Esther's first Halloween

It is hard to find a costume for a 3 months old but when I found this cute pea pod costume I knew what Michael and I had to go as. My family does a Halloween party every year so, we all went as vegetables. Michael is corn, I am a carrot, and of course the cutest pea pod you have ever seen. She only lasted about 10 min in the costume but it was well worth it for the picture.

Arizona

The weekend of the 10th Michael, Esther and I took a trip to Arizona to visit Michael's sister and her family. The main reason we were going was because Connor, Jennifer's middle son, was getting baptized. We planned on flying and were supposed to leave Friday morning Oct 10th. I don't know if it was traveling with a baby or just bad luck that morning but many things went wrong and we missed our flight. Which wouldn't have been a problem except every flight leaving SLC for Phoenix was over sold and there was no way to catch another flight till the next day. We were heart broken. The baptism was at 10am and the earliest flight would not get us in till 9:40 which was not enough time to drive to Mesa for the baptism. We were going to miss the reason we were going in the first place. We debated on driving. But between losing money on the plane tickets and the cost of gas it was too expensive. So with no other choices we flew out at 11am on Saturday and missed the baptism. Esther did better than I thought she would on the plane. She was asleep as soon as I buckled my seat belt. She slept most the way and woke up right before we landed. Everyone was so excited to see us but more excited to see Esther. This was the first time that the Kirby family has seen Esther. Ethan, Jennifer's youngest, was the most interested in everything Esther did. He was always wanting to hold her and help put the bottle in her mouth. Every time she cried he wanted to know why she was crying. We had a great time. We mostly hung around the house and played ticket to ride. Even though we missed the baptism it was still worth the trip. There is nothing like taking it easy and hanging out with family. We love you guys and miss you already.

Heather's Birthday Party

It was Heather's birthday on October 10th. We were invited to her birthday party the night of the 9th at Golden Coral. It was so much fun to see Heather and her family and for them to see Esther. This is the first time that we have gotten together since Esther was discharged from the hospital. We got to meet Heather's older and younger brothers along with her two daughters and friends of the family. Happy Birthday Heather.

Heather's Birthday Party

Facial

A couple of weeks ago Esther broke out in a lot of baby acne. While working in the NICU I learned that using Selsun Blue or Head & Shoulders on the head and face like a mask dries the skin and will get rid of the baby acne. So here is Esther in the bathtub with Selsun Blue on her head and face. She didn't mind it too much until she licked her chin and ate some. Too bad this does not work on adults.

Before the nursery

Well I am excited to say that we are finally finished with the nursery. Here are a few before and after pictures. You wonder why it took so long. This job was more than new paint. Back in February we had insulation added in our walls which left 4 inch holes between each stud. Those holes had to be mudded and sanded. Then we wanted to refinish the hardwood floor. The floor had to be filled with a wood filler first and then sanded. Then after a little trial and error and seven coats of lacquer and two weeks later we finally got it right. This time around we used a different lacquer than the downstairs, it was not as easy to use but the look is gorgeous. The ceiling was textured and a new ceiling fan installed. The original paint color that was chosen was hideous. It was way to orange and had to be repainted a softer yellow. The baseboards and door casings were replaced to match the rest of the house. Michael's mom bought Esther an awesome closet organizer that was not the easiest to put in. The blinds were replaced and curtains were hung. It only took two months to finish the nursery but worth it.
I still am working on the decorating part. I found these cute vinyl monkeys that are placed around the room. I have ordered pictures of animals to go above the bed and a shelf will be placed over the changing table. We still need to get new closet doors and we would like a white solid door for the room. I find myself just standing in Esther's room taking it all in. I can't believe that this is the same room as before. I am so glad the way that it turned out and I know that Esther loves it. She loves her monkey sheets and bumper she can spend and hour just looking at it.

Nursery