Adorable Ariel

Hello, everyone!

Ariel is nearly one month old now, and it's been awhile since we've posted as we've been preoccupied with parenthood. We're both adapting to our new roles as mom & dad, and you could say we've been officially initiated into the realms of parenthood since Ariel has on more than one occasion spit-up on us & projected both poop & pee on us during diaper changes.

Even Zada, our cat, has adjusted to Ariel. She didn't like her much at first, but now she tolerates her and is generally curious about the new family member.

Of course Ariel is the main attraction these days among our families. No one can resist cuddling her, which gives us time to catch up on chores & relax a bit while they spend time with Ariel.

Laurice, Ariel's great grandma, made her a beautiful quilt with a jungle theme, which is great for Ariel's tummy time. Trish (Nana), Ariel's great grandma from New Zealand, made her a sweater, booties & cardigan before she was born. She looks so adorable in them!

We have gotten the courage to take Ariel a few places already--always a challenge for first-time parents. But she has been very good & loves car rides!

Overall, it's been a whirlwind of a month! It is still so surreal that we are parents now with a beautiful, little daughter!

We'll be posting more pictures for you all to enjoy in the weeks to come. Lots of love to you all!

It's a Girl!

Ariel Marie Jenkins was born at 9:48am on Sunday, August 3rd!! She weighed 7lbs 10oz and was 19in long.

Tammy had gone into labor at about 2:15am that morning when her water broke. Dazed and a little disoriented, we headed to the hospital at once. We arrived at the St. Alphonsus Family Maternity Center and were shown to our room. Soon after Tammy began to have contractions and it became evident that it was a good thing we had taken a childbirth education class. About 4 hours into labor, even though the breathing and relaxation techniques were being put to good use, Tammy requested an epidural for pain relief. However, test results from her blood indicated that this would not be a possibility and at that point she had to proceed with a natural childbirth! After two hours of pushing, Ariel was finally delivered into the world by the hands of Tammy's skilled obsterician Dr. Janowiak. The doctor announced that we had a little girl and we were both very suprised since almost everyone had predicted it would be a boy, even the doctor and Tammy!

Ariel is doing at home well after a 2 day hospital stay. Mom and daughter are well and Dad is helping with tasks around the house and diaper duty.

Enjoy the pictures and we will keep everyone updated in regards to our new family!