First Steps!

Life in the Laur household has forever changed during the last long weekend! Samantha has learned how to put one foot in front of the other and...da da da da...WALK! I have never been more proud of her, then the moment I saw her take her first steps, except for when I saw her take her first walk!

It has been about a week since this video and she is so determined to master the art of walking, it actually scares me.

I first wanted to put Samantha into a protective bubble the moment she was born. Then she learned how to stand (and fall) and I wanted to wrap her in it all over again. Now this is even scarier! She's walking towards tables and corners. Falling into walls and onto floors. And thinks that since she can practically run with her walker...well of course she can do that on her own too. Which only ends with a face plant on the floor and a mom with another grey hair.

Just yesterday we were at Harvey's and she was running circles round and around and around my legs. Apparently, she went around one to many times and "BANG" straight into the wall...ouch!

Thankfully, the nice weather has come and and the grass is much softer than the wood floors in our home. Unfortunately, it's not quite as level as the floorboards, but hopefully that will only help her develop her stability and balance.

Honestly though, I can't wait to walk down to the park holding her hand or watch her come walking up to me with that look of "look at me Mommy" in her eyes! Every day with her is a special day and watching her grow and learn is the best job in the world! 

Sweet & Slobbery

Mother's Day was on Sunday! My first "official" Mother's Day. I say "official" because last year I didn't get anything...not even a box of chocolates. According to my wonderful husband (who really is amazing) I was not officially a "mother" yet...even though I was 8 months pregnant with his child. Who, by the way, loved to kick me...punch me...and never let me sleep.

That was a mistake that he 1) recovered from quite nicely this year and 2) will never forget. Dads just an FYI...even a first time pregnant women is a mother, buy the girl a box of chocolates!

This year, I was able to celebrate all weekend long! On Saturday, I helped organize and run the momstown Mommy & Me Spa Day. Samantha was SO very well behaved, as I ran around making sure that everyone was happy and being pampered! She played with the other kids, played with her toys and after almost 5 hours of being there, without a morning nap, barely made a fuss. I truly am blessed to have such an amazing and well behaved baby...when she wants to be that is.

At our Spa Day, I even had enough time at the end to get pampered myself! I had a makeover (though the brows were a little darker than I would have done), had a massage and even a mini photoshoot with Samantha! There are so many pictures of Samantha on her own and with Josh, that I was so happy to have a session dedicated to just us! I can't wait to get the pictures and share them with you all!

Best of all, ok the massage was best of all, but we were invited to our friends for dinner that night! So no cleaning, cooking ro dishes for me!

Sunday morning, I got to sleep in, as I hope every mother got to do! And after nap time got to spend the day with my family at the mall! We played on the "dollar" rides and bought new shoes and clothes for everyone! Then went out for dinner where I got a free dessert! (insert huge smiley face here)

It really was an amazing weekend and I am so lucky to have a family that loves me the way they do! But the best part and the best gift I got came from Samantha! She gave me her first kiss - All open mouthed and slobbery...but sweet and precious none the less!

A Mother's Rose

A Mother’s Rose

A mother’s rose will never die,

For it is strong and firm and able.

It must protect and never shy

From that which could be evil.

A mother’s rose has many a thorn,

One for each of her battles.

They begin to grow the day she is born,

And every sleepless night after.

A mother’s rose is silky and smooth,

As tender as its petals.

 With a fragrance that is there to soothe,

And comfort here and after.

A mother’s rose will grow and grow,

And never stop believing.

Some of you may never know

Just how large her rose will go.

A mother’s rose will never die,

For it is strong and firm and able.

It must protect and never shy,

From that which could be evil.

Dedication and Persistance

Well, thankfully, the voting portion of the contest to be on the cover of Today's Parent Magazine came to a close last night and now it's time for the judges to decide who the final four will be! Glad I'm not in their seats, it's going to be a hard decision!

This contest certainly brought out the competitive side of me as well as the proud mommy side. Together those two sides made for one interesting month! 

I have to first say a HUGE thank you to all of my friends and family who voted, tried to vote and even helped to spread the word on the contest. There is no way I could have gotten 220 votes on my own. I am so thankful and grateful to have you folks in our lives. Even if Samantha doesn't make final four, I am so humbled to know that so many people cared enough to take time out of their own lives to vote!

As any crazy-mother, like myself, would, I did everything in my power to conjure as many votes as I could! I "spammed" every single person I knew on Facebook and Twitter...at least 3 times. In fact, Facebook actually thought I was a robot because I was private messaging so many people! I told complete strangers about the contest and I even reached out to every personal and business network that would listen. 

Curiously enough, other moms that I know, actually became upset with me asking for votes, since their child was also in the competition, yet would not speak to me about it...not even a simple message. Instead, they complained about their issue to others I know. I hope that they can understand that I was simply doing the same thing they were, reaching out to friends, family and acquaintances in hopes of getting a few more votes. And I really hope that this does not influence our friendship.

With my dedication and persistence, Samantha ended the voting period 23 out of 9779 entries! Maybe, I was wrong in asking everyone to vote, but that was the basis of the contest. I will not apologize for that. I do apologize, however, to those people who I literally asked every week to vote and hope that they understand that this is just one of those occasions where a mother would do anything for her child. 

Thankfully, I can return to normal mommy-mode and resume normal Facebook, Twitter and 99 Days of Laughter updates! Such as Samantha playing "peek-a-boo" with me this morning, which I have generously uploaded below for your enjoyment and laughter! 

*We now return to our regular scheduled programming*