Beautiful Girl

1.5 days with Samantha were not enough, but I feel so blessed to have shared them with her. I would fly back in a heartbeat if I could. My favorite part of the visit was tending to Samantha during the night so Holly could get some sleep. Samantha and I shared some quiet (and some slightly louder) moments. Her cry is a quiet plea; really quite sweet. Always one for modesty, she despises diaper changes.

I attempted to replicate one of those cute newborn photo shoots where the newborn is in their birthday suit, laying face down. I took Samantha out of her onesie and diaper when Holly and Tyler were at dinner, thinking, "Oh, good, her diaper is already wet." Alas, the beautiful, white furry blanket sported a wet, yellow spot within 30 seconds, and Samantha was NOT happy! I chalked it up to a lesson for an amateur photographer. She seemed to prefer the dress and diaper outfit to the "neked" look.

I love incorporating this new responsibility- Aunt- into my identity. It occurs to me that one can have a profound effect on a child or be a relatively distant aunt. I can teach her about the Lord and model His love for her. Throughout my life I made plans for parenting, but never "aunting". I've recently considered the importance of turning to my sister and brother-in-law for guidelines in how they want me to interact with Samantha, amount of time spent visiting, types of gifts that are welcome for her, etc.

That was a bit off track. Back to the star of the show, Samantha Ann Killman, at 1 week and 5 days of age.