2012 Recap.

I cannot believe 2012 is almost over. What a year it has been....

In January we found out we were expecting a sweet little baby. That news rocked our world for the better.

In March I was able to meet with Elder Holland as part of my internship. This experience helped me make the decision to stick with school until I had a degree in my hand, even with my sweet baby coming.

In April we learned our sweet little baby was a GIRL! Pink, ruffles, and bows started filling our house. We also finished another semester of school.

In May we ventured on a "babymoon" cruise and took Aubrey and Trey along for the ride. It was a nice final getaway kid-free.

In June we moved apartments and lived with my grandparents for a couple of weeks. I also enjoyed the pleasure of being pregnant during the long, hot summer (*insert sarcasm here*).

In July we celebrated Independence Day at Stadium of Fire; as well as partied at Bear Lake for the fabulous Hunt Reunion. We also celebrated our first wedding anniversary with a surprise weekend getaway to Salt Lake. Austin did good with the planning and execution of the surprise.

In August I started my last year of school (It's about time...). I also finally quit my job at UVU. It was a bittersweet experience.

In September our sweet baby Kennadi finally joined our family. You can read more about that here.

In November Kennadi received a name and a blessing from her daddy. We also spent Thanksgiving with the in-laws and enjoyed watching Kennadi grow and develop a silly personality.

In December  Kennadi got to celebrate her first Christmas. We were all spoiled and thoroughly enjoyed the time spent up in Tremonton. We came to the conclusion that holidays are a lot more fun with babies around.

2012 was a year full of 'firsts'. It was a year full of changes. It was a year full of unbelievable experiences and incredible memories. Here is hoping 2013 is as good to us as 2012.

Happy New Year!

Christmas.

Christmas was spent at my parent's house in Tremonton this year. It was fun to have the whole family together. Kennadi was spoiled rotten, as expected. Grandma gave her all the attention and presents a baby could need. We had to forgo our regular Christmas Eve tradition of going to dinner and a movie due to the snow. Instead we stayed home, ordered pizza, and played games. Even though we are all pretty much adults, we couldn't forget the Christmas pjs or Christmas story either.

Santa didn't have a problem finding us Christmas Night. I was surprised at how well Kennadi took to opening presents. She had no problems ripping the wrapping paper and grabbing the bows only to stick them straight in her mouth. Kennadi received a new play mat, some baby golf clubs (Austin couldn't resist), and lots and lots of clothes. Austin got some golf things and a new phone. I got clothes, pots and pans, and some necessities for my half marathon training (oh the joys of growing up!). Kennadi feel asleep half way through the Christmas chaos. It's tough being a baby!

As of Lately...

Here is a quick recap of events in the Richards’ household...

The Hunt Clan had their annual Christmas Party. This is one of my favorite Christmas traditions. The Hunts know how to party! As usual my grandma made a delicious dinner, we played some silly games, and left with awesome White Elephant Gifts. Kennadi just soaked in all the attention and loved every minute of it. Thanks Courtnie for the pictures :)

Austin, Markel, Madison, and I ventured out to Energy Solutions Arena to attend a Utah Jazz Game. We had to go to at least one game before Markel left on her mission and Madison left to Florida. The Jazz ended up losing to Memphis but we didn’t care. We still love the Jazz!

  

Finally, we have had a couple of sick bodies under our roof. Austin and Kennadi both got a little sick but got over it pretty quick. I, on the other hand, got hit pretty hard. Luckily I have an awesome husband who took good care of me and volunteered to take Kennadi if she happened to wake up in the middle of the night so I could drown myself in NyQuil. 

End of Semester.

The semester is finally over! Praise the heavens above. This semester was torture. I barely survived taking 15 credits without damaging my GPA too bad. It’s not that my classes were hard; it was just my lack of motivation. Having a baby at the beginning of the semester tends to do that to ya. I am happy to say, I only have one more semester and then I will officially be a college graduate. Wahoo!

Most of my late night homework sessions were spent with this little one. Doesn’t she look like a big help? Can you see now why I had a lack of motivation to get anything done? All I wanted to do was kiss those chubby little cheeks!

     

3 Months.

At Three Months Kennadi is…

-11 pounds 2 ounces and 24 inches long.

-in 3 month clothes and snuggly fits into size 1 diapers. This mama is just too cheap to move up a size in diapers until the box is all gone!

-still eating and sleeping like a champ! 

-finally has a routine for playtime, mealtimes, and naptimes.

-will only take her naps if something is covering her eyes like her arm, hands, or blanket. She is definitely her father’s child.

-constantly happy. Shots, an upper respiratory infection, nor serious digestive issues would keep this girl from always smiling and cooing.

-starting to play with toys and is starting to enjoy reading books.

-must always have something in her mouth whether it be a binki, her hands, her blanket, or a toy.

-can support herself while standing and sit in her bumbo by herself.

Christmas Pictures.

My older sister, Courtnie, came over this weekend and took some Christmas pictures of Kennadi.I had to recruit some help because I didn't think my iphone would take high enough quality pictures to slap on some Christmas Cards plus Courtnie has one fancy camera. It was a bit of a challenge since Kennadi is at this awkward stage where she wiggles too much laying down but she isn't quite big enough to sit up on her own. It also didn't help that she wasn't feeling too well. Considering everything I think they turned out pretty good! Isn't she cute?

 Thanks Courtnie! I can't wait for baby Easton to come and we can take pictures of the two together; matching outfits and all!

Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving was spent at the Richards' house this year. It was my first thanksgiving being away from my family and it wasn’t too shabby. We went up to Tremonton on Wednesday. That night we had pizza and went bowling to celebrate my nephew Brody’s first birthday. I didn’t win but I did break 50. It’s all about small victories right?

Thursday was spent cooking and eating. There was plenty of yummy food to go around.  Kennadi didn’t want to be left out on Thanksgiving and conveniently decided she was starving as soon as we were ready to say the prayer. So Austin got to eat his thanksgiving dinner one handed; the other hand was busy feeding the babe. What a champ aye?

The rest of the weekend was filled with playing with the kiddos, having a girl’s day to Breaking Dawn, getting my groove on with Just Dance, and watching Kennadi get spoiled by everybody.

Another highlight of the week, was watching Markel get her mission call. We went over to my mom’s house on Friday night and facetimed with Markel so we could watch her open it. She is going to Houston, Texas and will be speaking Spanish. I am going to miss her sooo much but she will make an amazing missionary. The people of Texas don’t know how lucky they are to have my best friend for 18 months. 

Letters.

Dear Austin: Thanks for being an early riser and helping with Kennadi in the wee hours so I can get a little more shut eye.  Dear Kennadi:  I am so happy you are already rolling over but I am so sad you are growing up so fast. Dear Lizzy: Thanks for always babysitting Kennadi so this mama can hit the gym and get her pre-baby body back.  Dear Neighbor: Is it really necessary to vacuum your floor three times a day?   Dear Hostess: Why did you have to shut down? I loved your crumb doughnuts!  Dear Utah Jazz: Please please please win your game tonight and don’t make it a triple overtime win either. That last game gave me ulcers. Dear Thanksgiving: Will you hurry up and get here? I have an itch to put up my Christmas tree but am trying to resist until you have arrived and gone.  Dear Hunter: Congrats on your mission call! I am "ghana" miss you but Ghana is lucky to have you. Dear MarKel: I cannot wait to see where you going on your mission. My bets are on Europe.  Dear closet: I think it’s time for a makeover. I am sick of wearing clothes that are too tight, ripped, or stretched out (thank you pregnancy belly). It just seems whenever I go shopping for myself I always wander over to the baby section. Baby clothes are much more fun to buy.  Dear Breaking Dawn Part 2 Movie: I can't wait to see you. Does this make me sound nerdy?  Dear Summer: Why did you have to leave? Come back…..  Dear Weekend: Thank you for finally coming! Cheers to the freaking weekend!

2 Months.

At 2 Months old Kennadi is….

--finally starting to fit into 0-3 month clothes and still using size 1 diapers.

--smiles, coos, and is becoming a lot more vocal when she cries.

--loves her daddy! Whenever he walks through the door from work or school she gets the biggest grins on her faces (even if she was just screaming five seconds before).

--has found her hands and must have them in her mouth at all times. This results in one very slobbery baby.

--sleeps through the night! Wahoo! She goes down to sleep around 9:30-10 and won’t wake up until 6ish. She is up for around 30 minutes and goes back to sleeps until 9. She gets her love for sleep from her mama! 

--loves her mealtimes. She is eating 4 oz every 3 hours. We gave up on breastfeeding this week. Kennadi preferred bottles and formula plus I was going insane pumping all the time to keep her happy and satisfied so it was a welcomed change.

--HATES tummy time but it must be working because she rolled over today.

Blessing Day.

Kennadi was blessed on November 4^th by her daddy. We blessed her up in Tremonton in my parent’s ward. We figured since both of our families lived up that way it would be easier for us to go to them instead of all of them come to us. Plus I wasn’t sure we would fit everyone in our apartment for the luncheon afterward. We were incredibly fortunate to have so much family and friends come and support us.

I was really worried how Kennadi would behave during the blessing. I should have known better though because Kennadi was a little angel. I have been very lucky to have such an easy going baby! Kennadi was bright-eyed and happy during the whole blessing and as soon as it was done she fell right to sleep. She hardly even fussed afterwards when she was passed from person to person and had a million camera flashes in her face. Kennadi wore the same dress I was blessed in and looked pretty darn adorable if I do say so myself. Look for yourself...