Kelsey's First Week

Kelsey was born one week ago today! Tal and I are absolutely in love with our new baby girl and we're enjoying every moment with her. We had lots of wonderful visitors at the hospital and Grandma and Grandpa Lang arrived Wednesday night. We came home from the hospital on Thursday morning (very quick for Swiss standards). Here are just a couple of the hundreds of pictures taken so far.

A couple pics from the hospital

Pics with some of Kelsey's visitors (thanks to everyone who stopped by or called! - sorry we didn't get pics with all of you)

Grandma holding her favorite granddaugter for the first time


Bringing Kelsey home from the hosptial (Thanks for the super cute slippers Abbie!)

Grandma Lang hanging out with Kelsey on our balcony. Grandpa Lang teaching Kels to be a good sleeper (it's working!)

Daddy giving his baby girl her first "bath" at home...he even styled her hair!












Mom and Kels. Kels has already found her thumb!

Baby Kelsey and her first trip to the Alps (Engelberg) and to church (we didn't take her inside since she doesn't have anitbodies yet)

Kelsey Marie Price has arrived!!!

I've been soaking up every moment with my sweet little girl! A big thanks to Kelsey's daddy for posting pictures so quickly! I will now attempt to do something I've never done before - blog while breastfeeding! Little Kelsey came into the world at 1:30am on Sunday, September 16th (the 15th in the states but her b-day is still the 16th). She weighed 3.8 kilograms or 8.4 lbs. and was 51cm or 20 inches.

Kelsey's First Picture

She came out ready to eat and when she gets hungry she puts her fists to her face. It's so cute! Here are some more pics from the first few moments of life. At first we thought she had a red birthmark or beauty mark next to her eye. The nurse came over, scraped it off, and goodbye beauty mark.




She has a dimple in her chin just like her mom! It was the first thing I noticed when I looked at her face. She may have more Price characteristics, but her chin says she's mommy's little angel.






We're still getting used to not sleeping, breastfeeding, and not getting anything done. I'm sorry we've been so bad about calling and emailing people back. I can't wait to talk to everyone! The baby and I are doing great and my mom & dad are in town so we're well taken care of. A BIG THANK YOU to everyone who has called, visited, sent presents, and helped us!! Come meet little Kelsey!

Going on Month 10...

For those of you who haven't heard from me yet it's not because I'm off in motherhood bliss. I'm still here, still pregnant and actually still enjoying it. I can't wait to get this baby out but I've decided I might as well enjoy the extended end of my pregnancy rather than loathe it. However, I am taking suggestions, stories, and methods tried and tested by you, my friends. Please feel free to leave me a comment with ways I can coax this baby out and into the world.

Here's what I've tried so far:
2 fresh whole pinapples and some dried ones
Anything chocolate or spicy - but I've been eating those all along!
100 jumping jacks the last 2 nights
Long walks up and down hills - at least once a day
Acupunture
Massage (including feet)
The Horizontal Polka
Bumpy car/train/tram ride
Vacuuming (Tally loves that part)

That's all I can think of right now. I've stopped short of castor oil because I really don't know what it's called here and I really don't want to be sick. The midwife said I could try wine or champagne & rasberry tea leaf but considering my religious background, I have decided to abstain.

So, your suggestions please. Thank you. Oh, and when Special K decides to come, I'll update my blog or email or call...we'll have our laptop with us at the hospital and I'm sure you will all be notified within a day of her being born (unless there are complications, of course).

Our Home

For those of you who have reminded me that I never posted pictures of our place, this post is for you. Obviously, the baby has not come as I still have time to do this post. She's due on Thursday, Sept. 13th so if that day comes and goes and you don't see a post, don't ask. Just know I'm doing everything I can to get her out of me and into this world!

Back to the house...this is our front entry way & our living room

Our kitchen is just to the left of our living room.

We love the view from our bedroom and often wake up and think how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful place. And, we're making room for baby!

Here's our baby room/office. As you can see, it's still a work in progress. I'm trying to get rid of that futon to make more room and I want to shrink the desk or move it into our room. However, seeing as the first few months she will be in the crib in our room, I'm leaving things as they are for now.
Now to our bathroom, across the hall from the bedrooms. That's the baby's tub and her little robe. I can't wait to wrap her up in it!

Thanks for visiting our humble abode, even if it was just an online visit. We welcome you anytime (well, maybe not for the next few weeks but sometime after that).

First Day as a Stay-At-Home Mom

But I'm still waiting for the baby part...as you can see.

I'm excited about my new role as a mother and have a list about a mile long of things to do before she comes. HOWEVER, if she were to come before that list is complete, I wouldn't mind. Today I cleaned up, did laundry, talked to fam & friends, did visiting teaching and I'm going to start dinner right now. I'm hoping for more progress tomorrow. I still managed to get an hour nap in today. That's something that could grow on me ;).

As I clean each room of the house, I'll take pictures and then do a post on what our house looks like. It was pointed out to me recently that I never did that so it's on my list. Happy September!

UPDATE 5 Sept 2007: I went to the doctor this morning and he said she's between 3.85 and 4 kilos already! That's at least 8.5 pounds already! It could be a little on the high side, but unless I had her right now (not happening), she's only going to get bigger! Anyway, he didn't seem concerned. Nonetheless, I'm going to eat pinapple today, go for a walk, and get it on with my hubby tonight.

Oh, and I'm working on my blog template (as you can see). In the process I lost all your addresses which I will try to recover but if you can, email me the link or leave me a comment with it. Thanks!

Soccer Tourney & Goodbye to the Barlows

There's not much of an update from us, just waiting for the timer to go off. It's like when the brownies are in the oven, almost done and smell really good but they still have to cook for 10 more minutes. Those 10 minutes seem to go by a lot more slowly than the entire time it took to cook. Yes, our little bun still has about 2.5 weeks of baking time and hopefully not a minute more.

This weekend, we said "see ya later" to our friends, the Barlows. It's not goodbye as I'm sure we'll see them again down the road. This is just half (well, technically more than half) of the family.

We're going to miss you guys!!

Last weekend, the entire Zurich stake had a fussball tournament. Tally played (obviously I didn't - I look like I'm holding a soccer ball under my shirt and some of the kids really thought that was the case).

Tally realized how out of shape he was. He has since gone running and will hopefully be in better condition next year. He just started working with the young men in church doing activities, so I'm sure there will be a lot more soccer in his future.

36 Weeks - One Month to Go!

The babe is gaining about an ounce a day. At my appointment last week she was 2.8 kilos or 6.2 pounds so at that rate, she's at least 6 1/2 pounds today and gaining. She was near the top in each percentile which scares me a bit but maybe European babies are smaller? Cross your fingers for me. Next week, she will be considered full-term. She's already in a head-down position and seems to get the hicups everyday. She also is startled by loud noises andbig movements. She doesn't like her space to be reduced even for a second - like when I bend over to pick something up - she'll let me know that's her space I'm invading! She's too big to get a good ultrasound picture anymore, so instead I'm posting the pictures my friend Jenny Schumacher took of me & Tally this week. Isn't she awesome!?



Mom, I know you'd love this one with the Swiss building in the background.

Baby Shower

Okay, I have to start off by saying I am so lucky to have made such wonderful girl friends here in Switzerland. I've only been here since mid-March and I've been welcomed with open arms. Jessi & Janelle threw me a baby shower today that was beautiful. I got to see most of my good girl friends here and spend time talking about all the things girls love to talk about - babies, food, and even how to recycle in Switzerland! Here are some pics from the party. Almost all the food was pink! It was a great "tablescape" and delicious "chick food" too.


My two fellow pregger friends (Niina & Jennifer), one of which was due today! Hopefully we DON'T see her at church tomorrow! Then we have Abbie, me & Rachel.
More chatting...Janelle, Sadie, Alisa, Sam & Ava ... and then present time!
Jessi, the practical one. These things were all on my list of things I needed to get before the baby comes and now I can cross them off (I love that)!

Janelle, always stylish, and now baby girl will be too. A present from the good 'ol USA.

My work friends from the US, Finland, & New Zealand - quite the international bunch! A gift with European flare. I had to include this one b/c it's my favorite "present opening" shot. This is a little European lullaby crib toy (what do we call them in English?). It's soft and darling and perfect for Special K's crib. Love how it matches the sleeping bag.

Most of the girls contributed to little K's Baby Bjorn fund and put money into that little rabbit "piggy bank" (right photo). I'll have to post a pic once I get it. I also realized I don't have a pic with Rachel & Elisa from the party. We'll make up for that later, I'm sure. The pic on the left shows the cards, party decorations, and my little advice book that was passed around that Jessi made in about 2 minutes. Thanks girls for putting on such a fabulous shower and for coming and celebrating this big event in our lives!

Swim on the Lake

Despite the unseasonally rainy weather (while the rest of the world has red & orange, Switzerland has blue and green on a weather map), we had a particularly sunny day and we took full advantage. After work, we went for a dip in Lake Zurich. It was very refreshing and a good workout for me. I thought it would make me feel more bouyant but instead, it felt harder to swim than ever before. We didn't stay in for long - it started getting choppy and the storm light came on so we decided it was time for some of Janelle's great cooking.

It's always a bit cold at first so Tally had to coax me in slowly after he already jumped in. It wasn't so bad.

Montreaux - Chateau de Chillon (Shee-yon)

Tal and I decided to take a trip on Sunday (after sacrament) to the Western side of Switzerland. They speak mostly French there and I must say I'm definitely more comfortable with German now. We actually went because we bought a nice, used stroller from a couple in Lausanne so we made a trip out of it. AND WE FINALLY HAVE A STROLLER!

In Montreaux is the Chateau de Chillon which I've been wanting to see. It's in ads all over Switzerland and I didn't know it actually existed until Aarika and friends came to town with a brochure on it. Anyway, it was definitely worth the trip and the 12 CHF to get in.

I fell in love with the architecture of this castle! I especially love the doors and windows (Tal - "note to self, Jessie really likes old, big, medievel looking doors.") The picture on the right is looking away from the castle, across part of Lake Geneva. You can hardly tell but the Alps are in the background. Here are Tally and I on the throne, respectively. As you can see, he prefers the 700 year old toilets while I prefer the royal chair.
As history goes, this 5th pillar is where the rebel Savoy family member, Bonivard, was chained for four years. He was then immortalized by the poet Lord Byron in his poem, "The Prisoner of Chillon." On a visit, Byron signed his name on the 3rd pillar. I would paste in the poem, but it's way too long!

There was this little secret passageway leading from one room to the other. You can't tell but it was pitch black in there and had spider webs. I made Tally go first! We decided it would be perfect for sneaking into your partner's room in the middle of the night!

Here are some cool pics of the architecture and furniture that I loved so much (more to follow).