accomplishments

I just have to toot my own horn . . . My baby will be turning 1 on April 12. I was able to breastfeed her throughout her first year. I am proud to say that I pumped breast milk every day that I worked for the 10.5 months that I worked of her first year. Yeah! I am very glad to be done, that's for sure, but I'm also very pleased. It's not like I was able to support her exclusively throughout, as my supply dropped off in the last three months. But I still stuck with it :)

Mark starts his first shift at work tonight "on the floor" actually working with patients. He's both excited and nervous. He had some orientation and computer training this week.

Makayla is doing great with eating, talking, fine motor skills, but she still has no interest in pulling herself to stand or crawling. She is getting a little better at scooting across the floor on her butt, though (see video). It takes her a while, and there may be some whining and fussing to go along with it, but she's moving a little. Such a happy little thing. When I say "Say Mama" she very clearly says "dada". nice.

employment

Big news!!! Our most exciting news is that MARK GOT A JOB!!! We feels so blessed with this opportunity. To bring everyone up to speed, Mark went to school last year to work on the powerlines, but there were few job openings and no job offers for him. He decided to change his career path, and follow my good example (as well as his sister and aunt) and go into nursing. In January, he took a CNA class and was so excited to get into a line of work where he could help others. The process to get a CNA license takes 4-6 weeks, but as soon as the license came through, he was applying to nursing homes and hospitals in the area. He was willing to take pretty much anything. He interviewed at a hospital, and was called back about an hour after arriving home, with a job offer. He is thrilled. I am very excited for him and proud of him. He'll be working 3 - 12 hour shifts per week, all nights. (He prefers nights.) He is still taking classes towards nursing school.

The last couple of months have really flown by for me. Things have been busy at work, as the winter season is winding down. I have a Family Nurse Practitioner student with me for this semester. I enjoy teaching, but it slows me down to have to explain things, answer questions, and do double checks on the patients. I have a lot of work to catch up on these days, and seem to always feel tired.

Luckily, Makayla has been sleeping all night long this week. She was sleeping about 8 hours before, waking at 4 am, and then back to sleep. She continues to be a sweet baby, catching the attention and love of her sisters, aunts, uncles and cousins. Hannah and Ashlyn came to visit for spring break and were so excited to take care of her: feed, dress, hold, put to bed, and even change her diapers :) Makayla was quite entertained by them.

Although Makayla is sitting up well, she still could care less about crawling or pulling herself to stand. Here she is 11 months old, and she is happy as can be to lay on her back and kick her feet. She is able to spin or pivot herself around when she is on her back, but as soon as I put her on her belly, she immediately rolls to her back. I try to help her by putting her on all 4s, but she fusses.

My sister Kristin got married in February. It was fun to have all of my siblings in town. We were able to host several family members, thanks to our new house. It was a little rainy the day they got married, but it made for a beautiful rainbow when they were taking their pictures.