Denver and Makenna

I have finally found time to do the "together post" that I talked about doing. Last week we enjoyed one of our many beautiful evenings by having supper outside on the deck. It was wonderful and even relaxing! The following pictures are from that evening.

How does this umbrella work, Mom?

Our Precious BoyJust Chillin'

And Our Precious Baby GirlOur Kiddos

Denver helping Makenna get her paci in her mouth. What a good big brother! Kisses!

Denver continues to love his baby sister. Although, he did wake up yesterday morning quite upset that his Daddy was not there and that his "baby" was at home. After his nap that day he was back to his happy self! Otherwise I don't think Denver's doing any new "tricks". I can never remember what I've put on the blog or if I just thought about telling all of you, but 2 of Denver's eye teeth have cut through and he's working on the other 2 along with his 1 year molars. Currently he has 10 that are through the gums. He's talking up a storm and starting to repeat lots of things we say, but he won't say his sister's name. Makenna is referred to as "baby" by her big brother. Evan's better at imitating the way Denver says different words so either I'll have to get him to do a post or have him right down Denver's way of saying things. Although....better yet...I did try and get different words on the video camera yesterday so I'll try to upload that one of the next times I do a post!

Makenna is doing great! We had her in for a regular follow-up visit yesterday and she weighed in at 8lbs 5oz! Evan guessed it right on the nose....although I do have to say that he did chicken out on his guess right before we put her on the scale to less than 8lbs! :) Right before I put Makenna on the scale I pulled off her diaper...of all people a NICU nurse should know better and take the diaper off once she's on the scale, right? Nope! She peed all over...she barely got me though as I quickly held her away from me! Our pediatrician noticed a murmur on her again at this appointment. They had heard one originally at birth, but hadn't heard it since. An EKG was done to make sure she was okay and the cardiologist said it was normal. Praise the Lord! We will have an extra follow-up appointment with our pediatrician just to follow her murmur, but I believe he said by 2 months it will more than likely be gone if not before. The hip click was also not noted at this visit, but our pediatrician would still like us to have a hip ultrasound done just to be safe. Overall, we had a good report from Makenna's appointment and he was very happy with her weight! I had to go back and look up to see how big Denver was for this visit and he was 7lbs 15 oz, but I didn't check to see if they were the same age in days for this appointment.

Our Busy Boy

Denver continues to be a busy boy! He never stops going, or so it seems. Denver is adjusting to his big brother role quite well. He continues to love his sister and wants to hold her quite often. Denver turned 18 months old last Sunday (an 18 month old post is coming, a little slow on pictures now that there are 2!). We can't believe how fast time has gone and that our little boy has turned into such a big boy. Denver loves to read books, play with his tractors, color, but probably most of all be outside.

We have been enjoying the nice, hot weather. Denver got to spend one of our days of temps in the 90's in his pool. He loved every minute of it!

Since Denver likes to be outside so much (and it's been to windy for Makenna a lot of the time and we don't have a fence) I put the patio set in front of the stairs so Denver could play out on the deck, but not get down. Well, the other night Denver was playing in the yard while Evan was mowing and the next thing I knew he was up on the deck playing. Neither of us put him there and he didn't come through the house....he crawled underneath the patio set! Needless to say we decided the patio set could return to its normal spot as it wasn't working as our gate anymore. Now I'm hoping I've talked Evan into a fenced in yard!

Denver playing at his "homemade table"

As I said earlier Denver loves to be outside. Evan was working in the yard so the kids and I went out to join him. Denver found the hose running to water the tree and began playing with it. I had so much fun taking pictures of him playing in the water. He was soaked before he was done.

The last couple days Denver has been walking around the house with dictionaries and pretending to read them. He even insisted upon bringing one in the car when we went to meet Daddy for lunch. I got Denver a rocking chair (of his own) on a rummage sale (I need to recover it yet...we'll see when I can find time to do that and get Grandma Verni's help!). Denver loves to sit in it and here he's reading his dictionary!

Now he's hiding in the lazy susan and reading!

Our Beautiful Baby Girl

We are falling in love with our baby girl more and more every day! I am loving every moment of dressing her up; let's just hope she continues to let me dress her up and that some day her taste in clothes isn't way different than mine! Makenna is doing very well. She is a very good baby and lets her Mommy get some sleep at night which is wonderful (she typically goes 4-5 hours, but has gone up to 8 1/2 hours!!). For the most part Makenna is pretty content just hanging out in her bouncy seat or on the floor, napping and sleeping in her crib, and letting her brother hold her. She has been spitty and "refluxy" so we're saying lots of prayers that she doesn't need to be on Prevacid too. Daddy thinks that Makenna doesn't like him as much as she's often fussy in the evenings, but that's because Makenna likes to eat quite often in the evening (but that's what gets her through the night) and Daddy just doesn't have the good stuff. Makenna usually has 2-3 really wide awake, alert times a day and loves to look around.

Perfect Little Toes

Precious HandsBeautiful Baby

I still like my paci!

Look how big I'm getting!

Tired Girl

I decided to do a post for Makenna and a separate one for Denver and then hopefully a "together" post so stay tuned! The joys of trying to keep things even!

Adjusting to the life as a family of 4

I'm guessing my "blog fans" are dying to know how it's going as a family of 4. Since I'm posting a 3rd time since Makenna was born it's going well....otherwise you probably wouldn't be 'reading' from me. :)

Makenna is a week old today and our lives are adjusting wonderfully. Denver LOVES his baby sister and we're wondering if he might even become a little possessive. He always wants to sit in his chair and hold her and he does so well. This morning I wanted to hold her and he was NOT ready to give her up!

"I love holding my baby sister, Mom!"

Nights.....sleepless? Not really. Our first night home was the toughest and should be, right? Makenna thought she needed to eat every hour for the first half of the night, but then she went 3 hours and following that 4 hours. The night before last night was our best night! She went around 4 hours and then SEVEN hours! It was amazing. We tried waking her up at 5 hours, but there was no waking her (even in our cold basement with basically all her clothes off for a diaper change); finally at 7 hours she was willing to wake up, but she would've slept longer if I would've let her. This was also the night of her first bath, which she did NOT like! We also, originally planned to have Makenna sleep in the playpen in our room so I wouldn't have to go up and down the stairs during the night, but she seems to sleep better in her crib so we aren't using the playpen much. (I'm glad Evan talked me out of buying a bassinet!)

"Dad, don't put me back in that tub!"

Putting jammies on.

Napping in my crib.

Makenna and I get up around 8a.m. which so far has been perfect timing. I am able to feed Makenna, pump, and do a couple things for myself (this morning I even got a shower in) before Denver wakes up. Makenna is very laid back (so far....but Denver was at this point too) and sleeps most of the time in her bouncy seat or crib so I am able to spend lots of time playing with my big boy! Makenna also likes to lay on the floor to kick and look around.

I have a baby that likes a pacifier!!!! (Although she will find her thumb too.)

Both the kiddos had doctor appointments yesterday. Makenna had her first well baby check and I got our pediatrician to do Denver's 18 month check up about a week early so I could do them both at once instead of driving to the other end of town once a week for the next several weeks! Our pediatrician was happy with how they both looked. Makenna goes back in about 2 weeks just to make sure she's still gaining weight, etc. and then in about a month she also will have an ultrasound to her hip. When our pediatrician was checking her hips he noticed that she had a small little click at times and he said it's probably fine, but we better do an ultrasound just to make sure. Girls are at higher risk for hip clicks which can lead to dislocation of the hip. Denver doesn't have to go back until he's 2! We did discuss his Prevacid "therapy" some and our pediatrician was on board with me to leave him on it until he's 2 and then maybe try him off it again and see how he does. There was a little too much going on for Mommy (but have to say a huge thank you to Grandma Verni for helping me get them to their appts and help entertain the one that wasn't being looked at as it would've been to hectic for me to do by myself) to remember everything from this appointment so I only am posting weights, just in case I remember lengths incorrectly.

Makenna weighed 6lbs 12 oz (1 oz away from birth weight!)

Denver weighed 21lbs 4 oz (he stayed in the 5%!!)

We've continued the tradition of a bowl of ice cream every night so far! Denver did NOT want to share with me the other night. We might have to start doing our own bowls from now on. He took the bowl from me and ran away.

"Yum! It's all mine Mom!"

Happy Mother's Day

Happy (belated) Mother's Day to all my blog readers! I hope each and every one of you had a very special Mother's Day. We had a great day. Some how we made it to Church (late service and we weren't any early, but not bad for the 1st time) for the first time as a family of 4! It was fun walking in the door and everyone stopping us to ooh and aww over our precious baby girl. It was also interesting watching Denver's reaction to not being the one they were gawking over. After Church we went home to my Mom and Dad's where we celebrated Mother's Day and my Dad and his brother's birthdays. This too was the first time for Makenna to meet all of these family members (except for Grandpa and Grandma of course). We were able to catch Evan's Mom on the highway on the way home to give her, her Mother's Day card and then home we went to be a family of 4! We were able to enjoy a walk and finally got some pictures taken that evening after the kids had their baths. I had hoped to get pictures with the kids in their Sunday clothes, but it didn't happen...although I did catch a snapshot of Makenna in her dress...the first time wearing a dress. Oh was it ever fun getting her ready for Church! She had a bow too, but that was off by the time we took this picture.

This Mother's Day felt like my first Mother's Day in many ways as last year I spent most of the day working. I was supposed to work this year too, but thankfully Makenna decided to make an early appearance and made it possible for me to enjoy the day and be with my family!

Makenna Betty

Our new little bundle of joy has arrived! Makenna joined our family on May 5th at 4:28p.m. after what Daddy calls a 15 hour labor (he started the count with the first contraction). I went into labor in the middle of the night. After having several nights of contractions throughout the night I wasn't sure to trust that this was the real thing. When we arrived at the hospital and up to the labor and delivery floor my contractions were probably about every 3 minutes apart. They admitted me and were happy with the progress I was making, as were we! There was a time where my contractions spread out, so they had to help me along with a little pitocin, but this got things moving along again and I had an awesome epidural. Our exciting day was completed with a successful "natural" delivery with our awesome nurse Kathy and my doctor! We couldn't be happier with how the delivery went, the people who were there to help us (and the people who were at home with Denver...thanks a million to Paula, Grandma Kim, and Grandma Verni), and our beautiful, healthy, baby girl!

My labor nurse Kathy (who also taught me the ropes on L&D when I did a 120 hour internship during nursing school). We were so happy she was there to help us!

Denver meeting his baby sister for the first time!Denver loves his baby sister Makenna!Makenna's first bath!Getting her hearing tested (this is a requirement for all

babies before they go home...of course she passed!).First family photo.Mommy and her kids!

Makenna's first name was chosen just as a name that we both liked. Her middle name, Betty, is after her only Great-Grandma that she will not get to meet. For those of you who knew her know that words cannot describe her fully, as she was truly an amazing women. My hope and prayer is that Makenna and I are able to follow in her footsteps and live our lives with as much purpose and strength as Grandma Betty (and Grandma Verni too) did. We have big shoes to fill, but I believe we can do it!

Look how strong I am at only 30 hours old!Daddy's Girls!Daddy didn't know he could love a little girl so much!

Makenna and I were discharged from the hospital today and are very happy to be home. Denver is adjusting well so far. He likes to go quick love on her and then be about his way again. I am anxious to see how our first night goes, but I did keep Makenna in the nursery at the hospital so I could get some good sleep before my sleepless nights and days began! (Link to her cradle roll picture http://www.sanfordhealth.org/CradleRoll/BabyList.cfm?CradleRollParentId=26025)

Going Home!

Finally at home!

We want to thank each and every one of you for all of your prayers for us, my delivery, Denver, and Makenna. God truly listened and answered! We ask that you continue to pray for us as we transition into our lives as a family of 4!