Sarah's Maternity Pictures

A few weeks ago my friend, Sarah, agreed to let me take some maternity pictures of her. I've been asking people to let me take pictures of them or their children so I can get some practice. She has a great window in her nursery that provided the perfect backdrop. Here are some of my favorite shots. Thank you, Sarah!

Ella

I'm the first to admit that my life has been all about Ella lately. And catching sleep whenever I can. Recovery has gone amazingly well and I'm feeling pretty good (except for the sleep deprivation). I even made the bed and did some laundry today! Ella is growing so fast and is already visibly chubbier than when she was born. She nurses well (I think we both finally got the hang of it) and actually indulges us with a 3 hour stretch of sleep here and there. She usually only cries when there's an identifiable reason for it and she likes to look around with wide eyes between naps. So sometimes she doesn't sleep as long as I wish she would but that's my only current complaint. Blair and I are completely in love with her. Here are some pictures for the curious:

Ella with Daddy

Holding Daddy's Finger

Happy Mom

Nine Days Old

What'chya Doin'?

Look what we grew!

Kate joked that this is a picture of her baby next to my baby, but that's not true--they are both my babies. :) Next to Ella is the first vegetable to come out of our garden. Picked yesterday, the day Ella came home from the hospital, this cucumber tasted great with tomatoes, sour cream, and dill in a Russian-style salad. Ella tastes great too, but not with sour cream--she's best all by herself.

Three more cucumbers are about ready to be picked. I think we will be drowning in cucumbers soon, so if anyone would like one, let us know. Who knew that one cucumber plant could be so prolific?

She's Here!

Announcing the debut of Eleanor Carolyn Larsen, born this Eleventh Day of July, 2008, at 4:06 A.M. Ella arrived weighing 7 lbs., 10 ounces, and measuring 20 inches long. Mom and baby are both healthy, if a bit tired. Dad is also a bit tired--despite being in law school, this is the first all-nighter he's had in several years.

Now that you know the details, on to the most important stuff--the pictures!

Soon after birth, Ella was taken to the nursery and monitored to verify respiratory health (she was a little stuffed up). In our completely unbiased and objective view, she is the most beautiful child on the planet. Here are some additional shots: 

The tongue-sticking-out thing has to be from Katrina's side of the family. No one from my side could possibly be so rude. :) However, she does smack her lips in her sleep just like her daddy.

Nursery...Sort of

As promised, here is a picture of our pseudo nursery. It's not really a separate room but a big alcove in our bedroom that we used to use as a closet of sorts. It's big enough to accommodate a baby for a while and this way we can still use our second bedroom for an office/study/sewing room. Once our baby has a name I'll hang her initials from the little plaque above the changing table. The cradle is a family heirloom and I am one of the many people who slept in it as a baby. All the names and birthdays of babies who used it are written on the bottom of the frame. Well, that's the tour. The "room" is small but adequate and it makes me feel good to have a place for our baby. 

Katrina Larsen, R.D.

It's official! I passed the RD exam today which means I am finally a Registered Dietitian! It is a huge relief to have that pressure off my shoulders. Five years of undergraduate work and a nine month internship led up to one question--did I learn enough to pass the exam? Apparently I did. Now I'm a bona-fide professional with letters behind my name. Feel free to start paying me for advice...but I'm sure I'll still dish it out for free. 

It's About Time

It’s about time I get around to updating our blog. Since finishing my internship I haven’t had nearly as much free time as I anticipated. I spent a couple of weeks working hard on my thesis prospectus and I finally made that presentation about a week ago. What a relief! But life hasn’t been all work and no play. 

Here are some fun highlights from the past few weeks:

Blair mentioned that we got to attend the sealing of a baby to our friends, Dave and Janeal. It was a beautiful sealing. Here is one of my favorite pictures of Janeal with Andrea.

 

At the end of May some dear family friends threw a double baby shower for me and my life long friend, Amy (who is expecting twins in this picture!). It was such a nice shower and I was amazed at the support and generosity of everyone who attended. Amy has since had her twins—almost 11 weeks early! But both babies and Amy are doing really well. Check out Amy’s blog if you want an update on them.

 

At the shower we displayed the blessing dresses Amy and I wore. This is a picture of my dress made from the same fabric of my mom’s wedding gown. My sister, cousin, and niece were also blessed in this dress and our little girl is next in line to wear it.

 

Blair has been teasing me about this rocking chair because I love it so much. Someone was getting rid of it and it is in great condition so I claimed it. The color isn’t something I would normally choose but it is the perfect size for me, very comfortable, and it rocks and swivels. What more could a girl want? It has been symbolic to me of impending motherhood. I can’t wait to rock our little girl in it. As far as I’m concerned, it is the most beautiful chair I have seen.

 

Last week I finally had some time to spruce up our little bedroom alcove. It is actually beginning to look like a nursery. I’ll post pictures a little later once all the finishing touches are in place.

 

In other news, I was released from my calling as R.S. President and am now the Ward Historian. Blair is my “assistant” and we’re getting ready to publish our first ward newsletter this week. Hopefully it will turn out well!