November's theme - Life as a FOF begins! For a long time we were DINK's (Dual Income, No Kids) then we moved onto FOT (Family of Three) and now FOF (Family of Four). Each stage has its perks, and though that first month with a newborn is challenging - mentally and physically - I have to say so far I prefer the FOF. :) It has been really interesting to see how our family dynamic has changed in just four weeks. Jeff has really stepped up on helping around the house, not that he didn't do great before. Samara now requests Daddy to give her a bath at night, and truthfully, he is way more fun it sounds like from her laughter echoing through the house. Since it now takes me 2 hours to get out the door if I have to get myself and two kids ready and fed, I find myself running some errands once Jeff is home or after Samara is in bed and Kalum is fed. Though I did brave the grocery store with two kids by about the third week. I decided the key is to hold onto my bargaining chip of a sucker for Samara at HyVee until we are paying for our groceries. I only learned this after she ran away from me several times in the store, knowing that I couldn't run after her and leave Kalum in the cart. She was laughing as she ran away-having a great time! I'm sure I got some of the "control your child" stares from people, but I have been working on mastering the attitude that my children's behavior does not control my self-image. Once I gave her "the look" and she came back, I bent down and we had a heart-to-heart in the store and she stayed much closer after that. This will be an ongoing challenge I'm sure - but I refuse to have her wear a leash, so we'll just have to work on it.
November was also an adjustment with two kids and a job to still keep above water since I work from home. It worked really well though, as when the kids napped I worked and some evenings I headed downstairs as well to get things done. Everyone was very understanding of the potential lapse in my email or voice mail responses. When Kalum was two weeks old, he even attended his first board meeting with me. He slept the whole time, and even through my errands on the way home! I did skip a meeting mid-November when we all got a cold though. Poor Kalum didn't even make it two weeks without catching something. But, it was over pretty quickly and all were back to normal soon.
At Kalum's two week Dr. checkup he was 8 lbs 15 oz (53%), 21 in long (59%) and head circumference 36.25cm (30%). He isn't even a pound shy of what Samara weighed in at 2 MONTHS. He is our big boy already it seems. :) That is okay, though, because he is a good eater and has been sleeping 3-4 hour stretches at night even. We were pleasantly surprised to find that Samara sleeps through him waking at night (though he doesn't get too loud since he's right by me in his co-sleeper bed) and Kalum doesn't wake up to Samara playing loudly or having a screaming melt-down temper tantrum. There have been more than a few of those, but she was also cutting two year molars, so that was not a good combination. Kalum will be moving to his own room now that he is four weeks, so we'll see how that goes. Mommy needs some sleep and that is when we moved Samara out, so after Thanksgiving he'll get the boot! :) He is doing great - holding his head up well and enjoys tummy time. He is definitely a cuddly baby so far and would let you hold him on your chest all day long. We'll be looking to buy a carrier of some kind so Mommy can hold him while she works, or to keep his loving older sister off of him. In fact, even his crib is apparently not that safe when her loving arms are around. One morning I fed him and laid him down in his crib, then Samara was watching a movie so I came down to lay on the couch while she watched. She climbed up next to me to cuddle, then next thing I know I wake up from a deep, dreaming sleep and she's not there anymore! I look around and finally go upstairs to see what she's up to. I find her IN Kalum's crib holding him in her arms. Needless to say, I lost it! Samara basically rolled him out of her arms(ack!), I yanked her from the crib and picked him up. He was still sleeping, so I know she didn't do any harm, but the thought of what she could have done (tried to get him out of the crib, etc) did me in. Between the sleep deprivation and the pregnancy hormones I started bawling. Samara was giving me her toys saying "You don't have to be sad. Here's lambie to make you happier." After our talk, Samara now says "never touch the crib again" and "never never again get in his crib" when you ask what happened that day. Everything she does (so far) is only in love or curiosity, so I can't be too mad, but sometimes I just want to say leave him alone - you are always loud and in his face!
Thanksgiving was a packed weekend of family fun, but it was really nice as well. Everyone got to see Samara and Kalum again, the weather was great and we ate delicious food all weekend - who could complain?! On turkey day, Samara, Kalum and I enjoyed the parades in the morning with Auntie Courtney and Nick over. Since we moved Pennell family Thanksgiving to the day after Thanksgiving and Derby's ended up doing their Thanksgiving on the Saturday after, Thanksgiving day itself was pretty open. Courtney and I ended up making cake pops and a cake for a customer that needed it Friday. Nick was a trooper and played with Samara and held Kalum as needed until Jeff got home from doing a side-job in Lincoln for his sister Michelle. Then Nick and Jeff enjoyed some football while we finished cake pops, etc. Our actual Thanksgiving dinner was spaghetti and salads! :) Friday was Pennell Thanksgiving where we had appetizers during the Husker game, then ate our dinner after. In the evening we all crafted felt ornaments for an advent tree Gemma made. It was a fun activity to do together and Samara and Kalum can count the days til Christmas every year now! Saturday we celebrated with Derby's and everyone was there - another day of family, conversation and good food.
We are so thankful for our amazing families and are truly blessed!
Next month...Christmas is coming!
Monday, December 17, 2012
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Newborn Pictures - Nov. 4, 2012
Here are just a few of the newborn photos we had taken. Once we have them from the photographer, we'll be sending birth announcements and Christmas cards! :)
Kalum Lee Derby - How we chose his name...
KALUM - First, we just liked the name! We actually found it just the weekend before he was born. Pronounced with a short 'a' sound, it sounds like the first part of Kalamazoo, if you weren't sure. Jeff has already been calling him Kal Pal, and I'm sure he'll be his little buddy. Meanings: dove, gentle, peace - so hoping that will be fortuitous to a more laid back, calm second child.
LEE - As Kalum will carry on the Derby last name, Amanda kind of claimed his middle name as something to carry on her side of the family. Samara was given a middle name to represent the Kunes side of the family, so Kalum was given the middle name Lee from the Pennell side. Lee is Amanda's middle name, though spelled Leigh in her case, Papa Craig's middle name and Great Grandpa Pennell's middle name.
Kalum Lee Derby - How we chose his name...
KALUM - First, we just liked the name! We actually found it just the weekend before he was born. Pronounced with a short 'a' sound, it sounds like the first part of Kalamazoo, if you weren't sure. Jeff has already been calling him Kal Pal, and I'm sure he'll be his little buddy. Meanings: dove, gentle, peace - so hoping that will be fortuitous to a more laid back, calm second child.
LEE - As Kalum will carry on the Derby last name, Amanda kind of claimed his middle name as something to carry on her side of the family. Samara was given a middle name to represent the Kunes side of the family, so Kalum was given the middle name Lee from the Pennell side. Lee is Amanda's middle name, though spelled Leigh in her case, Papa Craig's middle name and Great Grandpa Pennell's middle name.
October 2012
The basic summary for October would be - getting ready for baby #2, waiting, waiting, waiting ...
In loading all the photos for this month I realized we hardly took any. I blame this on the fact that I had reached the point of "done being pregnant" about halfway through the month. I spent the month trying to have the house in order and to get ahead on work so when the baby was born everything would be set. When mid-month I was already effaced and dilated and the Dr. said it could be any time, I mentally was prepared for another early baby like Samara. Everyone expected me to say I was in labor every time I called, but I wasn't. I tried to be very diligent in taking time to play with Samara and give her my full attention. But she got a lot of "Mommy can't really pick you up very easily" and "Daddy will help you with that" and "Mommy can't really sit on the floor like that" etc.
Samara had a good month - her last month as an only child and she had no idea how much life would soon change. She loved having our pumpkins inside and outside the house, picking out her Halloween costume at Gemma's, coloring, watching movies and all the other normal things she does. She wakes up happy and going and goes all day! She gets especially cranked up when we have company over, and loves hamming it up for the crowd. :) Her favorite movie is still Lion King, but she'll rotate in some Finding Nemo or Kung Fu Panda as well. She speaks really well, usually we know what she is talking about all the time. One must be aware what she is saying before agreeing or disagreeing, as she will hold you to whatever you say. Quite a memory she has! She likes to help pick out her clothes and loves to notice that things match... "do they match?!" she'll say. She can identify some letters and numbers - mainly 2, as that is how old she is and "N". When we pull up to Hy Vee, which has Husker flags all across the front, she'll say - they have flags, and point - "some are Go Huskers and some say Defense", just because they have red N's on them. Ah, we've trained our little Husker fan well! We had less temper tantrums this month and potty training is going well - hoping the set backs on both of those aren't awful once the baby is born.
We had our 8 year anniversary on October 29th, but didn't do much to celebrate. We hadn't really planned anything because we figured we'd have a new baby by that point. Then, FINALLY, on Tuesday, October 30th I woke up at 5AM to real labor, compared to the braxton hicks contractions I'd had for months. We called my Mom to come get Samara about 6AM and by the time she got there, labor was well underway. I labored at home with Jeff rubbing my back and helping me relax and breathe through each contraction. Our doula came to our home just after 11AM and suggested I to get up and move around some more. When I went to the bathroom, my water broke right at noon. Once that happened my contractions instantly got markedly stronger! Jeff called the hospital to say my water broke and we were on our way. With the strength and frequency of the contractions, it took a while to get to the car. By this time I knew we were close to having a baby - and Jeff drove as quickly and smoothly as possible down 192nd Street. When we got there it was a flurry of activity and staff in our room. Baby was born at 1:22PM, just 12 minutes after our arrival! My doctor was working at Indian Hills that day and flew down Dodge Street when he got the call, however, he got there just after the birth since it happened so fast. Since we didn't have my regular Dr., no one knew that we had waited to find out if it was a boy or girl. They just went about their normal post-birth procedures and we were trying to see what it was amongst everything going on. I caught a glimpse at the same time the Dr. said it was a boy, and remember looking at Jeff and saying, "it's a boy!". Since he was totally healthy I was able to have him set on my chest right away and bond with him. He took to nursing right away, which is a good thing, because an 8 lb 9 oz baby needs to eat to keep that weight up! After taking time to hold him once most of the staff were out of the room and going through our name list again, we chose Kalum Lee Derby.
Unlike when we had Samara, our families knew we were at the hospital and got texts when the baby was born. So, we had people waiting to meet the baby and find out if it was a boy or girl and the name we had chosen. You can see by the pictures, he had a lot of visitors just on his first two days. We were glad he was able to meet so much family right away, one of the blessings of having all your family live close. Samara was able to come to the hospital to meet her brother that afternoon. With all of the family there, she was a little cranked up, and a little too loud and friendly with her new baby brother. She was confused when I fed him, since it was not with a bottle as she was expecting, but I'm sure she'll get over that. In the end, my Mom took her to eat and go back home so we could have some quiet. :) Samara was excited to wear her tiger costume (a vintage from Auntie Courtney's childhood) the next day anyway! She got to trick-or-treat in Iron Horse and get candy!! She had a great time, of course. Looking at the photos, I was sad to have missed the first time she actually was aware of the festivities, but I know there will be many more to enjoy with her-and her brother. November will be up next - life as a family of four begins!!
In loading all the photos for this month I realized we hardly took any. I blame this on the fact that I had reached the point of "done being pregnant" about halfway through the month. I spent the month trying to have the house in order and to get ahead on work so when the baby was born everything would be set. When mid-month I was already effaced and dilated and the Dr. said it could be any time, I mentally was prepared for another early baby like Samara. Everyone expected me to say I was in labor every time I called, but I wasn't. I tried to be very diligent in taking time to play with Samara and give her my full attention. But she got a lot of "Mommy can't really pick you up very easily" and "Daddy will help you with that" and "Mommy can't really sit on the floor like that" etc.
Samara had a good month - her last month as an only child and she had no idea how much life would soon change. She loved having our pumpkins inside and outside the house, picking out her Halloween costume at Gemma's, coloring, watching movies and all the other normal things she does. She wakes up happy and going and goes all day! She gets especially cranked up when we have company over, and loves hamming it up for the crowd. :) Her favorite movie is still Lion King, but she'll rotate in some Finding Nemo or Kung Fu Panda as well. She speaks really well, usually we know what she is talking about all the time. One must be aware what she is saying before agreeing or disagreeing, as she will hold you to whatever you say. Quite a memory she has! She likes to help pick out her clothes and loves to notice that things match... "do they match?!" she'll say. She can identify some letters and numbers - mainly 2, as that is how old she is and "N". When we pull up to Hy Vee, which has Husker flags all across the front, she'll say - they have flags, and point - "some are Go Huskers and some say Defense", just because they have red N's on them. Ah, we've trained our little Husker fan well! We had less temper tantrums this month and potty training is going well - hoping the set backs on both of those aren't awful once the baby is born.
We had our 8 year anniversary on October 29th, but didn't do much to celebrate. We hadn't really planned anything because we figured we'd have a new baby by that point. Then, FINALLY, on Tuesday, October 30th I woke up at 5AM to real labor, compared to the braxton hicks contractions I'd had for months. We called my Mom to come get Samara about 6AM and by the time she got there, labor was well underway. I labored at home with Jeff rubbing my back and helping me relax and breathe through each contraction. Our doula came to our home just after 11AM and suggested I to get up and move around some more. When I went to the bathroom, my water broke right at noon. Once that happened my contractions instantly got markedly stronger! Jeff called the hospital to say my water broke and we were on our way. With the strength and frequency of the contractions, it took a while to get to the car. By this time I knew we were close to having a baby - and Jeff drove as quickly and smoothly as possible down 192nd Street. When we got there it was a flurry of activity and staff in our room. Baby was born at 1:22PM, just 12 minutes after our arrival! My doctor was working at Indian Hills that day and flew down Dodge Street when he got the call, however, he got there just after the birth since it happened so fast. Since we didn't have my regular Dr., no one knew that we had waited to find out if it was a boy or girl. They just went about their normal post-birth procedures and we were trying to see what it was amongst everything going on. I caught a glimpse at the same time the Dr. said it was a boy, and remember looking at Jeff and saying, "it's a boy!". Since he was totally healthy I was able to have him set on my chest right away and bond with him. He took to nursing right away, which is a good thing, because an 8 lb 9 oz baby needs to eat to keep that weight up! After taking time to hold him once most of the staff were out of the room and going through our name list again, we chose Kalum Lee Derby.
Unlike when we had Samara, our families knew we were at the hospital and got texts when the baby was born. So, we had people waiting to meet the baby and find out if it was a boy or girl and the name we had chosen. You can see by the pictures, he had a lot of visitors just on his first two days. We were glad he was able to meet so much family right away, one of the blessings of having all your family live close. Samara was able to come to the hospital to meet her brother that afternoon. With all of the family there, she was a little cranked up, and a little too loud and friendly with her new baby brother. She was confused when I fed him, since it was not with a bottle as she was expecting, but I'm sure she'll get over that. In the end, my Mom took her to eat and go back home so we could have some quiet. :) Samara was excited to wear her tiger costume (a vintage from Auntie Courtney's childhood) the next day anyway! She got to trick-or-treat in Iron Horse and get candy!! She had a great time, of course. Looking at the photos, I was sad to have missed the first time she actually was aware of the festivities, but I know there will be many more to enjoy with her-and her brother. November will be up next - life as a family of four begins!!
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