my pregnancy with kennedy

20 weeks

24 weeks

28 weeks

36 weeks

40 weeks

while i was pregnant with kennedy, ruby kay and i took pictures ever so often together with her on my tummy. it's so fun to see not only my growth but also ruby kay's growth from being just shy of 2 years to almost 2.5 years old. 

looking back, I was blessed with a great pregnancy with no health concerns, just aches and pains here and there. i much prefer kennedy on the outside of me than on the inside, though. :)

life at home

now that we are home, we are starting to settle into life as a family of four. I wanted to write about kennedy's first week and a half at home so that I can remember these beginning days- the good and the not so pretty aspects of life. after arriving home after our 2-day hospital stay, it has been so good to be home. 

my parents were able to come home with us and helped make the transition home smoother until they left on Thursday. when they did leave, it was SO hard to say goodbye to them. the combination of them leaving to go back home to Thailand, and not knowing when we would next see them was so hard. my "baby blues" kicked in after saying goodbye, and I was an emotional mess for a few days after. the saddest moment was hearing ruby kay say, "nani and papa?" when she heard the door open, and me having to explain that they had left. goodbyes are no fun at all. 

luckily, ben's mom, sue was able to come stay with us from Saturday until today, Wednesday. ben had meetings this week, and sue was such a great help to me. she was able to take ruby kay to the park and "fa-la-lay"(CFA) which are her favorites. i don't think i could have survived without her! 

after having a routine and rhythym as a family of three, we are having to relearn how to thrive as a family of four. our sweet kennedy has been a heavy sleeper in the mornings and afternoons, but at night she can be fussy. once she does fall asleep, she has slept up to 5-6 hour stretches, which is so great. ruby kay has done so well with kennedy's arrival, and loves to give her kisses, hugs, and her pacifier whenever she cries. the hardest time with ruby kay is watching her while i nurse kennedy, and when ruby kay craves my attention. 

in this season of feeling overwhelmed, emotional, and exhausted I keep having to remind myself that this will last for a short time. being a mama for the second time, I can see how fast time passes, and how important it is to be present. each day I journal asking God for grace when I fail, and for patience when things are out of my control. I truly have so much to be thankful for.

 one week old kennedy frances

big sissy ruby kay with her "baby kennedy" the first morning home together. such a sweet bond already forming between these two.

kennedy frances

our girl is here!

Kennedy Frances Seiler, arrived at 5:05pm on November 28th, 2015. She weighed 7lbs 10oz, and was 20 inches long. I was able to have a VBAC after going into labor on my own, Thanksgiving night. She is absolutely precious, and we are so excited to be a family of four.

baby girl's due date!

family of three, soon to be four!

today we celebrated my due date, November 15th, 2015. we drove over to Tulsa for the day, to meet my sisters since my parents are in town for this girl's arrival. i had asked my mom to take a few pictures of us, since I haven't taken that many since being pregnant. 

reaching my due date this time around was expected, and wasn't as climatic as my pregnancy with ruby kay. although i wouldn't have minded going into labor early, i knew my chances were slim because of family history, and since i was induced after going a week late with ruby kay. i think my babies like to cook longer than most! :)

this pregnancy hasn't been easy, but i am so thankful to have carried this sweet girl for the last forty weeks. it is still surreal that very soon we will have another girl in our arms, and that we will be a family of four. i can hardly wait to see ben become a father of two girls, and ruby kay become a big sister. God is so gracious to us, and we don't take for granted how sweet the gift of children. 

ruby kay, big sister to be.

 

This morning, Ruby Kay and I ventured out to our favorite park here in Stillwater. As I am nearing the end of this pregnancy, I am trying to soak up time with Ruby Kay before she is promoted to Big Sister. Walking around the park, admiring "baby acorns", playing in the crisp fall leaves, and exploring the playground was just the recipe for quality time with my girl.

We are often asked how Ruby Kay feels about the new baby coming. All signs point to her being a great big sister, since she loves playing with her baby doll and is intrigued by other babies. Ben and I think that the hardest transition will involve her sharing me with little sister. Ruby Kay as an only child, has my full attention throughout the day, but that soon will change. The biggest way we have been preparing her for this new season has been encouraging her to be a good helper.

Ben and I sure love being her Daddy and Mama, and often talk about how fun it is to be her parents, and how lucky we are. We can't wait for this new season to begin as a family of four!

our halloween bunny

We had such a great time celebrating Halloween with Ruby Kay this year. She dressed up as a bunny, since she loves to hop. Last year, she was a little over a year old and didn't really understand Trick or Treating. This year, she loved it and kept saying "no, home!"  and "more tandy" while we were walking around our neighborhood. Another highlight this year was having Aunt Lori here visiting us. We are down to just two weeks until my Due Date for our second girl, and so memories made with our only-child-for-now are priceless!

a quilt for our baby girl

Late last night, I finished making a quilt for our second baby girl. It was fun picking out girl fabrics this time around, and I decided to use triangles as a pattern for this one. My goal was to finish this before my third trimester began, and I luckily accomplished that goal. The last quilt I made was for Ruby Kay, and I finished it when I was a lot farther along with her.

This morning I couldn't wait to throw it in the wash, to get a glimpse of the wrinkly and worn look that good quilts have. Pretty soon, our sweet girl will get all kinds of use out of this labor of love, and I can't wait. I knew without a doubt that I wanted to again make a quilt for this baby, since RK has used her so much. Here's to the last three months of carrying this sweet baby before she joins us this November.

garden of the gods and fussy toddlers

This past July, we drove to Colorado for our biennial Staff Conference for Cru. Ben wanted us to drive out a day early to enjoy a few sights before our busy conference began. We had planned to spend our time in Colorado Springs, but our plans ended up taking a slight detour for several reasons.

After spending 9+ hours in the car, we stopped at The Garden of Gods. The views were breathtaking, but Ruby Kay wasn't in the best of moods. All too often, I am convicted about my expectations for her. The poor girl was exhausted and weary from our long day in the car, and didn't enjoy our visit. At first, Ben and I were frustrated with her, and then changed our plans which helped our day get a little better.

Stretching her little legs and graciously pushing the stroller for us.

Despite our day not going as planned, it was still a treat to get to see the unique red rock formations, and briefly learn about the history behind Colorado Springs.

ruby kay's 2nd birthday!

Our sweet Ruby Kay is two! After only being in our home for a week, we greeted her with a few presents in the morning, and then drove to the OKC Zoo for the day.

 Daddy took RK on the carousel ride, and she beamed the entire time.

 

Aunt Lori was able to enjoy the Zoo with us, before she flew out to Colorado the next day. Aunt "Lo" can make RK giggle so loud, just by making silly faces at her. She is lucky to have such a great Auntie!

We had such a fun day celebrating our sweet two year old. She is such a joyful addition to our lives, and we are so grateful God chose us to be her parents!

watermelon bash at okstate

It is so good to finally be in Stillwater, Oklahoma! A few nights ago, our Cru staff team hosted a "Watermelon Bash", where we invited Freshman to get involved in Bible Studies. While there, we enjoyed cold watermelon and games on the lawn. Ruby Kay made an appearance, and ate her weight in Watermelon slices. I counted at least 4 pieces that she claimed and completely ate.

We are loving our time on campus, and can't wait for the year to unfold. Our fall semester begins with lots of events, and carries into our Fall Retreat and Winter Conference. We are so excited to reach this Freshman class for Christ, and encourage them to get plugged into good community within our ministry. I can still remember being so nervous meeting people my Freshman year, and know the importance of finding good friends to live life alongside of. Be praying with us for open hearts and good connections!

baby seiler #2 is a...

During the last week in July, my entire family spent a week together in Hot Springs, AR. Since we decided to find out the gender our second baby, we decided to keep the news a secret for a few weeks after we found out, to do a big reveal with my family. The reveal included bottles of silly string.

I made a video of the kids guesses, and the big reveal. here is a link to the video on vimeo: https://vimeo.com/134782073

Each person wrote their name in the color chalk that they thought the gender would be. It seemed evenly split between the boy and girl guesses.

Our decision to do silly string for the reveal was partially motivated by this little boy and his siblings. From the playback on the video, it looks like they had a blast with it!

We are so excited to welcome another sweet girl into our family, and can't wait to see Ruby Kay be a big sister. This pregnancy has been great so far, and I am looking forward to our future with two girls. Especially since I love my three sisters, I am so excited for RK to experience the sisterhood bond. November can't come soon enough!