Life with baby Kelsey

Kelsey is two weeks old today, and while her birth is still fresh in my mind, it seems llike we've had her a long time. She is a sweet girl, and pretty patient. She sleeps and eats like a champ. I put her in the wrap and she really enjoys it and I love it because i get to hold my baby and I still have two hands to take care of the other kiddos.

3 days

1 week

12 days

Mom and Hailee came to take care of me and the kids, it was so much fun and the help was wonderful. Mom showed up with toys and clothes for Brett, Dantzel, Kelsey and Carly, it was like Christmas! I took naps everyday and we had fun talking, making treats, photo shoots, shopping, and playing games. There was also lots of work to be done with four kids 3 and under.

Ah, nothing like snuggling a newborn, especially this one!

My sweet kiddos!

Such a lovey.

Love this girl!

A little outing with Hails to the mailbox, backpack with fruit snack and all.

Haha, this picture cracks me up, I would love to know what they are thinking!

LOVE this picture, I already have it blown up in an 8X10.

So sweet. Mom had mentioned that Brett looks like Jeff in this picture and Brett loved that. Every time he sees this picture he says, "Oh I look like Jeffrey".

Family of Five!

Thursday March 8th was very warm and muggy most of the day, that evening the temperature changed dramatically from 70 and humid to 50 and cold with wind. I was joking with Jeff that maybe the changes in the weather would cause my labor to start. Well it wasn't a joke because that night I woke up at 1am with my first contraction. A sweet neighbor from the ward ran up to our house and stayed with the kids while they slept. We hurried to the hospital, anxious and excited. Things started out slow and I remember telling Jeff that I was ready for things to pick up, let's get this show on the road. I got up and decided to go for a walk with Jeff, I only made it about 100 feet and my water broke, then things really did pick up. The contractions were closer together and stronger and it seemed like a contraction would start to subside, but would then peak again. I stood up to the side of the bed to try a different position and I immediately felt the baby drop. I started screaming and the nurse and Jeff got me back on the bed. The nurse was trying to call the midwife, and she rushed in (she must have heard me screaming). After 3 pushes our sweet baby girl made her way into this world. It was a bit of a rough start for Kelsey Lynn because she had swallowed some meconium and was having a hard time breathing. I only held her for a second and they took her (and Jeff) to the nursery to be monitored.
Kelsey weighed 6 lbs 13 oz (my smallest) and 19 3/4 in long (my longest). She is absolutely perfect.

Me and our sweet new addition.

Kelsey Lynn Neeley

We have 3 kids...wow!

We are a family of five!!

Waiting...

We are anxiously awaiting our little baby girl! I am due in 9 days, but wouldn't mind having her a little sooner. I have been avoiding a post because, well, it's not going to be terribly exciting.
Last week we went camping (38 weeks prego, go me!) to a park in Austin. We wanted to get the kids one last camping trip before the baby, and they loved it. They are champion campers, they fall asleep about 8-9 and wake up 6-7. That's pretty good considering their ages.
My ward had a baby shower for me and baby Kelsey (99% set on this name), and it was amazing!! I was completely spoiled; they have been so helpful since family is so far and I have a new appreciation for the term "ward family". Homemade quilts and blankets, summer clothes, diapers and more.
What we are up to while waiting...

37 weeks pregnant. No more pictures allowed after this point!

Brett spends most of his time here. We have named the extra room in our house the train room and it takes up the entire room! All of his trains have names and specific personalities. For example the blue train named Spencer is a mean train and crashes other trains off their tracks. Haha, he is so cute.

Our new car seats. So, we really didn't want to sell the car and the truck and couldn't afford the SUV we wanted, so we found these amazing car seats. They are steel framed and very slim and they fit with an infant car seat comfortably in the back of the car/truck. Ahhhh, lifesavers.

We took a Saturday trip to Pedernales state park. We spent the day bird watching, hiking, throwing rocks in the water, and a picnic lunch...perfect. Dantzel loves nature and being outside, and still eats dirt.

Personality

It is so true that each kid comes with their own personality and we are seeing more and more of this in Brett and Dantzel.
Brett is very particular about some things...he always like his hands CLEAN, he asks for a wet wipe to wash his hands after eating fish crackers. He asks for a towel to cover his clothes before he eats anything because he wants his shirt to stay clean. If there is one tiny drip of pee in his undies he asks for "fresh, clean undies". He is very organized and systematic, and everything needs to be put where it belongs.
Here is a little snapshot of his true colors...I love it, and he was so proud of his work.
Dantzel is not particular about much. She is very easy going and more of a free spirit. She makes us laugh frequently and has a little spring to her step. She frequently puts things on her head: underwear, hats, towels and loves to walk around the house in my shoes. One day I caught her with toothbrushes shoved into her pockets.
Here is a picture of Sissy in a nutshell. Sure love this little sweetie.

Happy Birthday Bretty!

Brett turned 3 on January 10th, and I am amazed by how much he has changed. He says the cutest things...like last night when the birthday celebrations were over he said, "Thanks for the great day today mommy". For the last while when asked how old he is Brett responds "I'm really 4" and we went along with it but kept reminding him on his birthday he was going to be 3, so far he's good with being 3.
Jeff has been dreaming of him and Brett riding around the neighborhood on Razor scooters together, so Brett (and Jeff) got a scooter for his present, and he was excited!!
I also wanted to post pics, so everyone can see how much our little buddy has changed these 3 years.

3 years

2 years

1 year

5 weeks

Loves the whole birthday idea: cake, birthday song, blowing out the candles.

I was so excited to make this dirt bike mountain cake for Brett and I thought it turned out pretty awesome. Unfortunately Brett didn't really understand it, when he saw it he said (slightly confused), "mommy, there's a cycle on my cake". Oh well, it brought me some joy and Brett did enjoy both the cake and the new toy motorcycle.

Train Ride Birthday Surprise!

From books about trains from the library, to Thomas train videos, to his new train set from Christmas, this boy is obsessed with trains. To keep with the theme we surprised him with a day on the Austin Steam Train. When we arrived he was asking everybody he saw, "can I go on a train ride?"

This face perfectly describes what this little boy was feeling before boarding the train.

Dantzel was along for the ride.

He we are in our train car, built in 1948 which was coupled directly to the engine! Brett spent most of the ride standing on his seat with his nose glued to the window... and he was one of the first passengers to see something crazy (see video below).

Brett was fascinated with this cool looking diesel engine. After the train ride he was anxious to get home and make a new track for his trains.

Pooped.

Truck vs. Train!

About 15 minutes into Brett's first train ride, with his nose glued to the window, he saw our train hit the front end of a flat bed semi-truck. The driver of the semi was a little too far into the intersection! We were shocked, and Brett couldn't stop talking about it. Talk about adventure!

Our First Christmas in Texas

It was an amazing and eventful Christmas this year. We got visitors from New Mexico: Hailee, Derek and Carly and from Idaho: Mom, Dad and Trever. Between the two of them they stayed 12 days and it was awesome. The weather was beautiful, mid 60's, and we spent a lot of time outside.
Also during the Christmas break, we closed on our new house (my Christmas present!), and took a day to move -- thanks fam for moving us on your vacation.
We spent Christmas day with Hailee and Derek reading scriptures and stories and singing songs. Mom and Dad arrived Christmas night late, so we decided to save all of the presents for the following morning.

Cabela's camo camp chair t0 Dantzel from Daddy. (I think he's afraid she's going to be a girly girl or something)

Borrowing grandma's stylish reading glasses.

We spent a whole day at SeaWorld in San Antonio...amazing!

I love this guy!!

Yummy Texas barbeque at Rudy's. Brett ate white bread and root beer, while Sissy had as much moist brisket as Jeff. Everybody LOVED this place.

Grandma just knows how to doll a girl up!

We spent an afternoon at a park with a picnic lunch. We forgot the bread, so we tried feeding the ducks chips. Brett came running up to me saying "mommy, ducks don't eat chips", bummer. These are some of my favorite people.

LOVE this picture, and now you all know where Dantzel got her eyes.