Eesh!! Rough goin around here!!

It has been soooo long since my last post... but for good reason! It has been somewhat rough goin around the Boyd house as of late.

The last two and a half weeks we've had teething, an ear ache, busted lip, no sleeping... and the list goes on!

Two weeks ago Casey and I started feeling yucky. I just kept getting worse and worse, and it wasn't helping matters that McKenley started being super cranky! So last Thursday I finally dragged both of us to the doctor, it was time to start feeling better! McKenley's appointment was first it it took just a peek inside her left ear for the doctor to spot an ear infection :( She prescribed us some Amoxicillin and sent us on our way. I am really hoping that this first ear infection does not lead to more. Later that day it was my turn. The doctor said it was an upper respiratory infection and I got a Z-Pack.  I could tell with in hours of her first dose of medicine that she was feeling better!

Along with feeling yucky, McKenley's 5th and 6th tooth are coming in!! I have been able to feel them under the gums for about a week and a half now, but those little suckers just WILL NOT break through!! 

Both of these things have totally thrown us off our smooth routine of bedtime!! McKenley has been "sleep-trained" since about 5 months, Casey and I have gotten quite used to sleeping through the night!! But, with an ear infection and teething, we were starting to see McKenley wake up several times throughout the night and then this week she would NOT go to bed when we laid her down. We're talking 30 minutes of SCREAMING!! She's always been so easy to put down, Casey and I did not have the "tools" to know how to deal with this new behavior. Needless to say, we called in some advice to friends and tried to figure out how to get her back on schedule. Everyone's answer... just let her cry it out... bleh!! 

Oh yeah, and also throw in a busted lip on Monday! Poor girl has been put through the ringer!! :( I guess this comes with the territory of an adventurous little one. 

Although we have been through quite a bit in the last couple of weeks, I am happy to say that I think we are over the worst of it. The teeth STILL haven't cut through, so I know she is still a bit uncomfortable, but we seem to be back on track with her sleeping, FINGERS CROSSED, because we have had 2 nights of minimal to no crying at bed time!!!! 

We've been so lucky to have such a low-maintanence baby thus far, I guess we have to have some bumps in the road here and there :) COUNTDOWN TO ONE YEAR BIRTHDAY!!! :)

10 months!!! WOW!

I think I say this every month, but I really can't believe our baby is 10 months old! Time has really flown by and the thought that we are only 2 months away from her being a year old is CRAZY!!!

This month McKenley has been making incredible progress with her motor skills, we are knocking down milestones one after another! It has become quite the task to keep up with her lately :) In fact, these monthly pictures are becoming more and more challenging!

Case in point....

I was out of breath by the time we were done!!!

Accomplishments:

- McKenley is now a full-on crawler! She still goes down on her belly occasionally because she still moves faster that way, but most of the time it is on her hands and knees!!

- She can go from a crawl, back to a sit! This was huge as I was getting very tired of having to sit her back up when she got tired of crawling! haha

- She got a fun new walker for Christmas and started taking steps behind it!! It is only a couple with mommy or daddy right there, but it is precious to watch her take little steps.

- Her favorite new thing is pointing...

... love that little finger!! Except when it is pointing back at me when I tell her "no! no!" Yes, I am serious, she really shakes her finger back at us when we tell her no. Boy, we're in trouble, haha

- Now that she is so mobile, she has started playing independently soo much better. It is so cute to watch her crawl from toy to toy and play. She was so excited to find that when you bang two blocks together it makes a very loud (and somewhat annoying) noise. 

- We now have 4 teeth! I love seeing her toothy little grin in pictures :)

- She successfully made it through 2 more holidays!

- AND loved her first visit to the Gaylord ICE exhibit...

Our very own Princess Fiona:)

Speedbumps:

-TEETHING!!!! Ahhh... I wish they would all just come in at the same time. We barely made it through the top two coming through and now that they are in, we got about a weeks break, and now 2 more are coming in on the top. I feel so bad for her because it couldn't feel good at all :( So, we just power through and applaud when they finally break through!!

- McKenley is starting to develop QUITE the stubborn side, don't really know how to handle this with a 10 month old, haha, but lets just say she definitely understands the word "no" :)

- Because she is becoming more mobile, we are starting to have more and more spills and "ouchies." This month we encountered our first serious "ouchie" that required a trip to the doctor!! This is a picture of her head after it met the corner of our coffee table :( She's all better now, after a bit of surgical glue was used to hold it all together!

Stats:

Length - 27 1/2 inches

Weight - about 20 lbs.

Head - 17 1/2 inches

Food - McKenley has pretty much decided to take pureed food off her "menu," haha. She has little to no patience for mommy and daddy spoon feeding her and would much rather move along to the independent portion of the meal :) She still has not found anything that she doesn't like, she shovels it all into her mouth without discrimination, haha.  We have found food that she CAN'T eat :( Her poor little skin does not agree with the strong acids in pineapple and tomato. You can see in the New Years picture above the red splotches STILL hadn't completely faded :/ Her love for "real food" has presented a whole new set of challenges for me, I have to take a whole new person into consideration when planning meals. Will McKenley be able to eat this? If not, what can I make her instead? She now has her very own shelf of food in the refrigerator! and if we go out to eat, I have to think about if that restaurant will have something for her to eat or if I need to pack something. I feel like my brain is on food overload!

Diapers - Still holdin strong in 3's :)

Clothes - She is mostly in 6-9 month clothes. There are a few 3-6 that I can still squeeze her in :) and some things that she has to go up to 9-12mo. Love our little peanut!

Sleep - Her new schedule that I mentioned last month is still going GREAT!! She takes 2 solid naps a day and is still sleeping from about 8pm-8am at night!! Its so nice to have a predictable schedule and makes it easier for me to get things done around the house :)

I honestly feel like everyday I can see a difference in her! She is changing so fast and we are trying to soak in every minute of it! I can't believe how much Casey and I love this little life, I didn't even know it was possible, every little thing she does amazes us... its a little sickening honestly :)

Happy 2012!!

Our first New Years celebration with the princess was AMAZING!!!

This year we had the pleasure of being invited up to our friends ranch house in Oklahoma. Mark and Michella have the MOST amazing house on beautiful acreage in the booming town of Tupelo, OK. AND, we were able to take the baby, so we could ring in the new year with her! 

Saturday afternoon we hit the road for Oklahoma. With Casey and I being "city folk" as they liked to call us, this was like entering an alternate universe! But it was GREAT! 

McKenley fell right in love with the little puppy that was there!!

And of course she had to celebrate with a bit of raspberry blowin!!

She thought all of the deer head were so neat!! haha

Sayin thanks to Michella before heading to bed! She didn't quite make it until midnight!

Our little cowgirl!!

 After she went to bed, Dad and I were able to enjoy being adults without her!! :) Casey got to go coyote hunting and I got to enjoy some "beverages" by the amazing fire pit while listening to the kids sing karaoke. We had a BLAST!!!

Amazingly, McKenley slept all the way through the night!!! But, was up bright and early to visit the puppy again!!

We had such a great time celebrating with McKenley and can't wait to see what gifts and adventures 2012 brings us!!

Christmas #5 - Mimi's house!! and Christmas cookies

On Christmas Eve we had the BEST time decorating Christmas cookies!!!! And of course, we had to get McKenley involved, and YES, she got a bit dirty!!

And after we baked the cookies, we definitely had to taste them!! Here's McKenley's first taste of Mimi's gingerbread!!

I think she liked it!!!

And Mimi even gave McKenley her OWN drawer in the kitchen to keep herself busy while the rest of us cooked!!

Okay, on to the presents and more pictures!!

McKenley got some amazing gifts from her aunts and Mimi and David! At one point I almost couldn't find her because of all the bows and boxes surrounding her!!

SNUGGIES!!!!

Aunt Rachel helping McKenley play with her new toys!!

 

And then it was time for a mini-photo shoot in front of the tree!!!

 

These last few days have been AMAZING!!!! I can't wait for many more family-filled holidays to come with our little princess!!

Christmas #3 and 4- First Christmas Morning!!

I was so excited for McKenley's first Christmas morning, that I almost forgot, she had really no idea what was going on! The morning went as usual as we awaited the arrival of Grandpa Jim and Grandma Kim and then we got busy!!!!

Love for Grandpa Jim...

And Big Bird....

AND Grandma Kim!!!

 She clearly didn't get enough of opening her own gifts, because then she went to help out dad!

Casey and I had such a great time on McKenley's first Christmas morning! It was perfect! and we enjoyed a yummy Christmas morning casserole :)

...and then we were off to #4!! Papa and Grandma's house in Argyle...

After stuffing our faces full of good food.. YET AGAIN!!! It was playtime with all her loved ones!

Paige (aka Lolli, haha)

 Look at her cute outfit, yes, made by mom!!!

Aunt Gaye and cousin Angie

Love for Papa!!

Cousin Brianna

And don't forget Grandma!!

 And no family gathering would be complete without the classic family photo in front of the fireplace!!.. oh yea, with a screaming baby!! haha

Four down, one more to go :)

Christmas #1 and #2 - I know, I'm soooo behind!! :/

Things have been SUPER busy around the Boyd household, the fact that I'm just now posting about Christmas is proof enough! ha.

There is always so much hustle and bustle that surrounds the holidays, but with our new little one, things were CRAZY!!! It was so much fun getting to experience this first Christmas with her :)

We started the festivities at McKenley's Pop's house! We had such a great time celebrating and just spending the day together!

Loves her Aunts!!

She was super excited for her padded foam mat for the floor and especially, her first pair of Uggs!!!!

On Christmas Eve......

it was off to Gigi's house (McKenley's Great-Grandmother) and BOY did she hit the jackpot! She has such great aunts, uncles, and cousins who showered her with fun toys and super cute clothes!

Of course, before the festivities could officially begin, there was the traditional family picture time! haha! Grandmother was so happy to have all of her grand and great-grand children together!!

After the photo session was over, it was time to dig into the presents!

MINNIE!!!!

I don' think she knew where to begin! haha

She had so much fun playing with her cousin Blake! These are some of my favorite pictures of the whole weekend!! She thought his Transformer Fireman Garage was sooo cool!! :)

And you know we couldn't get away from there without taking some classic "in front of the tree" photos!!

Needless to say, after all the presents, food, and pictures she was exhausted & decided to take a load off :)

and we geared back up for Christmases 3-5!!!!