Kade's First Week

What a whirlwind these last two weeks have been. I'm only going to scratch the surface of what I can post and am just going to have to live with it! :)
Monday we had a fun FHE with Grandma Lee that included making a "Welcome to the Family" sign for Baby Brother. Rissie signed her name for the first time.
Tuesday afternoon Jon came home early, so we took Mom on a quick tour of the city. We'd been given a handful of unsolicited referrals of the best places to eat at church. Most of them were for pizza. So in our adventure we found Gino's East and had some great Chicago deep dish pizza. Then went home and watched While You Were Sleeping pointing out all the places we'd seen that day. It's really good that we went while we could, Jon and I went to the hospital the next day.

Proud and Grateful Parents
I always kind of laugh to myself with mom's that get all dolled up for a hospital bed picture. But after not getting ANY pictures of me from Anna's birth I liked, I thought I'd at least splash a little color on my cheeks and lips. It didn't help my hesitance when the nurse came in and said I looked ready for the ball!

Happy Family
The girls meet Kade for the first time! (Isn't my mom pretty?)
The hospital gave us a "Congratulations Dinner". Look how cute. It was actually pretty yummy too.

We absolutely ADORE this little man. Check out his profile - see any similarities. And why is it so cute when a newborn finds his thumb?

Three big sisters can't get enough of their new baby brother!

Baby Kade

Here is our new little boy, Jonathan Kade Jenkins. He weighed 8 lbs 0 oz, and was 21 inches long. He was born at 3:07 am on March 4th, 2010. Here are some pictures for you to enjoy until Becky gets back and can update the blog. Sorry no pictures of Becky this time.... I almost lost my life last time I posted pictures of her in the hospital.

Fancy Like Nancy - Girls Night In

Every time Daddy is on call we have a little party with Mom. Our last party was exquisite. Rissie, Anna and I dressed up in our fanciest clothes and our favorite accessories. We visited with Grandma Lee who gave us our Fancy Nancy books, but we were so fancy, I am sure she thought we were movie stars! Then we had parfaits with sprinkles. Parfait is a fancy word for ice cream-sundae. We ate with our pinkies up and called each other darling. Then, we finished our party at the Living Room Theater. It was a splendid night!

Don't we look POSH?

These are some simply MUST SEE videos

So Sweet...Not So Sweet Anna's videos #1

Sorry if you haven't been able to view the videos. I separated them into different posts. I hope that solves the problem...please let me know if you are still having problems viewing them. :)

You'll see a pattern of tears, but I think it's just because they entertain us - not because she is always crying. She's usually pretty sweet and happy. But, as you'll learn from this, not without fire.

Too Tired Video #2

The Jackhammer video #3

Lauren's Birthday & Random Fun

Lauren's 5th Birthday Party on the ice. It was FREEZING! I think her birthday fell on the coldest day of the year, seriously. In fact, the cupcakes I brought to the rink, we ate at our house instead. Little video of her birthday at the end of this post.
Some randomness. There was a jackhammer across the street that the girls wanted to see so Daddy put them on the counter...or window seal. Anna thought it was a funny sound at first, then her laughter slowly turned into cries. There is a pretty cute video of it but I need to edit it first. Rissie's jammies are stuffed with a couple of her baby dolls. Our friends cleaned out their attic and brought over this darling little rocking horse for the girls. It's been a hit! And as you see Anna nearly naked...that has been happening far too often lately. I think she is understanding the concept of "clean and dry", so has taken to removing her diaper as well. A couple of nights ago we heard some yelling from Anna after we'd put them all to bed and were shocked to find her completely naked standing up in her crib. Haha.
My friend introduced me to this darling zoo/discovery zone. We took the girls there last week and they had a GREAT time to say the least. I am definitely considering getting a family pass. This is their son Austin whom Lauren volunteered last night that she wants to marry.

This is one of their favorite passtimes, and Anna tried out her new sticker book.

I went to a baby shower on Saturday and came home to the girls playing with Daddy. We've had a lot of COLD and rain but not a lot of snow worthy of playing. So I am thrilled that Jon took them out after this last snowfall. It's more work to get them all dressed...and undressed than is worth it to me with my last month of carrying Kade.

Our Christmas Season

Christmas has come and gone, but once you see all of these pictures you'll understand why this task has been a little daunting - and what a FUN season this was. It's definitely been one of my favorites!

First, let's not forget the ward Christmas party. The girls sang and rang their bells in the four child primary performance. As the party drew to a close we were about to gather our stuff when the activities director stopped me and asked if we could wait just a few more minutes. Santa was coming and our family made up half the kids at the party! Anna thought it was great - especially the candy. Rissie was happy about it and apparently liked the candy too, and Lauren admitted that she was a little nervous. How cute.

I let the girls wrap Daddy's present to help them feel involved in the giving of gifts, but I could only take it so far. Notice Lauren's work with the scissors? After that, they helped with the taping, ribbon holding, and choosing of the tag. Lauren even wrote the names. Anna enjoyed the festivities with the chocolates of the season, and the tinsel, which I have no idea why I bought and will never buy again - although, they DID make for some pretty cute pictures.

We built a snowman and played in the snow together. What a great night! Anna learned the word cold and used it appropriately. To finish it off we came in for steamers and pirouettes. Mmmm.

Christmas Sunday
I stayed home sick and they were late so I had to get them with the coats on.

I still can't get over what a fun Christmas this was. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. You'll have to click on these to get some of the expressions. :)

Lauren Louski

Rissie Roo

Anna Banana

We have FOUR sets of missionaries in our ward. Three of the four came over Christmas night for some food and games. It was a nice finish to a great day.
Still to come...Lauren's Birthday! Another reason this post is so tardy. I think life will slow down a little now - just in time for me to relax and enjoy my last 8 weeks of being pregnant before we add number four to the mix. :)