Another Visitor

We had another visitor this past week. Kinsie's birthmom came by and spent a good part of Friday hanging out at our place. We spent most of the time catching up and playing with Kinsie. Kinsie was in such a good mood and warmed right up to Dannie. It probably helped that she brought Kinsie a little Valentines Day gift...a little stuffed puppy that Dannie had growing up. (you can see it in the last pic) Anyway-I just had to share these adorable pics with everyone. Thanks for the visit Dannie!

Visitors

Today the girls had a couple of visitors. My grandma (dad's mom) has recently moved in with my parents and has never seen the girls. So, she and my mom decided to come over to introduce the girls to their great grandma. It was really nice to see them and even better to have some company!

Thanks for the visit. Come back soon!!

Little Miss Mischief

Over the last month or so Kinsie has started to pull herself up onto the furniture and walk along things. She's also developed a love of exploring and investigating new things. Like...
THE DISHWASHER

BRITNEE'S DIAPERSELECTRICAL WIRESLAUNDRYand...POTTING SOILNow, don't get me wrong I don't mind her learning new things. In fact I usually try and encourage it. I just can't understand why she's always doing her "exploring" when I'm trying to nurse Britnee! Oh well, I suppose I really can't complain since all of her little adventures leave her looking like this by the afternoon.

STATUS REPORT: How is the family with 2 kids -8 months apart- doing?

SLEEP
-Kinsie isn't taking her naps and is waking up at least once during the night
-Britnee has her nights and days mixed up
-Mom isn't getting to take any naps and is a little sleep deprived (but nothing beyond the ordinary)
-Dad is up with Kinsie during the night, hears Mom and Britnee get up during the night, and gets up early for work.....probably lacking the most amount of sleep right now.

Hygiene
-Kinsie has been dressed and ready for the day this entire week....expect for yesterday.
-Britnee changes outfits at least 5 times a day (typical girl)
-Mom has been able to shower everyday this week :)
-Dad is the cleanest of us all

Play Time
-Kinsie is doing better at entertaining herself and loves singing songs with mom (she can't wait to walk)
-Britnee enjoys napping and sitting in her swing
-Mom loves having her normal energy levels back and can't wait to start exercising
-Dad does nothing but play with Kinsie when he gets home (she wouldn't have it any other way!)

Meal Time
-Kinsie is graduating from purees to big people food
-Britnee and mommy are both adapting to nursing...not as bad as we thought it would be
-Mom is lucky if she gets lunch during the day...and lately breakfast
-Dad is lucky if he gets dinner

Overall
-Kinsie loves Britnee but recognizes that she can't have all of mom and dads attention. She's coping with that in her own whiny way :)
-Britnee is such a content little baby. She's learning to be patient since mom has to take care of the whining big sister.
-Mom is still sane and is surprised that having two girls this close together in age hasn't been that big of a challenge...yet!
-Dad is also still sane even though he's a little outnumbered with three girls in the house. He loves being a daddy.

We're managing and surviving and can't get enough of these two!

Britnee Renee

She's here! Our sweet little Britnee was born on Friday January 8th at 8:01 am. She weighed 6 lbs. 4 oz. and measured in at 20 inches long. She takes after daddy with lots of blonde hair. In fact I can't find one little piece of me in her facial features, although she did end up with my freakishly long fingers.
After being in the hospital for almost two days we finally decided to name her Britnee. It was really the only name that seemed to fit and the only name that Chad really loved and I think all daddies should pick out their little girls names. I actually think it's the most perfect name for her and I was lucky enough to be the one to pick the spelling.To make a long story short- my water broke at 11:00 on Thursday night and by 5:45 am I was fully dilated (all on my own with NO PITOCIN!!! ). By 6:00 I started pushing and she was here about 2 hours later. In my opinion I couldn't have asked for a better delivery. I also need to give my wonderful husband some well deserved props! Although he was suffering from a severely sprained ankle and some pulled ligaments that had taken place late Thursday afternoon, he was right by my side the entire time. Except for the few breaks he would take when he could to help reduce the swelling. You should have seen the two of us hobbling into the emergency room together. Overall everything went so smoothly and was such an amazing process.

Proof that Chad really did a number on his ankle.

Kinsie meeting her little sister for the first time. She absolutely loves Britnee and wants to play with her all the time. It's been so much fun watching her interact with Britnee as much as she can. Whenever Britnee makes a noise Kinsie is quick to respond back by making the exact same noise. It's so cute.

Heading home. It's been amazing watching our little family grow so fast over the past year. We're so blessed to have these two little angels in our lives. They have made life feel so much more complete. Now we get to enjoy the two of them while also dealing with the demands that come from having two girls that are only 7 months and 4 weeks apart! Let the real journey begin!

The Blessing

On Sunday we were finally able to have Kinsie blessed. Chad did such an amazing job and gave her one of the most beautiful blessings ever. We were able to have most of our family there with us including Dannie (Kinsie's birthmom). We stayed for all of our meetings then headed to our house for a luncheon. It was great to sit and talk with everyone and then play some games with my family before they left. We feel so blessed to have had these special moments with family these past couple of weeks and want to thank all of you for your love and support throughout our journey to bring Kinsie into our family......THANK YOU!