She's here!

Kenley Isabel was born at 4:07 am, Sunday, June 20. She was 8 lbs. 5 oz. and 20 inches long. We think she is perfection.

I won’t go into her entire birth story, but I thought I would share some because it was an incredible experience. Looking back on it, I wouldn’t have it any other way!

I woke up Friday morning at 2 am with steady contractions (8-10 minutes apart). After a few hours of the same, I was convinced that I was in labor and that baby Kenley would be born by the end of the day. Well, they continued that way – sometimes closer together, sometimes getting more intense, but never really progressing past early labor – all through Friday and Saturday. I had called my family in Des Moines Friday morning and they came driving over expecting a baby anytime. Needless to say, by Saturday night, I was quite tired and wondering if I was actually in labor. Our doula, Lauren, and the midwives assured me that I was in early labor and that my body was making important progress.

I went to bed around 10 pm and slept until a much stronger contraction woke me up a little before midnight. The contractions continued to get stronger and closer together over the next few hours. By 2 am I had called our doula, Lauren, and asked her to head to our house (she lives over an hour away) and I asked Bill to wake up my mom to help keep track of my contractions. Less than an hour later, we decided we better head to the hospital, so we gathered our things and called Lauren to tell her to meet us there.

When we got to the hospital, I didn’t have more than a couple minutes between contractions, so after stopping every few feet on the way in, my sister Bethany ran to get a wheelchair and Bill pushed me in it up to labor & delivery. When I got into the room, the resident doctor on call checked and announced that I was 8 centimeters dilated. Good news, since that meant we were going to get to meet Kenley sooner rather than later! My mom was on one side of me holding my hand, and Bill was on the other. Lauren was at my side, coaching me through the last & hardest moments. Bethany was there recording every moment in photos. Well, we got into the delivery room at 3:45 am and after just a few more very strong contractions, I was ready to push and she came out with one big push at 4:07 am! The midwife on call did not make it to our room in time for the birth – the nurses and the resident delivered Kenley, they did a great job. She was beautiful, perfect, alert and ready to breastfeed right away. I’m so happy that I was able to labor at home for most of the time and that I was able to give birth again without any pain medication or complications. My recovery time has been even faster than with Lachlan. Kenley is healthy, and eating, sleeping, and pooping like a champ.


Bill and I spent all day and night at the hospital receiving visitors and snuggling our new little treasure. By Monday morning we were ready to go home and we were happy to be able to be discharged a day early. It has been a busy week getting adjusted and settled at home.


Lachlan is doing a great job with Kenley; he’s so gentle and sweet. He wants to make sure she has socks and a hat on at all times. If she cries or fusses, he says “check baby” and runs over to check on her (then often imitates the sound she’s making). He doesn’t seem to be very jealous, but he has figured out that when I am busy with her it is a great opportunity to get into mischief. My mom has been here all week to help, especially with Lachlan and laundry and cooking, so that has been wonderful. She’s heading home today, so I’m getting mentally prepared for being here with both of them on my own during the day starting tomorrow.

I've posted lots of photos and a couple videos from Kenley's first week in a Flickr set.

cherry picking

This morning when Lachlan was in our bedroom, he happened to look out the windows and notice the same thing I noticed yesterday - our two cherry trees are full of bright red cherries. "Mama", he said, "pick apples!". Once I let him know that they were not apples, but cherries, he was still on board for a picking expedition. We did just that and he filled his blue bucket three times. Now I'm not so sure what we're going to do with all the cherries we picked. We did make some banana-pecan-cherry bread, using this recipe. Mainly I just enjoyed watching him choose cherries, toss the "yucky" ones, and lug his full bucket all around our yard.

Today

Today we... made oatmeal applesauce muffins, colored and painted,
watched cartoons, ate popsicles and a smoothie, had lunch outside so L
could watch the lawn get mowed, wandered up and down the driveway,
blew bubbles, and attempted to give Sadie a good brushing.

When it was L's naptime, Deb came over and Bill and I went in for my "week overdue" check-up. Everything looked perfectly normal in the ultrasound and non-stress test, so she can come out whenever she is ready this week. If it is not before next Wednesday then we will be heading in for an induction. But I think she'll make an appearance before that. I'm really comfortable with waiting and letting my body decide when it's ready - but I will admit that seeing her chubby cheeks and cute little feet on the ultrasound screen today made me more anxious to meet her!

my baking helper

Lachlan and I have been doing lots of baking in the last week. It's something that we can do together that doesn't involve me chasing him around the yard or house. He is an excellent helper, especially with dumping ingredients and mixing. He's even good at clean-up. The hardest part is to keep him from tasting *too* much.
Yesterday we made S'mores bars. They are so yummy, but I must warn you that they have to chill in the fridge for 3 hours, so no instant gratification. I tried to cut into ours a little early and it was not workable. I'll probably end up eating the whole pan by myself, so come over and say hi and I'll share them with you!
Hoping to get some Father's Day cards made today. Also hoping for smooth naptime and bedtime routines - L and I had a couple epic battles yesterday. Testing his 2 year old limits and my patience, I guess. And of course, hoping to go into labor if baby is ready. Tomorrow we have our 41 week appointment at the U, which involves an ultrasound and non-stress test to find out how comfy she is in there. :)

Lazy Sunday

No exciting news to share tonight. We had a lazy Sunday - more
crocheting and embroidery for me, playdoh for L, basketball and Wii
for L and Bill. We ventured out for a visit to nana and pop po's house
and a trip to the grocery store. Looking forward to watching the
season premiere of True Blood tonight. Have a good week! I anticipate
it will be a big one for us. :)

pregnancy layouts

I decided to spend Lachlan's nap today scrapbooking. I wanted to add a few more pages to baby's album. I decided to deconstruct the cute invitation that Bethany made for embellishment for the pages. Loved it! The paper is from an Amy Butler stack made by K&Co. She has the best floral designs.
Then there's a page to document the baby's due date and what we did on Thursday. I used the latest kit from The Story Matters. Kinda fun that they sent one vintage playing card with each kit and I got "9". Seemed perfect for the "9 months" idea.

Lachlan and I made the banana muffins yesterday (via @aliedwards) They are very moist and yummy. We used an egg slicer to slice the bananas for the tops. It worked great and Lachlan had so much fun that we sliced a bunch of strawberries after that.

Colors in our yard

Well, apparently my belly isn't the only thing growing around here! I'm sad that the pink peonies came and went so quickly, but there are lots of other colorful flowers bursting forth in our yard right now. Our yard came with lots of lovely plants, but we planted several new perennials last summer and it is fun to see them blooming.






Just don't ask about my garden. It's in a very sad and neglected state right now. Hopefully I can get back to it after baby arrives. Or bribe someone else to help me out with it. We'll see.

40 weeks pregnant

40 weeks pregnant
Originally uploaded by Kirsten W

Well, I made it to my due date, as expected. It's funny, because when you're pregnant you talk about the due date so much that you halfway expect a timer to go off an baby to pop right out when the day arrives! Anyway, I'm not in labor yet and I'm feeling pretty good, other than achy feet and ankles. I'm headed out for a manicure and pedicure this afternoon, though, so that should help. I do wish I had enough energy to accomplish more of my to do list, but keeping a two year old boy entertained is plenty for me right now!

new baby girl goodies

I think we all know how much fun it is to shop for baby things, especially sweet baby girl things! Thought I would share a few of the new arrivals to our house.
Before school was over we received this adorable outfit from one of my preschool families. I love the fun colors and stripes. The Zutano clothes that we had for Lachlan washed and wore so well, so I know she'll get lots of use out of it.
Then we got a box from our friends Kristi and Josh and their new baby Addy in Colorado. She's hooked on Etsy now (yay!) and she knows how much I love handmade things, so she went shopping here and here. I love it all! Can't wait to start dressing her up!
Speaking of Etsy, my friend Jamie, who I worked with at Preucil, has an excellent vintage shop with her sister called Dirty Birdies Vintage. Here's their blog. When I saw this 1950's baby book, I knew I had to snatch it up. I had imagined cutting out the parts I liked to used in scrapbooking and decor projects - but - it is absolutely adorable throughout and in amazing condition. I think I will just use it as her baby book, possibly rebind it and add some more pages.
The photos I took are a little dark, but the illustrations are the sweetest.

Then, I got an email from Threadless Kids featuring some onesies that were on sale. Fell in love with this one, and it just arrived yesterday.
Yesterday I got my "Etsy finds" email and spotted these handmade felt baby booties. I couldn't resist - they match her quilt! So those are on their way, too. Time to put a hold on my Paypal account! Ha!

By the way, Lachlan and I made the gingersnaps this afternoon and they are super yummy. The recipe made 6 dozen cookies (!) for me, so if you don't have a husband who will take dozens and give them away at work like I do, then you might want to split the recipe in half.

another WIP

granny square blanket WIP
Originally uploaded by Kirsten W

This time it is the granny square blanket I've been working on for months. If she waits another week to make her arrival, I might be able to finish. Otherwise... whenever. It is a nice way to rest but still feel like I am accomplishing something. I am anxious to see it come together though. I still love my color choices.

Other than that, we're taking it slow around here. I ventured out for a haircut this morning and I'm trying to build up the motivation for a trip to the grocery store with L this afternoon. We baked cookies yesterday and I have some other recipes I'd like to try. Maybe smore's bars, banana muffins or gingersnaps? Or all three? Yum!

Sneak peek at baby's wall hanging

Sneak peek at baby's wall hanging
Originally uploaded by Kirsten W

I LOVE how it's turning out! I couldn't have done it without Codi's great fabric choices and the talented ladies at my baby shower!

new layouts

Lachlan decided to take a decent nap today, so I was able to finish up some layouts I've been working on. All of these are using paper from the May kit from "The Story Matters", which I really enjoyed.


First up is a page commemorating my youngest brother Zach's graduation from high school! Hard to believe that this day is here! I wish I could be in Des Moines helping him celebrate, but I didn't think I could risk making the trip only days from my due date, and I definitely did not want to go into labor in the middle of the graduation ceremony, lol. My talented sister Bethany took his senior pictures. Don't you love the one in the middle? He's at the Des Moines Art Center.


This layout was completely inspired by Ali Edwards' Weekend Creative post yesterday. I loved the idea of journaling directly on the photo. I caught this shot yesterday afternoon and typed the text in over the photo in Word. Then I printed the photo and added it to the layout.


And finally, a couple more for the pregnancy album. Thanks for stopping by. I'll try to keep up the daily posting for those of you who are checking to see if I've had a baby yet, ha!

a handmade gift

I've been taking yoga at Friendship Yoga since not long after I moved to Iowa City. Nancy is such a great teacher and it is always important part of my week. I've continued attending a weekly class throughout this pregnancy and it has helped me feel fit and focused throughout. Even though Nancy does not offer a prenatal yoga class, she has made accommodations so that I can continue along in another class.

I wanted to make her a little token of my thanks as I reach the end of my pregnancy, so I sewed her a tote bag, using this fun fabric I got at IKEA. I used the Jane Market Bag pattern, which is very easy to follow and makes a bag that works great for shopping, carrying books, or toting around a project.

her quilt is done!

Remember the in-progress quilt that was pictured in the photos Shelley took a few weeks ago? Well I finally got a chance to finish it yesterday and I loooove it! I started it months ago, but I managed to finish it before I went into labor! Yay! Does anyone remember that I was sewing the binding on Lachlan's quilt when I was in the hospital being induced? Wish I could find a photo, but here are a few posts from 2+ years ago.
The fabrics all came from Home Ec Workshop, with the exception of the white backing fabric.
I made this quilt based on a free tutorial on the blog Cluck Cluck Sew.
I machine quilted the circles with light pink and dark pink thread, rather clumsily, but I think it adds to the charm. :) I also made a binding with my leftover scraps of fabric. I washed it once, to see how the raw circle edges would work out and so far they haven't frayed much. I'm sure that will change with the many washes of the future.
It measures about 40"x47" - just right for a cute baby girl to roll around on. : )

I have a couple other projects I'm working on for her, but you'll have to wait to see those, because they involve her *top secret* name! :)

Next Thursday is my due date! I went in for a check-up with the midwives today and everything is still going great. Since Lachlan had to be induced at 10 days past my due date, I'm trying to be prepared for it to happen tomorrow or two weeks from now! Hopefully she'll wait at least a few more days because I've got more sewing to do, closets and drawers to organize thanks to my nesting instincts, and a haircut and prenatal massage to make it to! Ha! We'll see. I think babies pretty much follow their own schedule.