General Conference 2012

We invited Uncle Tyler & Cousin Bella to watch the Sunday session of Conference with us.

On Saturday I prepared by making the girls some "Conference baskets". They consisted of a few healthier snacks, crayons, markers, a stuffed animal & some church books. I had it perfectly planned out in my mind. They were going to both sit quietly at the kid table in front of the tv to color and have snacks. They also were going to keep their snacks on the blanket in the living room. Yeah, right. I should just know by now that kids=chaos and that is just going to be my life now.
That doesn't mean I'll quit hoping and organizing, though. ;)

Bella is used to being the big sister that gets to boss the little sister around. Mckinlie is used to being the big bossy sister, too. Bella was bugged that Mckinlie was getting into her stuff and Mckinlie thought of everything as hers that Bella had. They annoyed each other a little, but mostly had lots of fun. We didn't hear much of conference and I ended up with squeeze fruit in my carpet. All that aside, it was worth it to see them have enjoy each other so much and we can't wait for cousin Bella to come over again. Hopefully by then we can teach Mckinlie to share. Wishful thinking, much?

Our house IS the zoo

Okay, Okay. Maybe calling our house "a zoo" is a little dramatic. Adjusting to 2 kids hasn't been that bad. In fact, going a lot smoother than we ever could have hoped.
In August, we took Mckinlie to the zoo. Kennedi tagged along in the stroller and slept the whole time, of course                                                                                              

                                                   

Mckinlie LOVED it. I can only imagine that she will love it even more next year. She left worn out and took an awesome nap. Kennedi will be 1 during our annual visit next year and they'll both be a blast!

Sisterly Love

I was so anxious for Trevor to bring Mckinlie to the hospital to meet Kennedi. From the second that I got that positive on the pregnancy test, I was full of worry about how it was going to effect Mckinlie.

I had absolutely nothing to worry about. Mckinlie walked in the room and was in love with her sister from the very moment that she saw her. She wanted to hold her every chance that she got. It was adorable & something that I will never forget. I will forever be grateful that we were able to give that gift to her. 

It changed her life forever...in the best way possible. 

Mckinlie is overly helpful and hardly gave Kennedi the chance to breathe. She observes what we do with her and does exactly the same thing. We bought her a baby and had Kennedi give it to her as a welcome gift. Mckinlie has to carry it around everywhere. She burps it, feeds it a bottle, swaddles it, rocks it and sings rock-a-bye-baby to it. 

We love seeing our girls together and can't remember the times before they were together. It's going to be a blast watching them grow-up and be so close. It's not always easy, but their age difference is going to great for them. My sister & I are 4-years-apart and were always at different stages, so Mckinlie is super lucky to have a close sister. I'll have to remind her of that when she gets a little older ;)

And this is what our backseat looked like as we left the hospital. Crazy! 

Our Family Grows-Welcome Kennedi!

                                                   

 Kennedi Grace Edwards

July 25th, 2012 

5lbs. 9 oz. 181/2 inches 

Mckinlie came 4-weeks early on her own, and I guess Kennedi didn't want to be shown up by her sister. 

When I was about 35-weeks pregnant, I had a random flair-up of pancreatitis. I hadn't had issues since December so it was totally out-of-the-blue. My OB was worried that it may happen again before I delivered, so he came to visit me while I was hospitalized and asked me to come in as soon as I was released and talk to him about a possible induction. I wasn't quite sure how I felt about that. 

When I went into his office, I was 4 cm dilated and 80% effaced. We talked about the pros and cons & set a date for that next Wednesday with the possibility that she may even come before then on her own. That was on a Friday. For the following 6 days, we were on edge for sure. I had never got into labor on my own, so I wasn't sure what to expect. The day before my induction was the 24th of July and we almost didn't go to Heber like we do every year. We decided to brave it and get out one last time as a family of 3.

The next morning, we took pictures of us & our only child one last time. It was bittersweet for sure. 

Aunt Jill & Cousin Sydni came to stay with Mckinlie and off we went! We got to the hospital at about 8am & were put straight into the room. I wanted to have an enjoyable birth experience like I had with M, so I got my epidural right away. My Dr showed up & checked me and I had progressed to 5 CM since he had seen me last. I for sure wouldn't have made it to my due-date. He broke my water at about 9:30 am. The epidural made me sleepy and so I napped while Trevor worked on his laptop. They kept checking me and I was progressing SO slow. It was around 11:30 and I decided to send Trevor home to give Jill the carseat so that they could leave. Right as he was getting up to go, they came in to check me and I was at a 10 and ready to push! Good thing he hadn't left yet. They set-up and my OB started coaching me through pushing. (I LOVED him. He really was my favorite Dr that I've had so far. If anyone needs an OB I highly recommend Dr Stephen Dinger in the Granger Medical Riverton Clinic. He's gotta be close to 70 so by the time I have my next baby he'll likely be retired). I pushed for only 14 minutes & our little baby was here!

She was just like her sister in that she didn't really cry, just looked around. They were worried that she had swallowed something so they let us see her for a minute and took her to the nursery for the first hour. Trevor left to get Mckinlie and I was wheeled to my recovery room. Another mom in the hall was shocked that I had just literally had a baby and couldn't believe it because I was so "put together". I literally could have a million babies because my labor & deliveries are so ridiculously relaxing, easy & a fun experience. I have loved both times and looked forward to it. Hopefully I don't jinx myself by saying that. 

Welcome Kennedi Grace! We are so glad that you have joined our family & you are the most perfect addition. It's hard to believe that we are now the parents of two beautiful girls.

Date with Mom & Dad

 

I've been a little emotional about adding a new member to our family, and how it will effect Mckinlie.
She has been our little princess for a year and a half and our lives have revolved around her. There have for sure been some mixed emotions this time around & it's been tough.

We've been trying to spend as much quality time with her as possible in this last month of Mckinlie being our only child. One night we took her to In & Out as a special treat. We don't have fast-food often, because of my pancreas condition, and Mckinlie almost never gets fast-food. She had her grilled cheese & water and had a blast sitting outside by the creek looking at the bird by our table.

After, we took her to a splash-pad in Cottonwood Heights. She was a little scared & we had to take turns helping her get wet. She loved it as long as she didn't have to go through the sprayers. We found a little puddle of water by itself & that's what she ended up playing with.


We are soaking up all the alone time that we can with this little girl, because we won't have much when the new baby comes. It'll be different, but I keep reminding myself that it will be double the fun and that she will have a sibling to do things with and that is the best things we could ever give her.

Mckinlie's 1st Birthday

I haven't updated our blog in a very very long time. I wish that I kept up on this so that we could have all of our memories and pictures in one spot.  Hopefully I can do better at keeping up with this.

Our sweet babycakes is no longer a baby. I get teary just typing that sentence. Mckinlie Rae has turned 1 & is now a toddler. We chose the theme "You are my sunshine". That fits her perfectly and is 100% true. She is our sunshine & brings us so much happiness.

For her birthday, Mom & Dad got her clothes (she just about fits in 18 months now), a play kitchen, a bunch of play food, and a few other little things. She LOVES the kitchen but mostly just likes taking it apart. I find the drawer to the kitchen in different rooms lately.
For her birthday activity, we took her to the Treehouse Museum in Ogden. She mostly just ran around & that worked for us, because she was so happy doing that. We also went to Texas Roadhouse and she had her first kid's meal. They had her sit on a saddle & sang to her. She was not a fan of that and cried. It was a bit TOO loud for her. 

She had a few fun parties & she LOVED the attention. This little girl is a fan of being in the spotlight. If we are in a crowd & someone laughs, she thinks they are laughing at her and she will put on a show for them. We love her personality! Anyways, she loved opening gifts & plays with all of her new things daily. When it came to her smashcake, she wasn't super interested. She had her party with a cake the night before her big party, and also got a cupcake on her actual birthday. The poor thing may have been a little treated out.

We love our princess & she is the perfect addition to our family. We couldn't imagine life without her.

Mckinlie's favorite things:

Toy- Pillow pets. She has 4 different ones: poodle, black doggie, brown doggie & a cow

When we get her from her crib each time, she has to pick-up her pillow pet & make sure

that it makes it out of the crib with her.

Food- This little girl eats A LOT. She usually will eat as big of a serving as we do. Lately she is loving macaroni, frozen waffles, and dry cherrios. She loves to drink out of a big girl cup

with a straw.

Movie- Unfortunately I put a tv in her room so that I could shut her in there while I take a

shower. She got used to this and knows exactly what time she gets her movie and will take

me into her room & point at the tv. One day, I was really sick & she wouldn't nap. I

turned a movie on for her to watch in her crib. Big mistake. She now will cry sometimes

during naps or bedtime and when we go in, she will point at her tv. I promise she doesn't

watch it THAT much. Sheesh. She LOVES LOVES LOVES the movie Madeline: Lost in

Paris. She smiles when the songs play & will dance to it. Oh, she also has learned how to

turn the tv on, play the movie, & even how to rewind it when it's over & play it again.

Random- M LOVES baths & will stop dead in her tracks when she hears the tub start & runs tothe bathroom. As far as discipline goes, she knows exactly what she isn't supposed to do,

and will do it while looking at us, just to see what we'll do. So far, timeouts DO NOT work.

Even though we don't laugh, she does and will make funny sounds. Something's gotta give

soon & we'll figure it out.

Her pediatrician is the same one I had growing up. Her name is Dr Bean & we love her.

at her 1 yr appointment, the dr said she is levels above where she is supposed to be

intellectually. We now need to find ways to challenge her. She & I work on puzzles, colors,

shapes & animals. She picks up on words very quickly & a lot of them she has heard once

& will repeat it and knows what it is.

Words that she knows- Mama, Dad, Dog, Go, No No, Round Round (fan), and Plane. She also

signs "more" when she wants food or a drink.

Mom's message to Mckinlie:

You are our sunshine & will forever be. The last year with you has been amazing. We have loved watching you grow & learn. I can't believe that a year ago, you were just born & a tiny little 5-pound girl. Things change way too quickly. Keep up your cute curiosity & desire to discover everything. You are the greatest blessing we could have ever asked for & we are so lucky to be your parents. Always remember that Heavenly Father & your family loves you. You are our pride & joy. I'm so excited for the time that we have ahead with you. If it's anything like the last year, it will be a fun ride!

Dad's message to Mckinlie:

Mckinlie Rae, I love you a lot. Who knew that such a little baby girl could be such source of joy in my life? From the moment you were born you have been fun, smiley, and happy. I have loved seeing you grow, learn, and discover your world. You are a beautiful girl who is lucky to have a mother who sacrifices so much to take care of you, if you grow up to be like her you will not go wrong. Keep up your happiness, no matter what comes your way, your smile and joyful personality will be a source of happiness and hope for everyone around you. I love you more than you will ever know. Heavenly father loves you and is always there watching out for you. You are a princess.

Expecting: One cute bundle in August 2012

As I am writing this, I am 22-weeks pregnant. Yeah, a little behind on the blogging.

When Mckinlie was around 6-months, I started getting promptings that someone was waiting to come to our family. I was exhausted from being mommy to Mckinlie and working for the Larson's. We decided to just push the feelings aside, but they didn't want to go away. We prayed and thought and prayed some more. The prompting were so loud and clear, oh..and nagging that we knew we couldn't deny it. We decided to go for it in November. In December when Mckinlie was 8-months-old, I knew without a doubt that I was pregnant and that we had received an early Christmas present. I took a test... sure enough there were those 2 pink lines. To be honest, I had mixed feelings. We had spoiled Mckinlie for her entire 8-months. Every waking minute had been spent on her. I wanted nothing more than to give all of my time & attention solely to her. At the same time, I knew it was right and knew that we would be blessed immensely for following the Spirit. That has 100% been the case. I never imagined we would be blessed and cared for this much.

In January, Trevor had received a call from an architecture firm that he had submitted an resume to half a year ago for fun. It was time for a raise at his current job, and he was seeing what the going rate was at some other companies. They called him & were impressed enough to ask for an interview. We were not really expecting anything, as we were happy living in Heber & Trevor was more than happy at his current job. Well surprise, he was offered a job with them. They offered him awesome benefits & a significant pay-raise. He also wanted to opportunity to work for a bigger company, and gain more experience. His lifelong dream has been to work on designing a temple. Well, this company designs a lot of temples & he has a very real possibility of being able to live out that dream. After much praying &pondering, we took a leap of faith &  here we are. We moved from Heber, which we miss more than we can express, and made our home in South Jordan. It's much more crowded & we miss home, but we are learning to adjust. I still look for deer when I drive down Bangeter ;).

Anyways, back to the baby. We got an official due-date of August 14th, 2012  & had our gender ultrasound. We were hoping for a boy, I'll be honest as we thought it'd be a fun change. But I guess we are just too great at creating beautiful girls because...IT'S A GIRL!

 It did work out perfect because M gets to have a close sister. They will be about 17-18 months apart & I'm sure they'll be the best of friends. I've had the easiest pregnancy so far, again. I really can't complain &we are excited for the LONG, HOT summer ahead. We can't wait. Blessings do come when you follow the spirit & Heavenly Father's plan for you. We are the poster children of that truth. :)