It's Official

We're heading back to school in the fall. And although we are not exactly sure where we will end up yet, we are sure that we will be going somewhere.

John applied to 6 different schools, and so far we have heard back from 3 of them, and he has been accepted to all of them! A few weeks ago, we found out that John had been accepted to the business school (McCombs) at the University of Texas in Austin (go Longhorns!), and today we found out that he was accepted to BYU's b school (Marriott) as well. (He was also accepted to the University of Nebraska, and although it would be nice to be able to stay close to my family, it was more of a backup school, so is out of the picture.)

I am torn on where I want to go. On the one hand, I absolutely loved my experience at BYU, and I think I would like to go back. It is familiar to me, and way cheaper than Texas. Plus, I know there would be lots of other young moms to hang out with. But, most of my fond memories of BYU are tied with my experiences of being on Folk dance, and meeting and falling in love with John. Would it ruin my perfect memories to go back and not officially be a part of BYU, just be on the sideline?? The jury is still out on that one.

On the other hand, I think it would be really fun to live in Austin, and explore a new city. I also think that I would enjoy the warmer weather. But, unlike BYU, I'm sure that I will be one of only a select group of moms, and John and I would be further in debt than we would be if we went to BYU.

Luckily since we are still waiting to hear back from 3 more schools, we don't have to make any decisions right now. I guess I should just be grateful that he has been accepted to multiple schools, and we will have a choice to make.

New Words

Makenna is almost 14 months old now, and has been starting to learn some new words. Her current vocabulary consists of the following:

Mom - She literally says mom, and not ma ma

Dad - Same things with dad, it is not da da, but dad

Muh - (More) She says this ALL of the time

Men - (Amen) Makenna learned to say this while we were in Colorado for Christmas. She now says it everytime we say a family prayer. She has also learned to fold her arms. (Well she actually just clasps her hands together, but it is pretty cute.) She starts doing it as soon as she notices me setting the table for dinner.

Boo - She says this while playing peek-a-boo games with us

Bup - (Dog) I really don't know where this one came from, but this is what she called Dallas in Colorado. Sometimes it sounds more like dog, but most of the time it is just bup.

Ba - Bath

Moo - This is really the only animal noise she can make so far

Makenna is also doing a lot of other really fun things. She mimicks everything that John and I do, and she loves to help with chores like laundry (she puts the clothes in the washer and the dryer), unloading the dishwasher (she will bring everything to me), and picking up (as long as we make it a game). She will pretty much follow any instructions that I give her (except when I tell her to stop doing something that she wants to do). It is amazing how much more she understands than I give her credit for. She also loves to dance and kick her legs, which is quite hysterical to watch. Makenna seems too grown up to be my little baby anymore, which is sad, but she still loves to snuggle and gives the best hugs and kisses, so I'm happy.

Christmas in Colorado

This year, we spent Christmas in Colorado with John's family. I was a little nervous about the eight hour drive, but Makenna did fairly well, and it was well worth the trip. We had a great time hanging out with John's parents and 3 younger brothers. Makenna loved all of the attention she got from her uncles and grandparents, and also enjoyed chasing around their dog Dallas. Personally, I enjoyed the pre-Christmas shopping, all of my mother-in-law's cooking, getting pedicures with my mother-in-law (we hope to make this a new tradition), reading books 3 and 4 in the Twilight series (LOVED them), and being able to spend time with all of the family. Thank you guys for letting us spend our Christmas with you!

I did a REALLY bad job taking pictures on the trip, but here are a few:

Makenna with John and her uncle Mike.


Makenna with a shopping cart that she stole from Grandma CeCe's Preschool.


Playing at the preschool with John and uncle Dan.


Makenna trying to take off her cute t-shirt that she got from her Grandma and Grandpa. It says "Property of the Pawlowski Family".


And of course Dallas, the family's dog.

Merry Christmas!

I just wanted to wish everyone a Very Merry Christmas! (Also wanted to say thanks for the separation anxiety comments; they were very helpful. Makenna and I both did very well during our time apart, and it was great to have some Husband and Wife time.)

Separation Anxiety

Is it normal for first-time moms to have separation anxiety?

John and I are scheduled to leave later on this afternoon to visit a school several hours away, and will be gone overnight. This will be my first night being away from Makenna since she was born. I feel like I should be ready and excited to have a little bit of a break, but I can't help but be nervous and anxious about leaving her. Makenna will be staying with my mom while we are gone, and although I know that Makenna loves my mom, and I trust her (my mom) 100%, I can't help but worry about whether she will be able to sleep okay in a strange house and bed, if she will eat okay, whether or not she will think that we have abandoned her, etc...

I know that I will enjoy being able to spend some alone time with John, and I just hope that I can relax enough not to ruin it. Is this normal, or am I just ridiculous?

Thanksgiving Weekend

Our Thanksgiving weekend started off a little rough with a failed attempt at getting some family pictures taken (that's another story), but it ended up being a really great weekend. On Wednesday afternoon, we took Makenna to a park in our neighborhood, and she LOVED it. She kept wanting to go down the slides over and over. I can't wait till this Spring when we can play at the park more often.



On Thanksgiving Day, we went out to my Mom and Dad's house for the afternoon and evening. Makenna loved it because there were lots of little cousins running around to play with. After our big meal, my dad took us all on a hayrack ride. It was quite cold out, but we bundled up, and since my parents live out in the country, it didn't take us long to find some horses to pet. All of the kids (including Makenna) loved being able to see and pet the horses. I hope that this hayrack ride will become a Thanksgiving Tradition.



On Friday John and I were able to go on a nice date. (Thanks mom and dad for babysitting.) We did a little Christmas shopping, and then went to dinner and a movie. We use to try to go on a date once a week, but since having Makenna our date nights have usually consisted of watching a movie at home after Makenna goes to sleep. I am hoping that we can start having more regular date nights out.

I love this time of year when we get more time to stop and be grateful for all of the wonderful friends and family in our lives. I thoroughly enjoyed the Thanksgiving break this year, and can't wait for Christmas!

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!