One Week Old.

Time is already going by too fast.

I really am trying not to make every post about this beauty, but it's hard not to! Especially when she's all I do all day. 

Still Same Ol' G, but With a Baby

The past 5 days have been quite an experience for me. I've gone from a blown-up tummy that looked like it  was about to pop, to a deflation process resembling a... well, I don't know what a shrinking tummy looks like but it isn't pleasant. Luckily it has sucked itself back in rather quickly an I have a belly button again!

Wow. I never knew I could be so attached to something so little. I can't believe I've only been at this for 5 days - it feels so natural. I think it kinda weirded Jared and I out a bit at first, but now he's asleep on the couch after burping her and I'm here typing and all seems the norm.

I'm not one to share the intimate details of my birthing experience, but let me say the first 16 hours were rather smooth - the last hour not so much. We checked in to the hospital Wednesday night at 7pm. I was going to receive some drug that was supposed to "ripen" [such a distasteful way of saying soften] my cervix before starting the pitocin. Yes, my due date was Monday and she was only 2 days overdue, but we both kinda wanted her before the weekend so we checked in Wed night. So when I got there, unbenounced to me, I was actually contracting every 2 minutes so they started me on pitocin that night. Contractions weren't unbearable until about 5am, when I asked for the epidural. What an experience! Seriously, I wish I could get an epidural everyday, I would be an ADDICT! I told Jared it felt like everything was floating, even the roof of my mouth! Ah, so all was blissful until 11:30am on Thursday. I started feeling contractions again, so I increased my pitocin. 5 min later I could still feel them, so I upped it again. Still could feel them. Then I felt this pressure and I told Jared I felt the urge to push, but the doc didn't predict I would go into labor until that evening, so I felt I was acting prematurely on this feeling. So we call the nurse in and sure enough I'm full dilated and ready to go. Jared was not planning on being a part of the labor, but he got the lovely job of holding my right leg during the whole process! What a trooper. At 1:45pm on Thursday Evelyn was born. She's beautiful! Not a flaw. I've been addicted to her cheeks since day one. She is such a great baby, although the first night she fooled Jared and I and kept us up with her vocal cord testing. Wow! But now we get along great and we are one happy family!

Weird to think that a week ago she wasn't here and that I was just me. But now I'm me + a baby.

Evelyn Rae

I feel ya bunny..

One of my favorite gifts that we've received during this whole baby expecting phase was a bunny given to us by my boss's client. It is seriously SO CUTE! I love it. But for the past month it has been sitting in the corner of the crib by itself, looking all lonely and stuff. The long floppy ears, the drooping arms, the downward smile and slouching posture - it all screams "I'm bored! This baby better get here soon!" Today, I echo that same feeling, bunny. I hope baby girl gets here soon. Which is why we are checking in to the hotel, I mean hospital, tonight. {Jared keeps calling it a hotel, which I suppose it is in some ways. It is a very nice facility with netflicks and all.} Hopefully we'll be Ma and Pa by tomorrow evening.

In the mean time, I've walked in to our room with this to greet me several times:

Jared thinks it's rather funny to position the bunny in the laid-back form. It actually is funny and I laugh out loud every time. Especially this morning when it was peaking out behind some pillows. This bunny has personality! Jared asked if the bunny was a he or she this afternoon. With a ridiculing face, I told him it was a lady because I would never let my baby girl sleep with a boy and two, it's pink!

Waiting and Meditating

LA is full of little gems. Like the one we checked out yesterday - the meditation gardens. It was a serene stroll around a simple lake with memorials commemorating world religions.

OCD.

I guess I'm officially a stay at home mom with no baby. Friday was my last day of work, and I have found that I am filling my time by obsessively cleaning. This might be more than nesting and qualify me for psychiatric help.

- - - List of Accomplishments - - - 

Cleaned oven

Cleaned microwave

Degreased stove

Washed all cutting knives

Individually washed each spice on the spice rack

Reorganized pantry

Sterilized fridge + freezer

Dusted kitchen chairs

Washed outside windows + screens

Rinsed windowsills

Had Jared take off the heater panels and wash off with the hose

then vacummed inside of the heater vent

Vacummed underneath and behind all furniture

Washed base boards

Swept outside stairs for cobwebs

Shook out rugs

Attempted to de-stain the tupperware of spaghetti sauce

Cleaned out filing cabinet

Shredded documents

Organized bills + insurance

Washed baby clothes, towels

Packed diaper bag + hospital bag

Sterilized computer keyboard

And that was all yesterday. Today I move on to the bathroom. Tomorrow the bedroom. I am a neat freak, but I would have it no other way. I have found it very rewarding to clean the abode whilst NSync is offering up goodly tunes. Ah, the great boy band era - there's nothing like it!

Hi, My name is Kendra, and I'm a nail biter.

A couple of weeks ago, I was looking at my friend Natalie's nails and admiring how beautiful they were in comparison to my unflattering ones. I've been a nail biter my whole life. When I asked her how she kept them so, she said she realized one day that she didn't want to be an old woman who never was able to kick a habit. True dat. I don't want to be caught dead at 50 having spent half a century succumbing to every urge to tear at my disgusting nails. What, I let my nails control me? So I'll have you know that I have been clean from nail biting for 3 weeks now. And it feels good. I even had to take the clippers to them last night because they were getting so long and unshapely. Jared is a fan too, seeing that he has been the recipient of many back scratches with my newly found claws. I thought you all would want to revel in my triumph with me.

Good read-diance!

2010 was a good year for me and books. I read one just about every month. My selection was below. You might be wanting to ask me, "Didn't you read a majority of those books in high school?" My answer: "No." Which is why I thought I should get them out of the way before my kids beat me to it. And let me just say that I am appalled that A Clockwork Orange is allowed to be read in hs and is noted on "the top 100 books to read before you die list." It was completely disturbing and probably the most revolting text I have ever read.

Although The Catcher in the Rye was not the most uplifting book either, I saw the value in the story. The kid's teacher said something of interest that I even took note in my journal:


"Something else an academic education will do for you. If you go along with it any considerable distance, it'll begin to give you an idea what size mind you have. What it'll fit and, maybe, what it won't. After a while, you'll have an idea what kind of thoughts your particular size mind should be wearing. For one thing, it may save you an extraordinary amount of time trying on ideas that don't suit you, aren't becoming to you. You'll begin to know your true measurements and dress your mind accordingly."


Books are good.
What did you read in 2010? Anything worth sharing? Is The Hunger Games series really that good? {I guess I shouldn't ask that seeing that I read the Twilight Saga. I'm sure I can read anything if I endured that!}

Teaching myself a Lesson.

I'm a ridiculously meticulous planner. A HUGE planner. So New Years Resolutions for me are the icing to my cake. I can't get enough! I just keep piling the goal frosting on. This year's resolutions are a bit different for me. I think the only tangible goals I have are to 1) lose the baby weight and 2) watch documentaries with JO about war, history, the planet and stuff. That was a goal we had our first year of marriage and we rocked it, so we decided to bring it back again this year. Oh, and visit all the museums LA has to offer.
 
But this year my main goal is to own the principle of "FAITH." Don't you hate those people who are Debby Downers? Well, there's nothing worse than when the Debby Downer in your life is yourself. I never considered myself a faithless person until recently. I've become aware that I spend a majority of my time over-planning the future and doubting possibilities rather than trusting in the Lord that everything will work out. I guess I'm not a patient person. I've always struggled with that because I equate patience with laziness - just sitting around and I'm a person of action. I have never viewed patience in a positive light until 2 days ago when I was walking trying to start this thing they call labor and I was listening to Elder Uchtdorf's talk about patience. He said:

“Patience is not passive resignation, nor is it failing to act because of our fears. Patience means active waiting and enduring. It means staying with something and doing all that we can—working, hoping, and exercising faith; bearing hardship with fortitude, even when the desires of our hearts are delayed.”

This will be a hard one for me, but I'm teaching myself a lesson. It's always good to be your own teacher. But all the above is not to say that life is terrible - it is quite the contrary! I have never been happier.

Only 16 more days people! 

{Hopefully less, as I'm trying some of these nonsense labor inducing methods.}

I'm too bored to update.

So all you're getting is pictures. I'm too tired to write.

Looks like we had fun, no? And this isn't even Christmas! This was the week before. Jared's parents are serving a mission on Temple Square for Church Security, so we got the "underground tunnels" tour. I will also mention that we partook of Kneaders French Toast, which may have been the highlight of the trip for me.