Princess turns 18 months!!

Ok, ok, I know, I've been completely MIA in my blogging, but with a new baby on the way I HAVE to get back into my routine so I can blog as much for him/her as I did for McKenley!!!

So, what a better way to get back on routine than to celebrate McKenley turning a year and a HALF and to share all the amazing things she is accomplishing each and every day!

Here are a few pictures to show you the great time we've been having the last few months!!

Summer outside fun!!

Loves her hats, Happy Fourth, first ponytail, helpin around the house, BOOMER!!

Accomplishments:
- TALKING, TALKING, and more TALKING!! After month of worrying, unnecessarily I might add, that our little one may never talk, its like everything clicked around 17 months. She went from staring at me blankly when I would try and get her to say "more" or "bye-bye" to trying to mimic everything Casey and I say... which is something we will now have to be careful about!! It's so fun to watch her work her mouth in a way to say "Deuce" or "WHOA!" and she gets so excited when she realizes she has successfully said a new word. She has started asking for things by name, "milk" and "snack" and definitely "Elmo"... which sounds a bit more like "Momo" :) We can't wait for her to start putting several words together!!

- Running, jumping, bear crawling, somersaulting, wheelbarrowing... this girl moving and grooving EVERYWHERE! We've been taking classes at the Little Gym and she soaks up all they have to teach her! She loves swinging from the bars, going upside-down, kicking the balls, and generally just exploring every inch of the place!
- She's beginning to pretend play... many of you saw the picture I posted on Facebook last week of McKenley "having lunch" with Monkey! She carries her animals around everywhere, reads to them, feeds them, gives them some of her milk and water, it is so cute to watch and it makes my heart at ease knowing she is going to be such a good big sister!
- Eyes, Ears, Mouth, and Nose, McKenley knows her body parts!! And even more entertaining is when she locates them on the dogs or mommy and daddy! 
- McKenley is learning more and more animal sounds all the time. It is the cutest thing to hear her version of what a cat says or to watch her make a "fish face" or a "bunny nose"... the girl loves her animals!

I know there are probably many more things, we are celebrating milestones with her all the time. This has got to be one of the most fun ages, she's turning into such a little clown and makes us laugh daily!

I don't have her stats yet because her doctors appointment is not until next week, but our little peanut is growing, but I doubt she'll ever be one of the bigger kids in the group. She is still wearing 12 month clothes and sometimes she can wear an old 9 month shirt!!
 
Food:
Our little "trash compactor" has now decided she has preferences on what she ingests... and boy are there A LOT of preferences!!! Her favorite things right now are cheese (cheese and more cheese), mosts fruits (LOVES grapes!!), crackers, ravioli or pasta in general, sometimes green beans, tortillas and guacamole (yes, shes her mothers daughter!!!), and eggs! Yes, you are right, you did not see any meats in that list! haha, our little lady has decided that meat is NOT on the top of her food list :) she'll occasionally eat lunch meat, hot dog, or chicken nuggets, but its very hit or miss!!

Sleep:
For the most part we are on a SOLID schedule!!! and I am loving it!!! (which is great since we have a new baby coming and schedules will most likely be thrown out the window) She takes about an hour and a half to two hour nap everyday between 12pm-3pm. Then she's up and moving until bed time around 8:30. MOST OF THE TIME, she sleeps for a full 12 hours and yes, has a wake time between 8am and 9am, LOVE that she sleeps in a bit :)

We are enjoying each and everyday with this little lady, I really couldn't ask for anything more!!! We are so excited how she takes to being a big sister and can't wait to see what all she learns next.

How could you not love this face:

Spring is here & things are a changin!!

Welp, it has happened! One of the things that I have been dreading the most... 

McKenley has officially weaned herself to only one nap a day!!!! AHHHHHH! 

I was really hoping I could put this off for a few more months, I don't know why I am so surprised that our little princess had a different plan in mind, we all know she's been this way from day 1, LITERALLY!!! haha

I had just gotten used to our routine of two naps a day, scheduled all of our activities around the 2 nap schedule and now all of it needs to change. Ohhhh, the things we'll do for a good nap :) 

So, "officially" (because we all know a schedule with babies is never official!!) her new schedule is as follows:

8:00am - McKenley wakes up

Within 30 minutes of waking - Breakfast

9:30 - 10 - Mid-Morning Snack

11:30 - Lunch

12:00 - fingers crossed 2pm - the ONE nap of the day!!

3:30 - Afternoon snack

6:00 - Dinner

8:00 - Bedtime

Whew!! Makes for a busy, and sometimes very long day! I am very excited though, that we have a little more time in the morning to do some fun activities like Babies and Books at the Library that used to conflict with her morning nap! 

And that's NOT where the changes end!!! As of last Thursday, this house is OFFICIALLY bottle-free and formula-free! Our little princess is becoming such a big girl, drinking only from a sippy cup with whole milk at meals! It was so liberating to pack up the bottles! No more cleaning all those tiny parts every night, we're LOVING it! 

Casey and I are constantly amazed by how smart she proves to be everyday! She changes so much, right before our eyes shes becoming such a little lady with the cutest personality! Can't wait to see what changes she has up her sleeves next!

And now for your viewing pleasure, a few impromptu photos of our little angel enjoying the spring weather!!

Happy 9 months!!

I cannot believe we are only 3 short months from it being a whole year since our little princess came into our lives!!! She is keeping us SUPER busy with all her movement now, we seem to be chasing her everywhere :)

Accomplishments:
- McKenley's scooting has gotten VERY quick! She is EVERYWHERE! Casey & I have had to be much more alert to where she is, especially if she is really quiet :) She still hasn't mastered getting up on her knees, but we are seeing more and more signs that this is around the corner everyday!! Its so much fun to put her down on the floor and just watch her move all around the house. She has been compared by many to a little lizard the way she "slithers" around, haha!
- She pulled up to an almost-stand on Monday!! The pack-n-play (broken down and in its case) has been our barricade since she became mobile. Looks like its not going to work much longer! She used the handle on the top of it & next thing I knew she was on her feet!! WHAT!!
- The princess had SUCH a great time celebrating her first Thanksgiving!

 - The doctor gave us the clearance to give McKenley just about all table-foods. So whatever Casey and I are eating, she can eat! (with some adjustments of course!) She has yet to turn down anything I have given her. By far, her favorites are blueberries, carrots, peas, and squash!! She's had a small amount of turkey and chicken, but now that they don't have to be pureed, she will start getting them more and more!!! She loves eating the food on her own & is tolerating me feeding her less and less!! haha
- She has started being vocal more and more! I hope everyone got to see McKenley wishing them a Happy Thanksgiving, it is truly one of the cutest things ever!!! We have even heard a "dada" in there a few times!!

- McKenley is still a SHINING star in swim class!! She is doing great with 3 seconds and should be moving up to 4 seconds soon! She even got to swim with daddy this month!

Speedbumps:
- We really haven't experience many issues this month, KNOCK ON WOOD!!! Since she has become more mobile, we are working on that fantastic little word, "NO!" The smarty pants definitely knows what the word means, but this doesn't mean she likes to obey it :)
- It would be very nice if she would learn to go from a crawl to a sitting position!! She gets so frustrated when she's tired of being on her stomach for too long and cries until I sit her up... hopefully that will happen soon!!

Stats:
- Length - 27in (25%)
- Weight - 17 lbs 12 oz (45%) - this went down a bit, so the Dr thinks she should be hitting a growth spurt soon... we'll see!
- Head - 17 in (30%)
- Food - She has decided that since she's SUCH a big girl now, she wants little to do with others feeding her and more to do with her feeding herself! Our next big items on the menu are solid meats and cheeses! She's eating 3 solid meals a day, pureed foods or yogurt and finger foods, and taking 4 bottles. We try to get atleast 5-6oz of formula in her, but she normally loses interest around 4-5oz :/
- Diapers - She is still in size 3
- Clothes - In all 3-6month clothes and some 6-9 (she grows out of the nighties with feet sooo fast!!)
- Sleep - We have finally gotten back on a GREAT schedule!! McKenley wakes up around 8 or 8:30 and then goes down for her first nap around 10:30 and sleeps until 12 (hopefully, haha). Then, we wake up and play for a while, eat lunch, play some more, and go back down for a nap around 3:30 and normally she sleeps until 5:30 or so.  McKenley goes down for the evening around 8:30 and sleeps through the night!! We are sooo lucky to have such a good sleeper!!


Her daddy and I are so excited to for the holidays this year. She is already the BEST present of the season. I can't wait to see how much fun she has opening presents and enjoying all the festivities and ESPECIALLY her first trip to see Santa!

8 Months big!!

Eeesh! Runnin a few days late with this post, we've been a bit busy with fevers and family and just all around craziness :)

Ms. McKenley has been SUPER busy this past month beatin down milestone after milestone. Casey and I cannot believe the things she accomplishes everyday! She's growing so fast and although we are so proud of her accomplishments, we just want time to slow down so we can soak in every last second!

Yeah... I'm a little obsessed! :)

 Accomplishments:
- McKenley is becoming MUCH more efficient at scooting her way across the living room (video to follow soon). It has always been Daisy trying to get McKenley's toys, well now we have to worry about the baby going for the dog toys!! Daisy is not happy that her toys keep disappearing!
- We took the princess on her first trip to NORMAN!!!
- She is getting much more accurate at getting finger foods into her mouth and not the cheek or losing it before it gets close to her face :) We have even started eating "real" food, like avocado and blueberries!!!

- I started making McKenley's food this month, which has been SOOO much fun! There is such a bigger range of foods that McKenley can eat when I make it myself! I think her favorite so far is a mix of pineapple and pears! YUMMY!!!
- Made it through another "first" holiday, Happy Halloween my little ladybug!

- Learned how to wave buh-bye!!! Yes, it takes LOTS of prompting, or it happens at completely random times, but it is THE cutest thing ever!! Tried to get it on video this morning, but she wouldn't cooperate, of course!
- We have also graduated to a sippy cup with a straw! She isn't completely successful at keeping all the water she has sucked up in her mouth, BUT again, cutest thing ever!
- In swim class, McKenley is now going under water for 3 seconds (I know, doesn't seem like much, but common, she's only 8 months old)!! I laugh every time she goes under, the instructor says, "Ready, goooooo!!!!" and she takes this deeeep breath and dives out of the instructor's arms all on her own. After 3 seconds we bring her back up and this small stream of water shoots out of her mouth like a little fountain! Cracks. me. up!!!

Speedbumps:
- Suffered through her first serious fever :( Last week McKenley's fever got up to 102.7!! Our poor baby was completely miserable. Luckily, it didn't last for too long, but boy was it awful. All we wanted to was to take her pain away!!
- Daylight Savings Time... yes, Daylight Savings Time IS a speedbump! I used to LOVE gaining that extra hour... NOT ANY MORE!! No one told me that babies do not realize they are supposed to sleep an extra hour :( Needless to say, we're a bit off the schedule that we worked so hard to create, hopefully it won't take too long to get back on track!! :)
Stats: (these are unofficial measurements that I have taken at home)
Length:
Weight: 17 lbs 3 oz
Head:
Food: She is eating all homemade foods at this point. So far she has liked everything I have given her! We have also recently discovered avocado and blueberries that she LOVES!! We switched to barley, instead of oatmeal, and she seems to not even notice! Next on our list of things to try: lentils, yogurt, eggs, asparagus, and eggplant! YUMMY!!
Diapers: She is officially in Size 3, big girl!!
Clothes: In all 3-6month clothes and some 6-9 (she grows out of the nighties with feet sooo fast!!)
Sleep: We are sooo happy she is still sleeping through the night, with the exception of when she was sick. She normally goes from 8:30pm - 8:00am (except after DST, it's 8:00 - 7:00 :/ ). Its a good day when I get 2 naps a day that are longer than an hour. Normally she gets one good hour and a half long nap and one 45 min nap. Hopefully that will improve!!!

I CANNOT believe we are on the downward slope to 1 year!!! She is getting bigger and bigger each day and doing more and more things that make me literally stop in my tracks and say, "Oh my gosh, shes growing up WAY too fast!"

I mean really, how could you NOT love this smile:

Another new project :)

So I decided I didn't have enough to do with my time, and have started making McKenley's food myself!! I didn't really know where to even begin, soooo I just made everything!! I visited our local Sprouts to get a "few" fruits and veggies and left with:

• Butternut Squash
• Sweet Potatoe
• Yellow Squash
• Zucchini
• Carrots
• Corn
• Peas
• Canteloupe
• Pears
• Peach

Once I got home, it got a little CRAZY in the kitchen. It looked like a farm had exploded in our house! I steamed and baked and boiled and peeled and chopped and pureed to my little heart's content!

Once everything had been pureed I started mixin things together! Here's what I started with:

Doesn't it look sooooooo scrumptious! haha

And then poured all the mixtures into ice trays to freeze them into individual portions...

Once they were frozen, I poured them into bags to save for later!! :)

Needless to say, McKenley has enough food to last SEVERAL months!!! She has been eating the homemade food for about a week now & I am pleased to say she has loved everything she has tried!! I even think that it is the reason we haven't had ANY tummy issues in the past week! YAY! 

I already can't wait to see what new fruits and veggies she enjoys and what I can mix together to make yummy meals for her :)

7 Months Big!!!!

I cannot believe our little peanut has been in our lives for 7 months now! I can honestly say, I don't even remember what life was like before her :)

I have to admit, I was a bit of a slacker last month and didn't post any of her stats or accomplishments :/ So this will be things that have been going on in the last 2 months!

Accomplishments:
McKenley has been SUPER busy these last 2 months:
- She is able to sit up completely on her own now! ANNDDD, I have even been able to walk a few steps away without the constant fear she is going to fall backwards and bang her noggin! (This is not to say we haven't had a few noggin bangs!)

- She has learned to bang toys together or against something & LOOOOOVES the big noise it makes
- McKenley is working soo hard to become mobile. She has mastered rolling front to back and back to front quite well and barrel rolls ALL over the living room! On top of that she has started a small bit of scooting. Whatever the strategy, she is able to get to the toy she wants, even if it takes her 10 minutes! haha
- Don't know whether to put this in the "speedbump" section or the "accomplishment" section, so I'll mention this in both :) WE HAVE TEETH!!! As of September 20th McK's bottom 2 teeth broke through!!
- FIRST GAME DAY!! McKenley is already brainwashed & loves her Sooners. I can't wait to post the first time she says Boomer Sooner :)

- PAAAARTAY! My social little butterfly has already been to 2 birthday parties. Her cousin Blake turned 3 and we visited the firestation & the Ms. Poppy turned one! Can't wait to celebrate with more friends as she gets bigger!!

- Casey discovered one of McKenley's favorite way to pass the time! Our little scholar LOVES reading Time Magazine... or chew it up :)

Speedbumps:
Although McKenley has been busy knockin down those milestones, these last 2 months have not been without our struggles :(
- About a week and a half ago, we had to make our first sick visit to the doctors. Our poor little girl fought her way through a yucky cough. It took us a full week to get back to our routine, YUCK! We did learn lots about how to fight congestion - prop the bed up, Vicks plug-in, sitting in the steam bathroom, and the ever hated "nose sucker"
- As I mentioned before, TEETH! Hopefully she'll let me snap a picture of them soon. Man can 2 little teeth cause so many problems! :(
- Her sensitive skin is still causing issues here and there. We had to get a prescription ointment from the doctor that really cleared things up, but after a week or 2 of not using it, the rough patches seem to come back. Hopefully it doesn't get out of control during the winter.

Stats:
6 months~
Weight: 15lbs 6oz (35%)
Length: 26 1/4in. (75%) ~ yes, long and skinny like her mommy... used to be :) haha
Head Cir.: 16 1/2in. (30%)
Food: McKenley has officially put herself on a 4 month schedule. Sooo, she has four 6oz bottles a day... well I offer them to her, who knows if she will actually take the whole thing! :) She has solid foods once a day consisting of a bowl of baby oatmeal and half of the Step 1 Gerber fruit or veggie.
Diapers: Still in Size 2!
Clothes: Our peanut is holding strong in 0-3 month clothes! haha
Sleep: McKenley is sleeping mostly through the night. She loooooves waking up because she has lost her pacifier (I have a love/hate relationship with that thing!) or because she has flipped herself to her back :) She normally takes 3 naps a day that are around an hour or an hour and a half.

7 months~
**Headed to the doctor soon for the 2nd round of the flu shot, so I'll have the official stats then**
Weight:
Length:
Head Cir.:
Food: We have moved to 2 servings of solid foods a day! She has a small bowl of oatmeal with 1/3 of a fruit in the morning & a large bowl of oatmeal with 1/2-3/4 of a veggie at night. She is still taking four 6oz. bottles of formula a day. We have also discovered the yummy little Puffs!! Video coming soon of her working on picking them up and feeding herself!!
Diaper: Still Size 2
Clothes: We are teetering between 0-3 month and 3-6 months :) I love that she's so little, we get much more use out of clothes!!
Sleep: After working through her being sick and teething, we are back on routine BETTER than before!! We have gone 5 night now without waking up at all!! (I try not to talk about it too much though b/c I don't want to jinx us! :)


WOW!! This was such a long post, and honestly I had a lot more that I could've talked about, because lets be honest, I LLOOOOOOVE talking about our perfect little princess. :)

Solid Foods Update

Well, after a slow start, McKenley has been dominating her solid foods!! She has started eating twice a day, a small amount in the mornings, and a larger portion for dinner. It used to take so long to get a small amount down because she would push most of it out, now that she has gotten the hang of swallowing a more solid substance, we are rockin and rollin!

Likes:
Oatmeal
ALL VEGGIES!! Squash, green beans, peas, sweet potatoes, carrots, you name it! She loves them!

Dislikes:
Rice cereal
ANNNNDDD, most fruits! Totally backwards!!! We have tried peaches, bananas, apples, and pears... she just doesn't seem to care for them! See the video below to see what I mean! haha

After she finishes her food, she loves sitting in her highchair and chewing on her washrag and spoon! Yes, a simple washrag & spoon seems to provide hours of entertainment for our little princess! haha
 

All in all, our little girl is getting to be quite the big girl!! We are now working on mastering the sippy cup :)

YUMMY!!!!

At our last doctors appointment, Dr. Smith gave us the go ahead to start solid foods!!! So, Sunday night we started with our first helping of rice cereal! We stripped her down and were ready to give it a go...

What are we about to do mom!?!

She was a bit apprehensive at first...

 Then she started getting the hang of it a bit!!

Unfortunately, her patience didn't last too long. We didn't get much further into it before she decided she was DONE!!!

Soooooo, Monday night we tried again! This time dad had the BRILLIANT idea to mix some yummy apples in with the not so good tasting rice cereal & MAN she loved it!

Those apples were YUMMY!!!!

We almost go through the entire bowl tonight, with apples added in!! Next week we will try and introduce some veggies... that should be interesting!! :) ...yeah