KIDS!

4am

So a few weeks ago, Kendall was showing signs of colic. Her uncomfortable time was usually between 7pm and 10pm. Somehow this time has shifted and now comes consistently at 4am. Poor girl gets really gassy and uncomfortable. It usually only lasts about an hour.

She also has really bad baby acne. I think it is caused by the heat when we snuggle her at night. See, she hates to sleep by herself. Cass and I are working hard to break this habit. Last night she slept in her crib for two 2.5 hour stretches!!! Woohoo, progress.  At 2:30am, however, it wasn't so easy and of course I was too tired to be consistent and she slept with me. We'll get there...we are determined to make good habits.  To help her, I bought a white noise machine that was recommended by a friend. I can't wait for it to get here.

Nathan and I are addicted to the Wii. He likes to sword fight and I like to do the three point contest (in which I am the record holder!). We play it far too much during the day but what else can we do when the weather stinks. Nathan is also an amazing bowler! His record is 145!!! He can bowl three strikes in a row. TURKEY!!
Nathan loves when Kendall smiles at him, which she is doing more and more of!! It is one of the highlights of our day.
I am trying to be more productive around the house. Kendall wants to be held ALL THE TIME so it is hard. Cass has today off so I want to get through some cleaning projects I have on mt to-do list.

As tough as the days can be, I feel SO blessed to have two beautiful kids and an amazing husband!!! Life is good, no doubt about it!

1 Month old...and I got out!

Tiffani, our friend Sarah, and my little family decided to head up to Enchanted Forest on Saturday. I can't even tell you how nice it was to be around other adults AND get out of the house for some fun! The kids had a blast. 
Yesterday, Tiff and I had a little time out to go see our other friend Jeni in a play, The Producers. It was so much fun and so nice to get out without the kidlets :)

I can't believe that Kendall is ONE MONTH OLD!!! Time is going pretty quickly. I hate to say it but I'm glad the first several weeks do go quickly. I'm not a fan of the newborn stage...don't get me wrong, I love my newborn...I just don't like the things that go along with them. Like lack of sleep, getting up every two or three hours, breastfeeding (which is easier the 2nd time around and getting better as time goes on), timing EVERY thing I do, breastfeeding in public (at Hansel and Gretel at Enchanted Forest), etc. If you're a mom, you know what I'm talking about. Thank God for Lexapro to help me through it!!!!
I will say that I'm pleasantly surprised at how much easier and relaxed I am with the 2nd child. I'm also doing good on my own when Cass is at work. Only one major melt down...Nathan naked in the bath (with NO water) throwing a half hour tantrum, refusing to get out, kicking and screaming if I physically removed him, Kendall hungry and crying, and me about to totally lose it. Made a panic phone call to my mom and Bob and then things calmed down!!! Live and learn, right?!
Nathan is being such a great big brother. He doesn't pay a ton of attention to her but when he does, he is so sweet! He likes to kiss her and tell her "sweet dreams." He shakes her hand and says "nice to meet ya."
We are starting to look into preschools for him for the Fall. I can't believe he is going to be 3 and starting school...time flies!

Kendall is high maintenance!! Loves to be held. We are REALLY trying to establish good sleep habits from the get go but she has a mind of her own and a temperment to go with it! I guess we will be looking into some good sleep training methods in the next several months!!!
She is smiling!! They are still few and far between but the melt your heart when she does!
The last several nights, I nurse her, she is awake for a while and then sleeps for three hours. So I've been starting my night with three or four hours of sleep. Makes such a difference in the morning! It's also nice that Cass gets home from work just shortly after midnight. I pass her off to him and get a few hours of sleep to myself. THANKS HONEY!

We are doing really great as a family of four. We feel so lucky to have such beautiful, high maintenance babies!!! I look forward to what is to come in our future...the holidays, Birthdays, family vacations, etc.
I'll post more pics of my cute kids soon!

SMILES!

Similarities

Nathan around 2 weeks old...
Kendall two weeks old...

My Girl!

Welcome to the world Kendall Beaver!

Kendall Lee Beaver
Born Friday May 7, 2010 at 5:56am
9 lbs 7 oz
21 inches
Thursday morning I had a dr. appointment. I was only 3cm dilated but 80% effaced. We scheduled an induction for Monday the 10th but my doc was sure I wouldn't make it through the weekend.
Later that day I was having some Braxton Hicks contractions. Nothing real consistent. I somewhat dismissed them. Later that night I went to bed like normal expecting to wake up like normal....hahahah!!!
Cass gets home from work around 12:30am and usually goes to bed between 1 and 2am. At 3am, I woke up to use the bathroom and had a contraction. I got back in bed and 7 minutes later, another one. So I laid there and sure enough, I had contractions that came anywhere between 5 and 9 minutes apart. They were random but strong so I woke Cass up at 3:45am to time them. They were lasting for one minute. In the meantime, Nathan woke up. I brought him in my bed since I could make it through the contractions without too much trouble, hoping he would just go right back to sleep. He must have sensed something going on because he wouldn't go to sleep.
We called my mom to head over because we felt at this point we should get ready to head to the hospital (in Salem, a half hour away).
When my mom got there, I struggled to get out of bed...not because of the pain but because I didn't want to leave Nathan. He was holding me so tight. I get emotional just thinking about it.
When I did get up to leave, I questioned whether we were going to soon...my contractions were still randomly coming between 5 and 9 minutes. But we went anyway.
Half way up the freeway they started to come at every 2 and three minutes. This is where it really starts to suck.
We make it to the hospital, and I get wheeled to the maternity floor...they are casually taking their time to check me in...in the meantime, I'm gagging in a barf bag. I finally get wheeled into my room (and I don't like my nurse...she tried cracking jokes and seemed to be taking her time). Let me back up...we get to the hospital at 5am, in the wheel chair at 5:06am, in my room and in the bed around 5:20am.
The nurse checks me....I'm at 8.5 cm! ARE YOU KIDDING ME???
All of a sudden there are several nurses in my room. One is doing the admitting, asking questions. One is doing the IV, and others are wheeling things in.
Where the hell is my epidural? Oh, the guy that gives them is headed to a c-section.
She was going to give me a pain killer to take the edge off the contractions but as soon as she started to, I felt like I needed to push.
At this point, a doctor comes in, breaks my water and tells me to push.
HOLY COW!
TWO pushes later I had a huge baby laying on my stomach.
I can't describe the feeling of giving birth without any drugs or an epidural...honestly not as bad as I thought it would be...but not a cake walk:)
So Kendall's birth story is only three hours long and two pushes later!!!!!
I know Nathan loves his little sister but doesn't pay a whole lot of attention to her. He is still adjusting but overall doing really good!!!
I feel like the luckiest mamma alive to have two BEAUTIFUL babies and a husband that adores them and takes care of us!