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!!