Happy birthday to me!

It was another cold birthday with wind chills -20.  We decided to stay around the house and celebrate.  The neighbors invited us over for lunch.  Rowan received foam blocks for Christmas.  The kids made a foam pit with two old couches as walls and a mattress on the floor.  There were 4 4 year olds and Alena jumping in the pit.  It is officially the best basement in town, and makes our trampoline look boring in comparison.

Daddy made a chocolate cake with chocolate ganache.  It was very delicious!  Aunt Kristina came to eat supper with us and celebrate.  Alena was unfortunately not feeling well and didn't even want cake.  She was laying in front of the fireplace and I went to sit with her.  All of a sudden, she vomited on the floor.  Kristina used her nursing training to quickly grab a bowl.  Alena felt much better after that!  Kristina's boyfriend Aaron came by to pick her up and the story didn't deter him from enjoying a piece of cake.  The night ended pretty well with Edith sleeping her longest stretch yet, 10 - 4:30.

Daddy had flowers and a chocolate cupcake delivered from Hy-Vee on Friday.  We were just returning from the library when we got the surprise.  I shared with Nora.

Edith eats out

Edith went out to eat for the first time on Friday night, a day shy of her 6 week birthday.  Alena and Nora had a sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa Jensen's house, so Edith, Daddy, and I went to The Lost Cuban.  She slept in her car seat under the table for the entire meal.  It was a pleasant night out.  I think she slept so well because she was wearing a cozy sweat suit from Aunt Julianne! She was in a good mood all day and was smiling at me her entire bath.

Sisters and Cats

Edith the attention seeker......if there is a bottle or fur nearby, she'll be there!

1 month

Baby mug shot

Aerobic exercises.

Showing off her figure.

The classic, "Sleeping with Dad" picture

Sisters

Grandma Dee, Angela, Julianne, Kristina and I went to the Tina Fey movie Sisters.  Angela and I were laughing hysterically at one point that no one else seemed to think was funny.  Then we went out for Indian food.  It was my first time away from Edith.  Daddy did well and she took a bottle without complaint.

Christmas

Christmas morning Alena and Nora woke up at 5:30 am.  Ben was already downstairs with Edith, and he stalled them long enough that I got to sleep until 7!  They were excited to see their big presents:  tickets to The Wild Kratts Live in May, and a new trampoline in the basement!  Edith got a new under the sea light show to soothe her to sleep (it has since been claimed by Nora.  As is the pecking order in the house!)

We went to the Jensens' for lunch.  We had prime rib and Edith was kind enough to sleep during the meal.  The girls had a fun time opening gifts and playing with their cousins.  Melissa and Andrew revealed that their baby is a boy!

The following day we went to the Ossmans'.  Aunt Kristina had to work, so we had a meal in the evening.  It was a tapas meal with cheese, bread, salami and spreads.  It was capped off by Kristina's yule log, her new holiday tradition (we will see next year if the tradition continues!)  Alena stayed the night with Lily and Finn and came back the next day.  Aunt Angela spent a lot of time holding Edith.  She did a great job of calming her down.  We were trying to get her to move in with us!

Edith's first days

Edith did not want to eat her first day of life.  I tried and tried but she refused.  We finally sent her to the nursery to drink some formula, and when the nurse brought her back around 6 am the next morning, she was hungry.  From that point on she wanted to eat every two hours.  The second night in the hospital we would send her to the nursery and every two hours on the dot we would hear a screeching sound coming down the hall as a nurse wheeled her bassinet in for a feeding.  We gave her the name "Pterodactyl."  All of that eating served her well.  On Tuesday, our first full day home, a nurse came for a home visit.  Edith was already close to her birth weight.  The nurse said she was "amazing!"

What were Alena and Nora up to while we were in the hospital?  After enjoying Saturday morning with the Jensens, they came to visit us and to meet their new sister.  They were sporting new matching Star Wars shirts.  (Star Wars fever had swept the country with the upcoming December opening of Episode 7.  The girls watched the original movies and enjoyed them.  Daddy was impatiently waiting for the movie to come to the theatre.)  Saturday night, Aunt Angela and Uncle Tyler took the girls back to our house where they ate their favorite pizza, Little Caesars cheese pizza, and played with their cousins, Lily, Finn, and Nina.   The next morning all of the kids decorated Edith's room with home made Star Wars drawings and lots of streamers.  Grandma Dee and Grandpa Ed stayed with them the next night and the Pennimans headed back to Minnesota.  It was nice to have all of the aunts, uncles, and cousins in town for the week!

Monday afternoon we brought Edith home.  We were greeted by Big Bear who was seated in our recliner.  Grandma and Grandpa Jensen saw him in the checkout lane of Menard's on Black Friday and knew we needed a five foot tall bear.

Welcome Edith Irene!

The fifth member of our family joined us on November 28, 2015.  Edith Irene was 6 lbs, 15 ounces and 19 inches long.  My due date was the 27th and Thanksgiving the 26th.  I joked that I wanted for the baby to wait until after I had a delicious meal.  What a good girl!  We hosted the Thanksgiving feast with the Ossman family so we didn't have a long drive just in case I went into labor.  Grandma and Grandpa Jensen also came.  On Friday the 27th, I was ready to go into labor but no luck.  We called the doctor to schedule an induction for Monday morning.  Edith wanted to come on her own time, though.  I started having contractions at 1 am Saturday morning.  After a little bit, I went downstairs and started timing them.  When I realized they were only 3.5 minutes apart, I woke Daddy up.  He called Grandma and Grandpa Jensen and we headed to the hospital.  I was worried that the hospital would send me home with false labor, but Daddy said he knew that wouldn't happen.  My water broke soon after I was on the monitors.  Daddy called Grandma Dee and told her it wouldn't be long.  Grandma Dee and Aunt Angela arrived while I was pushing, only 20 minutes before delivery at 4:57 am!  I looked down as soon as she was born and said "It's a girl!"  A girl with strong lungs, dark brown hair, and a face that reminded most of us of Alena as a baby.

Getting ready for the baby

We did a photoshoot to celebrate the upcoming arrival of our new baby.  Alena didn't want to participate, so Jones took her place.  Nora is no longer going to be the baby, but we know she will be a great big sister!  I had been having a lot of contractions and also trouble sleeping at night.  One night I woke up and was worried because we hadn't come up with names yet!  I was frantically searching for names at 3 in the morning.  The first trimester I was feeling sick a lot of nights and would eat buttered toast.  The second trimester I was feeling better, and a nice pregnancy routine was after the girls were in bed, we would relax on the couch, watch tv, and I would have Daddy make me a microwave chocolate cake.  He could make one from start to finish during a commercial break!  It helped that he premixed the dry ingredients.

Microwave chocolate cake recipe:

2 T flour

1 T cocoa

1/8 t baking powder

1 T sugar

dash salt

1 T oil

2 1/2 T milk
1 T mini chocolate chips

Stir and microwave for 45 seconds.

An afternoon at Brucemore

Three beautiful girls on a beautiful fall day at Brucemore.  Only a few weeks from the arrival of the next little Jensen family member.

A Palisades Park afternoon

We spent several hours playing and lunching on the banks of the Cedar River at Palisades-Keppler State Park.  So many little things to find, drag, climb and explore. 


Dragging a big stick.


Building castles and moats by the water.


Beach-Princesses?


The Girls and the Nugget.

Halloween!

Monster Dog and Owl.

Alena turns 7!

Alena turns the big oh-7!  As you can see, she is super excited (see the gaping mouth in multiple photos) for her wacky cake.

Wild Kratts Birthday Party with friends (Aleena, Harper, Birthday Girl, Maya, Nora).  Grandma Diane made the vests and Mom and Dad spent hours creating 6 different "power discs", including raccoon, cheetah, and honey bees.  The kids had a scavenger hunt across the yard to find them all.

Camp Wapsie

A highlight of Alena's fall and spring are the Adventure Guides weekends at Camp Wapsie.  This was her third camp and was again a delightful time for Alena and Dad to spend some quality time together.  This was an extra special one since it fell on her actual birthday!  She chose to bring a box of powdered sugar donuts to share for breakfast on Sunday morning.

Highland HS Alumni Band

We had the honor of watching Mommy play her flute at the halftime of a Highland Huskies football game as part of the Alumni Band.  The Huskies lost, but we were all winners at halftime!

Painting

Alena moved to a different bedroom so the new baby can have the room next to Mom and Dad.  She picked out a great color and is an exceptional painting helper, at least with the bottom half of the walls!

Back to posting.....

It has officially been a year since I have written anything, so I will try to get back into it so poor Nugget will not complain about having nothing about him or her!  Nora does not want me to play with her today, so I could either continue to clean the house or do this.  She told me she was going up to play Barbies and I was to stay downstairs.  She called for me after that, but only to ask me to bring tape.  She is hiding something behind her bed.  She is also too busy playing to eat lunch.  It is already 1:20.  I am going to post date some entries, and then I will keep current, I am sure!

Highlandville trip

We went on a trip to a big cabin in Highlandville, IA just north of Decorah.  The whole Ossman crew was there!  We visited the fish hatchery and fed the trout, did some trout fishing, waded in the frigid streams, took a 1/2 day trip to Seed Savers, and meandered back home via a small cave site and a large dairy.

Posing with Mom at the hatchery trail.

Feeding some excited fish.

All of us on the cabin balcony.  Just under the balcony is the fire pit where Daddy and Julianne made some amazing Tonka Toaster creations - a favorite was the cherry, dark chocolate, marshmallow combo.

Trout fishing.  

Cold feet!

Hats at Seed Savers.

I bet Nora has some cold toes!

Mommy showing off her baby-bump.

Alena and Grandpa Ed at "Ice Cave" in Decorah.  A hot day, no ice.

A cute milk-maid.

Animals love Alena.