tHe KeNnEdY kLaN

Update on The New Year

2012-01-25T00:28:00.005Z

What a great year we had. 2011 is gone and we had so many great memories to look back on. We had a great Christmas and New Years. It was nothing extravagant but we enjoyed spending time with family and friends.

Over the break the kids had their checkups.

Reece was in the 75% for her height and 60% for her weight, 24lbs. She is going to be tall like her mother. She healthy and well, but we did find a bump on her tummy which we thought was a hernia. We were sent to Spokane to see a specialist and have further testing. She had a CT scan and they saw the lump but it wasn’t a hernia but don’t really know what it is. The Dr said she might just have been born with it. He was not concerned and didn’t feel it was serious, so we are going to keep watching it and follow up within the year. It was good news not to have surgery but kind of uneasy not really knowing what this lump is. She I very healthy so we hope all goes well .

Reece is growing and learning so much, she is currently trying out for the role as a 2 year old and I’m going to say she will defiantly get the part!! She loves to try new things and is such a big girl. She likes to use chairs and stools to reach for things and is ever so smart in doing so. She is such a chatter box, says just about everything she hears. We love her and are excited to continue to watch her grow.

Turner weighted in at 14.5lbs and was 23inches long, my beefy baby. He is doing well and healthy as well. Lately we have been having issues with acid reflux, so he was put on Zantac and things started to improve for a while. Then just recently things got worse and he is now going to see a GI specialist in Spokane. Turner is doing well and for the most part he is such a happy baby. He has a hard time sleeping flat so we have resorted to using his swing. He hates to be alone and gets upset if you leave him for a min. He is getting his 1st tooth, which makes me sad b/c my baby is growing up too fast. He has mastered sitting up and is learning to roll over and loves to play with things. He is instantly glued to the TV if it’s on he HATES loud noises. Turner is such a happy boy and loves to smile, squeal and babble.

Clinton is working hard trying to finish his paper within the next couple months. He spends all his free time writing and has completed 2 chapters so far. He tutors twice a week for a couple students and enjoys the break from writing. We really enjoy having home every day and it’s going to sure be hard once he gets a job and has to leave us all day!

I am plugging along being a full time mommy! Back in Oct. I started my weight loss challenge and missed my goal by 3 pounds on Dec. 31^st. 3 pounds isn’t much but I was so close, I’m still working at it and going strong. I have lost a total of 24lbs and hope to continue to keep it off. The kids keep me busy and it’s so fun to be home and watch them grow.

Since living with my parents I have found a new hobby. My mother is a great seamstress and I have taken up many projects with her scrap material. Over the past few months I have made blankets, crayon rolls, mini blankets for babies and many other things. My next projects are to make Reece some pj’s.

We are headed to AZ next month for a visit. We haven’t been there since we left last June. It will be a nice vacation, since we haven’t gone anywhere since we moved. I’m excited to go and have some warmer weather and get a break from our daily routine. I’m also excited to get the chance to visit some old friends and see family. That’s about it for now, here are some pictures of our past couple months.

Turner's first experience with a balloon!

Rischel and I

Owen's birthday party, yummy cake

Emry and Turner

Turner's blessing day Nov. 27, 2011

We saw Santa at the farm breakfast and it went something like this......

Happy and careless little Turner!
Reece not to happy

round 2 with daddy...........i think NOT!!

Still upset and terrified!! better luck next year.

Turner is such a ham. I just love this guy, he really knows how to melt my heart!

Reece loves taking baths and has found a new friend to enjoy them with

This girl is such a messy eater, when she is done she likes to rub her plate over her head and i just cringe at the sight!
i always vowed that my children would be clean eaters, well im not going to win this battle!!

one of Turner's favorite places to sit, he can see everyone and loves to talk.

This and That

2011-11-23T03:13:00.007Z

Lots of fun things have happened of the past 2 months and it's time i capture them.

My handsome little boy is 3 months old and getting so big. He is such a joy and blessing, we just love him to pieces!

Reece and her cousin Ian watching Elmo

this was my dad having a photo shoot with Reece and the dog!!

Reece and papa reading the paper

Reece love the spice drawer and has learned how to stack!

a moment that melted my heart! my 2 favorite boys sound asleep

Reece has found a love for the piano, her daddy is very happy!

Our latest kitten addition, Michelle, Christopher and Reeves
(we lost Reeves a couple weeks ago :( to the coyotes

Soon to be best friends!

Reece has really grown up and learned that stools are really fun things!

Turner's first time going to church since he was born

Reece learned how to use a spoon!

Reece has really started to notice and actually interact with her little brother, it's so fun to watch

This was the day before Turner got sick with Meningitis, little did we know what a long hall it was going to be.

a week before Turner got sick with Meningitis, he was so happy

Our fist family trip, we went to Leavenworth for a day this fall

My New Lifestyle Change

2011-10-26T05:00:00.004+01:00

A few weeks ago i started my weight loss/lifestyle change. I had lost all my pregnancy weight, but wanted to get off a few more pounds i didn't lose after i had Reece. My goal is to lose 15 pounds by Dec. 31st. So far i have lost 6 pounds in 4 weeks!
It's all about counting calories, which means you must measure what you eat. All you have to do is read food labels and use the recommended serving size.
My wonderful sister has been such a great influence and lost 20lbs recently, WAHOOOO! She just counted calories and exercised a few times a week.

With the help from LiveStrong.com i can track what i eat, monitor my weekly weight. It calculates how many calories you should consume depending on how many pounds you want to lose a week. It keeps track of everything i eat and i can see my progress. My goal is to lose 2lbs/week, with that I can consume 1500cal/day , some days are challenging but i try and keep on track. A good side is the more weight i lose my calories increase! My next post i will have met my goal and more!

Hospital Stay #2

2011-10-18T05:24:00.007+01:00

We were home and feeling good. Turner was doing so well and I had my happy boy back. We had 3 great days and I was sure Turner was 100% better. Tuesday October 4^th we had an appointment with the Dr for a checkup after our hospital stay, all went well and he was doing great. Wednesday October 5^th was just another day. We woke up and started our day, Turner was very sleepy. I thought he was having a growing day or his body was recovering from the illness. Thursday came and yet again he was so sleepy and wouldn’t wake up, It was like pulling teeth to wake him. I thought again his body was just recovering. But as the day progressed I didn’t feel right about it. When Friday came and it happened again I was beginning to worry. He didn’t show any signs of being sick and had no fever. I would have to wake him every time he needed to eat and half way through he would fall asleep and not finish. He almost acted lethargic as I look back. I began to wondering what was going on and why he was so sleepy. That night as I was getting him ready for bed and made a bottle he felt a little warm. I took his temperature and it was 99.9 auxiliary. All night long he ran a fever of 99.8-100.5. He was restless all night and very fussy, I could tell he was tired but he just couldn’t get comfortable. I had laid in bed with him from 3:30 until 7 that morning and he just fussed and squirmed in his sleep. Once I got up I check his temp again, it was 100.6. I called the nurse hotline and she advised me to take him to the ER. I will admit I was not too keen on this. I didn’t want them to poke and prod him all over again. So I decided to call the clinic and take him in their first. We got to the Dr’s by 9:30 and were seen right away. Turner had a temp of 101.5 at this time and he was very fussy and didn’t want to be touched or moved. All this was like the prior week, I was having horrible flash backs and my poor baby was in pain. The Dr told me that he was going to be admitted to the hospital but she was going to call the on-call Dr and talk to Spokane. The Dr on-call at the hospital came over to the clinic to talk to me. He told me that we needed to re-admit Turner and run all the tests over again. It was likely that he had relapsed or got a secondary infection from within. With babies under 3 months with a temp of 100.5 or higher it is mandatory to admit them. Every pediatric Dr I talked to always said, “you can never trust babies, they can turn so quickly”. So we headed straight to the hospital. We knew we had at least 72 hours in the hospital waiting for results. I was just glad that we knew what to expect and we were close to home. Saturday was long as we sat in the hospital. Turner was poked for another spinal tap, blood work and an IV. The poor little guy was exhausted from all the trauma that day. It was so heartbreaking to listen to him cry. Our first night was long and interrupted and it wasn’t because of the nurse she was awesome. He had the worst cramps and was so gassy. His little tummy would tighten up and he would scream or whine in pain. It was horrible and there wasn’t much I could do. For 2 days he ran a fever of 99-100+. That Sunday October 9 we had planned to bless him but being in the hospital our plans changes. We had some visitors that day and it was nice to have some company. Monday morning Dr Thompson (our regular Dr) came in that morning and was just shocked to see us back in the hospital. We talked and I told her what happened. She told us that the cultures where not complete but there was no growth yet, but wanted him to go without a fever for 24 hours. So our goal was no fevers for 24 hours so we could go home. Tuesday morning was the final day and all the tests came back negative for bacteria and Turner was fever free so we could go home. We never really figured out what he got but concluded that he must have relapsed with Meningitis because he had all the same symptoms. I was just glad it wasn’t something new or more serious than what we already knew he had.

We are home and so far Turner has been doing well. He is back to his normal self again and so happy. I have been so paranoid with anyone touching him and I find myself checking his temp often. We haven’t gone out since then and I don’t plan to take him out of this house for a few more weeks. Anyone that comes over has to stay away or WASH and STERILIZE!! He is just so susceptible right now and if he gets sick and has another fever we will have to go back in the hospital.

I will say that I have grown a lot from all this. I love my children and think they are irreplaceable and so precious, but after all this I find that feeling even greater.

Visit from the worlds best aunt! Rischel

Ashlyn, Emry and Owen came to visit and made a sign and cards, we loved it.

Turner and Meningitis

2011-10-06T19:15:00.015+01:00

waiting in the ER for results

in the ambulance on the way to Spokane

this was a rough day, the IV infiltrated and we had to find a new spot

Tuesday September 27^th the kids and I had checkups. Reece had been sick on and off for the past 2 weeks and I had been having issues with my bladder and kidneys. Turner was doing well and growing. All went well at the Dr’s and the kids got there shots and I was scheduled an appointment to see a Urologist later in the week. The kids and I went home and settled down for naps. Reece ran a slight fever and Turner was extremely sleepy. The rest of the day went well and we had a good night of sleeping. Turner woke up around 6am to eat and then feel asleep around 7:30. He seemed fine until around 9am when he woke up to eat. He was really fussy while feeding and didn’t have much interest in eating. He would cry while I was nursing him and every time he moved or I would touch him he would cry. It was like he was in pain, at the time I didn’t realize or understand what was going on. It was after I finished feeding him, he was acting fussy again and it wasn’t his normal fussy. He was irritable and his crying changed, it was like he was in pain. After about 30 minutes of holding him while he fell asleep I put him down and he cried again. He never really woke up during this; I didn’t understand what was wrong but new he something was going on, I keep telling my mom he is acting funny.

Between my mom and me holding him he never got comfortable or acted content. I tried to give him some formula but he didn’t want it. It was around 11:15am I was feeding Reece some lunch, my mom was holding Turner, I decided to try and feed him again. I went to pick him up and he felt VERY hot. I was alarmed because the past 2 weeks Reece had been running fevers on and off. So a paranoid mother I am with temperature I took his temp in the arm. When the thermometer read 101 I was alarmed. I then went down stairs and took a rectal temp which was 101.9. I then called the nurse hotline for the clinic and was told I should take him into the ER. My mom rushed me to the ER and we waited. They ran test after test. First blood work, then a chest x-ray, IV and fluids, they talked about doing a spinal-tap but started him on antibiotics while we waited. Because he had got his shots the day before they were debating if this was a reaction to the shots. The Dr told us a temp this high in a newborn spelled “infection”. This poor little guy cried and cried so much his eyes were puffy. I was surprisingly holding myself pretty well, as a mother you kind of have to. I was so worried b/c he was so lethargic and wouldn’t eat or wake up. He looked very sick and I just hoped they would find out something.

It was about 2 hours later his temp was 101.7. the Dr told us they were going to admit him but we are still waiting on results. They called the Dr on-call and he insisted on doing the spinal-tap. But before they got around to it they had started antibiotics. We had about 2 hours of antibiotics in before they ran the spinal-tap. The ER Dr came out and said the procedure went well and the spinal fluid looked good so they were hopeful. I don’t remember how long we waited for the results but he came in and stated “your son has Meningitis which is a life threatening infection”.

We then decided to be transferred to Sacred Heart Children’s hospital in Spokane. It was about 30 minutes later and we were off in the ambulance. Turner woke up slightly while I put him in his car seat and was asleep once we were off. The ride in the back was HORRIBLE and long. We made it to the hospital ER where we were admitted. The nurses were waiting for us and took us right in. About 2 minutes later the ER Dr. came into the room and talked to me about what was going to happen and asked me to explain everything from the start. He was very thorough and intent, he explained everything to me in great detail and I felt we were in good hands.

Clinton arrived shortly after and we spent about an hour in the ER and then were sent up to our room. We got to our room and got settled in and situated and by 12:00am I was able to get a few hours of sleep. The first night was a little rough and we had a very early start. Turner ran a fever all night and was very uncomfortable. I did my best to not move him because every time he moved he would cry in pain. He was still very lethargic and uncomfortable it was heartbreaking.

The attending Dr came in and talked to us that morning and again asked me to explain everything in detail. He talked to us about Meningitis and the risks, the tests we were waiting for and what to expect. Meningitis is an infection in the spinal column and brain. If you get the bacterial kind it is very serious and can cause brain damage, hearing loss and even death. This was stuff I knew but it was still not easy to hear. From the lab results that were ran on the spinal fluid it was 100% he had meningitis but weather it was bacterial or viral we would not know until the culture was back. The only issue we had was Turner got 2 hours of antibiotics before they did the spinal-tap which could skew the results. So we talked about what would happen if everything came back negative. The Dr had the lab run Enterovirus culture which would determine if the infection was viral. If all came back negative then we would have to determine that the antibiotics had already stated killing the bacteria and we would be staying in the hospital for a while. So for 4 days we waited for the results to come back.

Saturday morning the Dr came to talk to us and informed us we could likely be staying for the weekend, but we might get a surprise and get the results early. We planned for the long stay and my mom and dad brought us a few more clothes and things. While I was at Costco with my parents and Reece the Dr had come back with good news, the culture was positive for a virus and we could go home. Having viral meningitis is miserable but it has 100% recovery. So we quickly got back to the hospital packed our things and headed home.

Turner was such a tough little boy, just 6 weeks old and he has gone through a lot in his short life. We are home and on the road to recovery, it could be another week before he is at 100% but he is already showing signs of improvement. I’m just glad that I can move him without him crying in pain. We had many family and friends praying for Turner and our family and we know that they were indeed answered. The Dr’s and all the people involved in his care were defiantly guided.

home and feeling good

nap time with daddy

All about Reece!

2011-10-04T23:05:00.003+01:00

I needed to take a moment and document the many interesting and funny things Reece has learned and likes to do these days.

She is into drawers and cupboards; she loves to open drawers and cupboards but is really good about making sure they are closed when she leaves or closes them when someone opens it, even if you’re not done!

When she gets things out she is very particular about putting them all back (don’t know how I got lucky with this!).

When we are checking out at the store her favorite thing is to empty the shelves but making sure they are all standing up right and then put them all back when she is done!

one funny quark is whatever she sets down it has to be up right, if it falls over a dozen times she will go back and put it right (very particular, sure she gets that from me!)

She loves to play in the spice drawer and has her few favorite spices she gets out and walks around with. She also likes to rearrange the spices just about every day.

Thanks to her cousin Ashlyn Law she can count to 3 all by herself and it’s so cute b/c 1 and 2 are normal and 3 is HIGH pitched and never sounds the same!

She loves to sing and dance and any time she hears music she stops.

She is learning her ABC’s thanks to the LeapFrog fridge magnet, some days it’s a constant pushing of the button and all I hear is “AAAAAAAAA” but before I know it she will know her alphabet!

We have a sippy cup drawer and she loves to play with the cups and all on her own doing has learned to match every cup with its rightful lid. The first time she did this I thought it was fluke but since then she has always found the right lid for the cup. Smart girl!!

She can say dada, mamma, papa, nanna, apple, kitty, shoes, pants, dog, cow, down, meow, baby brother, and thank you and knows a some sign language.

She LOVES animals and is not afraid of anything. She loves to chase and play ball with Sasha and drags her kitty “box” around by the tail, head or leg. Luckily the cat is very docile.

She has learned how to use a spoon and fork but we are working on picking it up. When she puts food into her mouth she closes her eyes…. Funny and I don’t understand why. After eating and when she gets off her chair she pushes it back to the wall all by herself!

One thing she is obsessed with is sitting on things and people. She loves to back up and sit in your lap, on your feet, face or just about anywhere you are.

She loves to be chased or chase you around the kitchen and play hide and seek.

She can put Mr Potato head together all on her own, often arms are on the face, nose is an ear but she fills every hole.

Snack time is typically spent sitting on the stairs with her cup of snack and sharing it with the dog!! (we won’t tell papa!!)

When she laughs she gets the hiccups EVERYTIME! It’s the best.

She loves books but would rather just flip the pages a million time instead of reading the story.

She has learned “itsy bitsy spider” and can do the signs to the song all by herself.

I know there are many more things she can do but that’s all for now. Reece you are such a joy to have around even when you whine, cry and throw fits!! We still love you and are so glad you are part of our family.

Turner's Debut

2011-09-21T22:01:00.004+01:00

The story of Turner’s arrival….

I know many years from now and maybe even a few months I will probably forget all the details of this special day so I want to journal it now.

I was about 38 weeks and this little guy was flipping like a dolphin, he was all over my tummy. The day I went in for my apt he was feet down and the cord was up by his neck, my Dr was not too happy. We talked about inducing me early or a possible C-section if it was necessary. I was not too keen on the C-section but the induction was fine! That same day I had my routine Ultrasound and would you be surprised if he had flipped yet again and was head down!! This little boy was quite the flipper. At my next apt he had flipped again but was head down so we were going to just wait. I was ready, and wanted to have this baby. I walked, mowed the lawn, and did just about anything I could think of doing to help induce labor. Nothing really helped kick me into real labor, I just had horrible contractions and once I stopped moving or doing what I was doing they stopped or slowed down! I got pretty desperate and frustrated. Why do we woman do this to ourselves?!? I did the same thing with Reece I should have remembered.

At my last Dr apt I was 39 weeks and 6 days. I went in for my routine visit and thought my water had broke just after I gave my weekly sample! But to my surprise and the Dr’s it didn’t L I was hooked up for my NST and had many contractions during the 20 minutes I lied there. We thought things were going to progress all on their own. She set me up for an induction the next day but if I was still contracting and (sorry this is informational!) leaking to go to the hospital. But with my luck nothing progressed to the point I felt I should go in.

Brian and Karen Layton took me out on the lake later that day hoping that we could hit some good waves and shake things up. Well another failed attempt and it didn’t help much. I went to bed that night and was wide awake at 3am. I was so anxious about this day I couldn’t sleep. Finally 5 am rolled around and I called the hospital to see if I could come in for my induction and they were happy to take me! I was excited and nervous. I woke up Clinton and we got ready and headed out. When we arrived at the hospital I was hooked up to an IV and we waited for Dr Thompson to come and check me and give orders. It was about 8:30 by the time I was started on pitocin. I hadn’t been inducted before and didn’t know what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised. By noon my water hadn’t broke yet but I was progressing well. Dr Thompson came and broke my water around 1:30 and the labor got more intense! I think I was at 3/4cm when she broke my water, we hoped this would help speed things up. It did until the little guy flipped “sunny side up” (face up). So when Dr Thompson came to check on me after 4pm I was stuck at 5cm. She told me that unless he flips i won’t dilate very quickly. She was right I was stuck at 5cm for a while and decided to get my epidural at that time. It wasn’t too much longer that my contractions got REALY intense and the epidural shifted and I could feel everything on the left side (same situation with Reece). My nurse came in and checked me, I was at 7cm, and this was just after 7pm. She was getting ready for shift change and wanted to check before she left. It was less than 5 minutes, the nurse was still in the room, and I started to breathe really hard and heavy and had an immense amount of pain and pressure. She asked a question but I don’t know what she said but I told her I feel lots of pressure. She then said let me check you again. I said between contractions “you just checked, I couldn’t have changed”. Well I was WRONG, I was at 9cm and approaching a 10!! She called Dr Thompson who was at home and I was informed “DON’T PUSH”. I thought are you CRAZY??!! For 3 WHOLE contractions I had to breathe through them, luckily I had a wonderful nurse who helped me relax and breath through them. It was the longest 10 minutes or so of my life! I remember hearing those 2 amazing words “I’M HERE” when the Dr walked into the room. Then 2 contractions and pushes later Turner Bryant Kennedy made his debut. I remember that moment so vividly, when they put him on my chest and I heard his sweet little cry. Emotions ran through me like fire, I was overcome with joy. I looked over at Clinton and smiled with tears in my eyes.

We are all home and doing well. Reece is handling things well considering she has NO idea who this little being is and why he lives with her. She doesn’t like that he takes her mommy away all the time, but we are adjusting. She likes to smile at him and give him kisses with her head. She also loves to help him when he cries and give him his paci. When he is in his swing she likes to put blankets and clothes on him or pushes it.

Turner is a sweet baby; I will be honest and say he is much harder than Reece was. He cries quite often, which im not use, Reece NEVER cried unless something was really bothering her. He is having a hard time adjusting to the new world but he is learning and growing. He is having tummy and gas issues which cause him lots of pain but we are trying new things to help comfort him. I have recently discovered that putting a dab of peppermint oil in a bottle really helps his tummy. Nights are getting better, he was not the best at going right back to sleep after eating but we are doing much better. He is a great eater but often falls asleep during feedings.

Being a mom of 2 beautiful children, 14 months apart, is a blessing but it does have its challenges. We are learning that life is not a bowl of cherries and we have many sad days and the house is often a mess! The kitchen doesn’t get cleaned right away and I find strange things in strange places. Lots of laundry, diaper changing and messes to clean but we are happy and full of life.

Welcome Turner Bryant Kennedy

2011-08-24T21:14:00.008+01:00

My last picture with the belly!!

headed to the hospital at 6am

the waiting game!
Turner Bryant Kennedy made his debut at 7:37pm Aug 16th

My amazing Dr and Nurse team who got me through the second hardest thing in my life.
just after Turner's arrival, i was so proud!

6lbs 13 oz
18 3/4 inches long
small and short but oh so perfect!

cousin Arui and Turner

Reece seeing Turner for the first time

sad girl b/c her mommy left her for 2 days and she didn't want anything to do with me for the first 30 minutes, it broke my heart
first family photo (next one will be much better!)
going home :)

More info and pictures to come.....
we are home and doing well. Turner is such a great little baby, he loves to eat and always lets me know when he is hungry! Reece is adjusting to all the changes and less time with me, its hard but we are managing.

Reece's Birthday.....

2011-08-02T05:30:00.005+01:00

better late than never!

my sister and i made Reece a giant cup cake, it was so cute
(Rischel did about 95% of the decorating, so she gets all the credit)

birthday girl

that belly just gets in the way!!

this girl didn't hold back on chowing down

little help from her daddy!

the highlight of the night she got a stroller and baby and LOVED it

Truner Family Reunion 2011

2011-07-24T23:52:00.016+01:00

WARNING...............picture over load

Reece helping Nana pick rasberries

and eating them too!proof that my husband doesn't hate cats as much as he says!

uncle Shawn and Reece hanging out

Talan just being cute

trip to Grand Coulee Damn

having fun at AIM gym

Nakoria

Papa went to the pond and brought back a bucket of tadpoles/pollywogs for the kids to play with and watch grow into frogs, lots of fun.

Reece & Talan eating breakfast

Aunt Rischel face painting for the 4th

Reece's first time in the sand, she loved it and surprisingly didnt eat any!!
Boating at the dunes

waiting for the fireworks to begin

Aunt Shelly sharing her cake with Reece

Talan & Reece having fun in the Flintstones car

many nights at the fire pit

pirceless picture!

the little biker gang!

Move to Washington........

2011-07-14T05:18:00.013+01:00

(this photo was taken last week at our family reunion)

I am so far behind on my updates so here it goes....

Move to Washington
after Clinton got home from England we packed up what little we had and move up to WA to live with my parents while Clinton finishes his Thesis. We arrived here early June and got all settled in. Three days after Clinton got home he had a phone interview with JBS in PA. They were very impressed with him and called him back 3 hours later and wanted to fly him out for a second interview. A week after we arrived to ML Clinton flew to PA for the second interview, it went very well but b/c he lacked experience in the work industry they were going to keep looking. We were optimistic but didn't get our hopes up since his main priority is finishing the Thesis. Even though he didn't get the job it was a good experience for him.
We are most likely going to be staying here until the end of the year and not sure what our plans our after that. Clinton will complete his Thesis by November and defend it to USU in December. Our hope and plans are to find a job and settle down as soon as we can!

I have about 5 weeks until im due and im ready for this little guys arrival. For the next 4 weeks i have to have NST (non-stress test) done 2 times a week and weekly ultrasounds. I am measuring small and my last ultrasound measured the baby 9 days off, so we are going to check the growth in two more weeks and hope there is change. I feel great and im not too worried. This little guy is so active and sits super low its very uncomfortable, my back is ALWAYS hurting.

Reece turned 1 on June 20th and i just can't believe my baby is growing up so fast. I am not ready for her to grow up and be a big girl. I feel like im forcing her into growing up b/c of this new baby. I also feel like a horrible mom b/c we didn't really do a party. On her birthday i spent the night in the ER with a kidney stone attach. Then we had all my family in town and it was CRAZY around here. I was going to have a big party but every day and night was filled with activities. I know she is only 1 and she will have many more birthdays but i was really going to do something special.
Reece started walking the week of her birthday all thanks for Auri, Crew and Kaia (her cousins). By the next week she was pretty good and is now walking all over the place. I just love it, and love watching her learn and grow. She is such a smart little girl and just makes me laugh all the time.
(Reece and her baby kitten)
12 month stats
Weight: 22lbs 3 oz
Height: 29 inches
she currently has 6 teeth and getting 2 more which are not fun for her or mommy! I HATE teething and feel so helpless it just breaks my heart.

I will post pictures of our family reunion soon. A week of fun filled activities so stay posted for loads of pictures!

Reflection...

2011-05-20T18:20:00.003+01:00

Since being home from England I have had a lot of time to reflect on things. Clinton won’t be home for another 2 weeks and I miss him greatly. It is so hard, but I try and keep very busy to help pass the time.

Today 11 months ago our sweet little girl arrived into our lives.
In less than 13 weeks we will welcome another sweet little spirit into our family.
I have been married 4 years this October.

Never thought I would have 2 children in less than 14 months J

I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful husband, beautiful daughter and little boy on the way.

Looking back on the past 3.5 years I wouldn't have changed it for anything.
Clinton and I have made so many wonderful memories together…
We have moved over 8 times in less than 4 years!!

Had a beautiful daughter

lived in 2 states and 1 country

Traveled all over England, Spain, France, and Italy

Will soon welcome our fist little boy to the family

Could life be any better?

I think not!!

Rome Trip April 19th

2011-05-14T18:49:00.002+01:00

Our last trip we took just before Reece and I went back home to the states. My mom arrived on April 17th for a 2 week visit. We left for Rome on April 19th. This trip was the trip Clinton had been looking forward to since we new we were going to England. Clinton was so happy and excited the day had finally come. We set off for the airport and off we went. The 2 hours flight went well, Reece did great as usual and we arrived in Rome around 9pm. We made our way out to the taxi's and shuttle doors. The airport was crowded with drivers who would take you just around anywhere. We were quickly scouted out as "tourist" and told the man where we wanted to go. He then said "wow, Pomezia, that is 67km away", which would take us over an hour. I was shocked and thought when i booked the hotel i looked at the location and it was not that far from the airport or city limits. Staying within the city limits was just WAY TOO expensive and being there the week before Easter was crazy. I was upset and got a little emotional b/c he informed us it would cost us 90 euro's!! WHAT THE CRAZY. Well we didn't have much of a choice and we needed to get to our hotel, it was late and we were tired. Come to find out it took us about 20 minutes and it was about 15km away from the airport. I was upset b/c he totally scammed us and then later handed Clinton a business card and said when you head back to the airport give me a call, the card said "52 euros". He then said this is my personal shuttle and he was working a company that night so he had to use company rates.

All said and done we made it safely to the hotel and went right to bed. Around 1am i woke up to Clinton tossing all over and he said he didn't feel well, then next thing he was in the bathroom puking. Clinton spent all night throwing up and the next morning he was so sick he didn't want to go anywhere, so he spent the entire 1st of our 2 days in the hotel sick as a dog. Since we began traveling around Europe all the trips we took something went wrong and someone was always sick. I was so upset and bummed, Clinton had waited as long as i can remember to see Rome.

So my mom Reece and I headed out to the city and had to visit the Vatican without Clinton. We had tickets for that day and they wouldn't let us change them. When we got back to the hotel that night Clinton was still sick and didn't look much better than when we left him. We had just 1 more day before going home and i hoped he would be feeling better.

The next day we all woke up and headed out to see the Colosseum and a few other sites. We had a great time and sure wished Clinton was feeling better. Maybe we will have to return some day in the future!

Rome Colosseum, my favorite place in Rome

St Peter's Square

This is the window the Pope would come out to address his people

Where Did The Time Go??

2011-04-24T21:12:00.002+01:00

I have realized that with all our travels i have failed to keep up with my little girl and all she has learned to do. Reece has changed so much in the last 4 months and i feel like a horrible mom b/c i have not done well at keeping track of these accomplishments. Our time in England is coming to a close end (less than a week). Since we moved to the UK Reece has......

~learned to crawl
~got 2 teeth
~learned to pull her self up onto anything and walk across it
~found her LOUD voice
~waves "bye bye"
~sings with the songs in church
~loves her finger food, all food for that matter!
~can sit up all by herself
~has grown out of her infant car seat
~has traveled to France, Spain and Italy all before her 1st birthday
~growing a mullet (no hair on top just yet!)
~pats my belly when i ask "where's the baby?"

Reece is such a joy to have in our family, we love her so much and love to watch her learn and grow. She is such a good baby i couldn't have been luckier. Reece is so happy and easy going , she is a great traveler and adjusts to the constant changes we put her through. We are so excited for out newest addition and hope Reece is also!

Trip to the A&E, Barcelona and the Costly Bathroom Trip

2011-04-12T16:35:00.006+01:00

Less than 24 hours after we got home from Paris we headed off to Barcelona. Reece was still sick and we all hadn’t slept in 3 days. 2 hours after we got home I decided to take her to the A&E (ER) to see a Dr. just to make sure she was okay before we left on our trip. She was not sleeping, eating or peeing and had a horrible cough that was getting worse; she was also running high fevers. We got our first experience at the hospital with the NHS and it was HORRIBLE. We were greeted and taken back within 10 minutes which was great, but then waited 90 minutes just to see the Dr. who came in touched Reece on the head and said “she seems ok, there is nothing we can do, it’s probably viral. Just take her home and come back if she gets worse.” I did inform him of her fevers, not eating sleeping and peeing, her horrible couching. When we checked in her temp was at 101.6 and her fever had been at 102 + the night before. He was not at all concerned, I was furious after waiting that long. I even asked can I give her her something for her coughing or can you give me something? I was hoping we could get a breathing treatment to help her break up the mucus but NOPE. He kept saying “we don’t recommend anything.” Clinton and I walked out furious. This was actually the second time I had taken Reece to see a Dr here and I got the same results with 2 different Dr’s. Both times they didn’t even check her out and just said she is ok. That night she didn’t sleep again and still wasn’t eating well. I was almost temped to stay home from our trip but decided to go and hope she would get better.

We took the train in Kemble to the airport in London to catch our flight to Barcelona. It was a long journey but we made it safe and with no problems. We got to our hotel checked in and went straight to bed. The next day we got up bright and early and headed into the town center. Our friends Irvin & Amber (living here with us) came and we all decided to do a 2 day bus tour, it’s a best way to see the entire city and get the history of all the sites. You can hop on and off as many times and it’s a great ride! The first 2 days we were on the bus tour and stopped at the places we wanted to visit.

Friday we spent walking down the main strip off central which was FULL of vendors, painters, artists and yummy food! There was this HUGE outdoor market that had everything from fruit, pasta, bread, chocolates, meats of all kind and you name it. Clinton and I really enjoyed looking around and found some great pasta salad and bread; we loved it so much we went back the next day. We later walked down to the beach and walked about a mile down the strip just enjoying the beautiful sunny weather, later to realize i was getting a nice sunburn on my arms and face.

Reece was such a trooper, she was still sick. She coughed so hard she threw up 3 times while we were there. It was miserable to watch her suffer and I felt so helpless. Clinton gave her a blessing the day after we arrived and she was slowing improving. Many times she was sick of being in the stroller and wanted me to hold her. The sun was so hot that day we had to stop at the pharmacy (farmacia) and buy some sun block (cost me 12euro, about $15) but you do what you have to, to protect your baby’s skin. By the end of the day my arms and face was a little red and that night I was on FIRE, I didn’t sleep much.

Saturday we had a little time before our flight home. We went back into town to shop for souvenirs. We planned out to take the train to the airport. We meet up at the train station bought our tickets and had 10 minutes before the train was leaving. Clinton and Amber had to use the toilet, this turned into the “ill timed bathroom trip”. We got off the elevator just to watch the train doors shut and it was GONE! It was 3:15 and the next train wasn’t coming until 4:05, we were to be at check in by 4:20. The train arrived and we got to the airport at 4:25, running as fast as we could, hoping we could still make check in, only to find out we were in the WRONG terminal. The Barcelona airport was HUGE and we had to go outside to another building about ¼ miles away, completely separate from where we were. By then it was 4:45 our flight was leaving at 5pm. We got the counter Clinton used his persuasive Spanish to ask if we could still make the flight but NO GO. So we were led to another window to catch another flight. We had tickets to catch the train back in London at what we thought was 9:30. So we got the next flight leaving and with the time change we would make our train. $144 later we were on our way back to London! We arrived at the airport went through the border check point and off we were to catch our train only to find out we JUST missed it. What are the chances?!? Clinton went to the information desk to ask when the next train was going to Kemble and he later informed us tomorrow a 7am. AAAAAAHHHHHH this day was not going well and I had a sick crying baby who was not happy. We later found out that we could catch the next train to Victoria station and catch the metro to Paddington station and that would take us to Swindon, it wasn’t were are cars were at but it was only 20 minutes from home. We could call Jacqui and see if you would pick us up and take us to Kemble. We made the train with minutes to spare and off we were. Luckily we talked to a man who said we would never make the next train if we got on the metro so we had to take a taxi from Victoria station to Paddington. We crammed our luggage, stroller (Reece safely buckled in and sleeping!) into the traditional British taxi

and made it to the next train station with 2 minutes to spare. We finally made it home by 12:50 and we were exhausted.

At the airport waiting to leave

our plane (easy jet is a SUPER cheap airline but surprisingly very nice airline)

we made it to Barcelona safe and sound

Sagrada Familia (sacred family)
built over 125 years ago by Gaudi who devoted his life to this church

this church was so amazing and there was so much symbolism in it

Gaudi was a big beliver in Christ and he designed the life and history of Jesus in his building

Park Guell
i absolutely loved this park, it was huge and full of so many amazing stone structures, tilling and buildings.

this is the Gaudi dragon very highly admired in Barcelona

the Gothic Cathedral
the first stone was set in the 13th century and work was continued until 1913

The statue of Christopher Columbus (pointing toward the "new world")
is located at the site where Columbus returned to Spain after his first voyage to the Americas. The monument serves as a reminder that Barcelona is where Christopher Columbus reported to Queen Isabella and Ferdinand after Columbus' most famous trip.

nice view of the city from a high point

Gaudi's house

The Market

great food and so fun to walk around

i thought these pigs were so cute but them realized they were already DEAD and soon to be someones main course!

the beach :)

on the harbor boat tour

Amber and Irvin (that's his wife's purse!)

Paris Trip

2011-04-08T09:47:00.000+01:00

The last weekend in March we went on our first “real” trip out of the country. My cousin Lea who lives just 2 hours away invited us to go with her and her husband. We had a great time and saw so much in just 2 short days. We all took the Eurostar bullet train which goes underneath the English Channel. Our train left at 7:30 am Saturday morning and we got up to leave by 4am. Clinton set 2 alarms and after the first went off it shut off and the second never went off b/c it was set for M-F!! That night Reece was up all night sick with something so I was up until about 2am with her and bolted out of bed at 4:20 realizing we were going to be late. We managed to get out the door and made it to the train station on time.

Once we arrived in Paris we took the mile hike to our hotel (felt like 5 pulling luggage), and off we went to see the city. I was so exhausted but excited to see all the sites. Reece was sick and just looked miserable but still had a smile on her face. We took the metro all over the city, which was the best way to get around. I think we were on the metro at least 10 times in the first day, switching at different stops, going up and down stairs with a stroller!

The food was yummy, lots of Panini’s, baguettes, and pastries. We usually ate on the go so we didn’t have to stop and waste time. We only had 2 days and so many places to see. The French are very open with their bodies; we actually didn’t seem much skin on people as we saw in pictures and paintings, signs and billboards. Good think Reece was too young to notice any of it!

on the train to Paris

(poor girl was so sick and exhausted)

but later perked up and was happy!!

our first metro ride in Paris

one of the few escalators in the metro station, most often we lugged
the stroller up and down the stairs.

our first stop:
Norter Dame

next we walked up the river to see the Louvre

This was the hike up to the highest point in Paris to see the Sacre Coure you can’t actually see how many flight of stairs there were but i would guess about 6, luckily we had metro tickets and could use the giant escalator!

The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris, commonly known as Sacré-Cœur Basilica, also the highest point in Paris

Reece and her daddy relaxing for a moment

cant go to Paris and not see the
"Red Light District" Moulin Rouge
i will say it was quite interesting and i was glad to leave this scarey street
the Louvre pyramid

the famous Mona (it looks so small)

Arch of Triumph

what people will do for a little money!

the famous Eiffel Tower

busy street in Paris

the last night before going home ate at a traditional French restaurant

this poor baby was ran all over the city not well and still had a happy face

I found Reece fixing the pipes under the sink at the hotel,
hope she doesnt become a plumber :)!

Spring Is Here!

2011-04-03T20:28:00.002+01:00

Spring is officially here and we took Reece to the park near our place a few weeks ago. She rode the swing for the first time and LOVED it.
The weather is so beautiful here and things are starting to bloom all around i just love it.

Reece on the trampoline (not really sure what this is) swing with Irvin & Amber

The Results...........

2011-03-24T10:21:00.009Z

Yesterday we had an ultrasound to check on the baby and hope to find out if Reece is going to have a baby sister or brother.

Everything looked great but the stinker was not going to cooperate well enough to get a clear shot. After 15 minute's of moving around we think we are having ...........................................................

(i cant flip this for the life of me)

Drum Roll...........

We are not 100% sure, but from what we saw (and hope we saw right!) we are planning on a BOY as of now and will wait to confirm this once i get back to the states.
As for now Reece is going to have a little brother. We are super excited and Clinton is thrilled to get his little boy!

This & That

2011-03-21T12:17:00.005Z

look at those legs!!
wish mine looked that cute :)

Reece loves food, and she loves rice puffs

Reece is such a happy girl and so darn cute!!

Reece found the stairs at my cousins house last weekend and after i turned my back for a min she went right up without fear!

i love this picture, Reece never cuddles like this.... she really must love her daddy!

self induced Botox! or slipping face first onto the hardwood floor and
having 2 sharp bottom teeth.
1 of many accidents to come

Reece LOVES books, she is in the faze where she will sit and look
at a book for hours, its wonderful.

Its time....

2011-03-16T21:05:00.009Z

for a post.

I decided that i needed to post something b/c we haven't gone anywhere fun lately and Clinton has 1 week left of classes (YAY) so he has been super busy and working really hard.

Reece and i have been enjoying to beautiful warmer weather. We go on walks, feed the ducks, play, and crawl and climb onto everything.

3 days after Reece started crawling she learned to pull herself up and loves to walk all over as long as she has something hold on to.

this girls loves dogs almost as much as her daddy!!
she has no fear of them, big or small

Reece trying to get Roxy's doggy treat
success!!

Warwick Castle

2011-03-08T10:44:00.004Z

A few weeks ago we took a trip to Warwick Castle, said to be Britains Ultimate Castle. It was by far the coolest place we have been to. We really had a great time and enjoyed every minute of it.

this is the outside looking at the front entrance
AWESOME

this is the fist piece that was built in 1070 and is still standing!

Sword in the stone

there were some fun shows the castle put on and one was a bird show, they also gave a lot of history about these birds and how they helped catch food

This rug hanging on the wall was a gift for Queen Anne. Carpet and rugs were a luxury and it was rare to see and those who were wealthy would buy large rugs and hang them as decoration on the wall

this bed was sent to Warwick castle in 1704 by Queen Anne, she was coming for a visit and had her bed sent before hand, but her trip was canceled and the bed remained.
(wish i could send my wonderful bed where ever i visited!!)

the staff played their parts extremely well, it was awesome

oh what a cute little girl!

not sure what this was but it was in the room where they were demonstrating how they washed clothes, so i think this rung them out ?

The Rose Garden
sure wish we could have visited in the spring, would have been so beautiful

Peacocks were EVERYWHERE, he was surely not camera shy or maybe he was trying to mate with Amber!! (i guess they puff up like that to attract a mate!)

(hope you can read the sign)
one of the many torture techniques used over 100's of years ago. I can't imagine what that would be like.

Cadbury World

2011-02-26T20:56:00.007Z

This week one of Clinton's professors took his students to Cadbury World.

Reece, Amber and I got to go along for the fun.

just a little history about Cadbury....

Cadbury, the global leader in the chocolate confectionery market, began in 1824 when a young Quaker named John Cadbury opened up a shop in Birmingham. John sold coffee, tea, drinking chocolate and cocoa at his shop. Believing that alcohol was a main cause of poverty, John hoped his products might serve as an alternative.

Chocolate was EVERYWHERE

we got to take a little ride through Cadbury land.
kind of reminded me of the ride at Disney Land "Its a small world"

Beanville, cocoa beans sun bathing!!

some interesting facts about Cadbury

Cadbury was the first company to include pictures instead of printed text on chocolate boxes.

George Cadbury didn’t want to take mothers away from their children, so he developed a company rule that women had to leave work when they got married. Each married woman was given a bible and a carnation as wedding gifts.

Clinton learning about the history of the cocoa bean

we had lots of fun and learned a lot about the history of the cocoa bean and Cadbury chocolate. Cadbury chocolate is HUGE in the UK and it truly is the worlds BEST chocolate. By the time we left i was so sick of the smell and didn't want to taste chocolate for a while.... or the next day!!

London Trip

2011-02-25T14:20:00.012Z

We took our first trip to London Jan. 28th. It was not planned or organized at all. We just woke up and said "lets go to London today!" so we did. We found a GREAT hotel right in main London for a great deal. I didnt really know what it would be like or where it was but we got really lucky. It was really nice, TINY but super nice and super clean. We were just 2 min from the metro so it was perfect.

the fancy bathroom, it took me about a min to find the toilet flush!!

here is our room

outside the hotel, this was our street which was mostly hotels and a few residents.

to park on the street it was over 100 pounds so we used a car park. there is NO free parking in the UK, car parks EVERYWHERE even at the grocery stores!!

inside the Metro station

we used the metro to get around during the day which was super nice if we wanted to get to another side of the city

our first stop was Buckingham Palace

this is where changing of the Guards would take place, but with our luck we just missed it!

Buckingham Palace

the traditional phone booth picture. not the best, there was a HUGE crowd of people wanting to do the same thing as if this was the only phone booth around

Westminster Abbey

double decker buses (i dont know what i was looking at!)

Westminster Abbey close up

we didnt end up taking the tour b/c it was SO busy, the line wrapped around the building and it takes about 3 hours to go through (next visit for sure)

another part of the church

down town at Piccadilly Circus (huge shopping, and fun atmosphere)
China town in London!!

Valentines Day

2011-02-25T14:08:00.009Z

OHHH so cute!!

even with food all over her face
We didnt have a huge fancy V-day just simple, the way i like it. Sorry to say but im not a huge V-day fan. Clinton was super sweet as always and got me some beautiful roses.

We all went out to dinner at the Tunnel House Inn (pub)

Irvin & Amber (1st v-day as a married couple!)

Welcome To....

2011-02-13T15:48:00.013Z

48 Gloscester Street
"The Shop"

Our home sweet home in England

our tiny sitting room and the front door

the dining table seats 4, but we dont have the room!!

the spacious kitchen, standing room for 1 !!

The washer/dryer combo yes its in the kitchen under the fridge

our bedroom

Shower (on left, in a closet!!) WC, toilet, or Lu (on right)

and that's it, our tiny little flat we call home. its small but and not much storage space so we have improvised a lot and utilize every corner we can!

Guess what??????

2011-02-11T12:50:00.006Z

We are happy to announce......

we are.........

...............

officially hooked up to the internet at our home !!!

You thought I was going to say something else :)

Time has gone by quickly, and we are enjoying it here in the WET country. It’s beautiful, green, and lots to see. Reece is growing so much and surprises me every day with new tricks she can do. She is an official crawler (no more army crawling) and she got her first tooth just a few days ago. She is such a happy and good little baby, people would always ask me are you ready for another one? I would always say yes b/c she is such a good baby and so happy, she is really easy, I got lucky. I guess I put my foot in my mouth after saying this over and over b/c Reece is going to be a big sister this fall…… ohh if you didn’t quite understand what that means. We are having a BABY; yes baby kennedy #2 will arrive Aug 16, 2011 just 14 months after Reece. Call me crazy but it’s true.

We found out we were pregnant 2 days before Christmas just 7 days before we were leaving for the UK. I was kind of nervous (Clinton was frantic) about moving here with the healthcare system. We talked long and hard about what to do and decided all will be okay and we will leave the rest up the Lord. I had been nursing Reece since November so we had NO idea how far along I was so for the past 13 weeks I have been in the dark. I had my first ultrasound yesterday and all went well. The baby is good and has a strong heart beat, the ultrasound was super fast and basically all they did was measure and take a few pic’s which I paid 2 pounds for, that’s socialism for you! They do things so different here and I actually go to the Hospital for the appointments and will be seeing a midwife not a Dr. I will have another ultrasound at 20weeks and hope to find out the sex. The hospital use to be a bunch of old houses so it’s quite different, not anything you would imagine. Everyone was so nice and super sweet, all the staff, and nurses wore the old school nurse dresses but no hat! I keep my chart with me, it’s a packet that I take home and bring with me to every apt. You don’t see the Dr or midwife as often as we are use to in the states, they are very relaxed in this country, or so I have noticed.

We are really excited and nervous about having a baby so soon but we will be ready. B/c Clinton and I feel more comfortable with our health system I will be coming home in May instead of June. My mom is coming to visit and Reece and I will be going home with her. Clinton will be here another month to work on his research project. We felt with all the problems I had with Reece (kidney stones) I would be better off in the states just in case they come back. So I can now make my official announcement, living out of the country has made it quite easy to keep quiet, b/c I am not so good at that. I have a feeling it’s a boy b/c I was not nearly as sick with this one as I was with Reece and things just feel different. But we will just have to wait another 6 weeks to find out!

Our Arrival, 1 Month down & Adjusting....

2011-02-04T13:52:00.001Z

This entry is much over due but I started writing this when we got here and just kept adding more to it. So this is more for me to remember and all is welcome to read what you find appealing!

After a long journey we made it to our little flat in Cirencester, England. Our trip started off a little rocky, on the way to the airport Reece was acting funny and wouldn’t finish her bottle and then about 5 minutes into our drive she started throwing up ALL over. Over the Christmas break in our house of 7 kids and 8 adults there was a lot of germs being passed around and Reece happened to get sick the day we left. So Reece was COVERED and I mean literally covered in vomit and I had some on me as well, it got all over the back seat also. When we got to the airport I ran straight into the bathroom and started cleaning things up. We had plenty of time to spare so I was able to wash Reece, the car seat and change her clothes.

Our flight was full but I was lucky enough to get a front seat and Reece had a bassinet to sleep in, which was really great so I didn’t have to hold her the 9 hour 40 min flight. For me the flight was rough, I had a really hard time sleeping and Reece slept okay but I was more worried about her the whole time I kept checking on her, about an hour before landing Reece woke up for good, although it didn’t last long because just before we landed she was asleep again. We landed at 2:30pm and headed straight for the luggage carousel. The London airport was HUGE, it took us about 10 minutes just to get to our luggage and another 10 min to get to the border check point. We got to take a fast bullet tram ride to the baggage terminal, which was fun! When we arrived at the border check and we were jumped to the fast track line b/c we had a baby!! Kids can really be a bonus! J The line was very long and im sure it would have taken us at least an hour to get through so we were really happy to get through in just 10 minutes. With our 2 trolleys (carts) full of luggage we headed to the coach station and waited for our coach to arrive and off we were to lovely Cirencester.

Jacqui, a sweet lady who had been helping us over the past couple months, picked us up at the bus station and took us to our apartment. It was dark outside so I wasn’t able to see much but when walked into our place I was so excited it was super cute. EXTREEMLY small place we have but very nice. Our little family is living in a tiny little 1 bedroom apartment that is about 400sq ft. Nice and cozy! We are right in the center of town and just a 2 min walk into the town square where there is shops, restaurants and lots of fun places to see. We live right by an old church that has a cemetery in the back and some of the stones date back to the 1600’s, it’s pretty awesome. We have been here 3 weeks and have seen so much but also have many more places we need to visit.

We bought a car, its very small but it runs great. Its kind of weird driving on the other side of the road but Clinton has adjusted very fast.

Adjusting to the time change was rough for Reece, it took her about 5 days but she did so well. I would try and keep her up as much during the day as I could so she would be tired at night but her clock was still stuck. She was such a good girl and didn’t fuss too much with all the changes she was going through, food, milk, sleeping. My clock was still on Arizona time b/c I would be up at night with Reece until 2-3am sometimes so it took me a while as well.

The foods here are a little different, it’s going to take me a while to get use to the taste and sometimes lack of taste. There are many things similar to what we have in the states but it’s called something completely different so shopping is a challenge. One thing we have really enjoyed is the Pasty (pastry) shops, they are everywhere and so yummy…. But I have to limit myself or I am going to pack on the pounds! Clinton goes all crazy with the pasties but he has plenty of room to spare!

I miss my home often but I think I miss the warm weather and my spacious rooms more than anything.

We took our first trip last week to the Gloucester Cathedral, an old church that was built in the 11^th century, so much history here it’s amazing. We saw a few of the spots where some of the Harry Potter movies were filmed and we want to visit the other Cathedral’s that they used in the films as well.

Clinton is adjusting to the school system here; it is very different than the states. He has class’s 3 days during the week and no homework and no tests. This is hard for him but he is learning to adjust.

We have been here for a month now and I think we have adjusted well. We spend most of our free time walking about our little town or sightseeing around the nearby villages. Irvin & Amber (the other American couple here with us) live near so we spend lots of time together and it’s nice to have another couple to interact with.

I am very comfortable driving but my only problem is the roads are so small and very confusing. They done use cardinal directions so its impossible to get anywhere without a GPS. I often get lost and I absolutely HATE roundabouts, sadly they are EVERYWHERE. I am just not use to them and how they actually work here it is very different. The speed limit here is WAY high, most roads we would go 25 they go 40 and the freeway or highways here are all 70mph and they are not like our freeways b/c 1-2 miles down you will have a roundabout! There are not too many big roads, lots of country roads and no street lights so driving at night is not my cup of tea.

We took our first trip to London last weekend and I will have to write about that later and post pictures. It was HUGE, BUSY and loads of fun. We will surely go back a few more times before we leave.

Just a little Bit from England

2011-01-23T18:18:00.005Z

I have so much to catch up on and until i get the internet it will be a while before i get back into the blogging world. As you can see we have made it and we are settled in. It is a little different here but not a huge change. We are adjusting to all our surroundings and the foods, we miss home but are enjoying all the fun things to do around here.

here are just a few pictures to give you a taste of the UK

this is the street which we live on (sadly i dont even have a pic of our flat)

this is the second oldest building in Cirencester (just down the street from our flat) it was a hospital built in the 15th century and has been occupied by residents since the 1800's

just before take-off

Reece's bed on the long flight, it was really nice for me to have a break from holding her for 9 hours

Reece's favorite new toy, she is OBSESSED with cords

Clinton's first feel for the British pound

Reece taking her first bath in our tiny sink!

Christmas 2010

2011-01-19T17:58:00.004Z

Because i am so far behind i am going on a picture overload......

here are a few pictures from our Christmas break in Mesa. It was really nice to see our family before we left for the UK.

Talan & Reece (cousins 2 days apart)

cousins Royal & Reece holding hands, so cute!

Reece opening her christmas pj's from Nana, i guess they were tasty!

5 Months

2010-12-01T17:55:00.005Z

I'm a little late at posting Reece’s 5 month happening, she is growing so fast i cant keep up. things she can do and has learned this past month...

Roll over both ways until she runs into a barrier

· Loves food, she started eating solids a few weeks ago and has done really well

· Just learned how to sit up

· She is attempting to crawl, i call her my little inch worm

· Got her first cold

· Big mamma’s girl, doesn't like when i leave the room

· Loves to makes lots of noises and squeak really loud

· Loves to watch TV

· Such a good sleeper (still )

· Started sleeping 12 hours at night !!

She is such a happy girl and we are so in love with her.

November in Washington

2010-11-29T21:45:00.014Z

Reece and i took a trip up to visit my family in Washington this November. We were able to spend 3 weeks there with family and see a few friends. Clinton was able to come up the weekend before Thanksgiving and we were super excited to see him.

Reece had such a fun time being around all her cousins, who just adored her all the time. She has advanced to sitting up on her own and trying to crawl while we were there. Its been so fun watching her grow and learn. She also got her very first cold while there and brought it back with her. We had such a great time and it was very hard to leave. Reece was so loved and was constantly held or played with.
Thanksgiving was wonderful. My mom is a awesome cook, instead of the traditional turkey and stuffing, we had prime-rib and home grown potatoes with fresh green beans and rolls. It was DELICIOUS!!!!!

Clinton got a ride back with my brother Shawn and we drove my dad's truck back down to Logan so we have something to use when we move back to AZ. It was the LONGEST trip to Utah i have EVER had. 2 days of traveling with 19 hours of driving. The weather was HORRIBLE. It took us 12 hours to get from Moses Lake to Ontario OR, which normally takes about 4 hours. We hit really bad snow storm going through the pass and then got stuck behind a fatal car accident which caused a 4 HOUR road closer. So we sat on the highway with the other 5 miles of cars for 4 hours. Reece was such a trooper and ended up falling asleep after 2 hours and slept the rest of the night.

WARNING
picture over-load

Reece and her cousin Ian (1.5 months apart)

the day before we left we all went to my sister-in-laws gym to play

Reece and her daddy going down the slide for the first time

just getting the hang of sitting up

movie night in the basement
'How to Train your Dragon'

the day before thanksgiving it snowed and the wind blew a LOT
there were huge drifts all over

what a good uncle, Clinton reading a book to Owen

Reece and I went to spend a week with rischel, we had so much fun. Owen and the girls had such a blast having us but mostly Reece around (ryan called reece his library child, check her out for the week and return her when your done!!)

Reece discovered that this was so relaxing

uncle Ryan taking Reece for a high ride
(rischel informs me "erin don't worry Ry has 3 kids, he's experienced")
I wasn't to worried

i guess she got tired after she hit the couch!

Cleopatra Reece!!!

aunt Rischel and Reece so cute

Own reading a book to Reece, he couldn't stay away from this girl.
it only took him 2 days to learn her name.
"bebby reece" is what he called her

not a moment alone!!
I think they were watching baby Einstein while Rish and i were cleaning out her closet

Where Reece was there was Owen!!

My mom inherited this super old high chair and i just had to take a picture of Reece sitting in it. She looked so cute

cousins' Auri and Ian

Reece and papa watching the screen saver. it was quite a show,
Reece was talking to every picture

what a face..... i keep wondering who she looks like now??

last but not least, Sasha, my parents new dog, who couldn't leave Reece alone, but Reece loved her as well so it was perfect!

what a stud!!
such a happy girl
what i thought would be the never ending car trip home

*tHe KeNnEdY kLaN*