Camille Evelynn

My name has been permanently changed.  I'm not talking about how I finally got my name legally changed from Stark to Zemp... (Although I did... after two and a half years of marriage... Haha!)  My first name has now gone from Krista to Momma because of this sweet angel right here:

 Isn't she the cutest???

Camille finally made her appearance after 24 hours of being in the hospital.  I would love to tell you that we had a funny story to go along with her birth, but really it was just LONG.  Not only was she a week late, but she still took her sweet time after I was induced, too! We went in on June 25 at 4am and didn't get to meet our little girl until 3:52am on June 26.  She was SOOOOO worth the wait though! 6 lbs 7 oz, 20 inches long, and absolutely perfect. :)

Just to remind you how cute she is:

She is SUCH a good baby, too!  She sleeps well for a newborn, doesn't cry loud, and loves cuddling!  On top of that, she is very cooperative with her Momma who loves dressing her up!

Jeff and I LOVE being parents!  It's definitely an adjustment from our life before, but what a richness this little bundle brings!  It is pure bliss sitting on the couch with my wonderful husband and darling little girl.  Am I saying that motherhood has been a seamless transition?  DEFINITELY NOT!!!! Haha!

Things I have learned over the past 7 weeks:

~Your visions of motherhood (being productive or sleeping while the baby sleeps) are quickly recognized as delusions.  When the baby sleeps, you get to go to the bathroom, shower, and eat. Sometimes you have to prioritize which of these is most important because this time is precious and rare (especially when you're obsessed with your baby and just want to take some time to stare at her cuteness while she sleeps). Haha!

~Dressing up dolls is not NEARLY as fun as dressing up a baby!  I was under the impression that having a baby girl was going to be a lot like dress-up as a young girl, but I was wrong!  Now your "doll" makes expressions and moves around, and those clothes become SO MUCH CUTER!!!

~The expression "sleeping with one eye open" was probably modeled after babies.  Camille doesn't want any funny business when she's drifting off to sleep (such as stopping the food supply or putting her in her bassinet), so she sometimes keeps one of her eyes open until the last possible moment.  Jeff and I refer to it as her "Pirate Eye."

~The washing machine will never be empty again!  You have so many baby clothes and burp cloths and blankets with spit-up and leaks that a load is always ready to get done!  But has a load of laundry ever looked so adorable? Probably not! :)  

~Your tolerance for messes on YOU is increased ten - nay, one hundredfold!  "Oh, did you just spit up down my shirt?  No big deal!"  "What's that warmth I feel?  Oh, your diaper wasn't thick enough for you, eh?  No worries."  Did I mention that you do a LOT of laundry? Haha!

Also, sneezes need warning labels...

~You can't outsmart your baby's digestion!  In fact, freshly clean diapers are MAGNETS for another dirty one to follow shortly.

~Punctuality is something you have to re-learn with a baby in the mix.  You think that an hour is enough time to get the baby and yourself ready? Nope - that's enough for the baby to eat, burp, get diaper changed, and get changed into a new outfit.  Then you are running around like a crazy person trying to find a shirt and pair of pants that match and are clean and you still are late... I hope to master this some day... In the meantime, at least SHE looks good!

~You don't know a true workout until you are trying to soothe or burp a newborn ten or more times a day.  You have a built-in medicine ball while you bounce and lunge and sway, making it a little easier to get a figure back!  I mean... look at this butterball!

~You have a whole new level of love for your husband as you watch him care for and love your baby.  So tender and sweet!

~Interacting with your baby is the best!  Watching her mind work as you talk to her and seeing her develop is so fulfilling!

~You haven't experienced the sincerest forms of emotions until they are attached to your baby.  The pure joy you get from making her smile; the anguish of hearing her cry out in pain; the humor of her reactions.  It's truly amazing! :)

I have to admit:  I was really apprehensive about leaving the workplace to be a stay-at-home mom.  I am SO glad that I was able to do it though!  Heavenly Father has blessed us tremendously with us being able to become debt-free before her arrival and being able to live off of just Jeff's income. Plus, have you seen her? :)

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes...

First Comes Love...

Then Comes Marriage...

Then Comes... A baby bump!

Announcing Camille Zemp - due June 17th!  We are so excited about the soon-to-be addition to our little family!

Being pregnant has been... an adjustment, to say the least.  So, in the fashion of Jeff Foxworthy's redneck jokes, here is my list of "You Know You're Pregnant If..." (and yes, this is based off of my experiences thus far. Enjoy laughing at my expense - I know Jeff and I have!!!)

-You cry during funny movies (not from laughing too hard)
-Your use of the "It's 5:00 somewhere" excuse is to justify eating KFC chicken at 9 am...
-You could all of a sudden be a valued member of the Police K-9 unit with your sniffer!
-The way you burp changes to ensure it's ONLY a burp
-You stop saying "Excuse me" when you burp because that would quickly turn into your new catch phrase.
-Your fast food budget goes from $25.00 a month to $200.00 a month because you never know what you want UNTIL you want it and then you need instant gratification.
-You go from "You wanna eat the rest of this?" to "You gonna eat the rest of that?"
-You're in the waiting room in the doctor's office and the commercial that captures the attention of the entire room is a diaper commercial... yep - not one person could resist.
-Eating has become your favorite hobby
-You're proud of yourself for making it a WHOLE 20 seconds while brushing your teeth.  What a champ!
-One day your pants fit, and the VERY NEXT DAY you can't even zip them!
-You try to use your car key to get into your apartment...and it takes you three attempts before you realize what the problem is.
-You say you don't want pizza until you pass the pizza place, and then you start yelling because OF COURSE YOU WANTED PIZZA!
-You get dirty looks from Primary kids who see you sneaking Cheerio's on fast Sunday
-You have a hard time cuddling with your husband because you're hardly ever comfortable and his "smell" is too strong
-You break down when your husband tells you that you look beautiful... "I don't feel pretty!"
-You have a small ache and you start full-out bawling, even though as you're crying you know that the pain doesn't even come close to cry-worthy.

On the bright side, I'm getting a preview of what life will be like as an old lady!
-Feeling like you've lost control of your bladder
-Bedtime is now 7:30 pm
-Chronic back pain
-Being forgetful
-Monthly doctor visits
-Free license to say things a normal person wouldn't be able to
-Wearing sweat pants in public with no guilt
-People giving up their seats for you

Joking aside, we are so thrilled about our baby girl! We love feeling her kick and we're laughing our way through the pregnancy!

The Remainder of our 2013

Something that is difficult is living on a budget - especially when that means that when your computer breaks down in July you have to wait until Christmas to get a new one!  During that time, a few more things happened that are worth noting... :)  Yes, this is another long post, considering the circumstances...

SKYDIVING with Mom and Kari
Yep - we actually did it!  For me, the idea of it was a little....TERRIFYING. Haha but when Mom said it was on her bucket list, I knew that I wanted to help her make it happen.  So even though I'm normally a person who doesn't like jumping into POOLS for fear of hitting the bottom and breaking something, this surprisingly became a Must-Do item.  Kari decided to get in on the action, too, and I think that if she hadn't come, I wouldn't have been able to jump.  Let me explain...

We thought that we were all going to be able to jump together from the same plane, but instead, we could only have two jumpers per flight.  So we had a dilemma, and I was the one out of the three who was NOT selfless. Haha I NEEDED to have someone come with me or else it wasn't going to happen, while both of them were really EXCITED that they were about to jump out of a plane with a complete stranger in charge of whether they lived or died. So, in the end, Mom didn't want to have one of her daughters alone, and she volunteered to go by herself (even though this whole trip was for her) and Kari and I went first.  The taxi ride on the plane was frightening (yes, before we even left the ground I was freaking out).  It's like when you stand in line for a roller coaster, really excited for the experience.  Then you get on the actual ride and start hearing the clicking as you rise that first hill.  I ALWAYS want to scream, "I CHANGED MY MIND!!!" and that's the way that I felt in the plane... on the ground. Haha  But Kari was really calm and excited and volunteered to go first when it came time to jump.  One second, she was there, and in the blink of an eye, she was GONE.  I seriously SCREAMED because my little sister vanished LITERALLY into thin air.  I now know where the saying comes from!  So the rest of the jump from there was EASY - "Get me out of this plane so I can make sure my little sister is alive!"  And then everything was REALLY FUN!!!

ELDER STARK CAME HOME FROM HIS MISSION!!!
I had a lot of fun writing about all of the fun experiences that Sora Stark had on her mission, but can't do the same for my brother's mission.  His mission in Taiwan was difficult - almost from day one of getting there.  He got hit by a car, dealt with insomnia for about 18 months out of his mission, had arthritis in his knees (something that's very problematic when you're on a bike-riding/walking mission)... it seemed like his struggles were endless. But through all of the difficulties, he made a difference in Taiwan.  He was able to learn Mandarin to the point where he was one of the best with the language - not an easy task.  THEN he taught HIMSELF Taiwanese on the mission so he could relate to the older people in Taiwan who didn't speak Mandarin.  He was able to build relationships with his converts, including a couple that he later got to see sealed in the temple for time and all eternity right before welcoming their new baby.  Instead of throwing in the towel (which no one would've faulted him for with all of his medical problems), he made sure that he served his full mission that he was called to serve.  I have so much respect for the faith that he put in the Lord and his resilience to all of the challenges that were thrown at him.  My family and I worried about him every day, and were RELIEVED when August 6 finally came!  See how happy we are? :)



FAMILY CRUISE TO JAMAICA (minus Jeff)
Yes, I went on my first cruise without my husband... and felt bad for a few minutes. Haha he decided that his time was best served looking for a job instead of going on vacation, so I decided to enjoy it for the two of us!

Key West, FL - Our first stop was in Key West, where we decided to rent scooters and explore the island together.  This was a fun idea, until Ashley forgot her license, and I was the only remaining adult old enough to operate (a term I use loosely) the last scooter.  I've been on a motorcycle with one of my college friends, and it was almost the death of me!  I HATE the idea of leaning TOWARDS the ground in order to make a turn.  YOU WANT ME TO GET CLOSER TO THE GROUND AT HIGH SPEEDS???  You're speaking to a goalie who refused to DIVE for the ball; a softball player who refused to slide to second or third base because it's VOLUNTARILY FALLING - I'm clumsy enough on my own... the ground and I have had our fair share of meetings - I'm in NO HURRY to become reacquainted - ESPECIALLY ON THE HIGHWAY.  So.. this was interesting.  I enjoyed it when I didn't have to turn, but when I did, I had three or four times when I almost ran into ONCOMING TRAFFIC. Haha Meanwhile, everyone else was having a blast (except my dad who refused to abandon me and rode behind me the whole day to make sure I didn't die).



Grand Cayman Island - Our second stop was fun!  We decided to go on a guided excursion where we "swam" with manta rays.  In actuality, we stood in the middle of the ocean where it was shallow, and a bunch of manta rays swam around us.  At first, as I'm sure is no surprise to you by now, I was scared.  Ashley was right there with me though!  It felt like we were SURROUNDED!  After a while though, you got used to it, and they actually feel like VELVET which is so bizarre to me!  It was something that we enjoyed.  But yes, Ashley and I definitely felt like these poor ladies:

Jamaica - We were able to get a guided tour of the island from a Jamaican man.  He drove us around and told us interesting facts about the island as we listened to Bob Marley in his van.  We went on a sort of gondola ride down a river, where crabs kept crawling onto Ashley. Haha  We also tasted some of the native fruit and went to a waterfall.  I've NEVER seen such beautiful water as there!

JEFF GOT A JOB!
The whole time we've been married, Jeff and I have DREAMED of what it was going to be like to finally have DUAL INCOME.  It still makes us feel like we're living large right now as we get to set more and more money aside towards becoming debt free, and the end is FINALLY in sight!

I seriously can't express my gratitude for how well the past year treated us.  We were able to have so many experiences and accomplish so many goals. We feel blessed with our life together and are excited to see what 2014 brings!