We Wish You A Merry Christmas...

It was a great first Christmas with Kinley! She slept through most of it but I took enough pictures to show her someday. Here are a few:

 She was all partied out pretty quickly! Here she is sporting her 'My 1st Christmas' Santa hat from Grandma Pearsall. 

She didn't really care about the bow but it still didn't stay on long. 

 Under the tree with all her presents. It is a lot for a 6 week old baby! There were lots of books and blankets from family and friends.

 A close up of her under the tree. 

 And this isn't really a Christmas picture but it is one of my favorites! I have always thought my hubby was hot but something about him with her makes him even cuter! :)

I hope you all have a safe and happy new year!

Kinley's Movie Debut

5 Weeks

I have no idea where the time is going. It is almost the end of December and I have barely blinked the last five weeks. Kinley is growing strong! She is an amazing little person. I can't believe how in just a few short weeks she has become so aware of her surroundings. She is picking her head up more and more. She can stare us in the face when we lay her on our chest. It is a pretty funny sight!

She is sleeping well. She wakes up about every 2 -2 1/2 hours to eat. She has her fussy moments but  mostly only cries when she is hungry and even then her cry is pathetic. I know, I know, enjoy it while it lasts! I am loving being a mother but am already worried about her future. I am sure all moms go through it! I am trying not to worry the days away. We are taking lots of pics to document everything. I am sure you don't believe me since I have been so horrible about posting.

Everything has gone pretty well with the exception of  me having to go back into the hospital a week or so ago to have my gallbladder removed. I have learned from other ladies this is sort of common among pregnant women. I wish someone would have told me! The pain hit and within an hour I was on my knees unable to do anything! I called my neighbor and they came to my rescue and call the ambulance. My neighbor is an EMT, I was in good hands! They found Aaron out in the field because he was doing an exercise. He met me at the hospital and all the tests ensued.

They found out my gallbladder and pancreas were inflamed and irritated. I also had gall stones. Fun times. So they admitted me and so began Aaron's 3 days/nights of being a single dad to a new born. He was amazing! I never doubted it because he has been so super helpful from the get go. A real man doesn't shy away from poopy diapers! :)  I love that man!

After two days in the hospital, they took out my gallbladder and pumped me full of anti-biotics to fix the pancreas.  Never a dull moment around me I swear!  Oh, they also fixed a belly button hernia I got from being pregnant that I had no idea I had developed.

So I am home now and feeling much better! Hopefully that will be my last stay in the hospital for a long time. I hated being away from Aaron and Kinley. Although, the hospital was gracious enough to put me in my own room so he could bring her during the day to see me.

Sorry for the poor quality. I took these with my iPhone. I promise to get better pics up soon!

Isn't she sweet! Love her!

She's Here!

 Kinley Keating Pearsall born November 11, 2010 at 9:20 am. She weighed in at a whopping 5 lbs 8 ozs. People have been wondering about her name. Well, we picked Kinley because we thought it was a fun ode to AK with Mt. McKinley. Keating was the last name of a dear friend Aaron lost in Afghanistan during his first deployment. Ben Keating was an exceptional person and friend. We miss him dearly and thought it would be a great tribute to Ben and honor for our little girl to share his name!

 With daddy for her first meal. 

 Enjoying some bonding time with mommy!

 I love her so much already! I am so excited to get to be her mom!

 

After her first bath. Lots of hair! 

 

We still are not sure what Boone thinks of her. He wants to lick her all the time so I guess things could be worse. When she makes any kind of noise he comes over and stares at her. I guess time will tell! Little does he know, she is here to stay!

Almost Done...

We are almost done with the nursery! It's a very good thing because I am about 4 weeks (give or take) away from being done with this pregnancy!

Here is the latest of my creations:

I saw a much better version done for a living room in a photography book a few years ago. I thought it would be a nice touch to her room. Don't bother looking too close, there are no pictures of people you know in those frames.  I will fill them up sooner than later I am sure!

Just a shot to show you where I put it in the room.

Only one wall to go. I am thinking of just hanging some shelves I already have from a previous move. Now, I just have to convince my husband that hanging them will be great fun! Poor guy, he hates hanging thing but he has been so wonderful to do it without complaint anytime I ask. I guess he will have to get used to it.  I am sure this is just the beginning of putting things up/together for many years to come!

The Beauty of Alaska

Mt. McKinley is the mountain in the middle. It is the highest peak in North America. Sorry I couldn't make it any larger. I don't think Blogspot likes photo stitching. But if you click the photo, it will enlarge for you!

33 Weeks and Counting...

Still getting bigger...

Sunbeam Lover

Boone loves sunbeams! He moves around the house from place to place as the sunbeams move. I came up stairs to find him in an awkward position. I guess this was the only sunbeam he could find at the time!

To AK or Bust

While Aaron was away on his caribou hunt, I was blessed with visitors! Elizabeth and Ryan have been great friends of mine for years, so I was so stoked when they wanted to come and visit the great state of AK! They have actually made trips to everywhere the military has sent us so far. It was awesome to have people come and share in this magical place I call home.

We walked around downtown Anchorage, visited the Iditarod Headquarters in Wasilla and feed the reindeer at the Reindeer Farm in Palmer. But my favorite part of their journey was our visit to Matanuaka Glacier. I had seen glaciers from afar but never even got close to one. It was another magical moment to add to my list since living here in AK!

On the way to the glacier. They picked the best week to come. It was sunny the whole time they were here! Most people are not so lucky.

 We stopped at a place where we thought we could walk to the glacier. It was way to far! But it made for a cool picture stop!

 Getting closer!

We made it!

 Kinley and I getting ready to hike in farther.

 Amazing, isn't it! Just beautiful. Of course it was more beautiful and majestic in person. I didn't get to see this lake because it got icier as we went. I didn't want to take a head dive down a glacier while pregnant. But Ryan was gracious enough to take some pictures so I could see the beauty. While they were hiking farther in, I was calling my sister on my cell phone. I had all my bars! Who knew, even on a glacier you got service!

 

 I think this picture is pretty cool!

This one too! Does it make you want to come visit AK? Well, I think you should!

It was awesome having then here. I was really sad to see them go! It is always awesome to see friends (very much like my family!) and show them around. Moving to crazy places is one of the most fun parts of the military. It is awesome for Aaron and I but also for friends and family. They too get to see places they probably never would have visited otherwise. I wonder where the military will send us next?

Father and Son Caribou Hunt

Last week, Aaron and his dad had the chance to go on a caribou hunt of a lifetime. They took a plane up to Kotzebue, AK and then a little prop plane from there into the middle of nowhere. There they camped and hunted for 6 days. Joining them on the trip was our friend Ryan and his dad, Mark.

Here is a little map to show you an idea of how far up they went. They even went about an hour past Kotzebue but I don't know specifically where. I am not even sure they know! The arrow is about where we live and the 'A' (courtesy of Google Maps) is Kotzebue.


I am happy to say the trip was a success. They got 4 caribou between the 4 of them. Below are some pictures of them and their trophies. They spent all day yesterday processing the animals. I can't wait to try a caribou burger.

Clint and his beast! He got the biggest one. The caribou had just started losing his velvet that day.

Here is Aaron's caribou.

Mark, Ryan, Aaron and Clint before boarding the plane to fly into the bush. The pilot could only take two at a time. And from their stories, even that was a little too tight in that tiny plane!

All in all they had a great time! The outfitter they used wasn't the most professional but they managed to have a great time anyway. If you run into any of them, I am sure they will be willing to tell you their stories!