Happy Holidays!

I love my new little model, she is so patient - and so much fun to snap photos of.  Hoping everyone has a wonderful holiday season, remember to slow down in all the hustle and bustle of things and enjoy the season.  This is my favorite time of year, and feel very blessed that we get to start sharing Christmas time with McKenna.

She is starting to really grab with her hands now

Beautiful, deep, baby blues!

Mid-yawn, but always working that tongue!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Two months old and a kitchen remodel!

This beautiful little lady turned two months old on December 2nd!  How crazy is that!  She is so much fun, and I think gets cuter each day, if that is possible!  We went in for her two month checkup and she now weighs 9 lbs. 13 oz.  and is 23 inches long.  I don't think she will have any problem passing up her mom in height!  We also got her shots, she handled them like a champ and was a little sore that night but slept wonderfully that night despite her discomfort. 

Some things about McKenna at two months.  She loves her bath time - she will kick and splash in her little tub, and get the kitchen and mom and dad soaked!  We have to hold a hand over her arms so it doesn't get too bad.  She loves to kick and play.  She will talk your ear off if you let her with her little coos', and she will brighten anyone's day with those sweet smiles!  She loves tummy time and pushes like no other with her feet - I sure hope I don't have a crawler at 5 months, but I'll take whatever she gives me!  She loves to be propped up so she can be sitting up because she likes to look around at everything, which is why she has a bald strip across the back of her head because she is and always has been turning her head from side to side.  Her hair has been coming in so well also the last few weeks, and it is still red!  She is so much fun for her dad and I - we love her so much!

Oh... and she now sucks her thumb! :)  She just loves her fingers more than her bink sometimes, so here is hoping we can break her of the habit! But it is pretty darn cute!

She puts her thumb in and then the rest of her fingers rest on top of her nose.

About two weeks before Thanksgiving Daniel came to me and said he needed a new project to work on in the house, so I told him I wanted to give a fresh coat of paint to the walls in the kitchen and replace the wall paper border to something more fitting to our taste...... note to self, do not ask Daniel to look at something (such as how we would go about changing the light bulbs in the kitchen if they were to ever burn out) because he broke the cover, so we took it down and saw how ugly it was, and the annoying buzzing of the florescent lights, and the fact that one kitchen cabinet came out into the light fixture.....  Needless to say, the simple kitchen project turned into almost a month long project.  It looks amazing!  I am so grateful for a husband who will humor me and do projects like this :)  He put can lights in, climbed up in the attic to wire them and everything, sheetrocked the opening at an angle to make it look nicer and cause less shadows to keep the recess, retextured the ceiling, painted the walls, then I hung wall paper border ( with the aide of my dad so I could learn how), and now we have a beautiful kitchen with quiet lights, with new wall paper that McKenna can splash all over for bathtime!

Our light project, 6 ft florescent bulbs...

Can-lights in!  Success!  As well as the wood framing for the sheetrock.

What they look like in the attic, Daniel had to lay up there on the joists for about 3-4 hours while he wired them,  He is such a good guy to me!

Daniel sanding, plastic put up to try to keep the mess in so McKenna didn't have to leave the house.

We would try to clean up a little bit each night so as to not track dust everywhere in the house... and the kitchen is McKenna's bathtub.

The Finished Product!

I have an amazing husband who humors me, we have so much fun doing stuff like this.  Every project we have seems to turn into something bigger than we initially thought.  I love him though, he worked so hard on it, about a weeks worth of hard work every night after putting in a full day of work.  Love you hun!

A name and a blessing...

McKenna Mae Luke was given a name and a blessing by her father, Daniel on Sunday, November 4th, 2012 

We were surrounded by our close family members, and appreciate them for making the trip to spend time together on McKenna's special day.  Daniel did a wonderful job on the blessing and we enjoyed being able to visit with family.  McKenna did so well at her first sacrament meeting, didn't cry at all during the blessing, and slept most of the meeting.  She is such a good little baby!

Something special about her dress, this is my blessing dress that I was blessed in twenty-four years ago!  I'm so glad that my mom kept it tucked away safely in her cedar chest all these years.  I plan to do the same for McKenna, and who knows, maybe it will be used again when the dress is fourty-eight years old!  She looked so pretty in it!  A lot of dress for such a little lady, but she sure makes it look easy!

The proud parents - we are still on cloud 9 with this little one, not sure when or if we will ever come down!

A Picture is worth a thousand words... or a few at least!

Could not get this to rotate correctly, so sorry!  We celebrated Daniel's 27th birthday on Oct. 28 - just small and simple, but this new dad is a very special guy!  He loves his two girls so much and takes such good care of them!  We hope he had a special day and we sure love him a lot!

This sweet smily little one turn 1 month old on Nov. 2nd - it is crazy how fast time flies!  She is getting to be so strong, whipping her head around left and right, she has successfully rubbed a strip of hair off the back of her head because she is constantly moving it back and forth to see what is going on no matter where she is.  She is getting to be so smily, and wants to be wherever you are right in the mix of things!  She is starting to outgrow the newborn clothes, but is still way too tiny for 0-3 months, so we are in the between stage.  I'm afraid this little girl is going to stay pretty teeny - which isn't a bad thing, I may just have to buy more newborn clothes for her to wear when the others start to get holes :)

Caught this pretty little smile the other day on my phone - she is so much fun, I don't feel the least bit guilty about not going back to work until after Christmas break... and even then am dreading that day!  I'm having so much fun being mom to this sweet angel!

Passing down from generation to generation...

Last week my mother retaught me how to make homemade bread - I've always loved the fresh, warm loaves that she would often make, homemade bread is best warm out of the oven with butter on it!  I have not dared make bread since I have been married because the oven at our apartment would always bake so much hotter - I could bake a cake mix cake in half the allotted time :S  so I didn't want to chance ruining home made bread.  This past Friday my mother came over to entertain McKenna, since there are times she just wants to be loved and given attention :), and I tried my first batch of almost solo bread baking.  

My Mom keeping McKenna happy while I mixed up the dough

I feel very blessed to be raised by a mother who has taken the initiative to teach me homemaking skills such as cooking, baking, cleaning, as well as quilting and other skills that are becoming lost among many of the women who grow up today.  I am also thankful for a wonderful, sweet, grandmother who would also entertain a young granddaughter in the kitchen letting me work alongside her - I still remember vividly baking yummy cinnamon rolls with Grandma Wilson and helping her to cut them with the string.

Bread before it went in the oven, cross your fingers for no splits or bubbles!

Surprisingly, the bread turned out great, I was surprised - and it made my house smell so yummy!  It felt so good to be self sufficient like this and to see the five big loaves and two small ones sitting on the counter.  What was even better was the hot bread we had for lunch that day!  Thank you mom for being willing to teach me skills like this - I am excited to teach my little girl how to bake bread and many other things as well.

The yummy outcome of a mornings hard work!  Only one split, the one we cut into for lunch!

Daniel had a fun autumn photo idea so we gave it a try this weekend and I thought I would share, I think the pictures turned out darling!  This little red head does all colors!  :)  We are having so much fun - and she is so patient with us, and our crazy ideas!

This little sweetheart did so well, after we put her to sleep :)

Already Growing!

She liked the lights at the Doctors Office :)

 
We went to McKenna's two week appointement last week on Oct. 16th and the Doctor was pleased with how she was growing and developing.  She had gained 3 oz. from her birth weight, and weighed 7 lbs. 12 oz.  He wants us to go back in for the next three weeks to check her weight and make sure she is gaining due to the glucose problem in the beginning.  I'm glad that we have a thorough Doctor and will monitor things like that.

She finally lost the main part of her cord on Saturday - almost three weeks!  We are still sponge bathing though because it is still not quite done weeping and healing... she might be a month old before we actually bath her normally!  Which I think I like better anyway because they become so slippery when they are in the water.

We went to our weight check yesterday the 23rd and this little lady has gained 11 oz. from last week.  She now weighs 8 lbs. 7 oz.  Maybe it is just me, but she doesn't look or feel like she is eight pounds now - maybe because she is longer, but it is nice to see her legs and cheeks filling out a little bit more, now if we could get that red hair to keep growing in instead of slowly falling out! :(

She's doing great, and we are still enjoying her so much, she is determined more and more each day to keep that head up on her own, and that right dimple is becoming more and more pronounced as her cheeks get chubbier and as she learns to smile.  She is also starting to find her voice and is starting to coo - she is so much fun and I thank the Lord every day for the opportunity to be a mother to this sweet girl!

So pretty in pink, and peaceful when sleeping - love her!

Bright eyed after a morning feeding

Don't leave her hands uncovered for long, she napped like this one afternoon.  Thumb in her ear, and little pinkie finger in her mouth - darling!

Introducing the lovely, the precious, the doll... McKenna Mae Luke!

She's here!  Finally!  On October 2nd, 2012 we welcomed with loving arms a beautiful baby girl, McKenna Mae Luke.  She weighed in at 7 lbs. 9 oz. and was 21 inches long.  We just love her so much and are enjoying our time with her, it is for never enough time spent, and we can't seem to get anything done around here because we'd much rather be staring at those baby blues and that beautiful red hair.

Time flies because McKenna is almost two weeks old already!  She will be two weeks old tomorrow, and we go see the Dr. for her two week follow up, and the lovely PKU.  She is already too big for her britches, holding her head up way too much, smily (we claim that we can also see the hint or start of dimples in her cheeks - we're hoping! since both mom and dad have dimples!)  She changes so much almost daily and is really so much fun!  I tried to take newborn pictures of her today, and was sucessful, however she didn't want to go to sleep for any of them so there are a few different poses I'll have to try later if I can get her to sleep for some... this little one is for sure not one of those sleep newborns - she wants to be awake and not miss a thing during the day!

We are both really enjoying being parents, Daniel is so helpful and encouraging with everything - it is so cute to see him interact with his "little princess".  We are so blessed to have this little one in our lives and thank the Lord every day for the opportunity He gave us and the sweet little one He entrusted to us.

Pictures galore below, but she is just so cute!  I can't help it!  Enjoy!

McKenna - About 3.5 hours old

2 Days old, starting to like her "bink", this one she doesn't have the IV back in for the second time yet.

Holding hands with Daddy

Sitting pretty in her swing

This is how she likes to sleep, hands up and out.

Wide awake after eating early in the morning, loves to play with that tongue!

She is a contortionist! Wiggly!  9 days old

Daddy's Princess sleeper, it is rather fitting for her

Sunday naptime all spread out in the bassinet, 12 days old

Sample newborn pic, just off of my phone, all she wanted to do was look at the camera, it was so fun snapping pictures of her!  Love this sweet little girl to pieces!  13 Days old here.

Running out of things to do on my own..

So while waiting for this baby to decide to make her appearance I am trying to find things to keep myself busy at home when Daniel is working such late hours.  This past week I put together the glider (don't worry, Daniel had carried the box into the bedroom so no heavy lifting was done)  and I also put together the little cubby for toys and books - we still need to anchor it to the wall so that it won't get pulled on top of anyone playing with it - but I think we have a little bit of time before worrying about this little one crawling and pulling herself up on things!  

To update - we will hopefully be adding to our family of two this week sometime - but apparently she is pretty stubborn like both her parents, and we also think pretty comfortable and warm where she it at.  Fingers are crossed!  We just want her here safe and healthy. 

Next update I'm thinking I will be a momma!  We are very excited! :)  Take care!

Much needed update!

I apologize for seemingly falling off of the planet.  Life has been insanely crazy and hectic since about July, we are ready for some calm, but don't see that coming in the near future as we are still awaiting for baby girl Luke to come.

With the start of a new school year and a very challenging group of students behavior wise this year I am surprised this baby has not come early from the stress!

We also were finally able to find and purchase our first home, and we are so happy and blessed to be in a house that we love and are slowly making into our own.  Daniel is very happy to have a place to do projects and has already worked on, and finished, redoing the baby's room so it is all ready for her to come.  We were able to close on the house on August 17th and start moving things in the next day, a big thanks to our families for helping in the chaos to get everything moved, especially because school was starting for me then at Monday.  Both our families have been very helpful in helping us to get things organized enough to function - and helping me out greatly since being 34 weeks pregnant and continuing to grow each week makes putting a house other and moving things around really difficult.

Baby update: We have no idea when this baby will decide to come.  I am 38 weeks and 2 days today and just hanging out - my students just know that there could be any day that I don't come to school and the baby could come now or in two weeks - we are on her clock.  My due date is September 25th, Daniel thinks that she will come on the 18th, my dad thinks the 20th.. I have no idea - but everything is ready for her to do so!

We hope everyone is doing well and will update as we can and are able.  Hopefully this baby will come on her own, if not, the doctor will induce on Oct. 2nd.    We are very excited to welcome this little one!

 Per request a growing photo - this is at 37 weeks 5 days (last sunday)

Here is a picture of the room and crib, we love how it turned out, the picture doesn't really do it justice - you have to see it in person to actually get a real feel for the color.  Walls are like milk chocolate, crib bedding is mainly green and brown paisley - love how it turned out.  There is also crown molding on the ceiling that Daniel and Conlee put up and looks wonderful and really completes the room.

50! That is half of a century!

In our family we have a lot of June birthdays, Happy Birthday to all of them, each one a neat experience in their lives. Chants turned 17 on the 1st, Wyatt turned 1 on the 22nd, and my Dad turned the big 5-0 on the 23rd. He has been a good sport all week between having a picture in the newspaper and various little things occurring at his office, as well as an awesome sign on the fence placed early on his birthday... And then to top it all, coming out of a very fulfilling church meeting to find his way into his vehicle blocked by rolls of saran wrap and ribbon, must love neighbors :)

I love my dad, he has always been and continues to be a much needed figure in my life. He has taught me many important things from always doing your best (what is the point of doing something if your are not going to produce the best outcome you can?), he has taught me how to persevere, to be patient, to think before I speak, and most of all this last trying year, to have faith and learn to listen to and act on that faith. I am so excited for our little girl to get here and meet her Grandpa, and I know he will continue to teach me and her, and our family as he continues to be a big part and influence in our lives. Love you dad!!

Freezer Jam!

So I tried out my first attempt at making jam, can't say if it tastes like jam just yet because it is still setting up, but it looks super good, and appears to be setting up too thanks to Grandma Wilson's expert advice. Thanks Grandma! Have to thank my mom for letting me use her kitchen space and her knowledge also, she is a great help and a really good sport when it comes to some of my crazy ideas. So after one flat of strawberries ( got a great deal on strawberries through Bountiful Baskets 1 flat for $11 ) I have 12, 2 cup containers of yummy strawberry jam to go into the freezer... :) PB&J anyone?

Our family is growing by two feet!

Daniel and I are happy to share the news that we will be welcoming Baby Girl Luke into our family on or around September 25th, 2012.  We are very happy and feeling very blessed for this opportunity that is ours after a long wait.

More updates to come in the future, we are enjoying our time with this special spirit that is growing right now and have high hopes that all will continue to go well and she will arrive safe and sound in a few short months.