Christmas Pictures

After a horrific experience at JCPenney’s trying to get a decent picture of the kids, we resorted to contacting Jocelyn to take our pictures.   As usual she did a beautiful job!   Here’s a few of our favorites. 

   

Merry Christmas!!!

40th Anniversary in Maui

The first part of December the whole Kent family ventured off with eleven suitcases on an American Airlines flight to Maui.  It was Emma’s first time on a plane and she did wonderful.   The plane to Maui wasn’t full so the gave us an extra seat to put Emma’s car seat in.  She slept in the car seat nearly the entire  5 1/2 hour flight.  Everyone on the plane was commenting on how beautiful she was and how happy and content she was. 

As usual, my Dad had made all the arrangements and we stayed in a lovely condo at the Marriott Ocean Club in Kanapaali.  The resort was gorgeous and the rooms were very similar to other Marriott time shares that we have frequented.  The first two nights we shared a condo with Daniel, Krissy’s boyfriend and then we moved to a larger condo with a kitchen and laundry facilities. 

The weather was perfect.   Most days the high was in the low 80’s.  The only complaint was that we seem to have brought the wind with us.  The wind made for rough seas which affected are diving opportunities.  We ended up only diving one day with Lahaina Divers.   The company was just OK but I think we have gotten spoiled by Austin in St. Kitts.  We went to two sights.  The first was the Carthaginian which is a sailing ship that was sunk to create an artificial reef about seven years ago.   It lacked life and the ship wasn’t anything spectacular. The highlight was seeing Sponge Bob.  The second sight was a broken down pier that actually had some sea life.  We spotted a few turtles and two white-tipped reef sharks.

Other highlights of the trip included indulging in frozen yogurt from Yogurt Land which was in Whaler’s Village, a nice walk along the beach from the condo.  Elle loaded her yogurt up with every topping that looked yummy.  It looked disgusting actually! She was in heaven though. 

One day a group of us went to the Maui Ocean Center which is a sea life aquarium.  The kids loved it and I always enjoy seeing jellyfish and sea horses.  Luckily Grandpa kept Emma behind so Harley and I could enjoy the experience as well.

Another day, Harley, Daniel, Krissy and I went ziplining.   It was definately an experience.  The guides we had made it quite entertaining.  It’s quite a  thrill and not scary at all really!  It was the first time for Daniel and Harley and I think they had a blast as well.

As with most of our travels, we cooked in the majority of the time.  We went to Costco and Safeway to purchase food and took turns cooking.  One night we treated my parents to a Anniversary dinner night out at Kimo’s.   Some stayed back for pizza and the dive in movie! Nicole, Daniel, Harley and I went to Leilani’s on the Beach.   Nicole really wanted king crab and clam chowder and she got her wish that night.  

The last night we all went out to Cool Cat Cafe down in Lahaina by the big banyan tree.  The burgers were good and the company was great!  Another treat that we devoured was Hawaiian shaved ice.   Along with the shaved ice and flavoring, they out ice cream on the bottom and sweetened condensed milk on the top.   It was truly heavenly.   So much for trying to shed any baby weight this week.

  

One of the biggest highlights of the proposal and subsequent engagement of  Krissy and Daniel.   Welcome to the family Daniel!   Atleast this week you got a pretty good clue what the Kent family is about. 

 

Ugly Sweater Party

This year I volunteered to host the 3rd Annual Ugly Sweater Party.   Kelly has made this a Christmas tradition and we always have a lot of good laughs.  This year Krissy put together a Hot Chocolate bar with numerous tasty additives.  From whip cream to caramel chips to toffee bits…..it was lovely.  And my Dad made his famous homemade cinnamon rolls.  We had all the attendees bring a gift to “re-gift".”   We then played the white elephant gift exchange game.  The hottest gift was brought by Daniel and it was a $10.00 walmart shop vac.  Harley secured an insulated travel mug that you can plug into keep warm in the car and I ended up with an ugly picture frame.  LOTS OF LAUGHS AND GOOD FUN WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS!!  This is a great way to kick off the Christmas season.

Janice and Joe Dier were particularly ugly!

Daniel and Dad modeling their Christmas cheer.

Luke trying on Harley’s ugly sweater.  Quite the combination!

Three months old

 

Emma’s first three months have gone extremely fast compared to three months of pregnancy.  Times are busy with my return to work and Harley’s new job.   Emma has done great with the changes.  She has the best babysitters…Grandma Kent along with help from Sandy Yunt.   

Emma tip the scale at 11.4 lbs and  is 24.5 inches long according to my measurements.   She is now into six month size clothing.   She is smiling lots and even laughing a bit.  She pushes off everything to try and stand with assistance.  She holds her head proudly and turns it all directions to check out what is happening around her constantly. She seems particularly interested in the bright colors of the television.  She loves to suck on her fists which we are trying to break her of using the pacifier but its not really working.  She is already “talking” or babbling way too much for our liking.  Hopefully its not a sign of the future but my mom assures me that I never stopped talking once I started.  Everywhere we go strangers comment on how beautiful she is.  It appears that she recognizes herself in the mirror by the huge smiles she gives.  Its still hard to get her to smile for the camera.

Emma is still a slow eater.  She is still nursing but happy to have the bottle.  I find her very difficult to burp still.  Sometimes it is a half hour later before we get one out of her.  This month her sleeping habits really improved.  Most nights she will sleep six hours straight.   She happily goes to bed in her crib every night but once she wakes has difficulty going back to sleep in the crib.   And ‘m so tired I give in most of the time.  She loves cuddling and being warm.  When I put her down she immediately stretches and often wakes herself up.  During the day she sleeps best in her car seat.   This has proved to be nice some days with all the traveling to and from Bakersfield that I do.   She does wonderfully in the car…thank goodness. 

She had her first cold this month passed on to her by me.   Poor baby woke for over a week very congested but it didn’t seem to affect her temperament.  Emma is a very content, happy baby.  We continue to feel blessed to have her in our lives.   What an incredible miracle!  

Emma Jane’s Arrival

By midnight my water had broke and the contractions were becoming more and more uncomfortable.  The gave me some fentanyl to take the edge off until I could get an epidural.  It was a busy night at the hospital so they was actually a line of people waiting for epidurals.  By the time I got one, it was 1:00 in the morning and I was dilated to 7cms.  The doctor recommended I get some sleep at that point and that is just what Harley did. The room had a couch that made into bed and he snored for few hours straight.  Due to issues with my blood pressure being too low, they put me on oxygen.  It caused  The irritation from the mask made it impossible to sleep.  By three o’clock the nurse said I was dilated to a 10 and soon would be ready to push.  Three more hours past and no one even entered the room to check on me.  By 6:00 the baby heart rate was dropping and the urge to push was there.  I made Harley go find a nurse to get the doctor.  A new nurse came in and checked me and agreed it was time.  Dr. Cohen and the NICU staff arrived and prepared for the delivery.  When my water broke there was meconium in it so they were prepared in case you have ingested it into your lungs.  After pushing about 10-12 times, Emma Jane was born at 7:01 am and placed in my arms.  She was perfect!   Emma Jane’s weighed 7lbs and 3 oz.  She was measured at 20.25 inches long and surprisingly had brown hair. One of the first things Harley and I noticed were her long toes and fingers.   She also has big beautiful lips! Harley was a great support through all of it. He watched the whole birth in amazement and was able to cut the umbilical cord.   As soon as he set his eyes upon her he was in love.  The first visitor arrived at 11:00 and somehow avoided the camera.   Grandma Kent was in love too!  She brought Harley and I some snacks to eat and a diet coke!  She relieved Harley so he could go pick up Adam and Luke to meet their sister for the first time.  Adam was particularly eager to hold Emma but Luke was a little more reserved.   But Harley was happy not to have to share also.    

As soon as my Dad and Krissy finished work, the rest of the crew came to visit.  I think Elle was the most excited of everyone!  Even before Emma was born, Elle was her biggest fan.   Uncle Howard dropped by that evening also.  We spent the night in the hospital since Emma was born in the morning.  The hospital was so busy we stayed in a delivery room until we were discharged. It was a large spacious room but the bed was for deliveries not recoveries.  Not that I would have slept well that night anyways.   Harley stayed in a hotel because he was in desperate need of a good nights rest.

During the night Emma started choking and spitting up brown mucus.  It scared me which made it difficult to sleep.  Around 3:00 in the morning the nurse offered to watch Emma for a few hours so I could sleep.  Those few hours of sleep truly helped me get through the night.

The following day we spent working with the lactation nurses.  One was from England and Harley made friends with her immediately.   Some would say they spoke the same language and loved joking with one another.  The staff pediatrician and the on call doctor were slow in getting us released so we didn’t arrive home until 4:00 that evening.  Aunt Krissy had decorated the outside of the house with pink balloons and Aunt Kelly had made a sign announcing Emma’s birth.  It was wonderful to bring Emma home. 

Is this really happening??

 

Tuesday, September 4th was a busy day for this soon to be Momma.   I started the morning early by returning your brothers Adam and Luke to school.  After that I went have fetal monitoring done which the doctors had me doing twice a week to check up on your development.  They were concerned that you weren’t growing and that had me scared.  I had to have two ultrasounds done at 37 and 38 weeks to compare your size.    Then I had a doctors appointment to check to see if I was progressing.   Dr. Reddy said I was dilated 2cms and that it could be a week or two or any day.   Following that I ran a few errands before attending a counseling appointment with Charree Kashwer.  By the time I left Bakersfield to drive home I was exhausted and not feeling very well.  The contractions seemed to be more consistent and uncomfortable but I wasn’t sure if I was just tired and less tolerant or they were the real thing.  I got home by 4:00, unloaded the car, and went straight to lie down. 

Unfortunately, I couldn’t sleep and just became more and more agitated.  Harley was working at Vons until 6:00 so I decided I better start timing the contractions.    They were about 7 minutes apart and consistent!  Yiks!!!   When Harley arrived home at 6:30 they were about five minutes apart and we debated what to do.   I didn’t want to drive to Bakersfield unless it was the real thing though.  So we took a walk to the church and hospital and back home.  Still no change.   I got in the pool and swam around for a half hour.  Still no change.  I called my Mom and she came down and started timing the contractions.   At 8:30 she agreed that we better head to Bakersfield.   The ride to Bakersfield wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be and we arrived at San Joaquin Hospital at 9:30. 

The nurse who examined me informed me that I hadn’t progressed enough and that they probably wouldn’t admit me.   Wrong thing to tell a pregnant woman!!!   Luckily  Dr. Cohen agreed to wait and monitor me for an hour and at 11:00 they admitted me.  He said baby Emma would be born on the 5th of September. 

Emma’s Blessing Day

On Sunday, October 14th, Harley Luke Alfred gave Emma Jane Alfred a name and a blessing in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  Present in the Priesthood circle were  Daniel Schultz, Howard Kent, Grandpa Maughan Kent, and Ron Stingel.   Emma was as cooperative as could be!  Emma wore a little hat especially made for her from an old dear friend Linda Hedrick. What a wonderful blessing we have received from our Father in Heaven!

Daddy loves us!

Harley brought these home to me after a few particularly difficult days!  He knows how much  I love yellow so he had the florist at Vons throw in the yellow rose.  He has been very supportive through this difficult pregnancy and I am very grateful to him.  He has even been rubbing my feet and legs every night with lavender lotion to help me try to relax.   I can’t say that it has completely worked because a restful nights sleep hasn’t occurred many weeks. 

Coming Soon From Down Under

 

Another one of Kelly’s clever creations………………………….

This picture was taken when I was about 38 weeks.  Everywhere I go people say that I’m not “very big.”  I sure feel BIG at this point.  I have gained around 28lbs so far and hoping not to gain much more.  The only bad news is that I am actually measuring small also.  Kaiser’s on call doctor that I saw at 37 weeks overreacted and caused quite the alarm for me.  He strongly felt that the baby had stopped growing and ordered fetal monitoring and an ultrasound.  He then proceeded to say that I needed to be induced and that he would start the process by stripping my membranes.    I was in such shock and panic that I couldn’t even comprehend what he was saying.   For a first time mother with a history of anxiety problems, this put me over the edge.  Since that date, I have had five appointments for fetal monitoring and two ultrasounds.  It appears that the baby may be slightly behind in development (like 4-6 days).   The first ultrasound at 37 1/2 weeks estimated the baby to be around 7 lbs and I am still waiting the results of the 2nd one.  Luckily the procedure he performed did not put me into labor but just caused a lot of cramping and discomfort for a few days.  With all the procedures and tests I have had performed during this pregnancy, this little girl has proven to be stubborn…so I am certain she will come whenever she wants to! 

Last Day of Work

 

Thursday, August 30th was my last day of work before starting my maternity leave. It was a much anticipated day as work was getting harder and harder with my big belly.   Actually the belly wasn’t the biggest limiting factor….it was my lack of energy that was prohibitive.    I came into work that morning to find my operatory decorated in pink balloons and streamers.   Terri had a friend of hers make cupcakes to celebrate after lunch at Sierra Vista.   There  were two flavors of cupcakes:  lemon cheesecake and chocolate with raspberry.    Of course, the lemon ones were my favorite!

 

My mom and all my sisters joined us for a lovely lunch.   A number of patients brought gifts to me in the last few weeks of work.  I’m so grateful to my work family who make times like this truly a celebration. They have all helped me through the last nine difficult months.   They are the most supportive friends anyone could ask for. 

Everyone including myself is anxious for this little girl’s arrival!