McKenzie's First Christmas

What a week! We had lots of fun withMcKenzie on her first Christmas. She got several cool presents, but she was mainly interested in the wrapping paper. To save some time, I'm just going to post all Christmas pics on this entry. You should be able to click on them to enlarge.

Presents from Santa! I got a toy guitar and some mega Lego blocks!

Lookin' cute on Christmas Day in my pajamas.

See all my new toys?!

Mary Elizabeth giving the babies some lovin'!

Making sure PawPaw Jack is ok by me.

My new stroller from Lala and Dandy is great! Granddaddy Carter says it takes just 18 laps around the house to get me to fall asleep.

Santa Baby on Christmas Eve

Helping Uncle Chris and Aunt Rebecca with some presents.

Family picture on Christmas Day in my Christmas dress that LaLa made for me.

After such a great first Christmas, I know my future is so BRIGHT!!

Christmas Wish Granted!

This onesie actually reads "All Mommy Wants for Christmas is a Silent Night." While that may be true, I think cutting off the bottom part, as this picture does, makes it more true. We had a great Christmas with our families and both of us got a lot of exciting presents. Still, all I really wanted was my little girl. And I think her Dad would agree!

Toys, Toys, Toys

As McKenzie gets older, she needs more and more entertainment. Gone are the days of waving a stuffed animal in her face and calling it a day. No, she needs to touch and move things, hear crazy noises and usually taste test almost anything in her path. She loves this thing right now and she's just tall enough for her feet to touch the ground when she's in it.

In Lieu of Sunglasses

I guess it was too bright outside for McKenzie. This is how we found her in the carseat when we showed up at my cousin's on Thanksgiving. How cute is that jacket?!

Weirdo

For the last few weeks, McKenzie has been putting both hands over her eyes when we give her a bottle. It's strange.

The Smile

I told Brant the other day that this smile is going to cost us lots of money throughout the years. I mean, how can we say "No" to that?!

Thanksgiving Schmanksgiving

Although we had a good time visiting with family in Tulsa, McKenzie was pretty unimpressed. She played for a little while when we got to my cousin's house, but when it was time for everyone to eat, she decided that was her cue to take a good, long nap. Because I was so ready for some turkey and dressing, I was very thankful for her timing!

Missing McKenzie

It's just after 8am on Saturday. I'm in Nashville and McKenzie is at home with my mom. And I'm a little sad. I'm the only one up right now because I can't figure out how to turn off my baby clock. Brant is snoozing away, so I'll have to ask him for tips! We have had a great weekend so far and it's been good for us to spend some time together and with good friends. Still, I miss McKenzie...

Over the last few weeks, a change has taken place. I have loved McKenzie with every bit of myself since the moment she was born. But recently, I've really started to like her too! She has such a sweet disposition and it's fun to talk to her and play with her. She's quick to smile, especially at her Daddy. She loves to play with random stuff, like empty potato chip bags and the Target ad. She loves the noises those things make as she crunches them in her hands.

I don't know. I guess maybe we've reached the point where things don't seem quite so scary anymore and we can just enjoy having a sweet, little baby. So, we're doing just that. Well, when we get back home on Sunday that is! Miss you little girl!

4 Month Check-Up

McKenzie went to the doctor a few weeks ago for her 4 month check-up but I've been slow in getting her info up. Here's the stats:

Weight: 13lbs, 4oz (42nd percentile)

Length: 24in (48th percentile)

Head Circumference: 15.5inches (14th percentile)

The nurse assured us that her tiny head was in proportion to her body!

The Hip Hold

Here's my mom modeling the "hip hold" position that we found out McKenzie enjoys. It looks so uncomfortable to me, but McKenzie loves being about to see everything as you carry her around. P.S. How huge is my daughter now?! I can't believe how big she is.

Twinkle Toes

It feels like every week there is a new toy to try out. Last week it was the over-the-door jumper seat. McKenzie isn't very good at it yet, but she did turn herself around a few times and hop a time or two. She enjoyed it!

Sticking with the Bottle

We tried to feed McKenzie some rice cereal about a week ago. I was nervous about putting it in her bottle because a lot of stuff I read said not to do that. After about 2 minutes of trying to feed it to her, I gave up and added it to her bottle. When we told the doctor, he said that was perfectly fine and we should just try feeding her again in another week or so. We've decided that this will take place on a bath night.

What up?

If you don't think this is cute, something is wrong with you.

Cousins

Because we are all so busy and because some people have better things to do than sit still (I'm lookin' at you Mary Elizabeth) it's tough to get all the cousins together. But, we accomplished it the other night and got a pretty good pic. They are all holding hands so I thought this one was pretty cute. And just about the time Mary Elizabeth settles down and knows to sit still for pictures, I'm guessing McKenzie and Benjamin will be impossible to contain!

Happy Halloween!

McKenzie's first Halloween was... just ok. Even though her costume was 3-6 months, it was too short for her! So, she wasn't too happy about being in her pod. We did get a few cute shots with her next to the pumpkin that her Grandy (Grandpa Randy) made for her.

Here's a shot where she show her true feelings about being in the costume and that is, "this sucks!"

And here's pretty cool picture of all the pumpkins Randy created. The little birdie for McKenzie, Dora for Mary Elizabeth and blood-dripping initials for Benjamin!

No Words, Just Cute

Gentle...

Slowly but surely, the dogs are getting to know McKenzie. Bailey was next to her for about one minute before she got nervous and left. Gulley only gets close if she wants to be pet and one of our hands happens to be close to McKenzie. She's camera shy so I'll probably never get a picture of her anywhere near McKenzie!

The Fizzle

When I was a baby, I would rub the edges of blankets in between my fingers until they were absolutely worn out. McKenzie has already started on this little blanket. Let's see how long it will last!

From McKenzie...

Hey everyone, it's me... McKenzie. Don't tell Mom I said anything, but I think she's a bit obsessed with these little birds!

Ready for the Beach

Even though we're heading into Fall, McKenzie has shown us that she's ready for laying out on the beach. Can't wait for our first trip to the beach with her!!

Lil Gangsta

We've had a few chilly mornings here in Little Rock. The weather, other than all the rain, has actually been wonderful. I love Fall and I can't wait for McKenzie to start wearing some of her cute warmer clothes! We thought the hat was pretty dang cute!

Halloween Decorations

As much as I envy people who go all out with holiday decorations (Jenny!), I just never make the time to do it myself. I figure I'll just keep McKenzie in holiday-themed onsies and stick her in the center of my table!

Photo Shoot

We finally got around to getting some professional pics done of McKenzie. We chose a local photographer, Mitzi Penick, and are very happy with the first sampling of pics! Click here to take a look at a few on her blog. I'll post a link with the rest of the pictures from the shoot soon. **Update** Click on this link for all the pics... http://mpenickphoto.zenfolio.com/mckenzie3months

Also, I updated McKenzie's album so click on it for a few new pics!

You Did What?!?!

As you can see, McKenzie was very surprised to hear that I put a new slideshow of her up tonight. Check it out!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Just a Swingin'

I put McKenzie in her swing the other day and she was loving the soft blanket that I had placed in the swing. She had wads of the blanket in both hands and kept rubbing it on her face. This picture doesn't quite capture the moment, but it's still cute.

The Bumbo Chair

McKenzie has been trying to sit up more and more these days so the Bumbo chair is her new favorite place! I think she looks hilarious in it so I've taken lots of pics:
Checkin' out her toys.

Showing off her HUGE feet!

Playing with her Poppa!

Simple, but Perfect

Apparently, when you have a baby, husbands are supposed to give you a "push present." I wish there was a better name. I definitely wanted something special to commemorate McKenzie but it took me a while to find what I really wanted. My criteria was that it should be simple and personal. I also wanted something I could add to, if and when we are blessed with another child. David Adams, a jeweler in Fayetteville, had just what I was looking for. They create each ring at the shop and should you have another child, you just buy another ring. They look very cute stacked together on your finger. And bonus, you get a price break when you buy a second one!! Although you can't see it, the ring has her first and middle names engraved on it.

Sweet Moments

I can safely say that neither of us thought we could love someone so much.

Injury

McKenzie sustained her first injury last week. How? Well, since it's me telling the story I'll say that Brant shoved her head into my toenail. Brant, on the other hand, would say that I kicked her! Neither are exactly right.

My feet were in Brant's lap. McKenzie was sitting up on Brant's lap when she made one of those jerky, uncoordinated baby movements and fell forward. Onto my toe. And before you go accusing me of not keeping neat, trim nails, please know that I had a pedicure less than a week ago. I guess she just happened to hit it on the perfect angle. So, just a small little cut above her right eye. Doesn't seem to bother her much!

Smiley Face

We have about thirty nicknames and counting for McKenzie right now and "Smiley Face" is one of my favorites.

Four-Wheelin'

My dad is very anxious to get McKenzie out on the mule, which is kind of like a mini-truck crossed with a 4-wheeler. Because it has no doors, I nixed the idea until she is a bit older. So, she goes 4-wheelin' in a slightly different way...

Borrrrrr-ing

The Razorbacks played their first game two weeks ago. McKenzie cared very little about the game.

Check out the Photo Album link for new pics!

Month Two

McKenzie went in for her two month check-up last week and I wanted to post her stats.

Weight: 10lbs, 9 ounces (50th percentile)

Length: 22.5 inches (60th percentile)

Head Circumference: 15 inches (only 40th percentile, despite how huge her head looks in the picture below!)

She got three shots and did really well. I mean, she let out the longest, loudest cry I've ever heard, but calmed down just as soon as Brant picked her up. The shots actually affected her more later in the afternoon. She was crying and inconsolable like never before. I finally gave her some Tylenol and she calmed down within 20 minutes. I really wish babies came with instruction manuals!

We moved her from our bed to the crib this week and that's going ok. When she wakes up, she eats so I think she's waking up because she's hungry, not because she is uncomfortable. I have one more week before I go back to work so hopefully she'll really be used to the crib by then.

Oh and she's really smiling a lot now and even laughing. Makes us love her even more, if that's even possible!