March 2013

March flew by with a flurry of activity again!...

Highlights for Samara:
-She was tall enough to reach the bathroom faucet to turn it on (was already able to turn it off).  The first time she turned it on she said, "Now I'm a pusher up AND a pusher down!"
-When Kalum is crying she will say, "Calm it up, Kalum."  :)  Often she will start talking in a super high, sweet voice imitating mine I guess - "What's the matter buddy?"
-She spelled her name verbally
-Says "hello-copter" for helicopter
-Became a cousin (and so did Kalum) when Laura Derby Kleinschmit had her little baby girl!  We went to visit them the weekend after she was born.  Samara came down with a fever the day we were there and we didn't know what she had so basically kept her away from Leah and Kalum as much as possible.  After her first trip to the urgent care center when we got home, we found she had strep throat.  I have never had that, but Jeff did a lot as a kid and so he felt her pain.  After a day on the amoxicillin she was basically back to normal thankfully.
-Samara loved hunting for Easter eggs at Pennell's on Easter Saturday and then Derby's on Easter Sunday!  We worked on the real meaning of Easter leading up to the holiday, and she actually grasped quite a bit.  Sunday school lessons helped to back up our efforts for sure.  It is amazing how much they can learn so quickly!

Highlights for Kalum:
- Samara can still make him laugh with just a look, or "boo".  It's very cute to see them entertain each other :)
-Early March Kalum started trying to roll back to tummy and by the 23rd he did, by the end of the month he became very proficient.  In fact, when you lay him in his crib he now rolls over to his tummy for his preferred sleeping position!  Once they can roll over the risk of SIDS drops drastically, so that is always a great milestone to reach.
- Mid month he found his thumb to suck on, though he doesn't self pacify as easily as Samara did, and doesn't like pacifiers either.  Overall, he is a little more high-maintenance when it comes to sleeping overall.  There have been a few nights when he only woke up around 2AM, but usually insists on another late night feeding (gotta keep up that healthy physique you know).  We did find that the warmer his room, the better, so we moved a space heater from my work space in the basement to his room.

My work is still in its busy season and truthfully there are days of complete exhaustion between working and then not really getting to sleep much.  But, it is what it is and is not a forever phase.  I try to remember when waking up at night that Kalum will only be a little baby for a short time, so I try to take the time to enjoy the rocking, feeling him breathing against my chest and smelling his baby hair.  On a day when I was totally tired and was noticing my short temper as I bossed Samara around doing this and that, I happened to read an article in one of my MOPS magazines.  It talked about ruling over your kids like subjects (oops-guilty).  It was definitely God's timing in reading that, and I was convicted to raise our kids in patient love like Jesus the humble king.  And it doesn't hurt that Samara will say, "Be Nice Mommy!" sometimes.  Though she needs the sternness many times, it is not always necessary for sure.

Jeff's work load is still quite overwhelming as well.  He has had many an early morning going in to work in order to get some things done before the phone calls and emails start coming in.  He has been faithful to being home by dinner time, but the lack of sleep has been wearing on him as well.  He decided to "turn over a new leaf" and cut back his hours, regardless of the impact on his projects.  I'm sure he pays for choices like with with added stress at work, and he takes such pride in what he does, that he can only follow up that statement so much.  I'm so thankful for my Family Man husband!