Davis Family Reunion: Duck Creek

After the baby blessing we packed up the car and drove to Duck Creek for the Davis Family Reunion.  We stayed at the Pinewoods Resort.

 The first day we went hiking and site seeing at Bryce Canyon.  For FHE the whole Davis family met at the pavilion for dancing.

On Tuesday we went hiking to a waterfall near Cedar Breaks.  The last day of the reunion we went to my cousin Rachel's animal farm in Cedar City where Kensie went on a horse ride.  Afterwards, we saw Paul and Lindsay's new house in Cedar City!

It wasn't easy being away from home with a six week old baby but it was so nice to see my family and do something 'normal'.  I love it whenever we get to spend time with family.

Tate's Baby Blessing

Niel blessed Tate in church on Sunday, June 23rd 2013. 

It was so special to have most of my family there.  We had a luncheon before church and ate lots of yummy food.  

I love my sweet Tate.

Family

In June, we had lots of family visit for Tate's baby blessing!  Grandma Schurig was our first visitor who came several days before the blessing.  Tate loved his grandma Schurig and quickly bonded with her.  We kept calling her the baby whisperer because she was able to get him asleep and calmed down during his fussy time, something we were hardly capable of!  While Grandma Schurig was here we took a field trip to the Las Vegas temple and walked around the grounds.    

My parents came Friday before the blessing.  Kensie was so excited to see her grandma and grandpa. 

 The Bowers and Child family arrived on Saturday. We had a pool and pizza party that evening.  I loved having my family at our house!  They hadn't been to our home before since they live so far away in Washington.

 Sunday, my brother Paul and his family came.  It was kinda surreal to have all of my family at my house in Vegas!  It was so much fun!  I wish we didn't live so far away from each other.

Tate: 3 Months

13 lbs. 12 oz.

Tate is the sweetest little baby.  I call him 'Sweet Tate'.  I love his chubby cheeks and could kiss them all day.  He has the cutest and biggest smiles and coos.

He discovered his hands and loves sucking on them.

His dark hair is falling out and strawberry blonde hair is growing in.

He doesn't like having a dirty diaper and will let you know about it.  This is funny to me since Kensie didn't seem to mind much as a baby.

He sticks his little tongue out when he smiles and interacts.

He doesn't like going in the car and cries a lot.  This is so bizarre to me after having Kensie who loved going for car rides.

He is content to lay on the floor, in the bouncer, in the swing, etc.  Even when he is hungry or tired his cries aren't very loud or demanding (complete opposite of Kensie).  He is so patient to wait while I help his big sister with her many demands.

He still gets fussy at night.  Usually around 7 p.m. or so until 8:30 or 9 p.m.  It's his 'witching hour'.  He won't fall asleep (even after nursing) and only wants to be held.  Otherwise he just cries.  I finally get him to calm down and go to sleep between 8 & 9 p.m.

After his feeding between 9:15-10:15 p.m. he will usually conk out for the night.  He still wakes up once a night, usually between 3-5 a.m., eats, and goes back to sleep.  Sometimes he'll still wake up twice.  Then he usually wakes between 7:15 and 8 a.m.

He loves watching his big sister and already seems to adore her.  He gives her big smiles and puts up with a lot from her.  He gets poked, prodded, bear hugged, etc. and is such a good sport about it.  Sometimes he looks at me with a look of, "help! save me from my big sister!"

He got his first cold/cough when he was 11 weeks old and slept horribly day and night.

He fits best in 6-9 month clothes and is chubby as ever.

Father's Day

Father's Day 2013

I don't think there is another dad in the universe who has genes as strong as Niel's.  Somehow he managed to have two children who look just like him.  It's a good thing he is good looking!    

We made him a german chocolate cake for Father's Day.  He also got some crossfit gear for his gym in the garage.

Kensie absolutely adores her dad and has always been a daddy's girl.  She says, "I love my daddy SO much!" and "he is my best friend."  I'm crossing my fingers Tate will stay a momma's boy!

Swimsuit season

I'm wrapping up the last month or so of my busy season.  Things have already slowed down a lot in the last couple of weeks.  It was interesting having a baby in the middle of it all.  I'm not going to lie, there were times in that first month of having Tate when tears were shed because I wished I hadn't tried to do it another year with a newborn.  Luckily, Cara Kopp did all of my home parties after I had Tate.  Sarah Dodson and Brittany Peterson also helped me (and a few babysitters!).  Business was quite a bit busier this year, but not as busy as I anticipated it to be.  I'm not sure how much of that had to do with me having a newborn and not being able to dedicate as much time to the business or if it had more to do with competition.   My online sales increased a lot this year because of some giveaways and online advertising I did.  I've also had a lot more shoppers come to the house this year.  My home parties weren't quite as busy.  

In some ways it was nice to be in busy season while I had a newborn.  It was good to still do something 'normal' and something other than changing diapers, feeding, and taking care of kids.  Since we were home most of the time anyways, it was convenient for customers to come to the house.  It was also nice to have the social interaction when ladies came over to try on suits.  It was easier when Tate was in the sleepy newborn stage and slept most of the time.  I would put on a movie for Kensie while the customers came and Tate would either nap or come in the Bjorn with me.  But other days weren't so easy.  Tate would need to eat or be put down for a nap while Kensie would go around pulling swim bottoms off of the racks.  Probably some customers thought I was a total nut-job mom.

When I'm really busy I get a lot of mom guilt.  I worry that my kids (especialy Tate) will grow too fast and I won't enjoy them enough while they are small.  I also hate turning on the tv or ipad for Kensie.  Yes, there are days when I tell Niel I'm not going to keep going with the business because it is too much work and stresses me out too much.  But for the most part I really enjoy having my swimsuit business.      

One of my favorite things is unpacking the first shipments of swimsuits at the beginning of the season!

I carried a lot more inventory this year and re-vamped the casita.  Niel installed more clothing racks and  I put an office in the casita so that all the business transactions/shipping could be handled there.

I'll be doing closeout sales in the coming weeks to make way for the 2014 collection.  MAGIC convention is coming up in a few weeks and I can't wait to get a peak of the 2014 swim trends! 

Newborn Photoshoot

Brittany Meng took Tate's newborn pictures when he was about two weeks old.  It was so nice to have the pictures taken in our home.  Kensie, who is normally impossible to get pictures of was totally hamming it up for the photographer.  Tate wasn't quite as cooperative and was awake the whole time!  I was hoping to get some sleepy newborn pictures but he had other plans.  I'm still happy with how they turned out.  I especially love this first one.      

I can't believe how tiny he was and how quickly he grew, it makes me a little sad.  I love a tiny, cuddly, little newborn.

Life with Two Kids

(This post was written when Tate was two months old)

Well I survived the first two months.  I figured I better write about it before my sleep-deprived mind forgets everything.

Having two kids hasn't been as bad as I thought it'd be.  But, it's still been a hard adjustment.  To be honest, I was somewhat terrified to have another baby because Kensie was such a hard, colicky baby.  It was hard for me to imagine having a baby AND a toddler.  I was hoping for an easier baby the second time around.

Luckily, Tate has overall been a pretty good baby (knock on wood!).  And thank heavens because my little miss Kensie is still a handful.  She has always been full of energy, curiosity, and requires lots of patience.  She is smarter than a whip and knows how to test my patience.

I'm one who doesn't like being in the house all day.  Since having Tate though, we have been at home almost every day.  Especially since it is so hot outside.  After two horrendous outings with both kids alone I realized that staying home was much easier and would keep me sane!

Exhibit A:  First time taking both kids out alone was to a car seat inspection appointment when Tate was almost three weeks old.  It started out good.  But somehow I forgot to bring Kensie a snack.  And if you know anything about Kensie it's that she turns into a beast when her blood sugar is low.  She was adamant about not wanting the lady to touch her car seat.  Things got ugly really fast when she started adjusting Kensie's car seat.  Kensie started kicking, screaming, and hitting the lady.  I could not get her to calm down for the life of me.  It was the worst tantrum I remember her having.  The staff was trying to help me get her calmed down by bringing out treats and stuffed animals but she was completely out of sorts.  I almost cried.

Exhibit B:  I decided to walk to the park with both kids.  Shortly after we arrived, Tate got hungry so I nursed him at the park. Then Kensie had a huge meltdown when it was time to leave.  It took about 20-30 minutes to walk home and she cried the whole way.  Needless to say, I haven't been back to the park by myself with both kids.

Two Months

He weighed 12 pounds at his two month appointment.  I love his chubby cheeks, arms, and legs!

He started cooing and smiling.  It's adorable.  He gives the biggest smiles to his mommy and sometimes raises one eyebrow when he does it.  The dimple on his right cheek is especially adorable when he smiles.

He is a total momma's boy.

On a good night he will wake up once.  But lately he has been waking up 2-3 times at night.  The longest sleeping stretch he has ever done is about five hours.  Maybe six hours once?

He still gets fussy around 6 or 7 p.m. but it's not as bad as it used to be.  We are putting him to bed earlier around 8 or 8:30 p.m. and it has helped a lot with nighttime fussiness.  I then feed him around 10:00 p.m. before I go to bed.  Some mornings he is wide awake at 6:00 a.m. and other mornings I have to wake him up at 8:00 or 8:30 a.m.

He will get fussy and tired after about an hour of wake time during the day.  I then swaddle and put him in his crib or swing for a nap.  He will take his first, second, and sometimes third nap in the crib and fusses for about 2-10 minutes before falling asleep.  Sometimes he will fall asleep without even fussing.  It's the late afternoon/early evening cat nap that I almost always put him in the swing (while we are eating or I'm cooking dinner).  At night he usually needs to be held or put in the swing before he falls asleep.

He doesn't like tummy time.

Still doesn't like the pacifier.  He will only take it sometimes if I hold it in his mouth.

He LOVES taking baths and likes getting his diaper changed.

I moved him into his own room after his two month appointment.  He had been sleeping in our room next to the bed in his rock n' play sleeper up until then.  I'm trying to get him down to one feeding every night between 3:30-5:30 a.m.

Tate is a sweet, sweet baby.  He has me completely wrapped around his finger.  He is pretty laid back during the day and does an eat/wake/sleep cycle every 2.5-3 hours.  I love that he doesn't have to be held all day long and doesn't require me to rock him to sleep every time.  He will even lay on the play mat and be content!  He seems about ten times easier than Kensie was as a baby (no offense Kensie!).

One Month

Tate's one month stats

Weight:  9 lbs. 3 oz. (25-50th percentile)
Height:  19 3/4" (5th percentile)

Seems pretty laid back and has a sweet disposition
Still only sleeps for 2-3 hour stretches at night.
Gets told all the time he looks like his dad and big sister.

Is a pretty good baby during the day

Gets really fussy every night around 6 or 7 p.m. for several hours
Doesn't like the pacifier
Still has a little bit of jaundice
Has a blocked tear duct in his right eye
He poops and pees on me as soon as I open his diaper.  And then poops again right after I finish.

He is adorable and has me wrapped around his finger.  I'm loving having a little boy.

Big Sister Kensie

Welcoming Tate into our family has been quite the adjustment for Kensie.  Suddenly she wasn't the center of attention and mommy was spending all her time with baby brother.  Worst of all, mommy couldn't pick Kensie up and hold her but she was holding baby brother all the time.  All these changes resulted in frequent meltdowns and acting out to get attention.  She was never mean to Tate, thankfully.  She liked Tate and was always sweet to him but wasn't too sure of all the changes in her life.  Sometimes she asked to hold him and give him attention but usually she didn't show too much interest. 

   Time has passed and Tate is growing on her.  Kensie asks to hold him more often and says things like, "He is so adorable!"  She asks why he is so little and if he has hands (when he wore mittens all the time).  She says proudly, "I'm the big sister!"

Tate loves Kensie and perks up when he hears her voice.

He holds her gaze when Kensie holds him.

One evening Kensie got lady out, pulled her shirt down, and started 'nursing' her.  Complete with sucking sound effects.  Then she did the other side.  I laughed so hard and wish I could have caught it on video.

Kensie is still adjusting.  She tells me, "Put Tate down!"  Or sometimes, "I don't want a baby brother!!!"  But overall she is doing better and enjoys being a big sister most of the time.  She gives him toys, sings him songs, holds him, and talks to him.  She is a sweet little girl.