Lots to report!

The past four weeks of having Kelsey in our lives have been such a blessing. We just could not be any happier. She has been doing better with sleeping during the night. I think she is starting to get her day and night clock figured out. Let's hope it lasts!

We have been so fortunate to have had many visitors in the past few weeks. My college roommates and best friends, Kristen and Liz, came to meet her last weekend. They even brought her a UW-Eau Claire onesie--how appropriate :) My brother and his family also came down last weekend as well. We all had fun at the fair. Between feeding Kelsey, taking Lauryn and Miranda potty, changing diapers and the heat, it was quite the adventure.
This past Tuesday, my Aunt Cathy and Uncle Jim from Waukesha were here to meet Kelsey. Thanks for the making the long trip! In between these visits, Kelsey has also seen her Ginskey cousins, Uncle Nate, and Grandma and Grandpa Skala.

This weekend is also filled with visitors! My Aunt Evie, Uncle Dennis and cousins, Katrina and Nathan, will be here from Green Bay. We are looking forward to more family time!

Kelsey has started to giggle in her sleep now. It is so adorable. She just randomly laughs while she is sleeping. She also follows things with her eyes now. She continues to get stronger as well. Her most recent weight was 7lbs. 9oz. She has quite the grip and is able to push off with her legs to turn her body. It is amazing how quickly she is learning to do things!

Matt goes back to work on Tuesday, and we both start our masters program this week as well. I am in my second year and Matt will just be starting. Plus, Matt had his first football games last night. His B-squad team, which he is the head coach of, won. Varsity lost in a close one. Matt coaches the running backs for varsity. It should be an exciting season for Owatonna football! It is always busy in the Skala household--and we love it! Happy Labor Day :)

Week Two

We have made it to week two. Kelsey is now 16 days old. We are still working on getting her days and nights switched. She likes to sleep the day away and then eat all night. Last night I was up from 11:30-2:30 feeding her on and off. She would eat, fall asleep and then wake up when I went to put her down acting as though she was starving. Hopefully we get her to sleep more at night soon so that I can get my days and nights back on as well. When she is up all night, we both tend to sleep the day away. It's a work in progress. Besides for that, she is just wonderful! She only really cries when she is hungry and mom is just not getting to her fast enough. Otherwise, she is a very content baby.
This week we had many visitors. My very best friends, Kristen and Liz, came to see their new "niece" bringing food and gifts to share. My brother and his daughters also came over. We all ventured out to the Steele County Fair on Saturday. We had gone with Kelsey earlier in the week as well with Matt's family. Kelsey did very well. She seemed to enjoy her first rides in her stroller. In addition, we also got to see Uncle Natey on Saturday. Plus, our friends, the Williams' came over during the week. It was great to have the company.
Tomorrow Kelsey goes for her two week check-up. I will be sure to update what we find out! Also, more pictures to come soon :)

One week update

Kelsey is already one week old. Since we got home from the hospital, Matt and I have been adjusting to all that goes along with having a newborn in the house. She has really taken to eating and would eat nonstop if I let her. We have a pack and play in our room, but she doesn't seem to like it too much. We can put her in there sound asleep and within 10 minutes she is wide awake. We have tried swaddling her as well, but she just gets out of that. We'll just have to keep trying. My favorite thing right now is just holding her and watching her. I still have to pinch myself because I cannot believe we finally have our baby. Here are a few pictures from throughout the week:

The Story

Many people have been asking about the story of Kelsey's birth . So the blog seemed like a good way to tell everyone at once. Last Friday morning around 2am, I woke up with contractions. However, I was not really sure they were contractions, so I just kept laying in bed. Finally, around 4am I woke up Matt because they were not going away and seemed to be getting stronger. We began timing them, and they were 10 minutes apart. At around 7am, they were between 5 and 7 minutes apart, so we called the doctor and they told us to come in. Once at the hospital, the contractions had slowed back to 8 minutes apart. We were 4cm dialated at this point. They called our doctor and he told us we could either go home and wait for the contractions to get closer together or he could break my water and get things going. So we opted to have my water broken at 8am. Unfortunately, my contractions did not get that much closer together, so they put me on pitocin to speed up the process. Well, did it ever! I went from being able to handle it to give me an epidural! I had really wanted to try it without any medication, but at 5cm dialated and contractions every few minutes that were much stronger than before, I gave in. It sure helped though. The rest of the labor went much more smoothly. At 1:00pm I was fully dialated and she was born at 1:21pm. Overall, it was a pretty smooth labor and delivery. Mattey was amazing and I couldn't have done it without him. The miracle of watching your child being born is incredible.

It's a girl!

On Friday, August 1 at 1:21pm, Kelsey Sandra Skala joined our family! She was due August 11 and decided she wasn't going to wait that long. Both Kelsey and I are doing well. We just got home from the hospital today and she seems to be adjusting well to her new home. Daddy and Mommy are so thrilled and just can't believe how blessed we are. Be sure to check the blog often as I will be doing my best to update with new pictures. Here are just a few of Kelsey to get you started:

Happy Anniversary

Today Matt and I share 3 wonderful years of marriage. We feel so blessed to have each other in our lives. To celebrate, we spent the entire day together. Matt has been really busy with baseball lately, so we decided to just stay around home and relax as much as possible. After breakfast, we ran a few errands so that I could get my walking in. (Anything to help make this baby come sooner!) It would be great to walk outside, but it has been so humid that my feet swell whenever we go out. When we got home, we watched our wedding video. We have made it a tradition to watch it every anniversary. It is so fun to look back at our amazing day. This evening, we worked together to make a delicious dinner. Afterward, Matt spoiled me with a pedicure. He is the best! I couldn't be any luckier to have such an amazing husband. Before we go to bed, we will light our unity candle and pray for our continued incredible marriage and life together.

Never enough baseball

This past weekend was filled with baseball. We began the weekend by heading to a street dance in Owatonna. It was a beautiful evening to be outside and we really enjoyed the music and the company.

On Saturday, Matt coached a baseball game in Rochester. I have been continuing to ride along to all the away games, hoping that maybe the car ride will help to bring on labor. We might have to start taking the dirt roads to get there so that the ride is a little more bumpy! Unfortunately, Matt's team did not win, but we had just the thing to cheer him up. Our nephew, Connor, came to stay with us that evening. He has been asking for a sleepover, and we thought we better get it in before the baby arrives. So we took him to the baseball field in town where Matt coaches at and let him play. He loved it! Uncle Matt even wore his baseball coaching uniform at Connor's request. Plus, Matt introduced his name over the loud speaker. Connor ran the bases, hit the ball and pitched to Uncle Matt. Afterward, we went to McDonald's, his favorite restaurant, to eat. We also got ice cream at The Blast, and ended the night watching Alvin and the Chipmunks in our basement. He said it was just like the movie theatre because we made popcorn, turned off the lights, had the surround sound on and watched it on our big screen. It was a very fun sleepover!

On Sunday, we went to the Litomsyl festival. Litomsyl is a farming area where Matt's parents grew up. They had food, music and games that all went to benefit the school and church. It reminded me of going to Hofa Park where my mom grew up. The evening brought more baseball, but this time Matt's team won :) He starts playoffs this week in a double elimination tournament.

As for a baby update, we are patiently (or at least trying to be patient) waiting. We had our 38 week appointment today and everything is still going as planned. We are hoping the baby decides to join us this week. We'll keep you updated!