She’s Here!

I guess the title should really read, “She’s been here for almost 4 months now!” :) Shelby Ann Jones, born May 6, 2012, 7 lbs 2 oz, 21 inches long.
Here’s a few pictures on the day of her birth, May 6, 2012. I realized I had hardly taken any pictures of my pregnant self, so we snapped a few right before I left for the hospital. These pictures were just a few hours before Shelby was born!

Here she is!  Most of these pictures were taken the day she was born:



Cute little mad face:

Little shriveled, newborn feet:

With dad:



So nice and clean, complete with a little bow.

First time meeting her brother!

Kisses!

Sleeping like Shelby! :)

Mom and Shelby.


On the way home.

Home in her bed.




Labor went so smooth and fast. It ended up being such a wonderful experience. As I got ready to go to the hospital, Kasey opened up a song book and said he was going to sing me a song to help the baby come. :) I had prepared for no epidural, and I did it - hurray! I felt so amazing afterwards, and it was such a beautiful day. There's nothing more precious than meeting a new member of your family!

Shelby has been the best baby.  She’s so sweet and easy-going, easy to soothe and put to sleep.  She is alert and social, giving the biggest smiles when you talk to her. She has 2 dimples on her now plump, round face. Her hair is growing longer and coming in blond.  After a bath, her hair is fuzzy and wild, sticking up all over the place, but give it a day or two, and it will lay down flat, shined with grease. He eyes are beautiful – blue and round, observant and happy. She’s a beautiful little girl, and we are so happy to have her in our family.

Kasey has been the cutest big brother.  When he first came to see Shelby, he said, “Where’s my little sister?” then he gave her a kiss and wanted to hold her. He gives her kisses all the time, although I can’ t say his kisses always make her happy.  :) Sometimes he is well-meaning, but he is a 2 year old boy and he’s not very soft. :) But he’s learning. He’s also been very helpful, too, bringing me sleepers and diapers, etc. He likes to bring her places, saying, “Can Shelby come, too?” Sometimes I think Kasey gets frustrated that I can’t help him as readily as I used to, but we’re all adjusting and learning together.

It’s definitely been an adjustment for me, too.  Sometimes, ok, all the time, there’s just not enough time to do everything.  I’m finding that self-care is minimal these days, as all moms know. But even though some days and moments are so hard, especially when sleep and showers are scarce, and the house seems like it will never be clean again, there is nothing that I would rather be doing. Kasey told me once, “Mom, do you know what I like best? That you take care of me at home.”  If that doesn’t attest to the worth of a stay-at-home mom, I don’t know what does. Sometimes I think that a career would be easier – more immediate rewards, time to yourself, better hours (at least not the 24-7 shifts that moms have).  But then, my life would have little long-term purpose without my children.  And the rewards at home are so much sweeter, the slobbery kisses and unexpected hugs, the tender moments snuggled up in bed all together, reading a story. It is so hard, but so worth it. These kids teach me so much about love and about what’s important in life. I am so grateful for their precious spirits, and for bringing so much joy to our home (in addition to  the noise, toys, and messes :). )

My mom came to help for a week – I’m so grateful she was there. In addition to stocking our fridge with delicious Costco items, she was such a huge help with the kids and house.  Thanks mom!
My mom did say, however, that our living conditions are “primitive.”   We may lack a dishwasher, disposal, washer/dryer, nice cabinetry, non-slanted doorways and flooring, efficient heating and cooling, a consistently working toilet, sprinkler system, and non-patchy grass, but at least we have running water!

I’m not going to lie, though.  It has been hot here this summer, despite the window cooling units in our bedrooms.  This is how you know:
· Kasey and Kris go around shirtless on frequent occasion.
· Our butter is mostly melted when sitting in our cupboard. (We also left bacon grease out, and, no joke, it never solidified.)
· A trip to the grocery store is considered a good way to cool off.
· I sweat so much during household chores that you could almost consider it a workout.
· We can’t decide whether or not it’s cooler with the doors opened or closed. :)

Well, there’s so many more pictures of Shelby and Kasey, as you can imagine, now that she’s almost 4 months old.  But, we’ll have to save those for the next post, as well as an update on some of our summer fun. For now, I’ll end with a few pictures of Kasey, most taken before Shelby was born:

Check out Kasey’s long hair! If you ask him, he’ll tell you he has “mullet-hair.” 

Kasey helping dad – matching outfits!

For some reason, Kasey has loved playing with his sheet for his mattress.


He even turned it into a boat. :)

Sleeping in his boat.

Fell asleep while reading. :)

The best part, Funny Kasey sayings:

• One day,  Kasey told me I had to go to timeout!  These were his words, “Mom, I’m sorry. I still love you but you have to go to timeout.” To be truthful, this was an encouraging mothering moment.  He knows I still love him, even when I put him in timeout!
• We were showing each other our mad faces at dinner. I asked Kasey, “What do you say when you’re mad?” He replied, “No, Molly! Get out of the trash!”
• “When I get big, I’ll have big boobs and I’ll have milk in me, too.” I had to correct that assumption.  Perhaps this isn’t blog appropriate, but it is funny.
• “Does Grandma have milk in her?” He’s still trying to figure out this whole mother’s milk thing. :)
• “Me and dad are going to Braiden’s party. You stay here with Shelby. It’s too dangerous for you. There are dinosaurs there. There are good dinosaurs but there are bad dinosaurs, too.”
• “I love my Shelby girl!” (He must have heard me saying this.)
• “My nose is slobbery!” (Runny nose. )
• To Kris, in preparation for a fight: “You hit me with my pants and I’ll fork you with my spoon!”
• “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, How I wonder what I am.”
• “There’s a little chocolate in my unders. But that’s okay dad.” Are you sure that was chocolate, son?
• “Mom, your belly is smaller now, huh?” He keeps saying this over and over – I think he keeps noticing the difference!  He knows that Shelby is out of my belly now. In fact, the other day, he said, “Where’s Shelby? Is she back in your belly?”
• “Mom, the semi-truck is going to go up and down the hill!” The funny thing is, the hill he was referring to was the large slant in his room.  Hence the term “Old Slanty” to describe our house. :)

Until next time!