Fun with Grandpa and Grandma

Kennedy is so lucky to have such wonderful grandparents. She is even luckier that she got to spend some time with Grandpa and Grandma Clawson this last week. We all had a blast hanging out, staring at Kennedy's crazy faces, and "mastering" Rook. Some of the highlights were cooking dutch oven at a park and playing croquet, going to the Ford Rouge Factory tour, singing at the Detroit Chapel open house (and the great Mexican food that followed), Kennedy's blessing, going to the Tigers game, walking down to the lake, (and my personal favorite) sleeping through the night while Bev took care of Kennedy. What a treat! Kennedy (and her mom and dad) already miss them and can't wait to visit all the rest of the gang soon.

Blessing Day!

Today Kennedy Sharlan Clawson received a name and a blessing! What a great experience it was. She looked so precious in the dress my mom sewed for her. She was so alert and awake during the blessing, but wasn't fussy at all. Tim said she was being so cute that the priest holding the microphone for him started laughing at her faces. Tim did a wonderful job with the blessing and I couldn't help but feel the love the Lord has for this special little girl. I know she is a choice spirit and I am so grateful that she came to our home.
The choir also sang during sacrament meeting so I felt like I had the opportunity to participate in the day as well. It was sad not to have all the family at her blessing, but it was nice not to have to feed everyone after. (I don't think our apartment would have accommodated half of our family) But Tim's parent's Les and Bev were here to share this experience which was very nice.
Of course we took a million pictures so here are as many as I had the patience to sit here while they upload. Yea Kennedy!!!

What To Expect

Due to my recent adventures in the parenting world, I have turned often to my copy of What To Expect: The First Year. However, I find the authors have left out a few bits of critical information.
Such as:

- You can expect to lose your mind. You will zone out in the middle of conversations, scripture study, and anytime you are on your way to get something, causing you to stand in the kitchen with a dumb look on your face not knowing why you are there.
-You can expect to feel stupid when you can't remember the words to any lullabies in the middle of the night and end up singing cheesy Disney love songs instead.
-You can expect to be very productive one day(productive meaning you got dressed before noon and made dinner) and be back to your sleep deprived zombie state the next.
-You can expect to HATE mirrors or reflective windows or any other shiny surface.
-You can expect to feel like a cow (both in shape and purpose)
-You can expect to find your self standing around rocking back and forth hours after you put the baby in her crib.
-You can expect strangers to come up to you no matter where you are and touch your baby.
-You can expect your arms to ache after holding your baby because she cries as soon as you set her down.
-You can expect to get excited about poop and cheer when your baby finally produces the right kind of yellow colored substance.


So if I have discovered this many critical detail my dear book failed to warn me of, I can't help but ask what else can I expect???????

Thank you everyone!

It has been a while since I blogged, so here is an update. On Friday both Kennedy and I went to see the doctor. Kennedy was diagnosed with Thrush (I guess it's like a yeast infection in her mouth) which luckily with some medication she has almost completely recovered from. She still has a few sores in her mouth that makes it hard to nurse, but I think the worst of it is over.
After going to my appointment, I was sent to the ER with advanced mastitis with a possible abscess. They hooked my up to an IV and got me some antibiotics to slow the infection and then did an ultrasound to test for the abscess. Luckily the infection hadn't gone that far and after a long lonely night in the ER I was sent home. I am feeling much better now and am almost back to normal (but then again what is normal with a newborn)
While going through all this was not a pleasant experience, it taught me a lot about friendship and support. From the minute I posted that I was feeling under the weather, I had two phone calls from friends in the ward asking to help. We received dinners and countless offers to take care of Kennedy or anything else we needed. All your service and encouraging comments made me feel so loved. Even though I was far from home, my new family here in Michigan took care of me while my family back in Utah (and everywhere else they live) helped me with calls and prayers. I am truly blessed. I only hope that I can be there for all of you like you have been for me.
I also owe Tim a huge round of applause for his amazing performance throughout this whole ordeal. He stayed up nights with a very fussy 1 month old while I tried to recover and was there to make me take a hot bath instead of doing the dishes. What a guy I am so lucky.
Thank you!

Bumps in the Road

The last couple of days have been less than amazing. I don't mean to complain, but sometimes its good to vent a bit. Kennedy, who had previously lulled us into a sense of security with her practically perfect behavior, has turned fussy and basically wont let me set her down. I am also dealing with an infection that is making taking care of Kennedy difficult. Luckily my wonderful husband Tim has gone above and beyond to keep both his cranky girls happy. What a guy. Well, I'm sure things will get better soon.

Frankenmuth, MI

For our Labor Day weekend we decided to head up to Frankenmuth, MI for the night. For all those unaware of what Frankenmuth is...
a) yes, that is really its name.
b)Dracula does not live there
c)it is a quaint little Bavarian town settled by immigrants back in the day
d)Bavaria was/ is a area in southern Germany
e)there are a million hotels and stores with facades like the opening scene of Beauty and the Beast.

It really was a cute little town, and while Tim and I never quite figured out what one does in Frankenmuth, we did enjoy our stay. Here are some pics from our adventure.
(click to enlarge)