Jocelyn's Blessing

Okay, I hope to write more about this, but my notes on Jocelyn's blessing are elsewhere and I want to at least get it in. Here is a beautiful picture of my little sweet Jocelyn in her blessing dress. We took the opportunity to bless her while family, Ken and Julie, were here. She was blessed on mine and Scott's 5th anniversary, December 28. She wore the same dress as Quincy but each girl has their own bracelet and bow for keepsakes. Ken took some family photos of the 4 of us and 6 of us at the church, but those are on his camera and I don't have copies yet. 

Merry Christmas and Charleston tidbits

We had a great Christmas and holiday break and we love that Scott essentially gets 2 weeks off. Here is a little of the fun:

Q loving the advent calendar with a little gift everyday

Showing off her Santa dress

Stockings

...And Q making sure Jocelyn got her stocking.

Nana & Papa came on the 27th bringing a stuffed version of their little dog Moki.
Now stuffed Moki is almost a member of our family too.
(In the Past when I send pictures to Nana Q wants to make sure Moki sees it too:)

Sister love

We took Mom and Dad Richens on a walking tour of Charleston (so cool) and it was a little rainy. No problem though...unless Quincy was running into everyone with the umbrella.

And my favorite Christmas morning picture. 

We had a nice time having our own little Christmas together. Christmas Eve we watched the Nativity movie from LDS.org, and some of their other short Christmas movies Then talked again about the story using the pieces from the Little People nativity and read a book. Hope we got the feeling of Christmas in our home. All of the magic of Christmas really comes alive when you have a little one.

Christmas morning was taken nice a slow,  in 3 different present opening sittings. We played with almost every toy after it was opened before opening the next. Quincy thought that in addition to her own. she should open all of Mommy's, Daddy's, and Jocelyn's presents. We had a nice breakfast before Scott took some neighbors to the airport and came back for round 2. Santa surprised me with a pair of Chaco Sandals, and shelving unit for the garage; Scott with a new Cleveland LeBron shirt and White Collar seasons 1 and 2,  and a great game, Bonanza; Quincy with a tree swing, Pjs, and Legos, and Jocelyn with a ergonomic Lillebaby carrier. We had lots of love from our families too, thanks for everything!

While we loved having our own Christmas it was great to share the holiday with some family too. Mom and Dad Richens got in on the 27th . The girls were of course spoiled with love and we had a fun time going downtown on our walking tour, attempting to visit the Hunley sub, playing a different game each night having willing babysitters so Scott and I could go on an Anniversary dinner (happy 5 years!) to a great Thai restaurant and we were also able to go another night to the Columbia temple.

Quincy was terrified of meeting Santa but once we left the ward party where she saw him she said she wanted to sit on his lap. Every time we talked about him coming to our house I'm sure she just assumed like he would come for dinner or play like her friends do. It's mid January and she still talks about him coming to our house. Q woke after we took down the Christmas decor and she asked, "Where'd Christmas go?"

New tidbits I learned about Charleston: Most of the cool old houses downtown are past down within the family, through the women- a king (without right to the land gave it to all of his mistresses). although these families don't have mortgages they have lots of costs to keep the homes up (we are talking pre-revolutionary war homes). We saw the home of the con-artist from Catch Me If You Can. The homes. The homes/buildings like on Rainbow Row were colored such so that you knew what was sold where: blue- fish, green-produce, pink-beef, yellow-pork(?). The SC state flag is symbolic, the palmetto tree represents the palmetto trunks that were used as a fortress to defend Fort Moultrie and the crescent was worn on war uniforms and the guide said something about it not being a moon but rather a picture of something they wore around their necks to prevent decapitation. On a happier note here is a pic of Rainbow Row.

Rainbow Row Christmas 2013

Quincy-isms, etc

 Lately have been teaching Quincy about what being obedient means and telling her to be obedient to mommy and daddy. Q was sitting on the potty calling for daddy  to come sit with her he was finishing up some school work and not coming right away. After calling a couple of times she called out, “Dad, be obedient!” (12/14)

Conversations with Quincy multiple times a day: “How you doin mommy? “ “Good, how are you Quincy?” “Doing good,  How you doin’ dad?” she continues this pattern several times.

It melts our hearts when Quincy tells us “I love you daddy” or when we tell you we love you and you respond “I love you too”

You love playing at the park and seem to think that everyone there is your friend. The other day after shadowing a few kids around for a while thinking you can do everything the older kids can do some new girls were walking toward the playground. You saw them and started to sprint towards them and yelled, “I’m Coming!” those girls didn’t know you and weren’t waiting for you but it was as if that was the most important thing ever.

You wake up bright and early, 6 am, and its “wake up mommy wake up dada, morning time, eat dinner.” You are ruthless until we get up, by crawl all over us, try to push us out of bed and take the blankets off. As soon as we get up you want to eat. You love cold cereal and it is always a constant reminder of “two kinds” and maybe she wants even 3 kinds of cereal in the same bowl.

You love to eat noodles, yogurt, crackers, and cold cereal, You have just really figured out what candy is all about and love it, you love to play outside no matter the weather and love to splash in all the puddles you find. You have put Jocelyn’s newborn pants on a couple of times even when I tell you they are way too small. You dump out all your toys and don’t play with anything.

You love to give hugs and kisses sometimes my whole face gets showered my Quincy kisses. For Christmas advent calendar you got a small Elsa doll as soon as you opened it you ran down to your room for your Frozen blanket with Elsa and Anna and you proceeded to have the Elsa doll give kisses to the Elsa on the blanket. 

You regularly help Jocelyn fold her arms or give high fives.

You LOVE church, all week you ask to go to Church. You get so excited about playing with your friends in nursery and getting your dress on.  If you aren’t asking to go to church it’s to the store, Walmart, or Gabe’s house (the Cook’s). One Sunday 2 weeks after Jocelyn was born you had a little fever, so we decided to keep you home from church. Jocelyn and I wouldn’t be going anyways. You woke from your nap just after Dad had left for church. You ran out of your room and first thing you said was, “where’s my baby, (in the other room sleeping) then it was, “where’s my daddy?” then you started to cry, “I want to go to church too!”

Halloween 2014- We borrowed 2 costumes from the Lanenga Family dress up bin, a bumble bee and a fairy costume. Grandma Jill brought them with her when she came to help just after Jocelyn was born. You weren't a fan of dressing up initially. Trying on costumes was sad and traumatic for you. You never liked the bee costume but warmed up to being a fairy which was constantly called something different. I ended up calling you a fairy-princess-butterfly. Dad took you to the ward trunk or treat, you DID NOT want to put your costume on. It sounded like you were pretty unsure of the party with the people you knew were completely unrecognizable, I think you liked those who were not in costume best. By Halloween you got down the saying “cracker treat” (you only said Trick –or-treat a few times) and expected something in return. You had a good time with trick or treating and liked to play with your candy. Yes play, not eat.  After Halloween you would ask for your hard earned candy and I would let you pick one piece, but you seem more interested in lining up the candy mixing it up with your hand and picking multiple times, a half hour later you were still playing with the wrapped candy. If I went to open it you had changed your mind and when I did open a sucker or something for you often hardly touched it.

While I was pregnant, we talked about a baby Jocelyn in my belly to help you understand. When you came to meet her at the hospital the day she was born you were NOT happy. You were happy to see me for but then I got

You love to FaceTime everyone but until about a month ago you would only stay on FaceTime for 2 minutes then you used it as a great time to play as many games on the ipad. Now you actually keep it on FaceTime for most of the conversation, however you like to steel the iPad and run and hide (behind your bed, beside the dryer and water heater, in the closet…) making it very hard to have a conversation.

You are a good big sister, you often want to lay right next to Jocelyn, if she is having tummy time  you often give  yourself tummy time too.  When I am changing diapers you give me 3 diapers to put on her you like to get the wet wipes and wipe her bum too. And best of all  you almost always take your used diapers and put them in the diaper pail too.

You have the biggest cheeser smile. For a few weeks it was a perfect picture smile but now it has turned to having your chin way up in the air and your eyes are only open a sliver, when we tell you to look down your chin goes to your chest creating a nice double chin. 

Making Thanksgiving Day pies

Meeting Jocelyn for the first time

Jocelyn Julie Richens

My Dear Sweet Joceyln,

Welcome to our family. We adore you.

We moved across town from an apartment to a house only 3 weeks before you were born and although we were excited for you to come the house and hospital bag was not prepared for you when you decided to make your entrance. I had had a doctors appointment just a few days before and although I was starting to dilate I was telling everyone I didn’t think you would be here for a while. All that vacuuming trying to make the new house more livable and smell fresher must have put me in labor. Thank goodness Daddy was home, he had been unreachable on an aircraft carrier trip until just a day and a half earlier.

I woke up very uncomfortable at 2:30 am on October 5, I squirmed around a bit, got up and then treid going back to sleep. It was just like many other nights lately, however this time the pain kept coming back. Finally I concluded I was having contractions and they were happening pretty regularly. Dad woke after a while of me trying to go back to sleep and getting in and out of bed. He tried to comfort me and joked about needing to go to the hospital.  Well after of debating calling and waking someone to come watch Quincy while we went to the hospital we finally did. (I didn’t want to have a friend come in the middle of the night for me to be sent home, I was thinking of all the false alarms I had heard about.) Brady and Jackie Hammond arrived about 4:30 and Dad and I left for the hospital. We soon found out these contractions weren’t a false alarm. The nurse also informed us that it wouldn’t be long until you were born, I was already dilated to an eight and I probably wouldn’t get my epidural. Yikes! The sweet nurse did everything she could to help me get my epidural but when my body was finally prepared for the epidural I was dilated to a 10 and there was no turning back.

After a LONG 40 minutes of pushing and being told to relax because my tensing up just was pushing you back in rather than out, LOTS of really loud screaming, and asking the doctor “WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME!” keeping my eyes tightly shut you were born 6:52 weighing 5 lbs 15 oz (born at 37 weeks 1 day gestation), and ….   I hope to never have labor and delivery without an epidural again yet, somehow writing this I want to do it again, I suppose it is the miracle of it all and being blessed with a sweet angel at the end. It was amazing how the intense pain just ended and I knew you were here and finally you were placed in my exhausted arms and I could start to be amazed. It took longer for me to enjoy initially because I was recuperating myself more than when Quincy was born, but it was instant love, well I had been loving you, my baby, for at least the previous 9 months but now it was even more real. Daddy cut the umbilical cord, but since I was in my own world I didn’t know it until a week later.

We had informed both sets of grandparents we were going to the hospital then all your aunts and uncle the next morning were very surprised to wake (EST v MST) to a message of a beautiful new niece.

You had the cutest little cry and the first few days I just had to laugh when you cried. It made me happy.  Plus you didn’t cry much you only slept; I had a hard time waking you even to eat.

 Daddy brought Quincy in to meet you Sunday night- her initial reaction was caught on video and she wasn't’ very happy. After crying and screaming and hiding in dad she warmed up to you and was happy to hold you. Nana was able to get on a stand by flight that night to come help. She met you when you were just a day old at the hospital (we stayed a little over 2 days). Grandma Jill was unable to change her ticket previously purchased for a few days before your due date and met you in person and helped out about 3 weeks later.

You are now three months old and full of big cheesy smiles and sticking your long tongue out as far down your chin as possible. You LOVE to be held and hate to be put down. The first 3 weeks you went to church you managed to throw up your full last meal and more each week, you also had the RS lesson completely stopped once and had everyone around us worried about you the other time.

Ice Storm

February 19, 2014

It is shorts and a t-shirt weather today, over 80! Of course last week the kids here got out of school 2-3 days due to the ice storm. You may say, school cancelled what?! That is what I said as a Utah girl who remembers school ending early due to weather only one day in my school life. But, I mostly get it now. Here in the South the freezing weather is rear so when it does come around the cities aren't prepared and really save more my not having to buy all the equipment to spread salt and clear the roads (plus SC was #2 worst drivers in the states.) There are 2 reasons to shut the city down here are a few more. Humidity+ freezing temperature =ice, no precipitation needed. Also, since we are in a coastal area we have a lot of islands and bridges that aren't good to drive on and now people can't get to or from work. The Ravenal Bridge, our big suspension bridge had to be closed the day after the freezing weather, because once it warmed up the icicles were falling and hitting cars. And my last reason, much to my surprise many people in the area had no power or water for more then 48 hours! I never new ice storms could do so much damage. I feel very blessed have been able to keep my baby warm and be able to cook and function normally (other then not going outside) last week with the crazy weather. That was a wake up call and a little lesson on preparedness. So, from now on when you hear that the South is shutting down due to freezing temperatures maybe you won't roll your eyes. I am still jealous of the kids though, at least 5 days off school and 3 late start days in the last month because of the weather.

Although we have been blessed through the storms and well everything we did have a few rough days. poor Q was vomiting all night last Tuesday, 7 times in 4 hours, she was so miserable. I was worried it could be from the Amoxacillin I started the day before but we are back on that and no more yuckies. More likely it was from a bug Quincy picked up when we get to get the Amoxacillin- she had a rough night cough for 2 weeks the doctor attributed to sinusitis. It was a suggested even more to be a bug when 2 nights later Scott woke up sicker then Quincy. Poor guy was miserable and it was the day he was supposed to be OOD, 24 hour guy, luckily there Scott has a nice co-workers who took the duty day on more then last minute notice. I was blessed again and able to take care of my family and not get sick. Here is to staying healthy!

Quincy and I today

Holidays and Chaleston with mom and dad

A friendly reminder not to criticize my grammar and spelling, English is not my strong point and if I stress or read and re-read not much writing would happen.

We had a great time with mom and dad Allen who visited us here in Charleston just after Christmas here is what we did, (pictures to come)

Thursday- Welcomed mom and dad to Charleston and our home, plan our week, have fun with Q, Merry Christmas again. 

Friday- Showed Mom and dad the base and visited Charlie the Alligator but he and his family were hiding with the overcast weather. Mom and Dad were good sports about running around town with us to get notaries, sending off our documents, and funding our down payment for closing on the house as well as huge helps with watching Quincy as we sorted everything out. On this day we completed everything in our power with buying our house, Hooray!

Saturday - Patriot’s Point and we visited for our first time Fort Sumter, Where the first shots of the Civil War were fired as well. As Dad Richens, Ken, would say (and will say in about 2 weeks): I thought that was pretty neat…

Sunday -Church, play with Quincy and games at home

Monday- spent the day touring downtown. Walking the old historic roads increased my love and intrigue for Charleston. I want to go back down to walk past the prerevolutionary war houses with the lag lanterns outside their homes, they have so much charm.

Tuesday- Boone Hall Plantation, they had a Gullah Culture talk that I loved. It helped me understand some of my YW better because of understanding that their ancestors were in slavery only a few generations back and learning more of that history.  I don’t think they have learned important skills and family relations because slavery often smothered them. Everything else at Boone Hall Scott and I had done, but it was fun to do again to remember, solidify and hear new tidbits about the plantation, house, and people. Oh we got to see the sample cotton field that wasn’t in bloom last time, cool to see how cotton grows and how soft it is.  The south is beautiful!

               We went back downtown, mom and dad walked through the market, and we met at the Old Slave Mart Museum- a location that sold slaves once it was law to do it behind closed doors. The experience of walking through those walls, reading and listening to stories were heartbreaking, but again enlightening to how broken life was and still can be from the history.

We finished the night at Hominy Grill a famous southern style restaurant headed back home to put Q to bed, and bring in the New Year with party food and games.  

Wednesday- Happy 2014!  Mom and Dad treated us to a little trip up to the famous, Myrtle Beach, 2 hours away. It was Beautiful but not much happens up there in the winter-especially cold rainy days. We watched football, played on the beach for a few minutes. Quincy LOVED the beach (it is outside) but because of the weather she finally learned to keep a hat on her head to protect from the cold. More games and football…I loved having a couple other people around so we could have a few game nights. I would have played every night all night but didn’t want to torture everyone else. We got in at least one game of the following: Ticket to Ride, Rook, Bonanza, and Settlers over the last few nights, yay.

Thursday- we relaxed had a nice breakfast hot buffet from the hotel, and drove all around Myrtle Beach. The only thing we missed on the trip was a round a putt-putt, that was all closed for the season too. We enjoyed out last day with mom and dad before taking them to the airport early Friday.   

Thanks for coming we are excited for you to visit again…a couple of days with us, and then you can go on a cruise and then couple more days with us… I’ll house you; give you a ride to the ship port and back. How’s that about idea for any of ya’ll?   

We added a few more things to do after more touring of Charleston:

Go to a show at Dock Street theater, the first building in America designed for use as a theater.

Tour the Calhoun mansion

Get our 2014 Christmas ornament at from the sweet grass basket weavers on the Mt. Pleasant side (cheaper)

Look into Snee Farm,

 Look into Charles Pickney plantation,

18 months

Dear Quincy,

Here is your life at just under 18 months:

• Smile and smile and smile
• Daddy said today that with you around life is a game of charades. At least now you smile when we guess the right word of what you want.
• You still would never come in from outside if we didn’t make you. (even on the cold days)
• You like to chase the ducks, but when they chase you it makes you nervous.
• You are picking up words left and right. Learning to say food names, people’s names, and everything we walk about in the day.
• “Back” means you want to ride on mine or daddy’s back, or you have something to put away.
• You love nursery again, 1 month was rough but you are back to loving it. As soon as sacrament meeting is over you are pulling our arms to lead whoever will get up fastest to nursery.
• Most mornings now we have an outing where you can play with other kids. Monday-Play group Tuesday- story time Wednesday-Institute with other mommy’s, Thursday-flexible, at home play dates, etc Friday- Zumba with other mommy’s. In January I realized I needed to let you play with more than just me at home or the playgrounds, getting out is hard, but it is good for us.
• You make me cry watching you hold the hymn book and lead music, you are growing up too fast!
• You have such a fun personality and I think how lucky I am to have you multiple times a day.
• You are: sweet, loving, and cuddly with your hugs and kisses, fun with how you realize how smart you are getting, Inquisitive and ready to discover determined to get what or where you want, lovable not only for your family, but everyone adults, kids and teenagers that we interact with love you, silly, with the way you play and giggle all day.
• Little boys give you kisses, one 3 year old boy told him mom you were his Valentine.

Thanks for making like wonderful!

Love mommy