Wow...Where Did 20 Days Go?

I can't believe that it's been 20 days since my last post. No wonder I've been getting some rather pointed emails asking what she looks like, since there haven't been any recent pictures posted. It's not that the pictures haven't been taken, it's apparently just that I've become lazy.

We continue to see amazing progress with Samantha. With Shirley's family visiting, she's had the opportunity to interact with other people, especially her cousins Thomas, Taylor, Tyler and Aliya who are always on the look-out for ways to get her in trouble. Oh yeh, if we're talking about trouble we can't forget Auntie Lana who's constantly on the look-out for ways to stir the pot. Fortunately "Papa" is here as well, and he is still the head of the family.

Terry, Heidi, Tyler, Aliya and Lana flew in on Wednesday, but unfortunately were only able to stay until Sunday. Sandra, Roy, Thomas, Taylor and Papa showed up on Thursday and will be here until this coming Friday. The visit from the family is a welcome distraction for us, and the extra sets of hands are probably the things that we will remember most from their visit. We also can't undervalue their child raising experience and the wealth of knowledge they have passed over to us - you know what I'm talking about, the stuff every mother eventually comes to understand but you can't find in any book.

Samantha has been absolutely wonderful in large family gatherings and her few recent visits to restaurants. She's still challenged in long car rides, but I'm sure we'll get that worked out in time as well.

Anyway, enough of the words and on with some pictures.

Moving Forward

Well, life continues to progress in the Penner household. Samantha seems to have adjusted her time and is now sleeping through the night, going to bed around 8:30 and getting up around 7:00. Unfortunately she still wants a couple of bottles during the night which keeps mommy ever alert listening for her fussing - need to get the bottle into her before she wakes up. So, as you can imagine, mommy is a little sleep deprived. Daddy gets to sleep, but still wakes when he hears Samantha and mommy, so he's not getting as much sleep as he's used to either.

Daddy has gone back to work, but is working from home as much as possible. Mommy still appreciates having a 2nd set of hands around, and daddy enjoys having lunch with the family and taking a break from work to go for a short walk with them. Samantha has finally gotten used to her stroller, and doesn't scream when we put her in it. She actually fell asleep yesterday when mommy took her for a walk. Hopefully this is a good sign for the car seat as well. We've taken a few drives in the car and she seems to be getting better, although she's not too keen about just sitting with the car not moving. She likes to see action.

Samantha is really coming out of her shell, and we're seeing a lot more of the little girl going through the learning stages - like all the funny noises she can make with her mouth. Drooling aside, she can be quite funny. Teeth still not here yet, but they won't be long. Samantha also doesn't let us forget her roots. She is definitely going to be the hot tempered girl from Szechuan Province.

Interesting how Shirley and I seem to have lost our names - we are now mommy and daddy. Kind of has a nice ring to it.

Dealing with Jet Lag and Time Change

Well, the first few days at home have been quite interesting. After the initial terror when we got home, Samantha seems to have adapted quite nicely to her new home. We still have her sleeping in our bed as we make the adjustment, and she seems to be taking over from Shirley by infringing on my side of the bed. We are still struggling with the jet lag and the 12 hour time change. Last night was the first time she sort of slept through the night, although she woke up at 11:00, 02:00 and 04:00 wanting a bottle. Finally at 5:30 she woke up again and that was it. This wasn't bad considering the first 2 nights it was up at 4:30 and 3:30. I don't know about you but I wasn't really in the mood to play at that hour, but that doesn't seem to matter. She is getting better at sitting and playing by herself. This morning she played from 5:30 to 7:30 with very little from me - I was just sitting there half asleep pouring coffee down my throat.

This morning was also our first walk around the neighbourhood with Samantha in her stroller. The whole concept of being restrained is something that we are going to have to work on, whether it's stroller, high chair or car seat. Samantha does not like to be strapped in, and begins to scream immediately. In the stroller she does settle down once you start to move, and in the high chair she's good once the food starts. Still need to figure out the car seat, but then again her only experience was from the airport when she really wasn't at her best. Like everything else, this will take some figuring out.

Some of you have also been asking how Rusty is doing with another person in the house demanding time from us. We had really expected that Rusty would become a recluse and basically stay down in the basement. We couldn't have been more wrong. Not sure if it was because we were gone for 2.5 weeks and he didn't get any attention, but Rusty has been up and around most of the time. He is for the most part keeping his distance from Samantha, preferring to be on the other side of the room our just outside in the hall, but he's not hiding. We are making an effort to spend time with him as well, and he's currently under the desk on my feet, a place he has always spent a lot of time.

So, we are adjusting. One thing for sure, Samantha's appetite hasn't changed at all and she'll eat almost anything you give her. The only thing she has refused so far is pork liver, and I can't really blame her for that. We thought Rusty's wet food smelled bad until we smelled this.

We'll continue to post for a little while, as we all adjust to expanded family life. We hope that you have all enjoyed following us in our journey as much as we have enjoyed sharing it with you.