Family Pictures

 We got our family pictures done in early April.  Here are all the pictures that were taken along with all the fancy enhancements that they add to try to entice you to buy more, which I'm not gonna lie can be a little difficult to refuse....until you see the price!

Minivan Momma!

I have done horrible at blogging lately, so I am going to do my best to get caught up, so bare with me because these posts will be a bit dated.

A few weeks after Kaylee was born Curtis and I decided it was time to invest in a family car.  At the time we had my '96 2 door ford explorer which I have had since I was 16, and a car that we bought in 2007 for Curtis to commute to work in.  There was literally no way that we could have fit both kids in the Explorer, because the power seats no longer worked and so we could not get the seats far enough forward to fit Kaylee's car seat in.  I suppose one option would have been to leave the car seat in and have to climb into the back seat while holding Kaylee and try to hover over her seat while strapping her in rear facing. Not an option that I was willing to accept.  We could have used the commuter car as the family car, causing Curtis to take the gas guzzling explorer to work every day, but even that wasn't too feasible because the infant car seat is so huge that the front passenger seat has to be scooted all the way forward and the seat can't be reclined at all.  Again, not the most convenient thing in the world.  So, after considering all these options and saving up for a few years in preparation, we headed off to the dealership.  After looking at pretty much every single van in our price range online and on the lots, and after muuuuuuuuch negotiation, we finally found the perfect van for us!  But first, we had to say goodbye to my high school sweetheart, my explorer.  

(I love Nathan smiling in the window there)

And hello to our new swagger wagon! (haha)  Its a 2008 Kia Sedona EX with really low miles.  Nathan already LOVES it, mostly because of the power doors.  When it is time to get in the car he runs to the garage and says "button!" until I push the button to open the doors.  Once I get him and Kaylee in the car he screams "button" again until I close the doors. He then points to the sunroof and says "open" until I open it.  He then points to the radio and says "on!"  He also has a routine when we get out of the car, basically the same things but in the opposite order.  He just loooooooves this car.

Because he now can actually see out of the window he is starting to learn his way around the city.  He for sure knows his way to his friend Brenna's house, and gets very upset if we head that direction but then turn to go somewhere else.  Going to Church always causes a bit of a tantrum these days because we pass right by Brenna's street on the way.  It cracks me up that he is so aware of his surroundings and can tell from the backseat where we are going!

Blessing

Kaylee was blessed today in our ward here in Sierra Vista.  Both mine and Curtis' parents were able to come down for it.  We are so glad that they could come visit, even if only for a short time.  (27 hours in my parents case).  It was a great day and Curtis gave Kaylee a beautiful blessing.  One member of the ward, much to our surprise and delight, took notes for us so that we can remember what was said.  I only heard Kaylee cry a tiny bit at the very end, but Curtis said that her crying was quite distracting to him as he was blessing her, just like her brother!  

Kaylee wore the dress that my grandma made for my sisters and I to be blessed in.  She looked absolutely beautiful in it!  I am so glad that my mom was able to dig it out of her cedar chest for us!

My sister Julianne made Kaylee's beautiful bracelet out of amethysts, Kaylee's birthstone.  Thanks Jules!  It made her outfit all the more special!!

Introducing...

Kaylee Merrill

Kaylee was born on Saturday, Feb 12th at 9:53 am.  I had a feeling all along that she wasn't going to make it to her scheduled c-section date on the 21st (let alone her actual due date which was the 24th).  Curtis and I left for the hospital around 6:20 am.

 Once they determined that i was in fact in labor they scheduled the c-section for 9:30.  While we waited they gave me some drug to help with the contractions.  I am pretty sure that it did absolutely nothing other than make me a bit loopy and a lot sleepy.  I kept telling Curtis that I didn't want to have the c-section so soon, I just wanted to sleep.  A little after 9:30 I was rolled into the OR and Kaylee was officially born at 9:53.  The experience this time around was much much better than it was with Nathan, probably because I knew more of what to expect.  I was able to give Kaylee a few kisses before they carted her off to the nursery.  I think that is the worst part is only being able to see her for a minute before they take her away and make me lay there for another 30 minutes while they sew me back up. Such a tease. Here is my beautiful girl just minutes after being born, weighing in at 7 lb 11 oz and 19.5 inches long:

About an hour after she was born I was finally able to hold and feed her.  She was a good little eater from the start and has continued to eat fabulously.

My friend Randi was a saint and was able to babysit Nathan for us on such short notice.  She brought Nathan to the hospital to meet his new baby sister that afternoon.  He was very cute with her for the first few minutes, wanting to hold and touch her, he especially loved her little toes.  He soon, however, got bored and wanted to run down the hospital halls.

Curtis' mom arrived that evening and took over babysitting duties for the remainder of our hospital stay. She was able to stay until Friday and help out with Nathan and Kaylee as well as cook some amazing dinners for us!

My parents made the 14 hour drive from Utah on Sunday and arrived at the hospital just 30 minutes before visiting hours ended.  It was a short visit but at least they were able to see Kaylee that night, which held them over until we were released from the hospital on Monday morning.  Just like the c-section, everything about this experience was so different than when I had Nathan.  With Nathan I was very weary about getting out of bed once I was given the ok, this time I was begging the nurse to let me get up and get moving from the second that I could feel my legs again.  They made me wait longer than I wanted but once I was given the green light I got up as much as I could, spending most of the second day on the couch or walking down the halls rather than in my bed.  Another big difference this time was my eagerness to get home.  With Nathan I was scared to death to go home because I wasn't sure that Curtis and I were ready to take care of him all by ourselves.  This time I just wanted to get the heck out of that place and get back to Nathan.  I wasn't nervous at all about my ability to take care of a newborn, it was old hat.  

I think my eagerness to get out of that dang bed and out of the hospital have really helped speed my recovery.  I am recovering so much faster this time around, thank goodness!  There are still some things that I can't do yet, like pick up Nathan, but I am at least to the point where I can take care of Kaylee on my own without too much pain.  Having the grandparents here has been a huge help.  My dad, bless his heart, spent the whole week putting in a sprinkler system in our backyard.  Our yard has been nothing but dirt, weeds, and rocks ever since we moved in, but we didn't have the money, time, or knowhow to do anything about it until now.  I never really let Nathan play in the backyard because I didn't want him to get super dirty plus it was full of stickers and thorns.  However, once the weeds were removed Nathan was free to go out and "help" Grandpa in the yard, and boy oh boy did he love it!

He played outside for hours every day, and usually ended up taking at least a bath or two each day as well.  I'm not sure which he like more, playing outside or taking a bath, all I know is that this kid was in heaven!  He  had a blast while Kaylee and I sat around and watched TV all week, it was great! My mom, of course, busied herself with laundry, ironing, cleaning, and grocery shopping.  She also spent plenty of time taking Nathan on walks or playing with him outside.  I am so lucky to have such helpful and wonderful parents and in-laws!

Curtis decided to go back to work while we had help here, and is going to take the next 8 days off now that everyone has left.  I feel bad that he hasn't been able to spend much time with Kaylee since we left the hospital.  I feel even worse that the time that he is home and is able to hold her happens to be her fussy time of the night where she is pretty inconsolable for about 30 minutes.  I hope this fussiness is just a phase because it's not too fun.  However, her fussy period seems to get shorter and shorter each day, so hopefully she will be over it in a few days!

Nathan loves having Kaylee around.  He still demands to hold her a few times a day.  In the mornings he runs out of his room the second he hears Kaylee cry and burts into Kaylee's room shouting "Hi Kaylee!!" (or more like "Hi Tay-nee"), it is so stinkin cute!  He also will stand on his tip toes and try to peek into her bassinet anytime he hears her make a sound.  He is going to make a great big brother, but I am still pretty nervous that he might just "love her to death", we have had to stop him from throwing balls and other toys into her bassinet several times, I guess he is just very anxious to play with her.  These two cuties are such a blessing, I can't wait until they are old enough to be best friends!

Musically Talented

Singer/Pianist/Dancer in the making