Six years ago

Six years ago today we officially became husband and wife. It was a day as beautiful as this one. I never imagined how much we would experience together in the past six years, but I could imagine no one better to be there leading me, being beside me, and supporting me from behind in all of our endeavours. I love you Matt! Thanks for everything so far!

P.S. I know I am way behind on everything...give me time!

6 month checkup

MacKenzie had her 6 month appointment today. For all the curious... She is 28 inches long (97th percentile), weighs 18 pounds 13 ounces (90th percentile) and the doctor couldn't be happier with her. She said the congestion and coughing she has had is probably just seasonal allergies and that she is pleased with all of her growth and her progress which is right on track.

I cannot believe my baby girl is already 6 months! Here are a few pics until I upload newer ones!

Oops...24 weeks has long passed...

MacKenzie,

Sorry it has taken me so long to write...we have been very busy the past 5 weeks. You got to spend your very first spring break in a wild way...just kidding...you got to hang out with Mommy all week. We spent the week relaxing together and visiting with family and friends. I refused to bring any work or grading home so that I would be 100% devoted to you. It was a good decision! We had lunch with my dad, spent the day with my mom, took Chick-Fil-A to Karlin and Henry, visited with Crystal at Newks, and celebrated my birthday 4 times! You and Mommy got to experience your very first crawfish boil together while we watched the Aggies play in the NCAA basketball tournament. Another big social first was that Mommy and Daddy got to go on our first official date night while you hung out with Grammy KiKi and Papi. Because I am late in writing this, I am glad to say that Mommy and Daddy have been out on another date since then!

We celebrated Easter with you this year and spent lots of time with friends from church. I am looking forward to next year when we can help you find eggs. You looked very pretty in your easter dress and I am glad that we went with a simple cotton dress. We went to have tapas with the Medlins who we have been spending a lot of time with lately. It is good that we are all getting along great because they have a new little girlfriend named Avah for you to play with!

You have definitely gotten more social over the past few weeks. You gladly smile at anyone who gives you attention. You make Daddy work harder than Mommy for those smiles and laughs, but once either of us get you started, it is hard to control your laughter! You love to be tickled and bounced. You love grabbing our arms or face as we play or talk with you. Lately you have become a big fan of the exersaucer and will play contently for quite some time. If we put you on your stomach for tummy time you will "swim" for a few minutes then lay your head down. You haven't crawled at all yet, but we aren't worried about it. You have begun sitting on your own, with Mommy or Daddy there to catch you if you fall to hard.

You nurse a lot, but your bottles at the sitters very each day. You always eat well at Grammy KiKi's house, but eat less for the sitters. You love to nurse for me and will drift off in my arms after school. I followed my instincts and went ahead and started a little bit of solids. We put you in the bumbo and Daddy or I will feed you a bit while the other person makes dinner. Then you sit happily with us as we enjoy our dinner. You have eaten oatmeal (which you are indifferent about), carrots (ok), sweat peas (you loved), sweet potatoes (ok), and squash (pretty good). You are only getting a tablespoon or two of these so most of your food is definitely still from nursing. You get mad when Mommy drinks from a straw or cup and doesn't offer you any. You will put the straw in your mouth, look disgusted, and try again. You are still working on that concept!

MacKenzie, you are simply the coolest kid. In the past 5 weeks, we have had ONE rough night with you so we do not complain. Everyone comments about how good of a baby you are and we agree. Nobody minds watching you because you are so mellow and happy. We love you for all that you are and appreciate the time spent with you so far!

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

Pictures to come!

Yom HaShoah

Today is Yom HaShoah, the International Holocaust Remembrance day. Take a moment to honor the more than 12,000,000 lives lost due to the Nazis and their collaborators in Europe. For more information you can check out this link http://www.ushmm.org/remembrance/dor/ .

It is so close...

Summer is so near...I can already taste it. I am so looking forward to the summer. We are still unsure of what I will be doing next year, but I will not be teaching. I put my letter of resignation in last week! I am hoping to hear on what opportunity in the next week or so and then Matt and I can look at our budget and see what needs to be done. Regardless, this summer should prove to be wonderful. I am looking forward to spending time with all of my mommy friends. I am looking forward to taking MacKenzie swimming, to the zoo, and sometimes (if we get up early enough) to the park. I am looking forward to being there for all of the milestones she will inevitably reach. I am looking forward to not pumping. I might me good at the task, but it is more than a little tiring and it takes up my conference period and lunch (which means I have to bring grading home). There are so many more reasons why I cannot wait for summer! While I think about how wonderful it will be, enjoy this picture of MacKenzie eating oatmeal!!!

Baby girl!

I wanted to share a few pictures of MacKenzie so the readers could keep up with how she was doing. In the first picture you will see her in a blue bear hoodie. We are firm believers that girls are perfectly able to wear blue so we did not shy away from it when we were shopping for gender neutral items. That being said, we thought it would be easier when we took her out if she was wearing pink so we could avoid the...boy or girl question. This however, is not the case. I am not sure if people do not pay attention or if they are just stupid, but MacKenzie has been dressed in all pink (onesie, pants, socks, and bow) and people still ask boy? or girl? !!! I can understand when she is wearing blue, but it is not common in our society for little boys to wear pink. No matter how progressive you are...it usually does not happen.

Anyways, we love this soft and cute hoodie that my mom got her. And we love how concerned and thoughtful she looks. She loves to look around and observe things in her life!

Ok, so the following is not the best picture of my baby girl, but there is a cool story about the picture. We bought MacKenzie this Valentine's Day onesie so she could wear it for some time before Valentine's Day (she will continue wearing it until she outgrows it). For Christmas (post onesie purchase), my cousin Emily bought her the doll in the picture. If you look closely, her onesie matches (design and everything) the dress on the doll! So cool!

I am not the best photographer, but I would like to get better. I have a good camera, so sometimes I get lucky. It helps when you have good things to shoot. In trying to practice I got some cute pictures of MacKenzie. There is that expressive little face again. Her eyes are still blue right now, but they seem so dark in this picture.

And you have to include the obligatory baby fat roll pictures!

My Top three Foodie websites

I wanted to share some of my favorite foodie websites...

The Pioneer Woman is a new favorite of mine. She is clever and spends a lot of time updating her blog on a regular basis. She has a wide variety of recipes and takes time to show pictures of the porocess of each recipe.

I am really getting into the idea of making my own baby food for the T-Rex. One site that has been helpful is about making Wholesome baby food. It has a lot of recipes and schedules for when to start different foods.

I also of course love the Food Network website. It is sometimes tedious to wade through all of their recipes, but have a lot of luck with their recipes. It helps if you know what you are looking for (if you saw an episode and wanted a specific recipe), but you can also search other ways (by ingredient, chef, meal time, ect).

Enjoy!