My Glamorous Life; In A New Way

New Review Blog

2011-11-08T17:20:00.001-06:00

Check out my new review blog at http://doodlereview.blogspot.com/ where you can read my first review about Scrinchables Cloth Wipes. Please tell your friends because I want to have a lot of people reading and a lot of items to review. Check back soon to read my review about The Posh Frog's boy Tie Shirt!

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2011-10-25T13:44:00.001-05:00

Why do I have a blog?

Two Things

2011-10-05T17:15:00.001-05:00

ONE: Micah is walking a lot these days.

TWO: Micah has 7 teeth now.

School Days or Daze?

2011-09-12T09:55:00.000-05:00

This year my precious little girl is going to preschool two days a week. And these are not just little half days, these are long 5.5 hour days!

Last Wednesday was actually her first day of school, but she went in 2 hours late because she had not slept at all the night before due to a stuffy nose (I blame the smoke in the air from the wild fires). Anyway, at 10:30 that day she announced to me that she wanted to go show her friends her pretty dress and socks and shoes and lunch box and nap mat and backpack...in that order. We got ready and arrived just before 11:00; still plenty of time left in the day, but not so long that it shook me as Mommy. I actually got to walk her into class and see her go right in as if she owned the place. They were doing 'centers' at that moment and she just went right up to the 'center' she wanted to be in and never looked back. No hug, no kiss, no bye Mommy. Just gone. She had such a great time that when I picked her up that afternoon the first thing she said when she got into the car was, "I want to do it again!" and then she quickly followed with, "Why you just take me from my friends." I explained that all the friends were going home and she could do this again on Monday. She fell asleep when we got home!

Today actually feels like the first day of school to me because she will be there all 5.5 hours, and we used the carpool system. You know, where you pull up to the door and a teachers assistant or other staff member come take your child from the car and walk them to class! I had been preparing Mackenzie for this in advance so she would allow this person to help her out of the car (and thankfully she recognized the lady helping), but she was not phased one bit! The lady opened the door and Mackenzie said, "Is my dress lovely? And my socks and shoes?" to which the lady responded, "You look beautiful." Then she helped my daughter out and off to her class. As soon as she shut my car door my eyes filled up with tears and I thought I was going to loose all self control of my tears right then. Thankfully I had to drive off to keep the carpool line flowing or I might have just sat in my car and cried! My baby girl is growing up so fast, and she is only 3-years old. What's next, driving, boys, college?!?!?

Parenting sure is a series of letting go, but it is all in preparation of allowing them to one day become the person that they will be forever!

Have a Great Day my precious little girl - Mommy loves you!

School Days

2011-08-23T09:32:00.000-05:00

Mackenzie starts pre-school just after Labor Day this year, and I don't exactly know what to do about that? It is a wonderful thing, and she will LOVE the consistent interaction with other kiddos her age, and her teacher and teacher's assistant. I expect her to mature a lot, and possibly even end the year doing quantum physics, or maybe just writing her name, but still! I'm not sure I know what I will do. I mean, I have never been apart from her more than 3 hours straight; and certainly never had her with people other than Grandparents for any length of time. Yes, she goes to Sunday School, but that is maybe 2 hours and once a week. Now she will be at SCHOOL for 5.5 hours two days a week! That is a whopping 11 hours a week away from Mommy plus Sunday School for 13 hours a week! And the scary thing about this...she will enjoy being away from me :) It is a good thing, and now, just maybe, I can clean the house!

Yes, I will post pictures on that famous "First Day of School" and compare them to her last day of school.

Auction

2011-08-23T09:21:00.000-05:00

I am having an auction today over at my Mackiedoodle's FaceBook page. Tell your friends and go bid on some stuff :)

Follow me on FaceBook for games, auctions, updates, new items and coupon codes: Here

My ETSY account: http://www.mackiedoodles.etsy.com/

I love to make custom items, so let me know your needs...I would love to do a college football themed tutu (like maroon and white for Aggies...); Let me know. Oh, and I have yet to make my first adult sized tutu and really want to, so if you need one message me at one of the above mentioned places.

Tutu Dresses Now Available

2011-07-27T14:48:00.001-05:00

Costume tutu dresses for newborn to 2T are now available for $25 for one, $45 for two, $20 each for three or more. Each style below is also available in bigger girl sizes for the same prices listed above, but without the dress bodice. Cost does not include shipping. Custom tutus also available. To order e-mail mackiedoodles@gmail.com or visit my page on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Mackiedoodles/125344560889107

(Great for photo props, birthdays, Halloween, themed parties, holidays, Christmas, New Years, pageants, dress up, play time and much more)

Fairy comes with wings

Bumble Bee comes with wings and feather hair clip

Lady Bug comes with wings and feather hair clip (example of tutu without dress bodice)

Princess comes with tiara (or feather hair clip for babies)

Food Dye Update

2011-07-22T10:43:00.000-05:00

Just an update...Mackenzie is doing AWESOME off of food dyes (like: Red 40, Yellow 5...). She has not had one single rage since being off of them. I have called dozens of manufacturers, fast food places, ice cream shops and restaurants to find out which food contain the dye so we can avoid them if we are ever eating out and about.

Two of the places I spoke with had employees with children that are sensitive to food dyes, and one had a lady that got off of them for her eczema! Petroleum based chemicals should NOT be in our food for any reason...actually, some of these dyes were banned from being in gasoline because it is too dangerous to inhale, yet we are eating it! Too bad the people that regulate our gasoline rules are not regulating our food, then maybe this stuff would not be in our food, so for now we read labels and stay healthy by being aware and educated.

Food dyes have been linked to insomnia, sleep issues, anxiety, depression, ADD, ADHD, Allergies, Cancer, Angry Rages, Suicide, Skin problems and more.

So if you have unexplained health issues try looking at what you are eating; the answer may be in your food.

Mackenzie Phrase

2011-07-22T10:36:00.000-05:00

Don't you just love hearing what little kids say? I do, they can keep you laughing all day long. I keep trying to write Mackenzie's phrases down in her baby book, or blog them here, but as a busy mom of two...I forget.

Here is one from yesterday. I am always asking Mackenzie if she shut the door because we don't want to let the air conditioner escape. So when I asked her if she shut the door she said, "Oh No! The furniture is getting away!" Super cute :)

She most often refers to her brother as Baby Brother, So Cute, or Micah, Micah Wayman if he is crying or doing something she does not like.

Both Mackenzie and Micah seem so much older and bigger to me. I view Mackenzie more as a big kid or child lately and not a toddler (she is 3 years old), but in my mind I think she should be a toddler. Well, she is growing up on me. Micah can stand on his own, crawls the big boy way (still prefers to army crawl), pulls up on everything, tries to climb on stuff, and is trying really hard to walk on his own. I'm really not ready for my 8-month old to be walking, but if I were to guess I would say he will be walking some time in his 9th month. He is really happy and LOVES his big sissy. I think I hear him saying phrases also. The phrase that is the most clear is "I like it." Which I think he picked up from me asking him if he likes what he is eating and his Sissy when she says, "I think he likes it". He also says, Mama, Dada, Kiss, Did it and a few more I can't think of right now. So far he has NO INTEREST in signing like Mackenzie did and does, and hates television. He wants to play and get into EVERYTHING. So very curious.

The only trouble we have is when he tries to play with Mackenzie's toys...she is not sharing very well yet with him, but we are working on that.

Oh, last night Mackenzie didn't want to go to sleep, so when Daddy put her in her bed he told her to sing. We could hear her singing for over an hour from the other room. It was really funny and sweet!

Really Busy

2011-06-22T10:30:00.000-05:00

Sorry for not posting, but I have been really busy lately. I have always been making hair bows, but am now selling them, and am also making and selling tutu's. Now I decided to make Mackenzie a dress, so last night I made one (without a pattern, so with one it would have turned out better). I must have hit the craft stage of being a Mom? Now I want to make little boys hats, but that looks a bit complicated. We will see!

4th of July Tutu and Hairbow Options

2011-06-11T11:28:00.000-05:00

Here are all of my 4th of July tutu and hair bow options. I also plan on doing costume tutus with headbands (think ladybugs, bumblebees, tigers, fairy's...) for 'Halloween' time and Rodeo tutu's (think bandannas, denim and yarn) for rodeo time, so check back often. E-mail me at natalie.sherwood@gmail.com to place your order while time and supplies last!

Tutu $20
Tutu with choice of hair bow: $25

American Flag Tutu

Star Hair bow

Stripes and Sparkle Tutu

Pom Pom Hairbow

4th of July Tutu

2011-06-10T15:09:00.000-05:00

I am currently making 4th of July tutu's.

Tutu: $20
Tutu with hair bow: $25

Local orders only, I am not set up for shipping.

The tutu styles are the American Flag (seen below) and Stripes (red, white & blue stripes with rhinestones).

E-mail me at natalie.sherwood@gmail.com to place orders while time and supplies last. I will need the baby/child's skirt size or waist measurement along with waist to knee measurement for a more true fit.

Jesus Visits

2011-05-17T10:24:00.000-05:00

Usually Wayne goes in to get Mackenzie in the morning, but this morning she was not ready to get up and wanted to stay in her bed, so he left her to get ready for work and later I went in to check on her. As soon as I walked into her room I asked her if she was ready to get up and she nodded yes and sat up on the side of her bed. She looked at me and said, "Jesus touched my shoulder" as she pointed to her left shoulder. I asked her if her shoulder hurt and she said, "No, Jesus made it all better." I then asked her if it had hurt before Jesus touched it and she said, "No, Jesus touced my shoulder and make it all better." I asked her if she saw Jesus or if she just felt Jesus and she said, "I saw Jesus and he touched my shoulder." I said, "What did he look like?" She said, "He looked like God."

Very cool! Looks like Jesus had a visit with Mackenzie this morning and He put His hand on her shoulder.

First What?

2011-05-10T16:41:00.000-05:00

Today was a great family day, and a day of multiple firsts.

Micah's FIRST tooth came in today.

Micah's FIRST visit to the zoo.

Our FIRST visit to the zoo as a family.

Our FIRST family fun day where Wayne took a day off to have FUN.

Mackenzie's FIRST McDonald's Happy Meal.

Micah's FIRST tan (even though he had sunscreen and stroller shade, and we stayed under the trees). He has Mommy's skin.

Various Subjects

2011-05-10T09:20:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was a BIG day for the Sherwood Family...at least in my opinion.

This first subject you may not want to read about as it pertains to potty training, so if not please skip down to the next paragraph. Mackenzie had a HUGE breakthrough yesterday. She aked to go potty then sent me out of the restroom and made me close the door. A moment later she called me in and she had gone poo poo on the potty! We made a very big deal over this and she got three M&M's and a prize from her pink potty grab bag!!!! Great days ahead, I just know it.

Mackenzie's little friend had his 3rd Birthday and party yesterday at the park and Mackenzie had a wonderful time; until, that is, Saw's baby brother Lincoln decided to 'share' his cupcake with everyone around. To fully appreciate what I am saying please visit HERE. You can read the story and see photo evidence. This so tramatized her that even after having a great time playing on the playground again that when we were in the car to go home I aked her if she had fun and she anounced that it was awful! This kid crackes me up.

Then, on another note another friend of mine had baby #3 last night!

Now off to Family Fun Day.

Stuff, Stuff, Stuff

2011-04-21T09:10:00.000-05:00

We have been really busy lately. I have had so many moments where I thought 'I need to blog about that', but just never did. Why? Because I am busy and then forget what it was I was going to blog about :)

Mackenzie is getting to be such a young lady. Whenever I look at her I no longer see my baby girl, but rather am viewing her as a child. It makes me want to both cry and smile. Cry because I miss my baby, but smile because she is such a joy. The past few weeks have been really good with her not throwing those tantrums. I think her tantrums are a 3 and 4 fold thing, so I am working on taking care of one or two of those items, and the other two will naturally work themselves out in the next month or two. By then we should be pretty much tantrum free! Other than her tantrums she is such a sweet and caring young lady. I just want to squeeze and hug and kiss her.

Oh, and she is now in BIG GIRL clothes. Yup! Although I still put her in some of her toddler 5 clothes (like shorts and shirts) she has officially moved up to XS (4/5) and S (5/6) in the big girls section. She is now 40 pounds and over 40 inches tall, and her hair is down to her waist. Recently she decided that the only thing she will wear (other than pajamas) is a dress, and since she only owned one casual dress that was handed down by her big cousin we were having clothing problems. My Mom and I went out to get her some new casual (and a couple not so casual) dresses that she ABSOLUTELY LOVES. She even wants to sleep in them at night, so it looks like we need to get her a night gown so she can sleep in a dress - lol. My girlie girl! Oh, and now she like to wear hair bows again - Yesssssssss!

As for Micah, he is growing also. At almost 6 months old he is now around the 18 pound range, and I need to measure to see how long he is. He is trying desperately to crawl AND walk. Yes, you read that right; he wants to walk. He is teething and wants those first teeth to come in soon, but we will see about that. Big sissy makes him laugh, and he is just so precious. He only gets upset with Daddy. Yes, he is a Mamma's boy for now. Don't worry, Mackenzie went through that same stage, and now she LOVES Daddy.

Well, bye for now.

Mackenzie on Brushing Teeth

2011-03-29T14:23:00.002-05:00

Last night Mackenzie was watching my Mom (Nani) brush her teeth and this is what she had to say:

"Your a great spitter, Nani!"

I LIKE YOU

2011-01-21T15:28:00.000-06:00

Last night before bed, while sitting on the sofa this was our family conversation:

Mackenzie: "You like her!"
Me: "Who likes who, Baby Girl?"
Mackenzie: "Daddy, you like Mommy?"
Daddy: "Yes, I like Mommy."
Mackenzie: "Hooray, you like her! Mommy, you like Daddy."
Me: "Yes, I like Daddy."
Mackenzie: "Hooray, you like each other...hooray."

Nursing Moms

2011-01-21T15:24:00.000-06:00

You nursing Moms will like this, non-nursing people...you may not want to read :)

As most of you know I nursed Mackenzie for around 16-months and the first 7ish months of that was exclusive. I am doing the same thing with Micah (only he will determine the total length just like Mackenzie did for herself).

Well Mackenzie loves to hold Micah and help in any way she can. She really LOVES her baby brother. The other day while I was feeding Micah she came up and sat next to me and said, "Mommy, I need to hold Micah and feed him milk from my booby." I told her thank you for trying to help, but that she does not have milk ~puzzled look followed~ then explained that she won't have milk until she has babies of her own. "OK," she said and ran off to play!

Your what hurts?

2011-01-21T15:20:00.000-06:00

This past week Mackenzie would hear me say that my throat hurt, so on Tuesday (and ever since) she said that her throat hurt. I was scared she was getting sick so I asked her to point to it for me. She pointed to her knee and said, "My throat hurts in my knee." Ohhh! Sweet girl, now if she stubs her toe or knocks her elbow her 'throat' hurts in that spot. Kids are so funny!

The Princess and the ...

2011-01-21T15:19:00.002-06:00

Conversation:

Mackenzie: "Mommy, you're a princess."
Me: "I'm a princess?!"
Mackenzie: "You're not a princess, you're a frog."

Thanks, I was downgraded very fast...oh, and we don't even have the book or movie about the princess and the frog!

Final Midwife Visit

2010-12-02T14:47:00.000-06:00

Updates from my final midwife visit.

1: I still have 13.5 pounds to lose
2: Everything looks great for both me and Micah
3: Micah weighs 11 pounds, 11 ounces and is about 23 inches long
(that means he has gained about 4 pounds and grown 3 inches in just over 5 weeks)

Mackenzie Milestones

2010-12-02T14:44:00.000-06:00

Mackenzie has met some major milestones lately. Actually, they were all met before Micah was born, but I wanted to make sure they stuck before posting.

Milestones:
Jumping with both feet off the floor
No more bottles
Staying dry all night

That first milestone was a big one! We had trouble getting Mackenzie to even attempt to jump, and when sh would neither of her feet left the ground. The doctors said it was because she was so tall at such a young age, but they really wanted her to pass this milestone. One day I checked out the Disney movie Jump In from the library. This is a double dutch movie, and Mackenzie LOVED it. Before we knew it she was pretending to jump rope and you guessed it...both of her feet left the ground. Now she jumps all the time :)

The second milestone was another BIG one for our household. I know we should have stopped the bottle a year ago, but since she nursed and was not bottle fed she actually didn't start the bottle until she was about a year old (maybe older), and when she did start the bottle she fell in love with it and milk. We went through this whole thing where she wouldn't drink milk from anything other than a bottle, and she would only use the bottle to drink milk. Also, she went through like a gallon of milk every 2-3 days! No matter what we tried we simply could not wean her. Once her reasoning skills grew stronger I began telling her that when her bottle broke we were not going to replace it. Broke? Yes, broke. She had this habit of chewing through the nipples, so we were always replacing them. She was finally down to one last nipple and when that was gone we would not buy more. Guess what? It worked. When she had chewed through I showed it to her and explained how it was broken. She has not had a bottle since :) Plus she only drinks milk once (maybe twice) a day out of her cup now. Other side effects; she EATS LIKE A HORSE now. That's OK by me :)

The third milestone I can't explain other than she is staying dry all night long. I think part of it has to do with milestone number 2 and not drinking a gallon of milk every few days, and not waking up 3-4 times a night asking for milk in a bottle.

Even though she stays dry all night she is still not potty trained. I was told it is probably due to my pregnancy and now new baby. OK, I will buy that for now. Reason for not being potty trained? She doesn't want to. I would say she goes on the potty about half the time, but refuses to tell us when she needs to go. I am sure this will change one day...at least before she is married or starts dating or something.

Here's looking at you, Kid

2010-12-01T13:05:00.000-06:00

The other evening I was holding Micah in the over the shoulder burp position. He was testing out his neck muscles, practicing focusing on objects and looking at my ear in a very adoringly way. I was watching him do these things and talking to him softly when out of nowhere he focused in on my ear and shot it a HUGE, gummy smile! A real smile with a soft cooing noise to follow! My heart melted and of coarse I kept trying to get him to do it again. Guess what? A few minutes later he made eye contact with me and smiled at Mommy! Then later he smiled at Daddy! The next day, no smiles, but this morning he gave me one. There is something so precious about a baby's smile :)

Running Away!

2010-12-01T12:57:00.000-06:00

Good News: Mackenzie LOVES her little brother and wants to take care of him, kiss him, hold him and help when she can.

Bad News: Mackenzie gets less one-on-one attention from me and notices (although she does not notice it is because of her brother - lol).

More Bad News: It takes me about 10 seconds longer than pre Micah to get to Mackenzie when she it doing something she is not suppose to do. 10 seconds is A LOT when dealing with a toddler.

Case in point. The other day Mackenzie ran into her room and slammed the door behind her. She loves to do that, but also knows that she can only be in her room alone if the door is open. Why? Because she climbs things or pulls on the blinds or other scary 'stuff'. This time I was nursing Micah, so it took me about 10 seconds longer to get off the sofa and go open her door. When I did get her door open she was STANDING on top of her dresser baning on her mirror. Oh the horror and dismay that shot through my heart. She could fall and break her neck or arm; she could smash the mirror and get all cut up; she could do both! So, what did I do, I took her down and told her she could not climb on her dresser because it is dangerous. I told her in the words that she uses that she could 'slip down' or 'be bleeding' that way she would fully understand. Her response was, "I sorry Mommy." To my relief she started playing with some other toys and I went back to nursing. But just a few moments later I hear the door slam again and what did I find??? She was up on the dresser baning on the mirror, again! So this time I take her down and make her come into the living room with me. A full blown kicking and screaming tantrum ensues, and when she is done with that (about 45 minutes later) she tells me, "I going away!" To which she then tried to go out the front door. My heart sank :( Seriously...you want to run away because I am loving you and protecting you and you are only two and a half years old? I pray this is the single moment in her life that she feels this way.

Do You Shutterfly?

2010-11-19T18:03:00.000-06:00

Do You Shutterfly?

Well I do, and I have for a few years now. If you have not used Shutterfly in the past then now is the perfect time to try them out with their 2010 50 Free Holiday Cards promotion.

I have used Shutterfly to create wonderful photo book gifts for the grandparents at Christmas, and have loved the outcome every time; not to mention the great price. We also use the photo books to capture the past year for our family; which now has a new addition.

This year I would like to try either their greeting cards (which you can see here), their photo Christmas cards (which you can see here), or their baby announcements (which you can see here).

My absolute favorite greeting card designs are the simple yet classy styles like Shutterfly's "Most Wonderful Story", "Snow Flurries Cocoa", "Retro Christmas" and "Starlight Joy." Or, if I was going to go with a baby announcement I might choose one of these Shutterfly designs: "Triple Play Blue", "Scripted Name" or "Welcome Billet Blue".

Why is this so exciting to me, any why this year? Because this is a great way to not only wish family and friends a Merry Christmas, but we can also announce the birth of our new 3-week old son. Take a moment and check out the above links; I know you will not be disappointed.

Merry Christmas and Happy Shutterflying from my family to yours!

Micah Wayman's Birth Story

2010-11-16T15:12:00.000-06:00

Note: I will be posting some pictures in this blog. Nothing too revealing, but you may consider them a bit graphic; so think about it before reading on. Oh, and this is a birth story so you never know what I might type!

I suppose with this story I should begin at the beginning. Wayne and I had been talking about trying for baby #2 in maybe October or November of 2010, but God had other plans. Just before Mackenzie's 2nd birthday I was put on antibiotics for this crazy 'thing' on my hand.

(Picture of 'thing' on my hand. Turned out to be contact dermatitis.)

During the 2nd round of antibiotics and topical creams I got this funny feeling that I might be pregnant. So the day before Mackenzie turned 2, March 3rd, I decided to take a pregnancy test...just in case. In my mind there was NO WAY we could possibly be pregnant, but since I had this 'feeling' and was on antibiotics I wanted to be careful. You guessed it, I took the test and it was a big, fat POSITIVE. I was pregnant!

I immediately panicked due to the meds I was on and called the doctor and the pharmacist. Both told me to discontinue all meds and everything should be fine, especially since I had not even missed my cycle yet and found out about the pregnancy early. Was that enough comfort for me, NO. I then called my midwife. She prayed with me and I felt better.

At this point Wayne was still in the dark about the pregnancy because he was at work. I wanted to think of a fun way to tell him the news, so I went and found some Christmas paper we have that reads, "Unto Us A Child Is Born, Unto Us A Son Is Given." At this time I obviously did not know the baby was a boy, but I had my suspicions that this one would be a son...especially since we already had a boy name chosen from my pregnancy with Mackenzie. I had, "I'm Pregnant" printed on this paper, I folded it up and taped it to my hubby's bathroom mirror. This is not strange for me because I love leaving notes on his mirror, so not a giveaway.

When Wayne got home I asked him if he had looked on his mirror. He said, "No." and proceeded into the bathroom to see what I had done this time. After about 5 minutes he still had not come out of the bathroom, so I went in there to see if he was alright. Of coarse, he looked at me with a shocked expression and said, "Are you joking? This is not what I expected when I came home from work today!" Needless to say, the shock wore off and the excitement kicked in pretty quickly.

The next day we went and celebrated a joint birthday for our sweet little girl and her cousin. Mackenzie turned 2, March 4, 2010.

How Old?

Now let's skip ahead to September 2010. This pregnancy has been great. Minimal morning sickness compared to the AWFUL morning sickness I had with Mackenzie. Also, I tested negative for gestational diabetes and for Group Strep B. My weight gain (although a lot) was right on track, and everything with the baby looked great.

We even found out that the baby was indeed a boy!

Face Shot

It's A Boy

During this entire pregnancy I had been having the usual Braxtion-Hicks contractions (I also had with Mackenzie), but they seemed to be getting more intense. At 34-weeks I informed my midwife that I had two rounds of contractions that felt like the real deal; one round lasting 24 hours and the other lasting about 8 hours. When she checked me I was 3cm dilated, 80% effaced, 0 Station and very stretchy. It was too early for baby to arrive, so she put me on 'restricted activity', and I also had to discontinue anything that made my Braxtion-Hicks more intense. By-the-way, restricted activity is difficult with a 2 year old...just thought you should know.

At almost 38 weeks I had my home visit. Even with the restricted activity I was now 6cm dilated, 80% or more effaced and station 1. I was removed from my restricted activity since it was only 2 days until 38 weeks. I just knew this was going to throw me into labor within the next few days, and I was right.

Three days later at 38 weeks and 1 day I had my first contraction at 7:30 in the morning. I wasn't sure if I was in labor or not considering all the other times I had contractions and they fizzled out. So I decided to take a shower and prayed that God would give me a secondary sign. After my shower I helped Wayne make up the bed for the birth 'just in case', then I want to blow dry my hair. Just when I was about to start drying my hair I felt fluid run down my leg and I ran to the bathroom...it was blood. I knew in my heart that this was the sign I prayed for, but Wayne was not too sure, and he had a 9:00 meeting. So I told him that if I was still feeling good when it was time for him to go to his meeting to go ahead and I would call him if there were any changes. I also called my midwife to give her a just-in-case heads up of what was going on.

Wayne left for his meeting around 8:30 and I got Mackenzie set up with breakfast and cartoons. I then got on the computer to time my contractions and call my mom for our morning chat. During my call to my mom I had 2 intense contractions and then one very STRONG, take you breath away contraction, they were about 2 minutes apart. After that third contraction my mom said she was leaving College Station and was on her way here. I called Wayne around 9:00 and told him to cancel his meeting and get home. Then I unlocked the front door and called my midwife.

After informing them that it was time and working through my contractions I got my 2-year old into the bedroom with me where I could lay down. I have no idea of what time it was then, or at any point from here on out until our baby was born. My daughter was taking pictures of me during what I would call transition. I was trying very hard to be peaceful and loving for her so she would not get scared or confused.

Picture Mackenzie took during Transition

When the above picture was taken I had a lot of things going through my mind. I guessed it had been about 15 to 20 minutes since I had called everyone and gotten into the bedroom and I wondered if they would ever get there. I also felt like I was 10 cm dilated and really wanted to push and go ahead and have that baby by myself, but I didn't want to do that with just Mackenzie there and I didn't want to swell by pushing if I was not at a 10. I was literally thinking and telling God at the same time, "If someone does not walk through that door in the next 2 minutes I am going to cry." God knew the timing and my threshold before I did, and literally right when I thought that I heard Wayne and my backup Midwife walk in the front door. They were calm and very quietly chatting when they made their way back to the bedroom I was in. I immediately informed the backup midwife that I felt like I needed to push, that my back hurt and that I need to go pee. She told me to go to the bathroom while she would run some hot bath water for my back and then she would check me to see if I could push, but not to push until I had been checked. So, I went to the bathroom then got into the bath water. The water felt GREAT! Mackenzie got involved by rubbing my belly with the prongs of her toddler fork. So funny, but what goes through a toddler's mind? .Just minutes later my midwife arrived and asked if I had felt like pushing...YES! She checked me and I was 10 cm and complete...time to push.

Oh, Thank God! I had been holding back pushing for what felt like 30 minutes already. During the first push she told me that I had a bulging bag of waters and then it either broke or she broke it for me. During the next three pushes I felt like my back was being ripped in two and I did everything I was not suppose to do. I talked during my contractions and pushes saying things like, "Ow, owww oww. This hurts. I feel like I am going to have a bowl movement. I feel like I am going to have the biggest the poo in the world. This really hurts." Unlike Mackenzie's birth where I couldn't feel the baby moving down and the contractions didn't really hurt; I could feel everything this time. I could feel the baby's head, and yes, the contractions did hurt. On the fourth push my baby's head was born. There was no cord around the neck, so during the same contraction I was able to push out his body and he was handed to me. Micah Wayman Sherwood was born 20 minutes after my midwife arrived, 2 hours and 16 minutes after my first contraction, and after only 4 pushes. He was born in the water and laid on my chest for a few moments before he took his own first breath. The first thing I told him after, "I love you", "You are so sweet" was "Thank you for coming out...that really hurt." My first thought when I laid eyes on him was that he looked just like my dad; and my backup midwife said it out loud right after I thought it!

We double checked to make sure he was still a boy, and he was/is.

Micah Wayman
Born: October 26, 2010 at 9:46 am

7 pounds, 14 ounces, 20 inches long

Me 3 days before Micah was born

Micah in herbal bath just after birth

Proud sister

Sister and Brother

My Life Is A Sitcom

2010-11-16T10:38:00.000-06:00

Now that Micah is 3-weeks old I can look back on the past 3-weeks and see that my life has become a series of short, funny, sitcom moments.

I suppose the very first moment was actually during my labor with Micah. Mackenzie and I were home alone (Mackenzie is 2.5 years old), and she was taking pictures of me during the difficult stage of transition. It didn't end there though. When I was in the water and getting ready to push, Mackenzie got out her new toddler fork and proceeded to rub my belly with the prongs. It did not bother me, but seriously? Don't get me wrong, I loved having Mackenzie at the birth. Actually, I think she kept me focused and grounded; not to mention feeling loved.

(Picture of me taken by Mackenzie during transition. I was thinking, "If someone does not walk through that door in 2 minutes I am going to cry." Wayne and my backup Midwife walked in :)

The most recent sitcom type moment was last night. For two hours Wayne and I kept trying to go to sleep, but one of the kids kept interrupting. First of all, Micah went through 6 poop diapers in that time, but before he would poop he would spit up (outfit change), and after he would get cleaned off he would want to eat because he had spit up all his food. 6 TIMES! Good thing he is such a good baby :) But since we use cloth diapers and only have 8 of them for Micah we had to go do laundry since he just used 6 diapers and was wearing number 7. We know he uses one in the middle of the night and one first thing in the morning. And if that wasn't enough, Mackenzie kept needing Daddy. First she wanted milk, then she was cold, then she wanted to get 'snuggly', then more milk.

So add: 1 load of laundry + 2 milk runs + 1 extra blanket + 1 snugly + 6 diaper changes + 6 spit ups + 6 feedings all in 2 hours = 23 separate things!

Wayne's comment to all of this was, "Why do I even try to go to bed?"

Hey Daddy, we have 2 kids that mostly sleep through the night and this was hopefully a one time thing, and only lasted 2 hours. Try staying home with them all day and see what type of sitcom moments take place.

Anyway, I ended up laughing out loud more than once last night, and when we all finally went to sleep at Midnight we slept pretty good, so no complaints; but couldn't you see that scene in a movie or something?

Micah Wayman

2010-11-15T12:33:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the lack of post since the birth, but Micah Wayman is here!
Born October 26, 2010
7 pounds, 14 ounces
20 inches long

His sister, Mackenzie, was also 7 pounds, 14 ounces when she was born, but she was 20.5 inches long. She was also a due date baby, but Micah was born almost 2 full weeks early. If he had waited until his due date he would have been between 8 and a half and 9 pounds, and who knows how long.

The first moment I laid eyes on him I thought he looked just like my dad, so Wayman for the middle name is very appropriate. I won't give too many birth details in this blog because I plan on writing out my birth story and posting it soon, but for those of you that crave information I will tell you that I had a water birth at home with my husband, midwife and midwife backup...the assistant didn't make it until just after the birth. My total labor was 2 hours and 16 minutes from first contraction until I was holding my precious baby boy. My midwife was only there for the last 20 minutes and it all took a total of about 4 pushes. Everyone was happy and healthy. OK, so that is going to have to hold you over until I type out the official birth story.

Here are some pictures. Enjoy!

Stuff

2010-10-25T13:10:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the lack of posts and pictures lately. We have been having MAJOR computer problems. Our main computer will not get online, and that is the computer with EVERYTHING on it. To get online I have to use Wayne's very old former work laptop that pretty much does nothing. I am hoping to be able to get some pics up on this post just to make up for lost time.

In other news. I am 38 weeks along in my pregnancy today, and am very excited to have made it this far. I started having real contractions for about 24 hours at 34 weeks and again for about 8 hours at 35 weeks, so was placed on 'restricted duties' to quell those and keep the baby in as long as possible. Well, now that we are at 38 weeks we are very happy and he can stay in or be born any time he wants! For those of you that crave statistics, my Midwife checked me at our home visit on Saturday and I was 6cm dilated, 80% effaced and Micah was at a station +2; oh, and I have gained right around 40 pounds! All of that is good news; except maybe for the 40 pounds. I hope that comes off really fast.

As for Mackenzie...well, she has a new passion. Yup, running around completely in the nude. Putting clothing on her just to go to church or run an errand has become quite the wrestling match, and when we do finally get clothing on her she begins stripping down as quickly as possible. The past few days have been a bit better because we have gone out and had visitors, so she HAD to wear clothes. The really funny thing is that she loves clothes and picks them out and tells us what is pretty about them; she just doesn't want to wear them. Hopefully this is a short stage.

Also, three of my very close friends (and play date partners in crime) threw me a very awesome and intimate blessing on Saturday. It consisted of 8 people (Me, my 3 friends, my mom, my sister and 2 aunts). They prayed over Micah and I, and each spoke specific blessings over us - well, mostly of Micah, but us. As they said their blessing they each picked a glass bead and strung together a beautiful blessing bracelet for the birth and after. All the details of the blessing were so thoughtful, and one of my friends actually made a wreath out of coffee filters...don't ask me how she did it, but it turned out really cute. If you come over after Micah is born you will see it hanging on our front door.

I suppose that is enough talk...now trying to upload some pics.

Oops, still having tech difficulty. Will have to wait a little bit on the pics.

Blogging At Last

2010-09-21T12:18:00.000-05:00

Sorry I have not been on here in quite some time. Our home computer has been having great issues, and suddenly today it decided to work, so here I am.

A lot has been going on, but I'm not sure I can remember everything or put it into words.

First, my Mom got married!!!! It was really exciting and wonderful and I am so happy for her; and us for getting such a great guy added to the family.

Second, my Mom is moving, so we have been crazy over here doing some furniture swapping and stuff like that. Yay and Ugg all at the same time.

Third, Mackenzie now wants say her prayers out loud instead of me or Daddy saying them. All of her prayers consist of the following phrase with other 'stuff' mixed in, "Dear God please heal (insert word here) and make him/it/her all better. In Jesus Name, Amen." So if we are praying for dinner she asks God to heal her food - very funny some of the things she says.

Mackenzie has also become quite the sports buff. Baseball or T-ball being her favorite and soccer second, football third. She wants to play all of them.

Another new thing for Mackenzie is that she now likes to sing. About two weeks ago she started singing the Veggie Tales theme song, only her version is a little different; along with her versions of the Alphabet song (all letters are in the correct order she just changed the ending) and her version of Old McDonald. She still prefers for me to sing all of the "Jesus Song".

My heart melted the other day when she looked at me while taking a bath and said out of the blue, "Mommy, you love Jesus?" When I answered yes she said she loved Jesus too.

She asks to see most of her extended family every day; asking for each one by name. It is hard to believe how many names she remembers in our family!

Oh, and now that we are setting up the nursery she has the big full/standard size bed. The day we put it in her room (her crib converted to this large size) she said, "Mommy, I love to sleep all the time now." If I had known that I would have put her in it the day she was born...ok, not really. I must admit that bed is the most comfortable one in the house.

What other news? Micah is getting bigger and more ready to meet everyone face to face. You may remember that I was measuring 33.5cm several weeks ago (which was HUGE for where I was in the pregnancy). Well, I'm shrinking...not really; Micah is just dropping and getting settled lower. My belly looks like it is down around my knees. About 3 weeks ago I measured 31.5cm (exactly on track), and this Saturday I measured 29cm which was 3cm smaller. Thank you Micah for making me measure smaller...even though I am still gaining weight. He is VERY BUSY in there practicing soccer or some other sport. And every time I listen to Praise Music he stretches out as far as he can and kicks around. We start them young in the Sherwood household.

I don't know what else to write, so blog at you later.

Goal, Score, Touchdown, Hallelujah

2010-08-13T10:14:00.000-05:00

Goal, Score, Touchdown, Hallelujah!

As you know I had my Glucose Tolerance Test with my midwife yesterday, and I PASSED with flying colors. Not even close to the cut off. I forgot the number she told me because I was so excited about not having to worry about that this time around; I can ask her the numbers at my next appointment. My Iron also looked great, so no anemia and no additional supplements. Just keep doing what I am doing.

This is such a relief.

Midwife Check-Up

2010-08-13T09:16:00.000-05:00

So I had my midwife check-up yesterday, and I can hardly believe how fast this is going. Yes, I still have about 90 days (give or take a few) until Micah arrives, but it is already time to switch from once a month appointments to every other week appointments. Time will really start to fly now!

My weight gain was good for me (at around 26 POUNDS!!!)
I was measuring 31.5cm which is over 3 cm big!!!

Cathy looked at my ultrasound photo's from after the fender bender and said that I have A LOT of amniotic fluid and extra space/room for this baby to move around. No wonder I am so big and weigh so much. My body likes to make sure baby has a pent house all to himself in there. And I suppose that is why he is able to do such big movements and roll around ALL THE TIME.

His heart rate was great as were his movements, and he was head down - love this.

I had my Glucose Tolerance Test which I am praying I pass with flying colors this time. I FAILED BIG TIME with Mackenzie and had to watch my already very strict diet - ugg. I decided to do the opposite test this time (there are 2 versions) to see if that would make a difference, so here is to passing with flying colors.

The next big things on my list are the Group Strep B Test (which I pray comes up negative); which was also positive with Mackenzie! And my Home Visit. If you could possibly end up at the birth of my baby you need to be at the home visit, so I will be contacting you about that, but it's not until late October.

Oh, and one more thing. Cathy said that none of her clients have ever told her this before. I told her that it use to be when I started eating that about 30 minutes later Micah would start to go crazy inside (about the time he would be getting the food); which is very normal. But in the past week, Micah has begun to associate my chewing, swallowing and tummy churning sounds to the soon arriving food for him, and now he goes crazy when I first start eating. Cathy said she thinks he is going to love his food :)

Dinner Conversation

2010-08-13T09:06:00.000-05:00

This was part of our dinner conversation the other evening.

Mackenzie: "My tummy hurts."

Me: "Your tummy hurts?"

Mackenzie: "And my head hurts too."

Me: "Your tummy and your head hurts?"

Mackenzie: "The top of my forehead."

Me as I look at her forehead: "The top of your forehead hurts?"

Mackenzie sounding as if I don't get it: "The top of my mind!"

Wayne: "Are you thinking too hard?"

Playing In The Rain

2010-07-29T12:20:00.000-05:00

I wish I had some pictures of this, but I was so busy I didn't even think about getting my camera out.

Wayne and I trimmed our bushes and pulled weeds on Sunday just before my Mom dropped off some mulch for our flower beds. It was getting late and we were tired, so we decided to wait until Monday to lay the mulch down. When Wayne got home from work on Monday it was sprinkling out (had been raining all day) and thought maybe we shouldn't lay the mulch, but I thought Mackenzie might enjoy playing in the rain and dirt. Since it was only sprinkling and there was no thunder or lightning all 4 of us (that includes the baby in my belly) went outside for some fun.

Seriously, this was really, really fun. Who knew that spreading mulch in the rain could be so much fun. We were only using our hands, so no tools to worry about slipping on or anything dangerous like that. Mackenzie had her bucket and aside from playing in the dirt some she mostly just held her bucket out and giggled uncontrollably as she tried to catch the rain.

In the end we were all soaking wet and covered in mud, and actually had to hose down before going inside, but it sure was fun. Plus, the yard looks WAY BETTER!

Little Monkey

2010-07-28T09:23:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I wonder if Mackenzie is part monkey. OK, not really, but recently she has taken to climbing. Most of her friends started climbing a long time ago...maybe even a year ago, but not Mackenzie. Within the past 2 months she has begun to climb EVERYTHING. She now gets up and stands on all of our kitchen chairs, bar stools, her rocker, the sofa and anything else she wants. So all day long I am taking her down to which she responds by throwing a 45 minute tantrum then goes right back and does it again. Ugg.

Not only that, but she REFUSES to walk anywhere. She must be carried. Even to go to the potty. Well, guess what? Mommy is pregnant and only getting bigger, so carrying around a 36-pound 2-year old is out of the question. What does that mean for potty training? Cloth diapers all day long and tricking her into sitting on the potty when we happen to be near the bathroom.

Also, if it is not hers she wants it. She has broken so many things lately. I think I am going to have to take everything off the walls in her room because she is so tall that she gets up on her rocker and takes them down herself; then breaks them.

Oh, and get this. If she is done eating all the food and drink get THROWN onto the floor. Not even Mommy reflexes are fast enough to catch that mess in thin air. And, if some of the food or drink is in her mouth...you guessed it...she spits it out wherever she stands; usually waiting until she is standing on our carpet.

No, I'm really not trying to complain, but this is what you have to look forward to if you haven't had a 2-year old yet. What really amazes me is how much you can still love and cherish someone or something that is acting like they don't like you most of the time. No, it is not all bad, and somehow I am pretty patient through it all and just try to love and talk her through what is going on. When she wants to be sweet she is really sweet and gives out tons of kisses and hugs. The thing is she wants to do what she wants to do, when she wants to do it, and no one else is going to tell her otherwise. I will be happy when this stage is over and we can go out in public again.

So, any tips you have for the Terrible Two's just let me hear them. I will try just about anything (that's not harmful) at this point. Any good tips on how to start a time out routine? We may be trying that next.

Accidents Happen

2010-07-27T17:10:00.000-05:00

Last Friday I was involved in an auto accident. My Mom, Mackenzie and I went out for lunch (which we never get to do) and really enjoyed ourselves; that is until on the way home. I was driving and we were involved in an accident that was not my fault. The other person attempted an illegal maneuver and it didn't go over so well. Everyone seemed to be OK, but you never really know; especially with adrenaline flowing.

All I know is that after the police came I went to be checked out by the midwife and after starting to have contractions that escalated and soreness in the belly area I went for an ultrasound. Although these appointments are not conclusive everything "looks" to be alright, and by the Grace Of God we are claiming that everything is alright. Now we are dealing with the insurance to get the car fixed. I also hope they replace the car seat for peace of mind. Hey, a 36 pound 2-year-old was riding in it during the impact.

Things like this remind me of the frailty of life, and truly make me cherish my family and friends. So please, no one else get in a car accident, ok? Good, I'm glad you comply :)

The World Is My Playground

2010-07-27T16:57:00.000-05:00

Recently Mackenzie has discovered that the world is her playground. Sometimes this is a wonderful thing as she explores her surroundings and learns new things, but other times...this is not so good.

Neither Wayne nor I (not even both of us together) can take Mackenzie out if we need to get something accomplished. Something as simple as grocery shopping turns into a 3-ring-circus. When we get to the store we try to put her in the shopping cart, to which she thrashes, screams, kicks and bites causing a real scene until we get her down (that is if we were able to get her into the cart in the first place).

If we do let her walk she insists on pushing the cart and we are not allowed to touch the cart. SERIOUSLY? Yes. If we touch the cart then she throws herself on the floor kicking and screaming this really high pitched scream. So why not just let her scream and get it out of her system? Because she will continue to do so for about 30-45 minutes, no matter what we do.

OK, so just let her push the cart herself. Sure, and run into every person and display in the vicinity and what should have been a 30 minute trip to the store is now a 2.5 hour trip to the store. Complete with customers and employees asking if she is alright.

The last 5 times we attempted to go anywhere, HEB grocery shopping, Walmart for a quick exchange, Kohls for a quick purchase, Target for diapers have all ended in either myself of Wayne carrying her out of the store kicking and screaming with no end in site. Oh, and have you ever seen a 6-month pregnant woman carrying a 36 pound screaming 2-year old? Not a pretty site.

So where we use to be able to go to the mall to walk around (another nightmare these days), or go to Hobby Lobby or Target to just get out of the house...nope, not any more. So we are stuck inside almost all day because it is too hot for the park or a walk around the block or it is raining. The only safe place is La Centerra in the evenings, or somewhere we have to pay for that is kid friendly. We don't spend extra money, so the kid friendly thing is out. What are we suppose to do all day, every day? I sure hope this phase ends soon!

Why I Should Always Wear My Hair Up

2010-07-09T09:58:00.001-05:00

I wore my hair in a French Braid the other day, for the first time in years. It was amazingly freeing. If you haven't seen my hair lately it is about half way down my back and very unruly and curly and not very manageable. The contraption I use to use to keep my hair straight on a daily basis (a wand/brush type blow dryer) broke after about 8-years of use when I was pregnant with Mackenzie. Needless to say they don't make those anymore due to the new and awesome Falt Irons and Chi's on the market. Since I don't have the money to spend on a fancy Chi or Flat Iron I wear my hair all natural - Ugg. I did purchase a cheap flat iron once in an attempt to get my hair that beautiful straight look again, but after only 2-weeks it broke. My hair was just too much for it :(

Anyway, back to the french braid. It was awesome. It looked good all day and I didn't have to keep pulling it back or pushing it out of the way. And best yet...Mackenzie couldn't grab it and pull out HAND FULLS of hair - since that is one of her favorite things to do. So you may catch me sporting this new look every once in a while until I can finally afford that thing that makes my hair silky smooth.

Why Do Mom's Get Sick?

2010-07-09T09:48:00.000-05:00

Warning: If you don't like gross then don't read this post.

I truly believe that Mom's should be completely exempt from getting sick; ever. How can a mom be a mom when she is sick? She can't cook, can't clean, can't go anywhere, can't hold and take care of and play with her sweet child(ren) or hubby. And you know what is even worse that a mom being sick? That's right, a pregnant mom being sick that is trying to take care of a 2-year old that is also sick. And not just a head cold either, but this nasty tummy virus that makes mom feel AWFUL and has her running to the bathroom all day.

Somehow my sweet 2-year old and I had the same tummy virus for the same 48-hours. While it hit me like a freight train complete with not only the tummy issues but also with body aches, fatigue and the inability to eat or drink almost anything. It didn't seem so bad for Mackenzie. She had the most awful diarrhea and vomiting I have ever seen or smelled in my life, and I had to take care of that all day while I was sick; but it didn't seem to knock her down. She was still giggling and running around like a 2-year old. Her only difference is that she wouldn't eat anything (good thing, too), but she did drink a lot of Pedialyte. Needless to say, when all was said and done, we had to rent a carpet cleaning machine and clean our carpets after this whole episode was complete.

Virus gone - check
Feeling better -check
Carpets clean - check
Now I just need to clean the house after 2-days of getting nothing done and wipe everything down with Thieves Cleaner.

I must say that I am very happy that this is only Mackenzie's 2nd time in her 2-years and 4-monhts of life that she has ever thrown up or had a tummy virus. I am also happy that we are a pretty healthy family and almost never get sick. Praise the Lord.

21-Weeks

2010-06-28T11:32:00.000-05:00

I am 21-weeks pregnant today; which means we are just over half way there! Time really has gone by quickly with this pregnancy. Wayne felt Micah kicking for the first time last week and has felt him a few more times since then. Micah is a really strong little man. I think he is already practicing for some type of sports team. So far we like the name Micah Wayman Sherwood, but reserve the right to change his name upon arrival. Micah is a Biblical Prophet whose name means "Who is like the Lord". Wayman was my Dad's name and it starts with a W like Wayne and also has the same meaning as Wayne which is "Builder".

As for me...at my last visit I had:
Gained 12 pounds total.

Measured 20 cm.

Still have slight nausea (awful nausea when I take prenatal vits.).

Wasn't sleeping well, but that seems to have resolved itself now that Mackenzie's teething has subsided and she is sleeping again. Only one more tooth for her then we are DONE!

Waddle when I walk.
Feel Micah move ALL THE TIME. Sometimes I think he is trying to break out of there.
No longer suffer from the fainting/dizziness issue.
Excited about meeting this little boy.

As for Mackenzie. I think sometimes she remembers that Mommy is having her little brother, but most of the time she is oblivious to that fact. We talk about him and pray for him and include him in our night time prayers. She also gives my tummy random kisses for her baby brother, but other than that she just goes along with her normal day. Also, we are potty training...STILL. She is doing better. Every other day she does AWESOME. Seriously, she has no accidents and tells me when she needs to go, but every other day she REFUSES to us the potty! Those days are much more difficult because she hates wearing a diaper but refuses to go on the potty. Uggg. I hope she decides to be fully potty trained way before her brother gets here. That would be pretty wonderful.

Here are some pictures:

Again, please pardon how I look in the belly pic. First thing in the morning!

20-weeks Preggo.

Breakfast turned into a Yogurt Facial.

Houston Zoo.

Parenting Tools

2010-06-09T10:12:00.000-05:00

I know every parent has their own style, so this will not apply to everyone; or even to the majority of parents out there, but here are some tools that I have found very useful in the early years of parenting.

During Pregnancy:
During pregnancy I recommend reading a lot about birth, and not just the type of birth you are planning on having or are expecting to have because some things change at the last second - literally.

Read about:
Home birth
Hospital birth
Medicated birth
Un-medicated birth
Water birth
C-Section
Pros and Cons to various interventions such as epidural, pitocin, episomity, continual fetal monitoring, planned or unplanned c-section, using natural pain alternatives, staying mobile during labor, lying on your back during labor, diet during pregnancy, birth attendants, location of birth, bottle feeding, breast feeding and so much more. Every single one of these things will effect the outcome of your labor and birth process in some form or fashion.

Some books on the above topics are:
Pushed by Jennifer Block
Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering by Sarah J. Buckley, MD
Anything with or by Michael Odent and I also love Dr. Sears' books

These are only the two I have most recently read. I read about 15 other books on these topics during my first pregnancy and plan on reading many more this time around. I do NOT agree with everything in these books, but I love to glean what I can from the information and stories.

Pre-Baby:
I HIGHLY, HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend the two following books to be read (or video's to be watched) BEFORE the baby is born. Both of these need to be taken in and thought about so they become second nature when you are holding your brand new baby. We made cheat sheets for both to keep handy and in plain sight when Mackenzie was little.

Dunstan Baby Language - DVD Dunstan Baby Language
Happiest Baby on the Block - Book

The first one (Dunstan Baby Language) clues you in to the most common sounds babies make and what each sound means. Wayne and I watched this video several times over a two week period before Mackenzie was born, then we made a cheat sheet to hang on our wall. It is amazing how this really works. Your baby will give you noises to signal what is going on like - I'm Hungry, I need to Burp, I have Gas, I'm Uncomfortable, I'm Sleepy. They will give these signals before crying, and if you do not respond then they will resort to crying. If you never respond to their sounds they will begin to resort to crying first since this grabs your attention. This sounds strange, but really works.

The second one (Happiest Baby on the Block) teaches you how to effectively soothe your baby. I think it is the 5 S's, but I can't remember for sure. I need to re-read this one for our second baby. But it uses things like sucking, swinging, and swaddling (teaches the proper technique) done in the proper order to help completely soothe a cranky baby.

I also recommend Birthing Classes to first time parents or if you have not had a baby in many years. The one I like is 'The Bradley Method'. This is a very hands on Husband/Father lead birthing method that allows the wife and husband to communicate easily and effectively through body language during the labor and birth. I never wanted to speak or open my eyes during my very fast labor, so this was especially effective for us.

After Baby Arrives:
Signing Time
One of the things Mackenzie and I have really enjoyed doing together is Sign Language. I only knew a hand full of signs, so the parent does not need to know sign language to begin this with their baby. Sign Language encourages the baby/child to use not only their sense of hearing, but also sight and touch to begin language development. It is also a great second language. I began "Baby Signing Time" videos with Mackenzie around 6-months of age, but it is recommended to start around 4-months of age. She LOVED the baby signing time. Before she could communicate effectively in a verbal manner she could sign to tell me what she wanted. Then she graduated to "Signing Time" which I believe has 3 different series of videos and there are a lot of videos. I also noticed that every time she would learn a sign she would learn how to say the word and the context of the word. Today we sign together all the time, and she knows about 600 signs, all of her ABC's and can count and recognize numbers 1-20. We plan on keeping this up for years to come and also teaching baby #2. To them this is fun and a game and video where you get to know the characters Alex, Leah and Hopkins (their pet frog).

Throughout Pregnancy, Birth and Life:
Young Living Essential Oils - Young Living
This is really too lengthy to write about here, but I will say that we like to use these oils as a first line of defense BEFORE we resort to going to the doctors office. And guess what? We have NOT been to the doctor's office for an illness in the 3-yeas we have been using these; but we do use them a lot as preventatives. We will go to the doctor if we see no improvement or worsening symptoms in 3-days (or less if something looks serious). Well, we did go to the doctor once because I thought Mackenzie stuck something up her nose, but it turned out she had an ear infection. She kept saying she had a "stuck bugger". If she had told me about her ear instead we would have tried the oils first...oops! Anyway, I highly recommend these and LOVE them. I like having a healthy family; and every family is different, so with over 130 oils to choose from you can customize your family's needs and desires. I really like some of the soothing oils for before bed like Lavender and Peace & Calm. If you want more information on this section you can comment or e-mail me.

OK, so I have shared my advice; what advice do you have? Maybe something on potty training?

It's A...

2010-06-04T09:58:00.000-05:00

Yes, I will tell you the gender in this blog, but you will have to wade through some other 'stuff' first (insert evil laugh here).

Last week at our play date I had a poll to see what my friends thought we were having; boy or girl? It was unanimous girl until one of my friends said she had to change to boy to be different from everyone else. Did she make the correct decision by switching, or should she have stuck with her original thought?

My Mom and Wayne's Dad have been thinking boy. I have been thinking girl, but all of my dreams have been boy (opposite of Mackenzie when I thought boy and dreamed girl). Wayne had no idea either way. I had a lady at church walk up to me and say hello to the baby girl growing inside me. Who is correct?

Before I tell you the gender I have to tell you about the ultrasound. Everything looks GREAT. We saw the heart and the four chambers beating away. We saw the brain, stomach, kidneys, eyes, face, hands, feet, arms, legs, spine, umbilical cord. Before we started the scan we were asked if we wanted to find out the gender to which we replied, "yes, if we can see." Good thing she asked because as soon as she put the receptor on my belly this is what we saw:

Well, it seems that my dreams are ALWAYS RIGHT. It's a BOY! See the two legs and his 'stuff' sticking out in the middle. His top leg has a slight shadow due to my scanner not picking up the black and white picture very well, but you can really see that he is a boy!

Now to switch my brain over to baby boy stuff. I need to completely rethink the nursery. Mackenzie was really excited and actually seemed to understand. She didn't want to give back the ultrasound picture and kept saying that it was, "Mackenzie brother" and then rubbing my tummy. So sweet.

So the ultrasound pictures did not scan very well to my computer...use your imagination.

Baby is looking at you. Head is on the left of the screen.

Mackenzie's Newest Phrase

2010-05-27T17:38:00.000-05:00

Mackenzie has a fairly new phrase that she uses pretty much every day. I have no idea where she got this because neither Wayne nor I say this...at least not this way.

Phrase:
"That's Totally Cool"

Other Phrases:
"OK, Let's do it"
"I don't like it right now"
"I need a diaper change" - instead of I need to go potty - at least she is telling me
"Are you wake up now?"
"I so tired"
And yes, she still says, "Ypu're the best" from karate kid

16-weeks

2010-05-24T10:39:00.000-05:00

Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double his/her weight and add inches to his/her length . Right now, (s)he's about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His/her legs are much more developed, his/her head is more erect than it has been, and his/her eyes have moved closer to the front of his/her head. His/her ears are close to their final position, too.

I also feel this sweet baby move more and more each day.

Sorry, no belly pics. I left my camera at a friends house.

Mackenzie Pictures

2010-05-20T11:22:00.000-05:00

Here are some recent pictures of Mackenzie.

Enjoying Ice Cream

Big Slide

Baby Pool

Bluebonnets

Toddler Bed (the sheets were in the dryer)

15-weeks

2010-05-19T17:53:00.000-05:00

I turned 15-weeks pregnant on Monday, and again forgot to take a belly picture. Yesterday my belly really seemed to pop out there, so the next pic I post should actually make me look pregnant. I'm serious. A lady even commented in the store about hoping my baby #2 is a good sleeper.

I saw my midwife for our monthly check-up and everything looked great. Well, almost. My blood pressure is really low (it was 88/62) but there is nothing you can do about that. The low blood pressure issue causes many women to faint throughout pregnancy; and is very common if you already have a naturally low blood pressure. The reason it can drop even lower in pregnancy is because your blood volume is ever increasing through 28 weeks and sometimes your hemoglobin just doesn't catch up quite fast enough. Oops! Hopefully I will not be faining throughout this pregnancy. Actually, I hope I won't faint again, at all. But; it is altogether harmless to both me and baby.

Baby was kicking and flipping and swimming around like (s)he was having a lot of fun in there. The heartbeat was strong 152bpm and I am measuring 14cm. I have also gained 6.5 pounds since this pregnancy started.

I also have pictures of Mackenzie to post if I ever get around to it. She is looking so grown up all of a sudden. Potty training is going much better. She is only patient enough to potty train half a day, so she gets to run around naked all morning. Then when she starts to act tired for her nap we put the diaper back on. That is when the potty accidents and grumpiness starts, so we just stop for the rest of the day. This method is working really well; and the fact that she likes to sit backwards on the big potty. I know she is only 2, but she seems so grown up. Her personality is so sweet and she is very opinionated. I hope baby #2 is just like her...I just love her so much (except for the sleeping thing; baby #2 can sleep through the night).

We are trying to get our diagnostic ultrasound appointment set for Friday, June 4th. That is the one where they check all of the organs, measure the baby, estimate the due date (again) and check the gender if you want to know. I want to know, so hopefully in just over 2-weeks time we will know if baby #2 is a boy or a girl and we can start calling him/her a him or her or by name or whatever seems appropriate.

I will try to post pictures tomorrow and update blog soon. Bye for now.

Angels Watching Over Me

2010-05-14T18:03:00.000-05:00

I have this license plate cover on the back of my car that says, "Angels Watching Over Me." And today God proved that phrase to be true in my life. Nothing big or bad, but you never know what could have been.

This morning Mackenzie and I made a quick run to Target for diapers because somehow we were on the last one and she was wet. How she goes through diapers so fast I do not know, but she does; thus the emergency run for more (and the desire to use cloth with baby #2).

This was a quick trip, but while in the check-out line I started to feel a bit faint. Nothing too strong, but I thought I better grab a quick something just in case, so I purchased a SNICKERS. Not the best choice, but the only thing at the register. I checked out and put the snickers in my purse to eat in the car if I needed it, but we didn't make it to the car. I stepped out of the Target doors and everything when black, so I turned around to go back inside and find a chair. We didn't make it back inside either. I fainted right there in front of the doors of the store, and some really nice guy caught me. I am so thankful he caught me because pregnant women and concrete do not go well together. Mackenzie was a perfect little girl just sitting strapped into the cart asking, "Are you OK, Mommy?" Unfortunately I could not see or hear her to give her an answer, but apparently 2 employees came running to help. One was a lady that reassured Mackenzie.

Protocol says: call 911, so I had to sit in Target waiting for the EMT's to come check me out; which was fine by me because I still couldn't see anyway, and was not about to risk driving home alone. Also, the guy that caught me found my cell phone and called my hubby to come pick me up. Or, apparently I gave him my cell phone when he asked me if he could call anyone and I told him he could call Wayne my husband? Anyway, I was very disoriented, but when I had all of my faculties back I gave that guy a BIG THANK YOU. And reassured my daughter who was telling people not to touch me - lol.

Everything checked out fine and I am fine. Blood pressure, blood sugar, oxygen, heart rate all perfect. So what happened? Pregnancy? Overheated? A short drop in blood pressure? Probably the latter. One of the midwives stopped by the house a little later to listen to the baby and (s)he sounded great! Apparently this happens quite often with pregnant women. Moral of the story, carry a protein snack and sit down immediately when feeling even the slightest bit faint or possibly don't drive pregnant? Anyway, I am fine now.

Pregnancy Pics

2010-05-14T11:44:00.000-05:00

Some people have been asking for preggo belly pics, so here they are. Sorry about how I look; I take the picture just when I wake up...haven't even brushed my teeth yet. I am almost 15-weeks now (forgot to get the 14-week pic), so the next post with belly shots should look much different. Enjoy!

10-weeks

11-weeks

12-weeks

13-Weeks

2nd Trimester

2010-05-11T13:55:00.000-05:00

I have officially entered my second trimester of pregnancy, so that means the baby is 14-weeks old and about 3.5 inches long from crown to rump! I even feel him/her move around some; which is very reassuring since my morning sickness is mostly gone now - woooo hoooo.

Speaking of morning sickness. I have only had two bouts in the last week and they were very slight. I do; however, have some small waves of nausea come and go throughout the day, but those seem to be getting better too. PRAISE THE LORD. I was even able to take my prenatal vitamin last night. I only took 1 (suppose to take 4 a day), but I am working up slowly as to not re-kick start any morning sickness symptoms.

We get to have our BIG ultrasound in just under 4 weeks, and I am really excited. I can't wait to hear that everything looks perfect and to find out the gender.

Yesterday I went in to what will be the new baby's room and started thinking about what we will and will not need. If we have a girl we will need considerably less than if we have a boy (due to the large amounts of girl clothes, blanket and general stuff we kept). But either way we will need a crib and some other things. I am also trying to decide if we should use cloth diapers. I am excited about that possibility mostly because I have a few friends that use them and LOVE them. Plus, they are no longer the fold, pin and cover diapers. Actually, if you want to check them out go to www.nurturedfamily.com I am thinking about getting 12-18 onesize fits all and then 3-8 sized diapers. What do you think? Any opinions out there about the cloth vs. disposable?

Anyway, my nesting is just starting to kick in and I am simply thinking all the time about setting things up. This will be so much easier once we know if we are having BABY BOY or BABY GIRL. Just a few more weeks. I'll keep you posted.

13-week Appointment

2010-05-06T11:24:00.000-05:00

I just got home from my 13-week midwife appointment and everything looks great. My blood pressure was back to my normal low numbers, and my blood work from the first visit looked really good. There was one thing; my thyroid showed a little low, but that is a normal pregnancy 'thing' so we will recheck about 6-weeks after the baby is born. I am going to try to start taking my pre-natal vitamins again, so please pray that they DO NOT make me sick at all. Oh, and just after my next visit it will be time for my ultrasound. I am going to try to schedule it for June 4th.

Also, I told Cathy I keep thinking I am going to have a really fast labor (like 2.5 hours or less), and she said that she is praying I have one that is longer than 30 minutes. So maybe we should all pray that the labor is about an hour...what do you think?

Stats:
Fundus Measurement: 13cm (exactly 13-weeks)
Total Weight Gain: 5 pounds
Baby's Heart Rate: 158-163 bpm
Morning Sickness: Much less and much better. I haven't thrown up since Saturday :)
Baby's Gender: Unknown. I think girl but keep dreaming boy.
Cravings: Salad with spinich and full of eggs, avocado and kidney beans - lol - I must want protein.

To Wax or Not To Wax

2010-05-03T08:03:00.000-05:00

To Wax or Not To Wax - that is the question.

I have been contemplating waxing at home and wanted my fellow blog readers advice. I have only gone to a professional to wax my eyebrows a handful of times and I continue with the dreaded shaving of other body parts. It is too expensive to keep up professional waxing on a regular basis, and since I HATE shaving I thought maybe I should try waxing at home.

What advice do you have?

What to wax (or not to wax) at home: eyebrows, under arms, legs, bikini?

What brand to use?

Any random advice?

Pregnancy Dream #2

2010-05-02T18:53:00.002-05:00

I know I have had more than 2 pregnancy dreams, but I either forget them when I wake up or just never post them - oops! In any case, here is the 2nd pregnancy dream I am posting to my blog.

I had a dream that Wayne and I went in for the ultrasound to make sure everything was great with baby and also to find out if we were having a boy or a girl. The ultrasound went wonderful and our baby was very healthy and measuring perfectly on time. We were so enjoying watching the baby on the screen that we forgot to ask for the gender and the technician forgot to tell us. So after we got into the car I called my Mom to tell her that everything looked wonderful, and she asked me if we were having a boy or a girl. Oops! I forgot to find out! How could I do that? Well, we will just have to wait because we are not paying another couple of hundred bucks to find out the gender.

One good thing is that the Midwife got not only a copy of photos from the ultrasound, but also the Baby's First Video (only in a dream). Anyway, I ran into the midwife assistant when I was out and about, and she said that she saw the baby's video and she was so pleased at how perfect HE was, and that she was excited to be at the birth in a few months. I said, "HE"? Well, we actually forgot to get the gender from the technician. The MW Assistant noted that she had not seen any gender photos, but there was one point in the video where the baby moved and she could clearly see that we were having a boy. She said, "You ARE having a Boy!" Wow. Very cool to find out. Then my dream ended.

I have now had several dreams that we are having a boy, but for some reason I still think we are having a girl. I am just about 100% incorrect at guessing gender, so we probably are having a boy. I do know that when I was pregnant with Mackenzie I thought we were having a boy but kept dreaming we were having a girl...and we had a girl. It will be fun to find out which one is right this time; my dreams or my feeling.

What do you think we are having?

The Body Pillow

2010-04-18T08:29:00.002-05:00

As you may have read in my last post I have had extremely achy hips, shoulders and lower back when waking up in the morning. So achy I might go so far as to say that they were painful. I am into practicing good pregnancy 'stuff' as soon as I find out I am pregnant, so that means no lying flat on my back, left side lying (and sometime right side lying) while asleep, squats and Indian style sitting...and on and on. Unfortunately my body is already feeling 'loose'. Basically toward the end of pregnancy your body releases a relaxin hormone that prepares your hips and body for labor, but also loosens all your other joints. I already feel like that hormone is present in my body and when I sleep on my side my hips and shoulders feel as though they fold in on top of each other. Crazy but true, then waking up to the pain.

So, we invested in a body pillow. Last night was my second night using it, and I must say, "I LOVE IT." It helps to keep my hips, knees, ankles, shoulders and the rest of my body all in line while lying on my side. So here is to morning number two without an achy or painful body. Praise the Lord.

Moral of the story: If you sleep on your side and wake up in pain; get a body pillow.

Different Already

2010-04-18T08:06:00.004-05:00

I know that pregnancies can be different from one another, but WOW, this one is extremely different than my first pregnancy. One of my friends asked me the other day if this pregnancy was more difficult or easier than my first one? Seriously, I was not able to give a good answer for that question.

I will only be 11-weeks along tomorrow, and I am hoping that with the 2nd trimester comes some much needed relief, but has this pregnancy been more difficult thus far? Well, why don't you tell me. I will give you a rundown of the differences and you can decide. I think any time you are in the middle of going through something you tend to believe it is more difficult because you are smack dab in the middle of it, but I really do remember being MISERABLE with morning sickness for the longest time with Mackenzie and am glad that this is not an exact repeat (although it was heading there fast).

1st Pregnancy:
*No complications during entire pregnancy.

*AWFUL morning sickness through about 16-weeks of pregnancy (threw up 6 - 8 times a day on most days)

*The day the morning sickness ebbed away I got the WORST heart burn. The burning was constant and very strong. It even made me throw up from time to time until Mackenzie was born. I thought a hole was being burnt into my chest.

*Other than that I had a ton of energy, was never really achy, enjoyed being pregnant, never had the headaches, dizziness or fatigue that often comes with pregnancy. I did have the usual 'run to the bathroom to pee every 10 minutes', and the 'I'm starving all the time' but what woman does not have that. I bonded well with Mackenzie en-utero, so all in all we survived and I actually loved being pregnant.

2nd Pregnancy:
*I started off having awful morning sickness and was well on my way to throwing up 6-8 times a day, but was told to go ahead and get off the vitamins for a little while until this passes. Since getting off the vitamins I only throw up once ever 2-3 days (even though I feel like throwing up all the time).

*I already can NOT sleep at night. And for no good reason. My mind simply will not turn off, and I'm not even thinking about anything important. Ugg.

*I am EXHAUSTED all the time, but since I have a wonderful and sweet toddler she doesn't make anything more difficult on me. Boy am I blessed in that area.

*I have had a bit of indigestion.

*I have been CRAZY dizzy and light headed.

*I have been getting headaches, and last night was the worst one yet!

*I would wake up in the morning to aching hips, shoulders and lower back (next post will be about this).

*Even with all of that I am enjoying being pregnant; if that is even possible. And I am already bonding with this new little life growing inside me. Seriously, I already want to know if this baby is a boy or a girl. Also, like I said earlier, I really hope that the 2nd trimester brings some much needed relief in the morning sickness, headaches, dizziness, tiredness, light headedness...arena.

So, what do you think? Has this pregnancy been easier or more difficult thus far? I predict that I will NOT GET HEARTBURN this pregnancy, so the 2nd and 3rd trimesters will be easier than my first pregnancy.

Showing? Pregnancy Dreams.

2010-04-12T11:15:00.000-05:00

I am 10-weeks pregnant today and I think I must be showing. No, the baby is not showing yet because (s)he is only 1.5 inches long from head to rump. A baby the size of a kumquat would not be showing, but Wayne keeps commenting on my baby belly, so apparently I am showing.

On to other news.

Did you have dreams when you were pregnant? Dreams about your birth and random strange things? I am usually a dreamer, but my dreams become more focused and a bit bizarre when I am pregnant. I had a lot of pregnancy dreams with Mackenzie, but I don't remember any of them now. Maybe I can chronicle some of the dreams on this blog for baby #2.

I had my first "pregnancy" dream the other night. I say it is my first because I have had dreams about my second pregnancy in the past, but this is the first one I have had while pregnant.

In this dream it was the middle of the night and I went into labor just as I did with Mackenzie, but this time there were about 40 people at our house for no apparent reason. My labor was only an hour long and my midwife arrived for the last push to 'catch' the baby. After the baby was born the midwife assistant kept trying to walk around with the baby and show him (it was a boy) to everyone, but I had to keep telling her that the umbilical cord was not cut yet. Finally when they cut the cord she took the baby and started passing him around to the various 40 people and I had not even seen him yet, and none of the baby health evaluation had been completed. I also kept asking if I could take a bath because I felt dirty. After about an hour of playing "pass the baby" I asked if I could see him and nurse him. Every one's response was something like "when we are done looking at him."

I have reason to believe that my birth experience will turn out nothing like this; except maybe for the hour long labor. I secretly (or now openly) hope my labor with baby #2 is 2.5 hours with about 5-10 pushes. We will see.

Pictures

2010-04-12T11:05:00.000-05:00

Just because I never seem to post any updated pictures. Whenever I ask Mackenzie to smile she shuts one eye...why? Who knows?

Dressed up with Nani.

At the Katy Rodeo with her stick horse "Bandanna".

She Did What?

2010-04-08T15:35:00.000-05:00

Well, yesterday we had what I will call our first big scare. Being pregnant I am running to the bathroom all day long with either morning sickness or needing to go pee. Either way, it leaves Mackenzie alone for a minute or two sometimes if I can't convince her to come with me. Usually she is just playing quietly, so no big deal.

Yesterday morning while making one of these short trips I heard Mackenzie start to sneeze uncontrollably and when I ran out and rounded the corner she had her finger stuck all the way up her nose and she told me "Bugger Stuck." Immediately I thought, "Oh no! What has she put up her nose?" We ran to get a flashlight and look up her nose, but nothing. I couldn't see anything so I thought we should wait it out. About every 2 hours she would remind me that she had a, "Bugger Stuck; Mommy get it out." And after her telling me this all day yesterday, all night and all morning we decided to go to the ENT (ear nose throat doctor). The good news is: NOTHING IS UP HER NOSE. The bad news is: She has her first (and hopefully last) pretty severe ear infection. So sad. She has not been complaining or had a fever or anything other than cutting a 2-year molar; so I was pretty surprised. I suppose that is the feeling or sensation she was having that made her think she had a 'bugger stuck'.

In Other News

2010-04-08T15:31:00.001-05:00

I realize I have not posted a BLOG in a very long time, but I have a reason for not wanting to get on the Internet. What? What could possibly keep you from getting on the Internet and telling us about your life? Let me tell you; it is a little something called "Morning Sickness." If you didn't get that...I am pregnant! Yes, we are having another baby. I have been waiting to post until today because today we got to her the baby's heartbeat for the very first time. It sounded great. Everything looks good, and the only really bad part is this dreaded morning sickness and some dizziness/lightheadedness. Oh, and going to the bathroom all day long and not sleeping well at night, and being really tired. But other than that everything is really GREAT. So there you have it...we are adding a little #2 to the family.

Happy Birthday Mackenzie

2010-03-04T09:56:00.000-06:00

Mackenzie is 2-years old today! Can you believe it? My baby girl is growing up so fast; and I must say that she is a precious little girl.

2 years ago in the wee hours of the morning (12:01am) I went into labor. My hubby didn't believe I was in labor, but 3 hours and 50 minutes later we were holding Mackenzie in our arms. I guess it was labor, and an amazing birth assisted by Cathy, Connie and Amanda along with my Mom and friend Kelly (full house). Now here we are getting ready to celebrate another year of life. Thank you Lord for your precious gifts!

Mackenzie updates:
1. Still in LOVE with the Karate Kid
2. Still learning and using sign language
3. Very girlie, loves dresses
4. Loves to play with our dog and play outside
5. Very tall
6. Typical woman; must get her 10-15 thousand words in per day
7. Becoming a Daddy's girl (so cute)
8. Becoming more adventurous

Staph Infection

2010-03-02T09:44:00.000-06:00

Many of you have seen my hand getting so much better once it was diagnosed as a staph infection and I started treatment. Actually, it was so much better that if you were not looking for where the infection had been you probably would not notice that anything had been wrong. It was REALLY bad on my hand, and just slight on my face.

Well, guess what? 24 hours after I completed my treatment I woke up last night itching all over and my hand felt funny. You guessed it! It is back. My hand is swollen, red and scabbing over and weeping again, and my face and neck are itching like crazy. It was NOT like that yesterday when the family was over. What is going on!?!?!?!

I have a call in to the doctor, so please pray for me! This thing needs to die and be gone and NEVER EVER come back.

Granddad Coming

2010-03-02T09:41:00.000-06:00

We have been telling Mackenzie for quite some time that Granddad is coming from England, and now he is here. When he walked in she yelled, "Granddad coming!" And I said, "He's already here." So cute. She loves him and just talked to him non-stop last night.

Also, it was really great because Wayne's sister and our niece Clara came over for dinner. We had a wonderful family time :) Clara is even learning how to use a yo-yo; very cool.

Katy Rodeo

2010-02-28T08:39:00.000-06:00

My Mom purchased tickets for all of us to go to the Katy Rodeo last night, and we had a great time. Shortly after we arrived we went down to the 'Stick Horse' table and Mom/Nani let Mackenzie pick out her very own stick horse to love and to keep and to raise. Minus our efforts to get her to pick out the horse with pink and green hair she choose a very stylish horse with black and red hair (yarn and strips of bandanna). Needless to say that when we got home later that night she finally named her horse, "Bandanna".

Not only did she get to keep her horse, but she also got to ride in the 'Stick Horse Race" down in the arena between shows! Most of the other kids rode their horse, and Mackenzie just stood there loving on her horse. Oh well, maybe next year she will go more than two feet toward the finish line! She LOVED IT.

She also loved the, bull riding, bronco riding, cow roping and all the other fun stuff. Until around 9:00 when she said she wanted to go home. The she repeated herself around 9:15, so we left. I thought maybe she was tired, but NOOOOO. She stayed up until midnight loving on Bandanna and RIDING her around the house. Yes, she wouldn't ride during the race, but at home she rode like and old pro. Thanks Mom.

30 Things While 30 - List

2010-02-22T15:43:00.000-06:00

Well, I have not been working on my 30 things list and really need to at least get some momentum going. I also have not had any suggestions from my friends as to what I should put on my list. Here is the deal. I am making a list of 30 things to do during my 30th year of life. I will turn 30 on August 18th.

My list thus far:

1. Get pregnant with baby #2 or already be pregnant and have baby #2, or get pregnant and have baby #2. This all depends on when I actually get pregnant, so cut me some slack.

2. Go on a family vacation. Seriously. We have NEVER had a family vacation unless our honeymoon counts. We went to Disney with my parents, brother and niece and nephews, but that does not count. We also went to Bandera with Wayne's family, sisters and niece, but that does not count either. I am talking about the Sherwood family vacation.

3. Draw Closer to God. I'd like to think that I already have a good relationship with my Lord Jesus Christ, but I KNOW it can be even better and more amazing.

4. Go on more than 1 date with my hubby. Seriously, we need a regular date night - once a week or once a month - just the two of us.

5. Go outside the borders of Texas. I love Texas and want to stay here, but I think I need to travel some. I use to travel for work quite a bit and have been a lot of places, but my hubby and daughter have not. We need to go somewhere. Maybe this and #2 go hand-in-hand, and maybe not.

6. Get into arts and crafts. I have recently acquired a love for making cute baby girl things as baby shower gifts, and I would love to expand to baby boy stuff, kids stuff and even things for adults. This is a fun outlet.

7. Pray with and Encourage Strangers. I don't know how to explain this, so we will just leave it at that.

8. Be a better friend. Let's face it; I HATE using the phone. I don't call people; well, pretty much never call people, so if you are not on the Internet, or I don't see you in person, or you don't take the initiative it probably won't get done. So here is to more phone calls and initiative from my end of the relationship.

9. Be more spontaneous. I would like to think that I use to be a spontaneous person, but after illness, work, marriage, a child and lack of money I have seemingly lost most of my spontaneity. So here is to getting it back.

10. Work out at the YMCA at least 3x's a week. Seriously, why not get in shape. Preggo or not I am going to work out.

11. Get Mackenzie in her own bed - ALL NIGHT. Mackenzie always starts out in her own bed, but somehow ends up in our bed sometime during the night. (she use to sleep in her own bed all night...what happened?) Hopefully this will happen before I am 30. When it does I will change this number 11 to something else.

12. Have (and keep) a nice front and back yard. Have you seen our yard!!! It needs a lot of work. A yard can be like another room on you house if it is nice.

13. Visit my Hubby at work at least twice a month. I think it is nice to break up his day with our presence - lol.

OK, so as you can see I need more ideas. Can you lend me a hand...please.

Oops. I missed some preggo friends.

2010-02-22T07:50:00.000-06:00

I have so many preggo friends and friends that just had babies that I forgot 4 of them. Can you believe it. So add 4 ladies and 4 babies to my blog a few post's back.

Allison - girl
Emma
Jennifer
Carla

If I missed anyone else, I am sorry.

Cute Conversation

2010-02-21T09:09:00.000-06:00

This was one of our conversations this morning.

Me: "Mackenzie, did you know that you are going to turn 2 soon."

Mackenzie: "Oh Man! Old."

Friends Having Babies

2010-02-21T08:24:00.000-06:00

Right now I have a lot of friends (and family) having babies. It truly is a joy, and did I mention that I have the baby bug? I am ready to expand our family by starting on baby #2, but I have to wait until this staph is completely cleared up and the meds are out of my body.

In order of due date, here is a first name list of the Mom's having babies, and the baby's gender being born:

Suzanne - boy
Kiersten - surprise at birth
Laci - girl
Melinda - twin girls
Cierra - surprise at birth
Amber - girl
Jill - surprise at birth
Amanda - boy
Laura - gender unknown
Hannah - gender unknown
Jill - gender unknown

Plus the two ladies that recently had their girls and boy and the one friend that just had a miscarriage. At one time, that put the total count at 14 ladies and 16 babies. In utero we are now standing at 11 ladies and 12 babies; no wait, just got a call that the top lady on my list is a new mom, so 10 ladies and 11 babies. Congratulations Suzanne!!!

Here is the thing. I LOVE making part of my baby gift, and have great and fun ideas for baby girls, but I am almost completely blank for a baby boy. Does anyone out there have some really neat home-made baby gift ideas for a new baby boy? If so, please comment and let me know.

It's WHAT!!!!

2010-02-19T10:48:00.001-06:00

Some of you know that I have this rash/burn like thing on my right hand. Then all of a sudden my face started doing something similar with patchy, itchy, slightly swollen 'stuff', but no burn spots. I thought it was a combination of contact dermatitis that turned into an environmental burn and eczema all in one. I was partially correct and partially incorrect.

I had some people pray over my hand and face on Sunday and had started seeing drastic improvement, but Wednesday evening and Thursday morning it looked WORSE. It started spreading and my had was slightly swollen-ugg. So I decided it was time to go to the doctor. Every dermatologist I called was booked through the end of March or early April, and I thought just in case this is something serious I better go somewhere. I called my GP and got in immediately. She has been my GP since I was like 14 or 15 years old, so she is AWESOME and really knows my history.

The nurse went through the usual weight, temperature and blood pressure routine. When she took my temperature it was 98.4* which is about a degree and a half high for me; curious. Then my blood pressure which she said looked GREAT was also a little high for me (mine is usually pretty low on the normal scale). Tale tale signs that 'something' is going on.

When the doc came in I told her my story and with one look she new EXACTLY what was wrong. I was correct in the fact that is started off as contact dermatitis, but what was the diagnosis??? Staph Infection! That's right, a staph infection. Good news, it doesn't look like the MRSA (resistant staph) and we can knock this thing out in 10-days. Bad news, high dose of antibiotic 4 times a day for 10-days and a crazy steroid pack for 6-days. She was pretty funny when she told me the treatment because she knows I DON'T LIKE medication. She started off by telling me that we can get this fixed up, but don't get mad, I have to be on antibiotics and steroids. Then she followed up by telling me to TAKE EVERYTHING. She knows I always do following the directions, but yuck!!! I suppose it is alright because I have not been sick, to the doctor or on medications for almost 3-years now. I suppose once in 3-years is alright. :)

So, here is to getting ALL BETTER.

(oh, and I have a picture on my camera, but my camera is acting up. I will post if I can get it off of there and onto here.)

Old Friends

2010-02-16T14:04:00.000-06:00

OK, so my friend is not old. Actually, he is younger than I am, but I have not seen him in about 10-years, and that makes him and old friend.

Today I got to meet up with this old friend and meet his wife and kids (who I absolutely adored). It was great to catch up a bit, but we didn't get to hang out nearly long enough because I am preparing for a class tonight. Maybe next time we can have a game night.

So, here is to old friends!

B-I-N-G-O

2010-02-10T17:44:00.000-06:00

And I don't mean the game.

Today we (Mackenzie to be exact) had a HUGE potty training breakthrough.

At 4:25 she told me "Poopie, poopie". We ran to the bathroom. We made it on time. And...she went poo in the potty all by herself!

Of coarse we were so excited and made a really big deal about it. Hopefully she will remember the positive fuss we made and keep up the good work. Now if we can just cut down on tinkle accidents we will be doing great. Especially because she stopped throwing her tantrums yesterday.

Turning 2

2010-02-09T13:48:00.000-06:00

I can hardly believe that in less than a month my baby is going to be 2 YEARS OLD. It seems like just yesterday that she was born, but somehow at the same time it feels like we have always had her with us.

I will blog more about her turning 2 when her actual birthday comes. For now I will just enjoy the last of her being 1.

Turning 30

2010-02-09T10:39:00.000-06:00

OK, so I have a ways to go before I turn 30 (a little over 6 months), but I was just reading my Sister Kelly's blog (sister-in-law so you don't get confused) and we have the same birthday. She is making a list of 30 things to do during her 30th year of life. So, I am stealing her idea and I am also going to make a list. We have until August 17th to make our lists because on the 18th we will officially be 30.

Stay tuned for a completed 30 Things in 30th Year list. Oh, and if you have any ideas you want to submit to me for consideration feel free; you might see them on my list.

Two Steps Forward...

2010-02-09T10:26:00.001-06:00

Two steps forward, one step back.

At least we are taking two steps forward on the potty training front. This past Saturday and Sunday we took a break from potty training. By 'a break' I mean that Mackenzie wore pull ups instead of big girl panties and we only used the potty twice each day. This seems to have helped because she is down to one tantrum (or less) each day instead of the ridiculous 6 tantrums a day. Oh, and we stopped watching Karate Kid I which may have also helped?

Yesterday we went back to big girl panties and normal potty training and the tantrums stayed to a minimal once a day :) Also, yesterday she started saying 'poopie' just before she needs to go poo. This is AWESOME!

As for the one step back...she is having more accidents during the day.

I know it will all be worth it when diapers are a memory of the past and she is never having accidents. Then we will start all over with baby #2 (when we have a baby #2).

Electronic Queen

2010-02-09T10:14:00.000-06:00

This post has nothing to do with Mackenzie except that she is very much like me and may also be an Electronic Queen some day.

Typically I am the Electronic Queen. If it is electronic and you need something done, fixed, corrected...I am usually the person my family calls. It is so much so that Wayne refuses to do anything electronic and just asks me to do it first (along with much of the house hold fix-it-up stuff).

Today I think the electronics are in rebellion. This morning while removing one of the 'empty' ink cartridges (which by the way are NEVER empty when our machine says they are) the cartridge burst and yellow ink poured out EVERYWHERE. Seriously, ink inside our printer, all over our desk and computer mouse. Ugg. And let's just say that it doesn't clean up very easily.

Houston Auto Show

2010-02-05T10:52:00.000-06:00

OK, so that last post was a little rough, so I thought I would post something happy.

Last Wednesday evening Wayne, Mackenzie and I went to the Houston Auto Show. We were reluctant to take Mackenzie at first because we were not sure how she would act, and she was only on day 3 of potty training.

Well folks, let me just say that she LOVED the Auto Show. Seriously! For the first half she walked around from car to car with us and commented on the color and the sound it makes and just simply had a great time. The second half she had juice and snacks in her stroller.

And can you believe that she held her pee the entire time and waited until we got home to go potty on the potty! Yes. We even took her at the auto show and she refused to go then. My baby is growing up. (for more details on how potty training is currently going read my last post)

Potty Training

2010-02-05T10:35:00.000-06:00

OK. I realize I have not blogged for a LOOOONG time, but hey...I just didn't feel like blogging. Now that something pivotal is taking place in my daughter's life I decided it is time to post again. That something pivotal is POTTY TRAINING and the 'Terrific Two's'.

Mackenzie has been showing signs of going into the terrible -I mean- 'Terrific Two's' for a month or two now, but nothing to dramatic. The occasional throwing herself on the floor when she was mad or random hitting or kicking when she didn't get her way. She would only do this about once a week at first, then she decided to go for a minimum of twice a week. No big deal. I can handle twice a week, and so can she.

But then -loud music playing DUH, DUH, DUH- we started potty training. The first week was AWESOME. She only had accidents the first two or three days, then days 4-7 she did great. She loved going on the potty (no poo, but that is another story). She loved putting stickers on her potty chart and washing her hands and doing the victory potty dance. We were laughing and having a great time. Day 8 there began some rebellion. She started saying, "NO" when I told her it was time to go to the potty. I thought maybe we were going to often, so I backed off from every hour to every hour and a half to two hours. This worked for day 8, but on day 9 she would just YELL, "NOOOOOO" when it was time to go to the potty then she would just pee in her big girl panties. Yes, pee all over the floor. I thought this was just a stage, but on day 10 she started throwing these yelling tantrums with kicking, biting and hitting if I asked her to do anything (get dressed, eat lunch, go potty...anything!). And these tantrums didn't last just a minute or just five minutes; they lasted 45 minutes each, and she threw 5 or 6 of them each day! No matter what I did, hugs, kisses, reading a book, leaving her alone; nothing worked to soothe her and she just continued on with her rebellion of whatever. So I decided that today(day 12 of potty training) we would just take a break. She can wear a diaper today and I will take her to the potty only a few times today. Did the potty training aggravate the 'Terrific Two's', or is she just testing her limits? Is she not ready to potty train? She finds it easy to tinkle in the potty so that shouldn't be it!

Uggg.

Oh, and NO MORE KARATE KID the movie until her tantrums stop!

Oops-a-me'

2009-10-10T12:33:00.000-05:00

What do you say when you drop something? What do you say when you sneeze? Well, Mackenzie has one word for both situations and it is a cross between Oops and Excuse Me; it is Oops-a-me'. So if you hear her say that she is saying oops, excuse me. :)

She also likes the following words or pharses now:

Ready, set, GO!
Yuckie
Coming
Hug (instead of hold me)

Only My Mother & I

2009-10-09T10:36:00.001-05:00

This morning Mackenzie and I stopped by my mother's house to say 'hi' before running to the bank. On the way out to my car I noticed that my mom had her HUGE, old broken television sitting on her roller out next to the curb to be picked up and hauled away. I made a comment in passing that we should get the TV off of the roller before I leave, but she reminded me of how heavy that television was so we left it.

Mackenzie and I left for the bank, and when we left my mom's house it was a muggy 87* outside. On the way to the bank the wind really picked up and the temperature had dropped 10 degrees to 77*. By the time I was done at the bank and on my way home it was pouring down rain and the temperature had dropped another 10 degrees to just below 66*.

Well, wouldn't it just so happen that as I am driving past my mom's house I see her HUGE television flipped off the roller and into the middle of the road. So, what do we do; yup...my mom and I wrestle this extremely heavy television to the side of the road in the pouring rain and in 66* weather. By the time we are finally done I am completely soaked to the bone and shivering. Why do we get ourselves into the strangest situations?

At least we have a cold front :)

Yes, No, Maybe

2009-09-24T15:36:00.000-05:00

This is a strange topic...it is about pee. Not just any pee, but my daughter's pee and what is going on lately.

Three nights ago Mackenzie half woke up crying and complaining around 2am. I went into her room to find that her night time diaper had become so full that it not only leaked but it SOAKED her, her pajamas, her stuffed lamb and her bed. So I stripped her down, cleaned her up, changed her diaper, put on a clean set of pajamas and took her to Daddy to snuggle with while I went in to change her sheets and clean up the rest of the mess.

After the whole ordeal Mackenzie was so awake that she had trouble falling back asleep, so I then had to stay up another hour getting her back down in her bed.

But wait, that's not all! This has happened EVERY NIGHT for 3 nights now. Just when we have her sleeping really well this starts happening.

So here is the 'Yes, No, Maybe' part. Do I stop giving her liquids before bed? What time to I stop? Can I just give her less? How much less? This is hard because Mackenzie LOVES to drink water and milk and I don't want to tell her, "I know you are thirsty, but I can't give you any water even though it is good for you and keeps you hydrated." Duh, seriously! And she will not stop asking for a 'drink' or 'thirsty' until I give it to her, and if I don't give it to her she will cry which will make her more thirsty and will dehydrate her. Where is the balance? We must find one, and soon!

Reaching New Heights

2009-09-24T15:21:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was a day of 'Reaching New Heights' for Mackenzie. Well, also for Wayne and I considering how Mackenzie reached those heights.

This far in her one and a half years of life, Mackenzie has shown no interest in climbing or jumping off of pretty much anything. That is one reason I have been comfortable with leaving her bed in crib stage for now. All of this came to a screeching halt yesterday when I stepped into the study for just a moment and when I walked out there was my daughter standing backwards on one of our dining room chairs playing with our golden window treatments. Of coarse, this horrified me and I wanted to say something to her, but I didn't want to scare her and cause her to fall, so I did the next best thing. I ran and got my camera. I took a few pictures then I took her down off the chair and explained to her that chairs are for sitting not standing.

Well, all day she kept trying to climb up on her glider or the sofa or her car that holds her block on the exercise ball...you name it, she tried it. Uggg.

So because of how tall she is and this new found interest in climbing I thought it must be time to covert her bed to the toddler setting. So that is what I did, and much to my disgust and dismay this was MUCH WORSE than the crib setting. First, for an 18-month old the toddler rail looks like it needs to be at least 4 inches higher (right now it is only about 2.5 or 3 inches higher than the mattress). She could just roll right over that rail at her age. I think a two an a half or three year old would be just fine in the toddler bed setting, but eighteen months? Hum? But that is not the bad part. As soon as Mackenzie saw her 'new bed' she climbed up on it and began RUNNING up and down the mattress and giggling. Very unsteady and ready to plummet head first into the toddler rail or the floor. I was so horrified that I changed her bed back to the crib setting and am going to wait on the toddler setting until she is older. So YES DOCTOR...I am waiting. Mackenzie seems to think that in the crib setting she is not allowed to climb out or act crazy. She simply accepts the bed for what it is and sleeps in it and waits for us to come get her when she wakes up.

So that was our day yesterday. How was yours?

Camp

2009-09-19T09:27:00.000-05:00

Wayne and I have not been on a vacation alone in our entire 7-years of marriage (except for our honeymoon), and neither have we been on a family vacation. More recently we have been feeling the effects of not only wanting to get away, but needing to get away.

Just this last week we received an e-mail that many of the families at our church are trying to go to 'camp' together. Each family would get their own small cabin with a queen bed and a private bathroom, and the cost would be less that it would cost to even drive somewhere these days and it includes 2 nights and 3 meals. I really hope we can go on this camping vacation. There are pony rides for the kids and paddle boats, fishing and hiking; and there is horseback riding, zip lines and other great stuff for the adults. All-in-all, a great family time together. Plus the famous hay rides and bonfires. This trip would be at the end of October and it is less than a few hours drive from home.

Now all I need to do is get Mackenzie those hiking shoes in a larger size :) If we go I will blog all about it and post pictures :)

Not only height and weight

2009-09-19T09:12:00.001-05:00

Good Grief.

Mackenzie is not only growing in height and weight, but her feet keep growing as well. I feel like she was just wearing size 4 toddler shoes, but somehow she is now in a size 6 toddler shoe. We bought her some nice new casual but cute denim converse type tennis shoes just about 2 weeks ago (size 6) and I can't believe that her toe is ALREADY at the very end. We are going to have to get some size 7 and size 8 shoes at the rate of her feet's growth. Hey, at least she is healthy.

Nights 5 & 6 - I Think?

2009-09-19T09:07:00.000-05:00

OK, so I have lost track. I think I am suppose to write about Nights 5 & 6, but there is not much to say. Both the nap times and the bed times have been going GREAT. Last night was the best of all the nights so far. Mackenzie went down at 9:00 with no fuss at all and woke up this morning around 7:30. About 30 minutes longer than she usually sleeps, w-o-n-d-e-r-f-u-l. What is that, ten and a half hours? Wow!

I think I will stop posting about her sleep habits until there is something new to write about; like transitioning to a toddler bed :)

Projections

2009-09-17T10:02:00.000-05:00

And I don't mean Economic Projections or Forecasts. I am talking about my daughter's growth and clothes sizes.

I decided to project Mackenzie's height and weight up through age 3 based on how she has been growing thus far (especially considering the fact that she has ALWAYS been 95%+ and has not wavered at all).

Why? You ask why?

Well, that is a good question and I have a good answer.

Sometimes my Mother or I like to purchase clothes in advance for Mackenzie when they go on sale, and almost every time she has outgrown them before she gets to wear them. For example, Mackenzie was wearing a 2T (that was a little large on her) this summer and we thought that because a child's rate of growth slows down that a 2T would be big enough for this winter. Nope, she is in a 3T now and is slated to be a 4T by December. Thus the growth projection using her doctor's growth chart.

Here is what we have:

December 09 (Winter months): 4T
March '10 (Spring months): 4T
June '10 (Summer months): Tight 4T or Girls XS or Girls Size 4
October '10 (Winter months) Girls XS or Girls Size 4
March '11 (Spring months): Girls XS - S or Girls Size 4-5

The sizes are based on The Children's Place size chart at Katy Mills Mall. So anyone that is looking to get clothes for Mackenzie for Christmas or her birthday please look at the chart above and include a gift receipt. My child is GROWING :)

Procrastination

2009-09-17T09:58:00.000-05:00

That's right, I said procrastination.

Do you ever get so behind on something that you truly dread doing it? For me it is downloading and uploading pictures. I have fallen so behind on this that our camera has over 450 pictures on it; some of them as far back as Mackenzie's first baseball game (Go ASTROS). So here I am downloading the pictures onto my computer so I can upload some of them to Facebook and this Blog and Shutterfly later. Hopefully later doesn't become months from now. Ugg.

Nights 3 & 4

2009-09-17T09:53:00.001-05:00

So Far So Good.

Nap time on days 3 & 4 looked pretty much identical to the nap time on day 2, so nothing new to post there. Bed time is where the real difference occurred.

Bed time on night 3 was pretty much the same as night 2, but on Night 4... Wow, what a difference. We did our usual bed time routine, but she was wet so I also changed her diaper. When I was done with that she said, "Rock" which means she wants me to rock her in her glider. I told her, "OK, but in 5 minutes you will be going to bed." So with the lights off I rocked her then I gave her a 1 minute last call for enjoying the rocking so she would know what came next. She said, "NO." So I said, "OK, 2 more minutes then off to bed." That is what we did. I rocked her for 2 more minutes then I laid her in her bed and tucked her in. She didn't make a peep. She just quietly snuggled down and drifted off to sleep. This is very excititng.

I think I will wait to change her bed over to the toddler setting until she has been sleeping well with this routine for at least a week. I hate to mess up a good thing.

Night 2

2009-09-15T09:22:00.000-05:00

Night 2 (last night) went GREAT.

Nap time was about the same on Monday as it was on Sunday, but again, she was not upset and slept just over 2 hours.

Bed time was different. We did the same routine with the 5 minute last call for snuggling. She again threw a tantrum, but that only lasted about 5 minutes. I again checked on her every 5 minutes, and she was asleep in about 15 minutes. She slept all night until 7:00am. That is very very good. I am so proud of her.

I pray that today's nap time and bed time go really well.

Once she just lays down and goes to sleep for both (I am hoping this only takes a week or less) we have to change her bed over to the toddler bed conversion and put up a child gate at her bedroom door. The doctor says she is WAY TOO TALL to be in the crib even though she is still young. She could fall out or climb out and hurt herself. So, with the toddler bed she can climb down if she wants to, but she won't hurt herself; and with the child gate she can't just wander around the house. Humm, pray that all of this change goes well and that she chooses to sleep instead of climb out of bed over and over again. Thanks.

Night 1

2009-09-15T09:13:00.000-05:00

Sunday night was NIGHT 1 of getting back on the good ol'e sleep routine. I have learned that when sleep is involved you must be consistent not only at bed time, but also at nap time. That way they child (in this case lovely Mackenzie) can distinguish how to fall asleep no matter what time of day or night.

So nap time naturally came first today. That meant laying her in her bed wide awake with her blankie (named 'Bunket' by Mackenzie), her lamb (named lambie) and her bottle of milk (YES, I still give her a bottle of milk). I told her it was nap time and that Mommy was going to go take a nap also; to which she replied, "NO." I then replied, "Yes", tucked her in, gave her a kiss and left the room. She wasn't crying, but she was AWAKE so I went in to check on her and lay her back down and remind her that it was nap time about every ten minutes. It took her about 40 minutes to finally fall asleep, but when she did she was out for over 2 hours. Not bad, especially since there was no crying involved.

Bed time was a little trickier, but went very well also. After dinner, tooth brushing, hand washing, pajama changing, night time prayers and kisses Mackenzie was given her 5 minute last call for snuggle time before bed (I like to give her a 5 minute last call so she knows what is coming next). Again, when I put her in bed she said, "NO." And proceeded to throw a tantrum in her bed. I went back in to her room every 5 minutes to calm her down and remind her that it was bedtime, and it only took her just under 30 minutes to fall asleep. AND...she slept all night until 6:00am. Good job, Sweetie. :)

Just When Things Were Going Well

2009-09-13T10:09:00.000-05:00

Just when things were going well with Mackenzie's sleep routine and sleep habits it all cam crashing down. Remember 3 weeks ago when she was sick for 5 days, then I was sick for 5 days; a total of 10 days thrown off our routine? Well, that did it.

Before then Mackenzie had been going to bed on her own every evening and sleeping through the night. No problem. She even enjoyed the routine. It was wonderful.

Since then, she S-C-R-E-A-M-S, throws tantrums, stays up ALL NIGHT screaming for Mommy to hold her or to sleep with Mommy. We went to the well-baby exam and everything was great. The doctor said there was no physical sign for her getting up at night, so it is a terrible case of the 'I Want's' that was reinforced when she was sick (because Mommy held her and she slept with me during those 10 days. Uggg. Apparently that was a mistake on my part). So her old bedtime routine makes her mad and she just throws a tantrum; that is until today.

Yes, today is a NEW DAY. That's right. We are going to do what we did the first go round and get Mackenzie sleeping in her own bed all night again. It only took 2, almost 3 nights to accomplish her new routine last time, so I am PRAYING that it only takes 1 or 2 nights this time since she knows what we are doing and where we are going with all of this.

I don't believe in the full Cry-It-Out method, but I do believe in a very structured routine that starts at the same time and ends with her in bed at the same time every night. Also, if she cries I believe in allowing her to cry for up to 5 minutes then reassuring her that we are here and we love her, but everyone is sleepy and it is bed time.

PLEASE PRAY with us. We need all the help we can get.

18-Month Well Baby Exam

2009-09-11T16:34:00.000-05:00

Today was Mackenzie's 18-month well baby exam and it went GREAT! That is, after we waited two hours to see the doctor and having Mackenzie S-C-R-E-A-M while the doctor attempted to look in her ears and mouth. She looks wonderful...perfect.

Height: 35.5 inches (just under 3 feet)
Weight: 30.5 pounds
Percentile: 95%-100% for both

Teeth: 16 teeth (all but her 2-year molars)

According to the Doc Mackenzie is ready for her bed to be converted to a toddler bed because of her height...falling out of the crib is NOT and option. She will also be ready for a small tricycle at Christmas (Mackenzie was happy to hear that).

One precaution, everyone must know how old Mackenzie is before they watch her. Because of her height and her advanced vocabulary and her trying to potty-train she is on track with average 3-year olds (kids twice her age). Because of that people could treat her like she is older and reprimand her as if she is older, but she's not...she is only 18-months. So listen up, if you are hanging out with my kid, she is ONLY 18-MONTHS OLD, please treat her accordingly; just like you would treat a child half her size. Thank You.

A Loving Mom,
Natalie

Terrible Two's

2009-09-10T16:12:00.000-05:00

Can a child go through the Terrible Two's early?

Seriously!?!??!?

From the time she was born Mackenzie has always been very even tempered and did not get upset easily, but that has changed as dramatically as switching a light switch from OFF to ON in the middle of the night.

Just over a week ago now Mackenzie began throwing tantrums. Not just little, "Umm, I'm upset" things, but full out throwing herself onto the floor, kicking and screaming. And she will not quit, no matter what I do, for anywhere from two minutes to an hour straight. And better yet, there seems to be no rhyme or reason to the tantrums. I am not telling her, "NO" or stopping her from doing something. I am not refusing a request or ignoring her. Actually, I spend most of my time just giving her love and care and concern as I always have and in the middle of doing something as simple as walking down the hall she will visibly become mad and throw herself on to the floor. The rest is history. I can talk to her, offer her various things (toys, snacks, drink, hugs, kisses, read book, go potty...), I ask her to tell me or sign what she wants, and NOTHING works. She simply has to get it out of her system. Then, when she is finished, she is happy as a lark; almost as if nothing ever happened. And, this happens 2, 3, 4, 5 and even 6 times a day! Uggg.

I really do hope this IS the Terrible Two's because that means there is an end in sight, and maybe she will be done with this stage of life BEFORE the other kids start their terrible two's, or before she is 18 years of age; whichever comes first.

For now, I just have to love her through it.

18 Months

2009-09-05T09:58:00.000-05:00

I was going to write this yesterday when Mackenzie hit her 18-month milestone, but time just slipped away from me.

Wow...Mackenzie is 18-months old. That is 1 and 1/2 years; ALREADY.

There are moments when I feel like she was brought into this world just yesterday, and other moments when I feel as though she has been with us forever, but no matter how I look at her life with us I still find it hard to believe that my precious baby is already 18-months old.

She has turned our world upside down in the most wonderful way imaginable. Almost as if life before her was actually upside down and life with her is now right side up.

Anyway, we have not taken her to her well-baby check up yet, so I don't have height and weight statistics, but if she is still on the same track as before we know she will be in 95%-100% for both. I will post after that visit. :) I think about how I was almost always the shortest and smallest person in my class at school, and I realize that there is a good chance that Mackenzie may almost always be the tallest person in her class...lol, that makes me smile. Especially because I always wanted to be the tallest, and I had it in my mind that I would be at least 5' 10" but maybe closer to 6' as an adult. Hahaha, all 5' 3" of me.

Here are some updates. If Mackenzie is not teething she sleeps through the night in her own bed without any problems. She is trying to cut her final tooth before her 2 year molars, so we should have a teething break for a while. When she wakes up in the morning the fist thing she asks for is "bunket" which is her blanket. She LOVES playing with the dog, and giggles the entire time. She also enjoys a riveting game of Peek-A-Boo as long as you act like you have no idea where she is when she is hiding under her blanket, then she can pull out the big reveal with a HUGE SMILE on her face. She loves to eat, but has definitely lowered her food intake some. Last night she found that she really enjoys using chop-stix. That was a sight to see :) She runs at an amazing speed for such a little tyke, and she enjoys spilling her blocks out on the floor so she can then lay down in the middle of them and roll around. Pretty funny if you ask me. She loves to pray and always closes in a loud AMEN. She is a typical Girlie-Girl: loves SHOES, JEWELRY, MAKEUP, NAIL POLISH, and PURSES. She also wants a bike and a baby doll. She hugs and kisses all of her toys and rocks her glow worm to sleep on a daily basis. Oh, and when no one is around or she has warmed up to whoever is there...she is a jabber box; talk, talk, talk.

All in all, I LOVE my sweet little girl and couldn't imagine life without her. Happy 18-months, Mackenzie.

FLU - Yuck

2009-09-01T09:44:00.000-05:00

Sorry I have not posted in a while, but we have had the flu. Or at least something like the flu. I will post again soon, but for now suffice it to say that Mackenzie is better and I am trying to get better.

Animal Sounds

2009-08-19T14:00:00.001-05:00

Mackenzie has been learning her animal sounds. We checked out a book from the library called, "Old McDonalds Farm", and yes, you sing the song with the animals.

She now knows the sounds to the following animals:

Dog - woof woof
Cat - meow
Chicken - cluck cluck
Cow - moo
Frog - ribbit
Sheep - baah
Pig - oink oink (sound through the nose)
Horse - neigh
Duck - quack

There may be more, but I can't remember. It is really fun watching her do the animal sounds. She really gets into them.

A Day In The Life

2009-08-19T13:52:00.000-05:00

I was told I should post about one of Mackenzie's recent days, so here it is.

Mackenzie has been teething very severely recently as she has 4 teeth coming in at the same time. Two of the teeth have emerged, so we are just waiting for the last two. After those come in we should have a teething break before her 2-year molars...when those last four molars are in we will be done with the teething; hallelujah.

Because of her teething she has been having two or three nights in a row where she is completely unable to sleep, then two or three nights where she sleeps great. The night before my birthday was one of those sleepless nights; thus brings about A-Day-In-The-Life of Mackenzie.

The day after she didn't sleep (my birthday), Mackenzie had a wonderful day. She woke up. Ate breakfast. Watched Signing Time and Elmo Potty Time. Got dressed for the day. Went to lunch at La Madeline for my birthday where she saw her Grammy, Granda and Auntie Kelly. Took a two and a half hour nap. Ate a big lunch because she wouldn't eat at La Madeline. Played with Mommy and the dog. Went with Mommy to return a sprinkler and purchase a new one. Went to dinner with Mommy and Daddy at Hasta La Pasta where she ate and ate and ate. Doesn't that sound like a great day :)

What are you doing?

2009-07-29T09:45:00.001-05:00

WARNING:
This may be a TMI post for some of you, but I think the majority of you can handel this.

Yesterday morning Daddy was taking a shower and Mackenzie left the living room where I was and headed into the bathroom where Daddy was. I guess Wayne couldn't see what Mackenzie was doing from where he was because I heard him say (in kind of a loud voice), "Mackenzie, what are you doing?"

I figured that was my queue to go find out what might be wrong, so I was surprised when I walked in to find Mackenzie sitting on her potty. I said, "Look, Honey, she is going potty." When she was done I then took off her pant and her diaper to see what she had done, and she had actually gone poo in her diaper while sitting on the potty...all by herself! Now we just have to work on getting her pants off BEFORE she sits on the potty.

I am so proud of her. :)

New Post

2009-07-23T11:54:00.000-05:00

Actually, I don't have anything new or exciting to post, so this will just be a mish-mash of random thoughts.

Mackenzie has been sleeping really well at night and nap time for quite a while now. I, however; am still catching up on my sleep. Any day now I will wake up completely refreshed and feel like a whole new woman :) Last night Mackenzie went to bed at 7:30 and woke up at 7:00 this morning. That is a good long rest.

Oh, we got some rain last night. Very exciting. Our grass actually looks mostly green today due to the rain, so I hope and pray that it rains some more this week and next week. We had to treat our yard for chinch bugs because they were quickly eating all of our grass root. Now to work on getting our grass to GROW...hence the need for rain.

I can't really think of anything else to type and Mackenzie is taking a nap, so I am going to go take advantage of this time. I'll write soon. Bye for now.

Potty Time

2009-07-20T17:37:00.000-05:00

OK, I think it is time to at least begin the potty training with Mackenzie. She is just too in tuned with herself to keep putting this off. We already have a princess potty, and we just checked out Elmo's Potty Time from the library, but beyond that...I don't know.

Any suggestions?

Hot Soup

2009-07-17T11:22:00.001-05:00

So the other day I fed Mackenzie hot tomato soup for lunch. She LOVED it and quickly caught on that it was called "Hot Soup". At the same time, Mackenzie imagination and play pretend have stepped up quite a bit. She is playing 'tea party' and 'dress up' and 'Mommy & baby' a lot these days. So it shouldn't have surprised me when I was giving her a bath yesterday and she decided to play pretend. Guess what she decided her bath water was...that's right, "Hot Soup".

So Fast.

2009-07-13T12:10:00.001-05:00

It is hard to believe how quickly Mackenzie is growing up. Yes, she is still only 16-months old, but compared to the little baby she once was that is a big girl. Of coarse, when she is 16 years old I will be saying the same thing.

This morning when I was washing my face Mackenzie said, "Soap". We took turns saying soap when she decided to change it up a little and said, "Wet Soap". How fun, and she was correct. It was wet soap.

Sleeping is still going very well. She has cried out a few times in the night the last few nights, but I think it is because she is cutting yet another tooth, and it is a sharp canine tooth. Ouch! She now has 13 teeth. Watch out; if you are not careful she might try those teeth out on you.

Also, just the other day she realized how fun it is to RUN. Her run is so cute, almost like a hop step instead of a run, but it is pretty fast. And of coarse, she still LOVES dancing and "Outside". She is up to signing over 100 signs in American Sign Language and can carry on a pretty good verbal conversation too. Some days she prefers 'baby talk' and only uses real words to ask for something, but other days it is all about showing off her vocabulary.

Oh, and she is a girlie-girl. She tells me when she wants to wear a dress. She walks around in one of my high heel shoes almost all day. She is mesmerized by ear-rings and painted finger nails. And the other day Wayne caught her 'prising and prancing' across the room with her hands on her hips. How cute is that.

I sure enjoy my little (big) girl. Oh, and she is wanting to potty train. She wants to, not me. She runs up to me and says, "potty" just before she wets her diaper. If she didn't get to do that she will run up to me after she has wet her diaper and says, "Wets". She hides if she is other than wet, and she loves her potty. I guess pull-up are on the near horizon for the Sherwood home. How do you even begin potty training?