29Dec 2014

‘Twas the Week Before Christmas

By K + Z 0 Activities, Family, Holidays, Sloan Permalink 0

It seems like this year the holidays just came out of nowhere! Obviously we were a little distracted eating, sleeping, crapping our pants, and trying to enjoy bath time a little more…

I am slowly taking new projects here and there for work. A fun project I did, though, was for a friend who asked me to replicate a family tree for her for a Christmas gift and I am so happy with how it turned out.

Life with a newborn is so much better than I expected. I don’t get as much done day to day as I used to, but I am enjoying this stage of her life so very much. I might die when I can no longer tuck her in one arm…

The week before Christmas we had our annual Henderson Adult Christmas dinner. We had it at the Roof this year, in the round room. Zach and I checked “Seeing the lights at Temple Square” off our holiday to-do list…from above and in a warm room.

Thank you to Mark and Jeanene for a delicious meal with great company!

On the daily, Sloan is such a champ and goes everywhere with me. Lucky for me, she loves riding in the car and doesn’t mind her car seat at all. She loves looking out the window as we run our errands.

I feel very lucky that I can work from home.

Like I said, I am taking it in stages, but I really like my new co-worker. She doesn’t mind that I am in my jams 80 percent of the time.

I have learned a lot the past 6 weeks on my quest to become a decent mother. One of the most random is that just because you love clothes and buy your unborn child a whole slew of them, doesn’t mean that she will like them as much as you do. Sloan would rather be naked [aka in a diaper only] all day every day if I would let her. One of the few things she would tolerate, however, were her Christmas jammies.

Zach went up to the Hendo cabin for a weekend with his guy friends. I took the opportunity to get everything done before the holiday. I got all my neighbor gifts done. Talk about last minute. This year we did pasta and pesto. Which means I will have a frozen pesto supply until next Christmas…

Also, Sloan and I wrapped all the Christmas presents [naked of course – her, not me].

One of the best bits of advice I got before Sloan came was to get a Rock and Play [thank you Lindsey!] and I can’t even say how grateful I am for that suggestion. Sloan loves to watch me do everything. Make dinner, clean the house, whatever – all in her little Rock and Play (that she also sleeps in next to our bed every night). It has saved me!

Since Zach didn’t get home until Sunday, my mom and I decided to have a mini stay-cation. Just us three girls. We stayed a night at the Grand America. We had in-room dining for dinner and watched movies all night. Sloan was trippin’ out in the middle of the night when she realized her dad had morphed into Gram…

Sunday was the Henderson Family Christmas party at Classic Skating. Sloan wore her Christmas dress for 10 whole seconds before she was over it. I am glad I got a photo op before it was boycotted…

Also, going along with the “better-late-than-never” theme…we sent out our Christmas cards. Probably my favorite year thus far. Sloan’s face is killing it in this picture. Our child fits in pretty well with her weirdo parents, if you can’t tell…

Just counting down the days until we get to celebrate our first Christmas with our baby girl!

22Dec 2014

Sloan’s Newborn Photos

By K + Z 0 Family, Sloan Permalink 0

The day before Thanksgiving we had Sloan’s newborn photos taken at our home. Ashleigh from Harlow Moon Photography took them and we are thrilled at how they turned out. I am so grateful she captured some of Sloan’s nursery, as well.

08Dec 2014

The Way We Were

By K + Z 0 Activities, Family, Holidays, Sloan Permalink 0

This week we took Sloan to the mall for some holiday shopping. We tried out our bassinet attachment that goes with or stroller and the poor thing looked like she was in a deep dark cavern. She didn’t hate it…she just doesn’t fit very well in it yet. Every turn of the stroller meant she was playing steamroller inside there.

We scored some great gifts and afterwards Zach made us get Hot Dog on a Stick at the food court – a “Fashion Place tradition”. I am not the biggest fan of HDOAS, but the lime lemonade is always a win. Hopefully Sloan enjoyed her second-hand corn dog…

She slept almost the entire time. The hustle and bustle of the holidays didn’t phase her one bit.

I finally put up our Christmas decorations as well. Sloan’s stocking arrived just in time. It’s not as decked out as it usually is, but at least there is a tree for Sloan to snooze by.

Saturday we went to our first family movie. I had been dying to see the new Hunger Games flick so we decided to go for it. I originally purchased some infant headphones so I could take Sloan to her dad’s ice hockey games, but we decided to experiment with them at the movie. We had it all planned out. Sloan takes a bottle like a champ [I started pumping one bottle for her a day when she was a week old] so we gave her a bottle during the opening trailers. She slept through the entire movie thanks to a full belly and those silly headphones.

I kept reminding Zach not to drop popcorn on her head…

When I think about the way we were before Sloan, it makes sense what people warned me about. Having a baby does make certain situations tricky. BUT if you make a plan, and if you are really lucky, you can do the things you want to do or did before having kids. Yes, things take more time. Literally it took me 6 times as long this week to send out Christmas cards as it would have normally, but we did it! And we’re getting into a groove. All three of us, actually. We are learning Sloan’s little tells. She is officially one month old and I am starting to tell the difference between a “I am hungry” cry and a “I just crapped my pants” cry…

She’s a pretty rad chick and I can confidently say that this has been the fastest month in memory. Can’t wait to see who she morphs into next month!

01Dec 2014

Thanksgiving

By K + Z 0 Family, Food, Holidays, Personal, Sloan Permalink 0

It’s weird to think about, but this has been our first Thanksgiving home in six years! Even though it was different being home instead of out of town celebrating our anniversary, different is sometimes even better…

We had Sloan’s newborn photos the day before Thanksgiving. She was snoozing the majority of the time and I am hoping the photographer captured a few with her eyes open. I still have to wake her up to eat at night. Poor thing hates to be disturbed while she is zoned out, but the girl has got to beef up!

Thursday we elected to stay home for Thanksgiving day. We were planning on going to the Hendo cabin for dinner, but with 25 grandkids we figured it would be smarter to stay home and stay healthy. But we weren’t alone the whole day. My parents, brother, and sister-in-law came to visit us for lunch. We had pizza and picked our way through the Black Friday adds.

That afternoon Sloan and I cooked Thanksgiving dinner. I was elated that I didn’t mess everything up for our first Thanksgiving as a family of three. Granted that the stuffing was Stovetop and we ate with Cafe Rio silverware…but we are calling it a victory because nothing was burned or tasted foul!

Even the pie, which I had to battle for at the grocery store because it was the LAST one, turned out ok!

Zach’s sister dropped of this hilarious onesie before dinner. So thanks to Lori, my daughter was festive for her very first holiday.

Friday I ventured to Target for a little bargain shopping, but wasn’t looking for anything in particular and left with sheets. Like we need another pair of neutral sheets around this house…

Zach spent his day off from work snowboarding at Park City. He put his new pole [his “new dad” gift he asked for] to good use in the park.

Saturday we got our family Christmas card photos taken by the sweet and talented Erin Burk. She was so sweet to put up with us and our (ok, this was MY idea, Zach was not so into it) theme for the card. I can’t wait to see how they turned out!

Later that night Zach took Sloan and I to Em’s Restaurant up by the capital. It was my first time and it did not disappoint. It is such a cute and quiet restaurant. Sloan slumbered next to me in her car seat the entire time. It was the perfect place to take her out with us. There were only a few other groups at the restaurant. Two out of the four tables asked to come see her. The reaction we got when they realized she was just two weeks old was pretty hilarious. People find it very odd that Zach and I are taking her with us everywhere, but we figure that WE are goers…so Sloan is going to have to keep up eventually.

I am so grateful for so many things this holiday. The support from our family and friends throughout this whole process welcoming Sloan into our family has completely floored me. I am so lucky to have my husband. He is such an incredible partner and parent already. I am beyond blessed to have an angel in our home every day. She doesn’t always smell like an angel, but everything else is heavenly. Sloan has made the two of us a real eternal family, and for that I will never be able to repay her. She is our little BFF already and I can’t wait to share more experiences with her and make millions of memories.

24Nov 2014

Sloan Zone // 6 Year Anniversary

By K + Z 1 Family, Personal, Sloan Permalink 0

We’re two weeks in to the Sloan Zone. This little girl is an angel baby. I may be jinxing myself, but we don’t deserve this child. She is a great sleeper and a champion eater. These first two weeks have been so much better than I expected.

We’ve had so many sweet friends and family members come and visit. I wish I was more diligent at taking photos with all of her friends that came. Zach went back to work the following Monday and Sloan and I have been doing our thing all day erry day. We’re getting pretty good at this mother/daughter thing.

We had her first check-up the day after we got home from the hospital and all was well.

Zach is seriously crazy about her. You know how they say you will love your spouse even more when you see them love your child? It’s true. He comes home every day for lunch and spends some time with her.

I’ve started up working again here and there. Not even a fraction of the hours I was putting in before, but it’s a start! I cram in as much as I can while she is sleeping so I can hang with her right when she’s up and ready to eat.

10 days in we had our first adventure out alone, just the two of us. She didn’t make a peep the entire trip. Poor thing doesn’t know that this is her first of many excessive trips to Target over her life time.

Later in the week Zach won his roller hockey league championship. He was so thrilled. He couldn’t wait to come home and show Sloan.

Friday was Zach and I’s 6 year anniversary. We both agreed we wouldn’t get each other gifts this year. With that said, Zach still managed to sneak in all my favorite treats first thing in the morning before he left for work…

We had no plans this year, considering my due date was three days before our actual anniversary. Since she came a week early, I planned the weekend for the two of us. Zach was very reluctant to go on a stay cation with a 11-day-old baby, but I knew we could do it. I refused to stay cooped up in our house all weekend. Sloan was a sweetheart and slept all the way up to Park City. We decided to stay at the Montage up in Deer Valley. I had stayed there a few times previously with Zach’s family for Swiss Days and convinced Zach it was worth it, considering he had never been. It was our first weekend away as a family of three. Even typing that trips me out…

We ordered room service for dinner and lounged around all night switching back and forth from movies to football games.

The next morning we had breakfast in bed. Mornings are my favorite with Sloan. Like I said, she loves her sleep, but 10:00 am is her “golden hour”. After I fed her we feasted on muffins, pancakes, fruit, and our go-to beverages. She just lounged right beside us, staring out the window.

We couldn’t miss the Utah football game, obviously. Zach got us two pizzas to go from one of the restaurants in the hotel and we had a pizza party in our room while we watched the Utes get destroyed. At least the pizzas were on point…

Every member of the staff we came across was gaga over Sloan. The lady at guest services was asking us all about parenthood and couldn’t believe we would take a baby on a weekend trip with us that was so fresh outta the womb. Our second night she sent us the sweetest card and the cutest stuffed squirrel for Sloan. She told us it was so wonderful to see two people so excited to be parents. Sloan thought the squirrel was pretty amazing…

That night we ventured down to one of the hotel’s restaurants for dinner. Sloan slept between us the entire time.

The third member of our dinner party was totally pooped…

We left Sunday morning and made the drive back home. It sounds corny, but we had the best weekend. Great food, great service, an amazing bed, and spending 24 hours in a bath robe was pretty sick.

We made it in time to go to Sunday dinner at my Grandma’s house. She had a pre-Thanksgiving dinner prepared for us. While we did dishes and cleaned up after the feast, she cuddled with Sloan next to the Christmas tree. The boys watched the 49ers game.

Now that we’ve got two weeks under our parental belts, we feel like we are kind of getting into a routine. There a few things that I never want to forget about these first couple of weeks. Like how from the moment we brought her home, our house smelt like a baby. I never want that smell to go away. Even though our house looked like a hospital room for a few days, we finally have it organized so we can smoothly move around the house with her in tow. I never want to forget how she looks up at me when I nurse her. Or how she recognizes her dad’s voice when he comes home from work and says hello to her.

Being a parent is so much better than I expected. Sure, we’re sleepy. That’s my own fault, I guess, because I choose to work and do laundry while she sleeps instead of napping along with her. But we’ll get there. Everyone told us our lives would be different and they couldn’t be more right. The part that nobody tells you about being a new mom or dad is that you never can imagine how tired but happy you can be at the same time.

19Nov 2014

Our Hospital Stay

By K + Z 0 Family, Personal, Pregnancy, Sloan Permalink 0

The three of us stayed in the hospital a little under 48 hours after Sloan was born. Our nights were long and sleepy, but our days were filled with visitors. We loved seeing so many family members and friends!

I can’t even express how grateful I am to the staff of the Maternal Newborn Recovery. Yeah, the U is a little strict about some things, but the care and attention you get is beyond incredible. Since I found out I was pregnant a very important goal of mine was to be able to nurse Sloan. So many of my family members and friends have struggled with this, and I assumed it would be difficult for me as well. Day two was when everything started to click. My angel of a nurse, Kara, taught me a few of her tips and tricks and Sloan and I got into a serious groove. It’s all been downhill since then! My girl is just like her mother – LOVES to eat and is a breast feeding champ! Don’t get me wrong, it is still really hard, but I have discovered Sloan’s little triggers so I can trick her into feeding. It’s hilarious to me that the four books that I read and the breastfeeding class that Zach and I took were not even close to as helpful as the sweet little spunky nurse on call that second day.

Sloan passed all her requirements so we could go home a little early. Our favorite was watching her get her first bath! Zach has been looking forward to bath time with Sloan for the last nine months! Zach takes his bathing very serious [Hendersons are big “tubbers”] and we’re hoping she enjoys it as much as her father does.

All of the outfits I brought to take her home in completely drowned her. Even the tiniest of them all made her look like she had on grandpa pants. Side Note: I totally over-packed for the hospital. Poor Zach had to get a giant cart to drag all of our stuff outta there. Not to mention that I cleaned the place out! I literally shoved every supply possible in some re-usable shopping bags and made Zach take them all down to our car. After Zach and I got cleaned up we were all ready to go home!

Then we took our first family photo together. Yes, this is the best one we could get of Sloan. She was only interested one eye’s worth for this photo op.

It’s pretty wild to think about. One minute you have a tiny human inside of you and the next your strapping her teeny tiny self into a car seat to drive home. She looked like a doll in that giant seat. I can’t rave enough about how appreciative I am of all of those nurses and other staff members at the University Hospital. We loved our time in recovery, but were elated to come home and sleep in our own bed.

← Older Entries

Yearly Archives 2014