Okay, new news... McKenna can walk by herself while holding onto just ONE of her parents hands. We're very proud of her! She's growing more hair, but I still can't get it into a hairband. We set up our tree and she's been playing with the ornaments, pulling them off (soft ones). But after a while, she gets bored and stays away.
About a week and a half ago, I took her with some neighbors to the Micron Kids Festival (pictures on my webshots page: http://community.webshots.com/user/sakmeht) and she had a ball! I took her on some of the little kiddy rides and down one big slide, which I think she liked, but I can't be positive. She didn't cry, at least! Noel and I got her a combination trike/pusher thingy. Something she can ride on, and when she want to push, the seat splits open down the middle and she can stand between the two halfs and push it along. She's been pushing a lot of things around the house lately, including her highchair, so we figure that it's time. Okay, well an active little one on my lap prevents me from writing much... that's it for now!

So, McKenna has 4 teeth now! The two on top are just emerging and she's going through that grumpy teething stage. She's learned how to crawl up stairs, so the baby gate is now a permanent fixture... she also pitches a fit when I take something away but is easily soothed by the replacement of a more appropriate object. She has a fascination with spoons right now. I can't feed her unless she has a spoon of her own to hold. She's cruising very well and took a few steps with me holding onto just one hand, so walking will come soon, I think. She's also still in that stage where she loves applause so I've been having her put her toys in the toybox before naptime and bedtime and give her lots of hugs/kisses and applause when she does it. I'll have a little picker-upper on my hands soon, I hope.

She's starting to sling her food around more, which is frustrating, so I just try to keep the good stuff out of her way. The floor these days stays pretty clean with constant sweeping and mopping, so we observe the 10 second rule... (okay, sometimes 30 seconds) Ah well, she's getting more independent and will play quietly by herself and will go exploring on her own... I'll wait a few seconds before following her, but I've got the house pretty well baby-proofed, so I don't worry too much if she takes off on her own for a couple of minutes.

She still isn't sleeping through the night like she did before the camping trip to Warm Lake. She gets me up at 2:30 and at 6:30 usually... and then we're up for good around 8:30, 9ish. I'm going to try weaning her off the 2:30am nursing gradually, and start giving her water instead. I stuff her pretty good with dinner right before her bedtime, so I'm sure she's not hungry. I think it's just habit. Anyway, that's about it with McKenna. I'll keep you posted... :)

Today Noel noticed that McKenna has a tooth! He was feeling around and found it. I looked later and found two bottom teeth! They look like they've been there for a few days. They're more translucent that I thought they'd be, but mom mentioned that they usually come through with a sharp cap on that falls off later. Noel was excited that he noticed it first! Our little girls growing up! She'll be 1 year old tomorrow!!!

Warning!! This entry is not baby-related...

I decided to investigate the Master Gardner Program through U of I... through their county extension office. The course runs from January to mid-April and teaches lots of good stuff. I want to plant a vegetable and flower garden next year, and I'd like to learn more about growing things... it will help save money if I'm not killing off what I'm planting... haha. The course is about $60. and you have to agree to volunteer back to the community 30 hours... it could be answering questions by phone or in person, working at a farmers market, or teaching a class at a school, garden club, etc... It sounds like fun, actually... Noel thought it sounded funny that I wanted to do it, but after realizing I was serious, he decided to support me. He took a couple years of agriculture classes in HS, but I'm sure there's some new info out there, or even info relating to our region that would be helpful (indigenous plants, insects, etc...) that he may not be aware of. So lets do it!! I have to be on the lookout for the application coming in December and then get it sent in right away, because they accept the first 40 people, and then that's it. So I'll have to stay right on top of the mail and then get it filled out and off to the post office right away. Ta-Da!! Master Gardener here I come!!! :D

Well,

McKenna is an adept crawler... she can easily go from crawling to sitting and back again. She is also pulling herself up on stuff, so I have to keep an eye on her and make sure she's using stable things. Mom has gotten her rolling over from back to tummy. She sings the "three bears in the bed" song and has gotten her rolling. Yesterday I went into her room to get her up after a nap and found her sitting up. This morning she was in the crawling position. So she can definitely get around. This morning as I was feeding her breakfast she scrunched up her face at me, so I did it back, and we ended up making faces at each other and laughing. She's a hoot! She's also transitioning to 1 nap a day. She's starting to cut out that morning nap. That's it that's new with her...

With me, I'm on a mission to cut our grocery budget by $50. a month, and so far it's been working well. This month is looking good. I'm cooking and baking a lot more from scratch, buying in bulk and trying to hit sales and use coupons, and I think it's really having an impact. (Well, I know it has) So with an extra $50. a month, I'm going to put it towards planting a garden next year, so we can buy less produce at the store, and I'll do some canning. My neighbors next door have two kids that they want to start piano lessons with me, so that will give us some added income as well... and that will probably go towards an eduction fund for McKenna. Another plus, Noel has found a car pool partner, and that will save us about $30. a month. Gas is about $2.95 up here. I've noticed that it's dropped from $2.99 in the past couple of days, and I'm crossing my fingers that it will continue it's downward trend.

McKenna has also for the past few weeks been able to poke cheerios into her mouth with her little fingers... and is getting quite adept! Today we're going to be getting ready and packed to go up to Cascade to camp with my parents... more to come later...

Well, just now I got McKenna to crawl about 4 feet so we could show her daddy... and earlier I noticed her on her hands and feet with butt in the air, and then next time I looked she was sitting! Okay, so we've got that one down... you'd think any day now she could go from her back to tummy... one of these days I'll probably come in to get her from her crib and find her on her tummy...

Okay, well I finally got my pics up at my webshots site, so feel free to check it out! This link should work: http://community.webshots.com/myphotos?action=viewAllPhotos&albumID=306600585 McKenna did some more crawling... only a couple of feet and very tentative... she still wants to pop her butt up in the air and get on her feet and hands, and she almost went from hands and feet to sitting, which she's never done, so that might happen soon! Noel's out cleaning the garage and McKennas taking a nap. Later!

McKenna offically crawled a little today! She was on her hands and knees and crawled forward towards me (I was on the couch) a few feet. I'm so proud of her!!! Now I've got to start baby-proofing the house! :P

It's been awhile since I've written... we've been super busy. Noel, McKenna and I went to CT to visit family. There was a family reunion while we were there so I got to meet many of his relatives that I've never met before. McKenna did wonderfully while we were there... not really cranky a bit! We went to an amusement park and I did a rollercoaster with a 226foot initial drop. It was awesome, but I was nauseous and headachey afterwards. We only spent half a day, but we all had lots of fun. I've got to say I really enjoyed CT... it reminded me of NY in so many ways, and Noel even admitted afterwards that he enjoyed the east coast much better this time than he did the last time he was out. He said he wouldn't necessarily move there, but it wouldn't be as out of the question as it would've been a couple of years ago. I wish I could get him out in the fall... he would love the fall colors. We went to the beach, as well... and it was McKennas first time in the ocean. She absolutely loved it! And it was hot and we had no umbrellas, but we had her in her car seat with the hood pulled up and she was as happy as a clam.

So, after that trip I can home and almost (2 days) immediately was up at Warm Lake visiting mom and dad with McKenna... she didn't do so hot that trip. She didn't want to go down to sleep at all, since the play pen was in the main room... and one night she didn't fall asleep until around 11pm - this for a child whose bedtime is usually 8pm at night. Most of the time we were hanging around trying to stay cool and playing cards. We did go swimming and McKenna loved the water... it was colder than the atlantic was, but she loved it just as much and I think got wetter, too!
After that, my sister and brother-in-law flew in... Sherri and Mark, and they stayed with us this first night they flew in, went to Stanley with mom and dad (we stayed behind) and then were down again for another night before flying back home to NY. We had a GREAT time while they were here... it makes me wish I was closer to them! I actually had a glass of wine and could loosen up a little without getting disapproving stares from my darling husband! (He was working!)
New news... hmm... well McKenna can pull herself forward on her hands and elbows... and I think she's taken a few "steps" forward on her hands and knees, but she mainly just twists around on her tummy, or gets on her hands and feet with her butt in the air. She can stand up while holding onto things, which is pretty good. This from a little girl who still hasn't rolled over from her back onto her tummy yet! Oh well, time will tell. She's getting little curls in her hair, too... it's so cute!
Okay, my back is starting to hurt... more later!

Oh, I forgot to mention, I've decided to take on the teaching of piano to Samuel. I'm giving them the first 2 lessons free, just so I can get a feel of things and how I do. Hopefully, all will go well. I'm charging $10. per half hour, so the extra money will come in handy!
We had a fun time on the 4th... I hope everyone else did, too! We had a few firecrackers that were about 4 years old, and some of the sparklers went in fits and starts, but we shared some of them with the kids, Sam and Chloe across the street. Their dad just had some of those loud noise makers that POP, with no pretties. Noel had some strobe ones that bugged me and some other whirly-do's that spin on the ground. Then we talked for awhile, while standing in the middle of the street. McKenna slept through it all.

McKenna has come up with a couple new things lately.
I was reading her bedtime board book story to her, and as I read I get the next page started in preparation to turn it. Well, McKenna reached out with her left hand and grabbed the page and turned it for me! And she did it for every single page, thereafter! She also does it for me with the paper pages of her other books, and when she turns she immediately lets go and doesn't hang on and crumple the paper. I'm so proud of her!
The other thing is that I had her in her toddler bath last night and I let her play a little longer than normal. She had a blue plastic boat in hand and was banging it on the side of the bath and into the water. She was having a ball! After 8-10 minutes I pulled the plug and grabbed her and pulled her out. I hadn't even straightened up with her when she let out a screech and started crying. And it wasn't an "I'm cold, cover me up" it was an angry, "put me back down!" Of course, I didn't and she calmed down within seconds once she was wrapped up and realized she wasn't going back in, but I found it funny because it's the first time she's really made a fuss when I've deprived her of something, wether toy or bath or whatever.
I also watched her today on her belly. She managed to push back almost onto her knees while she was up on her hands, but she didn't quite get her thighs perpendicular to the ground. Almost, though. Well, that's about it. I'm going to pop up some more pics of her walking with us, and then I've got packing to do for our trip to CT. I'm amazed at all the stuff I'm needing to bring for her! Later

Well, I met my neighbor across the street yesterday. Her little boy, Samuel, (about 8 or 9 I think) came over and asked if I would like some radishes from their garden. Sure, why not! So over I went while my daughter was napping away and I chatted with Carolyn for awhile. Found out she's LDS... she was interested in getting her son into piano lessons and was over at a girls house, who is charging $7/hr - evidently the parents are really intolerant of other religions, (their fundamental Christians, I think) so she felt uncomfortable and unwelcome - so she asked if I would like to teach Sam. I've never taught, so I told her Sam would be my guinea pig, but I'd give it a try. So, we talked about her garden, which is huge! and we also discussed home-schooling, which she does with her two kids. Said it was hard work, but worth it. I admitted that I'd thought of it, especially after finding out that we're in a school district that happens to have the lowest test scores in the county. She told me they have great support groups and the materials are very straight forward and easy to teach, but I guess I just need to research it and try to come to an informed decision.

Well, a couple of days ago, I managed to get our whole family to the park. We grabbed lunch at Quiznos (a rare treat) and then got some ice cream at Cold Stone and took it to the park. We sat on blankets with McKenna and watched the world go by. McKenna sat and played with some toys we brought. I wandered over and checked out the rose garden they have. Beautiful! Then checked out a local gathering of people, and from what I could hear of the lady on the microphone, it was a family reunion. There was also a nearby waterpark and we stuck McKenna in her stroller and wandered over to check it out. It was cheap compared to Roaring Springs. A buck for kids under 5 and I think it was $2. something for adults over 18yrs. It looked like a pretty good place to come sometime and also be able to save some money! Anyway, we had a good time, and I expect that's where I'll take her especially as she gets older.
Also, the other day I spent some time with Patty. I brought McKenna over and we sat in her craft room and I crocheted while she worked on the WKS clan flag. (A skull with bloody teeth) Questionable taste on the part of the guys, but what can you expect? I haven't seen the finished product yet, but Patty thinks she did a pretty good job, so I'll have to check it out soon. Joey played on the floor with McKenna and they pretty much entertained themselves.
Did some shopping also with Patty. I have discovered dollar stores! Especially, the Dollar Tree. I had no clue that they had so much good stuff there! I'll be getting a few toys from there, as well as probably cards, envelopes, and gift wrapping and storage containers. Thank you Patty!
So, the only other thing to report is that McKenna is doing well with those legs of hers. I can safely sit her down and expect she won't fall over, although I always put something down behind her, and I hauled her up by her hands and we "walked" a few feet across the living room floor. She kept grinning up at me. Then I stood her against the sofa so that she was facing it and hanging onto the cushions. I let her go for a second and she was supporting herself. It didn't last long, and I meant to get a picture, but it will have to be later when she gets up from her nap.
Alright, nuff for now.

I was nursing McKenna in bed this morning and was remembering how I used to hold her little hands to warms them up. No matter how warmly she was dressed when going to bed, her hands were always cold. So by the time she'd finished nursing her little hands would be all toasty again. Now, she's constantly doing something with those hands. Usually, it's grabbing and twisting, which I'm always trying to fend off. And her hands are always warm, now. I've noticed rough patches on her skin, mainly her arms and tops of her shoulders. It reminds me of the exzema (sp?) patches I used to get here and there. I'm keeping an eye on them and I might try smearing on a little diproline creme that the doc gave me to see if it helps. What else? Oh, I was trimming her toe-nails, and I'm thinking that she might eventually have ingrown nails like Noel. The sides of the nail bed are short and wide, and don't look like my toes at all. So far, everythings good. I had a great day with her yesterday. We had a tickle and giggle fest on the floor and I'd schmuckle her belly and neck and she LOVED it!! I could have done that all day. It does wonderful things to my insides to see her laugh and smile. Hmm, oh yes, I've got her in the toddler tub now instead of the sink, which was rapidly shrinking. I've started using shampoo on her head since she's actually growing some hair. I tip her head back and put a washcloth over her eyes to rinse and she's still getting used to that. I get a lot of gasping and leg thrashing, although I'm careful not to get soap in her eyes... I think it's the sensation of the water pouring over her head that she's not too sure of. She hasn't cried or anything, so I think it's just a new thing. Hmm... will write more when I'm more awake. I made myself get up at 6am this morning.
I've been having trouble falling asleep at night, and toss and turn for a couple hours usually. I then thought about the fact that when I worked I would get up at 4:30am and go to bed at 9 or 10pm... and since I've been at home, I get up around 8 or 9am and try to go to sleep by 10, so my body just isn't tired enough to go to sleep, so instead of staying up really late, I'm going to try to make myself into an early bird so I can then go to bed with my husband, which I'm sure he'd appreciate once in awhile. I figured too, that once McKenna gets older, I can get up early and not only take care of some chores, but also get my breakfast eaten and then have McKennas prepped and ready to go when she awakes. Okay, enough for now.

Yesterday we went to the rec center and McKenna took her first swim. We went into the therapy pool that's about 4 feet deep. There were lots of kids there and three friends came over (pre-teen?) age and took a liking to her. They all took turns holding her. Pretty nice girls. McKenna really liked the one girl and was grinning and grabbing at her face. Noel came, but didn't get in the pool. Sat on the sidelines, and then left after 10 minutes, saying that the chlorine was bothering him. Not much of a swimmer, that one. Ah well, it was for McKenna, and she really liked it. I discovered how much water those diapers can hold (don't worry, I had a pink plastic diaper on over it)and it was an eye-opener! We all went home and took showers. Noel gave her a bath in the toddler tub we have from the Boglios; it was his first time. Previous to that she was still in the kitchen sink and I did most of the baths. Today Noel is at the dentist and I'm just relaxing. Looking forward to all the laundry I have to do later... Yahoo!

Well, I watched McKenna scoot backwards on her tummy about 5 feet. Every so often she would put her butt in the air and bend her knee under her. I'm so excited! The cat's are going to love it when she can get into drive and start coming after them! haha

Well, yesterday McKenna, Noel and I went to Christy's b-day party. Christy turned two and is the daughter of our friends Joe and Patty. I went early to help set up. It was a ladybug party, so most everyone (mainly kids) were wearing wings. Very cute! McKenna sat inside for an hour or so very quietly playing while Patty and I decorated, then after the party started I brought her out after her nap. We had little ladybug wings for her and she wore them without a fuss. I was manning the snow cone machine with Patty, and I set her next to us. After a little crying and comforting, she sat quietly with her fingers in her mouth just looking around at everyone. I was able to get some food and chat w/ another new mom there, then brought her over to where I was sitting. Noel was manning the grill and I passed her to him after awhile. I noticed her in Erica's arms after that, which was fine since I wanted her to get used to new faces and being held by new people. I'd like for her to develop some good social skills. Anyway, that party was great; McKenna had a taste of some frosting from a ladybug cupcake, and seemed to like it. (Noel was the culprit - I probably wouldn't have let her have any) I'm trying to keep her away from sweets for as long as possible, but some of her expressions are priceless when she tastes something sweet and new for the first time! Okay, well, I'll have to get a picture of her in her wings on my webshots page, so check back soon!

Time for a quick update...

McKenna can now officially sit up unassisted. I have pillows propped behind her for when she falls back, which she does still, but all is going well!
I'm still having fun as a SAHM, and in my spare time am trying to examine my spirituality a bit more... I've been doing some meditation and yoga, and I'm finding that I feel sharper mentally as well as physically, so I'll keep it up.
Took the kiddo out for a walk today. I slathered her up with sunblock, since it was pretty sunny. 72 degrees out, though... really nice! She's making noises on the monitor, so this will be short. She'll want out of that crib here really soon!

My current mood: Happy :D

McKenna has seen her first movie in a theater! And what a doozy it was! Star Wars: Episode III... I missed her first reaction because I had to run out and get some water, but it had just started (previews) and Noel was holding her and she was just goggling at the sound and the screen. We were only 5 rows from the front. So, after the first few minutes of absorbing new stimuli, she started acting up a little... not too much, though. I held her most of the time, and nursed her here and there when she seemed a bit cranky. She fell asleep on my shoulder about 10 mintues from the end of the movie. It ended at about 9:00pm... It was a late night for her, but she did better than I expected. I thought we might have a hard time getting her down, since she'd been awake for about 5-1/2 hours at that point, but she went down hard and stayed down. Didn't wake me up to eat until about 5am in the morning, either. Which is good! So, it worked out well. We had spent the day and Patty and Joe's watching Star Wars 1 and 2, so it was a long day. Let's see, what else? I don't know if I mentioned that when she's on her tummy, she'll scoot backwards a few feet at a time. She doesn't always do this, just when she's refreshed and full of beans.

We've been playing the piano together, and today we took a walk around the subdivision. I've been keeping an eye on a sandpiper nest in our neighbors yard under a tree. The guy lives in California, and hasn't been to his house in quite a few months. The weeds are higher than the bushes! But the bird likes the privacy. I'm tempted to take pictures of the egg and then the development of the baby bird so McKenna can see it when she's older. But I want to do it in the least invasive way. I'm still mulling it over. Well, gotta go. It's back to cleaning.
Oh, by the way, the movie was excellent!

... continued from below...

Okay, so where were we? Oh yes, I've just woke up from my first nap. By this time, it's about noon or 1pm. I cry or do my fake cough, and mommy comes and gets me. We go down and have some more play time. Mommy has started taking me to this big thing with lots of white and black things to hit. They make noise! I love banging away, and usually she lets me for about 10 minutes... then if it's nice, we go outside and sit on the porch swing and watch the birdies. There's lots of people in our neighborhood, so sometimes we walk over to say hi. After that, mommy puts me in my johnny jump-up. I love bouncing! I would bounce all day long, except for those darn naps I have to take! Sometimes mommy will put me on my tummy to play and I'll roll onto my back, and then watch her come and put me back on my tummy. Doesn't she understand that I don't want to be there? I like to watch the kitties walk by, and sometimes I'll reach out and grap at their silky hair. Oo, I love the feel of it! It makes me laugh and laugh! After more play time, sometimes mommy will take me into what they call the computer room, and she'll hold me while she does stuff on the "computer". All I can tell is that when she hits all the buttons, it makes stuff happen on the big square in front of me, so I like to bang on those buttons, too. Lately, they've been trying to stop me because when I hit those buttons I get stuff to happen, too! Daddy and mommy make those funny noises when I do it, especially when the square goes dark.

Let's see, at about this point, I go down for another nap. When I get up, mommy has me lay on my blankie on the floor in the family roon and play while she runs back and forth around the house. Sometimes, she's carrying things, other times she pushes this loud black thing around. And later, she'll put me in my exersaucer and take me with her into the kitchen and she'll make things that smell good. I can't wait till I can put them in my mouth, too! Mommy HAS given me yummy stuff she calls "apple juice" in a sippy cup and she helps me hold it, but I tell her I can do it by myself! After she makes the yummy smelling stuff, we go into the family room and she turns on this BIG square that has moving pictures! We have more cuddle time, and then daddy comes home! I love grabbing all that red stuff on his face! He'll play with me and cuddle me and I like bouncing up and down on his belly. It's nice and soft. After mommy and daddy eat, I have to go to bed. But before I do, they poke some more questionable goo into my mouth. I have to wear a disgusted look at times to let them know how I feel! Somehow, they get most of it into me. I really don't know how... they are SO incompetant with that spoon! Then daddy or mommy puts me to bed. And that's my day! Jeez, I'm a really busy girl, aren't I?

Hi everyone! My name is McKenna. Mommy thought I should write to you. I thought I'd tell you about a typical day I share with my mom. So here goes!

In the morning, I wake mommy up at around 8am, and lately I've decided that instead of crying it's more fun to do my fake cough. I'll lay in my crib and do that for awhile and see if she comes running. It's so funny when she does! Then we go to her room for breakfast in bed. Personally, I'm more interested in keeping her attention on me than in eating (especially if I woke her up in the middle of the night to eat!)so I like to grab and scratch whatever I can get ahold of. Sometimes it's her nose! I think she really likes that because she makes strange noises.
After we eat, she lays me down on the bed with some pillows on either side of me(because I'm starting to roll now, yippee!) and gets ready for the day. After that, we go downstairs, open up the blinds, and have some snuggle time on the couch. She changes my diaper, and then I play in my exersaucer. I love all the stuff on it, especially the mirror. I like talking to the other baby, but she doesn't say too much. While I do that, mommy watches the Today Show.

After awhile, I get hungry, so mommy feeds me on the couch, and then we go into the kitchen and she gives me baby food from a jar. I must say, I'm not too sure about some of the stuff she pokes into my mouth, but I do like spinach. Daddy rolls his eyes when mommy tells him what I'm eating... I'm not too sure, but I think that means he likes spinach, too! Mommy isn't always too good with the spoon, so I've started helping her. I like to grab the handle and help guide the spoon to my mouth. Sometimes though, I just try to grab the food off the spoon and put it in my mouth. Wouldn't it be easier that way? And mommy likes when I do it, because she always laughs.

After breakfast, I have to take my first nap and mommy takes me up and checks my diaper. I think mommy is confused though, because sometimes when she changes my diapers, she'll say oo, carrots! Or, oo, garden veggies! But I don't get it, because isn't that what I eat? Hmm, that mommy's pretty funny! So after my diaper change, she wipes my hands and face with a wet cloth, and someone should tell her to warm it up! I screw up my face in anticipation of that cold, wet cloth, and I'm sure I must be getting my point across because she makes these funny noises in her chest and interesting face grimaces. So after that, we read a book. Sometimes, it's "Where the Wild things are" and other times it's "I'm a Manatee". I like both, but I'd like them more if mom would let me grab and twist the pages... I think someone needs to tell my mommy to get some soft baby books that I can play with. So, after our little bedtime routine, she puts me down in the crib. I usually have to cry and fuss for at least 5 minutes to let mommy know I really DON'T want to sleep, but after that I'm usually too tired to continue. Besides, the sooner I fall asleep, the sooner I can get up again. Okay, telling this has made me ready for another nap... To be continued...

Good Morning!

So what's new? Noel took me out to Olive Garden for mothers day. We had a really good time, and the best part was the waiting time (40 min) because there was this nice grassy strip beside the restaurant with big trees, so we sat on the grass and put McKenna on a blanket and watched the other families. Several were on the grass, too. There was a young couple with a little baby boy who was crawling, and they were practicing walking with him. There were a few older kids throwing something up into the tree branches near us. When we sat down with McKenna their parents made them move farther away so nothing would fall on us. And the cutest thing was a little girl who was toddling towards us with outstreched hands and a bright gleam in her eye, and she was focused on McKenna. Her mom caught her before she could make contact, and told us she would have "grabbed" our daughter... her mom said she just loves other babies right now. But she was only 10 months! I couldn't believe it. She had only been walking a month her mom said, and was still plopping down on her butt a lot like young walkers do. McKenna's 7.5 months old and has just starting rolling over. I'm amazed at the difference of growth that babies go through. But I'm not worried... as long as she grows up healthy and happy, I don't care if she doesn't start walking until she's two! Other than that, nothing much to report except we have a follow-up with McKennas heart doctor on the 16th? I think of this month to have another EKG done to compare against the first one so they can see if there's any change. I doubt anything negative will have happened since she's growing really well. My back tells me every time I pick her up that she's putting on weight. And she looks great. That's about it. McKennas down for a nap, so it's time to vacuum!

So, yesterday was one of those great days. Noel and I slept in (so did McKenna) and when everyone woke up we all cuddled in bed together for awhile. Afterwards, we went downstairs where Noel cooked omelettes, and they were quite yummy! Later in the day, my friend Patty watched McKenna for us while Noel and I went out for dinner at Red Robin, and then saw the movie, "Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy". I can say it was original and unique, and was probably a very good book, but I wouldn't see it in theaters again. After that, we went home, with our daughter, of course, and watched some "Without a Trace"

Yesterday, McKenna rolled over from her tummy to her back for the first time... she was really working at it too... the sound effects were funny. I could tell she was a little upset by being on her tummy, so that must have been the incentive to get rolling. Yeah!

Well, yesterday I went in to get McKenna up from a nap and found her on her side, holding her toes... it's the first time she's rolled completely onto her side and stayed there! I know I put up that pic that shows her sitting, but I put her there, and she certainly didn't get herself there... so I'm excited! She's been making more articulations... ummms, and mmmmm's, and lots of moaning sounds... kind of funny! The weather here has been really warm. Yesterday it was 74, and it's been getting up to 77 and 78 in the house, so she's been in her cool clothing. We're going to hold off on using the AC for as long as possible... so far we're not that uncomfortable. At night we open the windows in our bedroom, and McKenna just wears light pajamas with no blankie. She's been sleeping about 9 hours... from 8 or 8:30 to about 5 in the morning, when she wakes me to nurse. After that, she goes back to sleep for another 3 hours or so. I've been giving her two meals a day, besides what she gets from me. Once before her first nap, and then right before she goes to bed. She seems to be doing well with that schedule so far. I tried giving her some diluted apple juice from a sippy cup today. She got her hands around the handle and could put the spout in her mouth. I had to help her get some height on it since I didn't have it very full, but she took a couple pulls on it, would take it out of her mouth, LOOK at it, then pop it back in and try again. I think she only got a few sips, then she started chewing on it. I'm not sure she's ready for it yet... but I'll try again every so often. That's it for now...

McKenna went to the pediatricians two days ago to get her shots... both Noel and I accompanied her. We argued about who would be the bad guy and get to hold her while the nurse gave her the two shots (immunizations) she needed. The nurse said we didn't need to hold her, so we got to "rescue" her after the shots were given. She of course was not happy about getting shots and started some terrible crying. At one point she screwed up her face and drew in a breath, but didn't let it out. She actually started turning blue, and I said "breathe, child breathe!!" and she let it out - and proceeded to scream some more...ugh, that was a little scary! So we talked to the doc again about her head. It's looking a little better, but her ears are still cock-eyed. I mentioned that she's been getting up twice a night for me to feed her, and he said at this age (6 months) she shouldn't need such frequent feedings and we can start some "tough love" and not feed her so often at night. Of course, ever since the appointment she's been sleeping through the night. Which is great! So, maybe it was a phase. Another funny thing - she really likes Diablo! She'll put her hands out towards him when he comes near and if he walks close by while I'm holding her she'll trail her fingers along his side. Sometimes she grabs and gets a fist full of hair, but I'm trying to prevent that kind of thing. I don't want to get Diablo upset.
Well, gotta go... I'll write more later.

McKenna now recognizes her name! She was in her exersaucer yesterday when I called her name and she turned her head and looked at me! It was very exciting.
One thing that happened two days ago that I thought was VERY funny was she was again in her exersaucer and I heard her fart, and then she laughed! She did it again a couple of seconds later. Totally hilarious... she must have thought it was funny too... or else that it felt funny! I wish I'd gotten it on tape. Noel also got playing with her and starting spinning around while holding her (about 5 or 6 times) and when he stopped her poor little eyeballs were still going from side to side... I gasped when I saw it because it was funny, but also shocking... I told him not to do it again unless I'm video recording and then we'll send it in to America's Funniest Home Video's. After that, no more! So anyway, it's been fun... although everything seems to be going so slowly, I know I'll look back after she's grown and wonder how it could have gone by so fast!

Little Miss McKenna can roll onto her side now! Actually it was two days ago that she first did it, but that's okay. And she was on the floor with Noel just a couple minutes ago, and he put her on her side and said (I wasn't watching) that she rolled to her tummy... I guess I'll believe him! She's been doing okay for sleeptimes, except for her morning nap... we had a bit of a struggle going down. Ah well, it'll iron itself out, I guess.
Regarding other stuff, our truck almost broke down on Noel coming home a couple nights ago. He thinks it's the drive train, but is not positive. He's been taking my car, so I'm not getting out and about much for the next few days... I was invited to a poker game (playing for nickels and dimes) but he had to take my car that day and had a meeting right after work, so I wasn't able to go. Bummer - it's nice getting out once in awhile. I told Lydia to keep me in mind for the next game. They're kind of fun. More chatting than playing, and she invites other call center reps, so it's a way to keep in touch with people from work.
Other than that, all's well. The temperature's been in the high 50's to 60's (it was 70 two days ago!) so we bought a porch swing for the front porch. I wanted to go with rockers, but we were pricing them and most come to about $100. each! The rocker we found sits three, it swings, has a canopy, and it reclines into a bed-type thing! All for $100. So I'm happy. Noel's going to put it together tonight, so I can sit out there with McKenna when it's nice and warm. Okay, more later! xoxo

McKenna is getting to be quite the self-aware little thing! I'd swear I caught her checking out her nails yesterday! haha

Really, everythings pretty good except we went through a period of screaming whenever I put her down for naps or sleep, so I did some research (called friend and family as well as looked online) to find out what works for other moms. During the course of my research, I learned that I most likely caused the problem, because for awhile I would nurse her and then gently move her so she could nap. Evidently this causes a "negative sleep association" and so she was thinking she needed to nurse in order to fall asleep.

Normally, this wouldn't really bother me since she sleeps really well at night (all the way through), but I knew that if she went through teething or got sick and was waking up a lot at night, she'd need comfort nursing in order to fall back asleep, so I decided we needed her to be able to soothe herself to sleep. (And she'd been doing great for the longest time - I could put her to bed awake and she'd fall asleep no problem) So, we decided to try the "cry it out method" and it has worked! Basically, I'd put her in her crib at bed or naptime while she's awake, after having been read to, fed, and changed, and walk away. If she started crying, I'd come back in 5 minutes to reassure her, then walk away again, each time coming back after longer intervals if she was still crying. Once she understood that I wasn't going to pick her up or nurse her she decided she could put herself to sleep. So she just sucks her thumb and goes to sleep on her own now. I went through a lot of guilt while going through this, feeling like a horrible mom for letting her cry, but it's worth it to have a baby that you can put down and she'll promptly fall asleep for you. So, she pretty much got the hang of it (only took two days vs. a week like some experts say) quickly. Well, that's the update. She's upstairs sleeping right now taking her morning nap and mommy gets some computer time!

Well - I figure nows a good time to write my birth story, since the wee one's asleep.

I had to work Friday night, which was October 1st, 2004... I had gotten up at noon that day and hadn't managed to catch a nap, so I went into work at 6pm and my shift was to go to 6am. My boss, Bill, had a couple extra people there with me "just in case" and as it turns out, I needed them! I had what I thought were Braxton Hicks just shortly after I arrived for my shift (around 9pm). I timed them, and chatted with the others and figured it was another false alarm. About midnight I started realizing that they were about 5-7 minutes apart, but not consistently so. Around 3am, I told Becky that they were starting to get a lot more intense than I'd ever felt them, so I thought I should head for home.

I drove the 1/2 hour to our house, and had a few contractions on the way. Don't worry, they weren't so bad I shouldn't be driving! I got home and got into bed, hoping to get some rest. It didn't happen. I just laid awake timing them. Noel was scheduled to work that day, (now Saturday) so I told him he should probably call in. We went into the hospital at this point. They hooked me up to the monitor and declared me only "almost 3 cm" and asked if I would like to stay or go home to labor there... I was all for going back home. We decided to take my mind off things, we would go out to eat at Elmers. We were there pretty early - I think they opened at about 6am...so we sat there timing contrations and the waitresses were all very interested. Told me they hadn't had a woman in labor at their restaurant. I figured I'd better eat while I can, because I knew I wouldn't get much at the hospital. So, after that we went back home, where I called mom. Mom and dad were at the Garrity RV park in Nampa visiting us. She came over and sat with us for a few hours... my contractions grew more intense over this time and I remember using the blue therapy ball to sit on and we have a pic of me on it with Noel behind me rubbing my belly.

I'm thinking around mid afternoon, after contractions still weren't really progressing, mom went back to the RV park and we promised to call if things started heating up. Noel and I hung out the rest of the afternoon... I think we took a walk. In fact, I'm pretty sure mom and I took a walk around the block while she was still there... anyway, Noel and I watched a movie and the contractions were pretty bad by that point. I had to sit in front of him and have him lightly stroke my belly with his fingers (called efflurage) and that helped a lot. Around 10 or 11 pm I believe, I finally said we needed to go to the hospital. The contractions were consistantly about 3-5 minutes apart and I felt that I should be at the hospital - I also was in quite a bit of pain/discomfort at that time. So we grabbe the bags that were packed up and I walked in the after hour doors of the hospital (actually the ER) and they sent us up to the maternity ward. I'm pretty sure I remember getting a ride up there in a wheelchair... anyway, they hooked me up to the machine again and I think they told me I was 4 or 5 cm dialited... but things started to get a bit hazy at this point. I remember Noel conked out of one of the lounge type chairs in the room, and I watched my contractions on the monitor peak and just breathed through them... I found it really helpful to imagine they were a wave cresting and breaking. The imagery really helped me out.

After a couple hours, they moved us into our main room... that's were I was going to have the baby. The first thing I did was get into the jacuzzi tub that was provided with the room. It felt really good, but didn't help as much as some women claim. I was in there for about 1/2 hour, I think. Noel had rearranged himself on the chair/bed and was sleeping again. I guess at this point, the contractions were bad, but I didn't feel like it was necessary for him to be awake, so I just let him get his sleep. I didn't know how long this would take. I started getting concerned about how long I had been awake (almost 40 hours at this point) so when the nurse came and asked me if I wanted pain relief, I told her I just wanted something that would help me get some rest. She told me Stadol would take the very top edge off the peak of the contraction and should make me drowsy. At this point, I felt that if I had been well rested, I could have done without the pain meds, but I went ahead and gave her the go ahead. I was hoping to do without any pain meds at all, but I wanted to be able to go into the pushing phase well-rested, so I had her give me the Stadol.

I'm not sure I actually slept, but I remember drowsing and I could tell that the very peak of the contractions were dulled by the meds. Things got a bit exciting pretty quick, though. I'm thinking the time was about 3am, so we'd been at the hospital for roughly 4 hours or so... I was enjoying my Stadol-fog when I decided to try to turn onto my left side. Now, I had the external fetal monitor hooked up to me, so this was no small feat. I had just gotten myself comfortable and had started to doze off again, when two nurses came rushing into the room and shook me awake. Evidently McKennas heart rate had dropped really low about the same time as I was getting onto my left side. They turned me back to my right side, and when that had no effect, they had me get on all fours and press my chest to the bed and keep my butt in the air. I knew at the time that they most likely thought her cord had gotten pressed between her head and my cervix, so they were hoping that by putting me in this position that her head would drop back and release the pressure. I was concerned enough about her that I really didn't notice that my butt was bare to the world until someone threw a sheet over me. (thanks whoever you were!) I know at this point, Noel was awake - I doubt he was able to miss the commotion! So he was by my side.

They finally got her heart rate settled, and I was able to get back into a less ignoble position... after this things got really hazy. Some of the following was filled in by people who weren't writhing in pain. My contractions were pretty intense. I remember mom showing up around this time (maybe 5am or so?) and then things got a bit wild. The doctor showed up and nurses filled the room and I had an oxygen mask put to my face... Dr. Kaiser sat by my side for close to 1/2 hour, and most of the time his hand was inside feeling for McKennas head. Her heart rate was really low with every contraction and it wasn't coming back up as it should after each contraction. He put in an internal fetal monitor, so they could get a better fix on what was going on, and that's basically a little metal hook they hook into your babies scalp. I didn't want one in the birth plan that I'd created, but by that time I knew her health was endangered so I consented to it. I believe most of the time he was trying to make sure she wasn't pressing on the cord... my contractions were really bad now and it was around this time where my visualizations weren't helping like they were... I started to feel like I was losing control. I wanted the damn mask off my face, but it was for the baby, and not me, and they kept putting it back on. Noel was right by my side encouraging me and I had a nurse doing the same thing. Mom was on and off by my side too, but I found out later that she wasn't feeling so well watching me go through this. She'd have to sit for a bit, then come back to me. I heard the doc say I was at 9-1/2 dialated and to start pushing... I gave two pushes before he told me to stop and said her heart rate was dangerously low and it wasn't coming back up to normal, so he said we'd need to do a C-section. He also said later that it seemed like her head wasn't fully engaging with the cervix. I said fine, just make sure she's okay! So he gave me some meds that stopped my contractions... well, the contractions were still there just very weak and further apart. But my!

Sweet relief!

There had been a lot of yelling about emergency this and that for awhile, and I guess at one point there were ready to rush me up to the OR STAT, but because the meds did their work and her heart rate stabilized, they didn't have to rush me up so quickly.

All right, so it's time for the operation! They gave me a spinal block in the OR and I remember it just feeling like a pinch and they a cold sensation along my spine. It kicked in immediately and I felt little pins and needles all over my legs... They shaved me, of course, and I remember giggling so much I got the nurses laughing because tickled so much with the pins and needles sensation still there. So at last, they ask, 'can you feel this, that, etc' and I say no and they start cutting. Noel was in his OR scrubs and sitting by my side. He was able to look over the partition to see what was going on, but I think he mostly just looked as they were pulling her out. I remember someone saying "Her eyes are open!" and then she was born! They wiped her off and Noel was immediately over at the table looking at her while they fixed her up. I was crying at this point, because I wanted to see her and it felt like they were taking forever! When I heard her cry, I felt a tremendous relief! They brought her over to me to see and then I was being taken into recovery where I stayed a whole hour! She was born at 8:10am Sunday morning.

When they wheeled me back into my room, I heard my mom say, 'she's rooting around, ready to eat, honey!' So I had my opportunity to attempt breast-feeding which seemed to work okay the first time, (can't really remember) but I remember looking into those big blues thinking, "this is what it's all about" and I still think that to this day, every day, when I look at her. We love her so much. So until the next one, farewell!

We had an ultrasound done on McKennas heart to see where the murmur is coming from... just by chance they found that she has a stretched foramen ovale, which is common I guess in babies, but her's is more "generous" than others... that's a hole in the inner wall of the heart which separates the right chambers from the left.

But the actually murmur is coming from a valve (I believe the mitral?) that is a bit thick... it's not snapping closed and open as quickly as the others. She said it's the last valve the blood goes through on its way to the lungs to dump CO2...

Anyway, right now we're just going to watch it. In 1/3 of babies the valves loosen up with time and they're fine. In 1/3 of babies the valves get thicker, or I guess just less flexible and they have a more serious pulmonary stenosis, and 1/3 of babies have to have something done, which would start with inserting a catheter up through the leg, into the heart and blowing up a balloon inside the valve for 3-5 seconds to help it become more flexible. This evidently "cures" 85% of cases. But the doc is great, she said right now we don't want to mess with anything... as long as she's growing well and eating well then as she gets older the doc will see her every 4 years or so... in the meantime, she might be back in a couple more months... they took an EKG as well to get a baseline.

I'll keep everyone informed... we also have an appt with a plastic surgeon to look at her head... in case I didn't tell you all, her right ear and cheek are significantly more forward than the left side of her head and face. Front the front you can hardly tell, but if you look straight down at the top of her head you can really see it. They may have a cap she can wear that will help align her skull bones while they still have the ability to shift - of course the doc just might tell us to just wait and see if the natural rounding out of the brain and head will help things...

So the last day of work for me will be the 22nd of this month... I'm so excited!! I'm planning to get the house in shape and hopefully keep it that way!

Time for a break! Noel's watching "The Children of Dune" in the living room... three videos 2 hours each. I've been taking care of getting dinner ready for tonight. McKenna is up in her crib napping (I hope) and that's about it. We're meeting a woman tomorrow who might watch McKenna this coming wednesday. Her name is Linda and she sounded nice on the phone, but I'll reserve judgement until we actually meet her. Tomorrow at eleven. Well, since I don't want to be in front of the TV all day long, I'm going to work on finishing my Thomas Kincade puzzle.

I've been having worries about leaving McKenna with someone I don't know while I'm at work... I've been leaving her with my friend Patty, who has so kindly offered to watch her now and then, but I don't want to feel like I'm abusing our friendship, so I've been contemplating another individual or day care to use if I need to. There's a lady Noel knows... actually the wife of his trainer, and she's older and does a little day care on the side. I might check her out. Thing is, as of the 25th or so of February, I'll be a stay-at-home mom and won't have to use day care at all. I'll be vested in the pension plan and can quit and start living on a budget that hubby and I came up with. I've already started getting the house cleaned up and stuff from our move put away.

Anyway, I updated our family webpage today and got some more pics up. McKenna has grown! I weighed her on our scale at home and it looks like she's around 13 pounds now... getting chunky! We went out to breakfast today to Elmers and she was fussing at one point. Noel put a tiny bit of maple syrup on his finger and stuck it in her mouth... she made some sucking motions, then broke out with a huge grin. Guess she liked it! :D

Well, time to relax for awhile... more to come later.

First post since McKenna was born... eventually I'll tell my birth story, but now's not the time. She was born one day beyond my due date, on the 3rd of October at 8:10am in the morning. She was born via C-section due to complications.

I'm going to stay at home full time, but for now I'm working part-time at Idaho Power... by the 22nd of February I'll be vested in the pension plan (5 years of service) and I wanted to get that before I quit. I'm really looking forward to being a full-time homemaker. And McKenna is quite the incentive. For pics of her go to http://myweb.cableone.net/leprechaun-gold and check her out. Right now she's almost able to get onto her side from her back by arching her back a bit. She's smiling and I coaxed a little laugh out of her on the 26th of December... her first one! Well, I hear her crying, and it's time to feed her, so gotta go. I'll be writing again soon!