The Garhart's

Fall 2011

2011-10-16T22:19:00.002-04:00

Not gonna give any excuses. Since the last post, we've had a lot going on. Both kids had a ton of ear infections, so we put tubes in both of them last week. Hopefully this will be the end of the weekly to every other week visit to the pediatricians office. And hopefully Robert and I will start feeling better as well. We took a vacation back in September to Hilton Head Island. Grammy and Pops were able to join us for a few days at the beginning of the week and then the 4 of us stayed the rest of the week. The weather was not perfect, but to be honest, I think I liked it better that way. No one got burned and the chillier than summer weather made it nice to relax (if you can call it that with 2 little ones!) on the beach. Our place also had an indoor pool, so it was nice while it was raining outside to have a place to still enjoy water. Eli HATED the sand the first time we put him down, but by the end of the week the childs swimsuit was covered with the stuff. Makenna LOVES the water and has no fear. Thankfully the listening ears seemed to behave and we did not have any near misses! This past Friday evening their daycare had a fall festival. Makenna had fun playing all the games and Eli played a couple, but I'm not sure he really understood what was going on - he just wanted to run and play! Robert had the weekend off and even though I am not feeling 100%, we took the kids to Corn.Dawgs Saturday morning. It's a local corn maze and other fun kid activities. The kids had a blast. It is nice spending time all together on weekends. And I was even able to get a nap while the kids were napping - the little things that make you happy! I chose a couple of pictures from the above activities - yes there were a ton more, but I don't have time for the computer to upload all of them! Hope you enjoy a couple of our faves from the past couple of months.

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Ei 1st Birthday

2011-07-11T06:31:00.002-04:00

Here's Eli's first birthday party. We had a great time - thanks for coming everyone!

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1 Year Pictures

2011-07-04T21:48:00.006-04:00

Here are a couple of our favorite pictures from Eli's one year "photo shoot!" (We decided to keep Makenna in her routine and she stayed at "school" while we took Eli for his pictures.) I decided to show one cupcake picture, but the rest will have to wait! We're looking forward to celebrating Eli's first birthday this Saturday - on his actual birthday. I can't believe the first year is almost over. It is amazing the things they learn that first year. He has been taking steps for a couple of weeks now and is getting braver by the day. He went from his knees to his feet and took a couple of steps tonight. Not much longer before he is a true toddler!

He FINALLY said "mama" and now won't stop! But, it took so long to hear it, I can't complain. He LOVES balls. And knows how to say ball, Bailey, daddy, mama, and bye. Maybe a couple of other things I can't think of at the moment. He LOVES to eat. Most of the time he has to feed himself and has not been eating baby food since a little after 9 months. His daily report card indicates he eats "ALL" of his meals. He is such a momma's boy. I'm trying to enjoy because I know it won't last forever!

Those are some of the things that Eli is up to these days.

Enjoy the pics!

Yikes!

2011-06-17T16:05:00.003-04:00

I know...empty promises from a busy mom. It has been too long. Lot's of things have changed, and of course they would with two small kids! Eli will be one in less than a month. I cannot believe where the time has gone. Unfortunately, I am not one that has exact dates for milestones, but Eli has 8 teeth and I am wondering if he isn't working on some more because he has been chewing on his fingers today. He refuses to eat baby food and is also at the point where you have to put something on his tray to feed himself or there will be lots of fussing. So, he's turned into Mr. Independent at meal time. He will eat ANYTHING. I seriously cannot think of anything that we've given him that has been spit out or thrown on the floor at once. He will be my eater. Makenna continues to pick. We have good food days and bad food days.

We are about to transition Makenna to a big girl bed. We've decided to use the crib as her headboard and not have a foot board and to go straight to a full size bed with side rails. We are going to go mattress shopping tonight. She seems excited when we talk about it. She is still doing well with the potty. We went through a period where it didn't go so well. It was weird - she really digressed, but it got back under control. The next step is during naps and night. But we'll get there!

She says the darndest things. Last night we went shopping for sheets and were on our way home. The conversation goes like this:
Mak: Can I have fruit snacks?
Robert: If you are a good girl on the ride home.
Me (few seconds later): We need to get baths when we get home.
Mak: I don't want a back, I want fruit snacks. I don't want a bath. I'm not smelly!

Oh my goodness, what am I going to do with her?

Mom and Dad went to the beach for a week, so Robert and I (with the help of Aunt Alli on Memorial Day) took turns and spent some time with the kids. Robert's mom had also just come down for a visit. I also had to spend a week in Greenville for work, so Robert and the kids came up in the middle of the week. It was nice to have them there. Makes going away a little easier.

On Tuesday (June 14) the kids and I spent the night with Grammy and Pops (and Alli) because we were having our windows tinted the next day. As we were playing Eli took his first steps. He has taken many since then, but still hasn't had the guts to just go for it. But it is coming and soon I will not have a baby anymore!

We, thankfully, have not had to do formula again this time and I'm afraid the bonding time with Eli is coming to a close. I'm not sure if he really wants to give it up, but it is time.

Nanny took a little fall the other night, and as we are uncertain to what her needs are going to be, we signed the kids up for daycare (or school) today. Next week shall be interesting! They are not used to getting up so early and their schedules are going to be "off" - especially Makenna's! But, there will be interaction with kids for both of them, so that is not a bad thing.

Speaking of interaction - Makenna and I have been doing a mommy and me gymnastics class once a week. Really we've only been 2 weeks, but we've had fun. There is a little structure at the beginning and then really the kids are free to do what they want. It is kind of nice.

For some of our recent family photos and some catch up from the fall visit the shutterfly site:
http://garhart.shutterfly.com/

By golly, I think she's got it!

2011-03-18T21:45:00.002-04:00

Last weekend Robert was off. So I decided to attempt to potty train Makenna since I would have help. Turns out Robert was sick and was in bed most of Saturday, but I had a goal, so I went for it. A friend had turned me on to an ebook that some of her friends and family had used. It was a 3 day thing. Unfortunately I only had 2 days with her and Robert had Monday morning. After Saturday I wasn't quite sure she was going to get it in 3 days. And this book tells you to do night training at the same time. I opted not to do this as Makenna is never dry in the morning. I'm not sure we made it to the potty in time at all on Saturday and maybe a couple of times during the day Sunday. We still decided to venture out and amazingly Makenna told us when we got to the store she had to go - and actually went! She stayed dry for the entire trip out, which included picking up some more big girl panties. As I had been putting a diaper on her at night, I decided on Monday to get some pull-ups and tell her they were her big girl panties for night time. This has seemed to work as she doesn't call them diapers and she doesn't ask to wear them during the day. Again, I was not thinking this was going to work, but she gets it! She is now asking to go potty and while someone is tending to Eli (either putting down for naps or at nighttime) she will go by herself - even #2! Amazing.

Makenna has had this thing about shaking her right leg for a while. I mentioned it to the pediatrician at her 2 year appointment. She checked her reflexes and found that the right side was more sensitive than the left. We were referred to a neurologist which took forever to get an appointment for. We went yesterday. Thankfully all is well and it must be some kind of nervous tic. So afterwards (since we both took the day off) we took Makenna to the aquarium. She loves that place! There were a lot of school kids there yesterday, but a little less crowded than the weekends. It was still a nice time.

Eli has started crawling. He's getting pretty fast. And now he is starting to pull up and try to stand. Man - how time flies. As we were outside enjoying the weather and the time change last night, I told him he was going to be chasing Makenna around by the end of the summer. Probably sooner, but at least by then!

I have some time...it's off to get some chores done. That way we can enjoy the weather again tomorrow.

Wow

2011-03-09T22:31:00.002-05:00

Yes, I am a bad blogger. Man - what a month. I can't believe it is already March. And today is Eli's 8 month "birthday." It has been really busy around here. And fun. Makenna says the darnedest things and there are just so many you can't remember them all. Some of her new ones are: "Mommy, come get me" (when getting up in the am) and then when you get there, "Mommy, I'm not tired." Which 7:30 on a Sunday morning when her brother has slept HORRIBLY...is not a good time to "not be tired." She also has some major spouts of "I can do it myself" times and quite the attitude. We decided that I would take Makenna off b herself this past Sunday. She said she wanted to go to the aquarium, so off we went. We didn't spend a ton of time there, but I think she enjoyed it being just the two of us. Hopefully we can keep up special times alone with each of the kids. The weekend before she went to the circus with Robert and Pops.

I love watching the two kids interact. Eli thinks Makenna is great and laughs at her all the time. And she is so sweet to Eli - most of the time - she loves on him and likes to try to feed him. Eli has started crawling. It started off where he would do "tee-pee" and peek his head through his legs. Then he would get down on all fours and propel himself forward. It was funny to watch. And then last weekend he figured it out - he learned how to crawl on his knees. He has gotten much faster over the week. If only we could get him to consistently sleep at night...

Speaking of sleep...both kids are in bed...and for some silly reason I am still up...not that it's late...but I am missing good sleep opportunity...and since I never know when I'll be up...I'm going to head that way myself.

During Feb. we had some pictures done - supposed to be Eli's 6 months, but he was 7 months. And Mak's 2 years. Plus us. I'll post some later, but again, I'm going to take advantage of the quiet!

Good night!

January 10/11, 2011 Snow

2011-01-10T21:25:00.003-05:00

The snow storm. I wish we would have been able to play in it, but by the time Makenna and I got outside, it was hard. She still enjoyed being outside for a few minutes. When Robert got home, we had to get a couple of pics of Eli. I believe this is the third snow here, but the first one we were able to get him in pics! Hope everyone is staying warm! Enjoy!

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Makenna 2nd Birthday

2011-01-10T21:23:00.002-05:00

We had Makenna's 2nd birthday party this weekend. Just family this year. It was nice to see everyone again. The pizza was late (by one hour) but other than that - it was great. She had a great time opening her gifts and did a good job at giving everyone hugs, kisses and thank yous! We then decided to head to the aquarium on Sunday. The kids are free and Robert and I got annual passes this summer. It was pretty slow, so we got to see almost everything. I think there may have been one section we didn't go in. Makenna actually touched the sea animals that could be touched this time. All in all a good weekend!

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Christmas

2010-12-30T17:40:00.002-05:00

It takes some time loading pictures on this site and we've all seen how often I can get on here and update! So, here is a slideshow from our photo account (http://garhart.shutterfly.com/). I'll try to post links here when I upload more pics!

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Can This Be Right?!?

2010-12-29T22:33:00.002-05:00

My little girl is 1 year 11 months 3 weeks and counting? I'm not sure what has happened to the past (almost) 2 years, but they have FLOWN by! I know they say that they have the terrible two's - I'm wondering if we didn't hit that a little early because Makenna has been SO much fun the past couple of weeks. We are now completing more than 3 word sentences. She has the best laugh/smile. She refers to herself as "she" - it is quite humorous. "She want that." The other night she had her jammies on and went to put on a shirt she received for Christmas - over her jammies - and then proceeds to tell us "the shirt is too tight." How in the world did she know that? And of course it is too tight, you don't wear it over your jammies!

Mr. Man is still growing. He is getting his little legs up underneath him, so I hope that doesn't mean he will b crawling soon. Just stay a baby a little longer. He's not been a huge fan of cereal, but we need to become more consistent in giving it to him. Since I have been off the past week and a half I have tried to get him to sleep longer at night in between feedings. We now go 6 hours. Woo hoo! Baby steps!

Speaking of sleeping - I need to get ready for bed before little man gets me up. I'll post Christmas pics soon! We have some good ones of the cousins!

Good Friends, Family and Santa

2010-12-20T22:29:00.010-05:00

We've had a busy week or so. Last Tuesday we headed up to Greenville. I had a meeting Wed. morning and so the whole family went up. We had dinner with Chad, Allison and their new little one Rigby. Ruth came by to visit for a while. We had a good time catching up. Miss you guys! Saturday we went to get pictures with Santa. Not professional this year, just able to shoot with our own camera. Kind of nice being that little miss wouldn't sit in his lap! And then Sunday it was off to my uncles for our Christmas lunch. Makenna is quite bossy. She led myself, mom, Nanny, and Alli into the dining room so that we could dance. After presents she took my cousins Juliet and Laine and made them go sit on the couch in the other room. Robert got a great picture of the three of them. Thankfully I am off (except one day next week) until the new year. I am excited about spending time with my babies! Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!
Greenville:

Getting ready to go see Santa:

Santa:

Christmas Lunch:

Christmas Card Pics

2010-12-10T22:48:00.007-05:00

Well, I won't post the pics I decided on for the card, but here are a couple of the kids in their Christmas jammies! And Mak being silly with Aunt Alli.

Here's us with our nephew!

O Christmas Tree!

2010-12-05T22:25:00.011-05:00

(Wrote this last night but had trouble with pictures.)
Wow - two posts in the same month - something must be wrong! We decorated the tree today and had a good time. Not quite sure Makenna has the whole story down, but she knows the balls go on the tree. And she is such a good helper. Poor Eli was on his blanket the whole time, but he likes to watch Makenna, so that's okay. Will also include a shot of Eli eating his cereal. I haven't been consistent with his new food, but we'll get there. Enjoy the pics. I'm off to bed for a few minutes rest before I am up with Eli!

Trying cereal:

My Buddy:

"Kenna take a picture:"

"Kenna do it" (notice clump of balls!)

Eli again:

Cheese:

With Mommy:

More decorating (poor child's pants won't stay up!)

Holding Eli - big smile!

Eli in one pair of Christmas jammies - love the cap!

October/November

2010-12-01T21:30:00.005-05:00

Well, more time has past. Work has been crazy. I thought if I made it through Thanksgiving I would be good. But, it is now month end (I should actually be working now) and so it is still busy. The crazy thing is I plan to go on vacation Dec. 20 through the end of the year - with the exception of a day or so. That is only 2 weeks away. In my world at least since this week is month end, I kind of don't count the rest of this week.

We are awaiting the arrival of Baby Boy Wright. I know CA is ready for him to come as the last weeks of pregnancy are not that comfy!

We attempted to feed Eli cereal the past two nights and mom tried this morning. He hasn't made it through one serving yet. Last night he accidentally hit the bowl and it went all over Robert and Eli and the floor. And tonight after a number of bites, just didn't seem interested. Maybe he's not ready - I don't know - but he really needs to start going more than 3-4 hours at night in between feedings. Mommy is getting really tired!

I got Eli laughing the other night. We were playing "boo" and he thought it was hilarious. I love baby laughs! I also played "boo" with Mak and she thought it was funny too.

I can't believe how fast she is growing up. It is funny because Mak refers to herself as "she" sometimes. "She want some." And when asked who "she" is, replies, "Makenna!" What a mess. I suppose I need to start planning a 2nd birthday party. Although, I think it is going to be pretty low key this year. We'll see.

Here are some pics - enjoy!

Our pumpkins:

Got a hold of Mommy's mascara (while Mommy was sitting there):

Kitty door:

I'm horrible!

2010-10-25T21:49:00.007-04:00

I know - almost two months since a post. What can I say? My last weeks at home went by fast. I had a post ready and was trying to upload pictures, but I ran into some trouble and haven't had a chance to get back to it yet. In my last weeks off, we went to visit Robert's mom in Maryland and had a nice visit.

Since I've been back at work, Robert and Eli accompanied me to Paris for a business meeting. As I keep saying - we "saw" Paris, we did not "do" Paris. Eli did very well on the plane, but I totally messed up his routine, so when we were out and about he did not nap like I thought a 3 month old would. Which would be why we didn't go in many of the sites - he just wouldn't have been happy - so the people around us probably wouldn't have been happy! And it was a little chilly on the days we had to visit the sites.

Makenna is getting so big. She got water on her shirt last night before dinner was ready. And she has apparently picked up on things that I say, so we hear: "Oh goodness. Probly gonna have to change my clothes!" What a mess! I feel like we left and when we came back she was speaking in sentences. I guess if you blink you miss them growing up. I can't believe that she will be 2 in January. I'm not sure where the time has gone.

Here's a hodge podge of pictures from Paris and Eli's 3 month picture. Sorry they are not in order, but I don't have time to sort! (One story about the picture of the birds - we were outside Notre Dame and this man was feeding the birds - he then gave the treat to some little girls and positioned them in front of the church so that their mom could take a picture of them with the cathedral in the background. It was neat to watch.)

(I miss the mornings with my little ones!)

2 Months

2010-09-12T16:14:00.004-04:00

We had Eli's 2 month appointment last Thursday. He weighs 14 lbs and 10 oz - 97% and is 24.5 in - 90%. He had one shot and an oral vaccination. He did pretty good and was a little more fussy that day. He's also been a little fussy today - and has been sleeping a good portion of the day - must be a growth spurt?! That being said - Makenna and I played for a bit outside and then came in and made a cake - nothing fancy - out of a box, but nonetheless we baked! And since the little ones are napping at the same time, I have a minute to post some pictures and I already have dinner made. Now I need to vacuum the kitchen and then mop. Then the chores will be done (mostly) for the day. I mean, are you really ever done with chores? Have a good one!

2 Months:

Eli Smiles!

Playing on the playset (she pushes the backs of your legs and tells you to walk - intending for you to go up the ramp and slide down!)

Baking with mommy!

More fun outside

2010-09-04T14:28:00.005-04:00

Here are a couple of pics from the past week or two - not really in order, but that's okay! We have had some cooler weather in the morning, so we've tried to enjoy it. And then one day I was trying to get dinner prepared while Makenna and Eli were napping. And it was getting close to Eli's feeding time, so I was trying to hurry. Of course Bailey decides she needs to go out, so I put her leash on the screen door lock and let her out. A few minutes later you will see what I found! We've been enjoying our time making the adjustment to a family of 4. It is about time trying to get Eli to transition to real naps in his bed and maybe out of the bassinet at night to his room. Crazy thing is I only have 4 more weeks off with the kiddos. Then back to work. Time has really gone by fast. This week we have Eli's 2 month appointment so we will get the official weight. And I think some shots, but I think I'm going to split them up like I did Makenna's. We'll see. He is actually going to be heading to France with me (and Robert) for a couple of days in October - we think - so I may need to amend my plans for the first couple of months. Guess I'll talk to the doc about that one! Hope you enjoy the pics - I have a little one that is getting fussy!

Bailey had taken cover from the sun while I had let her out. Silly puppy!

Beach

2010-08-23T13:56:00.006-04:00

We took a short trip to the beach this weekend with a friend from work and his family. We rented a two bedroom condo at Ty.bee Island. We had fun - here are some pics:

One Month

2010-08-17T16:06:00.004-04:00

Picture post!

Visit from grandma:

Hangin' out:

Eli Celebration!

Wow

2010-08-14T21:56:00.004-04:00

One month has already gone by and actually another week! Crazy. I tried to post a couple of days ago, but ran into some computer problems and haven't had a chance to do it again. Too bad last time I was going to put up some pictures, but this time I am not! Again - computer problems. (UPDATE - blogger saved my old post, but only 2 of the pics - read below!)

I am excited for tomorrow - we are going to celebrate the arrival of Elijah with friends and family. Many of the extended family has not had a chance to come meet the little guy and we wanted to celebrate him. We appreciate Hollie volunteering to get this together - we love you! And can't wait for you and B to meet Eli!

We've had a busy first month with Eli. Robert's mom was here for the first week. Robert then took a second week off and worked a lot on the play-set that he's put together. (He finally finished last week - well the climbing wall needs to be added, but that is going to wait a bit.) We had our first family picture session at the end of the second week. We've run some errands and gone out some. One of the most recent trips was a visit to the aquarium. That was really fun. And we decided to get a season pass, so we can go back as much as we want for a year. That way if the kids get fussy, we can leave and not feel bad!

We have some upcoming travel plans. Eli will have his first visit to the beach - we are going with a friend of mine from work to the beach for a weekend. It will be fast, but a visit to the sand is always nice. We will then also take Eli's first plane ride to visit Robert's mom. It will be a crazy couple of months as my time at home with the kids passes. Makenna has already been to the beach and on a plane once, but it will be interesting as she is SO much more active now.

I need to get some things done before tomorrow and I'm sure Eli needs to eat again soon. Oh - to which I may add - we think he is close to 12 pounds. He is HUGE. I imagine at some point he will surpass Makenna - poor thing just can't put on any pounds! Hopefully it will be a while as she is about 21-22, but still.

I am going to do the month pictures with Eli - I ordered stickers this time so that I didn't have to worry about paper in the mouth. I just need to get the picture done and our technology working so that pictures can post!

Good night!

Whew!

2010-08-05T21:05:00.003-04:00

Today is Makenna's 19 month "birthday." I can't believe another month has gone by and that my little man will be 1 month old in a couple of days. Crazy! I have just put Makenna down for bed and Eli is sleeping in the bouncy chair - but was put to sleep by our short walk earlier. He didn't appreciate the pack.n.play during her bath, so put him to sleep on the walk in the carrier and successfully transferred him to the bouncy chair to put her to bed. The small successes in life!

I really feel Makenna is adjusting well to life with a little brother. She still has her moments and I feel bad when I am nursing all the time and can't "help" her with whatever it is she wants at the moment. Most of the time I think she just wants me to be with her - not that she can't do whatever it is she is doing. She is a big help - putting diapers in the trash, carrying the dirty clothes to the laundry and putting Eli's paci in his mouth when he is crying. Well, okay, so she needs a little help with that one, but for the most part she does pretty well.

Melts a mommy's heart:

Some pics of Elijah

2010-07-29T19:40:00.005-04:00

Here are some pics of Elijah since some people were asking to see some on here.

Elijah Paul is here

2010-07-15T15:37:00.004-04:00

Elijah Paul arrived at 3:49am on Friday, July 9. He was 8 lbs. 6 oz. and 20.5 inches long. It was a relatively quick delivery - arrived at the hospital at 10:30 - not sure what time she checked me probably between 11 and 12 and I was 3 cm - had the epidural between 1 and 2 - at 2:30 I was 8 cm - and was pushing around 3:30 for less than 20 minutes - not too bad. I did have my antibiotic, but was either 10 minutes too late or I delivered 10 minutes too early. Either way, I was supposed to have the antibiotic 4 hours before I delivered and it was only 3 hours and 50 minutes, so we were supposed to stay 48 hours instead of 24. However, for some reason they didn't take Eli's blood Friday morning as they were supposed to, so we had to stay an extra couple of hours because it was 48 hours from the time of blood they needed Eli to stay. Then his poor skin was a little yellow, so they made him go under the lights that day. Although we couldn't keep his glasses on, so he wasn't under there as long as they think! But, the pediatrician on call said she would have sent him home with the levels he had without light, but since we were there....

I think Makenna is adjusting. She has become better with being gentle. And wants to give the baby kisses. Unfortunately, she continues (not often but once or twice) referring to my belly as Eli. And Eli is referred to as baby - not Eli. Silly girl.

I'm not sure if it's because Eli was born in the middle of the night, but he tends to be more fussy and resistant to sleep during the night. But he's not even a week old yet - so we'll get there!

Little Eli is fussing, so I'm off to see what he needs. Hopefully more pictures will come soon!

No eviction date yet

2010-07-06T22:10:00.003-04:00

I have made a little progress since last week, but nothing warrants an induction, so we are still waiting. Little Eli is different from Makenna - I suppose has been from the beginning. When contractions started with Makenna - I was in labor. With this little one - he likes to play games. They come and go - so I don't know if you want to call it false labor or getting moving slowly. Whatever the case, this is not a comfortable place to be. And to top it off, I am still working. So feeling menstrual cramps off and on all day is just no fun. Plus people keep coming by making comments about me still being there or asking me things that would add to my to do list. Umm, one - I would rather not be here; two - I could not be here in an hour, so please stop asking me questions! No, I would not just sit at my desk and play on the internet all day - there are still some things that I would like to finish before I leave and I want to answer my replacement's questions if she has any. Sorry - this vent is over.

We had a pretty un-eventful holiday weekend. On Saturday we spent a few minutes down on the square and had some yummy ice-cream. There is a local shop that has fresh strawberry ice-cream that has become my new favorite. Sunday we went to another local town as they had a small event with fireworks. We didn't realize the fireworks didn't start until 9:30 - we thought maybe 9, and it was 8:30 and Makenna didn't seem like she was going to make it. She had been playing on the playground learning new tricks she ought not learn (climbing up the slide) and seemed tired. Plus I had to go to the bathroom and didn't see anywhere to go. So we decided to come home. After Makenna's bath, we went outside because the neighbors were setting off fireworks. The first one she saw, she says, "inside." So, looks like a good decision on our part not making her watch an entire program! So we went inside and watched one of the programs on tv and she danced to the music. What a silly girl!

Hope everyone had a safe holiday. We'll keep you posted.

38 Weeks

2010-06-28T22:30:00.002-04:00

Had my appointment this morning. Robert had to work later, so he and Makenna came with me. Surprisingly she did not scream the entire time and actually let the midwife, that was wearing a white coat, hold her. So it is not all doctors offices she freaks out in - just her pediatrician.

Blood work results were finally in - they showed that I had already had 5th's disease and have lifetime immunity. So, now I am back to being a "regular" pregnant person. Which also means I don't get to see the little one again on screen this Friday. Now, if he wants to show up in person, I won't complain!

Everything else seems normal - I didn't hear any complaints about weight or blood pressure being too high. She did check to see if there was any progress and that was a very uncomfortable minute or so. She said I was essentially not dilated (so not sure what the girl thought she felt the other week, because I can most certainly agree with the the opinion from today) and I am 80% effaced. So, some progress, but not a lot.

I suppose now that my legs are working again I can get up and take a walk, but it has just been too darn hot! So, for those hoping for a baby before the weekend, doesn't look like there's much luck. I could be wrong, but he may be settled for a while longer. Oh well - he'll come when he's ready!

What a week

2010-06-25T21:52:00.003-04:00

I must say after a week like this one, I can't say that I would like to do this again! I suppose it started last Friday when mom called and said Makenna had a rash. She had run a fever on Wed., but it went away, so we assumed teething as the temp wasn't near as high as it had been a couple of weeks ago. And since she had picked the worst time in the world to decide that she needed to "rocky" before bed and naps and wasn't satisfied with just a few minutes - would scream - with tears - until you "rocky-ed" to her content. So back to the pediatrician we go. Makenna now knows what's going on when she is there. They called her name (I assumed to go back, but I had to fill out paperwork) so I tell Makenna to come with me. She decides to sit on the floor in the waiting room and cry "All done!" Long story short the dr. says she has hand, foot, mouth. Which after the fever is not contagious. Fast forward to Monday morning and I wake up with a rash on my belly. Wonderful. And the muscles in the top part of my leg are killing me. I feel like I have been exercising for hours with very tired muscles - which I can tell you clearly has not been the case. I have a normal appointment that day, so the midwife tells me that hand, foot, mouth is the same as 5th's disease (human version of par.vo). Well, I've had 5th's disease as a child, so I can't quite figure out why I have the rash and she proceeds to say had I not mentioned Makenna's rash, she would have assumed pregnancy rash. But, since I have mentioned Makenna's illness, I get blood drawn - which over the years I have become very good at. Tuesday my entire legs feel like I have been exercising forever to eventually include the arches in my feet. Let's just say the next two days I look and feel like I cannot walk. It was horrible. I could not for the life of me figure out how I was going to make it to July 10 with these walking problems. And when I looked up pregnancy rash I was thrilled to find that (according to Dr. Goog.le) that 70% of women with the rash are having boys. Lovely. And the best part is that it might not go away until a week or so after the baby is born. Even more exciting. I traded phone calls with my dr. office and they decide since the blood results have yet to come back, they will schedule an appointment with the specialist to have an ultrasound and work me in this week. That was this morning. Still no blood results. Apparently with the par.vo the baby could develop fluid, which is why the ultrasound. However, I did learn that these two things ARE NOT the same, so I am now thinking that the ultrasound and follow up specialist appointments are pointless because the pediatrician thought it was hand, foot, mouth - not par.vo. If Eli had fluid, they would have recommend induction, but since he was fine and we don't know what the blood will say, I had to schedule another ultrasound for next Friday. Now my office had gotten my hopes up that maybe they would induce next week, but from the sounds of it, I will be having this baby when he feels like coming. Thankfully my legs are feeling much better - I found the ugly shoes (with arches) that I had worn with Makenna. I thought I had been wearing sandals so frequently lately maybe that was causing my leg problems. And after wearing the ugly shoes for 3 days, I think it has helped. As I mentioned - earlier this week I wasn't sure how I was going to make it to the end of next week. Today, I feel like he will be in there forever! I hear there is a full moon tomorrow (Saturday), so maybe that will coerce him out?! Probably not as that didn't help with Makenna either! Oh, on a good note - the ultrasound tech said his head was normal size and he currently weighs 7 lbs 7 oz. (Makenna's birth weight) and so another two weeks would put him 8 lbs 7 ozs. About 8.5 lbs - which was the guess the other week. Of course the measurements can be off, but it doesn't seem like he is going to be too far from the norm - at least there is some hope! My appetite has picked up a bit today, so I may go have some ice-cream! Enjoy!

36 Week Appt

2010-06-14T22:36:00.003-04:00

Update on baby Eli - so again no pictures. I could be totally wrong, but I am having a hard time believing that I will make it to July 10. For some reason I had no doubt with Makenna that I would make it to the Christmas shutdown for work - my only hope was the she came soon after so that I wasn't out on leave with no baby. But this time I feel a little different - and it just started this past week. But I just feel different. I can tell he has dropped. The movements are much lower. So we'll see. Maybe he will prove me wrong and I will suffer through this heat for another 4 weeks.

The doctors office that I go to has two "sides." There are two doctors - one that is a hospital employee and another that went out on her own - but they share patients and space. You rotate among all. So one "side" does not do internals - that is the side I was on today. So, I have no idea if there has been any progress. What she did say is that I was GBS positive so I get to have antibiotics during delivery. And since I am allergic to penicillin and the mycin family they will have to get creative. Great. So to recap the last two visits, I have a child with a big head who is going to weigh at least a pound more than my daughter and I get to be put on an antibiotic that hopefully I am not allergic to. Sounds like great fun! And she said (since she is a nurse and doesn't deliver babies) that if I make it to 39 weeks we may want to talk induction. Something to do with the GBS and Makenna being a fast labor. So why we don't have a plan for now - I don't know.

I'm just hoping that we make it to next week - I don't have any reason to believe that we won't - so that little Eli is 37 weeks and then I can ask the midwife what the plan should be given fast labor with Makenna and GBS.

But Baby Eli is fine - heart rate is fine and no worries from that front. And still going strong. I am thinking he currently has the hiccups. But, I am still going to try to go to bed! Good night!

No pictures - 35 weeks

2010-06-08T21:47:00.002-04:00

Sorry - I am having trouble with our computer reading the SD card, so no new pictures of Makenna. I can't believe that we have less than 5 weeks (I hope) until we meet Elijah. I am getting ready - I still feel pretty good, but simple tasks (picking things up off the floor, etc.) are pretty difficult at this point. At my appointment on Monday she actually did an internal exam and says that I am probably 1 cm. But this being the second child could have something to do with that. Plus I hear there is the possibility of walking around a couple of cm for weeks, so I don't think it means a whole lot at this point. I saw a nurse practitioner and thinks that Eli could be 8.5lbs. So if he comes early, you won't hear me complaining! Plus she says that he has a big head. This does not sound fun! The good news is that he is head down and she doesn't see that he would flip at this point, so sounds like we are on the right track at the moment. I'm now on the weekly plan, so I should have another update on the upcoming arrival sometime next week.

I suppose since I don't have pictures, I could tell a couple of Makenna stories.

We were in the car the other day and I was in the back with Makenna. For some reason she was sticking her fingers in her mouth and somewhat gagging herself. So I told her to stop. She says "good girl" (probably meaning that she had taken her fingers out of her mouth) and I replied with no. She responds "bad." I saw Robert's jaw drop and I busted out laughing. I know, the Nanny would have my hide!

She has started to tell us what she wants. As in she gets up from her nap and will say "nilk" - Robert continues to try to get her to say milk, but she is close enough. It used to be "nilt," so we're getting there. When you open the fridge she will ask for yogurt. I suppose it is bittersweet - nice that she is really starting to communicate, but also a sign that she is growing up!

Our neighbor told us a couple of weeks ago that we could take the swing set from his backyard as his kids are older and don't use it. So that has been Robert's project - taking parts of it down and then buying new wood to replace the rotted pieces. We'll post pictures when it is done.

Elijah's room is almost done. We have some things to hang on the wall and I will probably have someone come paint a quote over his bed while I am on maternity leave.

Hopefully we can get the photos up soon. I'm headed to bed.

Time Flies

2010-05-16T16:00:00.003-04:00

Wow - I haven't updated in a while. Opps. Makenna keeps us busy - she is down to one nap a day now, so during that time we try to get other things taken care of and there isn't much time to update blogs. At least from my end! And by the time we get her in bed, etc. it is time for me to head that direction as well. Running after one with some extra pounds out front isn't the easiest thing in the world to do! I suppose the time is getting near to meet this little one. We did a 3D ultrasound a couple of weekends ago. Eli wasn't cooperative until the last minute or two. He was nice and comfy digging his face into the placenta and not interested in moving into the fluid. So, not a lot of facial pictures, but a couple. There is also some kind of appendige that really likes my rib cage. Makenna did not like to hang out there, so this is a new discomfort for me! About a month ago he was measuring a week ahead and from what I've read that doesn't mean much, but we'll see. I had to go to Greenville last week for work and Robert and Makenna joined me Monday night. We had fun in the pool on Tuesday night, and hung out with friends on Wed. and Thurs. night. It is always good to see friends.

Also in the past couple of weeks my parents put down the family dog. Jamie and I both went over and stayed Friday night to say goodbye. That was not the easiest thing in the world to do, but glad I was there. Punkin was 15 - we got her for mom's 40th birthday when I was a junior in high school. We always joked that she forgot how to walk when I came home from college because she would want me to hold her the entire time. Then she had to get used to having Bailey around. That was an interesting introduction! I had come home with Bailey by myself and mom wasn't home yet. I ended up sitting on the kitchen floor with Bailey in her crate and Punkin shaking in my lap until mom arrived. But, she got used to her. Poor thing couldn't hear or see towards the end and didn't much want to be held anymore. We will miss having her around.

Robert painted Elijah's room this weekend. So, that is done. We have the crib up and ready to go, although he won't be in it for the first few weeks. There are still some things to move out of his room and other final touches to make, but we're getting there.

We also found out that we will be an aunt/uncle come December as my brother and sister-in-law are expecting. Three little ones under the age of two - for about a month until Makenna turns 2! Fun and exciting times!

I need to get a couple of things done before Makenna gets up. Just wanted to let eveyrone know we were still here!

Easter

2010-04-06T22:47:00.007-04:00

Whew! It's been nice outside here the past couple of weeks, so we've been out a lot. Although, I would say that it is a little too WARM! Hopefully this "cold" front that is coming through at the end of the week hangs around for a bit. I don't know about you, but over 80 degrees at the beginning of April just doesn't sound right. At least to hang around. It would be nice to have spring. But then again, I'm not sure I'd be able to open doors and windows without EVERYTHING turning yellow. Hello pollen - you have arrived.

I've still been feeling pretty good. An occasional pain here and there. I feel HUGE. I can't see how in the world I am going to get much bigger, but I know I will! With the July 12 due date, I am less than 100 days to go. Time is flying by! Soon we will have 2 under 2! Crazy.

I had a good birthday last week and enjoyed the weekend and a little extra time off (due to holiday shutdown at work). I kind of wish I had some more time - it has been nice to run errands and hang out with Makenna. We have been attempting one nap recently. It is going okay - she sometimes gets a little fussy the middle of the morning, but if you keep her busy she seems to do okay. We are still playing with our El.mo Easter basket and eggs. She LOVES to put them in her basket. And if one falls out, she dumps the rest out and puts them all back. Whatever keeps her happy! Here are some pics:

I can do it myself (thank goodness for old t-shirts!):

Sliding with El.mo (or Melmo as pronounced by Makenna):

Easter - we hid eggs in the house before church and then went to Grammy and Pop's for dinner. Had an egg hunt there as well.

All done (this is Makenna's "sign" that she is done):

The "kids":

Playing with her eggs and enjoying a cherry too.tsie roll:

Kisses for Uncle Jamie (no he was not bribing me with ice cream!):

Behind

2010-03-21T21:30:00.011-04:00

I know, I keep saying that I am behind in updating. Our desktop has been out of commission for a couple of weeks. We thought it was fixed, but then it still didn't work. We have the laptop, but truth be told, I am tired at night, so I haven't been getting on the computer as much. Things around the house seem to be a little more organized, but that may be my opinion! Last weekend we moved (by we I mean my dad and Robert) our office furniture to our bedroom and then made the "office" a play room. That keeps our den a little cleaner and a place for all of the toys! Makenna seems to like it too. Not much news on the baby front. Everything seems to be normal - all appointments are going well. Baby Eli moves quite a bit, but not like Makenna. She would move for periods of time. Little Eli moves, but not a lot at once. I'm not sure if anyone will feel him (except me!). As interesting as the updates are, I know you are looking for some pictures. So, here they are. We went to a local consignment sale this weekend and picked up a new outside toy for Makenna. She had a blast on Saturday, but the weather didn't cooperate today.

Starting off - with Mommy's help:

Very quickly graduated to all by herself (and not on camera, but actually stood on top once and wanted to walk down....hmmmm...may be our child in the emergency room?!?)

Pictures

2010-03-02T21:34:00.006-05:00

Ready for church (Pops and Uncle Jamie, please forgive my red tights with the black dress, but at least it matched!):

Helping put on her shoes (or rather undo them after Mommy put them on!):

Tornado Makenna:

She learned to put the lid on the cup and twist slightly so it won't come off - smart girl!

Eating a banana like a big girl:

New Furniture

2010-02-28T21:49:00.003-05:00

We headed toward the mall this afternoon to go shopping for our new addition. We had some coupons for one store and a gift card to another. Turns out we ended up purchasing our crib among a couple of new outfits. The crib was returned to the store because of a small chip on a part of the bed. It was discounted already and then I had a 20% off one item. It worked out pretty well. It works well with the furniture that Robert grew up with, so we are only getting a crib. We can use the desk as the changing table for now and it has a dresser. So now someone needs to come over and help move a couple of extra pieces out of the baby's room and we will almost be good to go! I have also decided instead of buying a bed set that we don't use half of (won't use the cute bumpers or the quilt), I was going to make a crib skirt, get a cute sheet and decorate with accessories. Instead, I have found a cute crib skirt that doesn't break the bank, I can pair it with many different colored crib sheets (I chose red) and get the breathable bumper and we're good to go. The crib skirt is ordered and the other pieces have been purchased. We now just need to buy a mattress. Slowly we will have a room for our little boy!

Makenna is the cutest thing. When asked where baby Eli is, she will come to me, lift my shirt and rub my belly. And will give him "kisses" when asked, of course! I love our little girl.

Well, tomorrow is the first day of month end and my nose is still stuffy, so I need to get my rest!

Baby G#2

2010-02-24T21:48:00.003-05:00

I am already 20 weeks. I can't believe it. Time is going by pretty quickly this time - probably because I am chasing Makenna around!

Most have probably heard, but in case you haven't. For baby G number 2 we will be buying lots of blue! We had our big ultrasound on Tuesday and it is a boy. Elijah Paul looks good - nothing unusual to report and is measuring normal. Well, the first ultrasound indicated a due date of July 15. If you do the math, the due date is July 10. Because I know myself, I thought the date was closer to July 15; however, this ultrasound indicates July 12. Since this is in between, I am saying my due date is July 12. Even though baby Eli will come when he is ready!

Here are a couple of the pictures (sorry baby Eli!):

Makenna Update

2010-02-24T21:45:00.008-05:00

It has been a while since we last updated the blog. Our desktop has been out of commission for a bit and I just haven't had a lot of time - not quite sure what changed. Maybe I was more tired and went to bed?!?

Anyway, a couple of weekends ago it was pretty cold here in GA. and Makenna got to play in some snow. The next weekend (this one that just passed) was completely opposite - the weather was really nice. We also went to the circus this past weekend. Uncle Jamie was able to get discount tickets, so we ventured downtown for Makenna's first circus visit. Her first visit and her Uncle Jamie and Daddy were chosen as participants in the first activity - musical chairs with the clowns! We had a good time - although it was a late night for little bit. Enjoy the pics!

Not much new

2010-01-25T21:24:00.002-05:00

Makenna is still a little under the weather - still a runny nose and a bit of a cough. But, everything else is normal, so we're not overly concerned. I tried to feel around in her mouth tonight to see if there might be more teeth, but I think we only have the two on top and the four on bottom. I feel hard spots on both sides on the bottom, but nothing that is close to popping through. We'll just wait it out. If she still has a runny nose at the end of the week, I suppose back to the doctor we go!

We're still here...I should probably post some pictures soon...but for now...goodnight!

First "sick" visit

2010-01-18T21:18:00.003-05:00

We had our first "sick" visit today. Not sure that we figured out the problem, but both ears look good - so no ear infection. She said probably RSV or some other kind of upper respiratory infection OR teeth - could be the teeth - she has been kind of drooly. (I know - it's not a word.) I was told last week during her 1 year check up that she had some wax build up and to get some mineral oil. It took me some time to find and we finally used some last night. Well, the dr. had to clean out that ear today. Makenna was not a fan. Although, she did a little better at staying still than last week.

She has not been a good eater today. So tonight - it was chicken noodle soup. While sitting in my lap. Trying to use the spoon. So got broth everywhere! And then she ate it with her hands. And fed some to me.

Then later I tried to give her pudding. She was wary of the spoon - not sure why. Then decided she wanted to eat that with her hands. This is where most normal people stop their children from eating pudding with their hands. So of course, I let her. She doesn't feel well and won't eat anything else - better to get something in her - than to fight it. I know - my attitude will change when she gets older. But for tonight....it was pudding with the hands. (Robert was grossed out.)

Then she and I took a shower. It was prescribed by the dr. for the steam. She's never been in the shower - I'm not sure she knew what to think!

She's in bed now...talking...probably to Elmo. So, I should probably go get some rest myself not knowing how often we'll be up tonight!

Birthday Week

2010-01-10T14:03:00.018-05:00

Here are a bunch of pics from Makenna's birthday week to include the "month" picture. We were trying to pull for our team that night, but they didn't cooperate and show up for that game. Oh well. At least they played good basketball on Saturday!

Before the paper:

With the paper:

My new ride:

Drive by play time:

Putting on my pj's:

With Mommy:

With Daddy:

Wiped out from my birthday dinner with mommy and daddy at Chick.fil.A:

Getting ready the night before my party:

Everyone had to sign the picture frame (for the professional picture above - this will hang outside Makenna's room):

Uncle Jamie and Aunt CA's birthday party breakfast:

Chocolate iced doughnuts - Yum!

New jacket:

Me in Uncle Jamie's hat - we have one when she was weeks old - how she has grown!

Looking thru my legs being silly:

Early - still interested in what is in the bag!

Reading my new book:

Hmmm...what's in here?

Putting on her new outfits - at least she knows it goes over her head:

From Daddy:

Daddy reading my card:

Everyone else's cupcakes (yes, I made the big cupcake and the cake stand - Allison helped with the little cupcakes and cake stand - I can be creative sometimes!):

(Side story - Allison and I went to a craft store to find the materials for above cake stand. I picked out the cute ribbon - I thought it kind of went with her invitation. However, the more I thought about it, it matched something else too. Her birth announcement - it is the craziest thing, the colors of the dots match PERFECTLY! Apparently I have a thing for pink and green dots!)

Makenna's first cake (baked by Grammy and decorated by Aunt Alli and Mommy):

Birthday Girl:

Singing to our beautiful daughter:

Eating my yummy cake:

With mommy and daddy:

With Grammy and Pops:

Feeding Grammy:

Proud of her work!

Yum!

Feeding Bailey:

Me and Mommy:

Happy 1st Birthday

2010-01-05T07:38:00.002-05:00

We love you, beautiful! Have a wonderful day with Grammy and Aunt Ali.

Things I want to remember....

2010-01-02T20:58:00.004-05:00

about Makenna at her first birthday. Granted I'm a couple of days early - if she learns something new, I'll be sure to add it!

*can walk (she started around 9 months)
*has started to put her bath toys back in the bath scooper one by one (and then dumps them out again)
*laughs when I tickle her on the cheek with my hair (I love baby giggles!)
*points at the pages and jabbers while "reading" books - and sometimes even makes you point on the pages too!
*when you ask her where the light is - she looks up
*LOVES the phone - and knows when you have it turned off or it doesn't work (she cries) and she also holds it up to her ear and jabbers (sometimes she gets the right end in the right place!)
*can wave bye bye (but usually doesn't do it "on command")
*will give you kisses when you ask (not all the time) and you can't ask her to give them to someone else - she comes and gives them to whomever asked!
*gives loves - especially her Elmo
*when you pretend to snore while laying on the floor, she will either come lay on you or next to you on the floor. (unless it is robert and then she cries! - male snores must scare her - beware future husband!)
*bounces her legs and shakes her head to dance
*has started to drink whole milk (I have been very fortunate, even with being pregnant to continue to nurse until Makenna turns one. We have only nursed twice a day while I was home this week and I will no longer pump when I go back to work. She seems to be doing well with the milk, so weaning it is. I have LOVED the special time with my daughter, but know it is best to give it up.)
*loves cheese - would eat it all day, I'm sure!; and is good with fruit. Veggies are an on/off thing - some days she loves them - others she throws them on the floor and spits them out. She is not a huge meat fan. She also loves her yogurt, but I don't want her to get tired of it, so I try to not give it every day.
*hates eggs
*copies the actions of others - she will scratch your leg if you were scratching it and will pat if you are patting
*sleeps between 11 and 12 hours at night with two naps during the day (between 1.5 and 2 hours each)
*she LOVES Bailey, but Bailey is scared of Makenna. Hopefully Bailey will warm up a bit - especially since there will be two of them!
*loves to eat her books (and paper)
*loves V8 fusion(mango peach) (so I sometimes don't feel TOO bad when she hasn't had a lot of veggies - or they end up on the floor because I know there are a lot in the juice and the nutritional value is the same as the baby juice if you divide the serving in half - so it can't be THAT bad! and it's not like I feed her an entire container every day - just one 4 oz. serving)
*will run if she knows she has something she is not supposed to have (yes, we've started this already!)
*has to have 3 things in her hand. It is weird.
*LOVES Elmo
*has 5 teeth - three on bottom and two on top
*hates getting in her car seat (I think she would be fine if we turned her facing forward, but I am "one of those" that may keep her backwards for a bit longer.
Their necks are so much more protected sitting backwards, but we'll see.)
*will sometimes say bye bye and night night
*loves her family and we love her too!

UPDATED:
*apparently, like most kids, she decided to make me a liar this morning, so I thought I would update the post - apparently she hates eggs while sitting in her chair; however, she loves them when they are daddy's and she eats them while on the couch!

A FEW MORE I REMEMBERED:
*knows where the cookie jar is and will go to the counter when asked if she wants a cookie!
*can say juice (or close enough!)
*will throw her paci back in the crib after nap time
*will fake laugh if you are laughing at something

FEEL FREE TO ADD YOUR THOUGHTS IN THE COMMENTS!

More toys to build!

2010-01-01T23:42:00.004-05:00

So on Christmas day I built toys and I am still building toys. We may have to talk to Santa....and consider asking him to build them ahead of time or pay for his elves to do it or something! So I build all the toys that Carmen talked about and then today after Makenna went to bed I built her the Kitchen that Uncle Jamie and Aunt CA got her.

We also went on a ride in the wagon and had a great time, though the walk was short. She really enjoys her wagon.

I (Robert) made Chocolate Chip cookies today for Carmen and Makenna (myself too). They were the store bought dough and I added butterscotch chips to some of them as well but since Makenna ate pretty good for dinner she got dessert....a chocolate chip cookie! Her first one (that I know of) and she really seemed to like it too! This all on the same day that her mommy gave her a starburst which she also really enjoyed! May have been bit much sugar seeing as she did not want to go to bed until about 1000. Oh well....once in a while is okay!

We really love our little girl...we'll add more pics to go along with this later.

Christmas

2009-12-31T17:57:00.010-05:00

Wow - I had every intention of updating this much earlier, but you know how it goes! I was also supposed to do some work while I was home this week and not much of that has been done either! And I had a list of to-do's like clean out drawers, etc....and I'm sure you've figured out how that has worked! I feel like now Makenna pulls out everything she owns while she is up and during nap time you go put everything back. And then you start all over again! :) But, it's quality time with my daughter, so I am not complaining. Just if you come over, please excuse the mess!

As most children's first Christmas, Makenna was mostly interested in eating the paper. Well, maybe most children don't try to eat the paper, but I fully expected for her to be more interested in paper and boxes, and for the most part, she was! She has enjoyed playing with most everything now that the paper is gone! She really likes the wagon from Grammy and Pops and she got a really cool house thing from Grandma Jackson that she enjoys as well.

We're getting ready for Makenna's first New Year's. It will be really exciting. Just a normal evening at home! No - she will not be allowed to stay up until midnight! I probably won't make it that long either! Hope everyone has a Happy (and safe) New Year's!

Uncle Jamie with presents:

Opening wagon:

Reading new Elmo book:

Opening gifts with Aunt Ali:

Opening gift with Aunt CA:

Watching Elmo:

In her wagon (that was not yet put together):

Santa left these for Makenna (notice the COMPLETED stocking!):

With mommy:

Eating a gift (with the house from Grandma Jackson in the background):

Reading with Ansley (a Ga. Tech book):

Family Picture:

Eating cherries in snow:

Enjoying my banana (I like them much better than the first time!):

Wrong end!

Progress

2009-12-19T22:15:00.009-05:00

You may not remember, but sometime last year (yes, last year) I posted that I was going to make Makenna's stocking. (See here...http://robertandcarmen.blogspot.com/2008/10/too-ambitious.html) Well, after it appeared that she wasn't coming last Christmas, I put it down. Not good. I should have taken advantage of the days I had off prior to little bit blessing our home. So, around Thanksgiving (this year) out came the stocking. I have been so tired, though, that it hasn't been going well. BUT....I am determined! So, here is what the stocking looked like before the progress today - and there was a lot of progress made between this Thanksgiving and now). And, today, I finished his nose, the berries and attached 3 of the bazillion stars. Seriously, I only have a couple of stars, the loop and the back and I WILL BE DONE!

And on top of my craftiness for Christmas - I am hoping to get Makenna's one year pictures back BEFORE her birthday party. I may do something with one, but if not, they will be on display. So, when I called to order the Santa pictures the other day, I found out that the picture place will be closed from next Wed. until Jan. 5. Well, anyone that knows anything about what I face each month end knows that Jan. 5 is NOT a good day for me. (Unfortunate for Makenna being her real birthday and all.) So, we are going on Tuesday for 1 year birthday pictures.

I have ordered (and received) a onesie with her intitial and thinking I had time to get a tutu to wear with it. Possibly for the cupcake picture.....but I thought I had more time. SO....I found a no sew tutu pattern online. Well, you do have to sew the elastic. Although, one of the patterns I found suggested that you STAPLE the elastic together. Ummmm....NO! So, I did sew the elastic. But, here are the pics from the tutu. By the way - not a difficult project and it looks kind of cute. I can't wait to try it on her!

We also got her some bloomers with ruffles on the butt to wear underneath the tutu. So here she is with the elastic and bloomers! I can't wait for picture day!

And of course we have Christmas coming up next week. That should be exciting as well. I already see that boxes and paper are going to be the fascination this year, but that's okay. Can't wait to see what she thinks of Santa coming to visit! Hopefully I'll be posting a finished product soon! If not, have a Merry Christmas!

Santa Claus

2009-12-08T22:08:00.003-05:00

Well, our first visit to see Santa went as expected - a child scared of Santa and thus screaming in the picture! :)

The photographer doing Makenna's "watch me grow" pictures here in town had a free Christmas session and I chose to do the one with Santa. It was kind of nice because you had an extra few minutes trying to get a good picture with the man in the red suit, but Makenna wouldn't have it - at least not with her usual smile!

He did get out of the chair and went to the dark part of the room. We then had Makenna stand (because she wouldn't sit) in the chair and he went up behind her and almost had his face up against her's (she had no idea) - I hope there are some good ones of this. We tried in the lap again and it didn't work. She got a little close to him when he offered his candy pail, but the tears came again! We tried playing peek-a-boo and in the lap and the crying again. Hopefully she got a couple of good ones and of course we'll have to put a screaming one in her book. I would say the outing was a success - even though she is scared of Santa!

As a side note - we had gone to Chick.fil.A for dinner before. They had a cow as Santa tonight. She wouldn't have much to do with him either! And, she poked a hole in her cup and dumped water all over her dress just before picture time.

Maybe we'll have a happy Santa picture next year!

11 Months Old

2009-12-05T21:26:00.005-05:00

Happy 11 month birthday. I can't believe next month we will have a 1 year old!

Wearing her purse:

You can have some:

11 Months: (We didn't eat the paper quite as early this time!)

Surprise!

2009-12-01T21:00:00.005-05:00

Yep...in case you missed that....

Baby G#2 will arrive in mid-July.
Don't worry - we were as surprised as you!

Beach

2009-11-11T21:40:00.010-05:00

We went to the beach this weekend to see the Blue Angels. Here are some pics of the baby - I won't post any of the planes for now! I realized after I started uploading the pics that I don't have all of them - we didn't take very many of the 3 of us together, but I didn't copy those to the computer yet. I'll have to post them some other time - it is getting late and I am tired and these pics are taking forever to upload tonight!

10 Months Old

2009-11-05T21:18:00.006-05:00

Another month...and another set of pictures. I posted on face.book tonight that one of Makenna's favorite things to watch is the lottery. It is so funny - she recognizes the music every night. She must be mesmerized by the balls. She gets very excited and won't turn her head until the commercial or the news has started. We'll have to get it on video!

The past couple of days when you put her to bed and say "night, night" - it sounds like she is saying it back. It is so cute! So, not sure if her first word is technically night, night, but I guess we'll see if she continues!

I have a bunch of things to take care of tonight, so here are the "birthday" pics and a few more!

10 Months

Love Elmo!

Ok - I'm done!

Happy Halloween

2009-10-31T21:20:00.008-04:00

It rained here, so no trick or treating for Makenna - except we tried to go to the neighbors, but they weren't home. I don't think we had as many kids as we did the first year we were here. (Last year I was out of town and Robert didn't feel like handing out candy.) Oh well. There's always next year - hope you had a good one.
Our little yellow jacket:

With Pops:

The family:

With Aunt Alli:

With Nanny and Aunt Alli:

With Grammy and Aunt Alli:

First lollipop from daddy:

Playing with the pots:

All I got for Halloween is...

2009-10-31T12:41:00.003-04:00

....my two front teeth!

We took this the other night. I am surprised she let me hold her lip long enough to take it! We put her Halloween costume on last night - the front seems to come down a little far, but that's okay. The size is a 2T, but I cannot for the life of me figure out how a 2 year old would fit in this thing! It has a little skirt that she likes to play with and she won't wear the headband, but I knew that would happen. Hopefully we can get a picture later!

Have a safe and Happy Halloween!

Homemade

2009-10-31T11:41:00.008-04:00

Two things....

One...a number of weeks ago, we made our own laundry detergent. I don't know what has gotten into me....first homemade baby food....now homemade laundry detergent. Here are the items we used....

and here is what is looks like...

No, it doesn't have a scent - I am scared to buy an oil online because I am afraid I wouldn't like the smell for my laundry. In the bucket, it smells like I.vory, but the laundry doesn't have a scent.

I found the recipe here: http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/laundrysoap.htm

Second - Robert can dress up for Halloween at work today. He was going to so as this made up superhero, but Allison and I thought his idea was kind of silly. We kept trying to get him to do something else - like make a "P" for his shirt and use makeup to blacken one of his eyes to be a black eyed "P" - but he wouldn't go for it. We recently purchased a new printer and still have the box so he wanted to go as a printer box. Creative. But, Allison found an idea to use the box - a rubi.x cube. I had colored paper, we used electrical tape to define the spaces and voila - a homemade costume. Enjoy the process:

Corn.Dawgs

2009-10-26T21:35:00.008-04:00

Yes, by the sounds of it, one would assume there would be U.GA stuff everywhere; however, there was not. This was the name of the pumpkin patch that we ventured out to on Saturday morning. Uncle Jamie and Aunt CA met us there and we had a good time. We didn't get a chance to go through the corn maze - maybe next year. Uncle Jamie needed to get to a tv for the Ga. Tech game and Daddy had to go to work. Plus, it was getting close (or past) nap time, so we spent the optimal amount of time in the fresh air. If you notice, you don't see a ton of other people - we got there shortly after they opened and it was not yet super busy. We were the only ones in the jumpy thing, the only ones on our hay ride and generally could do whatever activity we wanted whenever. It was kind of nice!

As I posted last time - Makenna is now walking. Even better than before - she can make it to opposite sides of the room - still a little stumbly (not a real word), but she's pretty well got the hang of it. She can even stand up in the middle of the room without using anything to help her up. What a big girl!

Enjoy the pics! (I realized after I added all of the pictures this may be a long one, but I couldn't figure out any of them to delete!)

Playing outside

2009-10-11T15:28:00.008-04:00

Here is Makenna with the dog leash (again)! We had such pretty blue skies this afternoon.

Watching Bailey roll around!

Videos:
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9 Month Stats

2009-10-09T21:17:00.002-04:00

We had Makenna's 9 month appointment today. Everything seemed to go okay. She continues to be in the 90-95th% in height - 29.25 inches - so we're about to have to move up to that big girl seat in the last post. Unfortunately, she seemed to drop in weight from 50th to 25th% - coming in at 17 lbs 4.5 oz. We are going to try to increase the amount of food she eats - but from the last post note that she will not eat baby food. So, we're exploring new waters. I don't think she is starving, so I don't think it's a huge problem. I did decide to give her the flu shot - so she had 3 shots today (to make up for 2 she hadn't had yet). She wasn't too happy. She was also not a fan of the tongue depressor to check her throat. Apparently she has to get a second dose of the flu shot, but our dr. is running out of the shots, so they may not have any left and we may have to go to the health dept. Oh well. Little bit is currently sleeping, so I am going to get some chores done.

2009-10-05T21:58:00.010-04:00

For some reason I don't think I'll be able to get another "birthday" picture without paper being eaten!

Dear Makenna,

We cannot believe that is has already been 9 months that you have been with us. We are truly blessed to have you as our daughter. We have had so much fun the past month with all the new tricks - you love to blow raspberries and stick your tongue out when you smile! :) Daddy found a walk behind toy at a consignment sale the other weekend that you love to push around. We still have to guide it for you, but you think you are big stuff! Mommy can't wait to get home from work and get a big hug and sometimes a "kiss." You are taking a couple of steps on your own. What a big girl. Just this past week you have refused to eat baby food when being fed (especially by mommy). So, we have started you on big girl food. This seems to be working. You LOVE yogurt and we have been tricking you by adding cereal every once in while - you gotta do what you gotta do to get you to eat! Another fun trick is dancing - you move your head from side to side. It is quite humorous. What joy you bring to our lives. And what an independent little girl. I can't imagine life without you. We love you so much.

Love mommy and daddy

Playing outside (notice a theme with her "toy")

Notice the tongue?

One of my favorites!

New seat that we haven't installed yet. Allison and I tried to put it in my car this weekend, but we're not so sure it was level and then there is no place for her froggie bar, so we'll use the other seat until she's too big. Which if she is 30 inches, we'll have to move up anyway. Guess we'll find out Friday!

Trouble!

Walk behind (with shorts on her head - kind of makes her look like a chef!)

I just happened to check on her before I went to bed while we were at my parents and found her lambie waching over her.

This weekend we went to Hollie's baby shower. We had such a good time. I wish I had my camera because there was a little boy there that was born Jan. 1 named Wesley. He is a Ga. Tech fan too and had on the cutest overalls! He and Makenna had fun exploring and playing with water bottles. Makenna did such a good job - she missed most of her naps and still continued to be in a good mood. And she did well with people she hadn't met before. It took her a minute, but as they kept talking out would come her tongue. What a silly girl. As for my sewing project a couple of weeks back, I made Hollie a nursing cover. It was fun, but as mom mentioned, I will keep my day job!
Cover:

Back pocket:

We (I) Survived!

2009-09-30T13:24:00.004-04:00

...the first weekend away. It was hard - no, I did not cry - but we did it. Makenna, Robert and Bailey were at my parents, so she had plenty of people loving on her - especially with Aunt Alli there too. I'm sure the non lack of attention (not that Robert ignores her) helped a lot. I was SOOOOO glad to get home. I love the hugs and a couple of kisses (or open mouth!) that I received.

Saturday before I left Robert ran to a consignment sale that they hold at the Horse Park (for the 96 Olympics) looking for our second big girl car seat. (As an aside - for those in the area that are interested - the sale runs until this Saturday - here is the link with the details http://tykestotsteens.com/home.php.) He didn't find what we were looking for, but did find this 2-in-1 thing that is missing one part, so essentially we have a walk behind walker and Makenna LOVES it. You should see her when she runs into the couch and continues to try to push it. She gets kind of mad! Usually we will sit on the floor in the middle and guide her in circles. It has a steering wheel that beeps that she loves to hit. And she has taken a couple of steps without holding on to anything. I wouldn't say she is quite ready for walking, but she's getting there.

In other updates, I believe I have mentioned that I never got the hang of the baby bath tub and I had been getting in with her. The past couple of weeks - she has flown solo in the tub and I think she has gotten used to it. The first couple of nights were hard, but she loves to play with the bath toys - she has her favorites - and I think last night she squirted one on her own.

I know, I need pictures. I'll try to get them on here soon.

First Night(s) Away

2009-09-25T22:32:00.003-04:00

I am supposed to be working - didn't quite finish what I needed to and was tired of being at work! Tomorrow (Saturday) and Sunday will be my first nights away from the baby. I suppose she is almost 9 months old, so it is probably about time, but I am going to miss her! I have a Leadership retreat which should be kind of fun. At least I am on the committee and not in the class. We are going to have a talent show Sunday night where the class will get in groups of 3 and perform. Should be fun times! Little bit will be with her daddy Saturday afternoon and possibly head to my parents that night. He has to work Sunday, so she will be with Grammy and Pops (and Aunt Alli) on Sunday. I will come home Monday afternoon/early evening and enjoy my little one! I should finish my work so I can be awake with her in the morning!

Sweet song

2009-09-20T22:16:00.004-04:00

I just happened upon this song the other day. I am sure it wasn't written about a relationship with a child, but most of the words still apply!

Martina McBride sings the song:

I Just Call You Mine lyrics
Songwriters: Cates, Jess Clayton; Lacy, Ty; Matkosky, Dennis;
I pinch myself sometimes to make sure
I'm not in a dream, that's how it seems
I close my eyes and breathe in the sweetest moments
I've ever known, it feels like home

And here I am, I wanna be your everything
There you are turning winter into spring

And everyone that sees you always wants to know you
And everyone that knows you always has a smile
You're a standing ovation after years of waiting
For a chance to fall and shine
Everyone calls you amazing yeah, I just call you mine

I fall apart and just a word from you somehow seems to fix
Whatever's wrong, oh, you reach into the weakest moments
And remind me that I'm strong, you've gotta know
I'd be a fool not to see or even worse
To forget that you're more than I deserved

'Cause everyone that sees you always wants to know you
And everyone that knows you always has a smile
You're a standing ovation after years of waiting
For a chance to fall and shine
Everyone calls you amazing, I just call you mine

Nothing makes sense when you're not here
As it my whole world disappears
Without you what's the point of anything?

'Cause everyone that sees you always wants to know you
And everyone that knows you always has a smile
You're the dream that I've been chasing after years of waiting
For a chance to fall and shine
Everyone calls you amazing, I just call you mine
Everyone calls you amazing, yeah, yeah, I just call you mine

© EMI APRIL MUSIC INC.; KARLES MUSIC; TY ME A RIVER MUSIC;

NOTE: So, I was going to try to get this song to play on the blog, but it is getting late and I am not that savvy at the moment!

Adorable New Trick

2009-09-18T13:23:00.004-04:00

Yesterday mom was getting ready to leave. Makenna has been making this clicking noise with her tongue. Mom was blowing her kisses and she replied with the clicking of the tongue. So, mom would blow more kisses and Makenna would respond with more tongue clicks. It was adorable! She continued the new trick with me and Robert last night. We'll have to get it on video and post it. (sigh) What a big girl we have! And love her to pieces!

One day cold?

2009-09-17T21:19:00.003-04:00

I'm not so sure she had a cold. No runny nose today. Crazy. But, now Robert has a sore throat. Here we go! I'm off to see if I can log onto the network at work - just in case I have to work from home because of the H1N1. I suppose you should always have a plan!

Little one is sick

2009-09-16T21:34:00.003-04:00

I suppose that 8 (and almost a half) months is pretty good without an ear infection, runny nose, fever, etc. But, it was too good to last! There was one time that mom took Makenna's temp and it said slight fever, but we haven't duplicated it, so I'm not sure that she is running a constant fever. But, we have a runny nose and some sneezing. I haven't noticed coughing since I have been home. She woke up multiple times in the middle of the night last night, but always seemed to get back to sleep. I finally got up with her at 4:30 or 5 - I can't remember! She was in a really good mood - it just seemed she had trouble breathing every now and again. I tried the blue bulb thing from the hospital - she was not a fan. I got Robert up to help try to get some saline in her nose, but that didn't work. I tried putting her in bed with us with her head elevated, but she couldn't get comfortable. Finally, I held her and swayed with her until she settled and then snuck her back to her bed. We were up until 6:15 - only 15 minutes until my alarm - so I got a nice 15 minute nap. Needless to say, I am off to bed. Hopefully little bit feels better soon!

The Lake

2009-09-07T11:54:00.006-04:00

Just a few pics - I am supposed to be cleaning the office! :-) She loved the water - the boat ride after she fell asleep. She was so tired and fighting it!

8 Months

2009-09-05T21:13:00.006-04:00

Happy 8 month Birthday, Beautiful!

Robert has the weekend off, not Monday, but Sat. and Sun. Today was chore day - he cut the grass and I have destroyed the office with papers - stuff that needs to be shredded and stuff that needs to be filed away. Hopefully I can get this taken care of Monday! Or at least picked up so I can start again sometime!

I ordered Makenna Sop.hie the Gira.ffe - it is this rubber teething toy. It finally came today! I was excited. I think Makenna likes her too! She must be trying to work on some teeth - I am not sure which ones, but she's been a little more fussy, not quite as hungry and chewing on everything!

We took her to a church just up the road to play on the playground. I assumed they had a swing, but they did not. So, we went down the slides. We sent her down the small one by herself and I don't think she liked that as much. She did like "jumping" on the bridge.

We're off to the lake tomorrow to celebrate Uncle Jamie's birthday. I'm sure we'll have more pics to post - at some point!

Aunt Alli gave Makenna a duck bathtub - here are a couple from the first time she used it:

Watching the rain:

Chewing on the string and blue eyes:

Me and Daddy:

Me and Mommy:

Yummy Soph.ie:

Smile for the camera:

Yummy Soph.ie Still:

Me and Daddy again:

Pancakes

2009-08-29T12:42:00.003-04:00

I still haven't had a chance to upload the video of Makenna crawling. Someday. This morning we had pancakes and bacon for breakfast. I made a small pancake for Makenna (without butter and syrup of course)! I think she liked it (although Bailey ate most of it as a lot ended up on the floor!):

Little bit just woke up from her name - is it 12:45 and she went down at 11. Must have been sleepy. Now it's time to eat!

And She's Off - Part 1

2009-08-17T20:50:00.002-04:00

Well, the little one has learned to crawl. I'll have to post a video later - I don't have time to mess with it right now. It was too funny one of the first times I watched her - she was on one knee and using the other foot. She still tries to get around that way sometimes. And now that she has mastered that task she is trying to stand up. Rather, she pulls herself up pretty well using people and other objects. And after she pulls herself up she has started to let go and stand - by herself. I think we're in trouble!

I think she is cutting more teeth. She has been rather irritable and not sleeping as good. We'll see.

Happy 7 Month Birthday

2009-08-05T21:41:00.004-04:00

Today Makenna is 7 months old. I am not quite sure where July went, but August is already here. We haven't seen any new teeth, but the two that are there are more obvious everyday. She is now babbling "dadadada" - of course she doesn't know what she is saying just yet! She is trying to crawl, but can't quite get it down yet. And a temper - she gets frustrated very easily! When on the floor with her you become a jungle gym. And she loves to jump. She can get her Exer.causer going pretty good as well as the door jumper and she even likes to jump while you are holding her. Here are the pictures in the chair - note no Bo.ppy this month! :) What a big girl.

And here she is in the outfit from Auntie Barbie and shoes from Carolyn, Alyssa and Nicholas.

2009-08-05T00:31:00.003-04:00

Here is some info that Carmen and I answered mostly together on our main political views.

My Political Views
I am a centrist moderate social authoritarian
Right: 0.83, Authoritarian: 3.48

Political Spectrum Quiz

My Foreign Policy Views
Score: 3.98

Political Spectrum Quiz

My Culture War Stance
Score: 5.29

Political Spectrum Quiz

Ba.by Legs

2009-08-02T14:20:00.012-04:00

A couple of weeks ago Robert came across this deal for something called Ba.by Legs. Here is the link to their Website. You can put them on the baby to keep them warm and you don't have to bother taking pants off while changing.

Here she is in her Ba.by Legs:

Video of Baby Giggles

2009-07-26T21:36:00.003-04:00

Enjoy the short video of Makenna on a giggle spree. Keep in mind that prior to grabbing the camera she was laughing hard enough that she was having trouble breathing and when we got the camera she still had the energy and breath to continue to laugh more so that we could share it with you! It was a memorable moment and wonderful to hear her enjoying life!

Much Anticipated Rhode Island Pics

2009-07-25T16:04:00.011-04:00

In other news - Makenna has learned to sit up! And she does such a good job. We'll have to post some videos soon, but they take so long to upload it may be a couple of days! Until then - here are a bunch of pictures from our trip. Aunt Alli has the airplane pics, so we'll post those later.
Playing outside in Auntie Barbie's backyard - the weather was so nice that day:

Eating and wacthing the Red Sox:

Carolyn and Alyssa:

Aunt Alli:

4 Generation - Hands:

On a walk:

Nanny:

Auntie Barbie:

Alyssa and Nicholas:

At the pool - too cold to go in:

Mom and Allison:

4 Generations:

Us with Kenny, Donna, Christopher and Auntie Barbie:

Us with Kimberly, Scott, Nancy, Carolyn, Alyssa, Nicholas, and Auntie Barbie:

Rocky (aka Freddy), Camryn and Conner:

Sandra and Auntie Barbara:

Sandra and BJ:

Aunt Sally and Auntie Barbara:

Carousel:

6 month stats, vacation and we have teeth!

2009-07-19T21:53:00.006-04:00

Makenna and I went to Rhode Island last week with Grammy, Nanny and Aunt Alli. Aunt Alli left early to go on a cruise - we're jealous. We had a good time visiting family. Makenna was wonderful on the plane - she fussed a little on the flight up as we were ascending, but she nursed and took a nap. We didn't make it off the ground on the return flight before she was nursing/napping. She was such a good girl the whole week, but I will say it is not fun traveling with a baby through airports. Thankfully we didn't run into problems, but the amount of stuff that you have to take with you!

We visited with lots of family. Makenna loved playing with the kids. They would get on the floor and play with her. She had a ball. The weather there was nice until the last two days. They have had a rainy/cool summer this year. Thankfully it stayed that way much of our vacation since most do not have central air. Makenna and I "played" outside a couple of times. We sat in the grass and watched the leaves wave at us. We took a walk to the park one afternoon and went to the mall another. I had her in the Baby Bj.orn through the mall and she had a blast - she was waving her arms cooing the entire time. (Robert doesn't think it is so great that she liked the mall! Leave it to daddy to think that way!) It was a nice week with no deadlines and no agenda - one of the best kinds of vacation!

Just before we left, we went to the doctor for her check-up. She is now 27 inches (90th %tile)and 14 lbs. 15 oz. (50th %tile). I was also 27 inches at 6 months - however, I was much chunkier at 17 lbs., 4 oz. Crazy! We got the go ahead to move to solids - which we had kind of started anyway. She has now had bananas, green beans, applesauce, and winter squash. She now likes the bananas and is pretty good with the applesauce and winter squash. She could do without the green beans. I'll probably try sweet potato or carrots next. We'll hold off on green beans again for a while. She also moved up to oatmeal although she doesn't seem to mind either (rice or oatmeal). HOpefully soon I can find some time to make some of her food. I have been pretty picky with the foods I've given her - they only have the fruit/veggie plus water - no additional "stuff." I know I won't always be able to "protect" her, but I don't think making the food will be that difficult, so may as well try.

Tomorrow will be the first time Robert feeds her - since I have started her on breakfast. Next week we may go to lunch as well. She does pretty good, but sometimes sticks her hands in her mouth - he is not going to like that part!

Finally, the teeth part. We were waiting for the dr. to come in during her check-up and I felt in Makenna's mouth. Her left bottom front tooth was about to pop through. Everyday I can feel it more and then while in Rhode Island I felt the right one. They have both broken the skin, so that is good. They don't seem to bother her too much - every now and again I think she is uncomfortable, but she has done really well. They haven't bothered either of us during nursing - so another plus! I haven't caught them on camera yet, but we'll keep trying.

It is late and I need to get to bed - I'll get pictures up next time. Back to the grind in the am. :(

Bananas

2009-07-06T21:18:00.002-04:00

I mashed up some bananas for Makenna tonight. Here were the results:

Happy 6 Month Birthday!

2009-07-05T20:53:00.004-04:00

Half a year has past. We go to the dr. on Thursday and will update with the latest stats. And then Makenna's first plane ride on Friday! Hope she does okay. Here are the pictures:

Happy 4th!

2009-07-04T10:05:00.006-04:00

These are not "officially" from the 4th, but she's a cutie anyway! I'm sure we'll have more later.

We bought Makenna a pool yesterday. She didn't like her first experience because the water was still cold. We'll have to make sure we warm it up next time! Robert had adjusted the sound on the video camera, so you can't hear very well. We'll work on that for next time!

Bad blogger

2009-06-26T18:26:00.004-04:00

I know - it has almost been a month since the last update. Next week will already be time to update the "birthday" pictures! I can't believe she is almost 6 months old. That is crazy!

She is rolling all over these days and if she only pushed up a little, she would be sitting. She now likes to roll on her side, balance and look up at you. Too cute.

She is still getting cereal once a day. We haven't tried anything else. I am probably going to wait until after our trip.

The girls trip to Rhode Island is coming soon. I haven't been to visit in years - probably since I was in college. It will be nice to see everyone. We are looking forward to seeing family and showing off the little one.

I think we are doing a bad job of taking pictures these days. I suppose that happens. But, here are a couple from the past few weeks:

5 Month Princess

2009-06-05T22:56:00.010-04:00

Can you believe today is Makenna's 5 month birthday? Already 5 months old. It is amazing the things she can do - roll over in both directions, grab for toys and able to pick them up, she can sit in the exer.caucer and jumper. She lunges for Bailey and loves to watch her move around. Here are the 5 month pics - everything goes straight to the mouth these days - that didn't take long!:

The other day Robert made some comment about Makenna being a princess, so I got out my tiara from our wedding. What a princess!

Finally, we went to this store to pick up some charms to finish my Mother's Day Brigh.ton bracelet at a store called Horsetown - you can guess what they sell. Here is a pic from the store:

Swimming in poo and Anniversary weekend

2009-05-31T22:12:00.009-04:00

Most of you have probably heard of the poo story, but for those who haven't, I had to share. (Makenna will hate me!) As of Thursday Makenna had not done #2 since Sunday. Since we were going out of town for the night Saturday, I figured we should call the dr. and see what they thought. Apparently even though you read breastfed babies sometimes go a week without a #2, our dr. doesn't like them to go more than 3 or 4 days. So, off to Wal.ly World I went. I found some prune juice, brought it home, shook it up, opened it and shook it some more. Put it in the fridge and before mom had left, Makenna had a little #2 in her diaper. So, no prune juice. Why in the world subject her to such yucky stuff if not necessary. Robert had the day off on Friday and I got a phone call asking if I had given her any juice and as stated above, that was a negative. However, this is what happened:

She looks so proud! ;)

I thought it was kind of funny (still do). Robert did not (still doesn't)! :)

Friday was our 5 year anniversary. Since the town we live in has a Longho.rn and Apple'bees - we headed to A-T-L for dinner. Jamie and Carrie Ann watched Makenna at their place - well that is where we dropped her off and picked her up. Here is what they did while we were gone:

And Uncle Jamie's favorite (he's trying to teach her early!) :)

That looks like a cool park - wish we had one like it closer to us! Thanks for watching her!

On Saturday the whole family (including Bailey) headed to Greenville to see friends. Robert had someone recreate the top two layers of our wedding cake that he surprised me with that night. Some of our friends brought over some champagne and they made us link and drink like on our wedding day. We didn't do it very well the first time and my laughing got in the way this time, but we figured it out. Thankfully we didn't have to feed each other cake - Robert almost wasn't nice the first time, he wouldn't have been nice this time! We had a great time visiting and introducing everyone to our little girl. Thanks for hanging out - we had a great time. Some of our friends left before the picture - sorry you missed it!

Well, I need to head to bed. Makenna did wonderfully in the hotel (unlike last time) however, the dog was a little nervous, so not much sleep! Unfourtunately tomorrow is the first day of month end close. Hopefully I don't run into problems and it is a normal day!

Much anticipated videos - I thought

2009-05-19T21:59:00.014-04:00

Well, I have tried multiple times to upload videos to this blog, but it is not working. It takes FOREVER and then it fails. Crazy.

So, to make up for it, here are some pictures:

KNOCK ON WOOD.....Makenna has been sleeping through the night for almost 2 weeks! I am still getting up once to pump, but she goes down a little after 8:30 pm and then wakes up to feed at 6am. She then goes back to sleep until 9 or later - most days. That is really nice when it comes to the weekend!

Tomorrow is our 5 year anniversary and Saturday we are off to visit friends in Greenville. We can't wait to see everyone and show off our little girl! :)

We've been busy

2009-05-18T09:19:00.003-04:00

Last weekend was busy! Last week my mom, Makenna and I headed to Greenville for one night. I know I didn't let anyone know I was coming and it was probably a good thing! By the time we got there, I had to feed Makenna and then mom and I headed to dinner. It was then time to feed Makenna again and put her to bed. She had slept the entire ride up, but seemed to want to go to bed at her normal time. So, I was feeding her and she fell asleep during Gr.ey's. However at 10 pm ..PING.. and the eyes were wide open. Needless to say, she "slept" in bed with me that night. It wasn't a good sleeping night! She was then fussy most of the morning for mom while I was in a meeting. I called mom to pick me up from my meetings, we packed up our stuff and had lunch with Katie. I really thought about dropping in on friends, but Makenna was worn out from the night before and fighting sleep, so Robert and I will have to make it up that way one weekend...SOON!

Makenna and I stayed the night with my parents that Friday because we had two graduation parties on Saturday. Even though we were in the car off and on that day, she was perfect! We had fun visiting with family too! We all stayed at mom and dad's that night since Mother's Day was the next day.

We went to breakfast that morning and hung out at mom and dad's for a bit. Allison wasn't able to join us for breakfast, so we waited until she got home before we left. All in all, it was a good weekend, but so busy!

This weekend we went out on Saturday, but Makenna and I stayed home yesterday. Thankfully we slept in a bit and hung out while it rained. Last night after Robert got home from work, the little one laughed! She has done it a couple of times, but last night was funny. We'll try to get it on video. Which I have promised to post in the past, but never have. I'll try to be better!

I better get going.

4 Month Stats

2009-05-05T21:06:00.003-04:00

Today is Makenna's 4 month birthday. How time flies. We had a dr. appointment today. She now weighs 13 lbs. 10 oz. - 50th% and is 25 inches "tall" - 90th%. So she is tall and skinny at the moment! She showed off her crunches to the dr. :)

The dr. said to hold off on solids - her skin appears dry and apparently those babies that show signs of eczema tend to have food allergies. So we'll wait a bit for cereal.

She had one shot and the oral vaccine today. She didn't scream for near as long this time and once I held her a minute she even smiled and cooed at the nurse. What a sweet baby! Here are the 4 month pictures:

Pen.nys Pics

2009-05-03T18:16:00.003-04:00

We had some pics done at Pen.ny's - I think I mentioned that in a previous post. Here are some of my fav's. (This is the Christening dress that my mom wore - as well as my sister and myself.)

Headband pics

2009-04-27T19:57:00.005-04:00

I found this website on another blog that I follow where they make little girl hair accessories. I purchased a couple of headbands. I think the bow is a little big now, but she'll grow into it! I also got black and pink. That should cover her for now!

For those with girls her site is: www.littlemissfancy.com

She had her pics done at Pen.ny's again. They weren't as good this time. I'll have to post a couple soon. And she had them done locally again (to do her watch me grow book). I like these a lot more than Pen/ny's - they are just so expensive. Unfortunately I don't have those electronically. Oh well!

I need to go get the little one up so she will sleep tonight!

New Milestones for makenna

2009-04-25T01:03:00.002-04:00

It is kinda nice (at times) that I am working retail at the moment. It allows for days off during the week that I get to spend with makenna and allows Carmen times on the weekends that are just for her and Makenna. That said -- we each see things at different times. Last week for instance - I put Makenna on her back and then took the diaper bag to the car (we were going to get her 3 month pics taken) - when I returned she was on her stomach....so Yes - great I was home when she first rolled over on her own -- but did not even get to see it. A few days later - Carmen saw her roll over one evening. So I was there for the first one but Carmen saw it first and I was the first to get it on video the following day when i had the day off and was home with her.

Sometimes she is extremely fussy but most of the time she is a lot of fun. She is starting to flip over more consistently now and gets frustrated when she can't get over -- I think she may lack some patience (wonder where she gets that from) at times!

At any rate - no new pics at the moment -- guess we'll try to add some more soon. And who knows = maybe a video or two.

New normal

2009-04-16T20:58:00.014-04:00

Wow - tomorrow will be the end of three weeks that I have been back at work. How time flies. I will say that the anticipation of going back was worse than being there. I work with a good group of people and I have a ton of respect for my manager - and he takes good care of me - so if I have to go to work - this is a good place to be.

Just before I went back there were a couple of nights that Makenna would go to bed around 9 and not get up until 5 or so. Too bad that didn't last! We try to get feeding/bedtime to be 9pm, but the past couple of nights we start at 8:30 - she just can't make it much longer! I am then getting up just after midnight to pump and she gets up around 3:30 (sometimes earlier) to feed again. I then feed her again before I go to work. I sometimes make it home for lunch and if so, I am able to feed her. All in all the pumping/feeding is going well. We'll keep going until it doesn't work.

Enough boring stuff - you just want to see the baby! Here are a couple of new pictures. Of course we had to go to the mall and have her picture taken with the Easter Bunny - she wouldn't smile for anything:

My mom and sister took some in her Easter dress with bunny ears and then a bunny from my Nanny:

I forgot - here is her picture on her 3 month birthday:

Since I am using an alternative vac.cination schedule, she had shots at 3 months. That night she found her thumb! I haven't seen her use it quite as much as she did that night, but it sometimes finds its way back in there!

Pictures from daddy time (when mommy was at work and daddy had the day off):

Getting dressed and Makenna's Easter dress before the mall bunny visit:

Today we took Makenna to get her 3 month pictures made. Tomorrow mom and I will take her to Penn.ys for more! The studio we take her to locally costs way too much to buy from them every time - but they have this option of a hardback book for the first year. Anyway, she had pictures in the Christening outfit both my mom and I wore. I can't wait to see them. Anyway, Robert was putting the diaper bag in the car. (I was at work.) When he left Makenna was on her back and when he came back in she was on her belly. The first time she rolls over and no one was there to see it! I tried all night, but she won't do it again! And I am still waiting to hear the laugh out loud. I can't wait!

I think this is long enough! Have a great weekend!

The new four letter word in our house...

2009-03-27T21:51:00.006-04:00

WORK!

Oh my goodness I can't believe I go back on Monday. I am so thankful to have had these 12 weeks home with my precious little girl. It has been a bittersweet week - trying to cherish the moments we had left knowing next week I will have such limited time with her. I have cried. Many times. And am starting all over again. Ugh! I can't remember the last time I have cried so much!

We are also blessed to have the best child care available - my mom. I know she will be well taken care of - it is just hard to imagine most of my day will be spent away from her.

Just when it starts getting fun I have to leave. Who would want to leave this?

In her cool shades (that I got for her Easter basket):

And one with Bailey:

Another thing she has learned lately - picking her head up. (Robert calls it her crunches - she is better than me!) Silly baby. She should enjoy resting while she can! She even tries this in her car seat.

And holding a rattle. I think she understands that she is shaking it. She pokes herself in the eye sometimes and tries to bite the ears.

And the Aunt Alli look: (Robert finally got it on camera)

*Sigh* I will post when I can, but my time in the evenings are going to be spent loving on my child. I suppose there are always the weekends! Don't worry, I love to show off the baby - so we won't disappear! I am off to bed - I need my rest before the big day.

St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-17T16:35:00.004-04:00

Just had to share some pictures of the baby. We had just found out we were pregnant when I went to Ireland for work. A week later, Robert joined me and we had a great time traveling the country. Probably the last time we will have that opportunity for a long time! Anyway, we picked up this bib for our special little one - since we didn't know the gender at the time. They had adorable girl outfits, but we didn't want to take the chance.

And, here is her cute shirt and headband (a little big, but really cute) from Aunt CA and Uncle Jamie:

Time Change

2009-03-12T11:14:00.003-04:00

The time change has seriously messed us up! I have gotten into a bad habit of the morning feeding to occur in our bed while laying down. That means both me and Makenna fall back asleep! Not such a bad thing when we were both getting up around 9:30. However, since the time change this has moved to 10:30!! Not a good thing since I start back to work in 2 weeks.

Work has become a four letter word - I'm already thinking about how things are going to change. I am going to try to continue to enjoy every minute I have with the precious baby, but I also need to prepare myself for the four letter word!

We were finally able to catch one of Makenna's beautiful smiles on camera:

Robert's mom and fiance came to visit over the weekend. Here are a couple of pics from Stone Mountain:
The Mountain

Lori and Stan

Makenna on the train

Me and Makenna

2 Months Old

2009-03-06T11:15:00.003-05:00

I can't believe she is already 2 months old. Here are a couple of pictures in the glider with the Boppy. However, she had her 2 month appointment yesterday and had a shot, so that and the Tyl.enol made her very tired! She had just woken up and was not stretching out her legs! She slept most of the day and still slept last night - thank goodness! We are doing an alternative vac.cination schedule, so she will have to go back next month for two shots. That will continue for a number of months.

Her new "stats"
Weight - 11 lbs. 7 oz. - 75%
Length - 23.5 in. - 80%
Head - 15 in. - 50%

So, no matter what Robert says - she does not have a big head!

Pictures

2009-03-03T11:36:00.007-05:00

I know, I still haven't posted any videos. But, here are a couple of pictures.

We had snow here over the weekend. There is still some on the ground at the house, so I took a picture of Makenna in her bear suit and bouncy chair!

We also took one yesterday at Grammy and Pop's on the deck.

Most mornings after Makenna eats, we have Mommy time. I will sit her in the bouncy chair and we talk. Well, I talk and make funny faces and Makenna smiles and will "talk" back to me. Usually the rest of the day she isn't quite as happy, so I enjoy the time in the mornings. I am going to miss this in a couple of weeks!

I promise she's laughing! Silently - it is funny!

Time is Right and Smiles

2009-02-25T18:55:00.003-05:00

Last night Makenna slept in her bed in her own bedroom for the first time. She has been in our room since we brought her home. It makes me sad that she is getting so big. She did pretty well. I have to say our room was so quiet. I took the floor fan from our room and put it in her's for the night, so it was much quieter than I am used to. Thankfully mom let me have another fan for Makenna's room and we can have ours back! Hopefully soon we can get Makenna on a better schedule. For some reason she wants to take her 5 hour non-feeding stretch after the 7/8/9 pm feeding instead of taking one more and sleeping until morning. Oh well. We'll get there!

She has started to smile. I have learned that when she starts fussing after 7 am that it is time to get up - she doesn't want to be in bed any longer. If you try to force her to sleep, she continues to fuss. So, it is much easier to just get up! And then she will smile and "talk" for a while. It is great fun. I haven't been able to catch a smile on our camera, but do have a video. I'll have to learn how to save those to the computer - rather I need to find the cords to do so - and will post at some point.

I'm off to eat some dinner.

Good Friends

2009-02-15T16:25:00.006-05:00

We had some friends from Greenville come down for a night. They were so great - they brought stuff to make dinner last night and pancakes this morning. It was nice to see them, hang out and catch up. There's nothing like good friends! They have a little boy that will be one next month. He loved baby Makenna. And Makenna was on her best behavior, so she must have liked him too!

Here is a picture of their little one who fell asleep in the jumper. He was so tired!

Makenna had her pictures taken on Friday. That was fun! There are a number of pictures that they typically take with the baby undressed and sans diaper. Well, Makenna peed on their towels, pooped on me (including my white shirt - it came out), pooped on Robert's arm (he had to go to work after, so thankfully not on his shirt, but it was black, so it wouldn't have been quite as noticable), and I think she peed on something else as well. Not to mention the poop also got on some of their blankets and the floor! Oh well. I'm sure they are used to it being that they photograph little ones! I was going to have her picture made in two dresses, but Makenna was quite fussy after changing her clothes, so we only did the one. The dress that Robert and I bought her is the one that made it. Mom let me hold on to the dress that I wore home from the hospital. I am thinking of going to JCPen.ny's and have her in my dress. Here is a picture I took at home of her in the little outfit. The photographer said the digital proofs will be available early next week. I'll post the link when I get it!

While Robert was at work the other night I went to my parents. Here is a picture of Makenna with Pops - he got her to stop fussing. I have a picture of myself in a similar position with my dad - I was a little older and I think we were on the floor, but similar none the less. Funny!

One Month

2009-02-06T18:13:00.004-05:00

Makenna is one month old. Here is a picture from yesterday:

We went to the dr. this morning. Makenna has been fussier than normal the past few days and has been spitting up, which she hadn't done. According to the nurse practitioner, they start to spit up more around this time. Who knew? She gave us a prescription for some reflux medicine. She said there was no sure way to know if she had it, but to try the medicine. Hopefully she feels better - it breaks your heart when they scream and it seems something doesn't feel good and nothing you do consoles them.

Apparently Makenna continues to eat well. They didn't make her get undressed this time, so the weight is with her outfit and a wet diaper, but she is now up to 10 lbs 6 oz. So maybe without the outfit and wet diaper closer to 10 lbs, but I would say that over 2 lb. weight gain is pretty good for 3.5 weeks. Next time we go she has to get shots. Yuck. I'm not sure how I feel about these combination shots. I know there is controversy and most kids are fine. I suppose you just have to do it - I don't have the time or knowledge to do the research. (yes, I have the Vac.cine book by Dr. S.ears, but in my opinion he thinks you should get all of them.) So, next month Makenna will be a pin cushion and I get to watch!

Pictures

2009-02-05T00:11:00.003-05:00

There hasn't been much to blog about lately. Makenna has been a little fussier than usual and I think her digestive system is still trying to regulate itself. I feel so bad because I can tell she doesn't feel well, but I can't seem to figure out what will make it better. We've tried My.licon drops, so hopefully that is the trick!

Here are some recent photos - I can't believe she will be a month old tomorrow (well, is a month old b/c of the time)! How time flies.

A cute cap that Sandra made for Makenna - there is a matching sweater, but we weren't going anywhere and she was not happy, so we'll take one of the entire set another time!

Me and my girls:

Actually, there is a funny story about Bailey. For some reason she always barks and gets in your face when you sneeze. She has always done this and we don't know why. Thankfully she does not do this to Makenna and recently she has stopped with me - maybe because I have Makenna most of the time feeding? Anyway, Robert and I were on the couch and Makenna was asleep in my lap. (Again, not feeling well, so we didn't move her.) Well, Robert sneezed and Bailey must not have seen Makenna because she comes running and jumps up on the couch on my side and steps all over the baby. I know it scared poor Bailey because she didn't make it to Robert's face. The poor thing! And of course, poor Makenna. Bailey is so light, she didn't hurt Makenna, she startled her a little - but not enough to wake her up! I loved on Bailey for a bit so she knew we weren't mad at her. Silly puppy (well, doggie)!

Holding her paci - yes, we finally gave in!

Thanks Uncle Jamie and Aunt CA for the CUTE outfit!

My follow up appointment

2009-01-26T21:26:00.002-05:00

I had my follow up appointment today. I thought I was going to have to go back in 3 weeks, but this was it. I go back this summer for my normal yearly visit.

Every time I went to the dr. while pregnant, I had sugar in my urine. Thankfully the glucose test came back fine, but I could even "fast" or not eat anything in the morning prior to an appointment and there would still be sugar. Crazy. Thankfully nothing was wrong with me or the baby! Today - obviously no longer pregnant - no sugar in my urine. Weird.

And, I am officially (by the dr. scale) down a little over 30 lbs! Which means I am at my pre-Metformin weight. However, the weight must be in a different place because I can't quite get my jeans buttoned. But, I do have at least one pair of non-maternity pants that fit. And of course the (non-maternity) stretchy exercise pants fit!

Today marks 3 weeks. I can't believe it - time is flying by. I am trying to enjoy every minute - even the fussy periods. There is just something about calming your own child. It sometimes takes a while, and yes it is sometimes frustrating not knowing what is bothering her, but she is still such a blessing. Speaking of - I think Makenna is hungry, so I need to run. We'll post some pictures soon! She is getting a little bit of hair - you still can't see it very well, but her head looks a little darker in pictures! :)

Projectile What you say????

2009-01-25T23:36:00.003-05:00

While we adore our little bundle of joy....there are some things you did not expect. Many will say that little boys will surprise you during changing if you dont watch out...they even sell little wee wee tee pees to help alleviate the showers!! But what they don't tell you is that little girls will get you too!

She always seems to know when you are not prepared for her little games! As soon as you finish wiping her down and reach for a diaper -- BOOM...she'll pee all over eerything...new changing pad, new outfit, rewipe, etc......but worse than that is the projectile poo!!! What's that you say?? Yes...I said it...projectile poo. It's just like the little boys peeing all over with a arc and everything ---- but worse because its poo. All over the changing pad, the clothes, and worse yet -- MY HANDS. I don't think I signed up for that part....and I don't think she nails Carmen with it nearly as much...which goes to show you that Robert must be changing his fair share (or more) of the diapers!

Just a warning....maybe its the breastfed ones only -- but nobody warns you about projectile poo so consider yourselves warned!

UPDATE: Wonder who wrote this entry! :)

Our exciting news of the day

2009-01-23T11:11:00.001-05:00

Only a new parent can get excited by this!

1. Makenna's umbilical cord stump finally fell off and we have a normal belly button! Now we can take a real bath!

2. My rings (engagement/wedding) now fit back on my hand!

What a gift

2009-01-21T16:04:00.003-05:00

It has been a little over two weeks and although I don't get much continuous sleep, I will say that having Makenna is such a gift. It is amazing to look at her and watch her change - even in this short time. How her perfectly formed features started to grow over 9 months ago. It is amazing.

We don't have anything new to report. She doesn't go back to the doctor until 2 months. I have my first follow up on Monday. We should be able to introduce the bottle soon. I may make an appointment next week to get that started. We have started to let her have a Soothie. She just likes to suck on something while trying to go to sleep. It hasn't seemed to affect the breastfeeding, so we'll go with it.

Today she hasn't seemed to want to sleep in her pack and play. She wants to be held while sleeping. All the books and magazines say you can't spoil a baby, but I don't know! All those things you said you would never do - I am sure I will eat many of my words! I'm off to try to get Makenna to sleep!

Miscellaneous Pictures

2009-01-15T21:31:00.005-05:00

It has been a couple of days since we posted pictures, so here is what Makenna has been up to lately - pretty much just sleeping (and eating)!

1st Doctors Appointment

2009-01-14T10:54:00.002-05:00

We had Makenna's first doctors appointment this morning. Note to self - don't make an appointment for first thing in the morning with a newborn - she had not yet eaten and didn't care that we were in the car. Thankfully we were a little early and Robert went in to fill out the paperwork and I sat in the car and fed Makenna for a bit. That was enough to tide her over!

She is doing well. She has a blocked tear duct, but we had already suspected that and had the dr. call in a prescription to prevent infection on Monday. She should out grow it, but may have yucky stuff in her eye for a while. Apparently she has strong head movement already - I could have told you this as I have to "fight" her strong muscles while trying to feed. Must explain the crick in my neck! She was actually very cooperative while the dr. was in with us. She started her screaming fit as we were trying to get her dressed. Oh well.

And the big news of the appointment - she has already surpassed her birth weight - she is now 7 lbs. 10 oz. She likes to eat!

I am off to get a nap - 7:30 was early this morning!