potty training for red chips

we finally got jenna to go on the potty! (thanks to uncle chris's suggestion of bribing her with red chips). We've still got a LONG way to go, but its a start!

GO TIGERS!

We're still in shock over the tigers' football success! They have been so fun to watch this year. Even Jenna wants to "watcha football tigers". She's a big football fan.

One month old and smiling!

Kaela is now one month old and has begun to smile! She seems to be a morning person like her daddy and smiles a lot in the morning. She also like to grin at us after we change her diaper. We caught this smile on the day she turned one month old. Cousin Abi helped us get a smile!

Kaela's Baptism

Last sunday (nov. 18) was Kaela's baptism. There was some definate spiritual warfare going on as we almost didn't make it! We were supposed to have thanksgiving with matt's family on saturday, but both matt and I came down with the stomach flu that jenna had the weekend before and had to cancel the dinner. We were over the worst of it in twelve hours, but found it very difficult to get two kids ready for church. We barely made it, but were able to get our baby girl to church for God's free gift of grace. What a blessing!

I Just Love Baby Gadgets!

I just love baby gadgets, basically anything that makes life easier for moms. I drool over the products in the "one step ahead" catalogs. So here are a few of my favorites that have made my life easier:

Doggy backpack leash--a must for pregnant mommy of toddler, mommy of toddler and infant, and cardinal games. I never thought I would ever want one of these, I always thought it seemed kind of cruel to lead your child around on a leash, then I was pregnant while trying to keep up with 2-year-old.

Sit and stand LX stroller--As soon as I saw this at target, I knew I needed it. It is so cool. There is a normal seat in the front for baby or you can hook your car seat on it. In the back is a jump seat that a toddler can either sit or stand on. Plus, there is a parent tray with TWO cup holders and lots of storage under the seats.

Hotslings!--Saw a friend with one of these and had to get it too. A stylish way to wear your baby around. Very nice to have on trips to the grocery store. When Kaela gets bigger, it can still be used to hold her on my hip, hands-free!

Lily Padz--Sorry, no picture of this product! Every nursing mother absolutely hates nursing pads, but lives with them because the option of letting them leak is, well, not an option. They're itchy, bunchy, and just plain yucky. The solution: Lily padz. They are basically silicone cups with a tacky backing on them that stick to you like a contact sticks to your eye. The pressure keeps your milk from leaking, and you can't even feel them when you wear them. (google "lily padz" to see a pic).

2/3 weeks

Ok, so its been a busy past couple of weeks adjusting to life with 2 kids. It was absolutle wonderful to have mammo's help for a week. Jenna was thoroughly spoiled and so was I. I've decided that if we have another one, maybe we'll try to put some planning into things and have a baby in the summer time, that way mammo can stay longer!

It is definately different with two! I didn't realize how easy I had it with one. You don't realize how much free time you actually had until it is gone! Kaela is a good baby, she does get a little fussy in the evenings which frustrates matt because that is the only time he gets to see her and he thinks she is just fussy when he holds her. Her sleep schedule is still pretty erratic, but she and jenna usually nap at the same time, so that lets me get a nap too.

Halloween

We enjoyed the late time change this year as it was still light out when we went trick-or-treating. It was also nice that daddy hadn't gone back to work yet, so he was able to go with us! Jenna was a tiger and Kaela was a leopard princess.

sisters

One week old!

Kaela is one week old! We celebrated by going to church and eating pizza at brent & melissa's house. All the kids had fun playing outside, and the adults held the baby and watched football.

all the cousins

gymnastics!!

Busy, fun weekend

We had a very busy weekend. First, Grandma and Grandpa Kriete came for lunch and to visit. They got to get in some more baby holding time (well, at least grandma!), and grandpa got to play with Jenna a lot. Saturday night, grandma ruth and all the cousins and aunts & uncles from niki's side of the family came to visit. Mammo fixed a wonderful meal, and the kids all had a great time playing inside and outside. We got a gymnastics demonstration from all the kids (jenna even did somersaults and david, well, I'll just call it tumbling). All the cousins got to hold their new baby cousin, Kaela.

A smile (or at least a pleasant look!)

Doesn't it kind of look like she's already smiling? Probably not, but its a cute picture.

Labor Story

Sunday Morning 4:00 am: After getting up to go to the bathroom, I went back to get in bed and something was trickling down my leg, I realized that my water had broken and amniotic fluid was slowly trickling out of me (much different than the gush I would have expected). So, thankfully, Betsy was able to take over and stay with Jenna while we got things ready and went to the hospital. Meanwhile, I was still leaking. We got to the hospital about 4:45 and check in. At this point, the people checking me in are kind of confused because I am so cheerful and not at all like a woman in labor. I was having mild contractions with no pain at all. So, they got me into a room and wanted to verify that my water had broken. They took a sample of the fluid, and it was negative. Another sample, again negative. At this point I think I'm going crazy or that I've lost all control of my bladder or something because I was still leaking. Finally, the attending came in just as they are doing an ultrasound to check my fluid levels and announced that she looked at the sample and that it was amniotic fluid. Hooray!! So, they take my blood, hook me up to some iv fluids, and start the pitocin, since I'm still not having regular painful contractions and I was only 4 cm dilated. They also informed me that I can have an epidural whenever I wanted it woohoo! But I decide to wait since I wasn't in pain yet. After a couple of hours, I heard the nurses comment about how laboring women were just rolling in the door. So, I decided to go ahead and have the anethesiologist put in the epidural while he was still available. At this point, my mom and dad and matt's mom had made it and were keeping me company. A few minutes after my epidural was probably the scariest part of my labor because the epidural caused my blood pressure drop drastically and I about passed out. After pumping me with fluids and high blood pressure meds, I was back to normal. The rest of the morning was pretty uneventful, they took me off pitocin because I was dilating and contracting, and the baby didn't like how often the contractions were. At about 2:30 I felt extreme pressure (still no pain because of the epidural) and it was time to push. At 2:51, Kaela Grace was born!

She's Here!!!

Kaela Grace Kriete has arrived!

She was born Sunday, October 21st at 2:51 pm

she weighed 8lbs 4ozs, 20 inches long

I'll fill in more details later, here are some pictures!

wednesday morning, october 17, 3cm

I went to the doctor this morning and I am 3 cm dilated. My doctor scheduled an induction for tuesday night, but she thinks I'll probably go before then. Its just nice to know that there will be a baby here at least by next wednesday!

still waiting....

We are still awaiting the arrival of Kriete baby girl #2. When asked if she would like mommy and daddy to bring a baby sister home from the hospital, Jenna replies with a defiant "No"! So it should be interesting to see her reaction. She does enjoy playing with her baby dolls and especially likes to take her baby for a walk in her little stroller. There is supposed to be a big storm coming through wednesday night, so maybe the change in barometric pressure will get things going....we'll have to wait and see!