17 months of Mac

MacKenzie,

Today you are 17 months old. Next month you will be 18 months which seems very old in Mommy's book. You are no longer a baby (which has nothing to do with your little sister being born), but very much a little girl toddler. You are so funny and you love to ham around, smile, and laugh. You can be serious around other people, especially people you don't know super well. On the other hand, sometimes you are far to sociable! Either way, you are a delight.

You usually eat like a pig, you still love Macaroni and Cheese and green beans, but you also really love bread. You are eating more protein than you were which helps ease Mommy's worrying about you getting all of the vitamins and nutrients you need. I just want to make sure that you are healthy! Your absolute favorite treat is marshmallows, but you like to share a little bit of anything sweet that Mommy or Daddy might be eating. You won't eat too much though, usually just a bite or two then you will run off to play. You have been eating really well using a spoon or a fork. We showed you how and just sort of waited to see how things would go and they are going great! You do amazingly well and will switch the utensil back and forth between your right and left hand at different meals.

You still love to read, but are getting much more independent in your play time too. You like to play music and dance around the room. Your dancing usually consists of stomping around in a circle, but you will bob and bounce a little bit too. You have been climbing in your toy car to try and drive it, but you have only figured out how to pedal it backwards. So you will pedal it until you run into a wall or furniture then get out and play something else. You are also getting more and more into climbing, especially to sit in an adult chair. Speaking of climbing, you are now coming down the stairs unassisted which has made my life a lot easier as now I just need to stand behind you to make sure you don't fall and don't have to carry you and Keegan at the same time. You have been playing outside more (the weather has been wonderful) and every day we go check the mail together. In fact, I can ask you if you want to go bye bye or if you want to check the mail and you will make a beeline right for the door. You are getting close to running and still cannot jump even though you will move your entire body like you are trying to jump.

You sleep great and pretty much put yourself to sleep. Naps vary, but I can usually get about two hours out of you. After nap, unless we have errands or a play date, we will usually watch signing time. You will sign along with almost all of the signs and you know which part is coming next so you will say the words you know ahead of time. You have learned car, bike, train, and many others. In other learning, we are working on identifying letters. You can pick out (80-90% of the time) the letter S, I, F, M, A, B, C, and O. You love to say the letter O and now use "oh" as your general sound. All day today I heard "oh" every time you did something.

This month we went to the Livestock show which was very overwhelming for you (there were a lot of people there, but you liked it), to the zoo (you loved the elephant and the giraffes), and on several playdates. I am enjoying taking you places because you get so much enjoyment out of it.

MacKenzie- this month has been great. We love seeing your little smile and making you laugh. We love to spend time sitting with you and seeing you happy. You are so smart and such a good, sweet little girl. Thank you for all the wonderful moments of making us smile and blessing our lives!

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

Keegan at one month

Keegan,

Today you are both one month and four weeks old. I love that you are sharing your one month birthday with Mommy's 27th birthday! Four weeks ago my contractions were just starting to build and in less than one hour you were in our arms. The past month has flown by.

It is hard to say if you are a good sleeper or not. Some nights you give us long 5 and 6 hour stretches, other nights you only give us 2 hours at a time. A few nights ago you slept for an hour and cried until I held you...then you fell fast asleep. You didn't want to eat, you just wanted your mommy. I was a little frustrated at the time, it was 4 a.m. after all, but I cannot help but feel a little prideful that you wanted your mom that bad. You are a good eater though, I have less issues nursing you than I did with your sister. You latch on well and are somewhat efficient with your eating. You must be growing over the past few days though because you have wanted to eat a lot of the day and Mommy has been extra hungry too which usually means you are eating a lot more. In the next few weeks we will start pumping a little bit to have some for you if Mommy needs to get out in a few months and also to share with the Milk Bank like we did with your sister's milk.

You are very strong and very healthy. You can lift your head up and keep it raised for a long time and you move around a lot until you are in a position that makes you happy. When I let you lay by me in the bed you will grunt and squirm until you are cuddled up right next to me. You spend most of your time sleeping, but when you are awake (and aren't crying to be fed) you are very alert. Your eyes look like they are penetrating and looking at everything, you look very observant. You will follow us with your eyes and it seems like you are following your own hands sometimes as you flail around.

Your hair is still dark, I would guess that it is a chestnut brown color. Your eyes still show blue, but sometimes they seem a bit hazel. We know we will need to wait to see what color they turn. Sometimes you look just like your big sister and sometimes you look like your own little person. It will be interesting to see how similar you two are! You are definitely smaller than her, you still have skinny little legs and you seem taller than she was. That being said, you have the cutest double chin that will not go away no matter how little your tummy is!

Keegan- it has been wonderful to add you to our family. It has been a learning curve to mothering two and there have been times when I was thankful to make it through the next five minutes, but you have been amazing and your daddy and I are so glad to have you in our lives. We love both of our girls and we cannot wait to see what the next month holds!

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

Update

Just a little update...

Keegan is now over two weeks old and on Monday we got to "recognize" her due date with her in our arms! We love that we have gotten to enjoy our babies just a wee bit before their due dates. It is funny to hear the day and have it mean so much for about 9 months, then realize that your baby is already here. Matt went back to work on Monday which meant I got to take both kids to the pediatrician for Keegan's two week appointment all by myself. It wentrelatively well. Keegan must be doing a good job nursing because she gained back all of her weight and then some. She now weighs 8 pounds 2.5 ounces (half an ounce less than Mac at birth) and is 21 inches long (half an inch more than Mac). It is so odd to think that Keegan is just now the size that Mac was at birth. No wonder I have had an easier time with recovery this time around! The weight is also dripping off this time around, I suppose it helps that I only gained half the weight this time around and that I have a toddler to chase and entertain!

We are settling into a nice routine and (knock on wood) things have been going fairly well. It helps that people are still bringing us meals a few times a week, but I have a freezer full of meals ready for those difficult days that I am sure are coming up. We are so pleased with our life and with our little girls!

On Saturday we took some time to make treats and goodie bags for the nurses at the hospital. We had a good time showing off our two week old and had a good visit with our lab

or and delivery nurse who is expecting her own little girl very soon! We are so appreciative to the staff at the hospital and the important role they play in such treasured

days. We will also be taking treats to my doctor's office when I go for my followup. I cannot express how much I like the medical team that assists in our deliveries!

MacKenzie has been doing well with adjusting to Keegan. I think she will be an amazing big sister. She is a bit fussy (one she is adjusting, two she is getting all four incisors at the same time). She is learning in leaps and bounds and I like teaching her all sorts of things each day. Before we would learn one or two things a day and now I can teach her several things at a time (today we learned door, wall, and floor all while mommy used the restroom... :0) ). Everyone always comments on how confident, independent, and smart she is...my heart bursts with pride when she does something new. She is also just plain funny...she is always trying to make us laugh!