MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Can you believe that Christmas has arrived already? We can't. It came so fast this year! We wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas. We hope that you will find yourselves full of love and the spirit as we celebrate the birth of Christ. The birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ was one of the best gifts the human race could have received from our Heavenly Father. As we go throughout this holiday season and this next year, let our hearts be turned to God in thanks for ALL He has given us, especially the gift of our Savior. We love y'all. Have a great holiday!

Just thought I would throw this picture in for y'all. This is what we are wishing for Christmas. It just doesn't seem like Christmas sometimes without the snowfall. So as we celebrate tomorrow, we will imagine that our house looks like the picture on the right.

Botanic Gardens

While Brian's parents were in town, we went to the Botanic Gardens and KennaDee absolutely loved it. There was a really big and beautiful Christmas tree there and a train circled around the tree. This was KennaDee's favorite. If we went to a different part of the gardens, she would dart back to the tree and watch the train.

Here we are in the jungle. KennaDee was sitting on top of the railing of a bridge. She was a little scared of falling.

And here we are in front of the Lincoln Memorial. Aren't we a gorgeous family?

KennaDee and Jackson are here in front of the capital. All of these buildings are made out of natural wood. They are beautiful. Our little girl is such a ham!

We rode the metro from Brian's work to the Botanic Gardens and back. KennaDee LOVES the metro. She has so much fun riding on it. Here she is with Grandma Rust.

Blessing

Well, on the 16th of December, we blessed Jackson in church while Brian's parents were in town. For those of you who may not be aware of the procedure of blessings done in the LDS church, new born babies (usually about a month old) are given a blessing by the father which includes words of guidance, hope, faith, and love. Those blessings are promised to the child as he continues to grow. It is a beautiful experience and I'm so grateful to have experienced that with Jackson and KennaDee. Here are a few pictures of Jackson on that day. He was only 3 weeks old.

2 weeks old and growing

Well, we are finally pretty much adjusted to our new home and the new addition to our family. He turned 2 weeks on Friday the 7th and has gained one whole pound since he was born. I realized that a lot of the pictures we put up on the website were ones of him at the hospital.....naked. So, I thought we should include some pictures of him with clothes on. Right now, he pretty much just sleeps, eats, sleeps, eats, and "poos." - oh, and spits up. (As all newborns do) As you see on the far right, our little boy is already a poser, even in his sleep.

Before he was 2 weeks old, he was able to go to the White House. Every year, Brian's work and their families are invited to go to the White House to see the Christmas decorations. We are also able to invite friends or other family members. So, we went with some friends of ours from Gaithersburg. Brian, however, was unable to go this year because he had previous engagements in York, PA with work. Unfortunately I don't have a picture with Jackson at the White House, but here is KennaDee and I with Jackson in the stroller fast asleep. I wanted to take him out of the stroller to get a picture but I knew he would have woken up and I knew he was going to be hungry. (And there isn't anywhere to nurse at the White House.) The Christmas decorations were beautiful and they had people there singing Christmas songs which added so much to the tour.

This was one of the prettiest trees in the White House. It was sooo big and it even had dimension to it. It was beeeauutiful!!

KennaDee, however, was much more interested in the furniture than the decorations. We were in the "Red Room" and as I was trying to take a picture, KennaDee let her curiosity take the best of her and headed underneath the rope and started to climb on one of the chairs. When I noticed her, she was half way up the chair, I called her over and she came running, lost her balance and hit her head on one of the end tables in there. There was a lamp or something (I can't quite remember) on top and it started to topple. The security guard for that room saw her and started to come closer as she bumped the table. I grabbed the object to keep it from falling over and I had to reach under the rope to grab KennaDee. What excitement!

Here we are on our way back home from downtown. KennaDee and her friend, Carmen, LOVED the metro. They thought it was the coolest thing when we went in the tunnels because it got dark outside the windows. They would say "It's dark outside, what are we going to do?!" I said, "Close your eyes." So, then from that time on, everytime we went in a tunnel, they would squint their eyes, so they could still see out the window. It was really cute.

Well, in these last two weeks, my testimony on prayer and the power of the priesthood in the home have been strengthened. It is amazing how much our Heavenly Father loves us. In Sunday school class today we studied from 1st John about the love of God. There are a few things that impacted me and I thought I would share with y'all. The love of God is linked very closely to obedience. When we obey Gods commandments, our love for God will increase as well as love for our fellowman. I always knew this was true but after having a newborn and going through the recovery process, my prayers to Heavenly Father have been more sincere and thoughtful. There are times in our lives when I think our prayers become just words instead of meaningful expressions. He has heard our prayers and I have felt his love He has for us and in return realized how important it is to stay ever so close to our Heavenly Father so that in times of need or trials, He can assist us in the most powerful way. I am grateful for his love, for His Son, Jesus Christ, and for the blessings he gives us everyday. I hope that we can continue to recognize His hand in our daily lives and express our gratitude to Him.

We hope all is well with everyone.

Jackson Brian Rust

We welcomed Jackson to our new home today....Finally!! He was born Friday, November 23rd at 10:22p.m. It was quite the experience, let me tell you! I was having contractions all that day but they were very sparatic and bearable to deal with. We were even out shopping in the morning. I had a feeling we would end up in the hospital sometime that day but I wasn't sure because I was having contractions the Sunday before as well but they died off in the afternoon. Anyhow, we had some friends come over that night to see our new house and play some games. Well, the contractions started coming on heavier about 5:30 and more consistent, but since our friends were there I wasn't timing them exactly. 8:00 hit and they started coming very quickly so I started timing them and they were coming every 3-5minutes for 30 minutes straight. They were getting intense so I said let's go. By the time we got all the kids gathered up and a few last minute items we would need, it was close to 9:00. We arrived at the hospital about 9:45. They checked my dilation and the med student said I was completely dilated and ready to go so they moved me quickly to another room. A certified doctor checked me agian just to make sure and I was only at an 8. However, because of this, I was unable to get an epiderl. I kept saying to myself , (but outloud), "I can't do this, I can't do this without an epiderl. How am I going to do this? I can't, I can't, I can't. " I was soooo scared for what lied ahead of me. I kept telling the doctors that I was ready to push and they said no, you have to hold off and I kept telling them, I can't. Well, 12 minutes after getting me into the delivery room, Jackson Brian Rust was born. Brian said that he was scared as well because at times, my eyes were so big that they looked like they were about to pop out of my head. After he came out and I heard his little cry and looked at his little body, tears started to fill my eyes because I realized how beautiful he sounded and looked. It's amazing how even after the first child, it's still emotional. Well, I will stop rambling on and get some pictures for y'all.

Getting a little extra oxygen here.

This is how I felt during contractions.

This is how I felt while pushing.

Here's Brian cutting the cord on the left and on the right is Big Sis KennaDee and baby brother Jackson.

Our little boy has a heart murmur. They say that he may have a hole in between his left and right atrium. In a lot of cases, they close by themselves and there is no problem. However, some of them, depending on the size of the hole must undergo surgery. We will be seeing a cardiologist this next Tuesday to see what they say. Poor buddy.

This is us waiting to leave the hospital. YEAH!!

Here is Jackson at home asleep and all cuddled up in his blanky.

Play group

Well, we went to the park today with our usual play group friends. I thought I should take some picures since we won't be going on too many more play group outings with these friends of KennaDee. She loves them all and has a blast with them. This first one is of them riding an elephant, however, KennaDee was too scared to get on top. She didn't want anything to do with riding the elephant, she just wanted to feed it leaves.

Here they are all driving a jeep. It took a bit to get all of them situated and driving at the same time but aren't they adorable?! Linnell is in the back with KennaDee and then Gigi and Carmen are in the front seat.

Here is KennaDee peeking through the bars on one of the playground areas. She loves taking pictures like this.

I think KennaDee looks so precious in this picture. I am going to have to take this one to photoshop and crop just her out. She looks so pensive and peaceful. I love it. By the way, if y'all didn't know, you can click on the pictures and it will make them bigger on your screen so you can see them better.

This is one of the last things we did before it started pouring down rain on us. They rode the camel. Gigi and KennaDee (on the back) were a little scared because there wasn't anything to hold onto and the the lump wasn't very comfortable, but they all look cute anyways.

Our Little Ballerina

So we enrolled KennaDee in a ballet class and she just loves it. She only goes once a week and from that day on, she repeatedly says "gigi, dance." Gigi is one of her friends from church that goes to the same ballet class as well. Here are some pictures of her dancing. This is KennaDee, on the right, before we left the house. Her ballet outfit is under her dress.

At this part, they find the yellow "T" on the floor and stand on it. They tap their toe 3 times while making butterfly wings, then run, run, run, and they jump over a little animal in the middle of the room then walk to the opposite side of the room and do it again. So, the top picture is her tapping her foot with her butterfly wings spread and the next picture is of her jumping over tigger. The teacher put tigger there because that's what they are reading about right now.

Then, on the left is their story time. They are reading about Winnie the Pooh. After they read the story, they get into costumes and act out the story. So the first one on the left here is them reading their story, then the next one down is KennaDee turning in circles like a ballerina and the last one is her and her classmates waving their balloons as they walk to "piglets house."

And at the end of class, they all get fairy dust or a sticker on the hands, then they make a train by holding on to each others shoulders and choo-choo out the door. It's kind of funny sometimes because some of the girls DO NOT like people touching their shoulders. Some days we have success with our train and others we do not.

Our New House

Well, the first house we were trying to purchase didn't work out but we have signed for a different house and it is only 4 houses down. It is the same model and a little bigger in square footage. It's also an end unit which will help in selling it later. We also have the side area which will be fun. It's 3 bedroom, 4 bath, 3 level townhome. There's lots of storage space, a rec room, a family room, dining room, breakfast area, patio off of the kitchen and a fenced back yard on the lower level. We're excited for the new place, new area, new people, new step in our life, but we will miss the ward we are in now and our friends we have made. But what an exciting new step.

First Nightmare

Do you remember having nightmares as a child? Pretty scary. Well, KennaDee woke up from her nap yesterday yelling: "Mommy, snakes!" She repeated it a couple times before I got to her. When I went in to pick her up, she turned around immediately looking at her bed. She said "snakes - back." I asked her, "Were the snakes getting you?" She said "yeah," with a frown on her face. All day she kept saying snakes and pointing to her back. I felt so bad for her. I kept telling her that there are no more snakes and she felt better but then about an hour later, she remembered her dream. Sad times.

34 weeks and feeling a bit uncomfortable

So here I am at 34 weeks. I haven't sent anyone pictures of how I am growing this time, so I thought that I would, in case anyone was wondering. This pregnancy is quite a bit different than the pregnancy with KennaDee. I am carrying our little boy lower and he

is always moving around. Sometimes it seems he is having spasms because it will be a constant kick or something, but it's different from hiccups. It's kind of weird. Anyhow, he is definitely more active than KennaDee was. Sometimes, with KennaDee, I had to poke my stomach around in order to get her to move. Not with this one. Several people have told me that I look small, but I can guarantee you that I definitely don't feel very small! It is still a joy to be carrying a child though. Kind of weird when I think about it. Thinking there is a baby inside me - it's amazing and a wonderful blessing!

Our little cowgirl!

So Brian and KennaDee were dressing up in cowboy attire. We had a hat for KennaDee to wear but of course, she just wanted to wear her fireman's hat. She didn't want the cowboy hat at all!

Even as you look at the picture with the hat on, you can
see in her face that she is saying no and is reaching her

hand up to take it off. Brian was asking her to do different poses and after each pose, I snapped a picture. She did her "ta da" pose, her super woman, her strong woman, and a few others that Brian made up. My favorite one is with her hands clasped together and is staring at the camera. It looks like a perfect begging pose. The one with their hats over their faces is really cute as well. KennaDee loves playing with her daddy and is always excited to see him come home so she can play with him. I know what y'all are thinking. You wish you had a daughter as cute as mine. Sorry, my friends, she's not for sale.

Little Miss Priss

Wow, how adorable is this! KennaDee was taking a nap (obviously) and I was on the computer in the same room. She made a little fuss and by the time I had turned around she was fast asleep again with her legs crossed. Who sleeps like that?! Only cute children like her I assume.

KennaDee at bat!

During the last game on Saturday, KennaDee walked up to the fence, grabbed a bat and found a ball. She brought it over to me, set the ball down, took the bat and started to try and hit the ball. I think she might have been a little confused with how softball works and how golf works. She was combining the two sports together. It was a little windy that day and KennaDee's hair was driving her crazy, so I attempted to put it up with the wind blowing, and no comb or brush. Her hair looks a little wild but she's cute anyway. What a gal! (oops, I just realized that I should have posted this before the "Softball Game" below. We started a softball tournament with our ward and this was at one of the games.)