More Play Time

Now that I am no longer working part-time, I find that I have more time to do fun things with Makenna. While working, I would try to do chores and household things while Makenna was awake, so that I could work while she napped. Now I can do all of the housework while she is napping, and therefore have been able to do fun things with her in the mornings.

So far this week, we have been to the park, to storytime at a local library, to a local farm to see the animals, and swimming at our complex pool. I do miss the extra "fun money" that my part-time work brought in, but I feel like I have more energy to be a better mom, wife, and homemaker than I did when I was working. (I suppose being out of the first trimester probably has something to do with that as well.)

Here is Makenna at the park:




And feeding the donkeys at the farm:




I think that both Makenna and John have noticed a difference as well. John commented one day upon returning from work to an almost perfectly clean house (I don't believe that perfection can be obtained while you have a toddler) and dinner in the oven that it was nice to have me "back". And Makenna has started to not just say "thank you" when I give or do things for her, but to say "thank you mom". She says it in the cutest, sweetest voice, and it melts my heart everytime.

I'll take it!

In the last week or so, Makenna has really enjoyed reading The Little Mermaid. She has never seen the movie, but likes to point out the fish, shark, dog, bird, Ma Ma, and Da Da. That's right, she points to Ariel and says "Ma Ma" and to Prince Eric and says "Da Da"! At first I thought that maybe I should correct her, but then decided that as my waist is expanding, I didn't mind being compared to someone with such a tiny waist...even if she does have a tail!

Update

Makenna is at such a fun age (I think I have said that about almost every age, but I always think it is true). I once had a friend tell me that their favorite ages were from 6 - 18 months. I hope that Makenna doesn't enter the "terrible twos" too soon, becuase I am really enjoying her right now.

She is a very friendly child. She says "Hi" and "Bye" to almost every new person she sees. She will yell off the balcony to people walking by, or talk to people passing us at the store. She also "rewards" anyone who stops for more than 10 seconds by blowing them kisses after she tells them "Bye". We're going to have to work on that whole not talking to strangers thing.


Makenna's vocabulary has greatly expanded over the last couple of months. She is at the stage where she can pretty much repeat any simple word that you tell her. She is also putting together some two-word sentences such as "Daddy Bye-bye" "Baby night-night" or "Doggie Nice".

Makenna is such a girly-girl. One of her favorite things to do lately is put on all of my high heels. I have a rack of all of my dress shoes on my closet floor, and she loves to try them all on. I think it is funny because I never once put them on her...she did it all on her own. When I try to replace my 3-inch heels for some cute flats so she doesn't fall, she refuses to wear them. She also loves to carry around purses; or in her case, her Easter basket, Halloween basket, and anything else that has a handle. She often carries around 5 or 6 things at a time.




Makenna is also a little bit of a dare devil. Right now, both of her knees are scraped up from running too fast and falling, and she has a fat lip and scraped nose. I like that she usually isn't afraid to try new things, but sometimes wish she were a little more cautious. I was sure that by having a girl first, I would avoid any broken bones or trips to the ER, but I'm not so sure anymore. I'm gonna keep my fingers crossed on that one.

Makenna has also started going to nursery this month (which means that I have been able to go to Sunday School)! So far she has been 3 weeks without one bit of a problem. John has been the one to take her and drop her off, and whenever I peek in through the window, she is always doing great. We have also been trying to teach Makenna to kneel when we say our family prayers at night. She is at the point where whenever I tell her it is time to say prayer, she starts saying "knees, knees" and drops to her knees where ever she is. She doesn't always stay there through the whole prayer, but it is a start.

In other news, we will find out whether Makenna's "bro-ster" (as John calls our baby) will in fact be a brother or a sister in about 2 1/2 weeks. I can't wait!

Where to start?

The past week has been VERY busy, but in a I don't want it to end kind of way.

First, I found out that I was going to be done with my part-time job. For the past year I have been working about 12 hours a week for the same company in Vancouver, WA where I worked full-time before having Makenna. The job has been ideal in that I was able to do it from home during Makenna's naps. It was great to have a little extra income as well. Part of me is sad to be done, but the other part is excited. I will now have more time to work on all of the things that I have been neglecting, like Makenna's scrapbook, or Christmas stockings (I still need to finish Makenna's, and make a new one for the baby).

The timing of being done with work was quite perfect, because on Tuesday my sister Amanda came into town for a week. Makenna and I have been spending as much time as we can playing with Amanda and Kate. On Wednesday we spent the morning shopping for maternity clothes, and then on Wednesday night, Makenna and I spent the night out at my mom's house since John was in Denver for work.

Here is Makenna sleeping on the couch after waking up at 5:30am on Thursday morning.


After we all woke up (for good) on Thursday, we took the girls to the zoo. We were there right when it opened (very good for us) and stayed for about 3 hours. The girls loved it, and we had a great time walking around, and enjoying the beautiful weather.

Their favorite parts of the zoo were: THE AQUARIUM


THE PETTING ZOO



and THE CAROUSEL (I just love both Makenna's and Kate's faces in this picture...so funny!)


Makenna was not very happy after we got off the carousel. But she quickly got over it as we moved to other parts of the zoo.


Friday was my 25th birthday, and it was such a fun day. I went to lunch with my mom, sister, aunt Tina, sister-in-law Tanya, and brother Lance. We went to the Cheesecake Factory, and ate tons of yummy food. Friday night, John surprised me with tickets to Wicked! I had no idea what was happening, or where we were going until we were half way to the theater. John went to great lengths to keep it a surprise and keep me as confused as possible. We had great seats since John bought the tickets 3 months ago the day they went on sale, and John and I both absolutely LOVED it! It was SO GOOD, and I am so glad that we were able to see it while it was here in Omaha. Thanks Hunny!



Lucky for me, the fun activities just kept coming. On Saturday, my cousin Ashley got married, and John and I were able to go on another fun date that night to the reception. Then on Sunday night, my mom and dad hosted a Birthday dinner for me and my Grandpa. We share the same birthday (May 22nd). My grandpa turned 74 this year. I love my Grandpa so much, and have always felt special knowing that we share the same birthday.

Here is a picture of my Grandpa and I at the wedding reception, and another at our joint birthday party singing to each other.



I had so much fun this past week and weekend, that I told John that we are going to have to make this week-long birthday celebration a tradition!

SURPRISE!!

Here is an excerpt from John's journal, which he wrote tonight:

"Oh yes, we’re pregnant with #2. But our first “whoops.” I really didn’t plan on having #2 until my second year of school once I got core and my internship out of the way. So whoever this baby is, he/she has some very specific plans to come right away, right now, and right during my mid-terms in what will be the busiest semester of my life. I suppose life wouldn’t be all that thrilling without surprises like this. Honestly, Amber and I are very excited. It just took a second to get the eyebrows back under control when Amber first told me the news."

I was pretty surprised myself when I found out we were pregnant, but also super, super excited. The timing may not seem perfect, but I have always thought that two years apart seemed like good spacing for my first two children, and that is almost exactly what they will be. My due date for this baby is November 8, and Makenna will turn 2 on November 18th. I'm also excited becuase my sister Amanda and sister-in-law Tanya are both expecting, and due shortly before me. It will be fun to add so many new babies to the family at the same time.

So far this pregnancy has gone pretty well, although if you would've asked me during the first trimester, you would have gotten a different story. I was pretty nauseous almost all day every day (but never threw up, so it could've been a lot worse). The hardest part was figuring out what to eat. I didn't really have specific cravings, but just felt so sick that it would take me awhile to decide what actually sounded good. And left-overs were out of the question. Luckily that part is over, and it will hopefully be smooth sailing from here.


Here is a picture of John and me at our Labor and Delivery Class that we took while pregnant with Makenna. I would love to say that this was the night before I had Makenna, but in reality it was about a month before she came. I was pretty huge by the end, but in my defense, she was an 8 1/2 pound baby. I'm hoping this next baby won't be any bigger!

Mother's Day

I just wanted to wish all of you mothers (or mothers-to-be) a Happy Mother's Day! I am so grateful for not only the two amazing mothers I have in my life, but for all of the other mothers around me that help me be a better mom. I love hearing your stories, and learning from your experiences.

I know Mother's Day is a day for us to thank our mothers, but I also can't help but reflect on the fact that I am so grateful to be a mother as well. Having Makenna has taught me so much, and I feel so blessed to have her as my daughter.

(P.S. John surprised me with the camera that I have been wanting; a Cannon Powershot Digital Elph! He thought that since we won't have any money for the next couple of years, he should get me a nice gift this year. I am super excited, and can't wait to start posting some nice pictures...thanks Hunny!)

Washington D.C.

Well, we made it home on Sunday evening from our final trip of the month. We had a great time in Washington D.C. and are so happy that we were able to be there for Natalie and Mike's wedding. It was also great to see John's family, since we don't get to see them very often.

On Thursday morning before any of the wedding festivities started, we took Makenna to the D.C. zoo. They call it the "National Zoological Park"...very official. We had a lot of fun, and Makenna loved seeing all of the different animals.



In this picture, Makenna is roaring at the Lion.


The wedding was on Friday afternoon, and it was a wonderful sealing. Natalie looked beautiful, and along with Mike, made such a sweet and happy couple. It is always fun to go to a sealing and think back to the day when John and I were sealed. Makenna did absolutely fabulous all day at the wedding and the reception. She loved spinning around in her dress and giving everyone hugs. She is such a sweet little girl most of the time anyway, but that day especially, she really was such a doll.

Here is the happy couple


Natalie's mom made dresses for me and Makenna, so it was nice not to have to stress about what to wear. I didn't see the dresses until Thursday evening, and beforehand worried that maybe they wouldn't fit, but they both fit great. Thanks Robyn!




At the temple Makenna found this little tractor that she wanted to play in. John's dad bought and gave Makenna a tractor book earlier in the day, and was pleased to see that it sank in so quickly. Maybe we have a future farmer on our hands!


On Saturday, we went into D.C. with John's family to visit some of the sites. We decided to just go until Makenna was "done", and ended up carrying a screaming child out of the one and only museum we visited. I guess we waited too long. The poor thing didn't have a proper nap the whole trip. It seems like we did a lot of driving, and she just got one short little nap each day in the car. I felt bad for her, but she really did great the whole trip (minus the one major meltdown).

John's family in front of the Washington Memorial


John and his brothers Joey and Dan trying to push down the Washington Memorial. (No worries, they were not successful in their attempt...surprising huh?)


Our family with the Lincoln Memorial in the background


Makenna and I with the Capitol Building in the background


And finally, the White House


We stayed in a really nice Marriott hotel during our trip, and I ordered my favorite ever breakfast food not just once, but TWICE! It is the Crunchy French Toast, and it is AMAZING!! I order it almost every time we stay at a Marriott, and I just love it! I keep telling myself that I just need to make it at home sometime, but somehow I just don't think it will be the same as having this yummy plate of food brought to the room and eating it in bed. If you are ever staying at a Marriott where they have this on the breakfast menu, you have to try it.