Sunday, January 31, 2010

New Life


We had some friends over a few weeks ago, and I've been wanting to write this post ever since. Bradley and Jill have Beckett, who is about a year and a half. Kris and Rachel have George, who will be two this February. With the two boys and McKenzie, our evening together was quite different than it might have been say two years ago. At one point, I walked into the living room and there were toys EVERYWHERE. Jill and Rachel were entertaining the boys and Brant was playing with McKenzie. My exact thought was, "Man, our lives are really different."

Everything changed the minute McKenzie arrived. I'll go ahead and say what a lot of parents might not say, but there are times when I miss being a little more carefree. I miss going out to dinner on a whim and sharing a glass of wine with my husband whenever I want. But it never fails. I'll be having one of these nostalgic moments of how easy life used to be and then it hits me: McKenzie's big blue eyes and silly little smile. And I would definitely not trade that in for anything that my life used to be.

And you gotta love that picture.
McKenzie: What's up guys? I'm pretty cute, you know.
Beckett: I'm too cool for you McKenzie. Or you George. Or even this picture.
George: Let me just call in this order of flowers for you, McKenzie.

Friday, January 22, 2010

McKenzie's Playlist


There are a few songs I wanted to share. Each song has taken on a special meaning now that McKenzie is here. Top 40 music is not usually on my favorites playlist, but "Smile" by Uncle Kracker is a current exception. It seems to be on almost every time I'm in the car and a few lyrics caught my attention. I assume it's written for a relationship scenario, but it reminds me of McKenzie and I smile thinking of her when I hear it.

"Lullaby" by the Dixie Chicks is a song that I played often when I was pregnant. It was usually on the way to work and it helped calm me down. I still play it when I need to feel calm and even though I'm an awful singer, McKenzie has heard me sing it to her more than once.

And then there's "Daughter" by Loudon Wainwright. It's the song I hear in my head almost every time Brant and McKenzie are playing together. Enjoy!



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Thursday, January 21, 2010

Sick Days


Well, McKenzie has now had her first ear infection. I think the picture says it all about how she felt. It came on pretty fast. She was congested on Saturday, started running a fever on Sunday and was fully infected when we got her to the doctor on Monday. She's had several doses of medicine now so she's doing much better. However, it does feel like we are torturing her when we give her the medicine. She HATES it.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Six Months!!!!




McKenzie had her six month check-up right after Christmas. The doc said everything looked great and she seemed to be a healthy, happy baby.

Weight: 15lbs, 5oz (37th percentile)
Length: 26 inches (62nd percentile)

So, for now, she's long and lean and still bald! She sits up pretty good on her own now. She's not afraid to dive bomb the carpet or the couch or whatever surface she happens to be sitting on, but for the most part, she stays sitting up. She's also holding her bottle on her own sometimes and eating her feet. I'm proud of her on both of those accomplishments. Do you know how flexible you have to be to put your foot in your mouth?!

And for those of you who know Bailey and Gulley... do you see those ripped up bits of newspaper in the background? Yeah, courtesy of the dogs. I think they finally realize that McKenzie isn't going anywhere and they just want us to know how much they disagree with that decision.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

BCS Champions?

We asked McKenzie who she thought would win the game tonight. Her prediction: Longhorns by 5, apparently.
Brant wanted to make sure that everyone, but especially his family in Texas, knew that this the last time she will be seen in a Texas shirt.

Catching Smiles

McKenzie smiles a lot. I mean, all the time. If you just look at her and smile, she usually smiles right back. Unfortunately, it's hard to capture those smiles on camera for some reason. In this first picture, you can see pretty clearly that she is smiling, right? But what happens when you try to get her to face the camera and smile...






Well, one possibility is this...














Or maybe, this...











But then finally, you can usually get something that is very close to her sparkling little smile.


Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Caption Anyone?


I would love to see ideas for a caption on this picture! Leave yours in the comment section!

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Go Cowboys!



McKenzie and her dad will be cheering for the Cowboys today, like most other Sundays during football season. She got some great Cowboys gear from LaLa for Christmas, but decided that wearing the jacket was too uncomfortable. Instead, she went with a shirt that was actually Brant's shirt long, long ago. As you can see in the bottom picture, she has her game face on!