December 2012

Whoa - 2012 is over!  With having a baby in October, you have the whole process from-we're pregnant! -then entire pregnancy- to baby will be here soon- to baby is here- all in one year!  So it is a packed year to say the least.  And December didn't prove to be any different than the rest of the year really...

Following the Holiday Party for my job early in the month, I had a definite slow-down (really just a break before the madness to come in 2013) in my workload, so I tried to fill that with enjoying the kiddos and getting ready for Christmas.  In the end we had a couple handmade gifts, all of our Christmas decor was up and Samara and I made and decorated some delicious Christmas sugar cookies, so I guess it was a successful December.  I think I might have even taken a nap at one point during the month, wow, what a luxury! :)

Kalum had a good month - enjoying his first real snow (only a brief outing to the neighbors house really) and he started smiling, becoming more aware of things around him, and sucking on his fists.  He is a happy, healthy baby - which is so great, as you hear plenty of stories that are not so happy or easy as ours.  He is in 3 month clothes already and some of those are even getting tight by the end of December - sheesh, such a change from Samara's size when she was a baby.  Also a change, with Samara I looked back at our blog and I was completing nice updates every week or two on her developments.  Wow - I hope to keep up with this each month.  I like to go back and see where we were at during these different months in our life. :)


Samara is still adjusting to having a little brother and with the hustle and bustle of the Thanksgiving-Christmases-New Year's Eve time, she got a bit worn out.  Besides that she got a cold (which she then shared with everyone in the family) and that made for some meltdowns again.  Poor girl was sick on Christmas, and after weeks of singing Christmas carols and talking about present, etc. all she really wanted to do on Christmas was sit on my lap while I opened her gifts.  Thankfully we took some pictures that morning before she got really worn down, so it looks like she had a grand time!  

This year we opted not to run all over with two kids to celebrate Christmas all in one day with all of our family - it is just too much for everyone and in the end, no fun at all.  So, we spent Christmas Eve at home then went to church at Christ Community Church for their 6PM service.  Jeff's parents and brother joined us there at CCC.  Christmas morning we opened a few gifts at our house, mostly small, but Samara did get a big girl bike - the name of it is "Pinkalicious" and that it is!  She is anxious to ride it, but not quite tall enough yet - by Spring she'll be set.  Then we headed out to Pennell's for Christmas morning there - stockings, bakery, our traditional Christmas meal of pork roast, sauerkraut and dumplings, then opened gifts. We headed home that evening with more, very (over) blessed with gifts and food, and with two tired kids.  The 26th Jeff took the day off work and we headed to Derby's for Christmas with his family.  Unfortunately, we forgot our camera and didn't utilize our iphones very well, so I will have to get some photos from them!  But, another day of good food, company and plenty of gifts was had by all.  Samara opened a few more gifts that day, but Mommy and Daddy opened mainly all of hers and Kalum's again.  Christmas came again on the 28th as we headed to Karre's to celebrate Pennell extended family Christmas.  We enjoyed that evening as well and Kalum got to meet his Great Grandpa and Grandpa Pennell.

Funny Samara moments for the month: Samara has for some reason inserted the word "energy" for "privacy" in her vocabulary.  So, when you knock on the door to the bathroom when she's using the potty and open it before she feels you should, she yells, "I want ENERGY! You cannot come in yet!".  Took me a bit to figure out exactly what she meant. :)  We are hoping after all the festivities when life returns to normal, we'll get our happy, polite Samara back.  She's been getting a little sassy, even with Gemma and her daycare lady on Wednesdays.  Between her two-year molars all coming in at once, Kalum still getting lots of attention and all the going-going-going, she is ready for a break I think.

New Year's Eve we dropped the kids off at Pennell's for an evening with Papa & Gemma, Uncle Lyle & Aunt Char and Great Grandpa & Grandma Pennell.  Jeff and I headed down to Lincoln to a NYE party at Michelle and Aaron's house.  They are moving to Houston in early January, so we wanted to be there to spend the evening with them and some of their family and friends.  We had a fun evening and returned to a sleeping Samara and a now two-month-old, cranky Kalum who now had Samara's cold and didn't want anything to do with the nicely pumped bottle I had left.  So, we fed him and returned home - exhausted - yet ready to start 2013! Happy New Year to everyone!!