Can I get a "holler" please?

We three are living large. Highschool sweethearts. Married in the Newport Beach LDS Temple. Two kids. Taking life a day at a time!

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Updates and picture overload

Driving the "rental car" at the Brea Mall is a new fav!

My mom and me were watching tv, and she thought this was cute:



I love to drive my grandpa's monster truck!
Check out my blonde patch (near my left hand):




Crazy hair day:



Hanging out with dad out back:

Big girl status. Can I get this tub, mama? It fits just right!:


Walk time! Yay!:

Sometimes when my mom goes to the bathroom, I have to hang out in there with her (tmi). If I don't go with her, I get into too much trouble! Here I am in my ducky tub waiting ever so patiently!:

A day at the park with my family. Brrrr it was coldy!:


Disneyland time:

Daaaaaaaad, stoooooooop:

Our big little german girl:

Mom got a hair cut because I kept ripping her long hair out:

Bath time is fun!:

Modeling at Gymboree:

I love to swim!!!

One of my favorite people of all time is Uncle Jared or "Ga". He takes good care of me. He knows how much I love to be outside, so here I am in my walker tugging along with my Unc:

Cheeeeeese:

Rollin around doing my thang!:

One day, I will be a concert pianist! I love to pound on the piano keys!:

My friend Amara and me. We are just a few months apart. Good times in the YL5 mother's lounge:


Mckenzi is crawling. It's soooo cute. She started fake crawling like a month ago. Doing the backwards stuff, and crawling forward when she reaaaally wanted something. But a couple weeks ago, at 7 months, she started the real deal. The funny thing is, that same day, her first tooth poked through. Thank goodness for that! Although she's improved quite a bit since this video was taken over a week ago, you can see her crawling here.
Today we went swimming, and she was crazy about it. Watch her.

Funny things about Mckenzi:

-She loves drinking out of mommy and daddy's cups. Hates sippies and bottles. She's a master at doing it herself, and has been for months. Weird.

-Strangers always stop to stare or talk and play with her. It's ridiculous how many strangers reach out to hold her. It's like, hello, are you really reaching for my baby? Naturally my HAPPY daughter reaches back, with a GIANT smile on her face, and it makes their day. And then we laugh and continue on our way, pretending that a stranger didn't just try and hold our baby. AGAIN. :)

-It's rare if she's not belly laughing. You smile at her, she smiles back. And then she kicks it up a notch, and lays one right SMACK on your lips, for good measure. She's super easy. Yikes.

-Loves bath/shower time. Every day when she hears me turning on the shower, she starts kicking and laughing and talking up a storm.

-Says "dadda", waves "hi" and "bye", says "Ga" for Uncle Jared, and talks up a crazy storm. Her sentences and coversations have progressed from the once "da da da da" or "yayayaya" to "gaw boo mmm da da HA!" It's so cute spying on her, when she doesn't know anyone is watching. She has the most awesome conversations with her toys.

- Breathes heavily from her mouth, even though her nose is in perfect working order. So she always sounds like she's just run a marathon. Soooo funny.

- Will not put herself to sleep in her crib anymore. That lasted, oh, 4 days? She now believes the crib is just another play gym. As soon as she's in it, she rolls over, crawls to the edge, pulls herself up and stands at the edge smiling and yelling and growling, reminding us that she owns us. She is soooo smiley, it's difficult to discipline her during these times.

- Mckenzi HATED rice cereal and stage 1 baby food. Now that she's crawling and growing etc etc, I decided to give stage 2 foods a shot, even though we never really got the opportunity to see if she developed food allergies with stage 1 foods. Verdict: She LOVES stage 2 foods. I tried them straight (no rice cereal) for a few days, and she loved them, but I think they were too strong for her belly. I'm not sure though, because it was the same days that her tooth was threatening to cut. The day I stopped the straight baby food, was the day her tooth cut, so naturally she wasn't as fussy. So I gave the food a shot again after a couple of days, mixing it with rice cereal to dilute it a bit, and she still goes crazy for it. Meaning the girl won't stop and take a breath! She's obsessed with dinner flavors, specifically macaroni and cheese or chicken and veggies. She's not a big fan of chicken noodle, turkey rice, or beef vegetable. She definitely lets us know when it's dinner time. It's a different ferociousness than when she wants to nurse. It's like she thinks she's gonna die if she doesn't get dinner fast. Oh boy, drama queen!

- Going outside at any time of day will calm a Mckenzi storm of any caliber.

- Swimming and stoller walks are her favorite past times.

-If she's not being entertained, or if she doesn't constantly have a toy in her face, she is a total pill.

-She has mastered the fake cry.

-She loves watching people sing and dance on tv. Whatever she is doing, as soon as she hears the music, she turns her head and relaxes, zoning in to watch the program.

-Her current daily schedule:

7:30am Wake up & nurse

Play time for an hour and a half
9:00 Take a shower
Watch baby einstein while mom gets dressed
9:30 Eat
9:30-12 Nap
12:30 Eat

12:45 Get ready for the day

1:00 Get out of the house - swim, walk, play time, errands

3:30-5:00 Eat, Nap time

Play time with Daddy

6:30/7 Dinner time with big girl food

7:30 Nurse and bed time

This is just a typical day for Kenz. Sometimes she sleeps more, sometimes she sleeps best. I find that she's a better sleeper when I get her out of the house. If we play at home all day, she's a cranky mc crankster and doesn't nap well or sleep deeply at night.

We have so much to be thankful for. We're nearly debt free, we own our own home in beautiful Orange County, our family is healthy and growing, we have a stable income that provides us with a very fruitful life. We have the Gospel in our lives, providing us with all the necessary tools to excel in this life. We have the Savior as our example, the Holy Ghost as our guiding companion, and knowledge of the Atonement of Jesus Christ to not only remind us of our purpose, but to provide us with endless opportunities at shooting for eternal salvation and exaltation. Nothing means more to me than my family, specifically my little daughter and my husband. I am grateful to know that I will have Mckenzi with me eternally. I am challenged daily with heart wrenching, sickening thoughts of losing my little lady. Life without her seems as though it would be nearly impossible to live, so I am grateful to know that any seperation would only be temporary. Thoughts like this, about my family and the eternities, reminds me of those that have come before me, and my posterity that will follow me in this life. What a legacy we leave for those in our family tree. I hope to add something interesting to my family tree. If nothing else, I at least made a super cute kid to add to the legacy :)
Life is good. It's easy to focus in on what ISN'T perfect, and what could be better. I can't help but kick myself for getting consumed by what I'm lacking, instead of being consumed by all that I'm blessed with. So, I will try harder to be more thankful, more humble, and more aware of my blessings.

3 comments:

Emily said...

Wow, what a great schedule! I can't believe she is that old already and crawling! What a cutie!

Shelley said...

Oh my goodness Wendy. Can I just tell you how much I love to read about your adorable little girl?! I love the pictures and videos! It totally made me baby crazy again. Dang it.

shira said...

okay, can she get any cuter! i mean, c'mon...so adorable! i'm so stoked i got to hold her at janae's shower!