New Pictures

It's been a while since I've posted, and I've had a request for some pictures of Samantha, so here's a little update. Sammy turned 4 months old earlier this month and had her well baby visit. She did great and was only upset for a few minutes after getting her vaccinations. She weighed in at 15.8 lbs and was 25 inches long. She's such a big girl! She's also enjoying all the new sounds she can make. She has figured out how to screech with a big raspberry at the end. Mimi is not amused. She's also spending a lot of time playing with her tongue. She sticks it out at us constantly.

The weather here has been gorgeous, so we've been taking advantage of it with afternoon walks. I realized that Samantha was not pleased when the sun was in her eyes, so we got her a big floppy sun hat at the PX. I think she loves it. She grins whenever we put it on her.

Change of Command

Pat officially took command on Friday (finally!). They had the ceremony outside and then we had a little reception where I got to meet some of his soldiers and collegues. Samantha did very well during the ceremony and even flashed a few smiles at Pat's Batallion Commander. Apparently she's already figured out the important people to charm. This new job will keep Pat much busier than he's been recently. Sammy and I will miss having him around (especially at lunch time), but I know he's happy to be back to doing "real" work. Here are a couple of pictures from the ceremony. For those of you who aren't used to finding your loved one in a sea of ACU pattern, Pat is the left-most person in the pictures of the formation.

New Discoveries

Samantha has recently figured out that she can reach out and touch some of the tempting toys that have been dangling above her. This is exciting fo me because it means that she's able to entertain herself for a couple of minutes! Hooray for being able to fold laundry without stopping to make the toys swing!

Go Blues!

I think we have a little hockey fan on our hands. Samantha can sometimes see the TV from her play gym. She's been going crazy whenever a hockey game is on. I don't know if it's the contrast of the players on the white ice or what, but she loves it. We got some video of her the first time she did it. We also got some video of her sporting her Blues jersey from her cousin CJ. Hopefully the two of them will get to go to a game together sometime!

Holiday Pictures

We had a wonderful, low-key Christmas and New Year this year at home with our little family. Pat was able to take leave the whole time, and it was so nice to have him home.

Christmas just isn't complete in the Vogt family until someone has a bow on their head. This was Sammy's inaugural year.

We also felt the need to put her in one of the ridiculous hats that came in the poppers on New Year's Eve. She was a pretty good sport about everything until one of the poppers scared her and she had a bit of a melt down. A few hugs and kisses from Mom and Dad fixed her right up, though.
And finally one last cute one to show you what a chunk she is. She wighed in at a whopping 13 lbs 11 oz on Tuesday. I'm sure she'll be over 14 lbs at next week's weigh-in. She turned 3 months old yesterday and is changing so much already. She has started carrying on very intense coversations with Pat and me (and the ceiling and her toys). Her little eyebrows are so expressive and she looks very serious the whole time. I just wish we could understand these fascinating stories that she is telling us! I'm going to try to get some video of it, but the camera usually ends up distracting her.

Some Thoughts

I read a great blog entry today about responding to your baby's needs with compassion no matter what time of day (or night). It got me thinking about Samantha and what I am willing to do to ensure that she is happy and healthy.

Pat and I told people for years that we were not going to have children. We both honestly felt that way and did not expect our feelings to change. I think that if I had gotten pregnant during that time that there would have been some level of resentment toward the baby. I absolutely would have loved the baby, but I was still too selfish to be the Mom that I am able to be today. I'm so glad that we waited until we were truly ready to welcome a child into our lives.

Samantha is such a joy, but she definitely has her difficult moments. Whenever she has a fussy time, I'm able to be patient and loving with her. I would gladly wake up a hundred times a night if she needed me. I know that the difficult moment will pass and she'll be back to my happy, smiling baby soon. For now, I'm enjoying every moment of watching her grow.

Merry Christmas!

I had really good intentions of sending out Christmas cards this year, but it got trumped by showering, eating, and loving on Samantha. We did, however, manage to take some really cute pictures in a Christmas outfit that Grandma and Grandpa Pankau got for Sammy. Enjoy!