

This video is a little bit more recent and shows Samantha's increasing walking skills.

Samantha's chores
August 27, 2009

Samantha is getting better and better at walking. Since she pretty much waited until she was ready to walk before giving it a try, she has gotten stable very fast. Because of this, we have decided to put her to work. Her first chore is emptying her diaper pail since it's just too stinky of a job for us! :)

Samantha has something to say!
August 29, 2009

We don't know how it happened, but it turns out Samantha likes to talk. Imagine that! Although we have some other video clips that show her talking a bit more, this is the most recent one I could find. Just a couple seconds of her "talking", but I still think it's adorable. The other day, she blabbed on and on to me after I wouldn't let her crawl in the dishwasher. It's so funny to know that she is saying something... we just don't quite know what it is yet!

Still Swimming!
August 29, 2009

We just started up swimming lessons again (at a new swim school that is far away, but has a great technique for teaching both kids and parents). We still have a long way to go before she is an actual swimmer, but it is a lot of fun to see her have so much fun. Here are a couple of videos that show what a little fish she is!

Portland Visit

2009-09-07T16:46:00.000-07:00

In August, we had an action-packed trip to Portland. Believe it or not, I filtered through a lot of the photos, but still wound up with A LOT of highlights. My apologies!!! :-)

Our main reason for heading up to Portland was to attend the 3rd Shepard/Faulkner family reunion in Siletz, OR. We snapped this picture while playing in the river at the campground.

Samantha enjoyed a ride on a tricycle at the family reunion.
Her legs just need to grow a teeny bit! :)

Safe in proud Papa's arms at the family reunion.

After the family reunion, Sean, Samantha and I spent a gorgeous day at Cannon Beach.

Samantha enjoyed walking along the beach with us...

...as long as she didn't get sand on her hands. Unfortunately, the few months stuck inside in Las Vegas have turned her into a bit of a priss. It's time to introduce this girl to some dirt!!!

While in Portland, I had to work for WebMD for a few days. During that time, "Uncle" Don and "Aunt" Stacey took really good care of Samantha.

"Aunt" Stacey was a master at balancing both coffee and baby while coming down the slide.

We spent a wonderful day at the zoo with friends...

...and got to feed the Larakeets out of our hands. We were all fascinated with them... and I think Samantha thought I had caught her a new pet!

Samantha and I participated in the Portland Bridge Pedal...

...with Uncle Don and Aunt Stacey.

In case you were wondering, Samantha was NOT a fan of her helmet.

One of the greatest things about our visit was being able to enjoy the small pleasures of the Portland community, like...

...playing in the many neighborhood fountains,

...swinging in the park,

...climbing through the playground tunnels,

...and trying out the tire swing.

Overall, our Portland trip was fantastic. It was wonderful to see family, friends and escape the Las Vegas heat. We are already looking forward to our next trip up there... whenever that may be.

Visiting Boise & our relatives from England

2009-09-07T16:17:00.000-07:00

In July, we visited Boise for a week (Sean was there for part of the time but had to come back to Vegas earlier for work). While there, we got to visit with Lisa's family, some of Sean's family, a few friends, and we had the added bonus of getting to spend some quality time with Lisa's Aunt Margaret and Uncle Eddie who were visiting from England. Here are a few of the pictures from our visit...

It didn't take long for Samantha to warm up to her Great Aunt Margaret and Great Uncle Eddie. What a blessing to be able to spend an entire week with them during their visit to Boise.

Grandma Broman was more than happy to feed the eating machine.
(Even though Sam is only in the 10th percentile for weight for her age, she is a CRAZY eater. It's dangerous to get between her and her spoonful of food!)

As you can see, Aunt Lorna spent the week teaching Samantha all kinds of good habits! :)

A fun swim in the next door neighbor's pool with Uncle Eddie and Cousins Channing & Charise.

Wheeeee!!!!!
July 11, 2009

Sean's Uncle Jim and Aunt Barbara rented a huge bouncy slide for a family picnic. Although I was a little out of control on my landing, Samantha enjoyed our adventure down the slide all the same.

Samantha was happy to watch Grandma's tennis match
in the comfort of Aunt Margaret's arms

Uncle Eddie and Samantha went on many adventures around Grandma's house. They went down to the river, on walks around the house and they stopped to check out the neighbor's horses.

Uncle Justin set up a swing in their backyard. You can't tell it from this picture, but Samantha really did love it!

More highlights from the past few months

2009-09-06T19:45:00.000-07:00

Take a journey with us through the past couple of months. I promise to keep the word to picture ratio really low! :)

June 10, 2009 - 1 year old
Papa and Nana reading Samantha her book she got for her birthday

June 21, 2009
She's a bird. She's a plane. She's SUPER SAM!!!

June 23, 2009
Just another day in the pool... with my rubber ducky!

June 30, 2009
Samantha playing with her friend Ava at one of the Las Vegas water parks

August 7, 2009 - 14 months old
All smiles while visiting friends in Portland

August 8, 2009
Our teeny tiny techie geek enthralled with momma's phone

August 16, 2009
Samantha is getting so big!!!

August 28, 2009
Sean and I got out for a bike ride... and wound up at Hoover Dam. Not bad!

August 29, 2009
Sam helping Papa with his work. She isn't allowed to touch the buttons now... but I can imagine she will be a great tech help to Papa very soon!

August 30, 2009
A beautiful hike up at Mt. Charleston. The temperature was about 30 degrees cooler than the valley, so it was a great escape. We had a mini picnic lunch up at the top.

August 30, 2009
Although the hike was a little dustier than in Oregon, all five of us enjoyed the fresh air, the pine trees and the exercise. We will definitely visit Mt. Charleston again!!!

September 6, 2009 - 15 months old
Our little girl enjoying her Cheerio treat at Starbucks after church.

September 7, 2009

We went out to Lake Mead to enjoy a day on the boat. The water was about as rough as the ocean, but we had a good time anyway. Samantha really enjoyed riding in the boat and swimming in the lake.

September 7, 2009
Samantha managed to get her sea legs while we were on the boat. It was actually funny to see her walking after we got home... she was stumbling all over the place. I think she was still feeling the rocking of the boat even after we got home.

Samantha's First Steps!!

2009-06-08T20:22:00.000-07:00

It's two days before Samantha's 1st Birthday and she just took her first unassisted steps. We are so proud... and we just HAPPENED to have a camera nearby to document the event. Hmmm... that's so unlike us! =)

Here is the first video of her steps... and then of Lisa completely spazzing out. It was just so amazing to watch her get that balance down.

And since we're an equal opportunity blogger, her is video of her walking back to Mom.

Video of Samantha as she approaches the big 0-1!!!

2009-06-06T21:01:00.000-07:00

Oh... there is so much to update you on! Our little champ has just been growing by leaps and bounds. Can you believe she'll be a year old on Wednesday. I know it's cliché to say "Where did the time go?" so instead, I'll say "Wow... so much has happened in a year and I can't believe this bundle of crawling, babbling, inquisitive joy is the same bundle of swaddled, floppy joy that we brought home from the hospital almost a year ago." Here are some video clips to give you a glimpse of what she's up to right now. She is at such a fun age and I seem to have this silly video camera rolling all the time! Hope you enjoy the clips!

June 5, 2009 - "FIX IT!!!"

Proud moment only a parent could appreciate: Earlier in the afternoon, Samantha was playing with this chain and it was one long piece. When she started to play with the chain again later, she seemed confused as to why it was in two pieces. Watch as she tries to solve the problem and put the chain back together the way she has seen mommy and daddy do it!

June 5, 2009 - "Pulling Hair"

You can hear me laughing in the background as Samantha pulls her own hair. She looks perturbed that it hurts... and yet she continues right on doing it. In all fairness, I shouldn't have been laughing because I think she was feeling some pain in her ears or was just really tired... but I found it humorous anyway!

June 2, 2009 - "No Touch"

We have just started working on telling Samantha what she can't touch... now that she's mobile enough to get to a bunch of stuff. This video shows the thought processes going on her head as she tries to decide if she should touch the outlets or not.

June 4, 2009 - "Searching For The Dogs"

We think that "Dog" might be Samantha's first word... but the jury is still out. Although she says "Da" a lot, whenever she sees a dog (or a picture of a dog, or a statue of a dog, or a figurine of a dog), she points and says "Da" in a slightly different way. I guess you have to be a nerdy parent to see and hear the difference!

June 1, 2009 - "Conquering The Stairs"

In this clip, you'll see that Samantha has pretty much mastered the stairs (well... at least going up. Down is a different story!). And to think she was still hesitant on the stairs about a week ago. Needless to say, we put gates up this week!

June 1, 2009 - "DADDY!!!"

I think this clip is funny because it sounds like Samantha is yelling at her Daddy. Fast forward about 10 years and I probably won't find this as funny! (BTW - After looking at this clip, you will understand why we went out and bought some plastic sheeting to put up on the banisters. Yet another baby proofing step that we've decided to implement.)

Boise Trip From Late May

2009-06-05T15:19:00.000-07:00

In late May, Samantha and Lisa flew to Boise for a visit. We packed A LOT in! Here are some pics from our visit:

Samantha cheered on Grandma Broman at her tennis practice

We visited Aunt Barb and Uncle Jim (Sean's Aunt & Uncle)

We got to see Sean's cousin Jamie (and her kids Cody & Coco)

Samantha met Jamie's dog, Olive. Olive is an 11 month old mastiff puppy!

Samantha was a little more comfortable with Jim & Barb's dog, Miss.

...but she managed to get the upper hand later!

Just a cute picture of Samantha crawling around Grandma Broman's kitchen

Samantha and I headed out on the greenbelt for Samantha's first bike ride. She loved it!
Aunt Lorna and cousins Channing and Charise joined us!

Samantha enjoyed all the attention from her cousins!

We had lunch with Lisa's friend from high school, Joy

...and Samantha met Joy's son, Braden. Look at that adorable little dude!

We also got a chance to see Katie, another of Lisa's high school friends

Aunt Lorna walked little Samantha all over the house...
...and probably had a sore lower back to prove it!

Music time with Uncle Justin, Channing and Charise

We went to a retirement party for Mrs. Linda Selvig
(family friend of 33 years... and former teacher of Lorna and Lisa)

Showing off Samantha's shoes at the party

Grandma Broman and Wayne (Linda's husband) at the retirement party.
We think they must have gotten some sort of memo about shirt color or something! =)

Samantha and Lisa really enjoyed attending Charise's dance recital

Although she was super tired, Samantha did wonderful on the plane back to Las Vegas.
This was Samantha's 13th plane ride... but who's counting! =)

Samantha at 10 months - Some fun videos

2009-04-21T17:22:00.000-07:00

Here are some fun videos from early April that give you a little idea about what Sam is like at 10 months...

4/6/09 - 10 months old
9 MB - 10 seconds
We girls are always blabbing while we drive!

4/7/09 - 10 months old
14 MB - 16 seconds
Samantha really loves saying Da Da... even if she doesn't know why she's saying it =)

4/12/09 - 10 months old
14 MB - 16 seconds
Sam is obviously a natural on the piano! =)

4/14/09 - 10 months old
19 MB - 20 seconds
This is video of Samantha enjoying an impromptu "shower" in the sink
... thanks to a major diaper malfunction

Samantha at 10 months - Some fun pictures

2009-04-16T11:30:00.000-07:00

Just a few pics to give you a glimpse into the life of our little 10 month old!

4/5/09 - 10 months old

Samantha LOVES the water! Her baby soft skin is being protected by a beautiful pink hat. Kentucky Derby... here we come!

4/5/09 - Samantha's dedication at church
We don't do infant baptism in our church, but we do dedicate our little gifts from God and ask for prayers from the congregation as we raise her to be a God loving little girl.

4/12/09 - Easter Sunday

4/12/09 - Easter Sunday again
You can get a glimpse of Lisa's new hairdo. Yes... she's back to a brunette! We loved the highlights, but just too much maintenance for this SAH Mom (Stay At Home Mom)

4/5/09 - Yeah... Nap time is over!
Sam isn't pulling herself up in her crib yet... but she loves to stand there if I lift her up!

4/6/09 - Rolling in the Cadi
No... we are NOT driving. We're parked in the garage for this pic!

4/14/09 - Post blow-out shower in the sink
I spared you the pics of the actual blow-out (aren't I nice), but here is our happy girl taking an impromptu shower in the laundry room sink. For those of you that don't know, a "blow-out" is another name for "diaper malfunction."

4/4/09 - Our Little Nudie
Yes, she will be very mad at me for sharing this one!

4/4/09 - Mom and Samantha
No... mom did not join her daughter in the ever-popular "naked time."

Samantha is learning to crawl!

2009-04-15T21:49:00.000-07:00

Well, some of you might say "It's about time!" but Samantha is finallly learning to crawl. Don't get me wrong... it isn't that she doesn't like to be mobile. It's just that she prefers walking (with assistance, of course) over crawling. If it was up to her, she'd skip the whole crawling thing. But I, her mother, would much prefer she learn to crawl first. Not only will she be more stable, but I won't have an aching back from hunching over to help her walk all the time.

Anyway, for those family and friends far away, I thought you might get a kick out of seeing some of her first partially successful crawling attempts (not counting the ever-popular army crawl, that is). It is so funny and cute to see how hard she is working to get those arms and legs to cooperate!

Trying to Stand on her own... oops!
4/6/09 - 10 months old
13 MB - 13 seconds

Hmm... having a little trouble figuring this out!
4/6/09 - 10 months old
33 MB - 36 seconds

Oops... the car seat got in the way!
4/6/09 - 10 months old
11 MB - 12 seconds

Starting to get the hang of it... maybe
4/6/09 - 10 months old
25 MB - 28 seconds

Visit with the Mitsons (and hike to Red Rock)

2009-04-15T16:50:00.000-07:00

In early April, we enjoyed a visit with Lorna (Lisa's sister) and Channing and Charise (our nieces). Here are a couple of pics from that visit.

Charise, Lorna, Samantha and Channing

Samantha is happy in her Aunt's arms!

We went on a Hike in Red Rock Canyon. This was Samantha's second trip to
Red Rock and she was an absolute trooper!
Our nieces really enjoyed exploring the Nevada landscape!

We saw a huge herd of Bighorn Sheep and took a ton of pictures. This is a picture of one of the rams posing for the picture with Lorna and the girls. What a treat!

Even with all the excitement, Samantha just couldn't hold out any longer.
Here she is trying to catch some Zzzzzz's.

Samantha's First Swimming Lesson!

2009-03-24T15:29:00.000-07:00

What a fun adventure. We went to Samantha's first swimming lesson today and she did wonderful. It's her first time in any water besides her bath and she loved it. She kicked, she floated, and she didn't even mind too much when she got dunked. She did manage to drink a little water, but I'm guessing that's to be expected. I have a lot of other video and photos that I'm hoping to get on our blog, but in the meantime, here is some footage from today's swimming adventure!

Samantha on the Kickboard
9 seconds 18 MB
Her first intro to the water. It was already looking like she was going to enjoy this!

Running and then Diving
11 seconds 22 MB
Smiles did show up after she sputtered out all the water!

Kick Kick Kick!!!
35 seconds 66 MB
Sam actually started kicking as we swam to the wall. We were both having a ton of fun!

Ready for swim team!!!
12 seconds 11 MB
This was at the end of class. Samantha was still having a blast and so was I!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

2009-01-21T11:36:00.000-08:00

Today is my dad's birthday and I just want to take a second to wish him a happy birthday. He would have been 69 today... or as he liked to say, he would have been celebrating the 30th anniversary of his 39th birthday.

We love you, Dad... and miss you tons!

P.S. It is also my brother-in-law's birthday today, so we would also like to wish Justin a very happy birthday. We love you very much, too, Bro!

Look below for an onslought of blog postings...

2009-01-20T22:40:00.000-08:00

I'm so ashamed... it has been over 2 months since our last post. The reason can be wrapped up into 3 short words: "Thanksgiving, Christmas, Baby". I won't spend forever telling you how busy we were... if you're like every other red-blooded American, you are probably well aware of the phenomenon! =)

However, we are drastically behind in getting you up to speed on our little munchkin, as well as how we are doing here in Las Vegas. So I'm going to do a few different blog posts all at once that hopefully get you caught up. Sorry for the massive brain (and picture) dump... rather than gradually keeping you posted!

Holiday Fun

2009-01-20T22:35:00.000-08:00

Like the rest of you, we were very busy over the holidays. Here are a few pics from our holiday festivities:

While in Boise celebrating "Thanksmas" (our creative mix between Thanksgiving and Christmas), we were able to snap these pics of our little family (and, of course, Samantha's Christmas dress!).

And although Samantha was getting very tired (and therefore is staring with mouth wide), we snapped this precious photo of the three cousins, Charise, Samantha and Channing.

We attended a Christmas party at Spanish Trail Golf Club. Samantha was a little too young to join in all the activities they had for the kids, but she did get to meet Santa.

We also took advantage of a rare opportunity to get a photo of all five of us (Papa Bruce, Nana Liz, Sean, Lisa and Samantha)

The Christmas decorations around the house were definitely a source of enjoyment for Samantha. She loved the lights, the sparkle, and all the bright colors. The nutcrackers really intrigued her. We're guessing that they'll probably scare her more than amuse her next year!

After all the Christmas festivities, we were very excited to welcome our friends from Portland, Don and Stacey. We celebrated the New Year, of course, and were able to spend a few wonderful days playing and relaxing together.

Some of Samantha's Milestones

2009-01-20T22:00:00.000-08:00

First and foremost, we can tell you that Sam is teething. As you can see... nothing is safe from the wrath of her mouth!

And just when we were starting to think that all this teething never resulted in anything, Samantha's first tooth emerged on Sunday (1/18). Even though there isn't anything she could have done to prevent it, we're still really proud of our beautiful, one-toothed little girl!

Let's see... what else is big in Samantha's life. She started eating solid foods about two months ago. That's a misnomer, by the way. There's nothing solid about these foods! I'm master of all that is pureed in our household and I make sure the foods are an excellent consistency for our little munchkin. We introduce all the different foods about 4-7 days apart to make sure we'd be able to detect an allergy if there was one. So far, Samantha has eaten rice, millet and oat cereals, mango, papaya, pear, banana, winter squash, green beans, avocado, and sweet potato. And don't forget the 5th food group... Gerber Puffs! :-) Yogurt is NOT one of Samantha's favorite foods... we'll try again in a few weeks to see if she finds it any more pleasing.

Samantha has been a wonderful (and entertaining) eater from the very beginning. She likes to help by grabbing the spoon and bringing it to her mouth which makes a mess, but is so important for her development. She is also very noisy... this girl likes to let everyone know that she is enjoying her food. I'll have to post some video one of these days of her mmmmm sounds (when I have a chance to sort through the hundreds of video clips we've taken so far).

In December, while most of the country was experiencing crazy snow storms, Las Vegas did too. Ours lasted all of 1 day, but it still was exciting to see inches of snow accumulate on the Vegas ground. And of course, we had to snap some pictures of Samantha in her first snow. Think about it... how many people in this world can say that the first time they EVER saw snow, it was in Las Vegas, Nevada!? =)

Another milestone is that Samantha is sitting so well! It's crazy how we barely noticed going from that "hovering" parent because Samantha falls over at the slightest imbalance to the parent that sits her down on the floor to play while you run to the bathroom. Please don't let me make it sound like I have no worries about her hitting her head. I'm amused to admit that we have a 4' x 8' blue gym mat downstairs so Samantha has a place to crash and tumble on the tile floor. It's not too great for the decor, but it's a life (and noggin) saver.

Samantha's first Presidential inauguration
In honor of the historic inauguration of President Obama today, here's a picture of Samantha declaring her ambitious future goals... :)

It reads: "President (some day)"

How is life in Las Vegas?

2009-01-20T21:00:00.000-08:00

Justifiably so, we've had a lot of questions from friends asking how we're doing. Let's see if I can briefly answer some of them:

How is Sean liking his new job?
Although it's very different than Real Estate, Sean is really enjoying his job. LVGI is a very small company, which means Sean is wearing a lot of hats and staying very busy. This is extremely important to someone like Sean. If he was just crunching numbers and pushing papers, he would go insane in a matter of days.

How is Lisa liking her new job?
I always joked about the term "Domestic Engineer", but it's not really that far from reality. There is a LOT that goes into this job as a mom and homemaker. I actually find myself looking forward to the weekends just as much as the "working folks" because it means there are more hands around to help out with Samantha, etc. Even though I am busy each and every day, I *LOVE* this job. Samantha is such a treasure and I love spending so much time with her (most of the time! :) )

How is the Vegas weather?
I gotta tell you... this weather is absolutely awesome. Oh sure... December dips into the 30s in the evenings, so you still need things like jeans, coats, and mittens in December. Here are a couple of pics of Sam wrapped up for a walk in December...

Although this January has been warmer than the average, it's crazy to think that we're pretty much heading into Spring now. I took Samantha and the dogs for a walk the other day in shorts and a tank top... and later in the day heard a story on the radio that gas pumps were freezing in the midwest. I'm guessing in a few years, this will feel "normal", but for now, it's really hard to wrap my head around the fact that it's January. I've taken the dogs on about 50 walks in the past 3 months... which is about 48 more than I would have taken during the winter in Portland. That's both a testimony to the beautiful, dry weather as well as how much Samantha likes walks! :)

How is living with your parents/in-laws... seriously?
Yes, it's true that my in-laws can read this blog, so I have to speak favorably of living with them. :) But I gotta tell you... I'M NOT LYING!!! Sean and I feel very blessed to be able to live here with Samantha and the dogs while we wait for the Portland house to sell. Sean and I have our own room and Samantha has her own, so we're able to have our own space even though we all share the house. Mom Shepard and I are home the most and we have really developed a great routine together when it comes to taking care of Samantha and the house. And even though Sean and I wouldn't move down to Las Vegas SOLELY for the abundant parental babysitting, knowing what we know now, we'd probably consider it! :) Samantha will surely hear some funny stories about the months living with her Papa and Nana, but for the most part, the stories will show just how wonderful it is going!

Have you guys found friends there yet?
In all honesty, we have been so busy with holidays, new jobs, and just figuring our lives out, we haven't really had a chance to delve into meeting people. We did start going to Life Baptist church about 2 months ago. It's way smaller than any church we've ever gone to (and that threw us off guard for the first couple of visits) but we are definitely liking it. And Lisa is going to a MOPS (Mothers of Pre Schoolers) group that is held nearby every other week. But other than that, we have just been concentrating on surviving day by day and week by week!

So, Mrs. Optimistic... is everything sweet and rosy in Las Vegas?
Okay... so I'm painting a pretty glorious picture, aren't I? For the sake of honesty, I'll share a couple of things that are tainting this place called Las Vegas
- It is TOUGH to find good medical care here in Las Vegas. By looking at our Explanations of Benefits from the insurance company, I'm guessing it has something to do with how little the doctors get paid from the insurance companies, but that's just a guess. From family docs, to pediatricians, to dentists, to veterinarians, we have definitely had an interesting time finding good doctors around here. No wonder Dad and Mom Shepard still fly up to Portland to see our beloved dentist! :-)
Here's a picture I couldn't resist taking as I drove home one evening. It's dark, but hopefully you can see how interesting our medical care is down here! :-)

- A week or two before Christmas, Lisa got here car broken into. The thieves popped the lock through the driver's side door and stole Lisa's GPS Navigation unit that she had "hidden" in the middle console as well as a couple of gifts she had stupidly left on the passenger side floor. Fortunately, they didn't steal anything in the back seat (Sam's car seat, Lisa's jacket or all our Christmas cards that needed to get taken to the post office), but overall, it will still ring in at about $1000 in losses ($600 damage to the car, $400 value of stolen items). And yes... both of those categories are on different parts of your insurance coverage, so our $500 deductible for each does very little for us!

- All that dry weather means VERY little "beauty" down here. We love the sunny days, but boy, we miss the green! Thanks to dirt and dust, we wash our dogs and cars more than we EVER did in Portland. I'm sure we will miss the green even more the longer we are down here, but we're trying to see the beauty in rocks! :-)

Well, I hope this answers some of your questions about our life in Las Vegas. Does it cover everything? Heck, no! But I want to get this posted before January of 2010! :)

Another photo shoot

2009-01-20T20:00:00.000-08:00

While our friends (Don and Stacey) were in town, we just HAD to commission Don to take some more pics of our little family. Don's the guy who took my maternity pics and Samantha's newborn pics. He obviously wasn't able to bring down his lights and other equipment on the plane, but he brought his fancy camera and excellent photography skills. We got a lot of fun photos (even though Samantha was getting pretty tired near the end!). Here are some of our favorites (you can click on them to bring up bigger versions of them):

THANK YOU DON! We have such treasured memories on "film" because of you!

More blabbing about Samantha

2009-01-20T19:00:00.000-08:00

Okay, this blog post is for those that want a little more detail about our little munchkin (and it's also a place to put some pictures that don't really fit into any blog category... they're just cute photos of our little girl).

At this writing, here are some little facts about Samantha:

- Sam turned 7 months old on January 10th.
- Yes... we usually call her Sam. Sometimes Samantha. Rarely Sammy at this point, but I think that's because we figure if you're going to shorten her name, you might as well go with one syllable. I'm sure it will change later!
- Samantha is looking more and more like her dad, but she's definitely still keeping some mom characteristics. The most notable is her chin (she has mommy's chin). Her eyes are pretty big (so everyone thinks she has mom's eyes) but if you look closely, the shape actually looks more like dad's. Her eyelashes are exactly like dad's and they're growing every day. And her face is definitely more round (like dad's) and not oval (like mom's). Of course, this could all change as time goes by (they have a way of doing that!) but these are our observations at this time.
- Samantha's hair is growing beautifully, although this is one area where she appears to be a mix between dad and mom. Sean was born with a head full of hair (and kept it all) whereas Lisa was bald until she was about 2 1/2 years old! Looks like Samantha is trying the middle of the road on this one.
- At her last appointment, Samantha weighed 15 lbs 11 oz (which was about 25th percentile, I think).
- Her last doctor appointment was actually an unplanned one. We were worried about this weird twitching thing she was doing. Lisa noticed it first while feeding her and changing her diaper. It was like involuntary muscle spasms... mostly in her arms, but a little in her legs and head. It definitely didn't look like seizures, but anything involving twitching scares the poop out of new parents (and maybe even veteran parents, I don't know). Anyway, the pediatrician wasn't too concerned based on other indicators and our description of what was going on, and we decided to observe her for the next week. Within a couple days of the appointment, the twitches had decreased dramatically and we stopped seeing them. Every now and then, we see twitches again, but we're thinking it may be in response to sharp teething pains or just a fun thing she likes to do to get attention. Babies do so many weird things that are cute and we don't take them to the doctor for them... but a weird thing that involves twitching or muscle spasms freaks us out. Go figure!
- Samantha just learned the art of blowing raspberries a couple of days ago. Because they're sweet little raspberries at this time, we still think they're cute... but we can certainly see the potential for disaster later on! :)
- We JUST stopped swaddling Samantha at night last week. Yeah, that's a pretty long time for swaddling for a baby, but the pediatrician said if she was still sleeping through the night, then we didn't need to stop swaddling her. No matter when we stopped, we knew she'd be grown out of it by kindergarten! :) At the time that we quit swaddling her, she still didn't mind it, but we wanted her to have her arms free so she could get her little chew toy when she woke up in the morning (no... we don't think she's a dog, but there are some similarities when it comes to chew toys!) :) So far, it hasn't disrupted her sleep too much. She goes to bed around 7:30 pm, wakes up around 6:30 am and "plays" in her crib until about 7:15. Of course, as soon as I tell anyone that she's sleeping through the night well, she pulls a week of "oh yeah... I'll show you" just to keep us guessing, so we'll see if she holds to that pattern tonight! :)

Okay... those are all the "facts" I can think of off the top of my head. To reward you for reading this far, here are some more fun pics:

Samantha is wearing her "Horton Hears a Who" shirt
while chewing on poor Horton's trunk.

You can see it better if you click on the picture to make it bigger,
but the shirt says "Sam I Am".
(We should put something on the back that says "No... really. Sam I Am.")

Momma's Helper Numero Uno

Momma's Helper Number Dos

Should we send this in to Apple to see if they want to use it in their advertisements?

What a precious little face... and she puts up with us so much!

Shameless Photo Ops

2009-01-20T18:00:00.001-08:00

We don't have recent pictures of Samantha with all the people she has seen recently, but here are a few photos of Sam with friends and family:

With Grandma Broman, Aunt Lorna and Cousins Channing and Charise at the airport in Boise

With Papa checking out his dental work

With Mom, sporting Samantha's "Peace" outfit

With Nana

Claiming the best seat in the house... on Dad's shoulder!

With Grandma Broman

With Aunt Lorna

With her 4-legged sisters: Charlie and Sadie

With Great Aunt Barb in Boise

In Boise, with Sean's Cousin Jeff and Coco
(the daughter of one of Sean's other cousins, Jamie)

With "Aunt" Robbie and "Uncle" Russ

Giving Robbie a workout by jumping in her arms

Lots of love and attention from "Aunt" Stacey and "Uncle" Don

Video of Samantha and her funny faces

2008-11-09T20:23:00.000-08:00

This won't be a long blog post. I just wanted to upload this video where Samantha was absolutely cracking me up (as you'll hear) because she was making such funny faces and scaring herself. Hope you enjoy as much as I obviously did...

11/06/2008
5 months old
42 seconds - 38.5 Mb

What has Samantha been up to lately?

2008-11-03T20:05:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pics of some fun times with Sam over the past few weeks...

Before we headed over to our friend's birthday party, Sean decided to wear the latest accesory... a baby!! :-)

On a Sunny day at the beach, Sam showed how excited she was to sport her England hat imported from Grandma Broman a few months before she was born.

A few weeks before moving away from the Oregon Coast, we took Sam to the beach to stake her claim in the sand.

Charlie and Sam are starting to enjoy their time together. Samantha is learning about dog fur... Charlie is learning about patience! :-)

On a quick trip to the mall, Samantha and Lisa got a chance to meet Franco Sarto, Lisa's favorite shoe designer. Samantha slept through the whole thing, but we know that when she's a teenager, she'll be begging mom for some Franco Sarto shoes and reminding me that I'm the one who introduced the two!

Samantha was super excited to help mommy and daddy pack for our Family Reunion (a 3-night cruise up to Canada).

Samantha enjoyed her first visit to the Zoo with "Aunt" Stacey and "Uncle" Don.

This summer, the Oregon Zoo was excited to introduce Samudra, a baby elephant born in late summer. So while at the zoo, our baby Sam got to meet the elephant baby "Sam".

A quick portrait of the Shepards on the back deck in Oregon. We wanted to capture the three of us with the trees in the background so we could remember what all those leaves look like!

Sean and Lisa in beautiful Nanaimo, Canada. While on the family reunion cruise, we were able to venture out and spend a few hours on an exciting tree course.

Samantha's first Broman family portrait with Grandma Broman, Aunt Lorna and Uncle Justin, Cousins Channing & Charise and Dad (Sean) & Mom (Lisa)

The funny part about this photo is that Samantha was asleep in her car seat under the table while it was taken! :-)

Samantha saying her "night night" prayers.

Sean and his 3 girls [the 4th is behind the camera!] :-)

Mom takes good care of Samantha... although by the scared look on her face, you wouldn't know it! :-)

Samantha wants to drink from mom's water bottle. Mmmm... everybody loves baby backwash!

Samantha loved her very first halloween costume. She was (and is) our precious pumpkin!!!

Tennis anyone??

Getting Settled in Las Vegas

2008-11-02T20:04:00.001-08:00

Well... we're here in Las Vegas, our computers are up and running and we're gradually getting settled in. Hopefully I can take the next few minutes to update you on how we're doing!

How was the move down here?
Lisa and Samantha flew in on Monday, Oct 27. Samantha wasn't a nightmare child on the plane (i.e. screaming the whole time) but I did have to walk a few laps up and down the aisle of the plane to keep her happy. We don't typically cater to her wants and wishes to keep her from crying, but for the sake of the other dear passengers on the plane, I was much more complient! :)
Meanwhile, Sean (and the dogs) drove the SUV down (pulling the boat) and our hero of a friend, Don, drove one of the cars down. They also left on Monday, but they didn't arrive until Tuesday evening. There was an unforseen adventure about 45 minutes outside of Portland when the desk that was in the boat managed to rip the boat cover, causing it to flap uncontrollably in the wind. Don raced back to the house in Portland, grabbing all the tarps, rope and duct tape we own, and headed back to where Sean was waiting. They then did a fabulous(ly ugly) repair job and continued on their way. Not exactly the start they were looking for, but fortunately, it was the only mishap of the trip. They stopped in Sacramento where they saw some of Sean's family and got a good night's rest. They were up early on Tuesday and arrived in Las Vegas tired and sore around 6pm. Overall, they made good time, but it took about 20 hours of driving (thanks to that heavy boat loaded with all our stuff!).

How was our first week here?
BUSY! We can't believe that tomorrow will end our first week here. We have packed A LOT into this week.
On Tuesday night, we unloaded everything out of the two cars and boat. Man... we packed a lot in there!
On Wednesday, we got up early to say goodbye to Don and get him to the airport. Then, Sean drove the boat out to a storage facility near Lake Mead. About 10 minutes after returning from the storage facility, Sean got a call telling him that they had put him in the wrong spot and he needed to come back out and move the boat to the right spot. LOVELY!!! He told them they were out of luck for that day, but...
On Thursday, Sean, Samantha and I headed back out there to move the boat to the right spot. After moving it, we continued on down the road to check out Lake Mead, our new waterskiing/wakeboarding spot that we will be hopefully taking advantage of. Lake Mead is totally and completely different than the Willamette River in Oregon, so it will be interesting and exciting to get to know this new style of boating.
On Friday, Sean started his new job at LVGI. Yes, he had a 1-day work week! :-) Sean wanted to get in and get started at his new job, but one of the main advantages of starting on Oct 31 was that Sean's insurance benefits started on Nov 1. Phew... we're covered!
This weekend, we worked more on our unpacking and getting settled into the house. Although we have a little bit left to unpack in Sam's room, we're well on our way and should be all done unpacking by early this coming week.

How is Sean's job going?
Sean had a good first day with lots of paperwork and early training. Although he only worked 1 day last week, he was given plenty of "homework" to do over the weekend. He's been studying his new work computer (an Apple!) and iPhone and also doing a bunch of training/studying of the sales software that LVGI uses. He has a lot more training to do early this week and then will potentially be traveling for work at the end of the week. Needless to say, he's hitting the ground running!!

How is Lisa doing?
This week has been pretty good for me but tough as well. Leaving Portland broke my heart and I know I will miss it for a very long time. A lot of tears have been shed over the past week or two! One of my fellow passengers on the plane made the mistake of asking me if I was heading home and I bumbled some teary-eyed, stupid answer about it being my new home. I'm excited for this adventure... but sad all the same.
I haven't ventured out much this week (besides the trip to Lake Mead) because I'm focused on getting us all unpacked and organized. But this week, I'll hopefully be able to get out a bit more and start researching pediatricians, doctors, vets, dentists, swimming lessons, etc for the family. Sounds exciting, doesn't it!? :) Of course, my ability to get some of this done will depend on how well my little munchkin does. She had a mediocre fever all day today so we'll see if she's feeling better tomorrow.

Okay... I'm going to post this now or it will never get done. I'm going to do my ABSOLUTE best to get pictures uploaded here tomorrow. Fingers crossed!!!

Videos of 4-month-old Samantha

2008-10-16T14:16:00.000-07:00

Okay... it has been a long while since I've posted pics and video of little Samantha... and it isn't due to lack of material. I haven't done an official count, but thanks to the age of digital cameras (and an extremely cute subject to shoot), I have approximately 2500 pictures and videos of our daughter. They aren't exactly all award winning pics, that's for sure, but since we don't have to get them developed, I just keep snapping pictures and shooting videos... and I'll just sort through them after she leaves for college! :) I know it's excessive, but digital memory is cheap and my memory is going, so it's safer to record her life on "film" rather than in my brain! :)

So without further ado, here are some of the most recent videos of Samantha so you can get a feel for what she's like right now.

In this clip, I'm sneaking in to video Sam while she is waking up from a nap.
If we're sure to let her sleep long enough, she wakes up so content and happy!

Samantha is experimenting with new sounds she can make.
Here, she is practicing her bird calls! :)

Bath times are JUST starting to become fun for Sam.
She still isn't 100% sure about how to play in the tub, but the kicking seems to be a hit.

Samantha is starting to develop her trunk strength more and more. A couple days before this video, if we put her in the BebePod chair, she would slump a little to the side. Now, if she's awake and full of energy, she can actually play sitting up a little bit on her own. In this video, we're trying not to laugh as she tries to pick up the circles that are part of the design on the placemat in the tray.

Of course, I have a bunch of other videos, but I'll keep it to these highlights. I'll post some pictures later (but I better publish this post now or who knows how long it might be before I remember to do so!)

The Shepards are on the move…

2008-09-18T21:21:00.000-07:00

As you know, 2008 has been a crazy year for the Shepard family… most notably due to the amazing new addition of our daughter. Well… 2008 isn’t over yet, and as it turns out, we have one more very large change ahead of us.

A few weeks ago, Sean headed down to Las Vegas for a job interview. And thankfully, Sean “wowed” the interviewers, and in October, he will be one of the newest members of the sales crew at Las Vegas Gaming Incorporated (www.lvgi.com). Which means The Shepard Crew will be moving from beautiful Portland, Oregon down to a significantly drier Las Vegas, Nevada.

We have told some of our friends and family about this recent event… and have subsequently been asked a lot of questions. We figured we’d answer those questions here:
1. How long have you known about this?
Sean was approached about the open position in mid August, but didn’t interview for it until early September. We made the final decision some time around September 12th.
2. But what about your life here in Portland?
Although the time line leading up to this opportunity has been extremely short, the decision to make this move was not taken lightly. Sean has lived in Portland since he was nine years old and Lisa has called Oregon her home for over nine years. We met here, dated here, got married here, and our beautiful daughter was born here. We have extremely amazing friends, a great church, good jobs, and a wonderful life here. (Insert tears here) There are so many things we will miss.
3. Did Sean interview at other companies? Was he looking for a different job?
No, Sean was not actively looking for another job. He loves Real Estate and has taken so much pride in building his business over the last 7 or 8 years.
4. Then why are you moving? Why is he taking another job?
There are many benefits about our decision to move to Las Vegas. Although we weren’t proactively looking for another job for Sean, when this opportunity came up, we knew we had to consider it. Although there are some sacrifices that come with Sean rejoining the corporate world, there are a lot of positives with it, and he is excited to help an up-and-coming company develop their business and increase their sales. One notable benefit is that Lisa will be able to stay home with Samantha. As much as Lisa has enjoyed being a working woman and thriving in the professional world, we are very excited about this opportunity for her to be a full-time mom to Samantha.
Another significant perk to our move is that we will be close to Sean’s parents. Anyone who has a child will probably recognize what a value that is.
We also hope that living in a drier climate will allow us to squeeze in a bit more golfing and boating! And we are also aware that Las Vegas happens to be a pretty popular place to visit… so we hope that means we will get many visits from our family and friends across the country. Who doesn't want a place to stay in Las Vegas?! :-)
5. If Sean’s not available, who is going to help me when it comes time to buy/sell my house?
Sean will be working through some of his real estate deals straight up to the time we leave… and possibly even afterwards. Even after we move down there, if you are in the market to sell or buy a house, Sean knows a couple very qualified real estate brokers that he would refer you to. Sean always took great pride in making sure you got the best service he could possibly provide… and he would only refer you to someone who will do the same!
6. Isn’t Las Vegas just full of strippers and gamblers?
All our research we’ve done indicates that LIVING in Las Vegas is VERY different than VISITING Las Vegas… and we are banking on that. There are parks, hiking trails, farmers markets and all kinds of other activities for a family. We plan on spending much of our time in the suburbs and relatively little on The Strip.
7. Did you know that the summers are really hot in Las Vegas?
Hmmm… we weren’t aware of that. Gosh… I hope it doesn’t get too hot! JUST KIDDING!! We are very well aware that it gets scorching in the summer and we’ll just get used to it the same way we got used to the rain in Oregon. We’ll embrace the good parts about the weather (i.e. October – May), deal with the bad, and try to keep our complaints to a minimum. Of course… the dogs may not have the same attitude as us… but we hope they like getting shaved!! :)
8. When are you moving down? Where will you live?
Our plan is to live with Dad & Mom Shepard until our house up here in Oregon sells (or until we drive them nuts... whichever comes first! :-) ). This will give us plenty of time to learn more about the area and find the right place to get a house. We will move down in late October, although the exact date will be decided on shortly. Wow... there is a lot to get done in the next few weeks!!
9. Are you excited?
You bet! Are we nervous and scared? Of course! Is this one of the biggest decisions we've made in our lives? Undoubtedly! But we've prayed about it, pondered it, and talked it over a lot and we believe this is the right move for our family at this time. What an adventure!

We'll keep you posted on this crazy development in our lives, but until then... Viva Las Vegas!!!

Lots of Hugs,
Sean, Lisa, Samantha, Charlie & Sadie Shepard

Slideshow of Squishee growing

2008-09-01T11:50:00.001-07:00

During Lisa's pregnancy, we had a slideshow of Lisa and Squishee growing on the right side of this blog. But "Squishee" is now Samantha and she's almost 3 months old. So it is time to move that slideshow to an "archive" post, rather than in its prominent position on the right hand side. Here it is...

Coming Soon: Updated Pics of Samantha

2008-08-08T15:30:00.000-07:00

Check back Saturday evening (8/9/08) as I hope to have this post published by then.

In the meantime, check out Samantha's first photos in the July blog posting
http://theshepardcrew.blogspot.com/2008/07/portraits-of-our-newborn.html

Videos of Samantha: 4 - 7 weeks old

2008-08-08T14:30:00.000-07:00

For those of you out-of-towners, here are some videos of our precious Samantha. Here's hoping these videos are playable on your computers... this is my first experience uploading videos to the blog!

When playing the videos, you need to click on the video to activate it. Then, you click on the "play button" (triangle button) in the bottom left of the video screen.

TIP: I have found that it is more enjoyable if you wait until a lot of the video has been buffered before starting to watch it. To do this, I click the "Play button" (triangle) and then immediately click the button again to pause the video. After a decent amount of the video has been buffered to your machine, click play, and you can watch the whole thing continuously (rather than having it stop and start while the video tries to catch up).

Samantha looking around - 4 weeks old
Video Details: 7/8/08 26 seconds 24 MB

Sam Loves Panda
Video Details: 7/20/08 15 seconds 14 MB
For the first few months, babies see Black/White and bold, contrasting patterns really well, which helped her develop a bond with Mr. Panda.

Say "Hi"
Video Details: 7/21/08 7 seconds 7 MB
A short clip of Samantha "saying hi". In the video, she is about 6 weeks old, and starting to experiment with her voice a little more.

More excited talking with Panda
Video Details: 7/21/08 11 seconds 10 MB

Coy Smile + Jabbering = Adorable
Video Details: 7/26/08 19 seconds 17 MB
Yes, we are currently in the process of getting wrapped around Samantha's little finger! :-) In this video, Sam is 7 weeks old, and well on her way to stealing our hearts.

Some of Sam's other visitors...

2008-08-07T16:03:00.000-07:00

In the last post, we told you about all the helpers who have come from out of town to help take care of us over the last 2 months, but we've also had the pleasure of introducing Samantha to so many of our other friends and family. If you aren't pictured below, it's because we either haven't had the chance to see you... or the picture just didn't turn out! :-)

Here are pics of some of our wonderful visitors:

Stacey Hatch came to visit us in the hospital (with her husband, Don)

We also spent some time with the Hatches out on our back deck.

We don't know if Don made Samantha cry or if it's the other way around. Either way... they both look pretty scary.

Technically, they aren't visitors, but here are pictures of Samantha's 4-legged sisters, Charlie and Sadie. After 8 weeks, they still aren't 100% sure about this little being we brought into our house... we think they're waiting for the "owners" to come pick her up and take her home.

Soon after we got home, our friends Anne Marie and Dave Mills came over to visit. Not only did they meet Samantha, but they brought us a bottle of wine... and Lisa could finally have a glass!!! :-)

Great Grandma Shepard came up from Corvallis when Sam was about 5 days old. Samantha is her 6th great grandchild, so she's a veteran with these rascals.

We had a surprise visit from Lisa's second cousin, Bart, and his new wife, Holin. Samantha was about 8 days old... and the new Mr. and Mrs. Wilbanks were passing through town on the way to Seattle to attend a friend's wedding. Sean and Lisa hadn't seen Bart for about 6 years, so it was a treat to get to introduce them both to Sam so early on in her life.

Our former next-door-neighbors, Rob & Teresa came by to bring us food and meet the new Shepard. Their sons, Brayden and Noah, also came to visit, but we didn't manage to capture a picture of them. Give it a few years, and we're sure Samantha will have a crush on their adorable sons. :-)

When John and Julie Kinney came by to meet Samantha, we snapped this picture of them. John is 6' 5" and Julie is Thai, so we think they should send this picture in their Christmas cards next year... and spend the next year explaining how they wound up with a tiny, non-Asian baby. :-)

The Scott family came by to visit and Samantha was more than happy to share her pack 'n play with their daughter Lucy. Lucy is exactly 4 weeks older than Samantha, so she's our constant "preview" of what's to come! Jake and Sarah's son, Finn, was too excited with Samantha's toys to catch a shot of him with her!

A few weeks later, we captured this adorable pic of Sarah and Samantha over at Jake & Sarah's house.

When Papa and Nana came up from Las Vegas for the PWC golf tournament, they brought family friends, Russ and Robbie with them. It was fun to watch Robbie and Nana wrestle each other for the next turn at holding Samantha! Meanwhile, we had to talk Russ into holding such a small baby, but he did a wonderful job and Samantha was instantly smitten with him. Sam is very lucky to have "surrogate" grandparents like Russ and Robbie.

Our friends, Warren and Toni, brought us yummy food and wonderful company when Samantha was about a month old. We call Toni "The Baby Whisperer" because she just has a way with babies that calms them right down.

Samantha also got to meet Warren and Toni's gorgeous daughter, Emma, who was about 6 months old. We are smitten with our daughter, of course, but when you hear little Emma giggle (something Samantha isn't doing quite yet), your heart just absolutely melts. We know Emma is going to be a wonderful friend to Samantha as they grow up together.

After things had settled down a bit, and we were ready for more visitors, our friend Darci came by to meet Samantha. Darci and Lisa have been friends since 4th grade and she introduced Sean and Lisa, so of course, she takes full credit for the arrival of this little munchkin! :-) Darci is studying to be a nurse and had just completed her rotation in Labor and Delivery, so she had first hand experience with some of the hilarity we call "giving birth".

Lisa's coworker, Jake, stopped by to meet Samantha. Of course, as soon as Samantha was fussy, Lisa made him hold her. He looks like a natural, doesn't he! :-)

Samantha's Helpers

2008-08-07T14:16:00.000-07:00

Sean and I want to send out a huge "Thank You" to all the helpers that came to stay with us over the last couple of months. Sean and I made a pact before Sam was born that we would only allow people to come visit if they didn't expect to be waited on or entertained since we knew we'd have plenty of other new duties to keep us busy... and we got "visits" from some of the best helpers around. Look below for pictures and highlights of our "Supporting Cast"...

Papa & Nana Shepard came to Portland soon after Samantha was born. Nana was en route as Samantha was entering into the world... Papa flew in a few days later. This timing worked out wonderfully since it gave Lisa a few days in the hospital to try to get breastfeeding under control before she had to even attempt to be discrete! :)

Papa stayed for 4-5 days and Nana stayed for about 10 days total. We really took advantage of all the help!

When Samantha was 2 weeks old, Nana and Papa came up for a second visit. They came to play in the 21st annual PWC Children's Charity golf tournament with Sean and family friends, Russ and Robbie Roth. THEIR TEAM TOOK FIRST PLACE, so we got the pleasure of hearing Dad and Russ sing "We Are The Champions" for a day or two. Samantha and Lisa were able to go to the dinner after the tournament to show how proud we were of our family of golfers.

Grandma Broman came to help at the end of June (Samantha was about 2 1/2 weeks old) and stayed for a week. Grandma Broman helped us with the cooking, laundry, and even managed to navigate around the area while doing errands! Even though we were 3 weeks into this new job of ours, we were still very much in need of plenty of help! This was a great transition week for us as we started to feel a little more confident in our parenting skills and started to get a little bit of a handle on how to accomplish things during Samantha's naps! :-)

At the tail end of Grandma Broman's visit, The Mitson family drove into town for a couple of days. Channing and Charise were very excited to meet their first human cousin! Unfortunately, Samantha slept most of the time (when she wasn't eating or crying), so she wasn't quite as much fun to play with as her cousins had hoped. Channing and Charise were excellent helpers though, and went they weren't swimming/playing with our next door neighbor, Sarah, they helped out a lot with changing diapers and getting Aunt Lisa baby supplies while her hands were full.

Aunt Lorna (Lisa's sister) and Uncle Justin were instantly smitten with their niece... but who can blame them? In these pictures, they're holding her before we headed off to an Independence Day party and our next-door-neighbor's house. It was Samantha's first holiday celebration!!

The very next weekend, Sean's cousin, Cristy came to help for about 5 days (Samantha was around 4-5 weeks old). Cristy showed up and started scooting around... running to the grocery store, tackling laundry, and cooking us yummy food. She even made a scrumptious appetizer for a party that we all went to. The running joke throughout her stay was that Cristy was Lisa's personal assistant since Lisa couldn't remember anything if it wasn't written on a note right in front of her. And we were only partially kidding... Lisa is really missing her assistant... why do you think these blog updates haven't been getting done?! :-)

A few days after Cristy left, Lisa and Sean's friend from Florida showed up for a 5 day "shift" with the Shepard family. Just like with Cristy, Vera showed up and started cruising around the house getting to work. She even came with a pre-planned menu for her stay here!!! Since Lisa had already deemed Cristy her personal assistant, Vera became known as our fabulous Asian chef and nanny! We really know how to find good help, don't we!! :-)

Papa and Nana Shepard managed to visit a third time by coming to Portland at the end of a month-long road trip they went on. They arrived the last weekend in July and Papa stayed for a week before flying back to Las Vegas the next Sunday to get back to the real world (i.e. work!) and Nana is heading out tomorrow (Friday, Aug 8). During this visit, they watched Samantha grow from a tiny 6 week old to a big girl (8 weeks old!). Samantha is mastering the art of smiling and cooing... which has enabled her to start the process of getting Papa wrapped around her tiny little finger! :-)

As you can tell by the impressive list of people in this cast of characters, we had a lot of wonderful helpers during this transition into parenthood. We probably would have gotten by without all this help... but we would have been crazy to try! :-)

THANK YOU TO YOU ALL!!!!

Sam's first photo shoot

2008-07-17T10:30:00.000-07:00

When Miss Samantha was just 6 days old, our friend Don came over and took some baby "portraits" of our little girl. What an experience! This was Don's first time photographing a newborn and we are in awe of what he was able to capture. We will treasure these newborn pictures forever... and we have justifiably nicknamed him Don Geddes (long lost step-brother to Ann Geddes, reknowned children's photographer).

Here is a slide show of some of those priceless pictures...
(scroll your mouse over the pictures to pause the scrolling and see captions)

Pictures from Samantha's first week

2008-06-20T15:22:00.001-07:00

This week has been crazy... we can't believe we're parents of a 10 day old!! We've had some questions about how we're doing, so we thought we'd answer them here.

When did we come home from the hospital?
Samantha was born on Tuesday, June 10th at 6:30 pm and we came home from the hospital around noon on Thursday, June 12th. Lisa was resisting such an "early" release because she was afraid to lose the 24/7 access to nurses. But they booted us out of there anyway!

How were the first couple of days?
We're not going to lie... the first couple of days were tough. Lisa was a hormonal wreck! Breastfeeding was very scary! And Lisa's Type-A personality was very confused and unsure about how to care for this new little bundle of joy. If Sean was scared at all, he didn't let on and was steady as a rock while we waited for Lisa's hormones to level out a bit! :-)

How are we doing now?
We are doing much better! As Lisa's hormones have settled down and as we've gotten to know our daughter a little more, we are really enjoying this time. She is SO beautiful and like all new parents, we just love staring at her and seeing all the goofy, lovely faces she makes.

How is Samantha doing?
We had our first pediatrician appt on Monday, June 16th. Samantha was 6 days old and was already 4 oz over her birth weight. This was really good news and a great sign that she is eating well. At this age, you also judge a baby's health by how much she's pooping and peeing and Sammy is EXCELLING in that department! :-) Thank goodness this method of grading health changes as we get older! :-)

Are nicknames ok for Samantha?
Yes, nicknames like Sammy and Sam are perfectly fine for our little girl. Although we know other nicknames will develop (like Munchkin, Precious, Sweet Pea, etc.) we'd prefer if you DIDN'T call her nicknames like Poophead, Dork, etc. :-)

Is Sean working during this time?
Yes, Sean is squeezing in work as much as he can. Although he is definitely taking time to spend with our little girl, Real Estate is an interesting business and at this time, it just isn't feasible for him to ignore clients for a large chunk of time. He is definitely changing diapers, taking some night duty with Sam, and spending quality time with his daughter, but he is also squeezing in work at the same time. I'm very proud of how he's handling the schedule so far!

Are we getting any help?
Sean's mom has been here since the 11th and just left today. This was a huge help (especially during those first few days) since we were able to concentrate on taking care of Samantha and trying to get rest... while laundry got "magically" washed, lunch got "magically" prepared, and dog hair got "magically" vacuumed. This week will be interesting as we try to adjust to the schedule without our fearless helper! Lisa's mom is arriving in a little over a week and we know we will definitely be ready for the reinforcements to show up! :-)

We have also been getting wonderful help from friends who have dropped dinner by and are continuing to do so this week while Lisa and Sean are "without a helper". I had no idea how wonderful and helpful that is and I now know what new parents will appreciate in the future. Obviously, we will need to start preparing our own food in the future (I don't suppose we can get people to bring us food until she leaves for college!), but during the first few weeks as brand new parents, it is a Godsend.

Hey... where are the pictures?
Okay, I won't keep you waiting any longer. Here are some of our favorite pictures from our first week with Samantha... You should be able to click on them to see them bigger.

Family Portrait

Getting some fresh air

Curling up with Daddy

Mixing Business with Babysitting

Sammy with Papa and Nana (Sean's parents)

Sammy with Nana

All clean after Samantha's first bath at home

Strapped in the swing

Ready for her first car ride (besides coming home from the hospital)

Hey Paparazzi... leave me alone!!

Samantha Burrito

Another Samantha Burrito

So tired!!!

Woe is me...

Welcome Samantha Ryan Shepard!!!

2008-06-20T13:49:00.000-07:00

On June 10th, we proudly welcomed Samantha Ryan Shepard into this world. She was born at 6:29 pm, weighing 6 lbs 8 oz and she was 19 1/2 inches long... and immediately we knew she was the cutest baby we'd ever seen!

Our Labor Story
[You can skip this part if all you want to see are pictures! :-)]

The day was definitely different than we expected, but ended with her exciting arrival. When we had talked to the doctor prior to getting induced, we were under the impression that the first part of the day would be a little slow and boring (we even brought magazines and movies!), then when the water broke, the labor would probably progress quickly, with a long round of pushing since this is our first child.

Well... Samantha had slightly different plans. Sean and I showed up at the hospital at midnight to get my dose of Cirvidil. In laymen's terms, this was done to get my body in a favorable state for labor (there's no point kicking the contractions into gear if there's no way the baby can get out!). We planned on resting until the afternoon, when my doc would show up, give me Pitocin, break my water, and kickstart us into labor. Sean and I went to sleep and got as much rest as we could.
I woke up around 7:30 am with some pretty significant contractions... but I wasn't sure that's what they were because they weren't going away at all. I'd always thought you have a contraction for about 60 seconds and then you wait around 5 minutes for the next one to come. But mine were just coming one after the other... so I called the nurse to confirm that that was the pain I was feeling. Sure enough, we were having progressive contractions about 1-2 minutes apart. So much for those magazines, card games and movies!!! Although we will never know for sure, the doctors hypothesize that I was probably going to go into labor in the next 1-2 days on my own... which is why the Cirvidil did the job of kicking us into labor.

Sean helped me walk around, sit on an exercise ball, and just breath through my contractions for a couple of hours. Then the nausea hit! About every 3 contractions, the nausea would take over and I'd get sick. What fun!!! The contractions progressed for a few more hours and around noon, we ordered the epidural. Best move I've ever made!!!

It took the doc 3 tries to get the epidural in, but I gotta tell you that I really didn't care at that point. The "pain" of the epidural was like a raindrop compared to a bucket of water. The funniest part about the whole epidural process was that the doctor STARTED SPEAKING IN AN ENGLISH ACCENT during the third try... I guess he thought that voice would be more calming and soothing??? If Sean wasn't there to confirm his new accent, I'd assume I was just delirious, but Sean agrees that he did do a Madonna impression during that third attempt!

From about 12:30 or 1:00 to about 4:00, I just slept, still feeling the contractions, but no pain. Feeling contractions without feeling much pain is a very weird concept to me, but it was perfect!! My doctor showed up around 4:30 and I was dilated about 7 centimeters. At this rate, it looked like we might start pushing around 10:00 pm. Doc was going to head home and then come back as I progressed. Well, she checked on me again around 5:45 pm and I was dilated to 10 centimeters, thus canceling her dinner plans! :-)

So now it was time to push. All feeling disappeared from my hands. Even though it had taken 9 months to get here, I was so nervous and I didn't know if I was ready for what was coming! Our doctor headed to her office across the street to get some work done while the Delivery nurse started the pushing process with Sean and me. Yeah, that sounds weird, but since this was my first child, the doctors usually let the nurse take the first hour or two of pushing, and they show up for the last part.

About 10 minutes into pushing (about 4 contractions), the nurse abruptly told me to stop pushing. WHAT? But there's still a baby in there... what do you mean stop pushing? She said "I see the head. The baby's coming. I've never caught a baby before and I don't plan on starting now". So they paged the doc and we waited through contractions for 5-10 minutes while we waited for the doc to get there.

Our doctor came running into the room, jumped into her scrubs, threw some gloves and glasses on, and the pushing resumed. About 4 contractions later, Samantha showed up in all her glory. I will never forget the first time I laid my eyes on that precious face... our daughter was here!!!

PICTURES
So... since this is what you're really here for, let me post some of Samantha's first pictures. Please don't look at her mom... she didn't quite have a chance to get freshened up before the cameras started clicking! :-)

Lisa during early labor trying to work through the contractions. Nice outfit!!!

Nice hairdo!!! A little Flintstones hairstyle to get it out of the way for pushing.

You tell us, Samantha!!!

We both earned a good rest, right!? :-)

Our precious bundle

In this corner, weighing in at 6 lbs 8 oz...

Working with two laptops to try to get an email out to people...
Not something we recommend after a long day of watching your wife go through labor!

This is about 10 hours after Sammy was born...
Lisa was doing more research on how to become Baby Wise!! :-)

Affectionately termed "Our Little Troll Doll"
Give her some green pigtails, and you have to admit there is a resemblance!

Getting ready to go home from the hospital.
Samantha is wearing the hat her 8 year old cousin, Channing, made for her.

Much love from the new and improved Shepard family...
Sean, Lisa, Samantha (and of course, Charlie and Sadie)

4 days and counting...

2008-06-06T23:34:00.000-07:00

That's right... we are scheduled to induce on Tuesday, June 10th... which means Squishee will join us on either June 10th or 11th (depending on how much torture she decides to put Lisa through!) :)

So how are we feeling? Excited. Nervous. A little scared. But probably, more than anything, we just can't get it to sink in that Squishee is going to be in our arms in just a few short days. In fact, the very next post to this blog will be AFTER she is born. Unbelievable!

We're saying lots of prayers that Lisa goes into labor naturally before Tuesday, simply because that may decrease the chance of us ending up needing a c-section. But either way, our prayers are for a safe delivery and healthy baby, no matter how she enters this world!!

On a fun note, we are posting some pictures below of a "photo shoot" we did. Our friend, Don, took a ton of pictures of us and this prego belly... and I'm posting some of our favorites (including some goofy ones!). Wouldn't you just know it that the day we did the pictures was the day my very first stretch marks showed up. Told you Squishee was going to be ornery! =) Anyway... here are some of our favorites (you should be able to click on the images to see them larger)...

Lisa Wins!!!!

Every pregnant girl needs a Maalox break now and then

Just some healthy belly laughs!

Isn't he such a supportive husband?

Squishee due a little earlier...

2008-05-29T23:51:00.000-07:00

No fun pics to go with this post, but I did want to let you know that we're looking at a "revised" birthdate for Squishee. When we went to the doc this Tuesday, we saw that Squishee's growth is slowing down and that the amniotic fluid was starting to go away (these are two of the common risks associated with the blood pressure medication I take). At that time, our doctor told us that if today's appointment showed similar decreases in fluid (no, we were NOT at Oil Can Henry's...), then we could be looking at inducing next Tuesday!!

As exciting as that was, it definitely sent Sean and I into a bit of a tizzy! Oh sure... I have a few things on my "To Do" list that I want to accomplish before Squishee's arrival, but the big concern of ours is the house that we bought earlier in the year to fix up and sell. We aren't done remodeling it yet!!! So Sean made some phone calls and some wonderful friends have lent us some elbow grease in helping out with the house. Even in two days, their help has made a huge difference. THANK YOU!!!

Today's checkup revealed even more good news! The amniotic fluid level is back up a bit, which means we won't be inducing next Tuesday (6/3). We know that Squishee can decide to make her debut whenever she's good and ready, but we're back to looking at 6/10 as the probable date for inducing. We'll be at 39 weeks at that point and Sean and I are getting really excited.

More info (and some really fun pics!) to come in future posts... but I wanted to get this one out there since I told some of you to check back here after today's appointment!

37 week checkup

2008-05-25T18:24:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time since I gave an update on little Squishee, so here are some details you might be interested in:

As you can tell by the "pea pod" calendar at the top of your screen, we are 1 day shy of 37 weeks. Babies are considered "full term" any time between 37 weeks and 40 weeks, so the doc says we're all systems go if Squishee decides to make her big entrance. On the other hand, Sean and I still have quite a few things we want to get done before she shows up, so we're praying that she stays comfy for a couple more weeks!
I am feeling great for being 37 weeks along... way better than I expected. I still have a decent amount of energy, I'm sleeping very well, and I'm still loving all the movements and kicks that are coming from our active little girl. Oh sure... there are some pains and strains here and there... but overall, I'm still loving this miraculous time.
We are seeing the doc a couple times a week now. During these visits, we monitor Squishee via ultrasound or by doing a Non Stress Test using a fetal monitor. Every visit, Squishee (and I) have been getting A+ grades from our doctor, so we pray that continues to be the case for the rest of this pregnancy. So far, my blood pressure has been great (actually lower than normal), my amniotic fluid levels are excellent, and all the other signs point to a very healthy pregnancy. What a blessing!!!
June 17th is the latest date that Squishee will join us. This is because the doctor doesn't want me to go much past our due date. Even if the blood pressure threat never rears its ugly head during the next few weeks, our doctor wants to induce when we reach 40 weeks. Reason? She doesn't want to push our luck and give the blood pressure a chance to create an emergency where there doesn't need to be one. There is something relieving about knowing I'm not going to go 2 weeks late like some women do on their first pregnancy, and it has also allowed us to have a little more info when scheduling family visits, etc. The craziest part about knowing the latest due date is the fact that we know our Orange Juice in the fridge has a later "due date" than our baby... so surreal!!!
No, our hospital bags aren't packed yet... but that is on the agenda for tonight! I did spend all day yesterday washing clothes, bedding, blankets, etc. for little Squishee... so we are ALMOST ready for her to come home!
Seems only fair to include some pics in this blog post, so here are some recent snapshots.

These are my dear friends, Julie and Stacey, who threw a baby shower for me in early May.

It was such a special day and I was thrilled to see so many wonderful friends. Although it's tough to "catch up" with so many loved ones at the same time, it meant so much to see all these amazing women in my life.

Even though Sean hasn't attended any baby showers, we both are SO thankful for the love and support we have experienced as we anticipate Squishee's arrival. We always knew we had special families, friends, and coworkers, and we are so excited to introduce Squishee to all of you!!!

So this is the fun part, right??

2008-05-24T17:00:00.000-07:00

As we head into the home stretch of this amazing pregnancy, I have experienced some incredible words of inspiring encouragement and sage wisdom. As true as that may be, I think the words of DIScouragement and idiocy are FAR more interesting. So here are some examples of things I've heard over the last couple weeks... I hope you get a kick out of them:

"Wow... you haven't had that baby yet?"
Actually, yes, I did. But I think the maternity belly looks SO good on me, I decided to shove a watermelon up my shirt and pretend I was still pregnant.
"You're due in 3 weeks? Just so you know, it hurts."
You don't say! I had heard it was super pleasant and you just slept through the whole thing. Wow... thanks for letting me know that so I could prepare. By the way... did I mention that this brilliant information came from a MAN! So he must know!!!
"You may feel good now, but you are going to be miserable soon. You're just going to be hating life until that baby comes out."
Wow... you didn't do very well on the cheerleading squad, did you? Surprisingly, I have heard many versions of this uplifting sentiment. Although I reserve the right to start complaining at any time, the "misery" hasn't begun yet, so it's weird to have to convince people that you aren't depressed and "hating life."
"Wow... you are huge!"
Wow... you are ugly! Thank goodness I'll lose this belly when the baby comes out... too bad you'll always have that face! (No... I have not said that to anyone, but it doesn't mean I haven't wanted to.) :-)
"Wow... you're really showing. When I was pregnant, I didn't show until I was about 8 months along."
If you don't show until you're 8 months pregnant, that means you either wear clothes that are WAY too baggy... or you had way too much weight for that baby to hide under.

I hope you can see why I think these statements and questions were humorous. If you can't, then you were probably the one who said it to me! :-)

Is flying a cure for breech babies?

2008-05-01T18:41:00.000-07:00

Well, we have no idea when it happened, but we had an ultrasound today and learned that Squishee has taken a dive and is now head down instead of breech! We are really excited! Sure enough, if it hadn't been for the need for ultrasounds to monitor Squishee's growth, we probably would have never known she was breech for a while anyway. So it was much ado about nothing! But we are so thankful that Squishee cooperated!!!

Speaking of growth ultrasounds, Squishee is doing really well. She's growing just fine and is currently in the 40th percentile for growth, which is totally normal and acceptable. The technicican predicts that she is about 4.5 lbs right now... and the ultrasound confirmed that she is pretty active (as if I needed an ultrasound to confirm that!).

Over the past weekend, Sean and I were in Boise for a friend's wedding. We're going to spread rumors that the flying is what caused Squishee to flip around and then maybe we can get speaking engagements on Oprah and free tickets on the airlines! :)

Here are some pics from our brief weekend in Boise

Sean and Lisa before heading off to the wedding

My 6 beautiful friends from High School
(Amy, Joy, Jaime, Katie - the bride, Caroline, Lisa and Carin)

Lisa and her mom

Watch Squishee grow in a slideshow...

2008-05-01T18:20:00.000-07:00

Wish I'd thought of this sooner, but rather than doing a post every time we take another picture of Squishee growing in my belly, we've gone ahead and put a slide show to the right showing the progression. And to think there was a time when people couldn't tell Lisa was pregnant! HA!

After Squishee is born, not only will we burn the infamous pink pajamas and black tank top that you've seen so much of, but we promise to update the slideshow with pictures that are 1000 times cuter than Lisa's growing tummy!

SOME HINTS for viewing the slideshow:
- If you click on the scrolling images, then you can use the buttons in the bottom left to slow down, speed up, or pause the scrolling
- If you hover your mouse over one of the pictures that is scrolling by, it should pause it and tell you the caption for that picture. In this case, it will tell you what week that picture is from
- If you want to see all the pictures in this slideshow at once, you can click on the slide show or on the "View All Images" button. This may not be that exciting right now, but it will be more fun as we have more and more pictures up there for you to see!

Pics at 31 weeks... Yes, you see my belly!

2008-04-15T21:28:00.000-07:00

It has come to my attention that a few of you out there are a little "ooged" out by seeing my bare belly. For the squeamish of you (wussies), I am doing you this little favor and posting a picture of my big ol' belly with a shirt covering it. Beware... if you scroll down too far, you WILL see pics that include my belly button! :-)

And now for the bare belly pic. Folks... there's no denying it. Lisa is pregnant. And Squishee is ready to declare it to the world by expanding that belly of her mom's! I guess we knew this was going to happen, right?

To answer your next question: Yes, Sean is afraid. Very afraid! :-)

More fun with family and friends in Portland

2008-04-12T20:59:00.000-07:00

In mid-April, we were blessed with a beautiful spring day that ACTUALLY included sunshine. On this gorgeous day, we were lucky enough to get even more family and friends together at our house in Portland. Dad and Mom Shepard and our family friend, Robbie, flew up to gather together and join in another pre-celebration of Squishee's coming arrival. This little munchkin of ours sure has some wonderful family and friends to meet when she shows up!!!

Lisa with Sean's Dad (Bruce) and Sean's cousins
(Sarah, Shannon & Stacey)

Lisa & Sean with Grandma Shepard

Robbie and Mom Shepard relaxing out on the back deck.
(Notice Grandma Shepard's new "bling" around her neck!)

Fun with Family and Friends in Boise

2008-03-30T20:18:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of fun things about being pregnant! And no, I'm not just talking about heartburn, ginormous clothes, and stupid comments from people about looking like I'm having twins. I'm talking about the stuff that is ACTUALLY fun!

One of those fun things about being pregnant is that it provides a wonderful excuse to get friends and family together... and we have been busy doing just that!!

In late March, we hopped to Boise for a quick weekend and managed to squeeze in some wonderful memories with lots of friends and family. Mom Shepard managed to even fly in for a day to join in the "pre-celebration" of Squishee's arrival.

Lisa with her mom (Kathy) and sister (Lorna)

Lisa with Sean's cousins (Pam, Julie & Jamie)

Lisa with Mom Broman and Mom Shepard

Sean and Lisa with their nieces, Channing and Charise
(Sean is proof that it wasn't just a weekend of girls,
although the boys did run and hide a bit when it came to talking babies!)

Of course, we were surrounded by so many more family and friends during the weekend, but we can't post all the pictures here (and of course, some of you are just plain camera shy!)

How is Squishee REALLY doing in there!

2008-03-27T00:00:00.000-07:00

We had another ultrasound on Monday, 3/24/08 (about 28 weeks along). In the past, when people have showed us their ultrasound pictures, we've had a little trouble seeing what they were able to see. So don't worry... if this just looks like a black and white blob to you, we understand. Maybe you have to see it live in order to interpret the picture. But just in case you are one of those people who can actually see the 3-D image in those cool posters at the mall kiosks, here is Squishee's latest portrait (it's a close up!).

Squishee's face... you can't see it in this picture,
but we think she has Lisa's chin. I guess we'll find out in a few months!

Other Squishee updates:

Not that it should come as a shock to anyone, but we are starting to think Squishee just might be a little ornery. The little munchkin is currently BREECH! In fact, she has her head tucked nicely into Lisa's rib and she looks as cozy as can be. But as Lisa's dad would say... "DON'T PANIC!" Although 75% of babies have flipped by this time, there's still plenty of time for Squishee to do a swan dive. We'll be hoping for her to make her big move in the next 2-8 weeks before we REALLY start to panic! :-)

Squishee is slightly small for 28 weeks, but nothing to worry about (especially since both Sean and Lisa were small babies and don't exactly top the charts when it comes to height). This is good news since once of the risks of Lisa's chronic high blood pressure (and the medication she's on) is stunted growth in the womb. The doc will still keep a close eye on Squishee's growth throughout the rest of our pregnancy, but so far so good!

Speaking of high blood pressure, Lisa's is doing great! No worries whatsoever at this time!

Both Sean and Lisa are enjoying the little kicks and pushes that Squishee does throughout the day. Although she still is a bit of a mystery in there, we are connecting with her more and more each day. While we lay in bed at night, Lisa curls up behind Sean and without fail, Squishee starts kicking and pushing like mad. We just lay there and laugh at the fact that she is already trying to push her daddy around! :-)

We have had many questions about names. I'm not sure, but it seems like some of you are a little tired of the name "Squishee". Unfortunately, we haven't decided on a name yet, but we look forward to sharing it with you soon... that is, in about 11-12 weeks when Squishee is born. In the meantime, if you are tired of calling her Squishee, you can always use her other nickname, Squishette!

Sean and Lisa out to dinner with friends.
"Can you please bring that dessert tray around again?"

No more false advertising!!

2008-03-19T00:00:00.000-07:00

Lately, Lisa has been accused of false advertising because there has been A LOT of growth with Squishee in the past few weeks, and our latest posting was at 23 weeks. So it's time to get an updated pic of the ol' tummy out there!!

Here are a couple of pics of Lisa & Squishee at 27 weeks (3/18/08)

27 weeks from the side

Facing 27 weeks head on! :-)

Escape to Florida

2008-03-11T00:00:00.000-07:00

In early March, we went to visit our friends, Carey, Vera and Laura Hobbs, who live in Orlando, Florida! While there, I took about 100 pics of dear Laura (who's about 18 months old) and a few pics of the rest of us! Here are a couple of our favorites from the trip!

Sean and Laura reading together. Just look at those adorable pigtails!!!

Our self portrait while visiting Sarasota. It was a little windy, but the sun felt wonderful for us poor Oregonians!

Lunch in Sarasota... CHEERS to Mojitos, Sangria and Virgin Mango Tangos! :-)

We definitely enjoyed some refreshing fun in the sun...

...but don't let him fool you. That water was NOT warm!!!

Overall, we had a fabulous time. Of course it was great to get a break from our Oregon winter, but our favorite part was just getting to spend time with wonderful friends! Thanks for being such awesome hosts, Carey, Vera and Laura. Can't wait until we see you again!!!

Squishee at 23 weeks

2008-02-19T22:18:00.000-08:00

Here is a pic of Lisa at 23 weeks. Yep... Squishee is growing in there!!!

Highlights of the past couple weeks include:

- Lisa is really starting to feel Squishee kick in the past week. A few times, it has actually been visible from the outside! Within the next couple of days, we're guessing Daddy Shep is going to be able to feel one of these kicks, but we just haven't been able to time it well yet! :-)

- Lisa's sister (Lorna) came to visit and helped us get Lisa's office moved into the former guest room. Sean then built the crib and voila... we have the start of Squishee's room!!

- Lisa had her first (of many) irrational mommy panic attacks. Squishee was kicking so strong last week and then I didn't feel her at all for most of Friday and Saturday up through the afternoon. I was trying to tell myself to be logical and remember that it's still early for paying such close attention to the kicks, but hey... I'm pregnant. I get to be irrational sometimes! =) Anyway, by Saturday afternoon, I was in tears, so Sean and Lorna encouraged me to call my friend Sarah who has a doppler heart monitor rented for her pregnancy. She was so sweet and came right over to the house and did an impromptu nursing visit for me! Squishee's heartbeat was strong as can be and she's doing great. It was just a case of me putting too much importance on those continuous kicks. I'm sure this won't be the last of my new mommy worries as we go through the next few months, but we'll see!

Viva Las Vegas!!!

2008-02-19T22:00:00.000-08:00

In early February, we did what all couples do when they're 20 weeks pregnant... we went to LAS VEGAS!! :-) While there, we saw a couple of shows, danced in some clubs and just enjoyed seeing the sun for a couple days. It was a fun adventure... and if Squishee comes out tapping her feet, we'll know where she got her dancing rhythm! :-)

We got dolled up and headed out on the town. We were up until the wee hours of dawn both nights we were in town... I guess we're practicing for the midnight feedings that are coming in a few months! :-)

Our fearless traveling partners, John, Julie, Don and Stacey made the trip with us. With Don's bum Achille's Tendon and Lisa's growing belly, we were quite the motley crew strolling around Vegas, but we had a blast.

On Sunday, we squeezed in a wonderful brunch with Dad & Mom Shepard and family friends, Russ and Robbie. It's a good thing we had such a full breakfast since our flight was delayed by about 4 hours and we got to wait in the airport for about 6 hours! We made it to Portland around 1:00 am and crawled into bed, excited for that alarm clock to go off in the morning!

Squishee is growing...

2008-01-29T21:39:00.000-08:00

...and so am I!!

So this was back in November
when I was 10 weeks along.

And this is me just a couple of days
ago when we hit the 20 week mark.

It's official, we're halfway there, although we know this second half is going to be a lot different than the first! Overall, I feel great. Here's what's happening currently...

I've been feeling Squishee "flutter" for about 2 weeks now. Sean's excited for when he can feel the kicks and pushes, but I tell him not to rush it! :-)
I've gained about 10 pounds... right on track with what "they" say I should have gained at this point.
No funny food cravings yet. The main thing I've noticed is that I like to give in to a couple of the cravings that I've always had (I actually stopped by the donut shop the other day instead of passing right on by like usual). But anyone who knows me knows that craving of sweets is NOT a new trait!
I still have a good level of energy, so I feel pretty lucky. Sean and I are having fun thinking about our little girl in there... we know she'll be here before we know it.

Baby Squishee is a...

2008-01-22T17:15:00.000-08:00

...GIRL!!!

Let the fun begin! We went to our ultrasound appointment today and left beaming. We got to see Squishee's face, profile, hands, feet, heart, stomach, spine, kidneys, etc. We even got to see her brain (yep, she looks smart to us). According to the technician, Squishee looks as healthy as can be and is the exact size she should be for our estimated due date. We marvel that our parents didn't have this technology when they were pregnant with us... it's so amazing to get such an in-depth baby checkup when we're still months away from giving birth!

As for gender, Squishee didn't cooperate right away! "It" was keeping those legs crossed throughout the entire ultrasound. So we know our child is either shy or ornery. We'll let you take a guess as to which trait is more likely in our family! :-)

Anyway, after some pushing, prodding and a few cartwheels down the hall, Squishee cooperated and told us her tale! We would be excited whether the answer was girl or boy... but it is just so awesome to know.

Soon, we'll post some pics of Lisa's expanding belly... and also some other fun stuff going on in our lives (believe it or not, it isn't ALL about the kid... yet!).

An updated pic of Squishee. Don't worry... we saw the legs
on other ultrasounds, so they really are there! :-)

We are now entering the world of... BLOGGING!

2008-01-08T09:02:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it... we are finally going to enter the world of blogging. Don't be scared mom... it doesn't involve drugs, pyramid schemes, or email hoaxes. It is just a place for us to get little bits of news (and of course, pictures!) out to our friends and family without a lot of hoopla.

So why are we FINALLY diving into the art of blogging after resisting for so long? Well... because we are expecting a little bambino (or bambina) in June of 2008. And although our life as the Shepards (with two furry kids) has been wonderful, exciting, and full of blog-worthy adventures up to this point, we have just never bothered to bore you with every detail. We have recently learned, however, that when having a child, it is an unwritten rule that you start bragging... er, I mean blogging... about your child and every little thing he or she does. I think it verges on child neglect if you don't! :)

So stay tuned. We promise to only write about the important stuff (yeah, right). We promise to keep the stories about poop and spit-up to a minimum. We promise to do our best to maintain a high ratio of pictures to babble so you won't have to block out an afternoon to get caught up with our blog.

Stay tuned... unless we are otherwise inspired, the next blog posting could very well be the announcement of Baby Shepard's (a.k.a Squishee's) gender! We should hopefully find out on Jan 22nd!

BTW - Here's Squishee's first picture (from November when Squishee was almost 10 weeks old). Just so you know... Squishee is the little peanut-looking thing at the top of the ultrasound... NOT the full-grown baby looking shadow that is in the lower right. Didn't want to confuse anyone! =)