A visit from Cousin Alice

Alice and Julianne came and stayed with us for three nights.  It was their last hurrah before the new baby comes along.  Nora and Alice had a great time playing with each other.  When Alena came home from school she read some books to them.  Alice thought that Edith always should have her pacifier, even while Edith was sleeping or nursing!  Grandma and Grandpa came up for a day and brought Aunt Kristina.  She is in a walking cast from bunion surgery and is enjoying 8 weeks of FMLA.  Nora and Alice took a nice bath together.  The girls dressed up like underwear super heros.

Two months

Edith turned 2 months this week!  With her new age she has changed her attitude and has become a lot less grumpy.  As long as someone is paying close attention to her at all times she is pretty happy.  She will smile and coo and still loves to kick.  If you go into another room she will express her displeasure!  Today she had her check up at the doctor.  She is 23 inches (67%, though I wonder if the measurement was off a little), 10 lbs, 8 oz (23%) and her head was 39 cm (67%).  She checked out good with just a little diaper rash.  She got 3 shots and an oral vaccine.  She was angry at the sticks, but quickly recovered.  The doctor said she had excellent muscle tone and was impressed by how she could hold her head up so well.  She said, "she doesn't know she is only 2 months," because she did so well.  I think all of that screaming must have made her stronger. Alena and Nora both joined her at the doctor because it was a snow day, despite the roads being fine.

We also finally got birth announcements out and Grandma Dee put Edith's picture in the Washington Evening Journal.  He picture was so darling she even made it onto the front page!

The big girls

I am operating a shuttle service now.  First I take Nora to St. Matthew's by 8:30 then I drop Alena off at Erskine.  Nora gets picked up at 11:30 and Alena at 3:45.  Edith lives in her car seat.  But she loves her car seat!  She likes riding in the fancy new minivan and it usually puts her to sleep.  Some mornings she will sleep in the car seat the entire morning from drop off and doesn't get out until after we pick Nora up.  Having an attached garage is great!  Nora doesn't bother even getting shoes or a coat on for the afternoon pick up (which saves about 5 minutes of complaining.) She will walk barefoot across the garage floor to the van and get in by herself.  But when we get home, she insists the floor is too cold.  Alena brings her bag into the house and goes back to carry Nora inside.

The weather finally warmed up to 25 degrees.  I took the big girls into the woods at the end of the street.  Alena wanted to climb every fallen tree she could find.  They also have been making forts and sometimes use the trampoline as a zoo with lots of stuffed animals.  I found "Alena's list of things to do": wrestle, hug, meeting, smell KB (kitty blanket), surprise Nora, fort, get warm, and sneaking for snacks at night (which received the most stars. I don't know what snacks she was sneaking.)  Alena loves to lay on the register and get really warm.  She frequently sleeps without a shirt, which is probably why she is cold in the first place.  Sometimes when I go up for the night and go around to check on the girls Alena is missing from her bed.  Locations she has been found: on the register in the family room, the foot of our bed, a tent in Nora's room, behind the glider in Edith's room, and in Edith's crib.  Daddy is in charge of returning her to bed for the night.

Grumpus

Edith was giving the name "Grumpus" because she can be pretty grumpy.  She is 8 weeks now, and has gotten happier, but right before bed she cannot be satisfied.  She has been known to scream for an hour for no apparent reason.  Daddy jokes that her bottom eyelids come up instead of her top ones going down when she is really mad.  She will look at us in the eye and then scream.  This way she can let us know that it is us that is the cause of her rage.  Usually she finally goes to sleep around 9 and is still getting up twice in the night.  When she isn't grumpy she is pretty happy.  She smiles and coos and really likes to lay on the ground and kick her legs.  Nora loves to try to make her happy and so does Alena when she gets home from school.

Big sisters

Edith's big sisters love her.  Her she is eating breakfast with Alena and Nora.  They waved American flags to amuse her.  She is very patriotic already!  Both girls have been a big help keeping Edith happy.  She will lay on the floor and kick, and her sisters will talk to her and give her toys.  She can't quite grab them yet, but it won't be long.  Nora calls her, "my baby." Nora also loves to sing. (Especially when she is in the bathroom.)  The other morning she was singing, "My Baby Girl" to the tune of "Oh Christmas Tree" to a very captive little sis.  Another morning she had Edith follow me around the kitchen by pushing Edith in her bassinet.  Edith really thought that was funny.

 

The big girls do like to sneak away.  If all is quiet, it usually means that they are on the tablet playing a game or trying to watch their favorite show, Zoboomafoo.  Here their shirts are off because they got really hot jumping on the trampoline.

Ruby is a big sister too.  Ruby likes to sit on my lap while Edith is nursing and will snuggle into Edith's back.  Sometimes she is unappreciated!

Nora is always giving Edith Puppy.  I think Puppy is taking a nap here and is wearing a sleep mask.

The girls thought Edith should have some hair accessories.  She is 7 weeks and still has all of her hair.  She was so happy that they were playing with her!  Grandma Diane made the girls matching pajamas for Christmas.

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.