Dec to Present ( the Readers Digest edition)

Well once again it is time for blogging catch-up. The last few months have just flown by! We got to spend the Holidays in Marquette which meant lots of Rayhorn-style excitment. Rorie and I came about a week before Christmas which meant we were flying solo. While it was well worth it to see my family it is not an experience that I have any desire to repeat (although it seems inevitable) It was so fun to be able to catch up with everybody and to visit all of my favorite Marquette places. Christmas morning was pretty low key with all of us enjoying watching Ben Ben and Rorie opening presents (despite the fact that they could have cared less). We were back in Utah in time for New Years day which we spent down in Levan with Jakes family. His sister Carrie and her husband were in from California and it was a lot of fun to catch up with them and their two boys. We also got to spend some more time with Jakes sister Bethany and her new Fiance Tori. It is so much fun to watch another couple in that "twitterpation" phase and to see how much fun the two are having together.
Our biggest news of the New Year is that Jake has joined the US Navy. It was a decision that took a lot of thought and research but in the end it seemed like the best thing for our family. This will allow Jake to pay for the rest of school (plus they are paying for my schooling too!) and most importantly will provide the health coverage that is such a neccesity for our family. Jake has chosen a job in the Advanced Electrical/Computer Field (AECF) and has an official ship date of December 15th. However Jake is in line for the next available seat as soon as he is done with school so we may be leaving as soon as May! We are just so excited for this next step!
Rorie is an ever changing source of entertainment for both Jake and I. While she is just as small as ever (only 15lbs) her personality is always growing. She has recently started to say both "mama" and "dada" which she mainly uses to whine, but it is still a lot of fun to hear. She is going through a rather trying phase of wanting to be held constantly and has also developed an aversion to strange men (which unfortunantly includes her Grandpa Kenison) but she is still as friendly as ever with everyone else. Just this last week she got her very first tooth (finally!) and her now toothy smile is cuter than ever. While she isnt quite walking yet she is slowly making the transition. She loves to walk around the room (as long as she can hold your hand) and will stand all by herself for a few seconds (as long as she doesn't realize you are no longer holding her up) and she seems fascinated by her friends that are taking their first steps. We are torn between our anticipation for this new phase and our dread knowing that it will be just that much harder to keep tabs on her.

Here are some pics of the last few months, ENJOY!


" Look mom Grandpa gave me chocolate"

Downward Dog

Rorie enjoying some blackberries

Turkey Day!

I love this time of year! Great food, great friends and great family. It was Rories very first Thanksgiving and we went down to Levan to spend the day with Jakes family. Jakes younger sister (the one just down in line from him) recently got engaged (YAY!) so her fiance and his entire family joined us for dinner. We had such a large group that the only place big enough for us was the church cultural hall (only in Utah...).

This is a picture of Tory (Beth's Fiance), and Jake's sisters Andrea and Katie

Since Jake and I wanted to enjoy our meal without Rories grabby hands, we decided to strip her down to a onesie, give her some potatoes, and just let her go nuts. By the end of it she was covered from head to toe, but the pictures were priceless!

With potatoe in every conceivable crevice the only thing we could do was strip her down and stick her in the sink. It was her first experiance haveing a real situp bath and she LOVED it! It took her a few minutes to figure out that if she put her hands down really fast she could splash water all over but when she did I, and the counter were soon soaked. My cries of protest only seemed to egg her on and by the end there was more water outside of the sink than in.

We went back home that night because Jake had to work a half day on Friday, and I had some Black Friday shopping to do. It was my first experiance with Black Friday and I can safely assume that it is my last. I have never seen such a downright brutal and disgusting display in all my life. By the time I left they had already called in the Police and an ambulance...CRAZY. That evening we got to go to our friends the Petersons. All of the kids were home for the weekend and we had a great time visiting with everyone.

We hope that everyone had a great Holiday and we are so excited to see all of our Marquette friends and Family in just a couple of weeks!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Well it has been a while.....

Wow...6 whole months have passed since our last update and a LOT has changed. I feel guilty every time someone asks us about pictures or asks us why we dont blog like my sister in law (whos page really does put me to shame). In my defense though, we havent had a computer until just yesterday (happy 21st birthday to me!), and blogging on a public computer is a little too complicated. So here is a little six month recap:

Jake is now working for a different electrical company. He was laid off shortly after Rorie was born and it put both of us into a little bit of a panic. Luckily for us we were living rent free at the time and I was currently working a few hours a week as a nurse aid for our elderly landlords. We didnt have to worry too long because Jake found his current job within 24 hours of losing his old one! This unexpected turn of events has turned out to be a wonderful blessing for our family. Not only is this company based out of Orem ( a 10 min commute as opposed to and hour long commute) but his new employer has also promised him a company truck by the end of this year.

This year also marks the begining of Jakes last year of school ( for now anyways). He will graduate this May and will be able to take his journeymans next fall. After that we are still undecided, but Jake is considering pursuing another degree in either electrical engineering or in business.

Rorie is already six months old! It is hard to believe that so much time has passed, but the evidence is pretty undeniable. Rorie now weighs a hefty 15lbs and has grown to 26 in. She has mastered the roll from back to front and from front to back. She is already on solid foods and is just days away from crawling. Not having mastered that last skill is her greatest frustration these days. She is pretty skilled at scooting for short bursts if she REALLY wants to get something, but crawling in one fluid motion is just beyond her reach.

The almost black hair that she was born with has lightened considerably to a lighter shade of brown, and her muddy eyes have settled on a deep chocolate ( o how I hope they stay this color!), making her the spitting image of her Aunt Mia and her dad.

While she is quick to smile and laugh at home (especially when her dad is around) she is somber around anyone who she doesnt know. However; it seems to be because she is too busy taking it all, rather than because she is shy.

I am still loving being a mom, although I know that my days of relative relaxation are numbered with her inches away from crawling. We are in a new apartment in Springville and our landlords have been great about letting us repaint and redecorate which has been great for me. Our new ward has been a pleasent surprise, with several other couples our age moving in at the same time as us. A few of the other young moms and I have set up a baby play group that is really more for us than them, but they seem to enjoy the interaction as well. My last bit of news is that I turned 21 on the third. It was a great birthday and as my mom put it my last birthday before I just start getting old. We had a vegas themed party with a texas hold-em tournament and mocktails for everyone, it was great fun!

Here are some quick pictures of Rorie, she is sooo big! :

The First Two Weeks

It is hard to believe that she is already two weeks old! It has been a whirlwind couple of weeks coping with being new parents as well as trying to move. Last Wednesday Rorie had her pictures taken and she loved it! They were done by the same woman who photographed our wedding and they turned out beautiful. Rorie did so well for such a tiny baby. After a little bit of a rocky start she got right into the groove of things. She was wide awake and posing her little heart out. She even seemed to enjoy the flashing lights of the camera. (Hopefully I will soon have a link for everyone to check out the pics.)
Today was her two week check up and we were suprised to see that she had not only regained her birth weight but was almost a full pound heavier! She has also gained an inch and a half since her hospital stay. It was a good laugh for us when the doctor said that she was tall and skinny for her age...no one has ever accused Jake or I of being tall OR skinny :)
It has been such an amazing experiance to watch Rorie learn and grow each day and we are so excited to see more of her personality as she gets older. Hopefully she will continue to be a sweet little girl.

Rorie is Here!

We finally had our baby! Rorie Elizabeth Kenison was born May 4th, 2008 at 1:15pm. I started into labor Saturday morning ( a whole week early) and by Sunday morning it was apparent that she wasnt going to wait even one more day. After only (and I say this with ALOT of sarcasm) 2 1/2 hours of pushing she was here. She weighed 6lbs. 14oz. (such a perfect size!) and measured in at 20in.


She has been so much fun to have around and every day she amazes us with how much she has changed and grown. Her best feature is her little rose bud mouth that is constantly (even while shes dead asleep) making cute and funny faces. She absolutely loves her dad and seems to be completely fascinated with him...almost as fascinated as he appears to be with her.

My mom arrived late in the afternoon on Monday just as the three of us arrived home from the hospital. It has been such a help to have her here helping with everything from feeding and changing diapers to cooking meals and doing laundry. I dont know what I would do without her!

We are just so blown away by how wonderful and precious Rorie is and we are so excited to have this new little addition to our family. We want to thank everybody for all the love, support, time and gifts that you have given over the last 9 months. We are truly grateful!