Dedication Pictures

Here are a few pictures from Kayden's dedication.

Our little family

Kayden's pretty dress from Grandma Maureen, laying on the blanket great great grandma made for Karen's dedication years ago

The whole Matlock bunch

Proud Grandma Maureen and Grandpa Dean

The Holidays...

Its hard to believe that Christmas has come and gone and 2009 is quickly creeping up! The whole holiday season has taken on a whole new feel with a precious little infant in the house. As I read the story of baby Jesus to Kayden, I could not help but think about how horrible it must have been for Mary while riding the donkey or how dirty it must have been to give birth in a stable. The whole birth story hit a little closer to home this year for sure!
Shane's family has been out here for Christmas, enjoying Kayden and the sights, tastes and lights of Lille. We were so lucky to be able to dedicate Kayden on Christmas Eve. The church had a "Crib Service" which was pretty much an interactive living nativity while the Christmas story was read. I was Mary at one point and Kayden was Jesus. So, with little kids dresses as angels and "shepards" surrounding Shane and I and the rest of the family, Kayden was dedicated to the Lord. It was such a special evening, a very memorable first Christmas Eve for Kayden!

Hanging out!

Cozy with daddy!

First bottle!! Success!

HATING bath time!


Post bath photo, clean but not happy

Getting into the Christmas spirit

Freshly washed, spikey hair

I Love NY jammies

Praying for a good meal

All tuckered out

Attempting a photo shoot

A week of firsts....

The last three weeks since we have been home from the hospital have completely flown by in a sleep deprived blur. Each day is a new challenge/ adventure in how to get Kayden to sleep, reading her cues and just trying to figure out how a new baby fits into our lives. After frantically reading every book in the house regarding babies and paniking when Kayden did not match perfectly to the suggestions, I am attempting to embrace the fact that she is an individual. She did not read the books or get the memo on how she is expected to behave. Therefore, as the parent, I can come up with my own routine for her, using books as a reference, rather than the ultimate authority.

All that said, this week has been quite the week of firsts, at least as the new parent!
This week for the first time, Kayden has...
puked, peed and pooped on me....
hung out at her first coffee shop with mommy and daddy...
visited the pediatrician and has grown 2 cm and over 1/2 pound...
stopped screaming with every diaper change...
used the Baby Bjorn and LOVES it...
been quiet for a whole dinner!...
had her first bottle...
smiled when I read "The Polar Express" and Santa was mentioned (it was probably gas,but a smile none the less)
smiled during our little family prayer (again, a bodily function- spit up followed all over Shane)
listened to Coldplay, the Eagles, and U2 lullabies to go to sleep...
had her boogies cleaned out with the blue suction thing and SCREAMED...
went clothes shopping and Christmas shopping with mommy...
had tummy time on her play mat and was amazed by the squeaky toy...
peed and pooped all over the changing table at 5am...

It was a great week.

In the stress of a newborn, I also have realized that sometimes I forget to just stop and enjoy our beautiful little daughter. In a book I just finished, the author concluded with these thoughts... "So here you are, trying to figure out if you have what it takes to be the mother your child needs, the mom God intended you to be., What do you get for all the diaper changing, sleep deprivation, headaches and worries?
You get glimpses of God every morning, and giggles under the covers every night. You get more love than your heart can hold, sticky peanut butter kisses and arms that fit perfectly around your neck. You get a hand to hold, and someone to remind you that clouds look like dinosaurs and that dandelions make beautiful bouquets. You get to blow bubbles, fly kites, bulid sand castles, and jump in mud puddles without caring about the mess."

CHARGERS!!!

THE SAN DIEGO CHARGERS

In case there were any confusions, Kayden Joy Matlock is a San Diego Chargers fan.  In this picture, she's currently dreaming about the Chargers finally firing Norv Turner and hiring a real coach.  She's also dreaming about how she doesn't like the NY Giants, and if she saw Eli Manning, she'd punch him in the mouth.

Why is she a Chargers fan, you might ask?  Because her Daddy is, and Daddy trumps everyone else!

- Written by Kayden's Daddy

Motherhood- the first week home

Home. It feels so wonderful to be home after spending 5 days trapped in the hospital. Though the 5 days were a great way to make sure everything was ok with Kayden and myself before sending us off, I was incredibly ready to leave the confines of my little room and face the world.

It is still hard to grasp the concept that I am a "mommy" and Kayden is my "daughter". Those words sound so grown up, belonging to my parents or our friends. As I try to wrap my mind around the concept that my life has taken a turn towards parenthood, I am so greatful to posses the title of mom. Before I had Kayden, I was scared that she would not fit into the life that Shane and I share together or that she would just lay there and we would have no idea what to do with her. On the contrary, Kayden is incredible and the love that hit the instant she came out is overwhelming and amazing. She not only fits in to our little family, she has bonded us even closer together. Seeing Shane hold Kayden, rocking her, changing her numerous poopy diapers and constantly loving on her is the best sight I have ever seen.

I had no idea how emotional I would be after child birth. At any given moment I am prone to tears of joy or of some other unknown emotion. Hormones. Oh so fun!

My family was all here this past week and we were able to spend some great quality time with Kayden. We were also lucky to all be together to be there with Kayden as she experienced her first Sunday full of football, a favorite passtime. There was hardly a moment that she was not in someone's arms. She is a huge snuggler and loves to just curl up and take a nap on your shoulder. We are in awe of how much time we can spend just staring at her and laughing at her littlest facial expressions. Or watching in dread as her face signifies another dirty diaper!

After having been a pediatric nurse for 5 years, I have often wondered how my medical background would affect my parenting. Well, it seems that I have completely forgotten how to function as a nurse and have buried any common sense in the back of my brain. I AM that emotional mother who cries, ok balls, when told her baby has jaundice and needs to go under the lights. I shook the first time I gave her a bath. At the same time, I did check out her veins to make sure they seemed easy enough when the nurse had to draw blood. As time goes by, I am hoping that the nurse in me will continue to rise to the surface, objectively processing the daily changes in Kayden.

My favorite times of the day are after she feeds and takes a nap on my shoulder. She is so precious and peaceful, I wish I could sleep like she does! Every night is a new adventure- how much sleep will we all get??? Living in a constant state of exhaustion is a blast!

We took her out on the town where she was lulled to sleep by the cobblestone roads. This worked out perfectly, allowing us to have a quiet dinner out. She also went to her first Thanksgiving celebration with all of the Americans here. Though she did not get to have her first bites of turkey, I think she quite enjoyed being passed from one warm embrace to the next.

These are my rambling thoughts of the moment. Maybe after a little more sleep, I can come up with something a bit more cohesive. Moral of the story, I am so blessed to have Kayden Joy Matlock in my life!

KAYDEN JOY MATLOCK

Family and friends, the time has FINALLY come. On Tuesday, November 18th, 2008, at 1038 pm (France), Kayden Joy Matlock entered the world. She was a 6.8lbs, 49 cm, and is the most incredible thing that we have experienced. We fell in love with her the moment we saw her, and have fought on who gets to hold her more. She is a supper cuddly, beautiful girl with a full head of dark Matlock hair and big blue eyes, accented with the Abrahamsen face and nose.


Here is the brief run down of events that led up to this incredible moment (through the eyes of Shane, since Karen's still in the hospital). If you just want to see pictures, scroll down. I'm currently blogspot retarted, and trying to post pictures throughout isn't working out too well.

We went to the hospital Tuesday morning, thinking that Karen would get a cream to help her dilate, then would get induced on Wednesday. Not so.


Karen was apparently far enough along that the medical staff felt she could be induced that day. After waiting a while for a birthing room, off we went to the 'war zone', as I now like to call it. The first few hours, Karen was given and epidural and everything was set up in the room. They then broke her water, and she went from 3 to 10 cm dilated within 2 hours. A little while after that, 'Team Delivery' came in, and had Karen push while they suctioned. 15 minutes of that, and the most incredible little girl was born into this world.

Karen and Kayden are both doing very well, no complications, and all the memories of the long, frustrating days of waiting for this delivery were gone. She hasn't cried much (yet), and any time she's gotten ready to cry, being cuddled in her dad's arms is what works best. I'm glad to she she's already a daddy's girl...and rest assured, she already has me wrapped around her finger.

In France, that have you stay in the hospital for 5 days for your first child, so Karen and Kayden will be there a little while longer. We really couldn't have asked for a better delivery, once it finally came. The language barrier was very minimal, and the doctor who delivered Kayden spoke great English. We are so thankful for the prayers and support from our amazing family and friends across the globe. Karen and I are so happy to have Kayden in our lives and have can't wait for you to all meet her.