Musings on life, parenting, Jesus, and more...

My mom just left today after a wonderful visit with her newest granddaughter. It was great to have her here. She brought Jena all kinds of wonderful presents, and we went shopping together to pick out some cute fall outfits for her - including the one she is wearing in this picture. It was such a treat to have her here, and I'm thankful for all her help while visiting. She was happy to burp and change baby Jenica after feedings, help out with laundry, cook meals for me, and even found time to do a little landscaping around our house. We were blessed with amazing weather so we got to take lots of fun walks together and enjoy the last bits of summer sunshine. This morning we all put on our matching pink and browns to take some pictures of the three generations of girls together. Come visit again soon Grammy!

Hi all- This is dad writing again. We had fun in our makeshift home studio this afternoon taking more pictures. This time we had extra lighting from our friend Bob D. (Thanks Bob!). And since it's a lot easier to upload a whole set of pictures to facebook then to the blog, I am just putting a sample here and going to attempt to put a link here for you all to follow to see the pictures on facebook. For those of you who already have facebook accounts this will be redundant, but here it goes:) Jenica at 17 days old Enjoy! -Dad, Mom and Jenica

It's been chilly enough here the last couple of days that Jenica has been able to wear some of her cute long sleeved outfits, including this adorable one that Joi picked out for her. Good thing we got pictures as soon as she put it on though because on our way to visit Shay's co-workers from Oak Brook, she spit up a little and the outfit had to be changed. Such is life.... Fortunately, spitting up isn't a regular occurrence for her but I'm still sure to carry extra outfits just in case.

We had Jenica's pictures taken at JCPenney on Saturday. They turned out absolutely adorable!

Things are going well at the Bachelder's house as we settle into our new role as parents and Jenica continues to adjust to life outside the womb. She came to church for the second time with us on Sunday and did wonderfully, sleeping through all the loudness of worship and service. She had her second doctor visit today and she is back to her birth weight of 7lbs 9 oz. She did really good today despite the prick in the heal she had to get from the nurse for the second part of her PKU test. She shouldn't have to go back now until she's two months old - by then it will be time for her first round of immunizations. She enjoys a little "tummy time" every day on the fun little mat that Wayne and Carol got for her (pictured below) - good practice at strengthening her neck and arm muscles - and continues to look cute in just about anything, especially the super cute hand-me-downs from her cousin Kayla. Thanks Cuz!

Jenica had her first real bath on Wednesday. She did really well and looked darn cute in her iddy biddy bath robe. Not the most functional piece of clothing for a newborn but great for photo's :)

Hard to believe that at 10:29 tomorrow morning Jenica will already be a week old. Time goes by so fast but we are trying to enjoy every minute of it, and of course document it with LOTS of photo's :). Today we had our first official "photo shoot" in our own makeshift portrait studio we set up in our home office. We don't have good lighting yet, but her pictures today still turned out super cute. Here's a couple and if you would like to see the rest and are not on facebook , let me know and I'll try to send you a link. Love you all!

Jenica had her first doctor visit yesterday and she's doing wonderfully. She's gained an ounce and a half since leaving the hospital and looks happy and healthy. There were no unpleasantries at this visit like shots or tests - those will be at her next check-up a week from now. We'll see how well mom deals with these, it's harder than I expected to hear her cry. We were able to take a short walk to visit co-workers (Shay's work is only 2 blocks away) who have been anxiously awaiting her arrival for months now and even made a quick stop at Fred Meyer to get some pictures printed for great-grandma in California. Last night went really well. She woke up about every 3 hours to eat and then went right back to sleep allowing mom and dad a very restful night. We just fall more in love with her every day!

Hi all, this is dad writing again. Jenica visited church for the first time today (well, yesterday. This message is getting posted a little late). The picture is of her and mom all decked out in their pink outfits ready to go. She got to meet lots of people who all told us she is adorable and made all sorts of comments about all her beautiful hair. The afternoon was a little more relaxed as going to church in the morning was kind of a big deal (she had never traveled that far before after all!). We did have some neighbors come by and see her for a few minutes, and dad made some chili for dinner, but other then that we just chilled out for the afternoon. Her cord fell off this evening which was kind of surprising being only 3 1/2 days old but it revealed a very cute belly button that just totally matches the rest of her. Tomorrow Jenica gets to go see Dr Resk for her first checkup already. Too much fun! Love- Jenica, Dad and Mom

Jenica got to see her new home for the first time today. We came home from the hospital about noon today and started to get settled in. She's still doing really well, sleeps alot, and got to meet Kylo for the first time today. Mom and Dad are doing great too and are looking forward to showing her off at church tomorrow. More pictures are posted on facebook if your interested. Love, The Bachelders

Hi Blog readers! This is daddy writing this time. At 30 hours old, our little Jenica is already maxing out the cuteness meter. She just got her bountiful hair washed and we had to of course take some pictures of the new "dew". This little gem of a picture was just too precious not to post. Enjoy! We might have to post new pictures every day at this point. She just gets cuter by the second.

At 10:29am on Thursday September 4th we became parents! Jenica Renee arrived at Willamette Falls Hospital in Oregon City weighing 7lbs 9 oz and measuring 18 3/4 inches long. She is absolutely perfect!!!

We had a great visit with Rhianna, Josh and Kayla over the weekend at their new home in Port Orchard, Washington. Josh and Rob spent most of their time in the basement working on 'manly' projects and I was able to relax and take lots of super cute pictures of my adorable niece. However, my plan to go into labor on labor day just didn't seem to happen. Our little bun in the oven is apparantly still cooking as I've had no signs of labor just yet. Next doctors appointment is Thursday - the day before her "official" due date. Maybe she's going to be very punctual just like her mom and arrive exactly as planned on September 5th :).