November 2010

Well another month has passed-sheesh! November was a fun month with little Samara girl. She has really started smiling and "talking" a lot. Who knows what she's saying but she belts it out sometimes! She has also found her thumb - the left one being her "go to thumb" for naps and bedtime. Though she typically tries to see how many fingers she can jam in her mouth at once, creating a constant stream of drool. Guess we won't have to worry about her getting attached to a pacifier, she spits them right out now.

She had her 4 month check up and weighed in at 13 lbs 4 oz (34th %), 25" long (69th % - she is pretty long and thin, what else did we expect really?! :) She got more shots but came through like a trooper, just being tired for a day or so.

This month was also Samara's first Thanksgiving! We enjoyed Thanksgiving Day at Grandpa and Grandma Derby's new house, then had Pennell Thanksgiving on Friday - food, family and football was the gist of the weekend - no objections here! Speaking of food, Samara started on rice cereal once a day after her Dr. appt. She really like eating off the spoon like all the big people do, but now she wants to eat what we are eating and she opens and closes her mouth like "See, I know how to eat that I can have some!". Her first food will be coming soon, and will likely be avocado or banana - we'll see how that goes in December...

Weeks 15 and 16 (Oct 2010)

Okay - sorry for the delay in the posting... time just keeps flying by. Still trying to soak in every moment and every day because she is growing so fast. By my amateur weighing technique on our scale she is about 15 pounds. October is over already which entailed more football watching, family time and even Samara's first Halloween. Jeff and I are both busy at work, which is good, the days go by quickly. Samara has learned to roll from her tummy to her back! She hasn't quite figured the other way around yet, but is very close - then we'll have to watch even closer because she'll be mobile. You can see by the pics that all is well and life is busy. We thought we were busy before little girlie came along, and we were, but it is very different now. We have to plan even a trip to get something at the store really quick around feeding and nap times, etc. But, it's all worth it of course. Samara now has a definite bed time of 8:00pm. As soon as the first flash of tiredness shows up we have her wrapped up in her crib and she will usually fall asleep without even one cry. If you push it, however, and she is up too long she will put up a crazy loud fight against the sleep! Daddy says she turns into a monster, so needless to say we try to prevent her from getting to that point. :) Anyway, another month down as Samara turns 4 months old on the 11th! I will probably just post closer to once a month from now on - just being realistic, but you never know when a picture is taken that is too cute to keep to myself. Happy Fall!!

Weeks 13 and 14

Okay, Samara is now three months old, I can say it and we had a good couple weeks! Uncle Tom and Aunt Laila Kunes were in town from AZ one weekend so we tried to get together as often as possible. We ate at Pennell's, our house and Panera another night. It was fun to talk and catch up in person. Poppy is home now and just using a cane and we are very thankful for that - a stroke and a hip replacement in one year is a lot to handle, but he is a determined guy! Jeff has been helping his parents a lot on evenings and weekends to get their old house ready to put on the market - getting closer everyday. Samara and Amanda even came over one Saturday to help cut in around the trim in the living room. Well, Samara swung in her swing, but that was helpful enough. We have been trying to get out and enjoy the nice weather too since it won't last forever. Taking some walks and running errands when a snow suit isn't required!! Amanda and Samara went to Coler's house for lunch on Monday - her kids played and we talked, a nice change from eating a quick lunch while Samara naps. :) We've also watched a couple Husker games at Derby's new house as they are getting all settled in. Last week's game vs. Texas was not fun to watch ... as our Pastor said on Sunday, he never thought catching a pass in the end zone when the ball is in your hands would be a miracle, but apparently it is! Oh well, onto next week for the Big Red. So, anyway Samara is still a happy girl as long as she isn't tired or hungry. She smiles more everyday and can hold herself up really well. Now we are just working on the sleeping through the night when she is not swaddled in her "baby straight jacket" blanket. We'll get there again soon I'm sure.

Week 12

Week 12 - Oh my, soon we will have to stop counting her age in weeks and change to months instead! I refuse to say she is 3 months old until it is actually October 11th, until then it is 12 weeks. This week was quick again - aren't they all?

Jeff and Amanda are both busy at work. Jeff just keeps getting new jobs and Amanda has enough work to do 6 days a week but just tries to pack it into three. Tuesday night we had our Journey Group Bible study and took Samara. We stopped at Grandma and Grandpa Derby's beforehand to feed her and say hi to them. Grandma and Grandpa both held her and she was a happy baby. She was good the whole time during bible study too and slept like a rock. Our leader told the other couples there who have no kids that "not all babies are like this so keep that in mind". :) I explained that she was not always like this, but she is thankfully a very good baby. She just keeps getting happier and happier, more smiles and more cooing and noises - so fun! Thursday Jeff helped his Dad redo the ceiling in their old house then we all went to eat dinner after their tough job was done. Once again, Samara slept through a meal out and we were fine with that. Friday Mommy and Mara girl got to spend the day together again and it was great. When Daddy got home he brought Papa Murphy's pizza for dinner and we went to be early - long week and all were tired. We asked ourselves if it was sad to just want to go to bed on a Friday night - oh well, we didn't care! Over the weekend Amanda's Uncle Tom and Aunt Laila were in town from AZ (for the first time in 12 years!) so Saturday we went over to Pennell's to hang out and have dinner. It was fun to talk and catch up - more to come in next week's post on this as all the pics were taken on Sunday. So, that was the week, busy but fun!

Week 11

The weeks are flying by - Fall is here and Samara is 11 weeks old now! This week included a visit to Poppy for his 87th birthday! We (well, all but Samara) had pizza and Grandma Peg made bread pudding - a favorite of Poppy's. It was a nice visit but we are excited for Poppy to be heading home soon from his rehab at Brookstone after his hip replacement. There was also of course moving Grandma Cheryl and Grandpa Frank out of their old house in Harvey Oaks to their brand new house on Saturday. Samara was not very helpful but enjoyed a nap or two in her travel swing and helped Mommy while she unpacked kitchen boxes. Saturday we even went to Tio's Bar and Grill in Legacy to watch the Husker game. Uncle Brian came too and we had a table right in front of their huge TV - Samara slept through half, then enjoyed a bottle and the rest of the game she fell asleep again basically. Everyone was saying how cute she was in her little red outfit and matching bow - oh we love to show her off! :)
Other than that - a busy week at work for Jeff and Amanda and then just trying to enjoy the evenings together.

Bradley Childbirth Class Reunion

Here is the picture of all the babies from our "class reunion" for our natural childbirth class. It was fun to see the babies all together! They range from being born May 9 - July 11. Can you find Samara? It's not too hard really . :)

Week 10

Sorry for the delay in getting week ten posted - back to work for Amanda this week... Everything went well - Papa Craig and Gma Peg survived their first full days with Samara and so did our sitter for Wednesdays. She was a good baby and enjoyed her time with her grandparents - it will just take some getting used to each other, it's been a while since they had a little baby around!
Sunday 9/11 was our "reunion" from our Bradley Method natural childbirth class. It was fun to see all the babies together and hear everyone's stories. Samara was the youngest and littlest one there and she, by far, had them all beat in the hair dept! Jeff says she had more than the other 5 babies combined-but could just be a proud papa talking. :)
Friday 9/17 was her 2 month check-up at the doctor. She weighed in at 9 lbs 12 oz and 22 inches long. At two months she is basically the size that Jeff was when he was born. So, she is catching up quick as when she was last there for her 2 week visit she was only in the 7th percentile for weight, now moved to the 17th (hence the chubby cheeks and legs she is developing)! She is also very smiley and happy. Lots of cooing sounds, new expressions and wanting to be held up so she can stand and we are enjoying it all!

Week 9

This was the last full of week for Amanda to be home with Samara, as she goes back to work on 9/14. The week went by too fast, but they enjoyed every minute together - and Jeff joined in when he got home from work. Samara is still a good baby that mainly just cries when she is hungry and tired (she really fights sleep hard sometimes!). But, thanks to the wonderful purchase of a swaddling blanket, she can relax for her naps and sleep through the night (at least 5 hours in a stretch). Since Amanda is working to get back to her pre-pregnancy shape/tone, Samara watched her do some Turbo Jam videos and went for a couple walks with the stroller. One night Jeff had family in town from Ord, NE so we met them at Fazolis for dinner and Samara got to meet more Derby family. Friday night we headed down to Lincoln to look at a tile job estimate Jeff is doing, dinner and hanging out at Aaron and Michelle's for a bit. Samara did so good in the car, napped on the way there and slept on way home - thank you good baby! Saturday she went for her 2 month pictures at Village Pointe and they turned out really well! Auntie Courtney came along to help with the clothing changes (only one outfit change, she's only 2 months old and I am a realist as to how long happiness lasts) and picture choosing. Will scan and post soon so you can take a look!

Week 8

Where is the time going, Samara is already 8 weeks old?! Another fun week with a for the most part happy baby. Amanda and Samara enjoyed the 2nd to last week before Amanda goes back to work on 9/14. Lots of hanging out at home, some running errands and walks since the weather was finally cooler. Samara started really smiling this week as you can see in the pics - now she's cuter than ever!! Tuesday night Amanda took Samara to surprise Grandma Peg at her "Grandma shower" thrown by her stitching friends!
Jeff took off Friday from work so we could hang out as a family. It was a relaxing day - we were mostly at home and went and took a walk around Zorinksy Lake. Samara enjoyed the walk in her stroller and took a nap the whole time. Friday night Courtney came over to watch Samara and we went to our 10 year high school reunion -wow- talk about time flying! It was nice to get together and see some faces we hadn't seen for a while, but we decided for the most part we are glad we are done with the high school days.
Saturday morning the girls said goodbye to Daddy for the weekend as he headed off to his cousin Jennifer's wedding near Chicago. We had all planned to go, but decided in the end it would make the drive and weekend just a little too much! Saturday was also the first HUSKER game - Go Big Red! Samara and Amanda watched the game at the neighbors house and then came home and went to bed early. :) So, Jeff had fun with his family for the weekend and Amanda had fun with hers. Well, mostly just with Samara but her parents and Courtney stopped by for a visit on Sunday evening.

Week 7

Samara is 7 weeks old now! This week was filled with sticking out her tongue, more beginnings of smiles, naps on her tummy in the living room and attempts to roll over - and of course swinging. We made a trip to the grocery store one night and she started fussing just as we were approaching the check out - Jeff said "must go faster, must go faster". Then she fell asleep in the car on the way home. Great Grandma and Poppy Kunes came by to visit one night, too! Friday night was Hu Hot for dinner with Grandpa Frank and Grandma Cheryl (well Samara had a bottle, but the rest of us enjoyed the grill). Saturday Papa Craig spent all day with Samara BY HIMSELF! We had a meeting out of town so from about 11:00AM - 8:00PM it was just the two of them (with a brief visit from Aunt Char). All went well I think - good practice for the one day a week of babysitting starting mid September when Amanda goes back to work.

bye, bye Quilliam Wallace

Monday we said goodbye to our hedgehog, Quilliam Wallace. No worries, he didn't go on to hedgehog heaven! Jeff decided that since he has the "ultimate pet" now (aka Samara Jo Derby) there was a better home for Quilliam. Courtney's school had a hedgehog that died last year and so Quilliam is going to live out the rest of his days at the Mead School. The kids there are very excited to adopt him and Jeff knows Quilliam will get much more love there than living in our spare bedroom-all alone. So, a bittersweet goodbye to Quilliam Wallace. :)

Week Six

Week Five

Samara is getting bigger every day! We don't know her exact weight, but her newborn size onesies are getting snug. She is a really good baby - just have to swaddle her tightly in blanket if she gets fussy and for sleeping.

Sneak Peek at some of Samara's newborn pics

Once we have them all back from the photographer we'll be sending out announcements...and any Thank you notes we owe anyone

Week Four - Wow, one month old now!!

Week Three

Week Two

Jeff and Amanda baby pics - who does Samara look like?

Jeff Michael Derby


Amanda Leigh Pennell

More pics from Samara's first week at home - updated

Hospital through first day at home

Samara Jo

SAMARA- How we chose the name: Amanda saw the name in a magazine article and liked it, so we threw it on the possible names list then researched the meaning. The Hebrew origin of this name means "guardian" or "protected by God". In the bible there is a place called Samaria, which is likely from where this name originates (think the Good Samaritan). Samaria means "watch mountain" or "mountain lookout".

JO - How we chose the name: Samara was due in July, the same month that her Aunt Courtney Jo Pennell was born. When Courtney was born, their parents chose Jo for Courtney's middle name after Grandpa John Kunes.

Samara Jo Derby

Shower

The Nursery!

The room before the baby room... Finishing the lower family room to make space for a nursery upstairs!

Easter 2010

The Bump...all the way to 37 weeks - the last belly pic we have

20 week ultrasound! 3/3/10

Dancing at Nick and Laura's wedding 1/9/10 - first professional picture of "the three of us"

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