Labor Day photo shoot

Thanks to Adam (again!), we have the most precious memories of the most precious newborn EVER!! Claire Elizabeth, you are so loved!

Thanks uncle Adam!!

Three wonderful years!

Spencer and I "celebrated" our three- year anniversary last Wednesday....with a newborn, it consisted of renting a movie and take-out Gyros- perfection!! It truly is hard to believe that it has been three years since our wedding...I can't believe how much our lives, personalities and outlooks have changed since that day. I am incredibly grateful for such an amazing husband...he loves me unconditionally and I love him more and more every day as I see him transform into a wonderful daddy! Claire, Lucy and I are lucky girls : )

Scrub a dub dub!!

Claire got her first bath last week since her cord finally fell off....here is the play-by-play!!

"Mom, what are you doing to me??!!"

"This is ridiculous, guys...daddy, save me!!"

"Puh, puh puhlease don't do this to me!"

"Oooooh it's warm...I could get used to this, I guess!"

"Ok, put my clothes back on please"

Clean baby and fluffy hair!

Jealous??!!??? Enough said....

WeEk oNe

Claire had her one week doctor's appointment today and she checked out wonderfully! She actually gained weight (now a whopping 7lbs 8oz) and Dr. Freeman was very happy with her color and feeding, peeing, and pooping habits! Here are some pics from our first week at home...

A million thank-you's to both of Claire's Grammies for all of the help this first week....it was so nice to have help wth the cooking, cleaning, and snuggling as we were adjusting to our new addition. Claire is very lucky to have such amazing grandparents who adore her!

Home we go!

A few pics from our last day at the hospital and getting ready to Claire home!

With momma on our last day at the hospital

So itty bitty in this carseat

Family photo

Stylin in my headband and boxing gloves!

It's a GIRL!!!

I know, I know...Claire came into the world almost a week ago (hard to believe!) and I still havn't blogged about her grand entrance!! So last Tuesday, I had my 40 week appointment in the morning, and much to my disappointment, still to progress- I was only dilated to 1cm, so Dr. Garrett and I scheduled an induction for Saturday, the 28th...well apparentally, Claire was not a fan of the induction idea! I started having contractions that afternoon and by about 10pm, I knew this was the real deal! We headed to the hospital around midnight and I was 2cm when I got there...so I decided to try and hold off on the epidural until I was more fully dilated, which turned into 8 hours of contractions that were 2 minutes apart. Finally around 8am, I got my epidural and within a couple hours, dilated to 6cm. Then around 2pm, much to all of our surprise (and immediately after an epidrual "booster" because my right side wasn't staying numb), I started feeling pressure and was fully dilated and ready to push...AHHHH!! Since I had just received so much medicine and apparentally I have a protruding tailbone that she was having a hard time getting past, the pushing didn't go so well for about an hour....3 1/2 hours worth of pushing later, we hesitantly decided to try to use the vacuum to try and get her out, and it worked!! Within two contractions and now 6:00pm, Claire Elizabeth Kruse was here! We were SHOCKED...for some reason, Spencer and I had both just pictured a boy so we were elated to find out tthat we had a little girl to wrap around our fingers! It was about a half an hour before I could hold her in my arms as she had meconium in her amniotic fluid, so NICU had to check her out before I was able to snuggle her. Holding that perfect little body in my arms for the first time was unlike anything I've ever experienced. It's hard to imagine until you've experienced it, loving this little person so much that your heart wants to explode....she's a doll, she's truly beautiful, she's hilarious and she's ours! I can't wait to watch her grow up and share it all with the people we love and who love her! Now for the hospital pics....I will post more from the last few days in a new post.

Last belly shot- 40 weeks exactly!

It felt like forever before I could hold her!!

First bath!

She's gonna hate us one day for this one....but look at that cute butt!!

Snuggling with Daddy...it's been a long day!

In other news....

I just wanted to update everyone on some other family news...unfortunately, this past weekend, my sister-in-law Ana's father Richard passed away. He had a major stroke on Saturday morning and was not able to recover from the brain injuries. He was rather young to have such an unexpected health problem, and it has taught all of us quite a lesson in life. Please, please, please talk with your parents, spouses, and grandparents about their final wishes. Make sure they keep up with regular check-ups and doctors appointments. Make sure they have a will. Make sure you know what type of funeral and arrangements your loved-ones would want, and please make the most out of every day you have with the people who mean the most to you. These are not easy conversations to have, but essential for us all. Life is so short, and with our anticipation of the arrival of Baby Kruse, we are humbled by Adam and Ana's strength through all of this. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. We are grateful that Richard was able to enjoy their wedding in June and know he will be sadly missed. Ana is also still looking for a home for her father's beloved dogs....a female golden retriever and a male german shepherd- if anyone knows of someone who could give them a good home, please let one of us know!!

t..hi....r...t...y.......n..i..ne......w....e..e...k...s

I'M ABOUT TO EXPLODE (physically and emotionally!) I've been fully effaced for two weeks now, having contractions every day (and most nights) but still no dilation or baby!! I'm starting to have back pain and sharp nerve pains radiating from my groin down my legs- the joys of being nine months pregnant!! No idea where this peanut gets it's stubbornness ; )  I'm walking, cooking, eating spicy food, cleaning incessantly, and really starting to contemplate the whole castor oil idea! Needless to say, I'm getting really exhausted so we pretty much have decided that working isn't the best idea for me until munchkin arrives.....with my job, I have to be clear-minded and alert, neither of which I am at this point in time. Tomorrow I have my 39 week appointment, so I'm hoping that maybe we can schedule an induction for next week if there is still no progress. I will keep everyone updated....Here are a few belly pics:

Fully-baked!!

In pregnancy progress, I had my 37 (and a half!!) week appt on Thursday and I am 70% effaced and just starting to dilate...doctor said it could be anytime but I"m trying not to get my hopes up too high. I'm officially "full-term" so BabyK, you can make your entrance anytime peanut!! I'm feeling good...having contractions here and there, trying to walk a lot, and the nesting phenomenon has officially set-in. Yesterday, I vacuumed the entire house, dusted baseboards and  mopped the hardwoods, cleaned out the refrigerator, organized the loft closet and nursery dresser/closet, washed every sheet and towel in the house, put together the baby swing, and made tuna salad, cookies, and a bunch of taco meat!! Haha...ridiculous : )

Now for the photos....I am so lucky to have such a talented brother who was willing to take some maternity shots of us this past weekend at the house- I will treasure them forever and have a hard time looking at some of them without tearing up. This baby is going to be so amazingly loved!! Thanks uncle Adam for capturing such sweet memories for us...

PS: If you click on the collage, you should be able to see the photos in more detail!!