Cousins

2 Months

The boy is 2 months today. For him we are doing cookies instead of cupcakes. We did have cookies for his 1st monthiversary but I never took pictures.

He is an awesome kid. All smiles most of the time. He is patient with his sister and very low key most of the time. Just like his sister he doesn't really like to sleep but when he does its often for hours at a time. He is a big boy that eats all the time. We definitely love having him as part of our family.

When Sisters Attack...

She sure does love him

Blessing

A few weeks ago we blessed Xander at Todd's sister's house in Idaho. My mom was able to be there and Todd was able to have half his family there. My friend Jen who lives in the area even got to come. Kensington had so much fun playing with her cousins and new friends. It was so nice to get to visit with family and friends too.

Photo Shoot

While my mom was here and I could use her Costco card I took some pictures of Xander for his birth announcements. I was so glad I got some of him smiling. He is such a handsome little man.

I forgot

Newborns are EXHAUSTING...

What's in a Name?

Your parents gave you the name
That others would call you by
Something you’ll answer to
And on papers you will sign

But what’s in your name
Why did they call you that
What are you to become
Who are you to emulate

Kensington is a palace
Home to a princess full of love
You can be that princess
With your palace up above

Jewell for your Great Grandma
Remember and cherish her name
She is smart and independent

They want you to be the same

Christine is after your mother
Who loves with all her heart
She makes your house a home
And struck dad with cupids dart

Kerr is after your father
It’s also the family name
Always act with honor
And never bring it shame

Kensington Jewell Christine Kerr
Is what they named their baby girl

Kensington Jewell Christine Kerr
The prettiest girl you'll ever see

Kensington Jewell Christine Kerr
She loves to dance and loves to sing

More Xander

Our little man is already growing and changing so much. He is very animated and always making silly faces. He still sleeps most of the time but has decided that he likes to be awake from about 2 to 4 in the morning. Luckily I have my Mom here for another week to help with Kensington so I get plenty of naps.
Kensington is adjusting much better than I anticipated. She loves to hold Xander's hands or feet and to give him kisses. She wants to hold him sometimes but is usually just content sitting next to him. She is constantly trying to give him a bottle or steal his pacifier out of his mouth.
I still can't believe that I have 2 kids.

Baby X

Xander Kerr
Wednesday September 30, 2009
9lbs 30z 20inches

The C-section went well and we are all doing great. Kensington loves her little brother. I'm not quite sure she knows he's coming home with us later but she loved to hold him and stroke his face. Hopefully I'll be out of the hospital on Friday and life can begin settling into its new normal.

Too tired for a title

I feel like its been a while since I put some pictures up so I thought that I would. I'm usually too tired to do anything fun and so we haven't taken too many pictures lately. Kensington is growing like a weed and gets more interesting every day. She is finally back to sleeping like a normal child. She has some mornings where she wakes up between 5 and 6 but usually she is nice and lets me sleep until at least 8. Its nice to have some peace again and not dread bed time every night.

I'm hoping to finally get some pictures of my baby belly tomorrow. My Mom who was a labor and delivery nurse for at least a decade says I have the wierdest looking pregnant belly that she has ever seen and she's seen a lot. I still have a waistline and I'm only pregnant from the waist up. She even wants me to ask my doctor why I look so wierd.

Assuming everything goes as planned Xander will be here tomorrow and hopefully I'll be able to get some pictures posted. I'm excited to finally meet the little guy but I'm not sure I'm quite ready to have 2 kids.

She is obsessed with the phone

She finally let me put in pigtails

She doesn't actually pick boogers but loves to stick her finger up her nose

She loves to climb and gets into everything

A Little Peace

We are making progress on the sleep drama... its not perfect but its working a million times better than being awake from 2-5 in the morning every morning.
After searching for a week for a crib tent we gave up on that and decided we needed to do something else. We tried the pack and play, we tried letting her sleep in a different room and even tried letting her sleep with us but nothing worked particularly well.
So finally I took the furniture out of her room (so she can't climb it and tip it over) and put a mattress on the floor and let her sleep there. She doesn't like it and spends 5-30 minutes each night banging on the door and throwing her body into it but eventually she falls asleep. Usually its on the floor but occasionally she makes it over to the bed.
She still wakes up at least once during the night and has to cry it out some more but I can live with that for now. Hopefully she'll adjust soon so that she doesn't freak out the new baby and wake him up at night too.

Do They Make Sleeping Pills for Babies?

So I was under the false impression that by 18 months we would have sleep fairly well established. She has always had some issues with sleeping but it really hasn't been that bad until now...

It all started (or should I say stopped?) about 2 1/2 weeks ago. She would throw a major fit any time we tried to put her down to sleep and then after crying it out for an hour or 2 she would sleep for 3-5 hours and start all over again. We were all exhausted.

We started giving her melatonin to see if that would help and for 3 wonderful nights we got sleep. Peaceful, happy, uninterupted (at least by her screaming) sleep. Now we are back to the sleep drama with a vengence.

There seem to be 2 major problems...

1. She won't go to sleep in her room. She hates her bedroom and throws a complete and total tantrum any time we attempt to put her to sleep in her room. She'll fall asleep in the living room, in our room, in the car... anywhere but her room. If she wakes up her room she is incredibly mad and absolutely refuses to go back to sleep... anywhere.

2. She just won't go to sleep. She fights it with everything she has and the girl has an iron will. We can't let her cry it out in her crib because in her anger she has started to fling herself over the edge of her crib and I'm worried she may break her neck. If she were just trying to climb out of the crib like a normal kid I might not worry so much but she is flinging herself over the edge in a fit of rage.

So now I don't know what to do and I'm tired. I can't be up all night with 2 screaming kids so I've got to get this thing figured out quickly...

This is How I Feel

How are you?

Alturas Lake

A few weeks ago Todd took Kensington to Alturas Lake in Idaho for a family reunion. I stayed home because camping and pregnancy just aren't my thing. Plus my Mom was in town and we were able to get LOTS of stuff done without having to worry about Kensington. They were gone for a whole week and had lots of fun.

They played in the sand

went canoeing

hung out with cousins

played in a hammock

climbed on everything

Hopefully next year we can all go together.

I Want One!

So I know these skirts have been pretty popular for a while but I think they are adorable and I want one for Kensington. I would love one for myself too but I don't think I would actually be brave enough to wear it outside. I can't believe they sell for over $60 each but I actually found a how-to on Martha Stewart so I'm going to add it to my project list. I just might get around to it by the time Kensington starts school.

Yellowstone

While in Idaho we went to Yellowstone for one of their free weekends. We most drove around since I'm pregnant and lazy but we were still able to see some awesome stuff. I thought the small geysers and springs were a lot cooler than Old Faithful. We got to see some elk and I made friends with a bison. Apparently they are quite dangerous but they look kinda cute. Kensington did awesome on the car ride considering she hates the car. I would love to go back sometime when its not so hot and we can stay for a few days.

Idaho

A few weeks ago we went to Idaho to visit my sister. While we were there Kensington got to ride a miniature pony. I thought it was cool since I've never ridden a horse but Kensington was much more interested in the little baby kittens. We also went to the lake one day. Todd and Kensington had a great time but the water was freezing so I only got in up to my waste. I wish we had a pool where we could all go swimming in semi-warm water. Kensington loves to swim and it would be such a nice way to beat the heat.

Day 6

I was suppose to use a square photo but I love this picture and it was too wide but I went ahead and used it anyway. I wish she could still wear these shoes. I love them!

Day 5

This class was about textures. I didn't actually like this picture because it turned out rather grainy but with the different textures and the frame I think its a cool family picture.

Day 2&3

Brushes and Hand-Tinting. The brushes thing is awesome! I have a million of them saved but I had no idea what to do with them.

Class

I'm taking an online photo editing class so that one day I can achieve my dream of having fantastic digital scrapbook pages. This class is all about frames and special effects. This is my day 1 assignment... Only 13 more days to go...

ouch

Some kids kick. Some kids hit. Some kids throw tantrums. My kid bites.

I wonder if she's teething?

One Lazy Mom and the TV

I've always felt like I'm a lazy mom. I play with Kensington but I don't do any fabulous activities and I let her just do her own thing most of the time. I try not to watch TV all day because Kensie loves it so much and she's not really suppose to watch TV but ever morning she goes in the living room and turns on the TV. All she wants to watch is music videos. She is obsessed with CMT. Its funny and cute and also a little frightening.

Olives!

Kensington loves to "help" me make dinner. Usually it means me trying to make dinner quickly and with only 1 hand. I finally figured out that if I give her food and let her hang out at the table she'll sorta leave me alone. She likes olives but has never had whole olives so that was her predinner treat one night. She LOVED it! We put them on her fingers and toes and she ate them right off. It was so hilarous!

A Funny Story

Before I was ever even pregnant with Kensington I wanted a boy. I'm not exactly girly and I knew Todd would want his daughters to be girly and so I figured I would be better at raising a boy and Todd is definitely manly so it would just work better for us.
Then came Kensington and she isn't girly and there isn't anything we can do about it and she is a total blast. So then I thought it would be nice to have 2 girls so they could hang out and because girls weren't as hard as I had thought and I had all the stuff so when I got pregnant we wanted a girl.
I'm 23 weeks along and we've always thought it was a girl. When we went to the doctor he couldn't see anything and the baby was acting the same way that Kensington had so I was pretty sure it was a girl. I was happy, Todd was happy and Kensington couldn't have cared less.
Today was another appointment and another ultrasound. I didn't think we'd see anything because we never have so I didn't exactly have expectations. The sonographer is doing her thing and gets a nice shot right between the legs... Its a BOY. What am I going to do with a boy? I must admit I'm excited and I also feel like I might have a panic attack. At least I have 17 more weeks to get use to the idea.

Memorial Day

When Todd was young he lost 3 of his siblings. One of his sisters died in an accident when she was a young baby and then a brother and sister set of twins that died shortly after birth. They are buried in Utah where his family lived at the time. For Memorial Day we decided to visit the grave and take some flowers. Todd had never been there before so it was pretty emotional for him. After we got home he wrote a beautiful poem.

A Short Cut to Eternity

Why is it such a tragedy when a baby dies
The answer is in the mother’s cries

A little child who doesn’t move
Emotions that you cannot soothe

There’s a future that was snuffed
Words of consolation are not enough

Does it still belong to you if it never cries
Will I get to raise my child if it dies

Were they meant to live on earth
Or were they only here for their birth

To receive a body and take a breath
Then be ushered home through death

Were they better than the rest
Had they already passed the test

Too pure and innocent to abide
Heavenly Father’s joy and pride

On the other side of the veil
Can they see or feel you there

Are they sad when you cry
Disappointed when you lie

Do they help answer your prayers
Give you hope when all else fails

You must call on a higher power
To give you comfort every hour

So many things on your mind
Only questions left behind

Listen to the still small voice
Understand they had a choice

Heavenly Father had plans too
There was a greater work to do

Together in the same garden place
Able to hold them and see their face

All things shall be restored
You’ll get to see them grow old

God is mighty to save
Christ has overcome the grave

They got a short cut to eternity
Showing us how we need to be

They’re helping our eyes to see
Guiding us back to eternity

In the Lord's House we were sealed
One day our family will be healed

Since families are forever
One day we’ll be together

I Wish These Were Posed

Kensington likes to go. She is constantly grabbing my keys, purse and sunglasses and going to the door. Yesterday I had my church shoes out and she decided to try those too. I'm not sure what I'm going to do when she learns how to get the door open on her own.

Thanksgiving Point

A few weeks ago we went to Thanksgiving Point for the Baby Animal Birthday Party. I thought Kensington would have seeing all the animals. I was wrong. She was completely uninterested and desperately in need of a nap.

Kensington with Miss Utah

Very Happy in Jail (a bad omen for her future?)

The Llama that tried to eat her
Milking a fake cow

Riding the fake cow

I guess in the future I'll have to plan better and not take her out during nap time.

The Big Reveal... Or Not

I guess I have modest kids who just don't feel the need to show themselves on ultrasound. This baby is positioned in exactly the same way the Kensington was.. facing my back with its legs curled up. The doc said its probably a girl but he couldn't get a good enough shot to really tell anything. There's only so much you can see from the butt. I have another appointment on June 1 so maybe we'll get a little better picture then. Everything else looks good though which a nice to hear after 12 weeks with no prenatal care.

Boy or Girl!?!

So I finally have a doctors appointment on Monday. We've been waiting forever for the insurance to start and it finally will tomorrow. I'll be 19 weeks when I go to the doctor so there's a good chance we'll find out the sex of this little kiddo inside me. I personally don't want to find out but after a few weeks of trying to convince Todd that it was better not to know I finally gave in to his desire to know. We both want a girl which makes me think its a boy... what do you think?

Princess in the Red Highheels

She wanted to wear her shoes that FINALLY got unpacked. The don't exactly fit her anymore and they have a heel on them so she can barely walk but she had blast!