Photo Shoot

We finally got around to taking some pictures of the girls!
I had been dreading doing it since we decided to try to do it ourselves since we are still poor students and take them with Adalei was torture. They aren't on the best camera, but a little cropping and red eye reduction and I think they turned out fine! Besides, I think they are beautiful no matter what! Except when they are screaming...not sleeping...having diarrhea... :)

Friends

When I first married Grayson I had the gall to ask his sister what she did all day (she was home with my niece Kayla at the time). I really wasn't trying to be rude, I was honestly curious (although I am sure she wanted to put a knife in my back at the time- I love you Mitzi!). I came across this article by Carolyn Hax entitled, What do Friends With Kids Do all Day?, and wanted to send it out to all my friends with KIDS!! You won't ever get it unless you have some of your own. Period. End of Story.
Here is the link:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/22/AR2007052201554.html

And of course, a BIG sorry to all my friends who hang on and love me anyway when I only get around to talking to you every few months....or more...I still love you!!

Comparision

People keep saying they don't see the resemblance between my two girls- but I think they still look pretty close. Definitely more Schenk in Adalei and more O'Neill in Elia. What do you think?

Babycakes

These pictures aren't in any particular order- my mom was able to come and help me with the baby after we got to Reno which was fabulous!



Adalei can sure be a ham!

She thinks it is great to get the baby equipment when I am not looking!
My little double chin girl!
When we would run errands with my mom and she was walking around with Elia alone people thought it was her baby! That made my mom feel awesome!
She started out with a pretty bad bald head- we call it the Scott Knight noggin' (that is my brother-in-law! :) )
We went to Lake Tahoe for the first time- the picture is kinda grainy but it is SO beautiful there! It was freezing cold- but that didn't stop Adalei from running up and down the shoreline with bare feet.


This is one of the first smiles Elia gave me- she is getting really good and cooing a lot too. I can't believe I was able to capture it on camera!

The sand at King's Beach at Lake Tahoe was this cool mix of caramel and black. Ok- seriously I know I have small feet but this pic makes my feet look almost as big as my daughters (she is on the right)


We are doing great- loving Reno! I am feeling a little better each day and Adalei has stopped trying to take Elia out every five minutes and can actually entertain her a little bit. Grayson started working for CVS and is planning on working for them for "real" when he graduates. He has 8 months of rotations left- YEAH! Hope everyone is doing great!

She's Here!

I will have to post some pictures later- but I thought I would update the blog really quick while I was still awake. Elia Winter Schenk was born Friday, May 14th at 7:30am in the morning. She was 5 pounds and 7 ounces and 19 inches long- a little mini! We had a little problem- (Ok so I almost bled out on the table but...) after the Dr cut in she hit a sinus, which is apparently a normal vein that grows during pregnancy, except for mine which decided to bleed about 2 liters in 15 seconds. It was kind of a odd experience because when they put you behind that tent for a c-section neither Grayson or I knew what was really happening but the Dr's started moving really fast. You always think about those stupid shows like ER where everyone is yelling and throwing things to each other when there is an emergency. My blood pressure dropped so fast that I started throwing up and Grayson only noticed that they were really working me over to get the baby out NOW. I guess after you deliver your uterus clamps down, so as soon as they got her out the bleeding stopped (or stopped gushing). The anesthesiologist shot me up with a couple different drugs and kept reasurring me I was ok (which I didn't realize I wasn't!). After they wheeled me to recovery the Dr came and talked to Gray and said, "geez- you guys really gave me a run for my money today!"

So we are counting our blessings this week! The baby came out beautiful- even though we were worried she wasn't growing right she did come out small but didn't need oxygen or anything special. The Dr couldn't even see where she was cutting when I started bleeding, but Elia was positioning just right so she didn't get cut (which I can't even think about...). I survivied! I feel awful- so that is why no one will probably hear from me for a few weeks. I couldn't even keep my eyes open the first couple of days while they tried to figure out how my body was recovering. They gave me a blood transfusion on Sunday night and that made me feel loads better. Elia is doing great-the pediatrician said she was perfect and I asked if I could have the same diagnosis! Grayson made it back Thursay night to be there for the c-section at 5am the next morning. Then he flew back to Reno on Sunday to start his rotations this Monday. We were all pretty depressed when he had to leave and I can't wait until we are all back together again. He really didn't want to leave after the baby came! My in-laws were close enough to make all of this possible and they are entertaining Adalei and letting me rest.

So thanks for everyone's prayers- I am sure they are still in full affect! We will post pictures as soon as we can. Adalei is loving the new baby as of now and shushes all of us. We are working on being gentle...:)