She Really is a Funny Girl, that Belle...

The biggest lie every parent tells themselves (and believes) is that they are the one in charge.

Yesterday, Belle started to get cranky after lunch, her usual time. So I took her in for a nap. Normally when I put her in her crib she'll protest and cry for two or three minutes and fall into a knockout, a-jackhammer-couldn't-wake-me-up kinda sleep. This time, I took her downstairs, read her a story, and laid her down in her crib. I handed her her favorite stuffed goofy doll, tucked her in, and shut the door. The whole time she just stared at me with a completely neutral look on her face.

When I went upstairs, I turned the baby monitor on and heard nothing. Absolute silence.

I felt proud of myself. "Looks like all that difficulty in getting her to nap is finally paying off!" I told myself smugly. I was so proud that I decided to reward myself with a root beer and some me-time. I sat in my big poofy easy chair with my root beer and my book and had a very relaxing time. I thought I was the Queen.

Then after about twenty minutes I heard a noise.

It wasn't a whimper, or a yell, or a cry. It was singing.

I paused and put my book down to listen. I turned the monitor up and could make out a very faint "ba-da-ga-da-mamama-da-baba-dadada". Belle was babbling very softly in an almost melodic way, as if not to disturb me in my deluded relaxation. After a minute of sitting in my chair and staring at the monitor with this expression...

...I decided to go down and check on her. I slowly pushed open the door to her room and peeked inside.

She had reached through the bars of her crib and grabbed a little board book (Dr. Seuss' ABC's, to be exact) from off the dresser next to her crib, somehow managed to get it back through the bars, and was sitting up in her crib, turning the pages and singing softly to herself.

Belle vs. the Stairs

Belle's First Restaurant Trip

I know "Baby's First Restaurant Trip" isn't a usual milestone, but we're a family of foodies! This is a big one!

Stephen got a $50 gift card to Red Lobster from work this Christmas so we looked for someone to babysit Belle, but no one was available. It took us an embarrassingly long time to figure out that she was probably old enough to just come along. She had the time of her life!

She met a new friend while we waited to be seated. 

When we sat her in her little high chair she immediately grabbed the dessert menu and clutched it all night long. We ordered her a little plate of French Fries to nibble and she kept giving us a look that clearly said "This is the best day of my life!" We're glad she loves food as much as we do!

Laughter is Contagious

Monday Night with the Swensens

The best thing about going to the hospital is the free water bottle they give you.

I'm not even kidding. Depending on the nature of your stay (the only time I've ever been admitted was for child birth) they give you a wonderful, sturdy, 32 ounce water bottle, complete with straw and lid.

The water bottle in question is the reason I have to take several bathroom breaks every night but I don't care. I love it and so does Stephen. I share, but he has already claimed the souvenir water bottle we'll get for our second child. 

Every night, the last thing I do before bed is fill my water bottle with lots of ice and cold water and we both take a big gulp before we go to sleep.

Last night, due to working fifty hour weeks for year's end, Stephen was so tired that he kept falling asleep during a movie we were watching. Finally I asked if he wanted to turn the movie off and just go to sleep, to which he yawned his agreement. So I filled my water bottle and handed it to him for his nightcap. 

Stephen was so tired he forgot to take into account that the lid has two holes in it for the straw and he tilted it back to drink while lying down. By the time I looked up, half the water had spilled onto his shirt and the sheets.

"Honey!" I warned, but he had realized his mistake. Well actually, he realized his mistake from the beginning but was just too tired to care. But when the water started collecting at his chest and back, his eyes shot open and he stared straight up at the empty void as he lay there, petrified. 

"You have water on you!" I unnecessarily pointed out.

At this point Stephen was still half unconscious but aware enough to realize that sub-zero water was seeping through his shirt and against the sheets onto his skin. 

"Get. It. Off." he commanded in a low growl.

In my mind I responded "What am I, a sponge?" but for reasons even I don't know I reached toward the frigid puddle on his chest as if I could somehow clear the water off him without making it worse. I never reached the puddle though, because at this point the cold finally got to him.

He let out a noise that started as a low moan but in a matter of seconds escalated to a pterodactyl scream and leapt off the bed. He did what I can only describe as a Native American war dance while simultaneously spinning in circles, flapping his arms like a chicken, and ripping off his shirt in one fluid motion. All while screaming. 

Somehow, the baby slept through all this. 

Stephen, now shirtless and traumatized, did his best to dry the sheets with a towel but in the end, we had to use the blow dryer.

So after that little detour, we finally settled into bed. 

"Honey?" Stephen asked. 

"Yeah?" I replied. 

"Can I have a sip of your water?"

Cranioversary

Happy Six Month Cranioversary, Belle!

That's right! It's been six whole months since her surgery in July and we just got the O.K. to stop wearing the helmet for good!

The saddest picture I have

It's been a struggle for all of us, but our little Belle Valory lived up to her name: Beautiful and Brave in every way. She's been a real trooper through the whole ordeal (surgery, helmet, and all) and is truly what they call a Cranio-Hero just like her daddy.

She's made great progress and the doctors say she's recovered beautifully. You can really see a difference in her head shape from when she was first diagnosed:

So, apart from all that head shaping, what else has Belle been up to for the last six months?

Well...

She Learned How to Go to Sleep All By Herself

In what was probably the best impulse decision I've ever made, I borrowed "Solve Your Baby's Sleep Problems" by Richard Ferber from a friend. Well... it wasn't really an impulse decision, we'd been throwing the idea of sleep training around for a little while but we weren't actually sold on the idea until reading the book (which we ended up buying). First of all its not what you think! It doesn't mean you just let your baby sit and cry until they finally go to sleep, it's a much more hands on approach that deals with teaching your baby how to be independent when it comes to sleep and self soothing. That's where the goofy doll up there comes in handy, he's her little sleep-cuddle buddy. Mommy, Daddy, and Belle are all much less cranky during the day when she sleeps all during the night!

She Learned How to Eat "Big People Food"

After weeks of wanting to sit at the table with the big people at dinnertime and struggling to get whatever delicious morsel was on Mommy's fork, we decided it was time to get her into some baby food. We tried making our own which was easy enough but she just would not eat it. So we just bought some instead and after a few tries she loves it! Her favorites are carrots, squash, and any fruits she can get her hands on (especially apples!)

She Learned How to Dance

She gets her sense of rhythm from her Daddy.

She Grew Enough Hair for Pigtails

Like most babies, Belle has that little bald spot on the back of her head from rubbing up on the car seat (though hers is probably more so from rubbing up on the helmet). But the rest of her hair grows freakishly fast, so much so that even the doctor made a comment about how long her hair was when she was being delivered, so she has two long little wisps of hair that fall down at the back. So what else can we do but pigtails? We pin her long hair as the reason a lot of people guess she's older than she is (it's certainly not her size, she's a little shrimp!)

She Learned How to Crawl

Belle has always had a habit of reaching mostly for things that are either dangerous, painful, or expensive. The family Macbook for example. So when she started rocking back and forth on her hands and knees like she was ready to crawl, I figured I'd give her a little incentive. She just loves to press the keys so I put it a few feet in front of her and what do you know she was off like a shot.

Her Favorite Things to Do Are:

Visit Daddy at Work (and steal his keys)

Play with all her Aunts and Uncles

Help Mommy with the Laundry

Play with all her toys

Play Xbox with Daddy

Take baths with her duckies

Help Grandpa Follett sneak up on Grandma Follett

Watch movies with Grandma and Grandpa Swensen

Smile!

Our Christmas Letter

Dear Friends and Family,

It has been an eventful year for the Swensens! When we started 2013 Kelsi was already four months pregnant and Stephen was just trying to get through his last semester of Undergrad. All that hard work paid off though, and he graduated in April with his Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. He has since taken the LSAT and applied to several Law Schools. He has already had an acceptance from Michigan State with some scholarship money and is waiting to hear from the rest before we decide were we will end up for law school.

We were blessed with a great opportunity this year; A couple in the ward Stephen grew up in has left on a two year mission as the medical supervisors in Europe and asked if we would house-sit for them. We have been here about six weeks and are loving being able to live in and take care of such a nice, big house!

We handled the pregnancy very impatiently (distracting ourselves with a trip to Disneyland) but were very excited when Baby Belle Valory Swensen finally arrived nine days late on May 27^th. She is beautiful and perfect and we are learning a lot from having her around! When Belle was eight weeks old she underwent a surgery for Craniosynostosis, a condition Stephen also had as a baby, where a suture in her skull fused prematurely and had to be cut out. She recovered incredibly and very quickly and now wears an infant helmet to help shape her skull so it will grow right as she ages. We have had the helmet for almost five months now and only have one more to go! We have felt incredible blessed as she has grown since the surgery and everything has gone perfectly according to all of her doctors.

After 12 weeks of maternity leave Kelsi went back to work but found it pretty difficult to be away from Belle, even in the very early hours of the morning. Luckily Stephen got a job at DMBA, the health and financial benefits company for the Church and its affiliates, and Kelsi was able to quit and become a full time mommy!

Stephen is enjoying his work and is treated very well by his employers. He was hired as a compliance analyst dealing with the retirement financial plans. He has learned a lot about 401(k) plans and the governmental regulations associated with them. He enjoys the “Sherlock Holmes” work—as he calls it—of finding and solving problems associated with the financial benefits of a these employees. Stephen will return to school Fall 2014 for three years of law school where he will receive his Juris Doctorate degree and being working as an attorney.

Kelsi is loving being a stay at home mommy—and couldn’t be happier. She enjoys spending her days taking care of Belle, and seeing her learn and grow on a daily bases. She also decided to dabble in running her own small business on Etsy, and online marketplace, where she sells T-shirts, aprons, and canvas handbags. She has found a lot of success and enjoys letting her creative side out and seeing others enjoy her designs. She has been busy with the new home and is busy being a new mommy and housewife.

At this time of year it is important for us to remember what it is really all about. He know that two thousand years ago the Savior of the world was born, even Jesus Christ. We add our testimonies, along with others, that he lives and is our redeemer. Let us all take time this Christmas Season to reflect upon the true meaning of Christmas. Merry Christmas!

With Love,

The Swensen Family