THE HARTNETT FAMILY

McKenna's Two Year Pics (by Aunt B) :)

2011-08-13T19:14:00.000-07:00

Before my sister came down to visit from San Francisco, we were chatting and I was telling her that I was an email away from booking a professional photographer to take pictures of McKenna...which by the way, was going to cost a small fortune. She informed me that she had recently bought a "fancy" camera and was willing to try taking pictures while she was down, if I wanted to give it a try. Well, I'm SO glad she was willing and able because her pictures turned out terrific! I am so pleased with so many of them that it's going to be hard to pick which ones to post!! I told her that she needs to start a business - I only wish she lived closer so I could give her name out to all my mommy friends :) We woke up early (as in, left the house before 6am for sunlight purposes) and shot away. I'm sure she took at least 500 pictures, and amazingly enough, McKenna was a pretty good sport. I think it helped that the photographer was her aunt, and the goofy background people were her mom and grandma :) We had a good time, and got so many wonderful pictures! I had them printed at a nice print shop downtown recently, and have them plastered all over the house - I LOVE them! Here's a preview....I have about 30 favorites...so this is hard.....

Some Special Visitor's From San Francisco.....

2011-08-02T18:18:00.000-07:00

My sister and her husband (aka Bri/Michael or Aunt B/Uncle M) flew in from California the day my brother left for his second wedding in Dallas, which was a bummer because they literally missed each other by hours. Bri and Michael also came to Texas for a wedding, which doubled as a mini vacation to see family and friends as well. Our time with them was much shorter because they were here a smaller amount of time, and were spread thin between our family, Michael's family, friends, and the wedding events.....but it was still SO great to see them! We had planned on going to Hamilton Pool, but unfortunately it was closed the day we had to spend with them, so we went to the neighborhood pool instead. That night we all went out to Pete's Piano Bar. Both mornings we had together, Bri, McKenna, Mom, and I got up at the crack of dawn and Bri took pictures of McKenna for us. They turned out amazing - Bri is so talented!! I'm going to post some of my favorites shortly......

McKenna with Aunt B and Uncle M

Hanging at the pool

Pete's Piano Bar

"Say Cheese!"

A Special Visitor From Seattle.....

2011-08-02T18:02:00.000-07:00

My brother (aka Marc/Uncle Bud) came down a few weeks ago for a friend's wedding in Austin, stayed a week, and then went to another friend's wedding in Dallas, which worked out perfectly for us because we got to see and hang out with him that week in between! He had only been to Austin one time before that, so we took him to do fun Austin things :) Mount Bonnell, Mayfield Park, Hula Hut, South Congress, Round Rock Express Game, Downtown/6th Street....and of course some fun Uncle/Niece things like the splashpad and pool :) It was great to see him! McKenna is still talking about "Uncle Bud" and singing him happy birthday on a daily basis since it was his birthday while he was here :)

Climbing up to the top of Mount Bonnell

At Mayfield Park

South Congress shops

Pool time :)

Helping blow out candles

Opening presents

Getting ready to go out to downtown!

Splashpad fun!

Round Rock Express Game

Hyatt Lost Pines Family Trip

2011-07-11T20:36:00.000-07:00

We took a mini vacation to The Hyatt Lost Pines Resort in Bastrop, TX this past week, and it was fantastic! We spent many hours in the lazy river, at the splash pad, playing in the sand, going down the water slide, visiting the animals, feeding the ducks, spending time alone without work, cell phones, and email - which

was much needed to reconnect as a family. McKenna's favorite place of all was the 15' diameter, 2' deep baby pool where she could "swim like a big girl" (aka without floaties, without being held, all by herself). One of the best parts of our room was that the bathroom was big enough for a crib (we borrowed from the resort) to fit inside - so she had a pitch dark, comfortable, sound proof (yes, we brought our box fan) place to sleep, and John and I could still be free to do what we wanted without having to worry about waking her up. We can definitely see many more vacations there - it was soooo nice that it was just an hour away...made for a painless drive home which was an added bonus!

Too big of a deal not to write about.....

2011-07-01T12:32:00.000-07:00

As many people know, I had a miscarriage last fall after being pregnant for about 10 weeks. It was devastating and took a long time to heal and move on from. (To read more about that experience, go here)
I ended up having a D&C and then having testing done to find out whether I have a blood clotting disorder that my sister was diagnosed with last year. This disorder, called Factor V Leiden (FVL) can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, slow fetal growth, preeclampsia, gestational hypertension (which I had with McKenna), and many other horrific things....so after the miscarriage in the fall, my sister's DVT the spring before that, and my dangerously high blood pressure with McKenna, my doctor decided I should be tested too. Ends up, I also have FVL. The plan was for the next time I got pregnant to go on Lovenox shots through the duration of the pregnancy and for six weeks postpartum to help prevent blood clots and anything of that nature affecting the baby. Well, we never got to see how/if the Lovenox would help, because I miscarried again last week before I even had the chance to start letting the injections help. I was only about 5 weeks along, but that definiately doesn't make it any less agonizing. It's been a painful process, and one that I wish I could figure out how to help. John and I are very ready to expand our family, and I think McKenna is going to make a great big sister one day. I have started taking a daily baby Aspirin and have been instructed to monitor my intake of Vitamin K (which has co verse effects on somebody who is already prone to blood clots) and we'll just see what happens. Trying to stay positive is definiately the hard part!

Trip to Illinois to visit Grammy!

2011-07-01T11:50:00.000-07:00

Two days after McKenna's birthday party, McKenna and I boarded a plane with my parents to go visit my grandma in Illinois. My grandma is a really special part of my life, and I really felt that I should take the opportunity before another baby comes one day to go visit her.....so off we went! We flew from Austin to Houston, and then Houston to St. Louis on the way up. After getting to St Louis, we still had to rent a car and drive another 3 hours....so let's just say, it was a LONG day. Unfortunately, that night, what my grandma called "the biggest storm since she's lived there" rolled in. McKenna was up for almost 5 hours, straight. 1-6am. That kinda put us on a bad sleeping pattern from the get go, so that made for a tough week. However, we did make the most of it, and all things considered McKenna was quite the trooper, and we really enjoyed getting to spend time with Grammy. We played at the park, went to New Salem to visit Abraham Lincoln's old town, saw some other relatives, played in the backyard, took walks....
Here are some pictures of the visit.

Looking at airplanes with Grandpa

Buckled up and ready to go!

Got three seats together on the short flight, unfortunately not to lucky on the long flight :(

Waiting for the shuttle bus to the rental car place

Swinging on Grammy's indoor swing - a highlight indeed!

Visiting with "Aunt Sug", my grandma's sister

Ashland, Ill is home to 1,350 people - it's a small farm town

Going up the gigantic metal slide with Grandma

Lovin' the merry go round!

One of the only original buildings Abraham Lincoln stepped foot in

Four generations!

"Checking Grammy's body"

Icecream, which is only appropriate since my grandma owned a Baskin Robbins for forever!

Grammy, Grandma, and a baby - what more could a girl want!

Helping Grammy water flowers :)

Reading books

I'm so glad I had to pay for her to have a seat on the plane....

McKenna is 2!!!

2011-07-01T11:27:00.000-07:00

My not-so-little girl turned two a few weeks ago!! I think she secretly thinks she's about 10. John and I got her a playscape for the backyard, and it took a ton of work to put together. John worked solid for two days and screw by screw and board by board, he got it put together, and McKenna absolutely loves it! Here are some pictures along the way......

We had her birthday on the actual day since it fell on a Saturday this year - it was a doggie theme, of course! We had friends and family over to the house from 10am-1pm for lots of doggie themed snacks, cake, games, and facepaint :) I had originally scheduled her party to start at 3pm, but since it was so hot, I moved the time about a week ahead, and everybody was still able to come - so it worked out perfectly!! The kids enjoyed playing outside on the new playscape, and I had a sand table, a tunnel, a basketball hoop, doggie shaped water guns, a ball pit, bubbles, and chalk for them to play with outside. We also had toys and coloring inside! McKenna had a great time, and we really appreciated everybody who came! Here are some pictures from the paw-ty!!

The sign we (Gigi and I) made for the front door :)

I had dog prints all over the walls of the house and outside on the garage door and fence!

Doggie plates and napkins

The take out window that had all the kids "doggie bags" in it

The precious cake my mom made and brought with her all the way from Houston!

A picture of McKenna with some gifts from the grandparents we let her open the night before

Blowing out the candle

McKenna and Syler in their doggie hats and painted faces! I was so impressed that all the kids were okay with it and actually liked wearing the hats!

Some of the other friends at the party....(there are so many pictures - I'll have to add more to facebook!)

School Days

2011-07-01T11:02:00.000-07:00

McKenna has been featured on her school blog quite a bit lately - I think it's so fun to get to see for myself what she's doing while she's there! She's still attending Good Earth Day School twice a week, Tuesday and Thursday mornings 8-1pm. This summer she is transitioning from the toddler group to the transitional pre-K group and seems to be loving the bigger room, bigger selection of toys, mix with some of the older kids, and the different "chores" and projects she gets to do :) Here are some pictures from the blog lately......

Eating tacos for lunch

Tissue paper turtle art

Group snack outside with some of the older kids

Her birthday celebration with the special crown and cape :)

Nothing new, but whew!

2011-06-30T20:45:00.000-07:00

Have I ever mentioned that McKenna is completely obsessed with her baby dolls?? I was looking through pictures that I took in June, and well, let's just say - they accompany us EVERYWHERE we go! None of the babies have a name so to speak, they are just very deliberately, "McKenna's baby", "Mommy's baby", "Gigi's baby", and "Daddy's baby" - and she doesn't get them mixed up, ever. She dotes on them, feeds them, cooks for them, puts them to sleep, gives them medi, brushes their "hair", puts pony tails around their heads (because she strongly dislikes any baby dolls with actual hair), changes their clothes, brushes their teeth.....it's absolutely her favorite thing to do! She's going to be a great big sister one day....and I think a pretty special Mommy too!

Long Time, No Post

2011-06-30T20:29:00.000-07:00

(So here is when I will frantically do my best to catch up with the rest of May, and all of June, because tomorrow is July! Yikes!!)

These are some pictures from the rest of the month of May - just lots of playdates indoors, lots of swimming, and trying to stay cool as the temperatures get closer and closer to 100+ degrees!

King of the castle!

Sliding into the pool with Jack :)

First pigtails!

Helping Mama clean up!

Loving the open gymnastics play!

Taking a break with a friend, Lucy

Train conductor

Fun in the sun with some neighbors :)

Celebrating Sydney's birthday with yummy cupcakes!

So proud of her floaty vest!

The calm before the crazy crowds at the splashpad

Another major thing that happened in May, was that McKenna got mono. Yes, even toddlers can get mono apparently. She had a consistent 102-104 fever for a week, no appetite, and a sore throat....but no funny rash, no cough, no runny nose, no diarrhea, nothing else.....and after testing for strep (negative), a UTI (negative)...the doctor suggested a blood test since she wasn't getting better....and low and behold, it came back positive for mono. So, that's wasn't fun....I took one picture of her laying down watching a movie. We watched a lot of TV that week because she was so fatigued and wanted to just lay around and do nothing.....it was terrible! On a good note, she shouldn't ever get it again which is nice because it's even worse in adults!

A Saturday Get-Away....

2011-05-06T20:07:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, we met John's parents at the Hyatt Lost Pines Resort in Bastrop for the day. John's dad was there for a conference, so it was really the perfect situation because we had a room to throw our stuff into and for McKenna to take a nap, but didn't have to pay for a thing! :) It was such an amazing place - I wish I had taken more pictures. It had great pools, a lazy river, a splashpad, a beach area, a baby pool, carriage rides, a playground, a small petting zoo, and even a 2 foot tall kids buffet at the restaurant. The entire place was geared towards kids which made it even better!!

Riding on the horse carriage with Gigi

Playing on the playground

Digging in the sand and watching "big kids" play

Taking off with Gigi's suitcase and her baby dolls in their swing

Giving Grandad a lesson on how the baby swing works :)

Waiting on Daddy to go get the truck to head home for the night - I love how she positioned her babies!

Easter Weekend

2011-05-06T19:54:00.000-07:00

We had a great Easter weekend this year! My parents came to visit from Katy and spent Friday through Sunday afternoon with us which included lots of Easter festivities.....

Coloring eggs: ie. throwing the eggs in the containers as quickly as possible, (cracking them of course), stirring with a spoon for a couple seconds, and digging them out and chunking them in the egg crate

She was very proud of her eggs and decided she wanted to try to eat one (with the shell!)

And after deciding the shell was nasty to eat, found poking the shell with your fingers is much more fun!

Next came the Easter egg hunt in the living room after naptime......she ran around like crazy, saying "egg! egg!" It was cute to watch her so excited to find the eggs and put them in her basket. I filled the eggs with raisins, cherrios, stickers, and tatoos :)

One in Grandpa's shoe

One on the windowsill

One in the couch cushions

Sorting them all out

Stopping for a snack

Carrying the basket like a purse with stickers all over :)

There are some pictures after Easter church on Sunday - my mom brought up this precious dress and hat for McKenna to wear :)

And these are some other fun pictures from the weekend of McKenna playing in "doggie wa wa" AKA the Clifford sprinkler from Grandma and Grandpa, and a T ball set

It was such a great weekend....and to top it off, my Dad helped John finish moving up our side fence which has nearly doubled the size of our backyard!!! Yay for more play area!

Yikes!! I almost have a 2 year old!

2011-05-06T19:20:00.000-07:00

I keep prepping McKenna for her birthday in about 5 weeks, and it's really cute because I will ask her how old she's going to be, and she holds up two fingers (which kinda looks like four because she can never quite keep the ring finger and pinky finger completely down) and says, "two". And then I ask her what kind of party we are going to have, and she says "doggie paw..ty". It's really crazy to me that she will be two. TWO. Seriously??!

Here are some things McKenna's been up to at 22 months...or almost 23 months I guess ;)

* She's very interested in the potty. She is no longer scared of it, but also doesn't quite get the concept of holding out to use the potty before going in her diaper. She seems to tell me she has to go just as she's done it. So, we spend a lot of time sitting on the potty chair, but going potty has actually only happened twice. I think she likes the concept of toilet paper and flushing better anyway! ;)
* She responds to almost any question I ask (where the answer is yes in her opinion) with "yes pease". It's super cute, and I'm proud of her for being so polite. She doesn't say thank you without prompting nearly as often, but she does occasionally, and it always makes me beam inside :)
* She can fill in the blank if you sing the ABCs and pause for different letters - if she sings on her own, she usually just repeats, "A, B, C, D" over and over again.
* Everytime we get in the car, she wants to look for "beep beeps, horseys, and doggies out the window.
* Her vocabulary is expanding like wild fire!! At 21 months, I wrote that she was saying about 40 words, and now it's easily 150. She says new words everyday now, and our communication is much improved. It's nice to actually be able to discuss, reason, and talk about things two-sided. She's putting sentences together constantly. The most I've heard at once is 4 words together, "More books please mommy".
* She is now calling both my parents by name!! She was able to say John's mom's name, Gigi, before, but now she calls Grandma, "Aaama", and Grandpa, "Aanpa". Grandad is still a little confusing because of the "dad" part.
* She is definitely into doing EVERYTHING by herself. Buckling her seatbelt, putting on shoes, brushing her hair, brushing her teeth, putting on lotion, washing her body, twisting on her sippy cup lid, feeding the dog....the list goes on and on.
* She refers to herself as "Me" and Brinkley now as "Binkey".
* She is getting more and more imaginative with her baby dolls. It's by far her favorite thing to do, and lately, since she has a double ear infection and has to be on medicine, she's been wanting to give her baby dolls "medi" so I cleaned out an old infants tylenol container and syringe, and that's been the best thing ever! She also got a small kitchen for Easter, so she's been cooking and feeding her babies food before putting them "nigh, night".
*She's still not a veggie fan, but will now at least eat cooked carrots, raw cucumber, and sometimes green beans.
*Her hair is FINALLY starting to grow and she's had her first teeny tiny pony tail :)

Gosh, I'm sure there are lots of things I'm missing - but I will continue with the updates as I think of them :)

Some New Pics - 21 months old

2011-04-08T18:42:00.000-07:00

Shopping at Lowes with Daddy!

Driving a tractor in the school play yard :)

Riding her first pony and LOVING it!! This was at her school festival a couple weekends ago.

Baking cookies with Mama :)

My sweet family! <3

Riding the dino with Daddy!

Sweetberry Farm

2011-04-08T18:25:00.000-07:00

I think that we've decided that we're going to make picking strawberries at Sweetberry Farm in Marble Falls an annual Hartnett tradition!! John took off last Friday and off we went :) The strawberries were fantastic! We quickly loaded up a carton and could have easily picked more. McKenna was really into "looking" for berries (which weren't hard to see at all!) and "helping" to put them in the carton. A few didn't make it and were squeezed to death as the picking was taking place. We also fed the goats which McKenna would have continued doing for hours if we had had an endless supply of food. She calls them "doats" and was patting her tummy for them to come over to her - too cute! It was a great little family trip - and only 45 minutes away!

Picture Update!

2011-03-19T18:12:00.000-07:00

It's pretty sad that I haven't posted any pictures in so long, so some of these date back about 6 weeks ago around Valentine's Day....but too cute to pass up! Here is at least a glimpse of some of the festivities and fun we've had going on lately!

McKenna & "Baby Hudson" - even though Hudson isn't really a baby anymore - McKenna calls anybody her age or younger a "baby".

McKenna, Cayden, Lucy, Baby Holly, and Minnie Mouse - our Monday morning playdate friends!

Valentine's Day....forever ago.

Sliding at a local park - distracted with school buses passing by!

I never dreamed she would actually stick her head through the hole and let me take a picture! Haha! This was at the San Antonio Rodeo. McKenna loved looking at all the animals, but would only pet the cow!

Riding the Zilker train with Grandma, Grandpa, and Daddy :)

Decked out in her cowgirl outfit that Gigi and Grandad bought her - now we just need a hat! ;)

Decked out in our Mardi Gras gear for John's 30th birthday party!

One of the goats at McKenna's school - we took Daddy up over spring break to visit :)

21 months OLD!!

2011-03-19T17:44:00.000-07:00

Has it really been that long??! McKenna turned 21 months old last week, and it's hard to imagine that we are quickly approaching the 2 year mark! Here are some of the latest daily activities/games/obsessions! :)

She loves to play “night night” with all her dolls and animals. Or even a cheese stick for that matter. Not long ago, at Olive Garden, she was pretending to put her cheese stick “nigh, night” with a napkin in the bread basket. I think our waiter thought we all had a few screws loose! Haha!

She is obsessed with cooking food in her mini microwave – we even had to explain that McKenna and Mama, and Daddy's food goes in the big microwave and only her baby’s food goes in the mini play microwave after she was caught putting a real hot dog in her play microwave.

She loves spotting bulldozers and other construction equipment while driving. She is always on the scout for “beep beeps”, “moos”, “neighs”, and “woofs”.

She is still obsessed with dogs – I’m planning on a “dog themed” 2nd birthday party.

She can't wait to finish all her food so that she can clear all her dishes after she eats and throw them in the sink (like they do at school). We’ve had a couple close calls with some glass items that have been in the sink when she tosses hers in!

She wants to copy and imitate everybody and everything. John found her an old cell phone clip so that she can wear her cell phone on her hip like Daddy - that made her very happy!!

She associates the computer with skyping and getting to see family members and especially likes to give Aunt B hugs on Skype by wrapping her arms around the computer monitor.

She never gets tired of reading books. I always have to limit her at night. I don’t think she’s ever reached her saturation point with books – one afternoon we nearly went through every book she owns in the living room, until….luckily I was saved by somebody knocking at the front door!

She is talking SO much more – says about 40 words now! Some of the words are clear as day and some are really hard to understand unless you know what she's talking about. For example, she calls "yogurt", "yoeee".

She loves to play outside, and gets upset everytime we pass by a park and don't stop. I've almost had to take alternate routes just to avoid a situation in the car. She loves to swing and loves to slide! She always says, "1, 2, 3......GO!" before sliding down which is cute!

She is still really enjoying Mother's Day Out at Good Earth. She loves her teacher, Miss Ellen, and always hugs her goodbye when I pick her up. Miss Ellen told me the other day that McKenna helped put all the other kids in her class down for their naps by covering them with their blankets and patting them on their backs, haha. I'm sure they loved that! (The other kids in her class are starting to lay down for naps when I pick McKenna up at 12:30pm). She has really started eating better at school and trying things that she would probably never eat at home. I think the peer pressure is helping in that department. She loves to help feed the kitties (which is her class's morning chore), and go visit the big animals (sheep, goats, pigs, and a donkey) at the farm next door. I'm so glad I enrolled her - it's been awesome for her and I!

She starting using a pillow for naps and bedtime - it's a little purple pillow my mom had made for her when she was born. It's pretty cute! She also likes to be covered up with a blanket (which I think is because the kids at school have blankets when they lay on their mats for nap).

She enjoys watching Clifford on TV - it's about the only show that she watches that keeps her attention and that she actually asks for....which I'm okay with because I really don't want her watching a ton of TV anyway!
She is wearing size 5 diapers (I just moved her up last week - size 4 still fit, but the extra room seems a little better around the waist), 24 month-2T pants, and 2T-3T shirts. I even had to buy her a size 4T swimsuit the other day for the length!!

It's so much fun to see her growing and learning everyday. It surprises me how much she loves to pretend and really understands the concept. I can see so many fun games of "house" and "teacher" in our future!
I will add some pictures of what we've been up to lately.....soon!

It's been 5 months....

2011-02-05T19:14:00.000-08:00

And the pain is still very fresh. Not a day goes by that I don't think about the news I was given that we were losing our baby. I had to have a D&C the first week of September, and at that time I was almost 10 weeks along with our second child. There is really nothing that can prepare somebody for news like this - thank goodness John was able to cancel his trip to Waco, and go to the doctor with me.

It's amazing to find out after something like this happens to you, that it's happened to lots of people you know, but never knew about. Miscarriage is a subject that nobody talks about or acknowledges which makes it all the more difficult to go through. This has definitely been one of the most painful experiences of my life. I know that the next time I am pregnant, God willing, that I won't take a moment for granted and that I will welcome the morning sickness with open arms. Since that horrific September day, I now look at McKenna with new eyes, and I don't get quite as frustrated thinking about that baby weight that is still lingering around my mid section.

It's very interesting how your perspective on life can change with one traumatic moment. I have much more sympathy for any woman who has lost a child, and I think I can appreciate the loss even more now that I have a child of my own. People throw around statistics like "one in five pregnancies end in miscarriage", which I guess is supposed to make you feel better. But, it doesn't. Most people have no idea how to cope with this type of loss, much less be supportive to somebody going through it, so I have decided to include this in my blog for that very reason. A friend of mine, who has recently experienced a miscarriage herself, has inspired me to talk about it. With permission, I have included an excerpt from her blog in my entry because in my opinion, there were some things she said, that I don't think I could say any better. I want to tell her thank you for helping me to heal and for inspiring me though her words...please read below on her perspective for what to say to somebody who is having a miscarriage. I agree 110%.

"You don't have to say much, but say something. It's bizarre to go through an emotionally and physically traumatizing experience while those around you are pretending it didn't happen. It's hard to know what to say, so a lot of people don't say anything at all. Or they might be afraid to bring up such an emotional topic in public. But one of the hard things about miscarriage is that there is so little acknowledgment of the loss. And the loneliness only grows when the people around you seem awkward in your presence. "We've been thinking of you," "So sorry to hear your news," or simply, "How are you doing?" goes a long way. Those can all open up a conversation if she is in the mood to talk, but if not, it's easy for her to say thanks and move along."

"Acknowledge her thoughts and feelings. Healing after a miscarriage is like going on a bear hunt: you've just got to go through it. And getting through it is a whole lot easier when you have friends and family who will listen without judgment. Offer condolences and try to understand what she has to say, but be careful not to interject your perspective too much. You may have some thoughts that make it easier for you to process it, but there is nothing you can say that will make her feel better. It can be hard to hear that everything happens for a reason when your baby just died."

"Don't shut her out. It's okay to invite her to happy hour or even a baby shower - just let her know that you don't want to exclude her but understand if she'd rather not. You don't have to pretend you're not pregnant, but you'll have to gauge how much baby talk she's comfortable with. A big no-no is complaining about the morning sickness or 3 a.m. feedings she aches to have. I am surrounded by pregnant women and new moms right now and it makes me feel hopeful. Doesn't mean I don't get teary when a picture of a friend's newborn arrives in my inbox, but what's the alternative? Stop celebrating life and enjoying the company of my friends? That hardly seems healthy, or fair. "

I know that April 4, 2011 will be a hard day for me, but I am hopeful that someday in the near future I can be excited about welcoming a new baby into our lives. Thanks for reading.

Snow Day 2011!!

2011-02-04T09:04:00.000-08:00

It snowed here in Austin this morning!! I can't believe McKenna has seen two snow days in her short little life! We of course had to bundle up and go outside to play....the snow wasn't up to snowman standards, so we settled for a snow castle instead. :)

First Day of School!! (Mother's Day Out)

2011-02-04T08:53:00.000-08:00

McKenna started a Mother's Day Out program at the Good Earth Day School this week. Her first day was Tuesday. I had been second guessing my decision to register her ever since I enrolled her a few weeks ago. I started to wonder if she was too young, if I should have waited, how she was going to like it, if she would cry....all those concerns I'm sure every parent has with a new adventure. But, I'm proud to say, it couldn't have gone better! McKenna is already loving her teacher Miss Ellen, and didn't cry at all the first day, even at drop off! I was shocked really, but so pleasantly surprised!! The program is Tuesday/Thursdays from 8-12:30pm. I called at 10:30am to check on her, and was told her hadn't shed one tear and was having a great time! I was so relieved!! I think this is right up her alley and the entire process is probably much harder on me than it is on her :) On her first day, they did shadow fingerplay, colored with bees wax crayons, painted, worked on self grooming by applying lotion to their face, hands, and legs and also attempted to comb their hair! Her class also read books, and played with sensory boxes filled with beans and pasta. I know she's going to learn and experience so many neat things at this school. It's a special place that really pushes the kids to use their imaginations. McKenna loves to say hi to the animals at the attached little farm next door - the school helps to raise goats, pigs, cats, and a donkey. Her class is in charge of feeding the cats and watering plants - it's so cute!! The Good Earth Day School also takes a lot of pride in the food they provide. Lots of organic things and some stuff grown in the garden outside - hopefully this will help McKenna to try new things....she's a pretty picky eater! Here's to hoping she continues to love school...and animals! John and I think going to A&M Vet school would be a perfect fit for her, haha!

McKenna 12 to 18 months

2011-01-22T13:03:00.001-08:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

Bri & Michael's Wedding 1/8/11

2011-01-18T19:14:00.000-08:00

Bri & Michael got married a little over a week ago, and it was a beautiful day! So many relatives flew in from out of state to help celebrate which was really something special. McKenna was the flower girl and preformed her duties well! :) I was so pleasantly surprised that she walked, or should I say, RAN, down the aisle, all by herself. We strategically placed John at the front and once she saw her Daddy, it was on! She raced down to him, which took all of 30 seconds, but it was precious! The wedding ceremony and the reception were great - Bri & Michael both looked so happy! I didn't take that many pictures...but here are a few.....

Happy New Year!!

2011-01-18T19:03:00.000-08:00

These were the first pictures taken of each of us in 2011! Cheers to the best year yet!

Ho, Ho, Ho!

2011-01-18T18:59:00.000-08:00

This Christmas was so much fun with McKenna! She was really into opening all her presents. It was cute to watch her tear off all the wrapping paper and then see her reaction to whatever present was inside. The theme for this Christmas seemed to be "dogs and baby dolls" which is totally appropriate because those are her two favorite things....although she was also very excited about the toy vacuum! We ended up spending about a week down in Katy/Houston with family. McKenna had a good time playing with her cousins, and we got to see lots of extended family that we don't see often enough. Santa was good to all!

These are some pictures of us opening presents at our house before leaving for our trip. The baby station, the toy vacuum, and the dog book were probably the biggest hits! I loved watching her reactions!!

While we were in Katy, McKenna "helped" Grandpa pick up leaves. She LOVED riding in the wheelbarrow - it was too cute!

We decided to take advantage of everybody being home, and take some traditional "porch shots". We have been taking porch shots for as long as I can remember. We always used to whine and complain as kids about having to take them, but boy is it fun to look back on how much everybody has changed!

These are some pictures of us opening presents at Grandma and Grandpa's house as well as GiGi and Grandad's house.....McKenna is one lucky girl!

18 months!

2011-01-01T19:57:00.000-08:00

I'm a little behind, but what's new?? I seem to have an on again, off again relationship with blogging! One of my New Year's resolutions is to get better at updating more often.

McKenna turned 18 months on December 11th and has really seemed to blossom in so many ways over the past few weeks.

These are some of her latest accomplishments:

- She has been saying "Dad" for a while now, but is finally saying "Mom" and very intentionally. She'll even be in another room and yell, "Mooooom!" I think it's cute that she doesn't say "Mama" or "Dada". It's very clearly, "Mom" and "Dad".
- She has given Brinkley, our golden retriever, a new name. She calls him "Bob". It's really funny!
- She is becoming much more independent and really wants to do everything by herself. She kind of freaks out if I try to help her on stairs or with using utensils.
- Speaking of utensils, she's obsessed with using a spoon or a fork for EVERYTHING! Today she was using a fork to eat toast, haha!
- She is very into her baby dolls. This includes putting diapers on them, pretending to feed them, take them on walks in her doll stroller, putting them to bed, dancing with them, singing with them....you name it. I have finally had to start setting the microwave timer when "Baby" goes to bed or she wants me to get Baby in and out of her crib every two seconds! I can already tell that she's going to be a great mommy one day :)
- She still LOVES dogs. It's the first word she says every morning. One of our favorite pastimes is to go to Petsmart to look at dogs or take Brinkley to a dog park.
- She likes to '"help" with whatever I might be doing. Laundry, dishes, vacuuming, watering plants, etc - she's actually a really great helper and follows instructions incredibly well.
- She tries to "read" everytime she sees letters/words....whether it be a store sign, an ingredient list, something on my shirt, a book, etc. Her vocabulary is still at about what it was a month ago, but I can tell that she really wants to talk. She says things all the time that I don't understand.
- She still loves to dance! It will be interesting to see her in action at my sister's wedding reception next weekend - hopefully we can get some cute flower girl/bride pics out on the dance floor :)
- She is still sleeping 12+ hours at night (7pm-7am-ish) and taking one very short nap during the day (40 min). I am trying to work on getting a little longer nap out of her. Lately, we've been doing sleep training. She was falling asleep on her own for months and then we got off track when we weaned from the bottle and replaced the feeding with rocking. I'm happy to report that the last few nights she's been going to sleep completely on her own again!
- She is still a pretty picky eater. She won't eat any vegetables besides sweet potatoes and hardly eats any meat. Hopefully she'll develop a taste for both over time.
- She's wearing 18mo-24mo clothing and size 4 diapers.
- She's been independently playing more these days. For a while there she seemed to need to be entertained, but I've noticed lately that if I kind of "sit back", she'll play on her own more than she ever has before.

Here are some of her latest pictures:

So Much To Be Thankful For....

2010-11-28T18:48:00.000-08:00

We spent our Thanksgiving in Spring this year with John's parents. It was great to see family, but we had some stressful evenings with McKenna sleeping. She is usually a really sound sleeper, rarely wakes up, and is out like a light between 7pm and 7am, but we had lots of midnight, 3am, and 5am wake up calls. Needless to say, I'm happy that we are back home and she has her crib to sleep in. I think she's just so much more aware of not being home in her bed, it makes it hard. Hopefully soon, spending the night away from home won't be scary and will become more of an adventure!

The "Big Kid" Table

The "Little Kid" Table

Each of the kids traced their hand to mark which chair they sat in :)

McKenna with her Aunt Laura and cousin Kaylee

McKenna with Uncle Johnathan

McKenna chowing down on coolwhip dessert!

Westley and McKenna are almost exactly a month apart...

Blake eating dessert

Kaylee with her Thanksgiving art from school

Gotta Love the Target $1 Section!

2010-11-28T18:30:00.000-08:00

Dressed In My Sunday Best!

2010-11-28T18:27:00.000-08:00

McKenna has been looking pretty cute for church the past couple of weekends....Consequently, I've made us late twice because I've wanted to get some pictures before we go! It's a work of science to get her to sit still and look at the camera when you take pictures, so these are the best you get.

As you can see, we got our Christmas tree up pretty early this year. We had so many busy weekends between Thanksgiving and Christmas, that we really only had the weekend before Thanksgiving open to get decorations up.

Hanging out in Katy....

2010-11-28T18:17:00.000-08:00

McKenna and I took our first car trip alone to Katy a couple weeks ago for my friend, Amy's baby shower and my sister, Bri's bridal shower. It was a fun-filled, busy weekend but we found time to go to the park of course! McKenna had lots of fun playing with Grandma and Grandpa on the playground!

McKenna likes to read anything, including newspapers!

A Dog, a Lizard, a Bug, and a Baby!

2010-11-05T18:45:00.000-07:00

McKenna is obsessed with playing in the backyard and usually asks to go outside 3-4 times/day if we are home. Everytime I let Brinkley in or out, she thinks that she needs to go out too. Yesterday, we had quite the learning adventure outside. Below you will see McKenna's first encounter with a lizard, her first encounter with a giant leaf-like bug, and some pictures of her and Brinkley playing.

She sees the lizard, she tries to pet the lizard, and the lizard runs away!

She sees the bug, and then tries to pet the bug, but after touching the bug, decides she's not interested :)

McKenna is also really in love with my friend Sarah's baby, Hudson or "baby Hudson". She gets so excited anytime I mention his name or that we are going to get to see him. She is constantly pointing at his birth announcement on the refrigerator - it's really cute! She was helping to rock Hudson in the swing, and was also wanting to share all her balls and toys with him. At one time, he had 3 balls, a baby doll, and a stuffed turtle around him in the swing while he slept. Haha! I can't wait until they can play together :)

Isn't he a cutie??!

Happy Halloween!

2010-11-04T21:08:00.000-07:00

McKenna was the cutest ladybug on the block this year for Halloween! Here are some pictures from some of the Halloween festivities.....the antenna didn't really fit, so we ended up just going with a black bow instead. Can't go wrong with a bow! ;)

Painting pumpkins with the playgroup friends!

Halloween Potluck party with the playgroup and a neighborhood park

We went trick-or-treating with the neighbors at about 6pm Halloween night. I think we caught a few people off guard showing up so early, but these girls gotta get to bed! Jenna was a bubblebee, McKenna was a ladybug, and Syler was a FSU cheerleader. We took the girls to about 10 houses, and McKenna was much more into her pumpkin and candy than I thought she would be.

Four Generations of Visitors.....

2010-11-04T20:40:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend of October 22-23rd, John's mom, grandma, and aunt all came to visit from Houston. It was John's grandma's first trip to Austin. It was great to have all the company and get to spend some quality time together. We took them to lunch at the Oasis, and went to visit John's cousin's family in Lakeway. On Saturday morning, his mom, grandma, aunt and I went garage sale-ing and found so many treasures that the entire back of the Pilot was crammed full!

McKenna showing off her baby to Ma-maw and Gigi

Lunch at the Oasis

McKenna with John's cousins daughter, Callie (second cousin??)

McKenna in the dance outfit Ma-maw brought her

Pumpkin Patch 2010

2010-11-04T20:20:00.000-07:00

Grandma and I took McKenna to the Pumpkin Patch in Katy again this year. It wasn't quite the same experience as last year. In such a short amount of time, she went from having to be propped up with pumpkins to running around the patch trying to lift 10lb pumpkins!

Highlights at 16 months!

2010-11-04T20:09:00.000-07:00

Here is an update of McKenna's new and not-so-new skills and changes. I realize that it's been a while since I last listed all of her accomplishments, so here we go....

At 16 months...

-She can point out her (and others) nose, eyes, mouth, ears, belly, feet, hands & hair
-She runs and jumps (although doesn't technically leave the ground!)
-She likes to help mama and daddy clean...especially if it involves a vacuum
-She recognizes and can point out the following animals: Dog, Cow, Cat, Monkey, Bird, Elephant, Lion
-She can make the following animal sounds: Dog, Cat, Cow, Lion, Monkey, & Elephant
-She waves hi & bye and blows kisses
-She pretends to "talk" on the phone
-She reads books to her baby doll and stuffed animals
-She loves to brush her teeth
-She loves Brinkley....he is the first thing she wants to see when she wakes up in the morning and from her naps.She thinks it's the funniest thing for him to put his nose in the crib slats! He likes for him to chase her and loves to throw his ball for him to catch. She gives him lots of loving and pats and is constantly saying, "dog", "dog", "dog"!
-Her favorite foods at the moment include: milk, apples, bananas, tortillas, sweet potatoes, oranges, goldfish, & raisins
-She signs "all done", "help", "please", "book", "quiet", "baby", "sleepy", "dog", "flower", "toothbrush", "moon", "stars", "hat", "bath" and "more"....we are working on "thank you"
-She loves to be outside
-If she wants you to come with her (which is all the time), she'll come over and grab your hand and pull you towards whatever she's wanting
-She pats the ground to let you know where she would like you to sit to read her books
-She's still not saying a whole lot of words, but she babbles in her own "McKenna Language" all the time!!! She does say momma, dadda, dog, and no - hopefully more to come!

I think that's about it! As you can see, we've got a healthy, growing, active toddler on our hands, and I couldn't be any more proud of her!

Playing Catch Up!!

2010-11-04T18:55:00.000-07:00

After taking a hiatus from blogging for a couple months, I've decided to kick it in gear because I know that I will be really happy to have something to look back on!! So, we have some catching up to do.... here is a quick recap of parts of August, September, and the very beginning of October!

These pictures are of McKenna at the petting farm attached to a small preschool in Leander. They have some toys to play on and animals to feed and pet. I think McKenna thought I kept saying "doggie" instead of "donkey" because she kept barking like a dog. ha!

Here are some pictures at the Austin Children's Museum. We went with the playgroup, and McKenna had lots of fun! They have a program on Monday mornings called Baby Bloomers which is specifically for children under the age of 2, so it was perfect!

Here are some sweet pictures of our precious girl - she's looking so grown up these days!!

It looks like McKenna might take after her Mama with basketball - she loves carrying around the ball and trying to dribble it!

This girl LOVES balloons!

McKenna, Bryson, and Hudson - McKenna loves "Baby Hudson" :)

Here are some pictures hanging out with the cousins in Houston at Gigi's house. McKenna is really into holding everybody's hand lately, including Kaylees! Kaylee was so great to her little cousin at the bouncy place we went to. It was really cute!!

These are some pictures of a recent trip to Katy while John was out of town. Grandpa was able to take a few afternoons off to hang out with us, and Grandma took a day off as well. It was a great trip!

More pictures of my girl playing hoops! Look at the great form!

Almost 14 months....

2010-08-08T20:14:00.000-07:00

Mom was in town last Friday and helped me take McKenna to have pictures made. These are some of my favorites! It was definitely not as easy as it appears to have her sitting still during the photoshoot! :) A big shout out to Jenny, the photographer, who did a great job and was super patient with my very mobile little girl!

McKenna's First Birthday!

2010-07-27T19:02:00.000-07:00

So....I'm constantly a little behind on blog posts, but this time I'm really behind! ;)

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY MCKENNA!!

McKenna turned one on June 11, 2010 - it was an exciting milestone, but also a little bittersweet. I was happy to celebrate the first year, but it was hard to imagine where the time has gone! On the Thursday before her birthday, we had a party with the moms group at a place called The Big Bounce. It's an inflatable bouncy place that all the kids love! Another one of the little girls in the group, Claire, also turned one - her and McKenna are birthday twins! The next day, Friday, was her actual birthday and McKenna woke up with a 103 degree fever :( Poor thing! I was so sad to have to take her into the doctor on her birthday. She was diagnosed with a double ear infection and the poor little girl was miserable. We got her on antibiotics as quickly as possible, and decided to still carry on with the big party on Saturday since people had come from out of town and such. She was a trooper!! You could tell that she definitely didn't feel good and wasn't her normal, smiley self - but she hung in there. We had a cupcake themed party with lots of good food, family, and friends! McKenna wasn't the biggest fan of the cupcake, and insisted on feeding me the frosting instead :) We can't express how much it means to us to have had everybody there. I realized more than ever, that first birthdays are a big deal....a much bigger deal than I had ever understood. I know that the second year will be just as great!

Ma-Maw's 87th Birthday Party

2010-06-01T19:53:00.001-07:00

Two weekends ago, we went to Houston for Ma-maw's (John's grandmother's) 87th birthday party. McKenna had a great time playing with all her cousins and swimming in Grandad and Gigi's pool. It was nice to see all the family and spend some quality time together! Here's to hoping for many, many more birthdays!

11 months old....

2010-06-01T19:27:00.000-07:00

McKenna is quickly approaching her first birthday which is so very hard to believe! At 11 months, McKenna now has four teeth - two top and two bottom. She gets extremely excited every time she sees a bird or a dog. She is crawling at lightening speed and is pulling up on anything and everything. She can stand alone and balance for a long time, but has yet to take any steps on her own. She loves to swim in the neighborhood pool and the little blue pool in our backyard. She waves "hi" all the time and has recently learned to give high fives. She loves to clap, read books, knock down towers of blocks, and point at people's noses. She can find objects in her toy box by name and says "dada", "mama", "dog", and maybe "ball". Her favorite foods consist of yogurt, oranges, banana, grapes, cheese, lunch meat, tortilla, and oatmeal. She is still taking two naps/day and sleeping 7pm - 7am.

First Official Mother's Day

2010-06-01T19:03:00.001-07:00

We spent my first official mother's day in Marble Falls with my parents and my sister. It was great! We ate lunch at the famous Blue Bonnet Cafe and then went to Sweetberry Farms to pick fresh strawberries. They had some animals that you could look at and pet and that was by far McKenna's favorite part! I'm the luckiest Mama ever :)

10 months old....

2010-06-01T18:30:00.000-07:00

So...I'm about two months behind, but we'll do some fast catching up!! McKenna learned to crawl officially on April 6, 2010, just shy of 10 months old. She had been scooting and rocking and rolling for a few months beforehand - but she took off that day, and has gotten faster and faster ever since! Towards the end of April, she pulled up on the couch for the first time and has been pulling up on EVERYTHING (even Brinkley!) since. My life with a mobile child has changed about as much as it did when she was born. We've had to "childproof" like crazy. She definitely isn't content just sitting and playing anymore- this girl is constantly on the move! Another huge event at 10 months was the appearance of her first three teeth. I didn't think those suckers would ever show, but then they decided to come in all at once. Her two bottom teeth poked through first, and then the top right one came in.
In other news, she is:
* Wearing 12 month clothing
* Wearing size 4 diapers
* Eating three full meals, almost entirely adult food with a few snacks in between
* Sleeping solid from 7pm-7am and still taking two very short naps

McKenna's First Easter....

2010-04-04T20:11:00.001-07:00

McKenna had a great first Easter! This past week we went to a couple Easter events - one of which included pictures with the Easter bunny :) Our playgroup also had an Easter party for all the kids and filled plastic eggs with puffs and melts - yum, yum! Today, we got dressed up for church and spent the day with Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt B...(the little girl crashed before we could all take pictures together)...it was great to be with family!

Hoppy Easter!!

2010-04-04T20:06:00.001-07:00

Bluebonnet Pictures

2010-04-04T19:57:00.000-07:00

I love this time of year!! We found a great field near our house with tons of bluebonnets, and what a better backdrop for some precious photos of our darling girl :)

9 Months Old....(a little late!)

2010-04-04T19:33:00.000-07:00

So...I'm a little behind on the blog, but better late than never, right?! These "sign" pictures are getting more and more interesting....McKenna gets a kick out of playing with the paper! We've had alot going on these last few weeks: a UTI diagnosis/treatment, Aunt B in the ICU/hospital for 12 days, Grandma and Grandpa and Gigi and Grandad visiting, lots of events with the playgroup, Easter....

At 9 months, a few of the highlights include:
* Wearing 9-12 month clothing and size 3 diapers
* Eating 3 full meals/day including more and more "real" food - she loves bananas and oranges
* Pushing up on her hands and knees in a crawling position and doing lots of rocking.....she's taken a few crawling "steps" but then belly flops
* Talking a ton - we think she says, "dog" and "dada"
* Has learned to clap :)

SNOW!!!

2010-02-23T19:28:00.000-08:00

I can count on one hand how many times I've seen snow living in Texas, and today topped them all! We had 3-4 inches of snow in Austin, and it pretty much fell all day with a short break around lunchtime. John worked from home, so we were able to go out and build a snowman while McKenna took her first nap. Of course we had to take our little girl outside for her first snow....and to meet her first snowman! :)

Valentine's Day

2010-02-23T19:14:00.001-08:00

Grandma and Grandpa came up to Austin to babysit McKenna for Valentine's Day. John and I had the best time spending the afternoon and evening baby-free! Our theme was "stuff that you can't do with a baby" so....we went to see a movie ("Dear John"), went out to eat at a nice restaurant, went to a bar, and went dancing! :) We missed our precious baby girl, but it was so nice to get out on our own, and of course McKenna had a blast with her grandparents!

8 Months Old....

2010-02-23T18:07:00.000-08:00

So...I'm a little behind in posting this because McKenna actually had a 103+ degree fever on her eight month birthday, and we have been treating an urinary tract infection ever since! For two days, she ran a 102-104 degree fever without any other symptoms...so it was quite the mystery as to why she was so sick until the pediatrician decided to do a catheterization and test her urine for infection. It ended up that some bacteria growth had occurred which indicates infection, so she was put on antibiotics immediately. As a precaution, last Friday we took McKenna to have a kidney ultrasound and a VCUG procedure done to rule out kidney damage and urinary tract blockages/problems. The ultrasound went okay...we sang the ABCs and "Twinkle, Twinkle" quite a few times, and McKenna even helped the ultrasound tech by holding the wand :) The VCUG, however, was not quite as pleasant. They had to do another catheterization, insert dyes and take xrays, all while she was restricted...and well, lets just say she wasn't very happy! We are all glad that's over and the best part is the results all came back normal!! The bummer was that the urine sample from Friday also grew bacteria, so we had to go back in to the doctor this week for another catheterization (the third one in 2 weeks!!) and we are waiting to hear back on those results.

Things McKenna is up to these days:
* Wearing 9 month clothing and size 3 diapers
* Still sleeping 7am-7pm, but down to only 2 naps/day now around 10am and 2pm.
* Now eating 3 solid meals/day. Usually cereal and fruit for breakfast, yogurt and veggie for lunch, and veggies for dinner. She's still not very interested in drinking from a sippy cup, but continues to have four 6oz bottles/day. She LOVES real banana, and has eaten cherrios, yogurt melts, sweet potato puffs, and small bits of apple. She is getting better at feeding herself :)
* Continues to love jumping in her bouncer!
* Babbles and makes more real-word sounds...
* Not crawling yet, but able to stay up on her hands and knees and rock back and forth - usually rolls to get want she wants.
* Bathing every night in the big tub in her yellow, blown-up duck - loves to splash!
* Gets upset when she is left alone in a room....a little separation anxiety perhaps?
* Gets the biggest kick out of Brinkley and laughs at him constantly!

Growing up FAST!!

2010-02-06T11:38:00.000-08:00

Pretty girl!

McKenna with her Uncle Bud!

McKenna's first porch shot!

My precious girl!

Taking a "big girl" bath!

The playgroup at our house!

Best friends!

McKenna's First Circus!

2010-02-04T20:11:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago we took McKenna to her first circus with our neighbors who also have a little girl. It was almost a three hour show which surprised us all! Luckily we brought food, and miraculously McKenna took a nap during the intermission and part of the second half. I would have to say that the lions and elephants were our favorites!

" Who are you??"

"There's my friend!"

"Where are we?"

Lions and tigers and bears...oh my!

Some pretty talented elephants!

"Patty-Caking"

2010-01-27T15:06:00.000-08:00

McKenna is now patty-caking with her feet!!

7 Months Old....

2010-01-13T17:59:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe that McKenna is 7 months old - where has the time gone? Everybody says "they grow up fast" - it's true! This is such a great age....she is getting more and more of a personality and is so much fun to watch and interact with. The silliest things make her laugh! We have continued to enjoy going to the Cedar Park Mom's Group. All the babies were born in 2009, so there are lots of little ones McKenna's age to "play" with. This week McKenna went to her first movie! We went with the group to the Baby Day movie showing at Alamo Drafthouse and saw, "It's Complicated". It was great because there were tons of other moms and babies! The theater turns the volume down and the lights up and makes the entire experience very "baby friendly." Today we went to Barnes and Noble with the group for story time, and tomorrow one of the girls is having a play date at her house. It's been great for me to interact with other moms and also great for McKenna to be around other kids. She especially likes watching the babies that are mobile - maybe she'll learn a thing or two :)

Things McKenna is doing at 7 months:

-Eating 2 solid meals a day: oatmeal and 1 serving of fruit in the AM and 2 servings of vegetables in the PM (she prefers squash, carrots, and sweet potatoes – nothing green of course!!) So far we’ve tried bananas and pears for the fruits and she likes both. She’s also interested in playing with her food and feeding herself.
-Drinking 6 ounces from a bottle 4-5x/day – continues to be obsessed with bottles!
-Looks around in new situations – very curious about new people and new things
-Reaches for everything in sight – especially Mama’s jewelry J
-Can now sit up by herself for long periods of time!!
-Figured out how to jump in the jumperoo and LOVES it!
-Passes toys from hand to hand and rotates her wrist to turn and manipulate things
-Smiles at herself in the mirror
-Tries really hard to move! She propels herself on her stomach with her legs and steers with her arms…..
-Enjoys looking at people and objects upside down
-Stands really well with support
-Loves tags on toys
-Wears size 3 diapers and 9 month clothing
-Sleeps from 7pm-7am, and a few weeks ago we cut out the night feeding…so this Mama is getting lots of sleep now, and it’s WONDERFUL!

"I see the sign!"

"I want the sign!"

"The sign looks yummy!"

"Okay, okay, I'll take a picture!"

"This is the best toy ever....I LOVE to jump!"

"Look at me - I can sit up all by myself now!"

"I love pulling off my socks and eating my toes!"

"This is my first new year...how exciting!"

"My highchair from Santa!"

Tutu Photo Shoot....

2010-01-06T18:56:00.000-08:00

Tutus and bows call for photo shoots! I can't get enough pictures of this precious girl! :)

Random 6 month pictures...

2010-01-06T18:48:00.000-08:00

Gigi's Princess!

Love those eyes!!

McKenna with Aunt B

Loves her feet!

First time in a highchair!

Baby's First Christmas!!

2010-01-06T18:15:00.000-08:00

McKenna's first Christmas was wonderful! We spent over a week in Houston and got to see lots of family and friends. We opened lots of gifts and got to see some really awesome Christmas lights!! It was definitely a Christmas to remember.....

John and our niece, Kaylee

McKenna with her Daddy on his old rocking horse!

My girl

McKenna with some of her presents!

Westley and McKenna - cousins a month apart!

Ho, Ho, Ho!

2010-01-06T17:55:00.000-08:00

Aunt Laura with McKenna

Eating "Big Girl" Food!!

2009-12-17T19:57:00.001-08:00

These are some pictures of McKenna's first experience with "big girl food!" We started out with rice cereal, which she pretty much liked from the beginning. It took her a few tries to get used to eating from the spoon - at first she was trying to eat the bowl! :) She has also eaten sweet potatoes, oatmeal, and squash.....although I don't think she was too keen on the squash! Right now we are using the Bumbo to eat....a highchair is coming from Santa for Christmas!! :)

(.....and no, she doesn't always wear a bow.....!)

6 months old!!

2009-12-17T19:36:00.000-08:00

McKenna celebrated her half birthday on December 11th - I can't believe she's 6 months old already!! She weighs 14lbs and is 26.5 inches long which puts her in the 10-25%tile for weight and the 50%tile for height. It's definitely getting harder and harder to take these "sign" pictures - she wants to eat the paper now! Below she is sitting in what used to be her Daddy's rocking chair when he was a baby....such a big girl!

At 6 months, McKenna is:
* Talking non-stop!! We've had to duck out of church a couple times!
* Eating solid foods - rice cereal, oatmeal, sweet potatoes and squash are the ones we've tried so far!
* Giggling!
* Splashing in the bathtub!
* Continuing to chew on EVERYTHING...
* Still sleeping 12 hours at night, going to bed around 7-7:30pm - we're working on cutting out the night feeding completely....
* Taking three naps/day
* Loving to stand and hating to sit!
* Completely in love with Brinkley!
* Extending her arms while on her tummy and scooting ever so slightly!
* Always managing to sleep on her tummy...
* Loving to pull her socks off and eat her toes!
* Starting to grow a little more hair!
* Wearing 6 month clothing and size 2 diapers...
* Obsessed with bottles....goes crazy if she sees one!
* Starting to learn to drink from a sippy/training cup...

Christmas/6 Month Pictures....

2009-12-08T19:23:00.000-08:00

Last week, we had family pictures and 6 month pictures of McKenna taken. Here are my favorites!!

Bubble Bath!!

2009-12-01T20:36:00.001-08:00

McKenna has outgrown her baby bathtub, so we've switched to baths in the sink - bubble baths that is!! I think she would stay in the bath all night if I let her. This girl is becoming quite the little fish :)

Water Baby!!

2009-12-01T20:18:00.000-08:00

We took McKenna swimming at my aunt and uncle's hotel pool one morning while we were visiting over Thanksgiving, and she LOVED it!! I honestly thought she might last 5 minutes and that would be it, but boy, was I wrong. We swam for over 30 minutes and only stopped because we had a "skype date" with my cousin living abroad in Germany. I think I'm going to look into mommy and baby swimming classes for the spring!!

Thanksgiving Day

2009-12-01T20:06:00.000-08:00

It was cold and rainy Thanksgiving day at my grandma's house, so we spent the day inside playing games and eating lots of yummy food! That night we watched the Aggies give the Longhorns a run for their money - it was a closer game than expected.....there's always next year!

Great-Grandma's 80th Surprise Party/Thanksgiving

2009-12-01T19:24:00.000-08:00

We threw my grandma a surprise 80th birthday party in Illinois, so last Saturday, McKenna took her first flight! Our plane flew from Austin to Houston to St. Louis, and McKenna did really well on both flights there and back. Luckily, she slept the majority of the time which made it much easier for the mom! The party was on Sunday, and we stayed with my grandma for the week of Thanksgiving. My grandmother was shocked by the party and soo excited to finally get to meet her first great-grandchild. There was tons of food and a live band - 150 people ended up coming for the big event! It was awesome to see aunts, uncles, and cousins - my brother even flew in from Seattle! It was great that McKenna got to finally meet her Uncle Bud. Here are some pictures from the party - I don't think John or I held her the entire day!!

Waiting at the airport

Marc and McKenna

McKenna with her Daddy

Happy 80th birthday Grandma!

Aunt Mary with McKenna

Great-Aunt Connie with McKenna

Aunt Danita with McKenna

Marc and Mom

Dancing with Dad

Grandma with her siblings

Grandma with her kids: Aunt Deb, Dad, Aunt Mary, Uncle Doug, and Aunt Beth

Four generations

All the grandkids (and great-grandkid) with Grandma

Great-Grandma with McKenna

5 months old....

2009-12-01T18:53:00.000-08:00

McKenna is 5 months old!! Where has the time gone??
* She is sleeping about 12 hours at night, 7pm-7am, waking one time/night to feed
* She smiles all the time and is laughing out loud more often
* She has discovered her feet and socks and likes to suck on her toes and pull her socks off
* She rolls over both ways quite often now
* She "talks" a lot more than she used to, constantly making sounds - she likes to sing and contribute to the homily in church!
* She is still in love with Brinkley and likes to watch him everywhere that he goes
* She reaches out to touch or grab just about anything I have in my hands
* She has outgrown her baby bathtub and now takes a bath in the kitchen sink
* She went swimming for the first time in an indoor pool (pictures to come...)
* Her hair is finally beginning to grow and is fuzzy on the top!
* She is wearing 6 month clothing and size 2 diapers
* She weighed 12lbs, 13oz at the last doctor's appointment - we went in to check on a little rash on her legs
* She doesn't really care to sit and pretty much only wants to stand
* She took her first plane trip to see Great Grandma (see the next post!)

Danny and Kate's Wedding

2009-12-01T18:29:00.000-08:00

On November 8, 2009 - Danny and Kate Schuh were married in Houston, TX. Danny has been John's best friend since junior high, and both stood as the other's best man in each wedding. Grandma and Grandpa babysat McKenna two nights in a row, and John and I had a great time dancing the night away!! Here are a few pictures.....

Baby's First Halloween.....

2009-10-26T12:48:00.001-07:00

We went to the Third Annual Lamb Halloween Party last Saturday night and had a wonderful time!! It's an event we look forward to and prepare for every October. We dressed up as Captain Hook, Peter Pan, and Tinkerbell. John was surprised he won "Best Male Costume" which he was very excited about. The decorations and food were amazing. We're lucky to have such great friends!!

Four Months Old....

2009-10-26T12:33:00.000-07:00

McKenna is four months and two weeks old!! Last week we had her four month check up. Again, McKenna was a trooper. She recovered quickly from the shots and everything checked out well. She currently weighs 12lbs and is 24.5 inches long. She's a little string bean - wearing 6 month pants for her long legs, but still fitting into 3 month onsies and shirts. She has had lots of "firsts" and developmental changes lately:

* She has rolled front to back and back to front. She doesn't do it consistently, but is definately becoming more and more mobile.
* She has begun to laugh out loud, but saves her laughs for only the funniest of things.
* She is fascinated with her hands and has been for a while now - she loves to try to stick her entire fist in her mouth all at once!!
* She LOVES to watch Brinkley and thinks he's the most interesting thing.
* She is very smiley! I love to go get her from a nap or after she has woken up in the morning.
* She has begun to play in her exersaucer and door jumper.
* She is sleeping about 12 hours a night - sometimes straight through, but most of the time, still waking once a night to feed.
* She still really enjoys bathtime.
* She is drooling like crazy and we're suspecting that the first two teeth are working on coming in. She likes to chew on everything!!

Here are some of the latest pictures:

Laughing Out Loud....

2009-10-15T20:30:00.000-07:00

If you need something funny to brighten your day, click on this video to hear McKenna laughing at her Grandma making silly slurping noises! I'm so glad we caught her first laugh on video!!

Pumpkin Patch - October 2009

2009-10-13T08:49:00.001-07:00

McKenna had a great time at the pumpkin patch today!! She wasnt exactly sure how to feel about the green, hairy stuff under her legs :) We had a good time taking pictures and picking out a pumpkin!

McKenna's Baptism

2009-10-06T19:13:00.001-07:00

McKenna was baptized on Saturday, October 3rd after the 5pm mass. She looked precious in her dress!! Her godparents are Laura and Johnathan, John's sister and her husband. They came up to Austin with their three kids, along with both sets of grandparents. After the baptism, we had a party at our house with food and cake. A big thanks to Christina Wallace for making McKenna's cake - it was delicious! We are very excited to bring her into the Catholic faith and know that God will smile down on her everyday! :)

McKenna loved playing with her dress!

Laura, Johnathan, McKenna, Laura & John

Our precious family

Getting baptized

Posing with Father Le Minh

McKenna with the proud grandparents

3 months old!!

2009-09-07T13:50:00.000-07:00

McKenna is three months old this week!! She is growing up fast!! We haven't weighed her since her two month appointment, but according to our scale she is probably about 12 pounds. She is very alert and attentive. She loves to look at ceiling fans and play on her activity mat. She looks at toys and swats at them with her hands (on purpose now)! She is sleeping through the night four-five times a week for five-six hours at a time which is very nice for the mom!! McKenna was very excited to see her Aunt "B" who had been in Spain all summer and "helped" her move into her new apartment for the fall semester at UT a couple weeks ago. We took another trip to Katy last week while John was out of town. We saw Gigi and Aunt Laura, Kaylee, Blake, and met baby Westley. We saw Amy and baby Evan, Ali and big boy Ben, went to eat lunch with Hillary and meet all of Grandma's coworkers/friends up at her school. Grandma and Grandpa babysat McKenna while Mom and Dad went to the A&M vs New Mexico State football game in College Station Labor Day Saturday. Here are some of the latest pictures:

Two months old!

2009-08-14T08:48:00.001-07:00

I can't believe that McKenna is already two months old!! People are right when they say, "time flies!" She had her two month doctor's appointment and shots yesterday. She currently weighs 9lbs 14oz and is 23 inches long. She's around the 25th percentile in weight and the 75th percentile in height - long and lean! Not sure where she gets that!! She did great with her shots - only cried for a few seconds after it was over and then quickly went to sleep. Her favorite activity these days is bathtime - you'll see some pictures below! She is also full of smiles!! I'm going to try to catch one on camera soon!!!

Good Friends, Great Family....

2009-08-03T15:11:00.000-07:00

Last week, while John was out of town in the valley for work, I went and stayed with my parents in Katy. McKenna and I had a great time!! We saw lots of good friends and family including Laura, Luke & Katelyn, Ali & Ben, and Amy & Evan. It was fun to get all the kiddos together for some pictures :) We had lots of quality time with Grandma and Grandpa and even took a trip to Spring to see GiGi one day. Here are some pictures from the week:

Me, Amy & Laura with McKenna, Evan, and Katelyn

The kiddos

Me and my girl

Katelyn and McKenna

Grandpa dancing with McKenna

Ben with Ali testing out McKenna's carseat

Polka-dot girl!

6 weeks old

One Month Pictures

2009-07-16T15:24:00.001-07:00

So I couldn't resist a "special" one of the area photography places was having, so I took McKenna to get professional pictures taken today! I got a CD of all the pictures for free so here are some of my favorites....

McKenna did really well and was awake the entire time!

McKenna & Evan

2009-07-15T21:15:00.000-07:00

Amy and Evan came to visit us this week!! They were in New Braunfels at the river and decided to make a day trip to Austin so Evan and McKenna could meet. Amy and I have been friends since junior high, both went to A&M, and were bridesmaids in eachothers weddings....so needless to say, we couldn't wait to get our two kiddos together!! Evan is only three days older than McKenna.....can you believe it???!

We'll have to keep our eyes on the two of them as they get older :)

One Month Old

2009-07-15T20:47:00.000-07:00

McKenna took her first road trip to Houston to see the Hartnett side of the family this past weekend. We stayed with GiGi and Granddad and were also able to visit Aunt Laura, Uncle Johnathan, cousins Kaylee & Blake, Great-Aunt Jeannie, Great-Grandma "Mamaw" and friends, Ali & Ben. McKenna also had her one month doctor's appointment this past Tuesday. She weighs 8lbs 14oz now and measures 22 inches in length! The only concern is that her umbilical cord still hasn't fallen off, so we're giving it another week and if it's still attached, it will have to be "tied off"....I'm really hoping that doesn't have to happen! McKenna is really beginning to hold her head up on her own more now and is following/watching toys - especially toys that light up and play music :)

GiGi with Kaylee & Blake meeting cousin McKenna

GiGi and McKenna

Daddy with McKenna and Granddad

Uncle Johnathan & Aunt Laura

Daddy & Great-Grandma "Mamaw" with McKenna

McKenna's First Holiday - Fourth of July!

2009-07-05T15:29:00.001-07:00

McKenna celebrated her first holiday - July 4th! We went and parked at Cedar Park High School and watched the fireworks show at Elizabeth Milburn Park - McKenna slept through the entire thing! Grandma and Grandpa were in town to visit which made for a great holiday weekend! The fireworks look really small in the pictures - but we had great seats! :)

Three Weeks Old

2009-07-05T15:08:00.001-07:00

I can't believe that McKenna is already three weeks old - time is flying by!! This was our first week home alone (without Grandma) and it was definitely more challenging to do everything. It's so much easier with an extra set of hands!! Here are some three week pictures!!

Two Weeks Old

2009-06-26T20:45:00.001-07:00

McKenna is two weeks old! This mom is realizing that you just figure out the game, and they change the rules. We just got past the jaundice last week, and this week we're dealing with blocked tear ducts and thrush. Thrush is an infection in the mouth, most likely caused by the antibiotics I was given after delivery. The pharmacist told me to give her the thrush medicine four times a day and have her "swish"......you've got to be kidding me! I can't imagine what all of this would be like if she wasn't such a good baby. We'll have to see what next week brings! She's gaining about an ounce a day and growing and changing all the time. Hopefully she'll be back at her birth weight by the end of the month. She's spending more and more time awake each day - it's fun watching her! We're so in love :)

McKenna Marie Hartnett

2009-06-23T10:58:00.000-07:00

Sooooo, after the pre-baby BBQ weekend, I went to my weekly check up appointment at 38 weeks. Much to my surprise, due to extremely high blood pressure, I was admitted to the hospital that day - 10 days early! I called John who was an hour away in Dripping Springs to go back to the house to get our bags and meet me at the hospital. After 26 1/2 hours of labor including over 2 1/2 hours of pushing, McKenna Marie Hartnett was born on 6/11/09 at 4:41pm weighing 7lbs 14oz and measuring 21 inches long. What a relief - I was so happy she was finally here!! The night of her birth, there were severe tornado warnings and hail in the area, so the nurses had all the new moms/dad/babies/grandparents/siblings/visitors sitting around the nursing station in the hall. That made for an interesting first few hours as a family! McKenna stayed with us in our room the 2 days we were in the hospital. We had quite the time trying to get her to breastfeed the first 5-6 days. She ended up needing phototherapy (where she laid under ultraviolet rays 24/7) for jaundice. Luckily we were able to have the equipment at home instead of having to be readmitted to the hospital. After meeting with a lactation consultant and several doctors appointments to check on her weight, things began to get easier. She is now eating like a champ and her coloration is so much better. Tomorrow she goes for her well check appointment and this Thursday, she'll already be two weeks old! Hard to believe!! My mom has stayed with us since her birth which has been a huge help!! Grandpa came to visit for Father's day this past weekend which was fun. We're all doing well - just adjusting to much less sleep! :)

Feel free to come visit us anytime! We like visitors! I'll try to get better about posting more frequently now that things have settled down some.

4th Wedding Anniversary - 36 weeks!

2009-05-31T17:03:00.000-07:00

John & I's 4th anniversary was last Thursday, May 28th. We had an amazing dinner at Trulucks, a steak and seafood restaurant. John was really excited to eat some Alaskan King Crab. The waiter surprised us with an anniversary chocolate dessert and a card! We had a great evening!!

36 weeks

Getting ready.....

2009-05-26T08:10:00.001-07:00

We went to Babies 'R Us last Saturday and spent two hours getting everything else we needed for our sweet girl. Here are some pictures of some things we have put together and have "waiting" for her to arrive! We have been blessed with some great gifts - we have baby stuff all over our house! I think we're pretty prepared - at least I hope so! :)

McKenna's Room

2009-05-26T08:01:00.000-07:00

Here are some updated pictures of McKenna's room! It's kind of hard to take pictures of a bedroom, but you'll get an idea :) We're sooooo ready for our little girl to arrive! At the last baby shower, everybody brought a book instead of a card with their gift, so you can see we have quite a library started already!!

Austin Baby Shower - 35 weeks

2009-05-17T15:28:00.000-07:00

Some of my best girlfriends here in Austin through me a baby shower yesterday - it was wonderful!! We had a really good turn out ( I wish I had taken more pictures with more people). It was so awesome for everybody to come! The shower was amazing - the food was awesome, the butterfly cake was outstanding, and all the decorations were darling! We had a really good time!! Can't wait for little Miss McKenna to arrive! :) Only 5 more weeks!!

Austin Baby Shower

2009-05-17T15:15:00.000-07:00

Sarah & I

My sister, Bri ("Aunt B") & I

Kristen, Taryn, me, Christina, & Sarah

Me and Mom

Katy Baby Shower

2009-05-03T13:49:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was my baby shower back home in Katy!! My best friend, Laura and her mom, Melanie were the hostesses. I was so overwhelmed by everybody that came and how many nice gifts we got!! The shower was beautiful!! McKenna is already one very lucky girl!!

Pictures from the shower....

2009-05-03T13:25:00.000-07:00

McKenna's future grandma and mom

My sister-in-law, McKenna's future aunt

Laura, Amy, Me, Laura, and Ali

Amy, Ali & I

Special guest, Katelyn Grace

31 weeks - Maternity Pictures

2009-04-20T16:20:00.001-07:00

My mom took a ton of pictures of John & I this weekend and these are some of my favorites!! It's hard to believe I'm already 31 weeks - I go back to the doctor later this week for another check up appointment!

Maternity Pictures.....

2009-04-20T15:46:00.000-07:00

29 weeks!

2009-04-08T16:42:00.000-07:00

I went to the doctor again today for a check up, and I'm happy to say that my glucose test results came back normal and my blood pressure was back down! I'm measuring right on target and everything seems to be going well! I feel McKenna kick and move all the time now which always makes me smile :) I'm getting excited about my upcoming showers - I have one that is about three weeks away in Katy and another following in Austin...it is all becoming so much more real now!! Here is an updated picture.....

27 weeks and counting....

2009-03-25T18:08:00.001-07:00

These are pictures of the tummy at 27 weeks! Hard to believe I'll be in my third trimester any day now - time has really flown by! I went yesterday for a check up appointment and to take the glucose screening to be tested for gestational diabetes. We should hear back about those results in a couple days. My blood pressure was a little high at this appointment - we're going to keep monitoring it....hopefully it goes back down. I've been feeling well, just having a harder time sleeping. This baby bump gets in the way!