Weekend with Grammie and Gramps

What a busy month. We wrapped up the month with Gramps and Grammie...so FUN!

Gramps and Makena talking on the phone.

Grammie's Toy Tower...so fun!

Talking with Grammie.

Cuddle time with Grammie.

Project Paci - Week 1 Complete

Night 3 and beyond: Night time has gotten progressively easier for Makena without the paci. As of night 3 she has stayed in her bed at night. She tends to get up a little earlier than before since she has issues soothing herself back to sleep. We may spend a little more time with her to get her ready for bed but other than an extra book, song, or a second prayer we really haven't had much trouble. She may try a few more stall tactics but ultimately at night she has done pretty well.

Naptime however...totally different story. She has a hard time going down for her nap and if she ever wakes up too soon we have a screamer on our hands.

She confirms daily that she "gave paci's to mommy" and we then walk through what Mommy gave to her. It is so precious and is hard sometimes to stick to our guns but again we know it is for the best.

A couple of days ago she found some of her old 'little" paci I had stored in a box. She did very good saying they were the baby's paci until she came across one that was more her size. I found her sneaking it into her mouth but after only one time telling her she didn't attempt it again.

I love my big girl! Sometimes growing up is a little hard but she has done great!

Makena's First Ponytail

Up until know my sweet little girl has been blessed with little hair. It has been a blessing because she is hot natured and it is cool as well as the fact that I haven't had to fight the tangle wars or spend extra time getting it fixed every morning. However, getting a little extra hair on top has enabled us to finally have a little ponytail.

Here she is sporting her new do as she comes back from getting the mail with Daddy. This is a special time for Makena and Daddy every night.

Makena's cute little ponytail. Looking forward to many more.

Rollie Pollie

Brooklyn decided to roll over today. I suspect we will see more of this in the days to come. I think she is already ready to walk but she can't seem to get the whole "balance while picking up her feet thing" down. Growing up fast. Of course I didn't get a picture but wanted to document the occassion.

Lions and Tigers and Bears oh my!

Really it was the Fort Worth Zoo. As we were leaving I tried to find a good sign to take a picture in front of but there weren't any. We opted for a picture in from of this crazy looking dinosaur. It was part of the special dinosaur exhibit at the zoo that day.
Here the girls are watching the kangaroos. Daddy was mistaken by what they were so we all got a big laugh.

Here Makena is seeing which bird has the same wing span as she does. Winner...the Peregrine Falcon.

Daddy is showing Makena the giraffe.Touching her first reptile.First visit with the flamingos.Watching the elephants play.And after a warm day at the zoo...a much needed nap.

"Paci, please"

Don woke up this morning with a little girl in his bed and the first thing she muttered was "paci, please." It was Makena's first night without her paci and she just knew her Daddy would feel sorry for her. He didn't of course but it is very sad and hard to hear her ask for her paci. I decided after we got through shots last Tuesday it would be time to get rid of the paci. On Wednesday, she got sick and we convinced her to give it up Wednesday night to try to keep her from coughing so much, but she was ready to have it back for nap time on Thursday. Because she was not resting well, I gave it back to her because I thought it would help her rest.

We decided we would try the trading method. On Saturday she picked out a toy and it remained on the counter until Sunday afternoon when I told her she could open it when she brought me her paci(s). She immediately went to her bed and got 2 paci's and brought them to me. All things were good until bedtime. We continued to tell her that she now had her big girl drawing pad and drawing book instead of her paci. It took an hour or so, many prayers and some rocking time, but she finally went down. She did at one point yell at us that she needed a new diaper, which was funny because she knew she knew that would probably get us to go in there. Brooklyn woke her up with a blood curdling cry around 2 so Makena ended up in our bed but slept good.

Nap time was pretty much the same as night time. I rocked her and she went to sleep but she woke herself up coughing and at that point wanted up. She ended up laying down with Daddy and sleeping a couple more hours.

Night #2: Daddy put her down like normal and then in a few minutes "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy" emerged from the room. After a while Daddy went in and changed her diaper. Then she requested Mommy come rock her. She is down now.

Love my big girl and am a little sad to see that paci go, but I know it is for the best. However, I won't miss the stinky slobber all over her face in the morning or hearing her get choked while she sleeps with it in her mouth.

From a Mommy trying to stay strong when I hear "paci, please"...stay tuned for more paci updates.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!

Happy Birthday to Daddy...Hawaiian style!! Last year on Don's birthday we found out that we were expecting Brooklyn. This year marked two precious bundles to hug and squeeze.

We found these dresses in Hawaii last year and they are so cute on the girls. Thought these two pics of Makena were super cute. Shows off her beautiful smile and personality.

Daddy and Brooklyn.

My sweet Hawaiian girls.

Brooklyn is 4 Months

At 4 Months old, Brooklyn weighed 13 pounds 10 ounces (47th percentile), was 25.25 inches (80th percentile) tall, and had a head size of 16.25 inches (56th percentile). At her doctor's appointment Dr. T told us to give her some probiotics to easy the tummy discomfort to see if it would help her sleep at night. Brooklyn had also stopped taking a bottle but she told us to keep trying. We still weren't getting much sleep over night but hoping the changes would make it better.

Brooklyn is a little jumper. Her legs never stop and they are really strong. She loves her sister and they laugh together. It is so precious to watch.

Happy 5th Anniversary

Happy Anniversary to us!! Don and I were able to celebrate our 5th Anniversary at the Gaylord Texan. We only spent one night away from the kids and were so thankful for Grammie and Gramps coming to brave the night of potentially no sleep. We ate ate at Big Fish in Grapevine. I had wonderful crab legs and Don had fish and chips. Yummy!! We walked down main street and enjoyed the festival music. We then rounded off our day away with a big breakfast and a little shopping.

Here are the beautiful flowers from my hubby. Love you!

While we were away...Brooklyn decided to take 3 bottles really well (throughout the night) and then decided not to eat for 11 hours until I got home. She wasn't upset or hungry. This proves she is ready to sleep through the night and not be fed which has not been tackled at this point due to all the screaming that would take place and fear of then having two kiddos to take care of during the night. Soon...very soon. Makena enjoyed her day with Grammie and Gramps. She and Grammie drew pictures and wrote words. Makena loves to color and "write".

Thanks again for coming while we enjoyed ourselves for the evening.

Happy Mother's Day 2011

Happy Mother's Day! After a long night Mother's day got off to a rocky start but we ended it with time at worship, lunch at Anamia's and some family time. We missed having Chris's family with us and Grannie B, but we had a great time.

Makena's 2nd Birthday Party

A Sesame Street celebration with family and friends.

Happy Birthday Makena!

Happy 2nd birthday Makena!!! I can't believe my little girl is 2. This is how we greeted our new two year old. You can see her 4 prize possessions. Two paci's, one pink big blanket, and one "triangle" taggie blanket.

On to her presents...Elmo attire for our birthday celebration the following day.

Then to a birthday cinnamon roll...yummy!!

2 year old photo shoot in Mom's wedding dress. Isn't she the cutest?!?

The morning Makena turned two she started singing her ABC's. She became obsessed with me singing that song.

She weighs 26.5 pounds and is 34.75 inches tall.

Along with singing, she jabbers new words and will repeat just about anything. Most of the stories are in front of us only. She is still very shy when around others, but we see the arms flying, wobbly running, giggly little girl with very little hair and beautiful blue eyes.

She loves the big wood park and feeding the ducks and turtles.

Favorites:

Toys...kitchen, diapering all of her babies, her new castle she got for her birthday a few weeks back.

Food...Strawberries, grapes, pizza

Clothes...Elmo PJs, anything cool

Shoes...Crocs and "Starfish" shoes

Time of the day...Going to get the mail with Daddy

TV Time...Elmo Sing Along

Book..."I am a Big Sister"- She now can "read" the book herself. It is so cute to see her sit in the rocker by herself and tell the story as she turns the pages. I believe we have read this every night since Brooklyn was born. Thank you Grammie for picking out such great books.

Songs...ABCs and Little Bitty Fishy

She also loves bible class and her church friends.

We love you Makena! You are a true light in our lives from God.