Sweet

The only thing sweeter to me than my baby girl is watching Jeremy hold her and sing her a lullaby and read her a story, or listening to Daddy tell me his secret for getting rid of the hiccups in his precious girl. I love my family and am so grateful for the opportunity to be together. There are families divided for so many reasons, and every day I thank my Heavenly Father that we are safe together. We are each other's greatest treasures. I'm also thankful for our family and friends that support and love us. It is such a blessing to have people we are loved by and can love back. It always amazes me when I see people with no family or friends. I wonder, how does that happen? We are so blessed.

Quadruple Chin

Okay, so Daddy was taking pictures of me at Jon and Brooke's house and it was annoying cause I knew I didn't look so great, but I let him have his fun. Well, I should be thankful because he took this picture and now I know I should never make this face again because it gives me 4 chins! Thanks Daddy, some pictures are priceless.

Water Fun

This summer has been weird. May and early June were hot hot hot and then as the summer went on it's been overcast and rarely reaching to 80 degrees. So great! Just the same, it feels muggy and sweaty and we have been enjoying the water. I can't go in swimming for a few more weeks, because I just had a baby, but Daddy and Jeremy are having fun. Uncle Jon's pool has been so fun. Jeremy can just touch the bottom and he is making a lot of progress getting brave and kicking and going underwater with the snorkel mask. He asks me everyday to go swim in Uncle Jon and Brooke's pool. They're so nice to share with us, thanks guys! Good friends are priceless! Today we went to a park my SIL told me about. They just built a new water area, and it's really cool! It was way cooler than I expected. Jeremy was timid at first about getting wet, but by the end he was running around soaked and having a ball!Kelsey just slept in her stroller, good girl! Pretty relaxing for Mama too! It was fun to be there with other friends and their kids. We will definitely go back there!

Working for the Weekend

So every week I'm focused on getting through it so I can get to the weekend! I know I should appreciate every day for its virtues, but I just love the weekend! I love David being home with us all day, and getting together with people, and taking naps, and getting projects done together, and on and on and on! It's just the best for me! Probably too because I love to be with people and church is on the weekend and we get together Sunday night with family. So anyway, this weekend was so fun! On Saturday we went to help Jon put in the sod in his backyard. Okay, I was a grass cheerleader, and snack maker, because really, I had the baby. But David helped and the men let Jeremy help and feel important, thanks guys! We got to meet Jon's great friend Steve too, which was a bonus. Jeremy got so dirty and tired and sweaty. Well, actually they all did. After they were done the boys jumped in the pool and I got pizza!On Sunday we went to church and then down to see my sister for her birthday. We love love love to go to their house but hate hate hate spending the gas money to get there. I like to be able to stay longer when we go, and so does Jeremy. He was so sad to leave, he kept telling us he wanted to stay there. They have really fun toys and you know how kids are. Somebody else's toys are always more exciting. But it was really cute to see my beautiful little niece hold Kelsey and play with Jeremy. She was so intrigued with everything and loved to go through the diaper bag and try on Kelsey's pants. They were like little capris on her, so cute! And of course David and I had lots of fun visiting and eating yummy food! One of the best parts was we got to ride in the Aptera. I blogged about it last fall when they launched the car and put a link to the website. Here it is again.

http://aptera.com/
My BIL took us for rides in it. It was so amazing, and it was really neat to see him park it in the garage where the whole journey began with his model he started developing more than 5 years ago. It was really fun to see people's reactions to it when we'd drive by. They would point and stare and I would giggle and bounce and wave at them. It was so exciting! Anyway, we love to visit there, they're some of our favorite people and I wish we could see them more often.

3 weeks old

Unbelievable, she's practically a teenager! So here's a few new pictures for those of you who like them.

Going shopping with Grandma

Love to sleep!
So Petite!
Not sure about the bath!
Ooooh pretty!

Who's that?

Sweet baby faceWho me?

My sweet kids

It's different having two kids, as I knew it would be. Sometimes it's really fun because it keeps me busy and sometimes it's challenging when they both want attention at the same time. Today I was nursing Kelsey and Jeremy was trying to sit next to me. I asked him what he wanted and he said he wanted to sit with me. I asked him why and he said because I love you. So sweet! He's the best boy and big brother.

Here's Kelsey movin' and shakin'.

Wipeout

Last night we went to the Phillips and had dinner and Family Home Evening. We watched this new show called Wipeout. Actually it's been on for a few weeks, but we weren't really aware of it. There's so many reality shows! Anyway, this one is really funny. It's got these people trying to survive the ultimate obstacle course. The announcers are funny, the people are cocky, and the replays are great. There's a new episode tonight. Here's the link to the show where you can watch the episodes that already aired.

http://abc.go.com/primetime/wipeout/index?pn=index

Weekend Happenings

So I finally got to get out of the house a little bit this weekend. On Saturday we went to the Pioneer Day Celebration at the park behind the stake center. It was so fun to be outside and Jeremy had a blast playing on the 2 jumpers and winning prizes from the booths. I had fun showing off the baby to people. I am so excited about her that I just want to share her with all the people I love. On Sunday I got to go to church, since Jeremy had a talk in Primary. Daddy wasn't too comfortable with Kelsey and I going to church; he thought it would be too much for me and too germy for her. But I couldn't miss my little boy's talk and I assured David I would sit a lot and keep her wrapped up and protected. It was nice to be there. In other news, Kelsey slept 7 hours straight last night! She's my wonder sleeper girl! Stay tuned to see if it was a fluke or if she's really the best sleeper ever! What a great girl she is.

Alaskan Cruise

So this funny thing happened. David's parents have been talking about going on this fabulous once-in-a-lifetime cruise forever and year after year passes and they didn't go. It kind of became this joke to me and so when they booked the cruise last fall it was still hard to believe they were really going. Well just after they booke the cruise we found out I was pregnant and due right in the middle of their cruise. It was sad and funny all at the same time. If you know my MIL, she's crazy crazy about her grandbabies and never misses one. Well, they made my c-section date a week before my due date, which happened to be the same day they left on the cruise. So there was this 1 hour window of time Kelsey could be born and meet her Jenkins grandparents before they left for 2 weeks. The labwork was held up for 2 hours and they missed her. I just had to laugh because what else could we do? So last night they came home and saw their new grandbaby and it was so fun to share her with them, and she wore her Grandpa's Little Princess onesie Grandma got her. I love people that love my baby.

Birth Announcements

So I ordered birth announcements from a company online, but I needed to send them a picture and I hadn't taken one yet. I know, I have taken a lot of pictures of the baby, but I just had this idea in my head of what I wanted it to look like, and I didn't have one of those pictures. So then we went to the Picture People last week, like I blogged about, and I noticed that they had birth announcements. So I canceled the first order and ordered them from Picture People since it was the same price and they had already taken a cute picture. So if you want an announcement leave me a comment and let me know. I don't want to assume people do or don't want them. And I personally hate getting mail that I just have to throw away.

Memory Tag

Memory Tag - You're All It!
1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Adventures in Breastfeeding

So I thought I'd grab a moment while both my babies are asleep. I was in there with them, Jeremy on one side who came to snuggle me and Kelsey on the other in her bassinet, but I couldn't sleep anymore. So anyway, I was talking to my sister the other day and telling her that Kelsey had gotten a little red on her bottom. She told me she swore by spraying their bottoms with breastmilk. I thought wow! I am a big proponent of the magical powers of breastmilk, so I thought it sounded cool. So I'm talking to my sister on the phone and nursing Kelsey and I thought wow I could nurse her on one side and spray her bottom with the other breast, so I was trying that and making a mess, and it was quite an adventure. By the time I figured out how to get it done, there was breastmilk sprayed everywhere. Then last night my friend Kathy had signed up to feed us dinner and she invited us to come over to eat. So in the midst of trying to get ready and feed the baby and be on time for dinner, I forgot my breast pads. So we're sitting there in the middle of dinner and all of a sudden my milk lets down and I think ok, she can eat soon, and then I look down and I have 2 wet circles on my shirt. I went to the bathroom and put some toilet paper in there to absorb. What a mess. Not only was I all wet, but then the toilet paper got all clumpy, which was attractive, and when Kelsey was ready to nurse I was picking off pieces of toilet paper that were adhered to my breast as only toilet paper can do! Mess mess mess. Oh well, I guess it could have been worse. At least we were with friends and not at a photo studio, or something.

First First First

I forgot how fun it is to have a new baby because of all the firsts. After a while, the firsts become fewer and farther between. Last night Kelsey went in the backyard for the first time and had her first fire in the fire pit. Not that she cares. This morning Daddy gave Kelsey her first bath. Today we went to the Picture People for Kelsey's first photo shoot, outside of the hospital pictures of course. It was fun, but tiring for her and I and nervewracking for Daddy who didn't like her being around all those people. We kept her all bundled up in the stroller though, so she should be fine. Tomorrow Daddy goes back to work, and the awesome coupon I had expires tomorrow, so it had to be today. I do not plan on any more outings though. I need to get some rest and heal this incision. It hurts, and I know I'm doing too much, but I feel so good otherwise that I forget to stay down. I'm so anxious to see people and show them my baby, so if you want to come over, please come! I would love to have you.

Related?

So Jon and Brooke came over tonight for Family Home Evening. Jon hadn't been able to come see Kelsey before because he was sick with a cold. He said she looked like Jeremy. I had been meaning to get out his baby book and look at his picture to see if they resembled each other at all. Oh my goodness, I think they do! Here's their pictures, what do you think?

1 Week Old

So our little Kelsey is a week old already. I've been kind of feeling sad about how fast is seems to be going. Daddy said I can't be sad already; she's still so little. So today I reminded myself to just enjoy every day like I do with Jeremy. So, as far as an update, she's a really good baby. She sleeps a lot, nurses like a champion, and is a professional pooper (5 last night). Jeremy loves her but isn't all over her, bugging her and making her cry, so that's good. According to my mom, I wasn't so good with my baby sister, so I'm lucky with Jeremy. Kelsey has been trying to hold her head up since the day she was born, so you have to watch her head, because she swings it around trying to hold it up. We've really been enjoying having Daddy home with us and will be sad when he goes back to work on Wednesday. He adores his little girl and I have been sticking to my resolve to not be a baby hog this time and give him equal time. I just love to hold the babies, but he does too. Her umbilical cord fell off today, which is good because tomorrow we have our first picture appt. and I can give her a bath now and her belly looks cute! Daddy nicknamed her Smiley because she smiles so much in her sleep.

Pediatrician & Pirate Ship

Today we went to the doctor's appointment the hospital set up for Kelsey. She gained weight and looks great, so we don't have to bring her back for 2 months. Thank goodness. I hate to bring the tiny ones to the doctor's. They're so fragile and vulnerable and there's so much sickness there. Anyway, I caught her "smiling" this afternoon as she took a catnap on my lap. It's fun to see, even though we know it's just a reflex. Yesterday when we got home we gave Jeremy a present to celebrate his big brotherhood. It was a pirate ship that he had been wanting. He has actually been asking for it, which is funny because he never asks for specific toys. He has been playing with it nonstop since we gave it to him, so I'm glad. It was a good purchase. He is more involved and in love with his baby sister every day.

Kelsey Marie Jenkins

So, as you all know, she is here, and I am so happy. We were scheduled for the c-section on Monday morning at 9AM. I was up all Sunday night with really regular contractions, but I handled them and just went to the hospital in the morning. The dr. told me I should have come in sooner, since I was in labor because I increased the chance of rupturing from my old c-section incision, but all went well and we were blessed. I just got home this afternoon and I had to share some pictures with those of you that love our family. Thanks for your support and love as we add our precious daughter to our family.

Waiting for the c-section; it was held up for 2 hours by the lab results on my blood count.

In the operating room. David loved the temperature sticker on my forehead.

Kelsey Marie Jenkins, 7 lbs. 11 oz. 18 1/2 in.

In the NICU. She wasn't pink enough for the doctors, so they gave her some oxygen.

Jeremy loves to hold his baby sister!

I love baby toes!

First family picture

My sister Susan came all the way from Utah to visit with us for a few hours.

The hospital made this yummy celebration dinner for David and I the night after she was born; salmon and cheesecake! Yum Yum!

Dressed for her hospital picture.

Going home