Then and Now

Many years ago, my mom tucked away several of my baby outfits, hoping to pass them on to her granddaughter one day. Thanks to her, Kaitlyn is now sporting the retro look. The picture on the left is me when I was 3 months old, and the one on the right is Kaitlyn at the same age. As you can see, Kaitlyn's chubbiness is hereditary.

Chubby Baby

As you can see, our baby is healthy and thriving. Look at that dimpled butt and those fat rolls on her legs!

3 1/2 months old

Kaitlyn is over three months old now and is growing fast. As you can see in the picture above, she loves to smile, especially when her parents are singing to her off-camera. In the past few weeks, she's discovered her toes and loves grabbing anything that's within reach...including Mommy's hair and face! And she gets more vocal every day. Last week, she tried her hand at singing during church. It was cute when the rest of the congregation was singing, not so cute when the sermon started.



Jeff recently took some pictures of her with her toys. And no, Kaitlyn is not actually standing on her own with Tigger. Kara is behind the black sheet giving Kaitlyn some much-needed support.

Kaitlyn has spent some quality time with all of her grandparents lately. This past week, Mimi and Papa Greg (Jeff's parents) were here. Kaitlyn was in heaven with all the extra love and attention.

Family Matters

This weekend, Jess and Adam came to Nashville for a visit. Kaitlyn finally got to meet her cousin Noah, who is just 4 days older than she is. She was fascinated by the "other" baby and kept staring at him. Thankfully, both babies slept peacefully through the night. After church on Sunday, they were all dolled up, so we took pictures of them together. (More pics under "Photos").














We also decided to take advantage of Jess' photography skills and have her do a "family portrait" of the three of us.




















It's wonderful having family together. We are so blessed to have both of Jeff's siblings living in TN. We know Kaitlyn will have many fun times with Uncle Andrew, Aunt Jess, Uncle Adam and Noah.

Sweet Smiles

Kaitlyn is changing all the time. Here are some of our latest pictures of her precious smile.

Summer Solstice

For the past five years, the two of us have celebrated the official arrival of summer by sitting on the steps of the capitol building in downtown Nashville and watching the sun set over the city. This year, we were able to make it a true "family" tradition by taking Kaitlyn along with us. She was fascinated by the sights and sounds of the city. She even got to see her first helicopter fly overhead. It's getting much easier to take her out and about, so we hope to enjoy many more family outings.

The Krinks' Family in downtown Nashville

First Father's Day

Jeff celebrated his first Father's Day this weekend. Kaitlyn's gift to him was a two hour nap so he could rest and watch the US Open. We took Kaitlyn to church for the first time and she did very well through the whole service. She looked so pretty in her frilly white dress. We were praying that she wouldn't poop on it! Here are some pics from the weekend.

Jeff and Kaitlyn on Father's Day


Kaitlyn in her church outfit

The first month

It's hard to believe that little Kaitlyn has been with us for over a month now. It's definitely been a month of adjustment for us. But fortunately she's been a pretty easy baby. And the best thing is that she's sleeping for SEVEN HOURS at night! Here are a few memorable moments...

Until the umbilical cord fell off, we gave Kaitlyn sponge baths. Here we are preparing to give her one. You can see what she thought about that. She didn't stay asleep for long though!

The first tub bath was a completely different story. Although she clearly hated the first bath, we're happy to say she has now changed her mind. In fact, I think she actually likes the warm water!

Her favorite thing to do is watch people's faces. She is obviously fascinated by Daddy's.

Here's Kaitlyn during her playtime on her Baby Einstein mat.

And her favorite thing to do after a nursing session is to fall asleep!

There have been many fun and sweet moments so far, and we look forward to many more in the second month!

First Mother's Day

Just one week after Kaitlyn's birth, Kara celebrates her first Mother's Day. Her mom is still staying with us and has been a momentous help. So it's a special day for all of us. Best of all, Kaitlyn has been significantly less fussy! Each day and night her contentment and our sanity get progressively better -- a much-needed answer to prayers. She has been feeding well and spends more of her waking moments observing us and her surroundings, rather than crying. We're thrilled!

The Krinks family on Mother's Day





We won't always acknowledge the specific people who have given generous gifts of time, energy, money, food, etc. But please know that all of it has been such a blessing to us, and we're very thankful!

Bundle of "Joy"

We were thrilled to have all the grandparents visit within the first few hours after Kaitlyn's birth. The labor happened a lot faster than we or the doctor expected, so they made their way as soon as we could share the good news. Kara's mom drove up from Fayetteville, and Jeff's parents came in from Collierville where they were visiting with Jess, Adam and baby Noah, who had just been born four days earlier.

The grandparents get acquainted with little Kaitlyn.




We came home from the hospital Tuesday around noon and were greeted by the smell of slow-cooking roast. Melissa and Sonua had prepared a meal for our first evening at home, and it was delicious! We spent the rest of the afternoon settling in -- not knowing how our first night without nursery care would go.

As it turns out, our little bundle of "joy" left us feeling overwhelmed, exasperated and exhausted. The three of us barely got a few hours of sleep combined. Lots of crying and fussing -- parents included. It was a night we'd love to forget.

The next day, Kara's mom was able to come up and provide an extra pair of hands to help us out. What a relief! Last night was a huge improvement! We all got several hours of sleep and feel much better today.

Kaitlyn pretending to be tired.