Up in the air

No I am not doing a movie review. I am starting to rethink the way I do this blog.

Dale always tells me not to worry about what other people think, that this blog is more for our own journaling purposes than anything else. I try to take his advice but I have a hard time thinking that people really want to read what I have to say. I have a tendency to go on and on and on, (a trait I got from my Mother.) I am not very well spoken, and I know I am not that interesting.

I have considered a couple things. In my everyday life I am horrible at taking pictures of my family. So as far as the journaling is concerned I have come up with an idea to make sure I take a few pictures a day of the goings on with Bug and Mak and post the picture I like the most with a description of our day, however mundane they may be. People might not be interested but it might be fun for our kids to look back on someday. Then at the end of the year I could make my blog into a little memory book just for our family to have. A family journal. That way, maybe, the blog will be a little more about what needs to be said rather than what I thinking people want to hear. If people don't read the blog I wouldn't be hurt I would know that I am doing this for my family and to keep memories.

The second idea is pretty much a run- off of the first. I love that even just a few people read my blog. It makes it a little more fun but if what I do really is for other people than I might need to rethink it all. I have thought about doing the picture and daily journal but in a different way. I would be cutting off my blog, making it private and inviting no one to it. Just so I don't have to worry about the opinions of others. Let loose a little say exactly what I want to say. I know i should be able to do that now but no matter how hard I try something reigns me in every time.

I don't really know what to do at this point but I know I should change it up somehow........

Edit

As for the post below.........

Christmas music REALLY helps!!

I have been trying to listen to it as much as I can because that's the only thing I have right now. Its working so far!

This Christmas

It really doesn't feel like Christmas yet to us over here. We have done all the shopping spent all the money but it almost seems like we have done it for nothing! We have a tree, but so far its still in a box. We cant take any of our Christmas things out to decorate because we are moving ONE WEEK BEFORE CHRISTMAS!

I HATE THIS!!

Dale and I want to put up our Christmas so so bad but we would just have to pack it up and move it just to put it up again!! I WILL have our Christmas up in the next apartment and I will have it up until February just to make up for the lack of Christmas we have had so far!

We were supposed to have moved at the beginning of the month but our apartment project just keeps getting pushed to the end of the owners list! Its so frustrating but at least we didn't have to be out of our apartment by a certain date because its the same owner of the two places!

I have to look at the upside to all of this though. As far as Christmas goes I am getting my top three Christmas wishes a week early!

1. A dishwasher! (finally)
2. A Laundry room
3. A backyard

We have been living without these three things for over a year and it has been rough! Well, the backyard we never really had but we at least had a fun place outside to play that was semi-private. That didn't have neighbors from every apt in your complex watching you!

(I am not bitter... I promise) ;)

Lately though this place has been a nightmare! The neighbors don't know how to close their door without slamming it and it wakes up Makenna every time! The play loud music and yell all the time and none of us can stay asleep through it! I am not sure I can even handle this place for one more week!

I have gone on a little rant but its mostly just to say that I wish it felt like Christmas over here. There is nothing here to let me feel Christmas except for the almost empty bank account.

In spite of not having the feeling of Christmas, I have made it a point to read Riley the Christmas story a couple time this month when I have been super frustrated by all of this just to try to remind myself of the true spirit of Christmas. That it doesn't matter what else is going on THAT is what I need to think about and what I need to remember and feel. Its important that Riley tries to understand it as well. She wont get it all this year, but if I try to teach her a little bit she will grow to understand!

Picture crazy!

Our family is picture crazy! Apparently we get new family pictures all the time! I think the only time I post pictures is when we get family ones done! So sad!

It helps when you have an amazing sister who has an amazing talent that LOVES to take pictures of your family!

We braved the cold and the rain yesterday to get some family pictures. We got them and they are amazing!

Here they are in no particular order. Because lets face it.... That is way to much effort with this many pictures to upload!

I tried to upload them by photo bucket but for some reason it wouldn't let me.

So here they are....... small! ( I guess you can click on them to make them bigger.)

This one has to have an explanation! We were trying to get her to be happy so we were asking her what she was getting for Christmas.... "Hmmmm" She had to think about it as she was listing off everything she wanted!

My favorite picture ever!!

Gotta love the face!

She is Just a baby!

Makenna rolled over from back to front on Sunday! I couldn't quite believe it and I am still having a little difficulty with it!

She is still that helpless baby I brought home from the hospital she cant be doing these things yet.......

A Good Day!

I have had a really hard week! Its rough having someone to depend on all day and then having to do it all by myself all day. Yesterday and the day before were really good days! Thanks to my sisters and their wonderful advice I have figured a few things out!

With Makenna it feels like I am completely starting from scratch! I know that every child is different and I expected that. I did not expect to have everything I learned with Riley to be completely thrown out the window! This is a totally and completely different experience.

Riley was an extremely patient baby. She needed to be, she had to be strong for all the crap I was going through after I had her. It was rough on me and she was the perfect baby for all of that! She was patient and happy and content almost all of the time. Makenna, however, is not! She knows I am capable and she is pushing me to my limits. Always wanted to be held, entertained, or fed. I am sure there is a permanent butt imprint on the chair now. I am there all day!

The past couple days have been great and I almost have it figured out! I have figured out that she isn't too young to let her cry a little to put herself to bed and that the floor is good for her!

I HAVE MY SANITY BACK!

With Some great naps with me not holding her I have more opportunities to give Riley attention that she NEEDS from her mommy! Her behavior has improved quite a bit! We aren't all the way there but we are starting to figure it out!

There are more happy times in our house now! It is amazing how everything can change in a couple days!

It was really my fault, I realized, not Makennas. I was being clingy and not really wanting to put her down! I thought I wasn't ready to give it all up. I wasn't ready to do what I needed to do and I was putting off some of the blame on Mak but when it came to my sanity and Riley's attention I figured out that it was me with the problem! I needed it, Riley needed it and Dale needed it. He needed a happy wife to come home to, to talk to on his lunch break. Not a wife that had lost it all! I am not the only one that needed support in this strange transition!

I wont say that Mak isn't as strong willed as I thought, because BOY IS SHE EVER!!! She LOVES to be held and entertained ALL THE TIME! The thing is that both of us kind of need to find that there are other wonderful ways to get and give the affection that is needed other than constantly being held and cuddled! We still have some work to do in that area but we are working on it!

I am SOOOOOOO unbelievably grateful for the constant support Dale has given me the past three months but I think I depended on him way to much and became incapable when he left me! I needed to know I COULD do it by myself during the week. He continues to give me support but not the kind I was used to! On his hours off on the weekend he really does step up and help me out an unbelievable amount! I could not survive without him!

Are you kidding me?

Today has officially beaten out last Thursday as the worst day of my life! I need some serious help if I am gonna make it through the next couple weeks with both my children's, let alone mine, heads attached!

As if both the girls being ridiculously difficult today wasn't enough... My head is killing me, (probably from the crying) my eyes are burning, (again the crying) My throat is killing me, (not from the crying) and I feel really nauseated and every part of my body feels like it is bruised!

I DO NOT need the flu right now.... We cant afford the flu! My baby CANT get the flu. If I get it Riley will get it then Dale will get it and then Mak will get it from someone!

I need help!

I need a nap!

I need someone to tell me how to get my baby to fall asleep during the day and get her be asleep for longer than 10 minutes somewhere other than my arms!

Most of all I need Dale to be finished with school so I don't have to do this for the next never ending years!

Spit

I have spit making its way all over my hand and down my arm! Mak is loving getting things in her mouth and biting! She is 13 weeks... Could she really be teething already?! Too soon....

Why?

I just payed some hospital bills and I am more stressed out now than I was before I started! How is that possible??

.............

I am not a fan of today. Today is the day Dale has to head back to work after his 3 month paternity leave. He is still in school for 3 more weeks so that means that I wont see him from 7 in the morning until 10:30 at night!

Its the first day and it could not be more horrible! The girls woke up early so I didn't get hardly any sleep, Mak wont stay asleep which means that I am confined to the couch feeding her and Riley wont listen to anything I say!

I feel bad for her because she wont ever see her daddy! His schedule is like this Tuesday through Friday! I seriously am crying thinking about all this! I don't know how many times I have already done this to myself today! I have some separation issues.....

This would be so much easier with Dale here! He can get Mak to sleep and stay asleep and I cant. He was always so good at getting Riley lunch on time and I cant do that because Makenna is always eating or NOT sleeping. Riley is getting NO attention because i am to busy catering to the always needing to be held Makenna.

I don't think this arrangement is going to work out for anybody here! I am so close to just telling Dale to forget his job and just go to school all day! At least he will be able to be home in the afternoons and I would get some sort of sanity during the day!

This is just the first day........

What makes me happy......

I LOVE sitting here at the computer holding Makenna and just listening to her coo like crazy!!!!!! It is the most adorable thing ever!

Also watching Riley Bug Play with her over loved stuffed piggy. Putting him in the swing swinging him with her hands giving him a bink and loving him up like he is her baby!

Also....Having to type this with one hand!

I am glad I get to stay at home!!!

Mak Attack!

I realized that I haven't done an update about Mak! I need to do it for myself before I forget it all!

Mak is THE CHUNK! She FEEDS all day! I said it...... She doesn't just eat, she feeds...Its a constant! People don't really believe me that almost all the time if she is awake she is eating! She might be happy for 20 minutes after eating a 4oz bottle but that could be the longest she goes with out having a bottle in her mouth! I think ONCE we got a good hour out of her....ONCE!

With that being said, her thighs are to die for! I could eat them all day! Roll after roll! And of course her cheeks are amazing as well! I kiss those non stop!

At her first doctors appointment after she was born her doctor called her his Miracle baby because she had gained all off the weight she lost after birth plus quite a bit more! At her check up appointments She has been in the 75th percentile for weight, and height. At her last appointment she weighed Just over 12lbs! We were so excited! With Riley we didn't see that weight for a while! Mak at just 11 weeks old weighs HALF of what Riley weighs!

Mak is quite the high maintenance baby! Riley was so different. Riley loved to be left alone she could have cared less if someone was holding her. I could get everything done that I needed. I would just put her in her bouncer and talk to her while I did my "jobs." Mak is the COMPLETE opposite! She loves and needs to be held ALL THE TIME! We really can get nothing done! Unless she is sleeping but even then we have to watch her amazingly close because Riley is a hawk and will attack at the first sign of being alone! She hates that Mak has to sleep and will do anything to stop it! The only way we can get Mak to not be held and be happy is if we lay her on the floor on her back with a boppy under her head while we hover over her and talk to her! She loves it! She gets so happy she gives us the biggest smiles and will talk like crazy! Well, to Dale at least! She doesn't talk to me all that much but I do get lots of smiles! She could talk forever to Dale! She is SUCH a Daddy's little girl!

She is sleeping through the night now! AMAZING! She falls asleep for good at about 10:30 every night and then will wake up at around 8 every morning! Sometimes we have to get up with her at 6 feed her a couple ounces and she will fall right back to sleep! During the day is a different story! She will sleep for a few hours at a time if she is in her swing but during the day she WILL NOT sleep in her bed! If we get her drowsy we can put her in the swing and she will fall asleep pretty quickly with it rocking her. If we even try to get her to sleep ourselves then put her in the bed she will wake up 5 minutes later! We really don't try that any more.

Since Makennas first tries at rolling over she does it every few days! Last night she rolled over three times in a row and after that didn't want to do it anymore! She is figuring out her hands pretty well and has started to reach for things! She grabbed one of her rattles out of my hand the other day and brought it to her mouth! It is very exciting! I forgot about all the little things that were so exciting to watch happen with Riley! All the little things that seem just so little are huge for a baby and are so exciting to watch her learn how to do!

Riley loves her Mak! Riley loves now that Mak will smile at her if she can just handle to not kiss her for 2 seconds and just talk to her from a comfortable distance! She gets so excited! Riley has boundary issues and Mak does not like it when Riley gets in her face but if she stays back both girls are really happy!

We love Makenna and the role she plays in our life and we couldn't be happier!

Trick or Treat!!

We had a lot of fun this Halloween! We had a lot to do an unfortunately didn't get to do all of it but we got all the really fun stuff done!! The day before Halloween we went to Jamie's house to get the girls pictures in their Halloween costumes. Riley was all cheese!! When Jamie takes pictures she will not stop smiling for her!! She was happy to do all we wanted her to do! Even Mak was really cooperative! We got some amazing smiles out of her!

Every time Riley puts on her costume she has to say "Super hero to the rescue!!" and put her arm up in the air like she was flying! I could have heard that all day. (and I pretty much did!) She wanted to wear her costume everyday from the day we bought it! When we went to the store to buy her Snow White costume we had it all picked out and then Riley saw the wonder woman costume and there was no looking back! I couldn't have been more happy!! And neither could she!

When we went to go get pictures taken Brittany brought Cayden and Addie along and we got the CUTEST pictures of them!!

Cayden was such a big help and was brave enough to hold Mak to get a cute group shot!!

These two girls get along so well and are SOO cute together!! They love each other to death!

They are the funniest group of kids! The second Dale said "Make funny faces!" they knew EXACTLY what to do!! They are the cutest group of superheroes EVER!!

Then there is our Makenna... She has the BEST smiles I have ever seen!!!!! every time i see this smile i giggle a little! I just cant help it! She was the cutest kitty there was this Halloween and for all Halloweens to come!

The night of Halloween we went to Mom and Dad Whipple's ward trunk or treat! Its always a lot of fun. We make sure we go every year! This year they had a huge bouncy gym blow up slide! (I really cant think of what they are called!) For the first little bit Dad Whipple was stuck by the slide while he watched Riley slide over and over and over! We were able to pull her away for a bit but then it was right back to the slide! It was not fun when we had to leave but she was fine once we were able to go trick or treating!

Dale let me have fun again this year and we got all dressed up as pirates!

Aren't we so cute?!?! Ha ha

We cut the trick or treating a little this year and pretty much just went to the houses of people we knew so we didn't end up walking 5 miles but Riley still got LOADS of candy which Dale and I are really enjoying ;) It was really fun to have Riley really understand what was going on and to have as much fun dressing up as we did! I cant wait until Mak understands everything and can walk around with Riley and have fun doing everything!

Roll on!

Baby Mak Rolled over TWICE today with no help!! Her strong thick legs are being put to use for something other than kicking my ribs!!! Ha ha It could be a fluke and she might not do it again for another little while who knows.......but we sure are excited about it!

Halloween- According to Riley

So Riley has decided Un-decided then decided again! I think this All Hallows Eve Roller Coaster Ride is (almost) through!

So the last post clearly states what everyone was supposed to be for Halloween according to Riley. But of course a three year old that had made up her mind was too good to be true.

As for now Riley has decided for good what we are all to dress up as.

Dale and I will now BOTH be pirates! I was really looking forward to seeing Dale in a Big green bag of felt with an eye on it! But I am also glad I dont have to spend the money on all that felt!

It has been decided that Mak will be a kitty! I am SOOOOO Excited to see her cute little face painted up with whiskers and a black nose and cute little kitty ears!

Riley has decided that she will be Snow White! I am Happy she finally picked her princess of choice! (secretly I was hoping that I could show her the picture of Wonder woman enough that she would want to be her! I would have loved that!) Part of this decisions comes from the fact that I told her we could get her dress form Target! She (soooo like her mother) has a very unhealthy obsession with this store! Whatever it is, as long as it comes from target, is gold to her!

Poor Dale

I am so excited for Halloween! I cant wait to start putting all of these things together!

Decided

So Dale and I had it all figured out what we were going to be for Halloween. Then we received a Party City catalog in the mail. While I was browsing through it simply to see how ridiculously expensive certain Halloween costumes can be, Riley caught me! She started looking through it and decided that SHE was going to decide what everyone was going to dress up as! She has even figured out what two of her cousins are going to be!!

So it has been decided! (sort-of)

Riley will Be a Disney princess.... Right now it keeps bouncing between Snow White and Sleeping Beauty! I am hoping it will end on Snow white because I can picture her hair with its new short cut all up in curls with an adorable red ribbon in it!

Makenna at one point was a lamb then she was a kitty and now it is back to lamb. I personally wish it was a kitty I can picture her cute nose all painted up with whiskers and a cute little Kitty whiskers!

Riley has definitely decided that Dale will be a monster! She doesn't really care what kind so Dale suggested he be MIKE WAZOWSKI!! (you really do have to shout it for the full effect!) Dale is all for having fun for Halloween and I LOVE it!! I can picture him now! AWESOME!

It has been decided that I be a Pirate! I am actually pretty excited about that!! I can get some fun boots and tights and carry around a sword all night!

As for her cousins... Riley has decided that Cayden will be a Panda. (although this is probably the last thing he wants to be) And Addie will be a Piggy!

I guess I didn't think about Riley being able to choose her OWN outfit. I figured next year would start that but she is having fun with it and wont stop talking about every ones costumes! I love it! I have a new found love for Halloween!

I liked Halloween as a kid but mostly for just the candy. Now that I have Kids of my own I really want my kids to grow to love it for the fun of dressing up and the creepy fun decorations!

I am glad I can still have fun with it! (But next year I am going to throw away the party city catalog before Riley can even think of looking at it!)

Halloween....

If you can remember last year. We had a lot of fun! And Dale is letting me torture him again this year! I am having a lot of fun trying to think of Halloween ideas for this year but nothing fits quite as perfectly as the Flintstones did last year....... So after some thought this is what I have come up with that actually works for our family! I CANT decide......Input needed! ha ha


1.) Dale: Mr. Pac Man
Cajsa: Mrs Pac Man
Riley: Inky (Blue ghost)
Makenna: Pinky (Pink Ghost)
This was my original but I have found a few other soo fun ones!

2.) Pirates and Parrots. Parents are the pirates.... Girls are the parrots!
Cant you just picture adorable Little Mak dressed as a parrot? Riley would have so much pretending to be a bird all night! lol

3.) Hot dog vendors: Dale and I
Hot dogs: Riley and Mak
We can deck the stroller out to look like a hot dog cart... Again Cant you picture the girls as hot dogs!

4.) This one we could do with the pirate and parrot..... Dale could be the pirate and Mak could be the parrot I could be a flower and Riley could be the Bumble bee!

These are our faves but Dale and I have really hard times making up our minds!!!!

Just a thought.......

The "terrible twos" were N.O.T.H.I.N.G compared to this!

I had a calm and pretty well mannered 2 year old! I thought I was soooo lucky!

Then birthday number 3 came and I realized that she was just waiting for the worst possible time to explode!

Begger

So do you remember the story about a little girl who's life is too hard to bear that she has to beg for food wherever we go, and actually gets it??

She is back to her old tricks!!

On Monday we went to go watch Dale play softball with his friend and Riley was getting restless so I decided to go get her a treat. Good choice for a girl who is already restless right?? I know GREAT parenting skills I have! Anyway, we head to the concession stand and she chooses a Ring Pop! While trying to decide she wins over the girls running the place and left them with a smile!

A little later on I was trying my best to figure out what Makenna wanted (she was being a little difficult but luckily I had help!) and I lost track of Riley for a minute! Next thing I know Riley is running back from the concession stand with a Air Head! I Look to the girls running it thinking maybe they were helping someone else and she heisted a piece of candy without their knowledge... NOT Riley!! No that girl has a technique all her own!! They were staring after her with huge smiles on their faces. Obviously They had been struck by the amazing powers of Riley!

I grabbed my wallet and prepared to pay them for the dollar or so that the thing might have cost but no she didn't want it!

Riley is pretty sneaky!

Then the other night Dale took us to Mesa Frozen Yogurt and while we were sitting there eating our yummy treats Riley decided that sharing wasn't enough for her! So she walked up to the girl at the counter and asked for her own "Ice Cream Cone." I told Riley that she was fine and she could share but of course the girl wouldn't let that happen! She handed Riley her own little tester cup full of vanilla frozen yogurt! Riley was the happiest little girl!

You know, I really cant blame them for giving her things! It might have something to do with this............


But I guess we may never know!

Trouble

My Sister Jamie took these BEAUTIFUL pictures of Makenna this weekend! I LOVE LOVE LOVE them! We are SURE to be in trouble with this one!

These Cheeks!!


These eyes!














Ummmmmm..............




Better make that DOUBLE!!!!

Please!

PLEASE GO HERE!

MORE TO COME!!!!

Arent those cheeks amazing!

Check out the post below this one for the cutest stinkin picture of The Bug too!

I am DYING!

Jamie........ You Are AWESOME!

Age Complex

For some reason the past year or so I have had the mindset that I am somehow older than I actually am. I am pretty sure that its been this way since Riley turned 2 maybe for a little while before that.

Dale and I were talking about this last night we both FEEL older than we are. Not in the physical sense but mentally I think we both think of ourselves as 35. Not that there is anything wrong or even remotely old about that age, I know plenty of people 35 and older that seem just as young as they did 10-12 years ago. But because we are 22 and 25 and think we are that much older than we are, by the time we are actually 35 how old will we feel then?

I hear of things to do and I think " Wait, what am I thinking I cant do those things! I have a family and responsibilities. I cant go do those things that other people my age are doing!" Then I have to remind myself that I AM only 22 and although I realize that being a mother means it takes longer to do things, that you have to take a few more steps to get out of the house and go somewhere, it doesn't mean I cant do them. It doesn't mean I am old.

Maybe this is pointless rambling maybe no matter how many times I try to convince myself I am still only 22 I will always feel older and that I cant do certain things any more. I don't really know!

Let me count the ways.....

1. I LOVE Makennas smiles! They are no weak smiles either...they come complete with wrinkled nose and gums galore! ADORABLE!

2. I LOVE when said smiles are accompanied by an adorable hefty baby chuckle! (You would think those would contradict themselves.... you haven't heard this laugh! Its amazing!)

3. I LOVE to kiss those amazingly soft fluffy cheeks! (hands, toes, belly, and those full pouty delicious lips! YUMM!)

4. I LOVE to watch The Bug LOVE her little sister! The way she always wants to kiss her and love her! Riley ADORES her!

5. I (secretly) LOVE to watch the ways Riley tries to get more attention. She is pretty crafty!

6. I LOVE that Makenna eats ALL THE TIME!! (this is seriously not an exaggeration....she doesn't stop!)

I don't love that I cant nurse (especially when I had it figured out, pain free and all!) because my milk supply cant keep up with her eating needs or that she even REJECTS me when I do try to nurse because its not coming fast enough and there is not enough to make her happy.

But I LOVE it because she growing! She is becoming quite the chunk! I LOVE me some chunk! ;)

7. I LOVE that she already realizes the calming power of her Daddy!

I don't love struggling to get her to sleep but I do love that she instantly feels calm around him and that her favorite spot to sleep is on Dales chest!

I am pretty sure that Dale loves it just as much as she does!

8. I LOVE watching Dale with his girls! He handles it all with a calm I cant even begin to understand!

The screaming and the crying and the indecisive nature of our little one hardly gets to him! (the screaming and the crying mostly belongs to Riley)

9. I LOVE that Makenna wants to be held all the time! Riley was, and is, amazingly independent and has been from the second she was born. I love that about her but sometimes its nice to feel needed!

10. I love that Riley and Makenna have opposite personalities! It will make for an interesting life!

11. I LOVE that Dale has the next 3 months off of work and can come home from school and relieve some pressure from my mornings!

12. I LOVE that dale is so understanding and that when he comes home and realizes I am so terribly worn out and I need a break he will shoulder the responsibility of the 2 girls for a couple hours and let me take a nap!

He is AMAZING!

I could think of a million more things to add to this list but I will stop! I love my little family so much and its so fun to watch the different roles the girls play and how Dale and I are learning to juggle all of our new little responsibilities! It has been pretty rough trying to figure it out but secretly I have enjoyed almost every second of it!

Little Protector

Riley is extremely protective of her little sister! It is so cute to watch! It all started the night we brought Baby Makenna home from the hospital.....

We got home from he hospital in the late afternoon and we had only been home about an hour when the crazy storms we had here in Mesa on Friday night KNOCKED OUR POWER OUT!! Awesome! Our first night at hoe with a new baby and no power! So we decided to spend the night at my parents house! When we got there my sister Mandi wanted to see Makenna and hold her. Riley was having NONE of that! Every time Mandi would try to get close Riley would say "No! That's my baby Mak! You cant see her!" And then she would put her arm out and corral Mandi as far away from Makenna as she possibly could! It was really funny but also just a little sad for my sister! She didn't understand and she just wanted to hold the baby! Mandi is in LOVE with babies! They are her favorite thing on this planet! If you don't believe me maybe I should tell you about her collection of about 15 dolls. Of which I think 3 of them actually pee and poo! Great for her...... Not so fun for my mom! Anyway, eventually Riley let down her guard a little and Mandi was able to hold her. She loved every second of it!

So tonight we were at my nephew Brady's birthday party and there was a bunch of kids there and of course all of them were fascinated with the sleeping baby in her car seat that just wanted to sleep! Riley did not like that all of her cousins wanted to be by her Baby Mak. She ran over instantly to push everyone away and remind them exactly whose baby it was! "NO! That's MY Baby Mak!" It took her a bit to realize they meant no harm and that Mommy was watching closely over Mak and that she didn't need to worry!

Riley loves her Baby Sister SOOOO much! She always wants he awake to play! She does anything she can to try to wake Makenna at every momentary lapse Dale or I might have in our guard!

Riley always wants to hold her and kiss her and give her "Loves." She adores her Baby Mak and I LOVE it when Mak hears Riley talk to her and she gets a HUGE smile on her face! It might not be intentional but it sure makes me smile!

When They Met....

It was Love!!!

Our Story

So now that I have just a second to breathe I figured I needed to write down the whole story. (this is really long so beware!!)

Well like I said before we were supposed to go into the hospital at 5 am on Wednesday to start the inducing process but apperently the hospital got slammed that night with laboring mothers! So when they didnt have any room for me they called y parents house to tell me couldnt come in! MY PARENTS!! I guess the banner hospitals had my records in their system under my maiden name and still living with my parents! That took a little bit to sort out and there was some confusion with my maiden name being on the records! So my poor parents get a call at 3:30 in the morning from the hospital searching for me only to realize that I had a new last name and didnt live at that residence! Ha ha So my dad gave the hospital my home phone number and Dales cell. When we didnt her either of those phones ringing they called my parents BACK and got my cell phone! Luckily my phone was in my room so we finally heard it and my parents didnt get another call!

So I called back a few hours later to see where I stood and they said that I would get in late morning /early afternoon. At least I knew that I WAS gonna get in that day! We had some time to get ready and get our bags situated and then we decided to go spend some more time with The Bug before we went into the hospital. Before we did we needed to go get the registry done at the hospital and maybe see if we were any closer to getting called in. We did some of the papers and left the hospital to go hang out with Riley at Dales parents house. We left the hospital at about 11:30 and by 12:30 they called us and told us they had a room and for us to come in!!!

We were at the hospital in about 2 minutes and started signing MORE papers! We were done with that and in our room by 1:30. The nurses got me ready and asked me the million questions they have to ask and got me to sign the million papers that they needed signed. Then at almost 2 they started my Pitocin IV. I wanted to feel my body progress a little and see how the pitocin was working and then I got my epidural at 5:04!

Once I got my epidural it was a long wait! The epidural completely took over my body! I couldn't move my legs I couldn't even pull my upper body anywhere! I had no control at all!! I couldn't sit up without failing over and I think I almost fell off the bed a couple times just for trying!! They actually had to call in the anesthesiologist to lower the epidural amount although that never really did anything! Luckily my body was taking the pitocin better and I was having some serious contractions really soon after they started the drip. Even though I was having hard contractions I never really got to a steady contraction pattern so we just had to wait and wait! Dale and I watched The Diamondbacks lose over and over again, played some games and watched movies to try to pass the time. We were getting more anxious and time was passing so slow! My sister Jamie came and took a bunch of "before" pictures so that kept us entertained for a while and then my parents came and brought Dale dinner so that was also a very welcome distraction.

At 12:30 they checked me and I was still only dilated to a three and 85%effaced so we thought we still had tons of time to go....... We fell asleep for a few hours and at 3:30 Dr. Beck came in to check me and see what we could do to get my body to work with the medicine. When he checked me he realized that I was at an 8 and 100% effaced!!!!!!!! He broke my water and told me that we would have another half hour before I started pushing! We were so excited to hear that we would have our baby soon!

Dr. Beck came back in at 3:50 got everything prepared and got me positioned. I started having a contraction ad so he said we could just start! They told me to push counted to ten told me to breathe started counting again and before they got to ten the second time Makenna was HERE!!!! I cant believe it only took 20 seconds!!!!!!

Once I could feel my legs (a couple hours) they were able to move me to my post-partum room. And then Dale and I could focus on loving up and taking in our new little girl!

We had to wait for a few hours for the world to be up and once we were sure they were we called to have Riley come and meet her Baby Mak! That was the best experience EVER! She walked in the door and was so excited and just wanted to hold her and give her love the whole time! (nothing has changed!)

It was an amazing experience. We had amazing nurses and staff and everything was perfect! We are so happy to have our baby girl home with us!

My Story

Makenna Rose Whipple

Baby Makenna Has Arrived!!!!!

Sweet baby Mak arrived at 4:02 this morning. She weighs 7 pounds 6 ounces. We LOVE her!!!!!

Kick Me When I'm Down!

So we were scheduled this morning for an induction and I get a call at 3:30 in the morning from the hospital telling me we would have to wait because a bunch of laboring mothers came in the middle of the night and took all the beds! So now we are (not so) patiently waiting for them to call us back and tell us when we can come in!

So After Dale and I (and apparently also my parents) get the call that we had to wait to go to the hospital we decided to try to get some more sleep. This is not so easy..... Dale fell asleep though and at about 7:30 he starts kicking me I look at him and realize he is asleep!!! So I kicked him back! He woke up sees my face and wonders what the heck is going on! I told him He was kicking me and asked him what the heck he was dreaming about....... He says "I was kicking a cat! How many times did I kick you?" I tell him he kicked me about 4 or 5 times and he said "Dang I only got the cat once!"

Awesome!

The day....

Will be Wednesday! We had our appointment today and we set up an inducement day for 5A.M. Wednesday!! I just hope that my body handles the inducement as well and as quickly as it handled the labor with Riley. I am hoping I am not pushing my body to its limits and that's its going to backfire on me! I am already having pretty hard contractions already so its not like I am completely starting from scratch and that my body has made absolutely no progress on its own!

We are so excited that we have a solid date to look forward to! (even if she doesn't grace us with her presence until Thursday at least I KNOW I will be in the hospital in a day and a half!) We cant wait until we can bring our little girl home and have her join our family in a very real way! We are so excited for Riley to have her sister! Also, Dale is VERY excited not to have to go to work for 3 months!!! (as am I)

We will keep you posted!

Nesting

One of the good things about pregnancy is the nesting instinct although Dale might not agree with me because I go crazy with it! I am normally a pretty organized person but when I am pregnant the project list I have goes out of control! It has gotten pretty dang bad these past couple weeks!

Our apartment is short on storage so we have lots of things stuffed into really small spaces and it has always bugged me, pregnant or not, because I HATE clutter! I hate not being able to find things when I need them and I HATE having everything that makes a mess in plain sight! When you have no space to put things in though it gets pretty bad!

With my nesting instincts in full gear these past couple weeks I have decided that this is the weekend that is gonna change A LOT of our space problems! We should have put up our bassinet in our bedroom by now but we have NO SPACE for it because of the storage issue in our house! I am sick of feeling unprepared! So we are gonna change a few things this weekend!

I am not the best at figuring out how to make the best of small spaces, (and if anyone has tips PLEASE fill me in.... come to my home and TELL me what to do and what to get!) but I know that taking advantage of the space underneath our bed is KEY at this point in my life! Once I get my bedroom taken care of I can focus on the decoration of my family room!

If you were to walk into my front room you would probably wonder what schizophrenic came into my house and tried to decorate! The stuff on the walls are the only thing keeping me from going completely insane! Every piece of furniture in our house is completely different! NOTHING goes together!!! At this point I just want to throw everything but the TV and the stereo away and start from scratch! And that is basically whats gonna happen but in a more gradual way!

I never have really known what kind of furniture I wanted what kind of look I wanted from my house, which is why there are so many different looks to begin with, but now that I have a basic idea in my head I am determined to go with it!

I am hoping I will still have this much motivation to get things organized and cohesive after I have the baby!!

Dancing.....

Is serious business at our house! Here is the proof........


Riley and I were dancing in the family room and she had one of her little toys and she was dancing in circles with it and made herself dizzy! She fell over but was too close to a big floor fan we have. When she fell she smacked her head right onto the edge of the fan! It made a nice little mark on her head and a nice big egg! Maybe next time she will learn to just shake her hips and there wont be such a dancing casualty!

For everyones sanity

I Think it is in the best interest of my three year old daughter and my poor husband that I have this baby NOW!!!!!

Pregnant+ Me= NO PATIENCE!!!! (Not that I had ANY to begin with..... Its not one of my genetic gifts!)

Stubborn

Well I haven't written a post about the pregnancy in a while and now that's its nearing the end I think I should probably do so.

I have been feeling a lot of strange (and horrible) pains the past few weeks and the doctor does not like the looks of them. He is most worried that I am on the verge of passing out more than once a day. I get REALLY shaky and I have almost fallen quite a few times (a day) because I get so dizzy. When this happens I cant breathe and really its not fun! The doctor at this point wants to just get the baby out of me because Mak is wreaking havoc on my body but OF COURSE my stubborn body wont progress. He said if we tried to induce me now when I am not showing any signs of being dilated or effaced it would just be a long and terrible labor that would only end in C-Section. So until my body shows signs of progression anything is a no go! I Guess really I wouldn't be completely opposed to a C-Section. All I really care about is that my baby is healthy and as long as she makes it to me healthy however she gets here is fine by me but I would rather just start off with a C-Section instead of working hard for days just to end up on the operating table! The doctor doesn't want to go that route especially since I still am 3 weeks away from my due date. There is not really a point in forcing the issue if I still have time! As anxious as I am to be able to hold my baby I just need to be patient and know that she will come when she is ready to come and when its time for her to come! Right now I just have to pray that my body can keep up with my brain and that I can keep up with Riley and still get the rest that my doctor wants me to get! Its hard to get rest when you have a 3 year old that DOES NOT STOP MOVING EVER!! Haha But the doctor said that we will take everything week by week. If my body is still reacting horribly and I am showing signs of progression in a week than he said it could be safe to induce as long as the baby is checked thoroughly and she is in good health!

"They" say that at this point in any pregnancy you should start feeling your baby move a little less because they are running out of room. Not my children....... It seems that this is when my children decide that they are gonna start making me MORE miserable. They are stronger so the kicks get HARDER and come more often! I am not exaggerating one bit when I tell you that she kicks non-stop all day long!! She kicks so much and moves so much that I have constant fire in my ribs! At certain points if she has shoved her butt far enough in to my ribs for long periods of time I will not be able to move an inch in any way that involves me using the muscles in my right side. I can only do so much with my right arm and I cant use my muscles to even turn over in bed.

I know I sound like a whiner but I have been pregnant before and I thought Riley was bad! Riley was NOTHING! Her kicks were no where near as hard and with her I THOUGHT I was dying! At least with Riley I could move and adjust my position to get a little relief if even just for a second. If I move to give Mak more room she just takes advantage of it and stretches out her body even more and kicks harder! I cant really win where this girl is concerned.

Mostly at this point I am just getting anxious to have my baby. I want Riley to have her sister. I want to not be pregnant anymore. I want Dale to be able to be home most of the day. All of it makes me so anxious and of course that doesn't make any of this easier!

Drive-Thru Charm

I have said it before.... These eyes have a certain charm! I Have come to know it very well and have a hard time resisting it! It is no surprise to me that Riley can work her magic on just about anyone but yesterday she worked her charm at a Wendy's Drive-Thru man. Poor guy didn't see it coming!

A fun night

Dale and I had a really fun night last night! Dale got a smokin' deal on bleacher seats for the D-Backs game last night and we were able to take my parents and my sister out to go see the game! The D-Backs are on and off this season so it was nice that we picked a night that they decided to really be on their game!
Dale and I don't own anything red (and I probably wouldn't fit into it even if I did) so I sported the old school purple. (as best I could)

My parents and sister though are fans all the way! They sported their red with pride! They are the true fans. Mandi was in 7th heaven at the game! She is a die-hard fan and couldn't have been happier!

There was a group of special needs kids behind us and they screamed as much as their loud lungs could allow them! I love to watch people like that at any kind of competition! The let their true colors show and they have NO SHAME! Its awesome!! They screamed the loudest and clapped their hardest all the way through the game! They never tired!

I have always loved baseball but I always forget how much fun it is to go to a game until I get the chance to go. Then I wonder why I always wait so long. Hopefully it wont take another 2 years for us to go!

I want...

A WAIST again!!!! I know its hiding under here somewhere!!!!! One more month..... one more month...... one more month........

Insert clever line here...

So everyone that has seen Wicked this summer has put a clever line as their post name. I will leave mine so you can all use your imagination!

For Christmas this last year Dale and I were gifted Wicked tickets from Dales parents!! I was so excited that I didn't want to wait until July to be able to go! But it was the perfect timing! It was only a week away from our anniversary so, like Dale said, "It took a little pressure off of our anniversary." We were able to just hang out that day just the two of us and not have to spend a lot of money because we knew we were going to do something really fun in a week!

Anyway, Dale and I went to the play knowing the music but not really knowing the story line or how it all tied together. We LOVED it! It was better than both of us imagined it to work out! I didn't expect it to tie together with the actual Wizard of Oz story like it did in the second half but I loved that it did! We also went in not knowing how the actresses would compare knowing only the original soundtrack but we were very very impressed! I even thought that they were better. That could have been because it was the only one I actually saw live though.

Either way, we LOVED it and had SO much fun going! It was an awesome present and SOOOO worth the wait! I will have the songs in my head for a year now! Ha ha

Dear Dale,

Dear Dale,

Its been four years I and could not be happier! I am not good with words but you married me anyway. I have some boyish tendencies but you married me anyway. I have never been the mushy, lovey, touchy feely kind of girl, but for some reason you married me anyway.

In fact, for some reason I think you married me BECAUSE of these things and for that I will always be grateful. You saw past what I thought the worst of me and fell in love with ME!

I am not the best at making dinner every night and when I cook its not from scratch and some frozen materials are probably involved but you love me anyway. You have learned that I have an anger problem but you have also learned the trick to calming me down and continue to love me anyway. You love me no matter what shape I take on, no matter how nasty I look and no matter how smelly I could be and I love you for that!

It has been a crazy four years that has brought us many challenges but many more happy times! We have a beautiful daughter, with another beauty WELL on her way and I know that she will love and adore her Daddy as much as our Bug (and I) does! I never get used to how you are with her and how much you love her!

We have learned so many things together in this four years and I am so excited to learn and grow with you in the many years to come! I am glad I have the rest of Eternity to learn and grow with you! You are an amazing man and I am extremely lucky to have you all to myself! Thank you for all the hard work you do for our family and all the love you show us! Happy anniversary Dale! I LOVE YOU!

Love,
Mrs. Whipple

Too Many Favorites!

So Before when I didn't have a computer I had no way of putting anything up here but Now that I do I am putting up some more of my favorites from Riley's 3yr pictures/Maternity pictures! I LOVE all of them so much I couldn't just leave well enough alone!
I love this one because she is so in her element playing in the grass picking flowers! She is ALL girl!

Her Face in this one kills me! Just the perfect Bug Face! A little plot for something is forming in her head! Don't let the cute face fool you.... She can play you like no ones business!

Such a sweet face it kills me!

This one is my FAVORITE!!!!!!!!!!! I HAD to post it again on here!

"Come on Mom I am sick of smiling can we get this over with PLEASE?"

Her Eyes drive me nuts! I am the biggest pushover when she flashes those eyes at me....I am not gonna be able to stand my ground with TWO girls! I am in soooo much trouble!

This one is soo soo sweet! She already loves her baby Mak so much and asks to give her loves and Kisses every day!
Now this next one is what my sister came up with for Fathers Day! Its the sweetest little poem and I just love it! I didn't think about it before but I brought 2 pairs with me when the pictures were taken because I wasn't sure what color backdrop she would use. She ended up using both pairs of shoes and it turned out perfect! Then family that had seen the picture said it was perfect because It was like the second pair of empty shoes was there for Baby Mak! I loved it even more when I thought about it that way! Dale said it was probably one of his favorite presents ever! He loves it!

And because I missed Riley Bugs birthday I want to do her little 3yr post along with these pictures!

I Had a really hard time with Riley turning 3! 3 for me is when they don't feel like babies anymore. She just grew up all of the sudden and I don't know what happened! She is so grown up! She talks CONSTANTLY and to everyone! She is NOT shy! She is the funniest little girl I have ever seen.... She knows how to hold a crowds attention and how make everyone laugh! She keeps us laughing ALL THE TIME! She is crazy smart.. I swear she will pass me up sooner than later! She has her daddy's smarts! The ability to pick up on anything quickly and the want to keep learning! She LOVES to read books and her favorites right now are a couple "Corduroy" books she has and a book called "Georgie and the Robbers." Also she loves the book "Polar Bear Polar Bear What Do You Hear?" but I don't read it to her anymore. In fact I think I only read it too her once. She has the whole thing memorized and can recite it to me! Her Favorite Movies right now are Wall-E and Space Chimps. Riley Is so excited to have a baby sister. She is soo good with babies. She is so gentle and caring. I am so excited to see her as a big sister! We watched a little 4 day old baby for my sister. Riley loved it all! She was happy to hold it and be so gentle and give him kisses and when he cried she made sure he had his binky close by. But when she woke up from her nap and the baby was gone she was hysterical! Balling her eyes out! She wanted to hold and cuddle the baby more! She just loved having him here!

I am about to lose it right now! I Don't know what its gonna be like when I cant soak up my Bug all day! I am so excited to hold my little one and finally see her but the Bug is my best friend and I am so used to her consuming my every day and the thought that I am gonna lose some of that to Baby Mak kind of hurts in a way! She has been my everyday for 3 years now and the thought of that focus having to shift to incorporate 2 beautiful girls Is so exciting but completely terrifying! I don't worry about loving her less or even more than Mak. My love already for both my girls is unimaginable but just the thought of having less time with Riley makes me sad! (Don't judge me) I love this Girl so much and I cant believe how big and grown up she is!