Living in the lap of luxury

This baby's got it made, I tell you. She's got Auntie Lora wrapped around her fingers to the point where she headed to the pool with more accessories (apparently necessary for safety purposes) than I've ever had in my life! :-) She even turns Uncle Lee into an old sap. I just think back to how hard I was working a week ago today to finish end of the year paperwork, and I thank God for family. Holly's an awesome mom. Lee's fulfilling his uncle duties in nice form. Even baby Sammi's indulging us with her easygoing spirit.

I'd say her first swim was an overall success. She didn't drown, contrary to Grandpa Ross' fears. We never let go of her (of course). She frowned in the beginning out of confusion and at the end out of hunger, and that was it! Of course, we owe the success of the excursion to Lee inflating her baby cabana. :-)

Uncle Lee nervously holds Samantha for the 1st time

STYLISH UVA/UVB protection

Sweet Uncle Lee blew this up for 30 minutes

What are you doing to me?!?!?

Ahhhhhhh
Now THIS I could get used to...

Uncle Lee says some of my facial expressions resemble old men


Thank heavens for the impromptu pedicure last week
Excess or safety? Either way, this'll prevent wrinkles.
He really is good with me, I'm just hungry.

So funny :-)

Samantha's Baptism

Samantha was baptized and dedicated to the Lord on Sunday at The People's Church in East Lansing, MI with water from the River Jordan.





Samantha was dressed in the gown made from Mom's wedding gown.


Proud parents Tyler and Holly promised to teach her about Jesus.



Auntie Lora relished a few moments with Samantha (If you want to hold this baby, you've got to get in line!)



Dad and Tyler continued their theological discussions.



How many people does it take to change a light bulb??? (or a diaper???) 2-4, in this case.



What a weekend! Happy 6 weeks birthday, Samantha!

So Blessed

What a great weekend! My little sister, Holly, became an Army Captain and received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in the same day. 2 days later Holly and Tyler's newborn baby, Samantha, was baptized with water from the River Jordan. She wore a dress Mom made using material from her wedding gown, which my Grandma Lupton had personalized before Mom and Dad's wedding.
Nana and Papa Killman drove down, and Grandma and Grandpa Ross flew up. Samantha quickly wrapped Dad around her little fingers within minutes of seeing her for the first time.
I'm thrilled to be on night duty, when Sammie Sam Sam/Squishy Face/Niecy Niece and I share quiet (and some loud) moments. After every feeding she stares up at me, trying to decide who I am and what I'm about. During my last visit, Samantha would warn us a few minutes ahead of time that she was getting hungry. Now she launches a full-on wail within 3 seconds. Tonight Holly and I heard her scream right after losing her pacifier. Boy, does she have us trained!
Sammie's also trying out new faces and some kick boxing moves. I'm amazed by the quick rotation of her facial expressions; a new one every 2 seconds at times!
So here I sit, on the pull-out couch in Holly and Tyler's nursery at 1:30am listing to Samantha's quiet baby snore, so thankful I was able to spend this time here, and looking forward to seeing my sweet, sweet husband again. This family is truly blessed.

Beautiful Girl

1.5 days with Samantha were not enough, but I feel so blessed to have shared them with her. I would fly back in a heartbeat if I could. My favorite part of the visit was tending to Samantha during the night so Holly could get some sleep. Samantha and I shared some quiet (and some slightly louder) moments. Her cry is a quiet plea; really quite sweet. Always one for modesty, she despises diaper changes.

I attempted to replicate one of those cute newborn photo shoots where the newborn is in their birthday suit, laying face down. I took Samantha out of her onesie and diaper when Holly and Tyler were at dinner, thinking, "Oh, good, her diaper is already wet." Alas, the beautiful, white furry blanket sported a wet, yellow spot within 30 seconds, and Samantha was NOT happy! I chalked it up to a lesson for an amateur photographer. She seemed to prefer the dress and diaper outfit to the "neked" look.

I love incorporating this new responsibility- Aunt- into my identity. It occurs to me that one can have a profound effect on a child or be a relatively distant aunt. I can teach her about the Lord and model His love for her. Throughout my life I made plans for parenting, but never "aunting". I've recently considered the importance of turning to my sister and brother-in-law for guidelines in how they want me to interact with Samantha, amount of time spent visiting, types of gifts that are welcome for her, etc.

That was a bit off track. Back to the star of the show, Samantha Ann Killman, at 1 week and 5 days of age.

She's Arrived!

Our niece, Samantha Ann Killman, arrived this morning at 10:31, weighing 6lbs, 12oz, and measuring 20 inches. Though she was on oxygen for a time, she is breathing fine now. Thank you all so much for your prayers!

Mom will fly to MI this weekend, and I'll fly up the following weekend. We wish we could be with them right now, but TAKS season and vacation time do not get along, especially when we'll fly up later for Holly's graduation.

I'm so proud of my little sister for becoming a mom!

Audra's Bridal Luncheon

My future sister-in-law, Audra, hosted a luncheon for the bridal party, allowing us to get to know each other before the wedding. Her mother chose exquisite decorations and provided excellent food.

This is how "warm" feels

My in-laws, who are visiting from Michigan, said it felt like they got on the plane in Detroit (34 dgrees) and got off in heaven (70 degrees). They may be thoroughly enjoying our company, but I think they're loving the balmy weather, as well.
We found ourselves at the Arboretum for the Dallas Blooms Festival on Saturday, and of course I couldn't pass up the
opportunity to snap some pictures.


















If you look closely, you can see a Bluetooth phone in the hayride driver's ear!

Who's in the chair?!

My sister and I rushed to the computer, then stopped 10 feet away in shock. "Who, WHAT, is that?" "Is is Mom?" We gingerly stepped closer... "It's a puppet!" "Did Dad put it there to make fun of Mom?" (who looks rather short in this chair)



But when we spun her around, we became even more confused,
and we doubled over in laughter.

"This doesn't look like Mom! What's with the curlers and big lips?"

Alas, this little beauty was a prank passed down from
Margie to my Mom, who actually intended to trick
my dad. Nice going, you two!

Fun with our youngest cousins (& some grown-ups)