Our little indian girl!

Samara is enjoying day care; as I call it, school! Shana took these photos one day while dropping Samara off. The day care facility is on the Federal Center campus, so Shana can walk over to feed Samara whenever she wants. It's worked out great! We couldn't take any pictures of Samara playing with other children without parental consent!



The photo to the left is Samara's crib at daycare; notice the photos of us taped to her crib.





Samara has begun crawling, as most of you have seen the videos on our myspace account, and follows her teachers around her room. So far, she is the only one (out of 8 children) who can crawl; she's also the oldest. Her best bud, a boy (I'll have to get the shotgun out now) named Anson, gets aggrevated watching her crawl around the room while he watches. Samara has also learned to show affection towards people by watching us kiss her or each other (like when we leave for work). However, she doesn't understand the whole mechanics of this action and delegates herself to licking things/people that she wants to show affection to. One of her teachers commented one day that she was crawling up to the different children and licking them, so Shana had to explain.

Samara has also learned to wave bye, which may seem odd for a 7-month old to learn. But, nevertheless, it is quite obvious she's waving. She has also learned the white-man's version of the "indian battle cry", where you yell and repetitively put your hand in front of your mouth and take it away. In addition, she has upgraded to the "transitional" car seat where she can see out the window etc. etc. She had grown too long for the infant car seat and yelled at us for extended periods of time while riding in the car.

We're not too sure if she's learn some words, but she definitely mimics da-da, kittie, duck, etc. Shana thinks she said cracker one day... She knows what a kittie is because we'll say "kittie" and she'll start looking around in the room for Orion and/or Cassie. Speaking of kitties, one of her favorite pasttimes is to chase Orion around the room while laughing...it's hilarious to experience. I'll try to get a video of her chasing him and post it on myspace.



Samara's hair keeps growing and growing; I took some photos of her laying on her back while taking a bath to show her flowing, majestic-looking hair; it reminds me of something you see in a movie!

We went to some friends house to watch the NFL divisional championship games on a cold and snowy day (who would have guessed). While there, one of our friends who is a Chicago Bears fan thought it would be cool if he cut a letter "D" out of cardboard and couple it with her favorite toy, a white fense. So, throughout most of the game,she had the letter "D" in one hand and a fense in the other; "defense, defense".


Shana found out about an "Indian Market" that runs annually in Denver and we decided to go. We saw a lot of Native American artists from various tribes, Native rock bands and dancers, authentic reservation food, live birds (bald eagle, owl, and a hawk), etc etc. Our highlight was meeting Steve Reevis, a Blackfoot Native American from Montana who has played in movies that include Dances with Wolves, Last of the Dogmen, The Missing, Fargo, The Longest Yard, etc etc. Some people may know him as the naked Native American in the movie The Doors! He autographed a photo (for my sister) and I shook his hand (I'm such a dork!)! Samara also enjoyed the Kiowa dancers; she was very ecstatic and flailed her arms around while trying to dance (I think that was what she was trying to do - she's only 7-months old!).

Samara now eats "people" food; she has totally rejected baby food and grunts when she sees us eating. That is an indication that she wants a bite of what we're eating (already learning to communicate). It is odd though, because she has no teeth; she just gums the food or swallows it whole. But, she enjoys it! At the daycare, she eats three times during the day and has had such items as quesadillas, mashed potatoes, nutrigrain bars, cheerios, grilled cheese sandwich, etc etc! Impressive. She's been on this diet for quite some time now; maybe since before Christmas. Speaking of Christmas, we went sledding shortly after our Christmas break...

I've also added a couple of new videos of Samara to our myspace account of her crawling and waving bye...check it out! Click on the "videos" link below our picture...

The Greatest Gift!

Oh the joy! We were scheduled to leave the Denver area on Friday, December 22nd for our Christmas trip home; however, a lovely snow storm moved in on the 20th and dumped 33 inches on us! I ended up shoveling the driveway 3 times; as they say, it's better to shovel 11 inches 3 times than 33 inches once! Samara was able to enjoy the wonderful weather and appeared to tolerate us (see pictures) posing her on the snow mound we had shoveled. By Friday, I-70 had been opened and we left the house at 11 AM, making our arrival at around 2AM CST. This time we didn't have an accident, unlike last year.

Our trip home was great! We were able to see many of our friends and our families. Before Christmas day, Samara was able to visit her great grandma and grandpa...








Grandma Mashburn and cousin Samantha.








She also snoozed...











...and relaxed with cousin Sheldon!

Christmas day was terrific! We enjoyed spending the morning with Shana's family and the evening with my (Chris's) family. Samara sported a new dress that Shana had found specifically for the occassion; I suppose you never get tired of dressing your dolls! Unfortunately, after a short while in the dress, our little furnace became overheated and gave us the "I'm hot" squawk, promting us to undress her!

Samara had fun ripping the paper from the wrapped gifts. It seems, in her short lifetime, that she has grown to like the sound of paper...or anything that sounds like it...and subsequently sticking it in her mouth, which is typical for babies! We actually had a scare at Shana's sisters place! Samara was lying on the floor (back facing the floor) and had been playing with one of her toys. She started gagging and trying to gasp for air; She had something lodged in her mouth!! Shana quickly jammed her finger into Samara's mouth trying to get whatever Samara had attempted to eat! After a few seconds, Shana pulled out a piece of tape (about an inch long) that Samara had pulled off of some wrapping paper. Frightening! Samara's face was red, her eyes watery, but soon returned to normal!

Over the first 6 months of Samara's short life, we have noticed very distinct character traits. One of those traits is portrayed when she has a rattley toy in one hand and begins to vigorously shake it while looking at us with an air of pride. When she realized that her new hammer (picture on the left) made "noise" when she shook it, she became ecstatic!

The piano she received may be one of her new favorite toys. She likes to bang on it (maybe a set of bongos would have been better) and if the piano is overturned and within reach, she will actually turn it upright just to play it!! An amazing feat for an entity only 7 months old!

We also were able to visit with a lot of our friends from Oklahoma! Shana, Samara, and Glenda (a dear friend of Shana's) trekked to the hospital to see their friend Jennifer and her new "wee-one". What an experience!!

Samara met a whole slew of new faces, particularly little faces. She met Liam (Jerome and Nadia's not so little one anymore) for the first time. Liam's new best friend?

Samara found some new pals in while visiting Brian and Kelli: Collin, Gabe (Brian and Kelli's nephew), and Griffen. Maybe in a couple of years Samara can "rough house" with them...

We ended up spending 47 hours in the Jeep (thanks to an internal timer) and drove 2500 miles during our Christmas trip; a one-way trip from Louisville to Tulsa is about 750 miles!! We were able to visit with many of our friends and enjoyed our time immensely! The image on the right is of the drive home. What makes this photo significant is that this was the first time (that we know of) she held a cup all by herself and subsequently drank from it. Growing up so fast!!

I had to take this picture of Samara! Her first Christmas celebration was a success. Who know what will happen next year or what events will take place within the next year! So far, Samara has been the best gift of our lives! I will end with a quote from Samara's 2-year old cousin Tori upon see her stocking on Christmas morning, "This is the best birthday!!"

The Hurling Dervish!

The dust has settled from our long journey to Oklahoma and the tires are cooling off! I would say that we are back into our routine, but for us, back to routine signifies a change in routine. The circle of daily life has changed; most importantly, Samara began daycare on Monday, December 11th at the child care facility within the Federal Center where Shana works. She says it's nice to be able to take a 5-minute walk to see her, feed her, and be happy with her. Samara may not know of our ever changing routine yet, but she sure knows how to chill out (in her exersaucer)!

I woke up on the last Thursday before she started daycare and thought, with hint of sadness, "this will be our last day to hang out." I decided to give her a bath and put her in some "nice" clothes for a photography session. Actually, I gave her her first shower and she loved drinking from the shower head and playing in the streams of water (see photo below)! She gave me her best for several minutes during the photo session before deciding she was hungry and started to cry (oh, I mean whine, as I've never seen her shed a tear)! Like a spoiled superstar, Samara got what she wanted. In this case, bananas and oatmeal.

It was a very interesting moment, waking her up at 6:30 in the morning for her first trip to daycare (when her usual wake-up time is around 9:00-10:00 in the AM). Her look of confusion and brief disgruntlement was intriguing as she tried to jockey for a stable position within our arms, wanting to sleep for several more hours. Her first couple of days in daycare were uneventful; although the teachers noted that everytime one of the infants cried, Samara would chime in with her own vocals of the same song!

As always, a parent loves hearing compliments about their child. In our case, her long highlighted hair is one that is most often verbalized when Shana would visit Samara in daycare. Of course, when does a parent look at their child and think "what an awful looking baby"? I know I seen children and thought "how can that parent not think their child could scare a blind person"? Oh my!

There was a sound that echoed throughout my dreams. A sound that didn't sound right; it didn't fit in. I arose suddenly at approximately 11:30 Tuesday evening (after Samara's second day of daycare) with the dreadful fears that something was terribly wrong with my child. I was about to jump over Shana to the crib (which is on Shana's side of the bed) when Shana awoke with the same since of urgency. We bound to Samara's aid; she had, to say it eloquently, deposited her evening's meal on her mattress. Needless to say, that was not the end of the drama. Several minutes later, after we had turned out the lights and nestled her in bed between us (sharing our warmth), we heard the familiar sound of gushing liquid. Within a flash, the lights were on and we were cleaning up the second mess.

It was disturning watching my child look up at me with bewilderment as her body convulsed a spewed forth quantities of liquid, which I would not have guessed her little stomach could have held. And after each time she convulsed, she would look at me and smile. From that point forward, I knew everything was going to be ok with my girl.

The drama continued on throughout the night and into the morning. We were able to get in to see the pediatrician that morning, who informed us that their office had been seeing a large number this type of case (within infants) in the last couple of weeks. The verdict, Samara should be back to herself within a week. I now know what people mean concerning children picking up unwanted organisms in a classroom environment. But, on the brightside, she's building her immunity!

But wait!! The drama doesn't end with our characters! If you are wondering what the story is with the last photograph, read on!

Samara was well into the path of recovery when I awoke Thursday morning. Shana has sick-leave hours at work that she can take in case of a family sickness; so she stayed with Samara while I went to school. Shana called at about 1PM feeling sick to her stomach...etc etc. Same story different book! Shana is now recoverying from what Samara brought home from daycare. The photo above was taken Thursday morning (before Shana was sick); Samara slept half of the night with us. The significance of the photo? Well, where do I (Chris) sleep? I see about 5 inches to Samara's left where I can sleep on my side; Orion keeps my feet warm! Welcome to parenthood!

That, my friends, is the story of the Hurling Dervish!

Say Thanks!

We awoke at 2:30 AM Mountain Standard Time to disembark on our long trek across the Great Plains to a land meaning "red people" in the Choctaw language; A land otherwise known as Oklahoma. The sky was a pitch black background with spreckles of whitish pinpoints; Orion was our companion for part of the journey, until the brilliant light of dawn came glaring over the eastern horizon and the great hunter departed! Before dawn we actually witnessed several Leonid meteors streaking across the sky before the peak of the annual shower. Shortly after the sun began to peak over the horizon, Samara awoke as if called upon by the sun to shine happiness on the day (see picture above)!

We arrived in Oklahoma at about 4:00 PM local time; no surprises on the drive home! Everyone was happy to see us (we think) and were able share in Samara's everyday activities. Aunt Shannon had a blast holding Samara as she would stick her tongue out and blow air out, spraying a mist of sweet potatoes and oatmeal! We have since figured out that Samara loves bananas and liquefied lamb (I know, gross) while she hates peas!

This must be liquefied lamb!

Cousin Tori "allowed" Samara to play with several of her toys. However, Tori gave Samara a quick whack to the head with her foot one evening! I swear, if Samara ends up retarded, I will blame cousin Tori!

Or I may blame Grandpa Neel and his "naval destroyer" (as he poked Samara's belly button with his finger)!

Samara particularly enjoyed playing with Tori's Noah's Ark play set, well, when Tori would let her play with it! Tori is a funny child; One minute she takes the toys away from Samara, the next she gives Samara toys to play with. I suppose she wasn't sure whether Samara was a friend or foe! They generally had fun together. Although this image to the right looks like Samara is farting in Tori's general direction...Tori looks gassed!

Samara also had a chance to bond with Grandma Masburn when she babysat while we went to see a movie in the theatre. Grandma learned some quirks of Samara's...we won't go into details!

Samara has acquired the ability to sit up by herself without support. During Thanksgiving we hoped by the time we go back home for Christmas that she may be crawling; however, I'm not sure that'll happen!

Samara's great-grandmother is an onry women; we playfully butt heads everytime we're home. So, I had to laugh when almost everytime she held Samara, Samara would start crying! Oh, I have never seen Samara shed one tear (i.e. crying without tears). What a punk!

Samara and "mommy" enjoyed time together at my mother's house. I think there was some whiskey in Shana's cup because she looks really happy! Maybe some Jack Daniels and eggnog?

Grandma Neel (aka, Sgt Slaughter, Messin' with the Hessin, or the Germanator) also had fun with Samara; although this time, grandma didn't sit on Samara!

Unfortunately, my grandfather had a heart attack in my mother's living room the night before Thanksgiving. Shana made me proud as she performed CPR on the old 96-year-old body (as she was the only one trained in the technique). It was a sad day, but he lived a full life! I am proud to be his grandson!

As a result of his death, we stayed a few extra days in Oklahoma to help clear out his house and attend his funeral. He owned a Ford pickup which, go figure, needed to be towed! And after we drove the truck onto the trailer, guess who figured out how to secure the vehicle? Yep, that's my wife (and daughter)!! Shana had just purchased the backpack carrier...and Samara loves it! As happy as can be no matter the conditions!

The extra time also gave Samara a chance to meet her cousin John for the first time and, as a consequence, all three Neel babies were together for the first time. We snapped these images at my grandmother and grandfather's (on my mother's side) gravesite; I hope they were able to witness the sight in some way or another.

Who is this guy?

I like this grass stuff...tastes a bit overcooked though!

Leaves taste good too!

John does a good job keeping my back warm! Maybe we can be best buds sometime!

And of course, look who is NOT cooperating! TAZ!

We we able to get the kiddo's together for one last picture. I don't envy anyone who has three young one's to corral (Brian and Kelli!!)!

We were exhausted at the end of our stay in Oklahoma. We didn't leave until about 9:00 AM Central Standard Time and for the second year in a row, we were caught in a blizzard driving back from Tahnksgiving. Remembering back, that was around the time of the immense "firestorm" in Oklahoma. I know my mother was close to the action as well as Brad and Amy in Oklahoma City! So, we say Thanks for the holidays and the good times and good fortune! Especially the holidays...for the white man putting down the "red people" (You know the song we sang in elementary..."This land is our land, this land is our land, from Califormia...etc etc").

The day after we returned to Colorado, Samara was happy to be in the presence of her animal guardians, Orion (The Hunter) and Cassiopeia (The Queen). It was back to business as Samara laughed at the cats while they ate kitty treats.