Day 8 was really not the biggest success when it comes to 99 Days of Laughter. Samantha just was not in a laughing mood at all. She wasn't even full of her usual smiles. In fact, the day started off with puke...poop...and pee!
I'm not sure why Samantha was sick this morning, maybe it's because she's a Minnesota fan and was ill about how they lost to Green Bay. (That one's for you Andrew...ha!) I should have warned her that Green Bay is awesome! What ever the reason was, it was not a great start to the morning.
After Samantha (and mommy) had a nice snooze, her attitude was still off. I tried everything to get her to even giggle: My Big Foot dancing, my cheek smacking, not even tickles worked! In fact, she actually tried to poop on me while I was changing her diaper and blowing raspberries on her belly!
Finally, while we were at out grabbing birthday stuff for Josh's big day, she gave in. Though I'm pretty darn sure she was faking it just so I would stop humiliating both her and myself in public. Nothing better than a Mommy making fart noises and popping sounds while in line at Walmart! HA!
But after a long day of puke, pee and poop, it's certainly nice to know that even if it was a fake laugh, she was laughing to make me happy.
Well, it's officially been one week of 99 Days of Laughter! With only 7 of the 99 days finished, I know this is going to be an amazing adventure with my daughter. Already, we have experienced so much together; memories I hope to never forget.
My favorite memory this week had to have happened yesterday. We seem to be caught in this sleep time battle. It feels as if Samantha refuses to go to sleep on her own anymore. Now it has become this entire production of fuss, sleep, play, fuss. She'll finally "fall asleep" only to be wide awake and playing in her crib five minutes later.
Well, yesterday once her sleep-play turned to crying I went in to try and soothe her, only to find out that all she really wanted to do was play as she giggled away in my bouncing arms. How could I resist those smiling brown eyes and that infectious giggle. So, I sat down in the rocking chair with Samantha in my arms and we played, we laughed and we giggled.
Though, I didn't get it on video I will forever remember her laughter as I "popped" the soother out of her mouth. She just thought that was the funniest thing. She would bite down on the soother and the anticipation on her face as she waited for me to "pop" the soother out was completely priceless. Had I tried to go for the camera, our moment would have ended, and I just wanted to keep making her laugh - even if she was supposed to be napping.
It's now two o'clock in the afternoon of day 8 and although the day started off with puke, puke and more puke, we've already had a few giggle moments together! Look for Day 8 tomorrow morning!
If you follow me on Twitter @Momma_Laur, you may have seen the video of Samantha standing all by herself last night! I was so proud and amazed, yet completely petrified of this accomplishment at the same time! Well, today certainly turned into an interesting day that was full of laughter and some tears for both of us.
Thankfully, the teething didn't seem too be to much of a problem today. Now this may be because I put her teething necklace back on or just because she was having a "good day". I honestly, don't care to question why - but the teething necklace will not leave contact with her skin again! Here's a tip for all you "teethers" out there: Put the necklace in the baby's sock/sleeper at night so it stays in contact with the skin overnight.
Back to Samantha having a good day. She was her usual happy smiley self today. However, she was also on a mission to discover everything she could possibly get her little hands on. The two of us smiled and laughed together for most of the day. Nap time turned into play with Mommy time. Play with Mommy time turned into adventure time. And adventure time turned into a flash of horror before my eyes.
First, the play with Mommy time. Apparently, my dancing skills are slightly amusing to Samantha. Personally, I thought I was pretty good for someone who has really only had professional drunken night club experience. Mind you the shaky camera sort of makes it look like Big Foot was the one dancing around...
Then came adventure time. Tonight, as I was taking down Christmas, Samantha fell! I was only an arm's length away and I don't know what made me turn to look at her, but as I turned to see her, all I saw were her tiny toes going over the edge of the playpen!
I have never moved so fast in my life! Thank the Heavens for my Superhuman-Catlike-Mommy-Reflexes! I was able to grab her by the waist, mid fall, and scoop her into my arms just as she was about to meet the floor! We were both scared and after a few minutes of holding, kissing, and "It's Ok. You're Ok"'. We were both giggling away. Fweh...that was way too close for comfort.
I was so relieved that Samantha was not hurt, that afterwards all I could think was, "to bad I didn't get that one on video" and just started to laugh. I'm sure this has something to do with my adrenaline levels returning to normal levels, but at least we ended the day on a high note (pun completely intended)!
P.S. No dolls were harmed in the making of this blog!
Hello again and welcome back to my 99 Days of Laughter blog. It has been almost a week now of trying to make Samantha laugh every day and trying to catch it on video. I am very quickly realizing that this blog is turning into something much more than a mission of laughter.
When I first started this blog, only a few days I ago, it was my mission to make Samantha laugh at least once a day. I figured that if I could do that than I was being a pretty darn good mom. It meant spending more time "being" with my daughter and enjoying watching her grow and experiencing life with her. The sound of her laughter is by far my most favorite thing in the entire world and to hear it every day is, unfortunately, not a luxury every parent has and something I need to appreciate more.
Today ended up being a great day, but started off in a quick downward spiral. After breakfast, which Samantha hated (blah to egg yolks), the fussies began. I'm not sure if she was upset with the egg yolks, cranky from the teething or fussy from being tired. Maybe it was all three but after holding her in my arms wrapped and cuddled tightly in a blanket with a soother in her mouth, I felt like I had a newborn all over again. She just would not sleep and proceeded to kick and scream and kick and scream. An hour and a half later and I was curled up in the rocking chair with her still in my arms rocking her, patting her and shushing her. She finally fell asleep...for five minutes.
During that five minutes of quiet, I began to think to myself who would I be without Samantha?
Before Samantha, I was a busy body. Always on the go, something to do, somewhere to be. If Samantha had never been born, I don't think I would ever be completely fulfilled. She has taught me so much about myself and about life.
I have learned patience. I have learned to be present. I have learned I am not perfect. Without Samantha, I would not have been a mother; I would not have been her mother and that is something I just cannot imagine. In honest truth, I don't want to know who I would have been without her.
Just as I finished appreciating her and her unknown knowledge she opened those big beautiful brown eyes and smiled at me. I couldn't help but to smile back and cry. She is my world and to not have her in it...well that is something I care not to think about.
I want to think about new ways to make her smile! New ways to make her laugh! New ways to explore the world with her! But for now, I will hold her while she's small enough to do so and imagine who I will become with her.
I would love to tell you all that today was full of fun and laughter, but that would be a lie. Samantha is finally asleep and as I sit here drinking my wine, my eyes are fighting to stay open and my brain is slowing shutting down.
Though the day began with some laughter, she's always such a happy baby in the mornings, the day quickly went down hill. The dreaded 6 month teething has truly begun and both Mommy and Baby are suffering. The crying, the drooling, the crying, the irritability, the restlessness, the no-sleep, the crying...
On the positive side, the day did start with laughter and giggles and smiles, not that I was able to catch them on video...again...but look at how excited she is!
So, this is going to be a very short post and I'm going to go to sleep...
Good night, sleep tight, and let's hope for some pearly whites!
Happy New Year everyone! Hard to believe that 2012 is already over and a new year has begun. The day started out great! Samantha slept the entire night, so I actually got a decent nights sleep. Josh woke up with her, but the poor girl was obviously starving and cried until she was in my arms and feeding. After she had a full belly, it became a game of "popping off" and smiling at me...but no laughter.
Later in the day, I decided to take Samantha out on the toboggan and head over to the park. This was her first time on a toboggan and she just absolutely loved watching the snow slide past her. I could hear the giggles, but alas, by the time my gloves came off and my camera came out all I could catch were some smiles. Still adorable though!
At the park, I missed the laughter again. We sat down in the snow and watched the boys play hockey. This has to be one of her favorite things to do, people watch. Then one of the players completely wiped out and the laughter began! As much as I wanted to catch it on video, we were sitting behind a metal fence and all I could imagine was Flick's tongue stuck to the flag pole in A Christmas Story. Not that I was about to double-dog-dare my daughter, but her mouth and tongue would have gone straight to that fence had I let go of her. So I kept her and her tongue safely away from the cold metal fence!
All-in-all, it was a great day. Lots of sunshine, laughter, and sleep! Now I double-dog-dare you to sleep through the night again!
It's day two of my 99 Days of Laughter, and what a fun day we had today! After only waking up three times last night (woo hoo), we started the day off right; with laughter. And I'm sure it ended that way too!
Once again, I'm the fool in the video snorting at my daughter to get her to laugh. She thought that noise coming out of my mouth was just so bizarre and amusing! Though I didn't get the laughter, and it's mostly my snorting, I did get a few of her giggles in the video.
After a fun morning of laughing, Samantha and I celebrated the end of 2012 at TheMuseum. Joined with some friends from momstown KW, TheMuseum hosted a fun Noon Year's Eve Party, complete with a fun pinata candy drop!
We arrived just in time for the countdown! 3-2-1 Happy Noon Year! Though at 6 months old, Samantha couldn't bat at the pinata or eat the candy that fell; she certainly enjoyed watching all the children bat at the pinata and clamber over each other to get the most candy! Ok, I enjoyed it too!
After the potential baby trampling was over Samantha inched her way across the floor to play with her friends, well at least play with their toys. Their toys are obviously so much cooler than hers. Oh dear, I thought that wasn't supposed to start until she was at least 6 years old.
After a fun filled Noon Year's Party, Josh and I headed out to celebrate New Year's Eve with a movie while Grampa Dave babysat his favorite granddaughter. With my dad as the babysitter, I just know that Samantha had twice the fun tonight and ended her day the same way it started - with laughter.
Happy New Years Baby Girl and may your 2013 be full of discovery, love and laughter!
Well, day one has come and gone and laughter certainly filled the air! But I just have to let you know, after writing last nights blog...boy did I ever watch yesterdays video more than once. Last night is just a blur of snoring husbands, crying babies, snowplows and falling strollers! By the time the sun came up I was snuggled into my robe and breast feeding pillow on the couch in the living room. Luckily, Josh woke up with Samantha in the morning and I was able to get another hour of sleep before starting the day.
But after a coffee and a hot shower, I was ready to get the giggles going!
Today, Samantha laughed 3 times! A great start to my 99 Days of Laughter! But, as I mentioned in yesterday's post, Samantha is not the easiest baby to get to laugh. She tends to get bored quickly and move onto the next thing, so getting her giggles and laughter on video is not an easy task.
The first giggle fit, I heard while I was "sleeping in" this morning. I'm not sure what exactly Josh was doing, but she was laughing hysterically. By the time I made it downstairs, the laughter was over and she was crawling over to her story book.
The second fit of laughter happened while we were having lunch at my Cookie Grama's. (For those of you who don't know, my Cookie Grama is my 93 year young Great Grandmother. She is exactly who I want to be when I grow up.) While we were preparing lunch, I heard that amazing contagious laughter coming from my daughter again. Josh was "attacking" her with his size 13 feet. I ran over, phone in hand and missed the laughing again! Geez...this is going to be a lot harder than I thought!
Finally, once we all finished our dinner and were ready for bath time, I made it my mission to get my first day of laughter on video. So, I set up the camera, made sure Samantha couldn't see the camera (huge distraction for her, must get mommy's phone distraction) and made her laugh!
I might look and feel like a fool, but once that addicting giggle erupts, it's completely worth it.
First off, thank you for taking the time out of your day to read and follow my blog.
My name is Lindsay Laur. I am the wife of a loving husband, Josh, and the mother to a beautiful daughter Samantha. When Samantha was born in June, our entire lives changed. Obviously, the lack of sleep was not the best change but Josh and I developed a new sort of love, one that could never be explained, and that changed our lives for the better. Watching Samantha grow and experience life for the first time has given me an entirely new appreciation for life.
Samantha 6 months old
Samantha only a few days old
Before Samantha was born, I was constantly an on-the-go girl. I had my own event planning business, Destined to Wed, which allowed me the travel and experience some of the best resorts in the Caribbean. I also did a lot of charity work and worked part time as a waitress. Like I said, I was an on-the-go girl!
When we found out I was pregnant, I had to teach myself to slow down. Even my midwife would ask me "Today, did you relax like Lindsay or the rest of the world?" Little did I really know how important it would be to slow down.
Samantha is now 6 months old and all I want her to do is slow down! Tell her to stop growing so fast. Ask her to snuggle back into Mommy and not try to crawl away. I feel as if these past 6 months have just flown by and I haven't really had the chance to enjoy watching Samantha grow, learn and experience life. It breaks my heart to think I'll never get that time back, but at least I will always have my memories and the thousands of pictures I must have taken!
Feeling the crunch of the Autumn leaves
Unfortunately, it took the Newtown tragedy for me to realize just how important these days really are and for the first time in my life, I am going to slow down. I want to watch my baby girl grow before my eyes. She amazes me every single day and makes me so proud to be her mother.
This past week, I have realized that my favorite sound in the entire world is the sound of my daughter laughing! Just thinking about it makes me smile. When we've had a tough day, I just listen to a video of her laughing and it makes it all worth it. See for yourself...
So, with the New Year only a few days away I have only two resolutions:
First, write down any moment that I want to remember. Then this time next year, we will go through all of those memories and laugh.
Secondly, to make my daughter laugh. If I can get my daughter to laugh at least once a day (which believe me can be harder than it seems) than I know that I am doing a pretty darn good job at being her mom and she deserves the best!
I hope to share with you each and every laughter, for at least 99 days. I'm curious to see how this turns out.
What will she laugh at, why does she think it's funny, did I think it was funny? And hopefully, this will help me to slow down and laugh with my baby girl for at least the next 99 days.
