McKenna - 7 Months

Every month with McKenna is so much fun!

• She loved bathtime!
• Chatterbox!!!
• Wears a size 2 diaper and 3-6 month clothing.
• Addison and McKenna are really starting to interact and play together.
• Went to the Beach.
• Started holding the bottle on her own, but still prefers for me to hold it.
• EXCELLENT EATER!!!
• Sleeps through the night, 12+ hours. Takes two naps.
• She is such a happy, loving baby.
• Can stand up holding on to the coffee table for a few minutes (not pulling up).
• No separation anxiety.
• Loves to look out when being held.
• She loves her big sister!!!

• We started cereal, she loves it! We also have given her sweet potato, apple sauce, mashed banana and butternut squash. She is a champion eater!
• Takes 5, 4-5 Ounce bottles a day.
• Sits without support.
• Passes toys from hand to hand.
• Can successfully put her pacifier in her mouth.
• Jabbers and does lots of happy screams!
• Wears size 2 diaper, 3-6 month clothing Hair finally fell and looks more normal.
• I still cannot believe how much hair she has, we can do things to her hair that we could not do with Addison until she was well over a year.
• Still no teeth and no sign of them coming soon.
• She loves to chew, but what baby doesn't at this age.
• Loves bath time! She kicks, splashes and squeals!
• Loves her exersaucer, jumparoo and play mat.
• No sleep issues!

I took McKenna for her 6 month well check, everything went well. They only thing I need to work with her more is rolling back to tummy. She had no issues with her shots, such a big girl! Here are her stats: Weight: 15 pounds, 2 ounces (30th percentile) Height: 25.5 inches (60th percentile) Head Circumference: 43cm (75th percentile) Her weight dropped off a little bit, but Dr. Sperling was not too worried. She has a big head, you only really notice it when you try and put a hat on her head. I think it is funny that her head is only 4cm smaller than Addison's and they are 17 months apart. Now that McKenna is older and is doing more than eating and sleeping, I have to be careful not to compare her milestones with Addison. There are some that Addison was doing that McKenna is not, which bothers me, but I am trying to remember that all children develop at a different pace. McKenna is not "behind" in anything.

Comforting and Not So Comforting

I have to say that Addison is such a sweet big sister. I have had very little issues with jealousy, fighting, etc. Recently I have noticed that Addison comforts McKenna one of two ways when she is fussing. She either tries to calm her by patting her back, rubbing her head, giving her a hug or kiss and getting a pacifier. OR she screams "STOP MCKENNA", ha. Here is a video displaying both! (After watching the video I realized that she hit McKenna a little hard, we will be focusing on gentle touch now as well)

Finally, brethren, rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace ; and the God of love and peace will be with you." 2 Corinthians 13:11

McKenna - 5 Months

FUN FACTS FROM THE MONTH:

• Loves playing with her hands and feet
• Rolls over stomach to back
• Turns toward sounds and when we call her name
• Loves playing in the exersaucer, jumparoo and playmat
• Started scooting
• Can sit 1-3 minutes
• Sleeps through the night
• Takes two naps a day and sometimes a cat nap mid-morning
• Take 5 4-5 ounce bottles
• Starting to put everything in her mouth
• Lots of vowel sounding baby babble
• Wears a size 1-2 diaper and 3-6 month clothing (some 0-3 month still fits though)

Mckenna is such a happy, easy baby! Love her crazy hair!

Tickle Tickle

Sweet sounds from such a happy girl... I love her smile and I love her laugh! "Then our mouth was filled with laughter And our tongue with joyful shouting" Psalm 126:2a

Mum Mum

In order to teach McKenna to feed herself, I started giving her Mum Mum's... she loves them! Even though they are "empty calories", I think it will help develop a skill needed later on. We started them early with Addison and she did great feeding herself later on.

The bad thing about mum mum's is they are a sticky mess when they get wet... if you don't clean it immediately it becomes hard and is difficult to clean.

My girl is growing up!

Addison's first Mum Mum post is here... http://thebetzens.blogspot.com/2010/02/mum-mums-are-yum-yum.html

Easter 2011

This Easter was so much fun with our little family. We did our normal Sunday morning church routine, got the girls dressed in their new Easter outfits given to them by their Great Granmommy and went to church to celebrate our Risen King!

Here is a picture of both of them together... seriously getting a picture of my two cuties looking in the same direction and making a decent face is nearly impossible.

Sweet Addison looks so grown up here...

Happy girl playing with her new slinky bracelets from her Easter bucket...

Mommy and McKenna... love her!

Mommy and her girls.... so blessed...

McKenna in her dress... I love that it is blue and white with a dash of pink.

Later that evening Staci and some of our friends came over to hang out. We had so much fun!

McKenna - 4 Months

4 months... seriously? Time is going by way too fast. McKenna is so much fun and is such a happy baby! Fun Facts:

• Sleeping through the night - 7:00pm to 7:00am. She sometimes thinks 6am is a good wake up time, but will go back down with a pacifier plug.
• Grabbing and playing with toys.
• Loves the exersaucer and play mat.
• Loves to stand up and face out.
• Laughs and smiles all the time... all you have to do is look at her, ha. She is such a happy baby
• Still only rolls from tummy to back. (her body goes wherever her big head goes, ha)
• LOVES her big sister!
• Wears size 1 diaper, 0-3 month clothing
• Does great at the gym and church nursery.
• Knows our face.
• Responds to sound.
• Loves playing with her hands and feet.
• Naps 3 times a day.
• Has 5-4-5oz bottles a day.

I took McKenna for her 4 month well check, she had fun playing with the paper on the exam table.

Here are her stats: Weight: 13 pounds, 11.5 ounces (50th percentile) Height: 24 inches (30th percentile) Head Circumference: 41.25cm (75th percentile)

She got two shots and an oral vaccine, she took them like a champ. Dr. Sperling confirmed that she is a healthy baby girl!

McKenna Saw a Ghost

DeDaddy & Ducks

Recently we took McKenna and Addison to see my Grandfather, it was good seeing him. After our visit we went to Johnny Finn's for lunch and so Addison could feed the ducks. It was so much fun! Thank you GG & Papa for such a wonderful day!

GG & Papa with the girls.

She loved the ducks and could have fed them for hours. It was so cute watching her.

Notice the sign...

She loves lemons, just like her Mama!

McKenna - 3 Months

Yes, I realize McKenna is almost 5 months, so I thought I better catch up on her monthly blog posts before I forget everything, ha.

McKenna is such an easy baby and brings us pure joy. We call her our "chill baby" because pretty much she just chills out all day.

Fun Facts of the Month:

• No longer nursing, we give her 3 breast milk bottles and 2 formula bottles a day. Pumping is a huge pain, but I plan to continue as long as I can.
• Rolls over from tummy to back.
• Bats at toys on her playmat
• Very strong neck
• Makes cute baby sounds: laughing, squealing, screaming, cooing, etc.
• Blows spit bubbles
• Easily tracks objects
• Recognizes our face and voices
• Loves her big sister!
• Still has crazy hair, but it is starting to lay down to one side. The back still sticks straight up.
• Wears 0-3 month clothing, size 1 diaper.
• Sleeps through the nights 7:30-6:30 (we do not feed her until 7-7:30 though)
• Takes 3 naps a day
• Does well in the nursery at church, MOPS and the gym
• Loves looking around and being outdoors
• She is a major chatterbox.
• She does not watch tv :)

I am super bummed that I did not take an official 3 month photo with her duck, oh well. I have one for the 4th month.

A Different Look

Here is McKenna with her hair combed down after her bath. She looks like a different baby!

There, that's more like it!

I love her crazy hair!

Sunday Lunch

Our first lunch where we were all sitting at the table as as family. So sweet! Thank you timer on my camera for capturing this moment.

Such a great big sister...

Can you guess what Addison is doing in the picture???? She is teaching McKenna the hand moves to Itsy Bitsy Spider. It was so sweet listening to her sing the song and do the moves. She was very gentle with McKenna as well. Addison is so sweet and loving to her little sister, I can tell she is ready for McKenna to grow up and play!

Some other fun big sister moments....

When McKenna is is on her play mat, Addison gets on the mat and plays with her. This usually includes making silly faces in the mirror or taking the toys off the mat.

I put McKenna down for a nap in the bouncer. I ran upstairs to grab something and she started crying. By the time I got down to her, Addison was bouncing her gently in the bouncer and tried putting the pacifier in her mouth.

Addison loves to feed McKenna a bottle. In fact, she is skillful enough that she can drink from her sippy cup and hold the bottle for McKenna at the same time. I tried to get a picture of this yesterday, but failed.

Addison loves to lay a blanket on the floor for McKenna and swaddle her. She is getting much better at not putting the blanket on her face, but she does try to pull the blanket from under her.

Addison loves to rub McKenna's hair.

I love my girls and love watching them play together! It will only get better and more fun!

McKenna - 2 Months

Fun facts for the month:

• She has crazy hair... everyone comments on it and wants to touch it. So far I have not noticed any hair loss.
• Smiling! Love it!
• Starting to laugh... it sounds more like a chuckle
• Wearing size 1 diaper, 0-3 month clothing
• Likes her pacifier
• Sleeps 8-9 hours at night. If she wakes up early then we can get her back to sleep easily with a pacifier.
• Grabbing toys on her play mat, hair
• Can hold a rattle for a minute
• We do baby aerobics several times a day which includes tummy time, sit ups and squats
• Loves to talk and loves it when you talk back
• Takes a bottle, sometimes prefers it over nursing
• Loves her play mat
• Only cries when she is hungry or tired

We took her for her 2 month well check yesterday. I am so thankful to say we have a healthy baby girl!

Weight: 11 pounds 3 ounces (50th percentile) Height: 22.5 inches (45th percentile) Head Circumference: 39.75cm (90th percentile) (and no it is not because of all that hair)

Other facts from the visit:

• Dr. Sperling said her neck was as strong as a 4 month old
• Her head is nice and round
• Got her shots and took them like a champ
• No more intervention to make her "poop", if she goes longer than 14 days then we should call the doctor. (I know it sounds bizarre, but I have to trust what she says!)
• I love love love our pediatrician! When she saw us she said she has been praying for McKenna's digestive issues! How awesome is that!
  

McKenna is such an easy going sweet baby. Her smile is so sweet and she brings pure joy to our family. Addison simply adores her little sister as well!

Happy Valentines Day!

Love,

Brian, Carrie, Addison & McKenna

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 1 John 4:16

Snow 2011

This morning we woke up to an inch of snow... I was so excited to get Addison and go play in the snow, unfortunately Addison is a fair weather kind of girl and only lasted a few minutes."What on earth is this cold white stuff and why am I freezing"McKenna "chillin" in the snow...

Mommy and her snow toddler... Daddy and Addison Ready to go inside

McKenna - 1 Month

Before I had McKenna, I told myself I was going to savor every moment because it goes by so fast. So here we are, McKenna is already a month old, I have slowed down a bit, but not enough! McKenna is a sweet baby and is so cute. Her obvious distinct feature is her crazy brown hair. I try to comb it to the side so I can put a little bow in it, but it goes right back to sticking straight up! Needless to say, with the receding hairline and spiky hair, she has to wear a lot a pink.

McKenna is pretty boring compared to her 18 month old sister!

• She can lift her head, look around, etc.
• We are doing a lot of tummy time & squats to build her muscles.
• Responds to sounds
• Loves to stare at lights, windows, ceiling fans and faces
• Grunts and squeaks a lot
• Started doing a little baby talk, which is super cute
• Loves to play on the play mat... kicking and swinging her arms. She will occasionally grab a toy on the mat.
• Sleeps swaddled in the pack-in-play outside our room.
• Excellent sleeper - she will go 6-7 hours at night, which is delightful!
• Loves her swing and bouncer.
• I am breastfeeding, but she will take a bottle of formula
• Loves her pacifier
• Wears newborn sized clothing, newborn diaper
• Weighs 9 pounds, 2 ounces

Our biggest problem with McKenna has been her digestive issues. Please pray that she will become more "regular". We had scans done on her belly, so there is no blockage or obstruction. I have eliminated diary from my diet completely :( and am keeping a food journal. It makes me sad that something I am eating is causing her some much discomfort, so hopefully we will figure out what it is soon. I want to nurse her a long as possible, but will obviously stop if we cannot figure out what the food sensitivity issue is.

Wordless Wednesday

McKenna's First Bath

We gave McKenna her first sponge bath a few days after we got home. Brian took care of washing the body, I took care of the hair.

She was not a happy camper, I think she got cold even with it being 78 degrees in the bathroom.

Much better...