First Birthday Party

Makenna had so much fun at her birthday party. My parents were kind enough to let us have the party at their house, so there was plenty of space for everyone. We had Baked Ziti - Makenna's favorite - for dinner, and cupcakes and ice cream for dessert. Makenna had her own cake to enjoy, but didn't make it that far; she ended up just playing with and eating the frosting on her cake. I think her favorite part of the night was running around with all of her cousins, and playing with the balloons. I quite enjoyed having a party for Makenna, and look forward to lots of fun parties. Thanks everyone for your help and your gifts!

One Year Ago...

After 15 hours of labor, no sleep, and 2 hours of pushing, we welcomed our beautiful baby girl into the world. I can not belive that Makenna is 1 already!! Where does the time go? I would like to reminisce about how much joy she has brought into my life, and how much fun it has been to watch her grow from a newborn baby into this little person with a BIG personality, but it will have to wait. I have dinner to make, a cake and cupcakes to bake, balloons and decorations to buy, and a (sick, fussy) birthday girl to get ready for her big party tonight.

Last Week

Last week ended up being a busy week for us. On Monday we flew to Indiana so that John could interview at the Kelley Business School at Indiana University. Makenna and I tagged along so that we could check out the town. John really liked the school, and the interview went well, so now we are just waiting to see if we get accepted (We are also waiting to hear from a couple of other schools; none of which are in NE).

Makenna was great on the trip. We couldn't have asked for a better travelling baby, and now that she walks all of the time, I don't even really need to find things to entertain her. She just thinks it is fun to walk around. We figured out that after this trip Makenna has been to 11 different states, and has been on 22 flights!! That is pretty good for not even being 1 yet!

We got back from Indiana on Wednesday, and John had to leave again Thursday morning to go on a business trip. I was pretty bummed since he was going to be gone on Halloween, but Makenna and I ended up having a pretty good Halloween thanks to my parents. They brought dinner over, and then we went and visited some cousins.

The Big Red Barn...

and Pumpkin Farm!

John and I took advantage of what was a beautiful fall day in Nebraska yesterday and went to this cute little pumpkin patch. We had such a fun time enjoying all of the activites that there were, and watching how happy and excited Makenna was about everything.

Makenna was serenaded by a nice man while we rode on the little hayrack ride to pick out our pumpkin. She was quite entertained, and even started hitting her leg along with the music! We got a good laugh out of that one.

I think Makenna's favorite part was the little petting zoo. She is definitely not shy around animals, and loved being able to pet, feed, and chase the baby goats around.

We are so glad that we decided to go to the pumpkin patch rather than just picking up some pumpkins at the grocery store (like John originally wanted to do), and I think the pumpkin patch will be added to our "must do" lists of traditions.

Family Dinner

Last weekend John, Makenna, and I had the rare oportunity of having dinner with all three of John's younger brothers who are at BYU. We went to Utah because one of John's old college roomates was getting married, and we decided that rather than flying in just in time for the wedding, we should go a few days early, so that we could spend some time with friends and family (and so that John could visit a few clients for work).

We loved hanging out with John's brothers, and only wish that we could see them more often.

We also had such a great time being able to see my sister in Logan, visit with some good friends in Salt Lake, and attend all of the wedding festivities (congrats Logie!). We even got to go to the BYU football game. I just hope we can visit again soon!

Did I Mention...

that I REALLY regret letting Makenna play in the sink?

Ever since, whenever she is anywhere near a sink (bathroom or kitchen) all she wants to do is play in the water. I don't mind letting her sit on the counter and put her hands or feet in the water for a few minutes, but she usually ends up soaking her clothes,

and she always throws a fit when I take her out. (Kinda sad I know, but surprisingly I have other things to do besides stand by the sink for hours during the day.)

A Great Weekend

Saturday

The first good news of the weekend happened early Saturday afternoon when John got home from taking his GMAT!! I was a little worried and anxious all morning because John hadn't slept very well on Friday night, but he came home with good news. He did really well, and scored right where he wanted to, which means a couple of things for us. First, he doesn't need to retake it, (i.e. he gets his life back, and I get my husband back!) secondly, he is right where he needed to be in order to get into a top 20 school, which was his main goal. I am so proud of him for studying so hard, and we are both excited to be done with the whole thing.

To celebrate we went out to a nice dinner, and then came home and watched the Nebraska game. They lost, but Makenna looked cute in her little Husker cheerleading outfit, so we still enjoyed watching the game.

Sunday

On Sunday morning, John asked me to make cookies for his Home Teaching appointments later that evening. Usually this is a pretty easy task, but this time I had a little "helper" that made things a little more difficult.

First Makenna just sat next to me on the counter, which worked out okay.

Then she wanted to play in the sink while I did the dishes.
Well then she decided that it wasn't enough to sit next to the sink, and she climed in.
And tried to drink the water.
After soaking her shirt, I gave up and just got her undressed.
She quite enjoyed this, and spent the next 30 minutes playing in the sink.

(I have since regretted letting Makenna play in the sink, because she is now obsessed, and that is all she wants to do!)

Our next BIG news of the weekend is that Makenna started walking!! Makenna had been taking one step here and there, but at church while John was watching her, she took 4 in a row. Then on Sunday evening while John was home teaching, she just started walking!! I was shocked, because she is only 10 1/2 months old, and I just figured she wouldn't walk until she was about 12 months old. Here is some video of her new skill (sorry no sound).