Kate= 2 weeks old!

Now I understand what my parents always said about time just flying by when you have a child.  I feel like we were just blessed with our little Kate!  I guess in the grand scheme of things, 2 weeks is pretty young :), but what's next??  1 month, 1 year, 10 years, then college and marriage!  I'm getting ahead of myself...

Kate is just doing great.  She really is a great baby.  She is still eating very very well.  In fact, she is up to 8 pounds, from her her birth weight of 6 15.  She sleeps great, too.  During the night and morning feedings, she has a hard time going back to sleep...but she doesn't fuss- just has very wide eyes trying to experience the world!  We are working on getting back to sleep quicker...more for my sake then hers :).

I never realized how much I would love her little movements.  Some of my favorite things that she does is her stretch face.  She throws her arms back above her head, and lifts her head up with her lips clamped together.  Its very cute.  I love the ways she sneezes, too.  She usually gets one good sneeze in, then yells as she tries another one.  When I try to give her a binkie, she literally attacks it.  It cracks me up every time. 

I can't write a blog entry about Kate's 2 weeks of life without mentioning her amazing Daddy.  I was a little nervous about this week since it would be our first week alone as a family.  My mom was so sweet and helpful and spend Kate's first week and a few days helping us getting adjusted.   Adjusted included putting Kate back to sleep after all the night feedings, cooking dinners, and cleaning the house more then it ever has been :).  But, I worried for no reason.  Jake has been just wonderful.  He lights up when he gets home from work and we are waiting at the garage door for him.  He has taken to getting to work an hour early so he can leave at 5.  Both Kate and Mommy love it :).  With him waking up early, he as graciously volunteered to put Kate back to sleep after her early morning feeding so I can get a little more sleep.   He's just great.

Kate has really enjoyed meeting all of her new friends.  Yesterday, Aunt Cass-Cass watched her while I went to a baby shower at work.  It was hard to leave her for the first time, but it was so nice knowing I got to leave her with my sister.  When I got back, we decided to have a quick photoshoot with the two cousins.  No joke, right before we took the picture, Abby *on her own* grabbed Kate's hand.  Cass and I about melted.  I can't wait to watch those two grow up together!

Life is abundant in the Poulsen house. 

Jake and his girl after a late feeding

Abby and Kate- the cutest cousins ever!

After a binkie attack.

Welcome Kathryn Kay!

On May 5, Jake and I were blessed beyond our imagination with our amazing daughter, Kathryn Kay Poulsen.  This last week and half with her has been the best, albeit busiest, of our lives.  She took awhile to get here, but once she did, our lives were changed for the better!

I started having contractions on Monday morning, May 2, which happened to be my first day off of work.  Jake and I were naive, looking back, and thought we would have our little one by that night!  After a day of waiting, we realized it might be a little longer, and thought she would for sure show up on her (or his at that point) due date, which was Tuesday, May 3.  Well, May 4 rolled around, and after a trip to the hospital where I was sent home, we were starting to get a little antsy!  Wednesday night my contractions continued and were getting more and more intense, and closer together.  Finally, at about 3 am, we headed to the hospital, and were admitted!  It hit then that by that evening, we would be holding Baby Poulsen and know finally if he was a he, or a she.

After laboring for so long, I was pretty exhausted and opted to get an epidural so I could rest before the delivery part of labor and delivery.  It was a great decision for Jake and I, and we were able to rest for the first time in a few days.  By the time 6:30 pm rolled around, Kate was ready to arrive, and I started pushing.  At 8:51, she made her appearance.  Apparently, right at that time in the waiting room, my mom turned to my dad and said "something has happened...the baby is here!"  I will never forget Jake telling me that she was a girl!  Our doctor told us after seeing her head that he thought she was a boy.  When she came out completely and he realized he was wrong, he said "just ignore I said that!"  We all had a good laugh at that.  After an hour of "skin to skin" contact and a quick first feeding, Kate was ready to meet her admirers.  Jake and I were so blessed to have so many people supporting us throughout the whole labor.  Some were able to be there to meet Kate, and sadly, some couldn't.  My parents, Cassie and Chris, and Erin were there to meet Kate when she was ready for visitors.  Jake's family was there in spirit, and we got to skype with them later that night so they could officially meet Ms. Kate. 

We spend Friday and Saturday in the hospital, and were blessed with the best nurses and staff!  We were discharged on Saturday, and came home to a huge stork in the yard, and an immaculate house, thanks to "Peepaw and Gigi."

Kate has just been a joy since moment one.  She is very alert, sleeps great, eats even better, and cries very little.  In fact, we all laughed because she doesn't cry really at all...just screams for a few seconds, and then calms down.  We call it her "0 to 60" reaction. 

Our blessings abound!

New to the blogging world!

I feel like having a baby is a rite of passage into the not only motherhood, but also the world of blogging!  Jake and I wanted to be able to share stories of our life together with beautiful little Kate, along with pictures, so thus, the blog was born.

Not only did we have a hard time picking out a name for our beautiful little girl, the same was true when trying to name the blog...although I admit, it's much less important!  I kept coming back to my favorite Bible verse, John 10:10, when Christ is described as the good shepherd who knows his sheep by name.  At the end of the passage, John describes how Christ came to earth that we, his people, might not only have life, but have life to the fullest.   Guess what the Gospel reading was on Sunday??  Thus, the blog name was born.  I was thinking about how this verse has been my favorite since high school, and how abundantly God has blessed me throughout my entire life.  In fact, when I thought life couldn't get any better, I met an amazing man in 2005 who would become my husband!  Then, after Jake and I got married on June 13, 2009, I felt more blessed then ever.  That changed in September, when we found out we were expecting a little one (insert name: Baby Poulsen, Elvis, Nugget, Peanut, etc).  Then, on May 5, 2011, our cup overflowed, when we were blessed with little Kathryn Kay.  More on that to come. 

To close, I thought I would share some of our failed blog names:
Jake's choice:  "Stuff my wife says"
"Put down the beer and hold your baby"
"Changed for Gooder"