the mercantile

Over our Christmas Break, we took a mini-road trip to Pawkuska, OK to visit the Pioneer Woman's Mercantile store. We had a great time together as a family, and enjoyed the great shopping and food. There were a lot of people at the store, and so our original plan to eat at the restaurant changed to eating in the upstairs bakery. 

We did have to wait in lines a few times during the day. This girl was a champ, and we let her play some games on our last line to get food at the bakery. Here she is with the phone on her shoes. She is such a funny girl.

On our way back to the car, we saw this sign and had to take a picture. I posted this picture on my instagram with this caption,

kennedy is now a little over a year old, and at my favorite baby age. she is walking everywhere, giving slobbery kisses when requested, babbling new words here and there, and her little personality is really starting to shine through. life is so much fun with her in it!"

Sisters and Best Friends.

A Sip and See for Kennedy Frances

 

A little over a month ago, my sister hosted a Sip and See for Kennedy at her home in Fayetteville. It was a great time to catch up with our Northwest Arkansas friends, and have them meet our sweet girl! We enjoyed donuts, quiche, sausage balls, fruit, and juice. Kennedy was our party girl, and slept through almost the entire thing.

We sure love this little girl of ours, and loved celebrating her arrival with good friends! Special thanks to my sister, Bethany for opening up her home for us to celebrate our KFS.

a daddy's love

We are now back from the beach, and settling into life here at home. We had a great 2.5 weeks in at the beach in Florida.We really enjoyed taking our class with Cru and learning more about our Christian theology, and the God we serve. Working for a company that values our personal spiritual growth is so great!

One of my favorite parts of our vacation was taking a step back to watch how Ben loves our girls. The past few months have been hectic with travelling for work and the holidays, so our time in Daytona was a good time to slow down and enjoy time together as a family. After all, we are still adjusting to being a family of four. Ben took Ruby Kay down to the beach every day that it was warm enough, and would play with her for hours. She absolutely loved spending time with her Daddy. Ben also got a lot of "Kennedy time" since we both took the class and each needed time to study. I am so grateful for Ben and his love for our girls. They are lucky to have such a great Daddy!

kennedy frances, two months

life lately

yesterday marked 3 weeks with our kennedy frances. time is moving quickly with this sweet girl, and yet it feels like she has been ours forever. she is a good sleeper and eater, and we are starting to figure out her temperament and patterns. we are still navigating through her fussy times, but love her more than words can describe. 

we are so grateful that her arrival was right before christmas break, and i especially have enjoyed ben being home to help with the girls more. as we are adjusting to being a family of four, we have seen that ruby kay thrives when we take her on "special outings" and spend time with just her. the transition from having our full attention to sharing it with her little sister has been hard, but we are trying to explain it as best as a 2 year can understand. 

our girls have begun to bond as sisters, and it is so precious to observe them interact. kennedy is still so young, but already notices ruby kay when she is close. kennedy is starting to smile at us, and i know that her silly big sister will be the recipient of many smiles from her soon.

being a mama for the second time is challenging in many ways, but it's also less stressful. i remember being so anxious to nurse away from home, and fearful of not being able to soothe a fussy baby, and found myself always asking my sister and mom for advice. this time around, although there are overwhelming moments, i find myself a lot less worried and anxious. being a mama is a lot of hard work, but is such a joy too. 

kennedy's first bath

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.