Sittin' with Sammie B!

Our nanny took Sammie B on a playdate last week with someone she knows and their twins. When I saw these pictures, my heart melted because (1) Sam's freaking adorable in her little purple outfit and glasses AND (2) she's sitting and playing just like the other babes!!! Really, these pictures brought tears to my eyes I was so proud of her and happy!!!

I cannot believe that Sam will be ONE in less than a week. B and I both commented on how in some ways, it feels like she's been here FOREVER (we hardly remember life before her!) but in others, it seems like just five minutes ago, we were bringing her home from the hospital! We were both reminiscing -- remembering that first time she laughed out loud, laying on her changing table while B and I got her dressed for bed, B did something and she just laughed from her belly. We were so surprised and just looked at each other and said, "she just laughed, didn't she?" Then, we both just laughed uncontrollably, which kept her going. It seems so long ago! We are so lucky to have shared so many giggles with the Bean!

We were also laughing a little about OUR early experiences . . . when she'd wake up during the night, we were always frantic. We both got up every time (b/c we dubbed night feedings a team effort); and one of us would frantically get the bottle ready while the other changed her diaper (b/c they told us to do that when we were in the NICU; we later realized of course, that this was just waking her up more, and making it harder to get her back to sleep and only to change her at night if she'd leaked or smelled!). Anyway, one of us would give her the bottle while the other laid in the floor. We were both so exhausted that often, the one in the floor would fall asleep. One time B had to throw things at me just to wake me up as I lay sleeping in the floor! We've learned SO much since then, and also relaxed SO much as parents. We are no longer the frantic brand-new parents trying to figure out what to do. We've got a routine, crazy as it sometimes feels, and we know our Bean. We know what her cries mean, we know what her tired face looks like, we know her hungry whines, and we share smiles and giggles daily. One year of the Bean = Best year of our lives.