October seemed like a very emotional (good emotional) and introspective time for me. Our baby girl, Mckenna Bethany, was about to turn two and was definitely not a baby anymore at all. In fact, she's a big girl now - she is so smart, runs around and is very active, talks a lot and has actual conversations with people, and has a spunk and personality all her own... no more little baby! Matt and I say everyday to each other how much we adore her, and it's really crazy how it seems like she learns so much each and every day. I was also anticipating adding another little baby to the family, which I don't think fully sunk in until several days after we were home from the hospital with Calla. On top of the above big events, I was really busy at work preparing for everything in my school world to run smoothly while I was gone. The perfectionist side of me was stressing out about that even though I was well prepared and organized and of course knew everything would be more than fine while I was gone from work. Add raging pregnancy hormones to the mix, and I was definitely on an emotional roller coaster. (Good thing I love roller coasters, right?) :)
I remember taking Mckenna in to her 18-month pediatrician appointment in April, and before we left I asked the doctor when we were due to come back. He told me he'd see Mckenna again for her 2-year appointment in October, and I could bring the new baby in at the same time for her first appointment. I remember thinking "NEW BABY? What is he talking about??" ;) And so yes, we did bring both Mckenna in for her 2-year and Calla in for her first newborn check-up a few days after we got home from the hospital. Of course in my frenzy of making sure we had everything when we left the house that day with two kids instead of just one, I forgot to bring the camera to capture the event. Oh well, maybe I'll remember next year for their 3-year and 1-year combined appointment! Here are Mckenna's two-year old stats from October... weight: 27.7 lbs (63rd percentile), height: 34 inches (53%), head circumference: 19.5 inches (92%). Calla was back up to her birth weight less than a week after she was born, so that was great news. Two healthy girls and two happy parents!
So here are a bunch of pictures from our October during the last few days of our family of three. I'm becoming the queen of long posts with a million pictures, but so be it... I just can't choose and I want to remember all of these moments. So sorry to those that like things short and sweet!
I was completely exhausted the last few weeks of my pregnancy with Calla - more so than I remember being with Mckenna, but that was probably mostly due to the fact that I was running around after an almost two-year old instead of napping and relaxing like I was the first time around. On my two days home from work during the week I found myself calling my mom a lot and asking her to come over and help me with Mckenna. Just being able to take a short nap, having another person to entertain and run around after Mckenna, help folding the laundry, etc. - she helped me out immensely (THANK YOU, Mom!) The picture below is from a day that we were out running errands and the three of us stopped at Panera for lunch. After lunch we went to the shop next door to walk around, and we walked by this kids area of the store. I turned my back for a second to look at something, then turned back and saw Mckenna sitting in this little chair looking at a book. That is such her personality - make yourself comfortable, sweetie! I'm guessing that when she gets older she'll enjoy curling up with a good book. :)
I debated putting this picture on the blog because I think I look ultra huge and quite uncomfortable (which I was, but I was due with a baby in a few days, so I'm giving myself a break), but we were having fun this afternoon so I wanted to include it. Matt and I wanted to spend as much time with Mckenna as we could and give her some extra attention before the baby came. We knew her life (well, all of our lives) was about to change in a wonderful yet pretty major way, and we wanted to make sure she knows how special she is and how much she is loved even though she may not always be the sole center of attention any more. This day we were having fun outside with the wagon...
For many years each fall we've gone to Emma Krumbee's Apple Orchard in Belle Plaine, about 45 minutes south of us. This Saturday in early October was so sunny and warm, it was the perfect day to be outside! They have a cute country themed restaurant that we always have lunch at - here is Mckenna and Matt waiting for our food. Mckenna LOVES her daddy so much! :)
She also loves to color and can sit and do this intently for quite awhile. It's great that most restaurants have crayons and paper for kids to color with because it makes it quite easy to go out with her - we know she'll always have something to do that will keep her entertained.
She enjoys helping with just about anything, including putting sugar in daddy's coffee...
...and stirring it up for him. Such a helper! :)
We just can't resist these funny photo ops...
"Driving" the old tractor in the orchard...
This cute picture was taken in the same orchard one year earlier, the day after her first birthday - October 17, 2009. It will be fun to look back at past years at the orchard and see how she has grown up!
And now here she is in the same spot in October 2010, one year later.
...what a big girl!
Mckenna first wore this t-shirt on her first birthday - it was a bit big for her then. It says, "It's Fun to be One!" We figured she only had a few more days that she could wear it until she turned two, so we'd give it one last good wear!
Picking out her own baby pumpkins... this will be an annual event - she did it last year too!
We also got this bunch of corn for a little fall display out on our front step. This is what Mckenna did when I asked her to hold it up and show it to me for a picture.
Ready to go home - we had a lot to carry!
Mckenna was holding on tight to her baby pumpkins that she picked out. You can see a glimpse of the infant car seat next to Mckenna - we had it ready to go as I could've gone into labor any time!
We were all tired after a fun day outside enjoying the orchard...
After Mckenna's nap the two of us lounged on our bed having a snack and watched the documentary movie "Babies." Mckenna loved it, and the content of the movie was very appropriate for the new baby journey we were about to embark on. And yes, I am huge! My big belly made a nice little table top for my snack... haha. :)
These next few pictures are from Mckenna's 2nd birthday party with her friends at daycare. I've mentioned this several times in earlier posts, but Mckenna absolutely loves going to daycare and being with her friends, and we could not feel any more happy and comfortable to have her there during the week. I think this picture says it all... if you don't know Mckenna well, you can gather a lot from this picture. Her personality is very much captured here - cute, sweet, smiley, social, and so much fun!
Some of Mckenna's very favorite pals... aren't friends the best? :)
Mmmmm, birthday cupcake time...
Opening a gift from her daycare provider, Sally. I love how everyone's so into it.
A Tinkerbell tea set - a big hit at our house, for sure! Thank you, Sally!
And of course we had to take the birthday girl out for a special dinner on the town. Again, we wanted to spend as much special time with her as we could because we knew the baby was coming any time. And it really was soon - I went into labor two days after Mckenna's birthday (and about one week past my due date.) It's kind of fun that the girls have birthdays 3 days apart, hopefully they'll think that's fun when they get older too. The waitress brought our lucky girl a yummy birthday sundae - she was in heaven!
Lucky for us she was in the mood to practice her sharing and let us help her eat the ice cream. ;)
Look at that face - what a cutie!
Mckenna actually took this picture of Matt - great job! She absolutely adores her daddy, so he was an easy shoot. :)
Mckenna's actual birthday was a day full of fun. We started off the morning with her special birthday breakfast choice of waffles and strawberries - yum! We put a candle in her waffles and of course sang to her too. Oh, and don't forget the birthday hat. She loved it!
After breakfast we were on our way to spend the morning at Como Zoo in St. Paul. Mckenna got a card in the mail that day from her Great-Grandma Harriet, so she wanted to hold on to it in the car.
The first thing we did when we got to Como is go on a carousel ride. The carousel at Como is old (built in 1914) and very beautiful. Mckenna was in awe of all of the horses and carnival music and was very excited as we waited in line to get on the ride.
She loved it!
Matt and Mckenna rode on a horse together, and I rode on a horse right next to them. It was a tight squeeze to get my big belly in behind that pole, but I did it!
It's so fun to experience fun things like going to a zoo through a two-year old's eyes. The childlike awe and excitement that Mckenna shows for seeing something so simple as a monkey swinging in a tree is just so innocent, sweet, and joyful. We got to see all of Mckenna's favorite animals! The zebras....
...and the giraffes. Right now Mckenna is really into the "Daddy/Mommy/Baby" family groupings, so she loved to see two adult giraffes and one younger one - Mommy, Daddy, and Baby, of course! :)
A leopard - ROAR!
And the polar bears! It was interesting to see the wheels turning as Mckenna listened to us explain that even though they look so cute and cuddly, they actually aren't the nicest of animals. You could tell she was really trying to understand what we were saying.
And more cute photo ops!
If this is his "I'm crabby" face, that's pretty good! :)
You are my sunshine!
Waddle Zone - very appropriate! We were at the zoo for several hours, and as I walked (waddled!) around - a few days after my due date - I was wondering when this little baby would decide to join us in the world. Calla must have heard me wondering because she was born a few short days later. :)
My little monkey.
Another fun meal for our special birthday girl. When we asked her what she wanted for lunch, big surprise, she said chicken nuggets. The chicken strips that they had in the Como Zoo cafe came with french fries, which is a huge treat for Mckenna because she never gets them. She actually only ended up eating a couple, but she liked them nonetheless.
Finally on our way home after a long, fun day at the zoo. I think it was a really memorable birthday for Mckenna, and Matt and I enjoyed it as much as she did. On our way out of the zoo, we bought Mckenna this little giraffe (one of her favorite animals) as a birthday gift. The tag on the giraffe said "Gigi the Giraffe" and that name stuck. Mckenna always finds Gigi every day, she loves her! We absolutely love spending time with our sweet girl, and were so happy that this fun day could be one of our last times together as a family of three. I don't think we had even pulled out of the parking lot to leave the zoo and Mckenna had already fallen asleep.
And a few minutes into our ride home I looked into the back seat and Mckenna's head had dropped down, along with the birthday hat over her face. She rode that way the whole way home - too funny. We have some awesome memories over our two years with Mckenna as our first child, we will always cherish that special time with her.
Come the end of October... and then there were two! Or three, if you count little Nemo. Do you see her in the picture? She is never far away from the girls - she is very protective and wants to watch over her younger sisters! And of course, Mckenna's busy reading her favorite Children's Bible book. :)
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