Another six weeks...

So, it has been six weeks since I last posted. Kenlee is now 12 weeks old and I am heading back to work tomorrow. I am excited to get back to work as I love my job; however, I am nervous to leave Kenlee. She is my pride and joy.

Life with Kenlee is amazing. She laughed for the first time last night and I loved it. She has discovered her hands and has also discovered her thumb...ugh. She is not a fan of binkies...what am I going to do? :) Grandma Helen came to visit towards the end of October and I wanted to have a fourth generation photo. So, Kevin, Kenlee, my mom, grandma, and I went to Sears and had our photos taken with Kenlee. They turned out great. That same weekend, mom, dad, and I took Kenlee to our company's Trunk-or-Treat. For Halloween, we went to Aunt Marilyn's and we went trick-or-treating with Jen, Rylee, Bry, Boyd and Lynette. Kevin was stuck at work. Kenlee was a little fussy while we were trick-or-treating, so Grandpa Boyd came to the rescue. He was able to keep her calm - in fact, he was able to put her to sleep. :)

She had her 2 month old appointment on November 5 with Dr. Kelly and she weighed in at 14 pounds 8 ounces and was 24 inches long. That put her off the charts for weight and at the 95th percentile for height. She had her first set of shots and luckily Kevin was there to help. I couldn't watch her get her shots, so Kevin held her hands and then I held her after her shots. She was a big girl and definitely cried, but not too much.

Her next appointment was 2 weeks later. They didn't have one of the shots she needed, so we had to go back. Kevin had to work and be at home since they were putting in our hardwood floor in the front room...so Lynette was going to go with me. Unfortunately she was sick, so Jen and Rylee came with me. Jen held Kenlee's arms while I held Rylee. Thank goodness for Jen! I wanted to see how much Kenlee weighed, so we put her on the scale and she was up to 15 pounds 10 pounces. WOW! Kevin calls her his little tank. :)

Kevin and I had our first date on Wednesday, November 26. We went to the Jazz game with Brittney and Riley. The Jazz played the Memphis Grizzlies and they beat them. We had the nice dinner before and sat in the Staker seats. Grandma Lynette and Grandpa Boyd watched Kenlee for us. They even fed Kenlee her bottle and she was a good girl. When we went to pick her up - we ended up staying until almost midnight because Kevin had to play Boyd and me in Nintendo Wii Bowling. :) It was fun.

Kenlee's first Thanksgiving was great. We went to my dad's for a Thanksgiving breakfast, then went to the Ward house for the Russon Thanksgiving, and then back to Boyd and Lynettes for the rest of the evening. Everyone loved Kenlee. :) Chelsey was so cute - she was my little buddy and she wanted to see Kenlee every 5 seconds. It was a great day. Kenlee was so worn out she slept until about 10 the next morning.

Our First Six Weeks

Kenlee turned six weeks old yesterday. I can't believe how time has flown by. She has changed so much in six weeks and is really starting to show her personality and starting to smile. She now weighs 12 pounds 6 ounces...so, she is really starting to grow. :)

The week after she was born was definitely challenging. Trying to figure out a schedule, trying to plan my days, trying to figure out when to do the housework....it was tough. Luckily Kevin took that week off and my mother-in-law and my mom came out and did the dishes, laundry, and helped with Kenlee. It was so nice to have the love and support. Also, the first week my friends and family brought us meals each night of the week and that made it nice to not have to worry about cooking.

When Kenlee was 11 days old, we took her to have her newborn pictures taken. They took about 2 1/2 hours and the little stinker woke up when she was supposed to be sleeping, went to the bathroom twice (on the nice ladies' blankets), and then finally fell asleep and we were able to capture the cutest pictures.

Kenlee went on her first camping trip. We went with Kevin on the Elk Hunt. We went up to Current Creek on Wednesday, October 1 and stayed up there until Monday, October 6. The weather was nice on Wednesday and Thursday and then it pretty much rained the rest of the time. I spent the time in the motorhome watching movies and reading. It was nice and relaxing. Luckily Amber and Heather were there with their kids so it was nice to have some other women/moms there. Kevin, Shaun and Riley rode the horses while hunting and after a ride (when Bandit was tired), Kevin held Kenlee on the horse and we got some pictures taken. Kevin was so excited to have her on the horse with him.

On Wednesday, October 8, Kenlee and I went to Gardner Village to have lunch and see the witches with Aunt Jen and Rylee. Then Thursday, October 16, Grandma Lynette, Aunt Jen, Rylee, Kenlee and I went and had lunch at the Gateway. We ate at Tucanos where Uncle Blade was our server. The food there was amazing. After lunch we walked around Gateway and went to Build a Bear and I bought some books at Barnes & Noble. We had a great time.

Yesterday Kevin left for another hunt...the deer hunt I think (I get confused since there are so many :) ). He went with Ryan and Tyler to hunt up in Morgan. He should be home Monday. We sure do miss him already.

So, today I am hoping to finish up thank you's and Kenlee's birthday announcement. Wish me luck!

Kenlee McKae Paxton

So, she is here! Kenlee McKae Paxton was born September 5, 2008. She arrived at 11:01 a.m. She was 8 pounds 9 ounces and 21 inches tall.

Life with Kenlee is amazing. I love being a mom. It has been tiring, but completely worth it.

We had Kenlee at Jordan Valley Hospital. I went in to labor on September 4th around 10:30 p.m. Kevin was over at the neighbors and when he came home I started having some cramping. I wasn't sure if it was "time" to head to the hospital because I didn't want to be sent home for false labor. I called my mom and she said...."we are going to have a baby". She told me to call the nurse and see what I should do. The nurse told me to come in the hospital. Since our bags were not really packed, we hurried and put some things together and around midnight we left for the hospital. We called family and text friends letting them know that we were on our way to the hospital and we could keep them updated. When we got there, I was checked and we asked if they were going to send us home and the nurse said "nope, we are going to get you a room". So, we called family and let them know that we were going to have our baby.

They booked us in a room and around 1:30 a.m., Boyd & Lynette (my in-laws) showed up. Kevin had to talk me in to having the nurse call the anethesiologist for my epidural as I was so scared to have it done. Kevin talked me through it and it was okay. I got sick and got the shakes from the epidural, but it sure was nice not feeling those contractions. Shortly after my mom came, Candie, Blade and then my dad. I was only dilating 1 cm every hour...so, we ended up watching Weekend at Bernies and Because I Said So. Family was tired, so everyone was taking turns napping on the wonderful chair they call a bed. :)

Around 5 a.m. or so, a new nurse came in named Shanely. She was awesome. She was my absolute favorite and I was sad when she had to leave me. But, she came in and took charge. When it was time to start pushing, she was so encouraging and understanding. After pushing for 2 hours, Kenlee finally arrived. She is absolutely beautiful. She has my lips and Kevin's nose. :)

So, after all was said and done, we had a lot of visitors. Grandma June came in shortly after delivery; Bryan, Jen, and Rylee stopped by; Aunt Triskit, Aunt Debbie, & Hana; Grandma & Grandpa Russon; Stacie, Cody, Rhett, Cole, & Lily; Brittney, Rylee, Tracy, Brandon, Elizabeth, Bart, Amber, Shaun, & Madison; & Tommy. It was great to see everyone.

We came home Sunday morning and when we got home, we of course had the NASCAR race on and Jimmie Johnson (my favorite driver) won the race. I hope she is a Jimmie fan. :) Friends and family have visited since we have been home and have brought us dinner, helped with dishes, and laundry. It has been nice.

Monday the 8th we had to take Kenlee to the hospital to have her tested for bilirubin. Her levels were a little elevated when we went home on Sunday, so they had to prick her heel (broke my heart) to get enough blood to test her. Monday's level came back at 16.8 which is really high, so Praxair has to bring by a Bilirubin blanket that we had to put her on all day. :( So, each day we went back and had to have heel pricked. Finally by Friday, her level went down to 11 something....which is a normal level. Phew....

Life with Kenlee is the best. We have had so much fun.

A lot has changed

So, I just realized that I have not posted anything on this blog since last June...and a lot has changed since then. First of all, Kevin and I are expecting our first child on September 5. Yep...after 8 years of marriage we are finally starting our family. We have had fun traveling and enjoying our time together.

We are still enjoying our boat and since last year we sold our trailer and purchased a motor home so we could pull the boat. So far this year we have taken the new motor home on a drive up Parley's Canyon and down Provo Canyon and then to Flaming Gorge twice (over Memorial Day & Fourth of July).

In February, Kevin and I went to Maui. I have never been to Hawaii, so this was a wonderful trip. We were there for 8 days and we packed our time full of driving to Hana, golfing, surfing, snorkeling, whale watching, going to a luau, and just relaxing by the beach. We met a nice couple named Sandi and Carl and they were such sweethearts. We hung out with them whenever we could. In March, we went to Las Vegas for NASCAR and in May I went to Charlotte, North Carolina for the All-Star Race for some NASCAR research. Kevin and I went to California with his family in June and spent about 6 days there. We went to Sea World and then spent the rest of the time relaxing on the beach. I love Dana Point. We figured we would try and get a bunch of last minute trips in before the baby is born.

So, I realized that I have 8 weeks left until my little girl is born and I have a lot to do. We have not purchased anything yet. We need to get the nursery ready, buy a car seat, stroller, diapers, clothes...you name it...we need it. My friends and sister-in-law have been kind enough to let me borrow some maternity clothes and some baby items (like a bouncer and baby clothes), but other than that...we have a lot of work to do.

Kevin and I have been busy at work. Kevin is managing RVS Striping, Squirt Car wash and helping with the apartments at Monarch Meadows...so, his plate is full. I am still at 1-800 CONTACTS and have been here for over 8 years now. Recently we had our second 1-800 CONTACTS 5k/10k Challenge in Sugar House Park on June 21 and it went well.

I think that is about it for now. I am going to be better at this blog thing. :)