Candid Shots

Here are some of those candid shots that normally don't make it onto the blog, but ones which truly deserve their time in the spotlight. Also, proof (esp. to all of you women without children) that it takes dozens of pictures like these to get one good picture. That is why Moms take pictures like crazy. So, these pictures - despite how hysterical some are - don't line every wall of their house.

All that being said, it is sometime these candid shots that are the best. Enjoy!

David praying for Samantha again...this time to heal her deformity. ;)

Lip tucked under, posed to throw a hissy fit when her cousin Allyson gets out of arm's reach.

This is why I don't wear earrings much...way too tempting!

Nana's unique binkie conversion for Sami...when it finally took, the result was oh so cute!

She already loves her reflection.

"You looking at me?!"

Even Keith gets tired of my constant picture taking.

Worn out by one of Mama's day trips this summer.

This is what I get when I ask Keith to pose for a picture. One day our grandkids are going to look by and see me smiling in pictures and see Grandpa kissing an ant eater. And yet I think if they know him, it will only make sense. :)

No, this is not what it looks like. I took this picture to show off Samantha's chunky legs, not realizing until I reviewed my photos that Keith's food stain on his shirt, made this picture priceless.

After many tours in DC, I mocked a rock-out to the Capitol Tour audio...trust me, it wasn't this lively. ;)

After a bath is always a sensitive time...will she cry or not. Being in the bath is one of her favorite things, but when you take her out...she can have a meltdown. This look seems somewhere between a laugh and a cry.

The excitement of seeing Mallory was just too much for Samantha.

A Visit to Good Ole WV

A few weekends ago we enjoyed a great weekend in Parkersburg, WV with Keith's family on the way home from DC (yes, I am still SO behind with my blogs - so sorry!). Samantha ate up the attention as usual, and the kids fought over her. She is so blessed to be surrounded by so much love!

One of the evenings we even got to go to DaVinci's Italian Restaurant (YUM!) with everyone to say one last goodbye to Mallory before she left for college. We will miss Mallory and Logan so much when we go home!

Playing peek-a-boo with Papaw.

Vicki, Randy, Logan and Tami - chilling out and knocking back some Long Island Ice Tea -- and being shocked that very little tea actually exists in that drink. ;)

She has already found the cell phone! If she sees one she goes crazy. She spent half of dinner playing with Mallory's phone, much to my chagrin.

Mallory, Mackenzie and Samantha

"Ahha...I got the phone back" -- her new thing is turning things over and over again in her hands and inspecting them. Which is fun until she keeps dropping Mallory's phone...oops.

Grandma Newbrough, Sami and Papaw Newbrough

A close-up as she gets sick of posing for pics...she is ready to go...sitting still is a rarity nowdays.

A family picture with my princess. How beautiful is she in that dress!

My little crawler, albeit it mostly in circles and backwards. ;)

I just wish Sadie was as fascinated with her, as Samantha is with Sadie. Samantha gets so excited if she even gives her the time of day...so sad.

Yes, she found the computer too -- Mallory what type of role model are you. :) jk

What a great weekend! We esp. had a lot of great time with Mallory, which was so special. We love you all.

Catching up with the Tillmans

One of the last things we got to do when we were in DC was to make a trip up to Harrisonburg, VA to visit with our friends Brian and Deborah Tillman, and their children Leah, Noah and Annabelle.

It was our first time meeting their newest addition, Annabelle and the first time we have seen them in about a year - so they got to meet Samantha as well.

I always love getting to see my dear friend Deborah, because we have been friends since the end of our Sophomore year at college. Since then, we have remained close despite the distance that has separate us since graduation.

However, since this our lives have changed dramatically, with us having kids. So, we decided on the kid friendliest place to meet up - a local Children's Museum. All the kids seemed to have a great time, and they were entertained enough so that we could get in some visit time too. :)

Leah and Noah cranking up some magic machine - your guess is as good as mine, at what it is. ;)

Deborah and I switched babies for awhile - Samantha felt like a ton in comparision to little Annabelle.

Annabelle is not too happy about trailing around after her brother and sister.

Samantha found a bunch of stuffed pigs to play with, which was cute until she tried to eat them -- everything goes in the mouth at this age!

Noah - a spitting image of his daddy.

Leah - a spitting image of her mama - they got one of each. We'll see who Annabelle will look like when she gets older.

We truly feel thankful that we got to see the Tillmans. We have missed them and they have been dear friends to us over the years. Hopefully, it won't be too long before we see them again.

Zoo Date with the DiNicola family

One of the last weekends we were in DC, we got to meet up with our old friends, Tony and Christine, and got a chance to meet their beautiful daughter Olivia. It was SO wonderful to see them - it had been way too long! It was nice to hug their necks, catch up in person and go down memory lane.

We met them when Keith started med school with Tony in 2002 (though Keith had met Tony in their undergrad at VT). We hung out with them during those four years, but after Med School everyone went their separate ways to different residencies. Over the years we have kept in touch and have seen the many blessings in their lives. I will never forget sitting in the airport on my way to NC and receiving an excited phone call from Christine letting me know she was pregnant. And finally with all the miles between us, I got to meet Miss Olivia and got to introduce Samantha to everyone. It was a great day, but it went by too fast!

Samantha and Olivia chilling out while we watched the seal romp about.

Enjoying a stroll through the shaded portions of the park.

Trying to get two kids to pose is nearly impossible, so you get what you get...oh well we kept trying! :)
Watching the orangutans swinging and walking overhead - too cool!

Getting a family picture with a pooped-out Samantha.

Too cute! What a beautiful family -- Olivia is a spitting image of her mama!

It was nice to see the guys together again. I just wished me lived closer!

Both girls enjoying the animals. Olivia was so cute - she'd get so excited. Samantha on the other hand, was more fascinated by her crackers and the tags on her stroller - go figure! ;)

We truly had a great day! Thanks Tony, Christine and Olivia for meeting up with us. Continue to stay in touch - you are always in our hearts, thoughts and prayers!

Downtown DC Take 2

On our second day touring downtown, we resumed finishing some museums and monuments that we didn't get to see on Day one.

One of our many stops was the American History museum. Walking through our history of wars, leaders and triumphs was fascinating. It really shows that our country also had some bloody beginnings.

Samantha was a great tour companion. Even when we took a break, she just gladly took a seat in the lobby, looking like a big girl. She also loves the attention she gets...typical girl. ;)

A nice couple also look our family picture outside the Lincoln Memorial.

A great view of the Washington Monument. Just for trivia sake, it is actually taller than the Statue of Liberty!

The World War II memorial was my favorite - so beautiful. It had plaques for all the states and beautiful iron work. I am not a history buff by any stretch of the imagination, but I loved learning more about these wars and getting a better understanding for the dedication of our country and armed forces.

Of course we had to see the White House. We actually got a chance to do a tour, which is a difficult thing to get, but our assigned date was the week after we had to leave DC - which was a bummer! But, we did snap this picture and we got to see Obama's helicopter leaving the White House (or so the intense police force keeping the crowds at bay told us). While we are passionate Republicans, this was still an awe factor. No matter who you do or don't like politically, Washington DC and all of its buildings/monuments are intriguing.

Enjoying Silver Springs

For Keith's AFIP training, we lived in Silver Spring, MD for about 4 weeks with some other residents and their family. We ended up having a lot of fun, and enjoyed our roomates Sarah, Aaron, Henry, Gerald and Ross.

I am sure that Ross esp. (the single guy! ;) ) misses up greatly - esp. the three kids in total that surrounded him for those weeks. God bless him for putting up with us all. :)

Here is a pic of the house we all rented while we were there.... Our home was walking distance from downtown Silver Spring, which had tons of shops, dining and a great splash zone for the kids (and Keith).

Samantha and Keith glistening from playing in the splash zone. :)
Samantha was fascinated with the water, esp. when it dissappeared into the holes. It mesmerized her!

Also close by our place was a great park, where Sarah and I got to take the kids. Samantha loved hanging out with Henry and Gerald. She was watching everything they did!

Samantha is eyeing Henry and trying to figure out why he is brushing his hair with that stick -- men?! ;)

Enjoying the mulch in the playground WAY too much! I had to keep a careful eye on her, because at this age EVERYTHING goes toward the mouth!

Sarah helping Gerald to fly!

Henry is such a ham! He loved playing in the slide and showing off for Miss Samantha.

I love this picture of Henry and Sarah! Look at her holding up Henry like he's nothing, despite the fact she due with her third baby later this fall. What an amazing mom!

Samantha even tried out the baby swing. It was still a little too big for her and made me too much of a worry-wart, but in true Dana style I still manage to snap a picture of this big moment for my blog. Having a camera in her face is like second nature to her by now. :)