The Nursery

McKenna Jane,
This is your humble abode which was once your older sister Gabrielle's room. I had hoped Daddy would paint over the murals a tone on tone pink as I dreamed of using Gabi's baby bedding which I loved so much. It is a Liz Claiborne fabric which is somewhat shabby chic. Daddy apparently was/is a little more attached to the wall murals than I had thought as he refused to paint :( He said that if I agreed to make due with the murals that he would paint when it was time to transition you into a "big girl" room. I stumbled upon your new crib bedding at the Fall Kids Consignment sale that I consigned in. It was the perfect theme, color & price!

The beautiful quilt at the foot of your bed was a gift from our neighbor Melanie Vance. Mommy treasures handmade gifts!


This is the view from your bedroom door

Close up of dresser & book hutch
A to Z bookends purchased at Pottery Barn years ago
"Wish Upon a Star" plaque purchased at Hobby Lobby
Baskets with liners purchased at Home Goods
Silly sunglass clad piggy bank was a gift from Shanty and Shalika next door.

Mommy has owned this glider since my pre-Daddy days. He tried to talk me into getting rid of it several times, but I knew it would serve it's purpose over the years. We used it in Gabrielle's room and then had the cushions recovered when Dawson was born.
Shag rug purchased at Target.

Sis and I stumbled upon this fun lamp one afternoon while shopping at Hobby Lobby. I knew right away that I wanted it and that it would fit into your nursery well. Sis fought me as she really wanted it for her own bedroom.

This was my last added touch to your room.
Metal wall letters found here.
Although you are rooming in with Daddy and Mommy for the time being I still love to spend time in your bedroom. Your room is on the front side of the house which faces West so it gets terrific sunlight during the day. I like to sit in the glider and talk to you, sing to you or just be with you. There is something that just never gets old about looking at the beautiful baby that you are. I love you my sweet pint size princess.

McKenna @ 6 weeks

6 week stats:

DIAPER SIZE - newborn

CLOTHING SIZE - newborn

SLEEP PATTERN - awakes late morning followed by one loooong nap and then generally awake the better part of the remainder of the day. Short (and I do mean short) cat naps in the early evening. Bedtime generally about 9:30. She has set a pattern of waking about 3:30 and again at 7 to nurse however has gone several stretches lasting upwards of 7 hours (one night shy of 8 and the next evening a straight 9 hour stretch).

NURSING - I would love to say she is a pro, but honestly she is a little lazy/sloppy to begin with then nurses like a champ. She is still spitting up a large portion. I forgot how much I dislike the smell of soured breast milk.

PERSONALITY - She loves her baths, puppy kisses, any & all attention given to her by her family, snuggling with Mema (she has that magic touch), being sung to and her soothie pacifier on rare occasions. I affectionately joke that she was born with a serious demeanor as she always has this stoic look to her. Really I say this just because I am over eager for her to give us those sweet baby smiles that bring us to that happy place where all else in the world is right. She is such an incredibly easy baby. She rarely fusses or cries and when she does she has something to say {poopy diaper, long overdue to eat or experience discomfort from her reflex}

ALIAS' -
Daddy - baby girl
Mommy - little miss, pint size princess
Gabrielle - McKenna, MJ, blue eyed girl or baby Mak
Dawson - baby MaJane (my personal favorite)

Happy Mail

What girl doesn't love happy mail? I mean really. What fun it is to go the mailbox only to receive bills and junk mail?

This fun little outfit came from my beloved friend Jenn who moved to Atlanta in late 2010. Miss and love you so much!

And this A.D.O.R.A.B.L.E. 3 piece Baby GAP outfit is from no other than Matt and Molly (Morris) Conlon however, I highly doubt Matt had a whole lot to do with picking this out :)

This outfit screams 6 month picture to me!

And then this cute number arrived from Terry and Barb Morris aka my family outside of family. Go ahead and ask me if I am feeling thought of, special & loved.

Heck to the yeah!

And my favorite happy mail each month.

Now if I could just find the time to sit down and create a page or two ...

Firehouse Pottery

We made our 1st family road trip since becoming a family of five to Springfield the weekend of February 11th - 13th. McKenna was a rock star traveler during the 3 hour trip ... the older two, well they were in rare form teasing and pestering one another. Saturday afternoon we visited a quaint Pottery and Art Studio that Aunt Shari had been to before. This was the kids first time at pottery. They were overwhelmed with the choices of pieces to chose from. Unbeknownst

to me the end choices were a puppy and a frog. Dawson lasted a mere three minutes before departing the table and darting back to the entry to retrieve the {large, expensive} wheeowheeo (firetruck) that he had his heart set on. This led to a mini meltdown and Daddy exiting the building with said little man. Boo! His frog ended up being a collaborative effort with work being done by Dawson, Aunt Shari and Uncle Darren.

This is the best picture I got that afternoon. We were seated directly underneath a window with full sunlight. The other pictures are unfortunately sun saturated.

Our little artist was in her element. She was intent on picking her colors and painting her puppy to her satisfaction.

Gabrielle wants to scope out a local pottery house here in the KC area for her and Daddy (the other artist in the family) to have there next date night at.

She was anything but patient waiting for the pieces to be fired and mailed to us. She literally ran to the mailbox each and everyday after school and would enter the house with a look of disappointment on her face. We called GG Tuesday asking if/when the package had been mailed and GG said to expect it on Wednesday. The UPS delivery came late in the afternoon and she retreated to the deck to carefully open and unwrap her completed masterpieces. She was thrilled with how they turned out.

Valentine's & 1 Month Pics

Valentine's morning presented the perfect opportunity for me to attempt snapping a couple of shots of McKenna in the "Daddy's Little Valentine" onesie which was passed down from her big sister Gabrielle. This was a fun gift which we received when Gabi was a newborn and I held onto it. So glad that I did because this little cutie sported it well :)

I have to give thanks to Brandi with Little Sugars for the cute hair clip, Molly Morris for the Valentine's onesie & Monika for gifting me the super cute pink skirt (which will gets miles of wear!) and loaning me the red tutu which I layered over it.

After promptly spitting up on her Valentine attire I switched gears and snapped a handful of 1 month photos. One of my favorite gifts I received were these milestone stickers from Audra Morris. You can purchase them here. Super easy, super fun, super cute!

The first month of life with McKenna has been nothing but a joy. We are madly, deeply in love with the pint sized princess. She is a keeper for sure!!

Keeping It Real

Through the encouragement of a fellow blogger {Jami Nato - I am clueless how to link you or I would have given you the proper "credit" where it is due} I am keeping this post real.
I have a laundry list a mile long of "to do" things ... some of which really do NEED to get done. Such as taxes, thank-you notes, etc. But, what am I doing? Holding the baby in my lap cuz' the darn cutie pie believes she is incapable of napping this afternoon unless she is close to her Momma's breast. Oh, and need I mention she stinks? I mean really stinks. She is a pro at filling her pants and spitting up nearly everything she intakes. Warm breast milk = yuck! So, I am playing the lazy card still in my lounge pants and hubs over sized Budweiser t-shirt. I am playing the lazy card so much so that little man is up running amuck with his big sister. I think I am allowing him to stay up out of guilt for spanking Gabs earlier. She deserved it, but I spanked out of anger. Ugh! What happened to counting to ten before reacting? So, when she asked if he could stay up to play with her the answer was an easy "yes." You know what some would say? That is a__ backwards ... rewarding her for her misbehavior. Agreed.
(Oh glorious - MJ JUST upchucked on my leg. No joke!)
What am I doing you ask? Why I am checking e-mail, my google reader, and facebook while taking a break from tax prep work. Tax prep that NEEDS to get done because that refund is NEEDED to apply to our growing medical expenses. Geesh, having a baby is expensive. Please don't misconstrue this as a complaint, because I wouldn't give up my little miss for all the $$$$ in the world, but let's be honest. I would rather have that money to go on a vacation, buy a B.O.B. stroller that I am coveting, get the braces that I have wanted for years, install a sprinkler system in the yard. You get what I am saying. My desk area in the kitchen has exploded over the past 24 hours, I don't have any supper prepared, and the two older monkeys have their toys strung all over the house. I know this is a whole lotta randomness thrown into what seems like one run on sentence after another, but this is life as it is right at this moment. And for the record the transition from a family of four to a family of five came easy to this household. Really. There were some questionable moments early on mostly with Dawson acting out for attention when we had visitors, but even that has came to a lull.

Part B of post ... I took a break from posting this because I needed an out. So, I called my go to girl (aka Mom) and we make a quick trek to WalMart. It was just what I needed. I got some fresh air, spoke non stop to Mom about life, got a few needs (and wants) and WalMarts deli came to the rescue for supper. A lot of good has happened since I started this post. All three little people got bathed, my desk area is back in order, all mail is opened and in it's proper place, I cleaned out my coupon drawer, and check this - McKenna slept almost an 8 hour stretch last night so the lack of napping didn't turn out so bad after all.

This is a peek at REAL life at our house. It may be a roller coaster, but I love it!

Coming Home

Day two of life at the hospital and it is time to be released home

All bundled up and ready to be discharged from Shawnee Mission Medical Center
{Those are the cute pouty lips which I saw early on in her sonogram }

Big brother couldn't (or should I say wouldn't?) stay out of her face. He was so excited to have his new baby sister home!

Can you tell?

Mema with her girls

Mema loving on MJ

Papa has enough love to share with all his grandchildren

5 boys & 4 girls

We were very fortunate to have 3 grandparents meet McKenna's just shortly after her birth. There is no shortage of cuddling around here :)

Bella Baby

Words can not begin to convey the precious treasured gift a dear friend provided us after McKenna's arrival. I will allow the pictures to speak for themselves.

When we viewed these images (to the tune of Sweet Sweet Baby by Michelle Featherstone - if you haven't heard this song go do so NOW) for the first time I was flooded with emotions. It is amazing how seeing your child so fresh and new can make you overcome with feelings of love & purpose to the point of overflowing. My heart bursts each time I think of the miracle of conception, carrying your child in your womb, delivery & most importantly caring for such a gift.

Photos taken by Elizabeth Selders with Bella Baby Photography
Lizz, to you I am forever grateful for these masterpieces of our precious gift from God. Much love my friend!

She's Here

The time had come for Ms. McKenna Jane's entrance into the world
01/11/11 2:47pm

7 lbs, 19 inches

Meeting our little princess for the 1st time

Daddy is taking in her every little detail


So in love from the very first moment

Can you see the twinkle in her Daddy's eye?

She is bound to be a Daddy's girl just like her big sister!

She already has her Daddy wrapped around her little finger

As a girlfriend once worded it

"Fresh from God"

She is fearfully and wonderully made

McKenna's first bath

Daddy protectly stayed right by her side

I like this picture simply because it shows MJ's long skinny fingers

Just like her Mommy and what would have been her paternal Great Grandmother

As Mema would say, "those fingers were made for piano playing"

Displaying her delicate newborn skin

This is the photo we e-mailed out and posted to Facebook to announce McKenna's arrival

Now that I look back at it I realize she appears MUCH larger in the picture than she actually was at birth (I still feel she doesn't appear this big at nearly 4 weeks of age)

Gabrielle was awe struck meeting her sweet baby sister

Dawson, well he was more excited to see Mommy

Our family of five!