A Family Photo

We finally got a family picture that is somewhat decent. We have a grand total of four pictures of our family since Kensie was born.

1)The first one was taken right after Kensie was born and I look like a cow. Seriously. No one will ever be allowed to see that picture.

2)The second family picture was taken as we were leaving the hospital and I also look like an oompa loompa. I'm tempted to delete it permanently from iPhoto so that I won't ever be reminded of how I looked in that state.

3)The third family picture is when we took Kensie to see Santa posted here where Niel and I look like high school kids who had a child together.

4) The fourth one is here where Kensie is crying

My brother in law took our picture after church at Christmas time. He took about fifteen different pictures but Niel was doing his schoolboy, cheesy smile in all but two of them. And of course in the ones where Kensie and I looked the best. I really should post some of his cheesy smile pictures in retaliation (I'm pretty sure he does it on purpose) but I'm feeling nice today so I'll let him off the hook this time.

So here we are...The new Schurig family of three.

Christmas Vacation

We spent a week in Washington state with my family over Christmas. I was nervous about traveling with Kensie but she did awesome. She slept almost the whole flight both ways and she slept better on vacation than she ever does at home!

The first few days in Washington we stayed at my parent's house in Quincy. Here are some things we did in Quincy:

My brother Brent and his family came to visit and met Kensie for the first time

We went ice skating

We attended the ward Christmas party and met Santa again!

Kensie met my friends Camille and Mallory

On Christmas Eve we did some last minute shopping and then we went with my parents to my sister Lori's house in Tri-Cities. We had an amazing Christmas Eve dinner and then had a special Christmas Eve program. It is a tradition in our family to read from the bible in Luke and have the grandchildren act out the nativity. Niel, Kensie, and I were asked to be Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus this year. Kensie got hungry half way through the nativity and had to eat, but besides that she did a great job acting.

Christmas day was full of excitement as the kiddos opened their presents.

We figured Kensie wouldn't know the difference one way or another what she got for Christmas so we kept things simple. She got a 'My First Christmas' teddy bear and Snow White DVD from Santa. Mom and dad hooked her up with a bumbo seat.

I loved having Kensie a part of our family this year for Christmas. It was so much fun to have a baby around and introduce her to my family. She got lots of attention from her cousins and loved every minute of it. It was so fun to spend Christmas with my sister Lori's family.

This year was a very special Christmas as a new family of three and one that I will never forget.

Snow

While in Washington for Christmas, we thought it would be fun to put Kensie in her snow suit and take her in the snow for the first time.

She didn't think it was fun.

I'm not sure if it was the cold, the bunting outfit, or because she was getting hungry. But she was not happy. Check out that pouty lip in the second picture.

I actually thought it was pretty funny. Can you tell I'm laughing in most of these pictures? Sorry Kens.

Top Ten of 2010

Isn't it crazy how much can change in only a year? This time last year I didn't even know I was pregnant.

Now we have a four month old baby. I stay at home instead of working. We bought a house. And I started my own business. I'm pretty sure that 2010 was the year of the biggest changes for our family. Now onto the top ten of 2010...

10. Family Reunion in Island Park/Yellowstone

9. One last getaway together to Newport Beach before we became a family of three

8. Niel's trip to Alaska

7. Trip to Washington for Christmas (posts on this to follow)

6. Niel's 30th Birthday Bash Weekend in Vegas (I never blogged about this...maybe someday I will...it was wild)

5. Making new, great friends

4. Starting my own business

3. Finding out we were having a baby and the gender

2. Buying our first house together

And the top event of 2010 was...

1. Meeting Kensie for the first time and becoming a family of three

Now onto 2011!

3 Months

I am loving the three month stage (aside from her not sleeping well). She is very good natured now and usually doesn't cry unless she is tired or hungry. I love her frequent smiles and the funny noises she makes. She squawks, squeals, shouts, and jabbers. One of my favorites is when she yells out and fluctuates her voice like a little Indian. She also makes some funny cat-like noises. It is so fun to watch her cute little personality develop as she gets older.

Some things about Kensie at three months...

She loves sucking on her hands

She smiles and laughs when she sees herself in the mirror

She rolled over at 11 weeks!

She loves playing with her toys

She has a triple chin now:)

She rubs her feet together all the time like her dad

She has mastered the pouty lip

She has tiny feet like her mom; she is still wearing newborn size shoes

She likes interacting and being around lots of people.

Suddenly our little Kensie is growing at an incredible rate! She was wearing newborn clothes until she was two months old and now she is wearing some 3-6 month clothes! She is growing too fast. Yesterday Niel said, "I just want her to stay our little baby. I don't want her to grow up, go to school, and get a boyfriend."

Stay our baby for just a little longer OK Kensie?

And the Winner Is...

At our church Christmas party there was a pajama contest. Niel and I opted out of wearing our pajamas but we willingly entered Kensie into the contest. And guess what?! She won the contest for cutest pajamas!!! The winner was determined by who had the loudest cheer from the audience. When I held Kensie up everyone cheered really loud. She stole the show! That's my girl:)

Chubby

Baths are still one of Kensie's favorite things. She kicks and splashes and has a jolly old time. Once she started getting chubby we had to pay special attention to wash thoroughly under her chins and neck:) It took mom and dad awhile to figure that one out. Poor Kensie, she was the smelly kid until mom and dad caught on.

Don't you just love her chubby cheeks? I can't get enough of them.

Baby Pilates

Kensie has done this ever since she was a tiny newborn when I lay her on the changing table. It cracks me up. She must have some strong abdomen muscles. I'm impressed.

Santa

Over Thanksgiving weekend we took Kensie to see Santa at the Town Square mall because I heard they had a pretty legitimate santa. I'm almost positive it was the real Mr. and Mrs. Clause because the photos were quite spendy. It was $23 for a 5x7 and two smaller photos that were horrible quality. I figured that was the going rate for Santa pictures. Turns out the new and naive parents got robbed. We won't be fooled again. We're going to Bass Pro Shop next year where I hear the Santa photos are free.

Kensie was so intrigued by all of the lights I don't think she even noticed the big, hairy, man holding her. She had the deer in the headlights look the whole time.

In front of Mr. and Mrs. Clause's house.

This is only the beginning of many more Santa trips in the years to come!

Nicknames

Sometimes I wonder if Kensie is completely confused about what her name is because we have come up with quite the plethora of nicknames for her. These nicknames include the following:

- Kensie-Roo (one of my favorites)

-Kenz

-Kensie-cakes

-Angel Face (don't judge)

- Chubbs (Hey, it is cute to be chubby when you are a baby)

-Baby Girl

-Tender nugget (Niel came up with this one. Weird. I don't take part in it.)

-Little Bear

The nickname Little Bear was solidifed even more once we got the bear outfit. I took these pictures with my camera phone so they aren't the best quality but seriously...don't you just want to squeeze this little thing? The bear outfit kills us every time.

Baby It's Cold Outside

It's been cold in Vegas. Seriously. It actually got down to 34 degrees the other day! There were even icicles on the little waterfall of our pool! AND it even snowed! If you could even call it snow. It looked more like dust and it only lasted a few minutes. But still...snow in Vegas?!?! I like the cold weather for a change though. Kensie and I have been taking full advantage of the cold weather and sporting our hats (pictured), boots, coats, and winter attire.

Freddie

The last month or so Kensie has taken an interest in her toys. She stares at the bright colors, bats her arm at them, and more recently has started grabbing ahold of them. Her favorite toy is Freddie the Firefly (pictured below) from Grandma Child. I love the look of fascination in her eyes when she discovers new things.

25

I turned 25 in November. My parents and Niel's mom were in town for my birthday to celebrate because we blessed Kensie the day before my birthday. We spent the day shopping and had dinner at BJ's restaurant with my aunt Marilyn and uncle Carl. Niel gave me the Cannon SLR camera I have been wanting for awhile! Now I can finally get some good pictures of Kensie. I just wish I'd had it when she was born. Here are some of the first pictures I took with my new camera. I'm loving it.