October has been a month of transition for everyone as we get used to having Natalie in our family. We were blessed by a two week visit from Mimi and Papa at the beginning of the month. As we finish out the month we will continue to adjust as Natalie grows.
Cordelia loves her new baby sister. As Natalie grows, Cordelia is getting to hold her more and even helped calm her to sleep one afternoon. Cordelia is doing very well with her schooling and continuing to enjoy learning. She’s doing very well in her piano lessons too. She is doing great in AWANA and continues to be enthusiastic about memorizing her verses each week. Cordelia is growing in her maturity too, taking on more responsibilities for herself and helping with Anthony and Lydia as well. We are very thankful for her caring and loving heart and are proud of how she’s maturing.
Anthony has really been enjoying is extra-curricular activities in Royal Rangers and AWANA this month. He’s very excited about Royal Rangers each Thursday evening and is looking forward to the first campout in November. Anthony is also enjoying his first year in Sparks and is doing a great job with his verses. Generally, Anthony is a happy, bouncy boy, but we still have to handle days when he’s having a difficult time listening and being respectful. We try to nurture a positive loving attitude in him and show how he can be helping and caring. He’s getting pretty good at his drawing and has made some sweet works of art for us over the last part of the month.
Lydia has gotten the most time with Natalie since she’s at home more. We’ve worked through her attitude and disobedience over the month. Lydia also struggled with a chronic cough for the month and we did our best to keep her at a distance from Natalie. Maria was able to take Lydia out to various parks during the month, which has been a great addition to their days. They also went to a few museums during the month. Lydia is also enjoys being an AWANA Cubbie and is very excited to be going to club with Cordelia and Anthony.
Natalie keeps growing and developing. She weighs over 9 lbs now and does a pretty good job eating. She’s getting good head lifts during tummy time and has occasionally rolled onto her back but not with any consistency. Overall, she’s a happy baby and has good awake time. Her sleeping is a bit sporadic, some good days and some bad days.
Alicia has been recovering and taking care of Natalie this month. Babies take up a lot of time and at the end of the day it feels like not much has been accomplished. But Alicia is enjoying the time she gets to have with Natalie now and also has been taking advantage of all the help to get some naps in during the days. Since Alicia is home, she’s also been helping Cordelia with her homework each day and making sure Anthony practices his piano. This month Alicia got her official offer from the Project Engineering group she has been wanting to transition into. So when she returns to work in January she’ll be in a new group and taking on new responsibilities. Alicia has been doing the backend support for the Sparks director role.
Tim returned to work at the beginning of October and has been actively engaged during the month. He continues to evaluate the feasibility of various opportunities for his group. He also got the fun task of being assigned the official small helicopter drone pilot for his group. He had to study, take a test, and learn how to fly a small drone. So he’s now an official licensed small drone pilot! He also has been maintaining his new exercise regime of lifting weights and running. Tim also went back in-person to fill in the Sparks director role and support Alicia on the front lines. He’s got the opportunity to teach two lessons and is starting to get a feel for how things go.
On the house front Mom and Dad Russin also helped us out during their visit. Dad did a lot of work outside to clean up our fence, patio, and front bushes. Mom also did a lot of work, cleaning both inside and outside. Now our house shined up and looks much better! Tim and Dad were able to get Tim’s garage work bench close to completion. We also are in contact with a landscape company to have our side fence redone. We anticipate that work getting done in November or December.
We are very thankful for the love and support we have been given during this month. While adjusting to another baby has been challenging, we’re thankful for all the kids God had blessed us with and strive to enjoy them each in their unique life stage. Even though there are two months left in the year, we’re starting to think about what life will look like in January when Alicia goes back to work. We are also evaluating the various activities for the kids and plan on taking a break from some towards the end of the year as we re-equilibrate to our new family dynamics.
