The Nursery

I finally got around to putting everything away in Baby Boy's nursery. It's still missing a couple things here and there- but really he isn't even sleeping in here yet so I am alright waiting to finish! 

Since before a baby was even in the plans, I've known I wanted a classic Peter Pan nursery. There are some small details in here that I'm really in love with. Also some artwork- the paintings in the nursery were a surprise from Ray when we found out I was pregnant. He commissioned his friend from college to do them and I am absolutely in love with them! They really are the highlight of the room- and Baby Boy loves when we hold him in front of them so he can quietly stare at them. I hope they spark his imagination to have as many adventures as Peter in Neverland!

 If you love these paintings as much as us (which is impossible because we love them the most!) you should definitely check out her other incredible pieces here. 

We bought this changing cabinet from a woman who repurposed it. Although it was just a little too small to use as a changing table I still love the colors and theme it brings into the nursery.

So much magic is expressed in this picture. Sabrina read J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan in preparation for these paintings and did an amazing job illustrating his timeless work. 

This painting is my favorite. It perfectly captures the major characters in their never ending circling of Neverland.

You can't have Peter Pan or Neverland without the Jolly Roger and the mermaids in their lovely lagoon.

This quote and the one above were decorations at my baby shower that co-workers threw for me. Too cute!

I crocheted this crocodile for Baby Boy. I can't wait for him to get big enough to play with it!

Michael's teddy

These beautiful stars were also from my work baby shower. They make the perfect mobile for Baby Boy's crib.

The top two books are collectible Peter Pan books that Ray and I bought on Portobello Road in London.

1 Month Old!

We can't believe Kaymond is already 1 month old. I guess between countless diapers and lack of sleep, time just slips away from you.

Baby Boy is an absolute delight. He loves holding his head up and staring at things- mostly one particular shelf in the living room, he's obsessed with it! He does great with tummy time and has even rolled from his stomach to his back a couple of times. He is sleeping awesome- which we are so grateful for! Sometimes he takes a while to fall asleep at naps, but at night he only wakes up one or two times to eat- yay!

We weighed him yesterday and he is a whopping 10 pounds, which means he has gained just about 3 pounds since we left the hospital. Way to go kid :) He's still wearing a lot of newborn clothes, but is slowly filling out the 0-3 month onesies I put him in. The newborn hats stopped fitting probably around week 2, he has a giant noggin.

We sure love our Baby Boy!

The Day(s) We Became Three

He is here! I've been slow getting this up, because quite honestly- my baby is just too cute to spend time on anything other than him. So, sorry not sorry?

Right though? I think I've made my point. 

Baby Kaymond was born on January 1, 2016 at 12:31 AM. He weighed 7 lbs 14 oz and was 19 inches long. He was and is the model of a perfectly healthy little baby- for which we are so grateful!

His name came from combining our own names: Raymond with a 'K' for Kailin. It took us the first full day at the hospital to finally decide on that name, but we're so happy now that we did. It just fits him perfectly.

At 8 o'clock on the 31st, I finally insisted we go to the hospital. I called my midwife again and let her know we were on our way there. I couldn't easily walk or talk through the contractions at this point.

I was worried they were going to turn me away at this point when we got to the hospital because my water hadn't broken. They got me into a room and were all pleasant about getting me comfy and set up. Then one nurse finally checked me to see how I was dilating- 8 cm! Suddenly they kicked into gear and quickly got me hooked up to an IV and called my midwife to hurry up a little. My midwife got there around 8:45 (she got a flat tire on the way there!) and I had already had my epidural (hallelujah!) even though the nurses told me I'd probably be fine without one. Haha, still makes me laugh. I don't think I've ever been more comfortable than when that finally kicked in and I had a warm blanket over me... *sigh*

Labor progressed easily from then on and the only question was whether we'd have a 2015 or a 2016 baby. At 11:35 I started pushing, and by 12:31 he was here. Our perfect little man. Everything said and done, it was mostly painless and a great experience. I had 5 minutes left of epidural medication when he arrived so the timing worked out perfectly. :)

He was the first baby of 2016 at our hospital, and he got royally spoiled because of it. While I was still on the delivery table doing skin-to-skin, the L&D nurses brought in a huge bouquet of flowers for me, a big balloon for him, and a giant gift basket full of clothes, blankets and other cute baby items. Then when we got to the Mother & Baby floor his first nurse crocheted him an adorable snowman hat. When our first shift of nurses was about to leave they brought us another huge gift basket full of clothes, blankets and fun stuff. On top of all of it, my midwife gave us a blanket she made him- he loves it!

Ever since then we've just been soaking up the goodness that is our new baby. Now the important stuff- pictures!!!

Dad holding Baby Boy for the first time.

Being wheeled down to Mom & Baby

We made it home!

Kaymond loves spending time playing with Daddy

Thanks for visiting Uncle Dan & Aunt Camilla!

Welcome New Year's Baby 2016!

Little snowman cap 

Getting ready to leave the hospital.

Thanks for visiting Grandma & Grandpa!

We love our bundle. We especially love that he was born on New Years. It perfectly upholds our tradition of having big events happen on NYE.
2010/11- Ray and I got engaged
2011/12- We spent in Disneyland
2012/13- We partied in Taipei, Taiwan
2013/14- We played in London, England
2014/15- We enjoyed our home town in Germany
2015/16- We welcomed the newest, cutest member of our Family of Three!

Family Baby Shower & Babymoon

I am so behind the times. Nothing like an easy Sunday morning to catch up on your memories!

A few weeks ago, two of my dear sisters-in-law threw me a beautiful baby shower. It was absolutely beautiful, and we had so much fun! I don't know how I got so lucky with my in-laws, they are all the greatest. Here are some pictures that Ray's cousin took before everybody started showing up.

Maritza, Camilla and me. Thanks for the gorgeous shower, guys!

My mom flew in from Denver and my Grandma was able to be there too.

This was maybe my favorite shower game! Everyone wrote Ray and I late night diaper changing messages. Anything from advice, to encouragement, to "Toxic Waste" warnings of what awaits us inside those 3AM diapers!

I'm having this baby in 8 weeks (so I was 30 weeks in this picture) and people are still way surprised when I tell them that. On the one hand it's nice to hear "you look great!" from people, on the other- it's just a reminder that I have a gigantic rib cage that provides plenty of space for this squirt to hide out in. Bitter-sweet.

We had a delicious lunch and played a couple really great games.  Ray and I received some really nice, sweet gifts for Baby Boy- thank you so much to everyone who came! 

Since then I've been organizing baby clothes, running endless loads of laundry (I can already tell that baby socks are going to be the bane of my existence), and trying to prep as much as humanly possible! I still have bags to pack, the nursery to set up,  a car seat to buy. Yikes! There is still tons left to do. But this is the fun part, right? 

This weekend Ray and I took an overnight vacation up in Park City. It was our Babymoon, our final stay away without any kids to look after or little ones at home to worry about with a sitter. We took complete advantage of just having us time. There was a great deal of snuggling and watching the Food Network (our all-time favorite). For dinner we went to a local Italian restaurant. Our hotel stay came with a $50 gift card to the restaurant, and the concierge also provided us with a two-for-one coupon. We got an appetizer, a decadent chocolate cake dessert and we each had a fabulous filet mignon. On Saturday morning we went slow. We went to Great Harvest Bread for breakfast where I had the best pancakes of my life (for reals) and then we went to the outlets to walk around a bit. There were so many cute baby clothes I wanted! But we're really pretty much set on clothes thanks to the hand-me-downs of Baby Boy's numerous cousins. Thanks guys!

In the next week we have two more baby showers- one from my friends and one from my co-workers. We feel so blessed to be back in Utah right now. I knew I couldn't have a baby without a strong support group and that's exactly what we have now that we are back. So many blessings!

Baby Boy is getting big enough to wreak a little more havoc on my system each time he moves, and I've definitely experienced Braxton Hicks contractions at this point. Things continue to go smoothly and as planned though, with my midwife reassuring me that these new aches and pains are just my welcoming to the 3rd Trimester. 

I forgot between these things we had Halloween! It was really pretty uneventful. I know for myself I was just thinking to next year when we'd have a little boy to dress up and take to parties and it'd be a bit more fun to get into. This year we stayed home and handed out candy to a just a few trick or treaters. I ran to the store last minute and put together a Halloween themed dinner. We had Frankenstein Skin, Goblin Snot, and Zombie Guts with a Skeletal Dessert at the end. Any guesses as to what we ate? ...(Salad, zucchini soup, spaghetti and apple slices with caramel for dessert). We then watched Gremlins which neither of us had ever seen- turns out it's kind of another Christmas horror story- woops! We still had fun :)

Believe It Or Not...

Second trimester was completely uneventful. Which I am eternally grateful for. No illness, no smells or sights making me physically sick, and Baby Boy continues to develop in textbook form.

I guess that's why I forgot to write anything on here. It took a solid month to get everything in our new place set up the way I like it. But now we are settled. The nursery is empty except for the changing table we bought- and the room awaits all the fun goodies a baby requires.

Today I am 26 weeks pregnant, with 14 left to go. Because of the bizarre 40 weeks/9 months nature of pregnancy, I'm kind of in my third trimester... but won't be 100% in until next week. It's crazy to me that the last post on here I was only 16 weeks along, now I have less than that left! It is going by insanely quickly.

I finally had somebody straight up ask me when I was due. None of the awkward glances and timid question of whether or not I am pregnant. That felt nice. Unfortunately at work I still get daily from the kids: "You're pregnant?!" which they realize only after I explain to them why I need them to pick their garbage up off the floor (I just can't bend down as easily as I once could, okay?!).

Baby Boy is moving all the time. Enough that Ray and I can watch my belly randomly bounce and bulge as he twists around. Last night he was super active as I laid down to sleep around 9:00. And then I woke up at 4AM to him doing an Irish jig and me being absolutely starving! A few handfuls of trail mix and a glass of water later and we were both ready to go back to sleep... after about 45 minutes of trying to get comfortable again. Let the sleepless nights- begin!

I am loving my job. The school I am at is incredible and stocked with truly wonderful children. They make me laugh and smile every day; whether it's the little 2nd graders showing me all their Pokemon cards at recess, or the sweet little girl who tells me "You are very kind" every day in the lunch room after I help her open her GoGurt.

         GoGurt people: if you're reading this, why do you make those tubes so dang hard to open? I have a pair of scissors in the lunch room specifically for all the those dumb tubes of yogurt. Please work on that, k?

Our ward is very small by Utah standards, but so far we are enjoying the ease it gives in meeting everyone. Ray has accepted a calling in the Young Men's Presidency, and I have just accepted mine as an Activity Days Leader. We are both super pleased with these callings and are looking forward to working with the youth.

Utah is having a bout of late hot weather and it is killing me! I never thought I'd be so ready for cold weather. I sleep with the windows open every night and even that sometimes isn't enough. I know my big coats won't fit me by the time snow arrives, but I'm still so excited that I get to layer up and then easily enjoy some cold air without racking up a large electricity bill.

Wow, our lives sound pretty boring right now. But maybe that is for the best. In 14 short weeks everything will be turned upside down!!!

On Being Pregnant

Humans are naturally curious. Sometimes morbidly so. And never so much as when a woman is pregnant. This I have come to learn first hand. I don't mind so much, it's all kind of funny. For my own keepsakes and for anyone else who has these questions nagging at them, I thought I would dedicate a post to some of my early pregnancy experiences.

**Disclaimer: This is about pregnancy. If you're not okay with puke stories, just move on to a new webpage. :)


I found out I was pregnant right around 4 weeks. And I totally didn't believe it at first. I felt absolutely no different. Well okay, that's a lie. I was noticing I needed a nap everyday come 4 in the afternoon. But I just figured I was indulging my lazy side.

Turns out though, right around 7 weeks baby wanted to let me know he or she was really there! Nausea started kicking in big time. Afternoons were actually worse for me. Mornings I felt fine, as long as I could sleep until 10:30 or so... and still take a nap around 4.... It's been a huge blessing to be here in SD where I really have been able to just relax.

Then the real fun started! Every time I got in the car as a passenger- I threw up! Lucky me, the first time this happened my sister-in-law and I had just returned from a shopping expedition and stopped for lunch at the Corner Bakery Cafe. As we exited the car I really thought I wasn't going to make it to the front door. I was eyeing bushes the whole walk up wondering how long it would take to get over the embarrassment of losing it right there.

Fortunately I made it inside and to the bathroom. Where I immediately lost it right into the porcelain throne. When I was finally able to draw a breath, I realized there was someone else in the bathroom! Ugh, and we had a conversation. It went thusly:

Kind Stranger: Um... are you okay in there?

Me: Yeah, I'm fine. Thank you.

KS: Okay... Do you need some water or something?

Me: Oh no. I just... Pregnancy sucks.

KS: Oh you poor thing!

And then she finally walked out allowing me to finish up and collect myself before I rejoined the world and tried to think about eating lunch. Barf. Literally.


The next time my SIL and I ventured out, we went to the beach. At this point, I was still thinking that first time was a fluke, so I rode passenger again. I made it there in one piece. But on the way home was a totally different story. We made it about a mile from our homes when I started having to take deep breaths and hold very still-trying to will the monster back to depths it was trying to surface from. My SIL picked up on my rigid sitting position and asked if I was okay.

"Nope. You better pull the car over."

Which she thankfully did and I exited as quickly as possible. I told her and our friend they should just continue home, I would walk from there. They drove off and I really thought it could pass with some deep breaths of fresh air. As soon as her car was out of sight though, I had no choice: I turned to the succulent plants lining the hill to my right and did my part to help California in their drought situation. I'm sure many a passerby on the busy road appreciated my show of true California dedication... I am just sure. I made it through the walk home unscathed, but feeling awful.

I finally picked up that cars weren't going to be my friend for a while. Even the elevator ride to our 4th floor apartment sent me into a bout of nausea. I was able to correct the car problem though by just becoming the Designated Driver for the rest of my first trimester. I am very pleased to report that while in Utah last week I tested riding passenger again with great success. But just in case, I invested in some lovely barf bags that I carry with me now in preparation for anything else this kid tosses at me.

Alright, on to second trimester! Woo hoo! Feeling so much better these days. The only thing to note is an insane amount of the "feels". As in: I cry all the freaking time. At the dumbest things. So far my favorite cry story happened just a few nights ago. I decided to watch a movie while I was waiting for dinner to finish and for Ray to get home. It was an alright movie, deeply scientifically flawed, but with an interesting enough plot. Enough to have me sobbing my eyes out for at least half of it.

When Ray got home our conversation sounded something like this:

Ray: Hi honey! I'm h- why are your eyes all red? Have you been crying?

Me: *through poorly muffled sobs* Y-yessss. I'm watching a movie, a-and...

-at this point Ray is walking to me to try to provide some sort of comfort-

Me: *continuing pathetic sobs* her dog died, and she's all ALONE!

-and now is the time I completely break down into inconsolable hysterics-

Ah yes, my finer moments. Ray was holding back some giggles, and even I was aware I was being ridiculous. I don't even like dogs. Somewhere my sobs turned to laughs and then they'd switch back to cries about the poor heroine who sat alone in her dog-less apartment.

The same pattern followed the next few nights. None quite as bad as that first. I'm tending to be a little more selective of the stories I read and the movies I watch. Even the topics of conversation I breach with people. Nothing says "Please be my friend" like sobbing while talking about how beautiful green grass and brown dirt is. Yup. This is my life now.

On to FAQ's!

Yes we want to find out the gender. That will be happening next month.

No we don't want a boy or girl one more than the other. I'm just so proud of this little life growing inside of me. Every ultrasound we go to it bounces and performs and poses in all the ways the tech asks for. One tech even gave it her "favorite baby of the day" award. Totally my kid, performing and people pleasing all the way. So boy or girl, we already love it like crazy.

          *We interrupt these FAQ's for my favorite story!* At our first ultrasound I was lying on the table, and the screen was facing away from me. I obviously couldn't see, so I just watched Ray's face. I knew the instant he saw the baby. His face immediately dissolved into a look of pure adoration and his arms instinctively drew up like he was cradling an infant. He tried to be tough, but this babe already has daddy wrapped around their tiny finger.

Back to FAQ's...

Yes, I did have cravings. They've tapered off since I entered my second trimester. During the first, I craved pizza and french fries. Also lots of tomato sauce. And cheese and eggs. Nothing sweet.

Yes we have names picked out. But they aren't 100% solid so I don't feel like sharing them here yet.

And for the benefit of all who care: I officially have one pair of pants left that fit.

Today was 16 weeks! Oh boy (or girl)!!!

Not the greatest quality- but this is at about 12.5 weeks. You can see the baby's hand up with its thumb pointing down. It kept opening and closing its mouth trying to suck its thumb. It was pretty much adorable. 

Naseath Reunion 2015 + Announcing the Pregnancy

Over a year ago the plans began for a family reunion/celebration of my MIL's 60th birthday.

Literally thousands of planning emails later...

We all ended up in gorgeous Garden City, Utah staying in a cabin overlooking the absolutely stunning Bear Lake.

We had roughly 30 people in that one cabin. 6 Bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 1 overly stocked kitchen, and 30 ridiculously happy people just enjoying some family time. If I'm being completely honest, I expected multiple breakouts of hurt feelings, angry words, and moments of tucking away in frustration. But not once did any of those happen. Our family literally played all week and just had fun!

Was a wallet lost off the roof of a car and run over by a lawn mower? Sure! But did we find that wallet including all of its precious contents? You bet your bippy we did.

Was there maybe a small hillside fire caused by a malfunctioning firework? Of course. But you better believe the strong and the brave of the family put those fires out before the fire department even hung up the phone with us.

And did the Sea-doo run out of gas and eventually die well before it was time to turn it in? Naturally. But not once did you hear someone complain. Instead they played King of the Mountain on the water trampoline.

All 15 grandkids (my adorable nephews and nieces) got along remarkably well all week and relished in their precious cousin time. I spent most of my time in the living room, cooing with my 3 nephews who are 6 months, 7 months, and 1 year old. On one evening it was my turn to make dinner, so I made 5 batches of pretzel dough and we spent 4 hours rotating amazing pretzel creations from the counter to the oven and out again onto anxiously held plates.

Another evening we had a cooking lesson from my MIL and Ray's grandmother. We all learned how to make grandma's stuffing. Now- at the time no one knew I was pregnant (oh yeah! I'm pregnant, more on that later) so I apologize if that evening I seemed like I'd left my partici-PANTS at home. But the thought of being in a crowded, hot kitchen was literally more than I could take. So Ray and I waited until everyone else finished their creations and then we ventured in to make ours. In true homage to our favorite cooking show, Master Chef, and its most honorable judge Gordon Ramsey, I quizzed Ray thoroughly on all his steps as he blended, squished and mashed our stuffing mixture together. The result? A "stunning" first place winner for "Most Like Grandma's Stuffing."

Together, Ray and I can do anything. Including making some awesome stuffing.

So finally, the day arrived when we were scheduled to take family pictures. Some members of the family started pushing for evening shots, and Ray and I immediately fought back saying we were pretty sure morning would be the better time frame. The only reason we cared was because we had been waiting all week long to tell everyone about the pregnancy, and we were going to have the photographer announce it and then snap pictures of everyone's reactions. The thought of dragging through the last day without telling anyone until the end was excruciating.

It's lucky we did start early since there was a delay due to camera trouble. Eventually we had everyone seated and ready. The photographer (Ray's cousin) started taking her pictures and then gave her "ready" signal to her assistant (Ray's other cousin). She poised for the photo and said "Everyone say: Kailin is pregnant!"

Everyone said it- which really wasn't what I was expecting. But then it went kind of quiet. I finally had to interject: "Really guys! 4 months along!" Some small nervous laughs maybe, and then a "Really?" to which I had to affirm.

"It's me saying this, not Ray, so you know it's true!"

Finally we got the reactions we wanted. Ray's mom is my favorite of all. I wish I could post the entire progression but that may be too many pictures. It goes from complete shock, to happy smiles, to happy tears, to trying to hold back tears so we can finish taking family pictures.

We are very pleased with the results.

Everyone's initial reactions when it finally sinks in this is for real.

Trying to regroup to continue with pictures.

We're going to have a baby!

I'm not too crazy about this photo, but what I do love is the ridiculous contrast between Ray's arm and mine.

It was a great week all around. I cannot wait for the next family get together!