bugaboo

dear monkey,
i was going to tell the story of your birth this afternoon, but once again beautiful weather beckoned me outside. dad landscaped for 2 hours while i listened to casting crowns on pandora and finished "the first month" chapter in what to expect the first year. oh glorious day.

your room is slowing coming together, thank you hobby lobby. i bought letters to spell p-a-r-k-e-r and some pretty blue acrylic paint to jazz them up. interior decorating is not exactly my biggest strength, but i've been watching home decorating shows to get some tips ("less is more" i.e. get rid of the clutter).

we got a thank you letter yesterday from a girl who went on a mexico mission trip. she emphasized how the trip was "seriously life changing," and i couldn't help but chuckle at how cliche her story was. maybe someday we will get a letter saying "thanks for your gift, but i had an awful time on the trip and got the swine flu" (okay that's not funny, but i would still like someone to confess a negative experience).

i have no room to talk, though, because my thank you notes for your baby gifts are generic as can be. "dear ___, thank you for your generous gift. parker loves it and wears it every day, blah blah..." maybe i should change it up. "dear ____, thank you for your generous gift. i used the giftcard to buy myself a new bikini from target!"

okay i'm going to do it. not sure who the unsuspecting gift giver will be, and i might have to include a "haha j/k," but i will write that thank you. blah, i've written more thank yous this year than my whole life combined. can't complain because of others' generosity, but if someone would like to write some for me, that would be wonderful.

sunday is our one year anniversary!! babysitter here we come.

love ya lots,
momma

i dropped out of high school and now i have to dance like a monkey...aloha!

parks,

hello! you are such a great little sleeper. thanks for giving me free time from 11am-2pm every day to get things done around the house. we had a lovely weekend together. friday you turned 3 weeks! our friens brought over dinner from the bentonville butcher--delicious! love their brisket!! you went through a mini growth spurt, demanding more food than ever before. we were forced to give you formula because you were starving and mom had nothing left to offer :(. luckily you were satisfied after 2 ounces and mom's breastfeeding efforts were not sabotaged as you went back to exclusively nursing on saturday. phew!

dad attended the emt academy saturday and spent time at a few fires and in the e.r. you should be proud of him--he brought a woman back to life by doing cpr chest compressions, cracked ribs and all!

we also went to two bbqs (see picture above) and mom pumped a lot of milk. now we have "emergency milk" in the freezer in preparation for your next growth spurt and always take a bottle with us whenever we go to friends' homes just in case you get hungry. slowly but surely we are figuring this parenting thing out.

mom went to target on sunday, got sucked into the swimsuit section and had the genius idea to try some on (hey she's lost 25 pounds already). note to mom: if your chest did not fit in bikinis before you had a baby, it sure as heck is not going to fit now that you are breastfeeding. why you keeping trying on the same kind of swimsuits thinking that this time they will fit is crazy. instead she came home with ingredients to make a chocolate caramel pecan cheesecake (thank you jenna for the recipe!) further delaying any future swimsuit shopping.

we continue to go on walks every day and dad is benching more and more at the gym. life is good. until tomorrow, muah! muah! muah!

love,
momma

p.s. props to jasmine for noticing how long your fingers are. although you can't tell in most of the pictures, the most common comment we get about you IRL is how long your fingers (and toes) are. dad is really excited that you will be able to palm a basketball. watch out lebron! love!

another beautiful day

parks,
apparently the weather has an inverse affect on the quality of my blog posts. i've got nothing tonight except a few pictures of your backside. it's hard to find cute boy clothes, but luckily carter's makes some adorable outfits (thanks sis for the gifts!). we broke down and gave you the pacifier this week (rather have you suck it than your fingers and thumb). parker, you are the sweetest little baby ever. dad and i love you so, so much! muah!

love,
momma

and it's a great day to be alive...

Parks,
Today dad, you and I accidently walked over 4 miles at the Bentonville Bark Park. We (I) thought the trail looped, but no. Oh well, it was nice to get some sun.
Then we had dinner with some old JBU friends. Good times for sure!

You had your very first girlfriend, Miss Melindi Olander.
And then you hit her in the face. Tomorrow's life lesson: how to treat a lady.
The end. Mom's tired. Hopefully more tomorrow.

Love,
Momma

on meeting your husband on xanga & the office

i've said it before, but james and i have no clue when or where we met. we knew of each other for 3 years before we started dating, but never really talked...EXCEPT...through random xanga comments. technically we didn't meet on xanga, but did it facilitate interaction? sure. i think aim helped a litte, too. we are nerds.

today i decided to go back and read parts of my old site (oh xanga how i love you--we had some good times in college). this made me laugh, a lot. little did either of us have any idea that we would marry each other 3 years later.

July 7, 2005 (when I was living in Kansas for the summer and James was in Ecuador):

Top 5 Places I Do Not Want To Meet My Future Husband:
5. airport. some guy from california definitely asked for my number during my terrible 6 hour stint in the denver airport. who does that?
4. demolation derby. trust me, it's just a bad idea.
3. Elimidate (or the afterparty--Lisa! ).
2. myspace.com got a message titled "silvylicious" last week. are you kidding me?!?
1. bar. in the words of a dear friend, "any guy who buys you a long island ice tea is trouble."
(honorable mention: chapel. boys should go to chapel to worship God, not meet girls.)

"HAHA, that post was halarious. I guess I gotta re-think why I go to chapel, nah just playin. My summer is goin pretty well, nice and chilled out right now. Sounds and looks like you are having a blast, but still entirely too much time on your hands to make your Xanga look this nice, I like it. I am pretty bummed out about not being able to play flag football next year. I am stoked that I don't have to ref it though. But I will miss seeing you run over all those little girls that have no clue what they are doing...hahaha, good times. Take it easy"
Posted 7/12/2005 10:43 AM by Jkurly10 - delete - block user - fix language - reply

can't you see the love brewing in james' comment? riiight.

in other news, we got about 5 emails today to say that our wedding pictures were used in a video clip for the office. i don't really watch the show, but it's still kinda cool. check it out (our pictures start about 30 seconds into the clip):

http://www.hulu.com/watch/68403/the-office-here-comes-treble-limited-time-only

love!!

first week essentials

I give you my essential items for surviving thriving in the first week at home with a new baby. Notice that all of these products revolve around 3 baby activities: eating, diapering, and sleeping. There are of course other infant essentials (carseat, bed/bassinet, etc.), but these are the products I used the most:

1. Pampers Swaddlers. The best part about these diapers is that they have a little yellow line that turns to green when your little one pees, so it's easy to know when to change his diaper. I never thought I would care what kind of diapers my baby wears, but I am definitely biased towards these now.

2. Hooter Hider. If you are going to have male family members/in-laws at your house after the little one is born and desire to feed your baby in a common room, this makes life so much easier. I am not super modest so I don't mind feeding with my black and white Jelly Bean Hooter Hider ($15 at Target) in front of others, especially since new moms are feeding ALL THE TIME and it is not fun to sit in the baby's room for hours alone.

3. Nursing pads. Cloth pads are my weapon of choice, but I put a picture of the Lansinoh disposable pads because they are not bad. I didn't realize how quickly after Parker's birth my milk would come in, but luckily my mom had a stash of cloth nursing pads waiting for me at home.

4. A quality nursing bra. The one pictured above is from Victoria Secret and it is wonderful (yay for support without underwires).

5. Medela Nipple Shield ($6.99 at Target). I'd never heard of a nipple shield until the lactation consultant in the hospital gave me one, but I love it now. Parker (like most newborns) did not latch on super well at first, so this helped him open his mouth wide enough for a good latch and mitigated the pain of breastfeeding. I haven't done a lot of research on the pros and cons of nipple shields, but I still use it every day even though Parker can latch now without it.

6. Swaddle Me Blanket ($8.50 at Wal-Mart). Parker loved being swaddled so much the first week (and still enjoys it), and spent many hours in this blanket the first week. I have a Miracle Blanket, but it still makes me cringe a little to use it because it is too similar to a straight jacket, so instead the Swaddle Me works well.

7. Lansinoh Nipple Cream. My breasts did not crack or hurt nearly as much as I thought they would (thank you nipple shield), but this cream is still lovely.

8. Vaseline (and 4x4 gauze pads). Gotta keep the little boy's circumcisions clean!

9. Desitin. Parks got a little red from constant diaper changes, and this cream smoothed everything out.

10. An AMAZING helper (aka James). I don't know what I would do without his and other friends and family's help. Thank you!!!

Until next time, love you all!!

yum yum

dear parker,
last night mom ate some of these
and some of this
and used this pretty gift from a friend
but not before dad ended up looking like this and we couldn't love our life more. muah!!!

love,
momma

i really did want a boy

dear parker,

today marks your first shopping adventure. you and i traveled 5 minutes down the road to bed, bath, and beyond to buy a bridal shower gift. daddy was working in the emergency room so i couldn't just leave you sleeping in your swing at home, but i thought a quick trip to pinnacle would be fine. what do you know--right after i bragged about what an angel you've been in public, you let me know you're still human (and don't like shopping) and cried a little in the store.

it turns out you were just hungry. i even fed you right before we left, but apparently you are an eating machine. luckily after you sucked on my finger for 10 seconds you feel asleep in the store and we were able to drive home without making a scene. phew.

i am a little nervous about taking you to the bridal shower tonight. if you start crying again, i'll know that you are boycotting all things girly (hey at least i am not putting you in the now useless rhinestone daisy headband i bought when i thought you were a sophia). but since i am in an emasculating mood, here is a picture of you taking a bath (cry in public = an embarrassing picture posted of you on my blog :)).

i had other things to write about, but you and i zonked out for 2 hours after our mini adventure and i have to get the house looking decent before our friends bring over dinner. love you tons.

love,

silvs

one week down

parks,

congrats! you made it through your first week of life with flying colors (aka lots of sleeping). you are the most precious baby and we could not ask for more of an angel. i'm glad we didn't name you blaze because your personality (what little we know of it) is nothing like a "blaze," but more of a well-mannered funny guy. you fart all the time! and you make the cutest little face every time you do. you are feeding quite well, so much so that mommy can read "what to expect the first year" during each sitting. you sleep 18-20 hours a day, which gives daddy and i plenty of time to rest, relax and enjoy life (we've been sleeping in until 10:30am and i love it!) we are so blessed with family and friends helping out with meals and cleaning.

this might just be one of my favorite months of my life. daddy has been changing 95% of your diapers, which frees me up to focus on breastfeeding. you are such a natural part of our new life. in your first week in this world, you went to daddy's basketball game, the rogers public library, three doctor's offices for consultations (long story), the bentonville pediatrics clinic (dr. foster said you look perfect!), johnny carino's, boi de ouro, sonic (twice), church and lots of walks! and you slept through it all!!!

oh parks, we love you to death. can't wait to experience more life with you.

love,
momma

blog entries on the upcoming agenda:
1. labor and all it entailed
2. essentials of the first week (consumer report)
3. why daddy didn't shave for your birth and looks like a dirty mexican in all of the hospital pictures
4. whether or not to tell my inlaws about my blog
5. pediatrician vs. family practitioner

6. breastfeeding (i anticipate many entries about this since it is now my new life)

until next time, love you all! yay for wonderful sunshine :)

more pictures

my in-laws are here and i feel guilty blogging when i could be spending quality time with them, so here are a few more pictures for now. i really do want to write more and have tons to write about, so expect better entries soon.

and since i'm on a black and white kick, i just might make his birth announcement sans color (minus baby blue text on the front)

love yall!!

birth announcement in the works

james and i set up a little home photo shoot tonight to make birth announcement postcards soon (i would do magnets but postcards are so much cheaper). even though this spoils the fun for those of you getting postcards, i am so excited and can't help but post a preview. tomorrow i will add text and upload it to overnightprints.com. love you parks!!

you're here!!!

dearest parker,

i love you! you're here! you're a boy!!!!!! (i can't believe we had a boy!) you've brought so much happiness and joy into our lives these past 4 days. we're all on cloud 9 and i love every moment of every day. you've made me slow down and enjoy the small things in life. i love looking at you, love breastfeeding, love singing to you, love reading to you, love touching your soft skin, and i think daddy even loves changing your diaper (although you've peed on him 3 times!).

i will write about labor and your delivery later, but we have friends coming over soon. you are loved by so many, parks. on your first facebook album you got over 100 comments! haha, but seriously, not only do mommy and daddy love you to death, but our families and friends are crazy about you. grandma kehrli cries every time we call her on the phone because she is so sad that she hasn't got to hold you yet. luckily she's coming in 3 days. grandma betty and aunt abbey spent all weekend holding you. our friends love you, too, and have sweetly arranged to bring dinner every day for the next 3 weeks! life could not get any better.

a few pictures until next time...

i love your face in this picture, parker! you are so cute. love aunt abbey, too.

your first bath! daddy loves you!!

your first basketball game! our friends love you!!

until next time, muah muah muah muah muah!!

looking up

it's almost surreal that in less than a week we WILL have a baby. i am finished with fruitless efforts to induce labor and feel like a frustrated woman struggling with infertility. however, having a baby at this point is completely inevitable (and both james and i were delivered 2 weeks late so it's really not that crazy that i am overdue). it still blows my mind that we will have a child in our hands so soon.

the other day while reading, "pregnancy," i warned james that the first couple weeks after baby kehrli is born are going to be extremely difficult. i apologized to him in advance for likely being overly emotionally and bitchy as we try to adjust to having a baby. i told him about everything in the magazine articles and in stories from friends describing how hard the first few weeks can be. expecting a thank you for the heads up, james looked at me and said, "it doesn't HAVE to be like that. i know it will be difficult, but if we go into it with a pessimistic attitude that it's going to be hell there is no doubt that it will be."

and he was so right. while i don't want the pressure of being super mom who doesn't cry or get moody, i need to go into labor and the first few weeks of our child's life with a positive attitude that this is one of the most incredible times of our life. i need to focus on all of the blessings in this event including having an incredibly supportive husband who has volunteered to change every dirty diaper as long as he's home and i'm breastfeeding.

speaking of breastfeeding, many moms have warned that this is the hardest part of being a new parent. although i do not want to be naively optimistic about how easy breastfeeding will be, i can't go into it expecting to suffer through it. breastfeeding, much like pregnancy and labor, is a natural thing (or so i hope). i must be positive about it.

there are many difficult things in life: death, divorce, unfaithfulness, unemployment, etc. however, there are many things in life i've been told are going to be difficult that have turned out much easier than expected. in high school the teachers tried to scare us into believing that college was so, so hard--not true. senior year of college, friends warned me that graduate school was a monstrously hard step up from college--not true again. even marriage (from my limited 11 month experience) has been much easier than anticipated.

as part of our premarital counseling, james and i took separate 2 hours tests to see how well we were prepared to be together. our counselor told us that our marital expectation answers matched so closely that he was afraid that we were not honest on the survey. but we were. sure we have times when we fight and have problems, but marriage is not nearly as difficult as friends and our marital counselor scared us into thinking it would be. really it is quite simple.

i'm hoping that taking care of a baby will be the same way. my husband reminded me this week that attitude is imperative to success. we must focus on the joy of new life instead of the struggles of parenthood. sure there are going to be times when we can't get the baby to stop crying and we feel helpless and exhausted, but we must remain positive. millions of people have raised children without any of the blessings we enjoy, so we have no reason to complain. abraham lincoln once said, "you are as happy as you make yourself up to be," and this is our motto diving into unknown territory of the next few weeks.

love :).

turn my head to the east...

yes, baby, mom has been listening to some rap music as of late. don't worry--we dance every night to the clean version of "on a boat," so i'm not infiltrating your mind with horrible things :). j/k, well kind of, but your baby einstein classical lullabies cd is packed in our hospital bag and ready for use right after you are born.

looks like you're not coming today. grandma betty made me deal that if you stay in there until next thursday and they have to induce, she will buy me a special present of my choice so i will have something to look forward to. thanks grandma! :)

tomorrow is daddy's birthday! i think i am more excited than he is, even though we don't have anything big planned. coldstone is making 6 customized icecream cupcakes with his favorite flavors (which i secretly am pretty anxious to try) and we're going out to lunch since dad has class at night. i'm throwing in a gift certificate to boi de ouro so dad, grandpa kehrli and uncle paul (ahhh those titles sound so old) can have a boys night of unlimited brazilian meat over easter weekend when they visit. it's a little weird buying dad a present with his own money, but hopefully he will appreciate the thought.

your dad is an incredible person. i love him with all of my heart and can't imagine life without him. i've never met anyone who doesn't like him (well except on the basketball court, which could be a lot of people these days since dad plays monday in a rogers rec league, tuesday at village on the creeks a.c. w/ deloitte touche if he gets out of class early, wednesday with the boys and girls club directors, thursday in a church league again pending class, and saturday morning at village on the creeks with small group friends). i wish everyone had a chance to be friends with daddy because he is without a doubt my fav. person in the world.

it's kinda funny that i wasn't even friends with james until my last semester at jbu. sometimes we say we knew each other for 3 years before we started dating (which is technically true), but we really didn't say much more than hi before january of 2006. i'd like to think we had secret crushes on each other up until that point, but i don't think the thought of dating had ever crossed either of our minds. it's probably better that our paths didn't meet earlier or else i don't think we would've ever given anything a chance (my dear husband had earrings, eek!)

learning about my husband's life at jbu is fascinating to me, mainly because we were there at the same time and knew all of the same people without ever knowing each other. heck, he even went on dates with some of my friends and i had no idea. like most nice guys at jbu, james got asked out by a lot of girls, but i was never jealous because i never knew or paid attention (he was never jealous of my relationships, either, probably because he didn't keep up with my love life or lack thereof). my husband's personality is so playful, friendly and welcoming that he attracted a wide variety of girls. his stories never cease to make me laugh, with the comfort of knowing that i was the only girl at jbu he ever kissed.

i am so thankful that i finally got to know james. i love when we spend time with my girlfriends who didn't know james very well at school and they tell me how they never knew that james was so funny, entertaining, happy, servant-hearted, etc. he is truly the best.

oh and my husband got a couple new compliments a few weeks ago when he was interviewing with a local fire chief. "articulate and well-dressed." really, my husband? that's right. jewels, i thought you'd like that one :).

okay enough bragging on my husband--i'll save the rest for his birthday card. but here is his handsome picture from last month's modern bride...

baby, come soon!! i am going crazy waiting. love.