Not the Best Ideas We've Ever Had...

First idea. Taking a drive to see fall leaves.
What went wrong? Winter came a day too soon.
Here's the scoop. On Friday, we went for a drive to see all the fall leaves. Unfortunately, the storm the night before stripped many of the trees of their colorful leaves. Then, on our way back home, it started SNOWING!! It didn't stick but it was Kelsey's first snow - not that she saw much of it! I can't say it was a total bust, we just should have done it sooner.
These are the trees right outside our house. You can see all the beautiful leaves one day, and barren trees the next.










Here are the fall pics we took on our drive. The top right was actually a few days before. Can you see the difference?

And here's us driving home in the snow!

Second idea. Taking visitors around Zurich
What went wrong? It was rainy, windy and cold - worst weather since we've been here.
Here's the scoop. On Saturday, Kevin and Marian Cheney from my old Agoura 1st ward came to Zurich on their way to Germany for a business trip. We picked them up from their hotel and took them to Grossmuenster. Despite our efforts to stay out of the elements, we got drenched. I had Kelsey in the Baby Bjorn with blankets and mittens and everything. She did well but she kept looking at me like, 'Mom, are you serious? What are you doing to me?' We all decided we'd had about enough of the cold so we dropped them off a their hotel and went home. We had such a great time visiting and wish we could have spent more time with them! . We should have just sat down in a restaurant and waited out the storm. Next time, right?



Third idea. Driving to Konstanz, Germany.
What went wrong? It was windy and rainy (we don't learn quickly). No PP for Kelsey.

Here's the story. On Sunday, we had a church conference in the North/Eastern part of Switzerland, about an hour away (mom & dad, we met Elder Eilen and he says hello, he's doing great). We decided to go up to Konstanz, Germany (only 15 min. further) to check it out because Kelsey and I had never been (Tal went with the young men to Europa Park). So, after our church meeting we headed up there. Once again, it was rainy, cold and wet. We crossed over the bridge where the Rhein flows into Lake Constance or "der Bodensee." Then we followed a road to the Bodensee and found a beautiful trail around the lake. We put Kels in the pram (she has a thick sleeping bag in there to keep her warm) and put the rain cover on the stroller. We didn't get far before we decided to stop, take a picture, and then head back home. The wind almost blew the rain cover off the stroller and as you can see, it was almost too windy for pictures. Tally decided the wind was perfect for a photoshoot though so we goofed around for a minute and then left. But not before taking a picture of Kelsey in Germany. That was the dumbest idea. Who takes their almost 2-month-old out of the stroller and into the rain for a picture? Don't worry, it was only for a second but she was pretty confused about what was going on. Poor thing! She's such a good sport! Oh, and we got stopped at the Swiss/German border (because Tally told me to roll down the window and take a picture of the flags - good shot though - NOT!). To make a long story short, we got away with showing them Kelsey's birth certificate and our receipt for her passport.

Oh yeah, and some of the signs, when read outloud, sound really bad if you speak English!

Faces of Kelsey

Here's a little collage for all you Kelsey fans out there...
She cracks us up with some of her facial expressions! The one with her smiling in the blue outfit with the bow is her passport picture. She's smiling more and more and we love it!

Here's a funny story too. We were watching the BYU game (live!) on Saturday night and when BYU made an interception, Tally screamed, "Ooooya!" Kelsey, who was just happily sitting in her bouncy chair, burst out into tears. I guess she got scared by the loud noise. Then today, when we were waking up from our morning nap (in my bed and yes I'm still trying to sleep when the baby sleeps), I yawned as I was stretching and she burst into tears again! It was so sad and cute at the same time. Usually she smiles when I yawn or sneeze - like I'm trying to imitate her or something. It's cute.

Fall In Switzerland

I took a drive to Zug (about a half hour South of us) to visit my friend Niina on Halloween with Kelsey. She has a baby just one month older than Kelsey. I worked right beside her at Goldman - both of us with our big bellies - and we became good friends. She's from Finland and talks to Kelsey in Finnish. Babies understand Finnish! Anyway, the drive to her house was beautiful with all the changing leaves. Unfortunately, I didn't get a pic while driving but Niina took a pic of Kelsey and me on our walk through Zug.


Here's Niina and her daughter Wilma when she was first born and Kelsey was still in my tummy.

Happy Halloween!

Although Halloween is celebrated in Switzerland, it's not a huge deal. They don't really have decorations you can buy from the store, no one (but the Americans) puts gravestones in their front yards, and kids don't really go trick-or-treating.

However, last Saturday, the Americans put on a Halloween activity for kids for anyone who wanted to come. I did a booth with my friend Jessi doing "Spooky Prints" where the kids could put their thumb on the ink pad, stamp it on a page, and then make a spider or pumpkin out of it. It turned out pretty cute. Kelsey let her friend Emily borrow her cow costume and she went with her pink nurse outfit so she could match her mom ;). She actually slept through the whole event - she sleeps better with noise.

Here's some of our festive friends

 

Last night for Halloween since I knew we wouldn't get any trick-or-treaters, Kels & I went to Young Men/Young Womens with Tally (he teaches the 12-18 year old boys at church and this is their activity night). Kelsey got to wear her cow costume and the kids thought she was pretty cute. We watched them carve pumpkins and make scary looking spaghetti & Rice Krispie Treats.

 

Here's Kelsey trying on different costumes to see which one she likes best.
Swiss cow (she's missing the bell)

Swiss Princess

Miss Piggy

Kelsey's Smiling

I finally got our a memory card for our video camera. Here's her new trick. In this video, she had just woken up from a nap in our bed. Hopefully now I'll catch some good Kelsey moments so you guys can get a feel for her little personality.

The Birth Story

Many people have requested to hear the birth story, so if you don't want to know, stop reading now. But for the girls out there and for journaling purposes, here's how it all went down. Literally.

Friday, September 14th, 10:00pm
Did 100 jumping jacks and ate salami pizza. Did it help? I really think the 50 jumping jacks the day before did. That's when I lost my "show." Contractions started becoming regular, every 10 minutes for about 30-45 seconds. I was getting excited. I didn't sleep much and looked at the clock every time a contraction started.

Saturday, September 15th
The contractions kept me up all night, but weren't too painful and I didn't tell Tally because I wanted to surprise him when he woke up. At about 5 or 6am, I woke him up because they were getting more severe and told him I wanted to go for a walk when the sun came up in order to keep them coming. When the sun came up, the contractions started to die down. We went walking. Up stairs, down stairs, running, jumping jacks. Everything except contractions. I was frustrated. Keep in mind, I was planning to have the baby before my September 13th due date. Apparently you can't plan these things.

Around noon, the contractions came on more regularly and once again, I did everything in my power to keep them coming. The church was doing a Space Derby (like a Pinewood Derby only with rockets on a string) at 2pm and I told Tally to go without me, I was going to take a nap. By 4pm, the contractions were a lot stronger and every 7-10 minutes so I called Tally and told him to come home. By 5pm, I called the hospital and went in around 6pm. They gave me some "cervix softening" medicine because I was only dialated 2cm. Two hours later, I was only at 3cm and exhausted. The midwife (or nurse), Sandra, told me she thought an epidural would help me relax and allow my cervix to open. I had wanted to do it naturally if I could, but after getting little sleep Friday night and it being well into Saturday night, I decided it was a good idea. Oh, and did I forget to mention contractions are PAINFUL? Well, they are. And they were about every 5 minutes at this point. Tal was watching Zoolander and holding my hand. I didn't like that movie before but seeing as it was my only alternative to thinking about the pain, it was quite enjoyable.

I opted for what they call a walking epidural. They said I wouldn't feel the contractions, I would still be able to walk around while laboring, and I would feel what it was like to deliver. I decided that was a good inbetween. After two very painful attempts to get the epidural in, I was freaked out and told them no epidural for me. They tried one more time (this time I sat up which I recommend) and it worked...mostly. There was a window in my right lower quadrant of my belly that I could feel. It was very painful but I'm glad I didn't have to feel the full contractions. Tally helped me remember to breathe correctly and was very encouraging. I don't think I could have done it without him there. Here's a Tally took (and I swore I'd never show anyone but it doesn't show anything too revealing). Even with the pain, I couldn't wait to see my little girl!



We wanted to have her on the 15th because our birthdays are the 10th & 25th and our anniversary is the 25th. Also, it would have been the same day in the states as it was here.

Sunday, September 16th
We got close, however, my body needed more time.
At about 1:00am, the contractions were strong enough that I couldn't resist the urge to push. I asked if it was okay to push because I didn't think I could hold back. The doctor wasn't there yet, but the nurse told me to go ahead. The doctor came shortly thereafter. After a half hour of pushing (I could feel the whole thing and at one point I almost passed out. It's the most pain I've ever felt), Kelsey Marie was born! The first thing I said when I saw her was, "She has my chin!" She didn't cry when she came out, which made me nervous, but then she cried a little bit just trying to breathe. They didn't suction her out right away either which also put me on edge, but they like to do things a little more naturally here. She eventually got all the fluid out. I always thought I would cry upon seeing her, but I was just in shock. I kept saying, "Oh my gosh..." Her poor little face was all smooshed and she still has remanents of the bruise she got over her left eye. She's mostly all healed up now that she's six weeks old. I've never felt so much joy and relief as I did after she was born.

She looks so different now!

Kelsey's First Doctor's Appointment

In honor of Halloween, for Kelsey's first appointment I dressed her up in her pink scrubs. Even though she looked adorable, the doctor and the nurse just gave me a pity smile and breezed right over the fact that she was dressed up like a doctor or nurse. So much for that idea. Oh well, at least I got a kick out of it. I guess I would have needed to put socks with Birkenstocks on her. Then they would have gotten the point (I haven't seen a doctor here without that combo).

Here she is with her doctor (yes, I'm a nerd, I know). Although he didn't dote on her as I would have imagined, he is a great doctor and seems very personable & knowledgeable. He humored me enough to let me take this pic. As of Monday, Kelsey weighs 4.94 kilos or 10.87 lbs, which is only slightly more than Tally weighed when he was born. I don't know how you did it, Brent. Thank you. Kelsey has grown 3 centimeters now totaling 54 centimeters or 21.25 inches. She's about average height and in about the 80th percentile for head and weight. Sounds about right for a Price baby.

Here are some of Kelsey's likes and dislikes right now:
Loves taking a bath, getting her diaper changed, and cuddling with mom, the car, her bouncer, Bibi binkis, watching other kids, being held.
Hates getting her clothes put on, waiting to eat, sleeping in her crib, evenings anywhere from 9-11, letting mom get things done.

Milestones
She is starting to social smile! For example, when Tally came home from work today, he said hello and when she saw him, she gave him this huge smile. I think we both melted. Also, I could swear she recognized me today. She stopped crying when I entered the room - not just when I picked her up. Then she smiled at me. I almost cried. Also, she came close to laughing at me today. Since I couldn't get her to repeat it, I'm not sure but once she really starts laughing, I'll let you know if that was a laugh. Oh, she just started getting baby acne this week too! I'm so sad but the doctor said it would go away on it's own. She also got a bug bite on her chin which only makes her face more red. Poor thing! She doesn't seem to notice. She is very strong and likes to sit up and stand up (with help of course). She has a killer grip which usually finds itself ripping my hair out.

Temperatures Dropping

The weather here in Switzerland has been cold and rainy (snowy in areas but not by us) so I only go on short walks with Kels. Luckily, we have a car to get where we need to go. Kels looks so cute all bundled up. Here's one of my favorite knitted outfits that she's almost grown out of. Tally says it makes her look like a boy but I just think she looks sweet. I put pink on her too!

My friend Erin just gave me this little hooded jacket for Kels that her 1-year-old had outgrown. Although it's big on Kels, it works and it wont be too long until she grows into it. This is her mad about being bundled before one of our walks.


Tally went to Europa Park with the Young Men on Saturday. Besides the cold weather and having to wait in line, he had a great time and got to know the kids better. Looks like we'll have to take Kelsey when she gets a little older...okay maybe a lot older. Disneyland works too.

As for me, I'm staying busy with Kelsey and taking care of the house. Somehow with one, little new person, our laundry load has tripled. I'm quickly learning how to do everything one-handed. I am starting to venture out more and hang out with friends and do playdates. Here is one of Kelsey's friends, Abram. She seems to like watching other kids.

Birth Announcement

Finally, after a month in the making, here is Kelsey's birth announcement. I want to get photoshop now!

Kelsey is 4 Weeks Old

Kelsey is almost a month old and I can hardly believe it! She started cooing and smiling more. We love watching her try to wake up - she's as much of a morning person as her dad! She's starting to smile more and what we'd like think is on purpose. We get a kick out of her facial expressions too. We had another photoshoot inspired by Peekaboo Photos, but this one didn't last very long due to a tired little model. I love the one with Tally and her - it's precious!



When the photoshoot ended

A happy baby after a good nap


A cute outfit my mom's friends at the hospital gave Kels

And I'll end this post with her pooping face. Or shall I say POO face (In honor of Dan).