First Birthday

Planning a birthday party for a 1 year old is challenging. We tried to do everything keeping Kensi in mind since it's supposed to be all about her. She gets overwhelmed with too many people, so the party was kept small to close family. Since she's such a Mama's girl I wasn't sure how she was going to do, but she proved to be a party girl. Loved all the attention (as long as no one got too close). She even attempted to open her gifts. Lucky for her she's got a great older sister and cousin to help her out. We made all her favorite foods - meatball subs, french fries, and a fruit salad. I have never seen her be so quiet while eating and eat so much food. Success!

She was not having the head band.

Much happier with her favorite.

This girl was all about the cake. She asked all day when it was cake time and as soon as dinner was done she ran around cheering for cake.

Such good buddies.

Again not having the hat. Apparently she doesn't like things on her head.

Grammy with the older girls and hats.

Grandma Deb & Nana in their hats.

Even the Grandpas wore hats. Kids can make anyone do anything.

And finally it was cake time. She dug into the frosting right away.

Mmmmmmmmmm

Frosting all over the face and arms. This was right before she started the actual cake smash, which flew cake crumbs all over the kitchen. Conner loved being on cleanup duty.

My loves.

I had to make one special decoration. Thanks to pinterest, I made a poster of pictures from Kensi's first year and arrange them in the shape of a 1!

Daycare

This week has been crazy. Work is extremely busy and they had no problem throwing me right back into the thick of it. Week nights are also really busy trying to soak up as much of my baby as possible, give Sienna the attention she needs, make dinner, and do all the usual things. We are very lucky to have a great daycare provider.  The best part of my workdays come when Bita texts me a photo and gives me an update on Kensi. Such a great feeling to see that she's happy and know how loved she is there. 

Back To Reality

12 weeks goes so fast. Next week I'm back to work! Hard to believe. All the snowy days forced us to stay home and have lots of snuggle and chatting time. Kensi and I were also well traveled around the city as it was a lot easier for me to leave the house and go places. I think it was due to partially a quicker recovery and mostly because I was so used to having a kid with me. Trips to Target were no big deal and didn't cause nightmares like the first time around.

We spent many days hanging out at Nana's house.

Lots of tummy time was had and look at how great she's doing!

My favorite time of day was our morning chats. She was always full of smiles, coos, and stories for me.

I'm not nearly as worried about going back to work this time. I'll definitely miss my baby, but I know the routine. Again, not so scary. Kensi turned a corner last week and decided other people beside Mama are ok. We had a practice afternoon at Bita's yesterday and she did fabulous so I know she'll do great at daycare.

Whose That Baby?

Kensi's discovered her new best friend. She loves that baby in the mirror. She's so nice. She's full of big smiles and always has so much to say. I think they could chat all day.

Newborn Pictures

We did our own newborn photo shoot when Kensi was 2 weeks old. I think they turned out well especially considering I don't have my new lens yet. Most of these have been edited by Photoshop. Here's my favorites.

She's Here!!

Meet Kensi Michelle Jovle. Born Monday January 21, 2013 at 2:08 pm. Big girl weighing 8 pounds 14 ounces and 20.5 inches with very long fingers and toes and short blonde hair. She's beautiful and perfect. 

It's been a whirlwind of a week. We went in Monday morning early for an induction. Sienna was sent to Bita's for the day, so my parents could come be at Abbott when Kensi was born. Labor went awesome. I couldn't have asked for anything better. The staff at Abbott was amazing and really made it a great experience. If you want the detailed labor experience I will gladly tell it to you but not going to post it all here. In summary, pushing out an almost 9 lb kid takes a little more effort than a hardly 7 lb one but even so, it went quick. 

Mom and Ron brought Sienna up to the hospital that night. She was very excited to see us and meet her little sister. I thought she might be scared or weirded out by the hospital, but she wasn't at all. Climbed right up on my bed to meet her sister. Because of all the stuff with the flu going on, they had visitor restrictions. Kids from 2-13 were only able to visit once and for 15 minutes. They didn't strictly enforce it, but Sienna was only able to stay for a short period of time. 

We did have time for a quick cheers with champagne or juice. 

That night Justin and I hardly slept. Kensi was up a lot and when she wasn't, there was still a lot of commotion including the helipad nearby. We were eager to get home. The hospital released us 24 hours from Kensi's birth after she had passed all of her tests. 

The 2nd night at home didn't go much better. Kensi was again up for most of it. Justin and I took shifts, but it was still a very long night. The next morning Mom and Ron brought Sienna back home. Even being exhausted it was good to have us all together. Sienna is very sweet with her sister and loves giving her kisses on her head. 

Luckily for all of us Kensi got some milk in her belly that day and slept awesome that night. She is showing signs of being like her big sister who is also a great sleeper and has been from the beginning. I am crossing my fingers it continues! The rest of the week has been good. Kensi is a happy baby so far and so darn cute. Sienna is a proud big sister, but also starting to be jealous and already wants Mommy every time I am feeding Kensi. I'm sure it'll be an interesting weekend. 

Lastly - who do you think she looks like? I can't tell yet, but I am thinking she's more Jovle than Staubus-Rost. She is definitely different from Sienna as a baby!