Cutest Baby? Duh.

Okay so last weekend there was a Baby Expo that I went to with my sister Beckie and my boss / bff Bri (since she's expecting and Beckie and I both have kids). Well it was pretty cute. There were lots of headbands with HUGE flowers (not a fan. I think our kids are going to look back at pictures of themselves with flowers as big as their heads and say "what were you THINKING?") , lots of nursery stuff, and some photographers. Well one studio was having a cute baby contest with all these prizes for different age groups. You pay 10 bucks and you get a mini photo session, as well as entry into the contest. So we don't know the winners yet, but I wanted to share the link to Eisley's pictures. I think I want to order prints, but I'm not sure of which ones. Input would be appreciated!
To me, she's already won. But I'm sure every mom thinks that.
So here's the link:
http://studiocloud.org/1?a=14202&e=1255096800000
The gallery's only up for 2 weeks, so I need input quickly.
And as a sidenote, they did not pose her hands. That's just how she has them a lot of the time.
Thanks!

Dinner Conversation

Here's another video. Nevermind the dinner table in the background; we were just finishing dinner and Eisley had just finished her bottle and was talking so sweet to her aunt Rachael, that I had to record it. Wait till you hear her lungs at the end!

Oh Blessed Day

Last Sunday was nuts. But in the best way possible. It was a double blessing day in my family. My brother and sister-in-law blessed their newest baby Ryan (he was born in April, don't ask me what took so long) and we blessed little Eisley. So we went to Nate's ward at 12:45 for Ryan's blessing, got done at 2, and drove like demons back to my ward to bless Eisley at 2:45.

It was fun too, because the Olson's (our besties from Bozeman) drove all the way down here so Dave could be a part of the blessing circle. That was really special. Jacob was in Scarlett's blessing circle 2 years ago, so it was nice that he was able to join us for Eisley's. Also my cousin Alecia drove all the way down from Boise just to meet our little girl.

It was a nice day, and a nice blessing. My sister kept notes for me and wrote a letter to Eisley detailing what was said. It was so nice of her to do that, because it's hard to remember after the fact, and now every time I read it I cry. Here are some of my favorite, most comforting statements he made to Eisley:

-You will have the strength to go through life and be happy
-You will will be provided with opportunities to show your faithfulness, and know when it will be your turn to shine.
-You will have the ability to know the past and understand your family, and to grow from it.

It was a really special day and I'm so grateful to have such a wonderful husband who lives his life worthy of being able to bless our little girl, and for such an amazing supportive family who help me every day.

Here are some pictures of our little girl on her special day.

One Month Progress Report

Holy crap it's been a month since Eisley was born. Why does it feel like forever?
I've decided to not write the birth story on my blog. It's too graphic and too painful to relive. Everyone who told me childbirth was a breeze: you are now on my list. :) Okay not really, but it was a lot harder than I thought it would be. And don't get me started on the recovery!

Basically, this whole month has been a lot harder than I thought it would be. I didn't think I'd get the baby blues. I did. Hard. I had to hand her to Jacob several times and just walk away because I couldn't take it anymore. I didn't think I'd be hormonal. I was. I cried every day for the first week for no particular reason. Just cried. I thought I'd breastfeed for longer than a week. I didn't. I physically couldn't. Formula has saved my sanity and keeps my baby fed, and I won't feel bad about that. So this month has been full of surprises.

But I think the biggest surprise is how much I love this girl. I mean, I look at her face and my heart melts. It wasn't like that at first, I won't lie. But now, at a month old, I can't be anything but happy when I see my little girl. And she's really the BEST baby. She already smiles at me and her dad. She has an internal timeclock like I've never seen and knows when it's time to eat, time to play, and time to sleep. Thankfully, she's already skipping her first middle of the night feeding, so we can sleep from 9 or 10 to about 3 or 4 most nights. Hallelujah for that. Sleep = Sanity. And she's just an all around chilled out, calm, happy baby. One thing I will mention from her birthday is that right after she was born, they put her on my chest, and I kept asking what was wrong with her because she wasn't crying. She was just lying there, looking up at me, not making a sound. I thought for sure something was wrong with her lungs. Turns out, she's just calm. She was just soaking up life.

So a month later I'm feeling pretty good. I still worry about the little things. Why are her eyes goopy? Why hasn't she pooped? What did that squawk mean? But mostly, I'm enjoying her. And I took this video of our morning talk to show people how cute she is. This is our daily routine. I lie her down and put my head next to hers and she tells me about her day. I love it. I love her. And I'm learning to love this new thing called motherhood. Give me a break, it's only been a month! :)

Eisley Diana Kinney

I'm tired and the birth story is still too raw for me to recount, but here's a few pictures of the newest little Kinney. She's so calm, and so cute. We love her so much. I'll update more as I feel better, but for now Mom and Baby are doing well!

Ready or not...

Alright, this is a big week. I'm not due until August 2nd, but at my last few doctor's visits I've had slightly higher blood pressure than normal. Due to this, and the fear that it could turn into pre-eclampsia, I'm being induced on Thursday the 23rd.

There are a few reasons this is a felicitous date for my little girl to come. First of all, it's exactly 2 weeks before the Kentucky family flies out for their visit. That gives me 2 weeks to get her home, and get us used to having a newborn around before we have company. That is a HUGE relief to me. I was so afraid she'd come late and they'd miss her entirely. Second, and this is a bit superstitious, but it's the 23rd. That's totally my lucky number, and it totally follows suit with the last few babies that have been born in the family. My niece Elaina was born on the 13th of August, while her mom's birthday is the 13th of March. My nephew Ryan was born on the 7th of April, and his dad's birthday is the 7th of December. So Beckie predicted my baby would be born on the 23rd of July, as my birthday is the 23rd of March. Oddly enough, my doctor scheduled the induction date for the 23rd without me even asking. (Of course there's still a chance she'll be born on the 24th, depending on when I get in there on Thursday and how fast things progress, but I thought that was a cool little coincidence. )

At any rate, by this time next week I'll be a mom.

Weird.

But we're as ready as I think we can be. We took a labor and delivery class, we took 2 parenting classes, the bags are packed, the nursery's ready, and now all we have to do is wait. We're so excited to welcome our little girl into the world and I'm still praying every night for her to be happy and healthy. Of course for as much as she kicks the crap out of me every day, I'm not too worried about her physical state. But you never know.

Stay tuned for pictures of the little bundle of joy!

Baby Shower

The room we had it in at Noah's. It was so perfect I could vomit. (In a good way).

Okay So I don't have very many pictures of WHO was at my baby shower, but I did get some pictures of what it looked like. And I have to give props to Bri, my former/current boss/friend. :) She planned the thing and I only helped a little. It was based on my decor for E's room (Will post those too later) and it was so elegant! I'm not big into the baby-ish decor.

But enough about what it looked like, you can obviously see that. Now about who was there. I felt SO BLESSED to have so many good friends drive from far away places to be there. My group of college roommates (minus 2) came from Boise, Idaho Falls, and Vegas. My cousins came from Boise. My childhood friend came from Pocatello! I was just so touched that so many people would sacrifice part of their weekend to be there. And it was so fun to see them all! So thank you to all of you who can read this! I loved seeing you and I love you all!!

So here are the pictures I have. Hopefully I'll get more later, I'm waiting for other people to email them to me. You know, because I'm an idiot and didn't take any myself. Oh well. But it was so fun and I feel more ready than ever for this little girl to come! 5 more weeks (feel free to join me in praying for her to come a couple weeks early. I'm so ready to be done)! :)

Me in all my pregnant glory. (Meaning hugeness.)

One of the cookies Bri made. That's right...made. She's freaking amazing. Everyone got one.

You can kind of see some of the people in this one. At least their backs. Sigh.

These were in front of my "super-special princess seat" as Bri dubbed it.

Kind of a dark picture, but this was the gift table. Bri and I both did the chandeliers above the table. Foam core and spray paint can work wonders.

Don't worry, we had a sign-in book. :)

The DELICIOUS and beautiful cake my sister Beckie made. It was a huge hit and I really appreciated it. I loved it!

You can tell I have a sweet tooth with this baby. We had cake, AND trifle, AND...

...a candy buffet. Mmmmm.

And last but not least, my mom's chicken salad. So good!