31 August 2011

Mara at Two Months

Our littlest lady is two months old already! I have mixed emotions about this two-month mark. Part of me thinks "Whew, I am so glad we are past the new-newborn phase," and the other part of me is wishing time would stand still because it really does go so fast and she is so darn little and sweet that I kind of want to freeze these moments. Since this isn't possible, I find myself staring at her a bit longer, holding her a bit more and much to my surprise, sleeping with her in my bed. She sleeps most of the night in her bassinet but after that 5 a.m.ish feeding, she and I snuggle up together and sleep until big sister runs in and starts our day. Kennedy rarely slept with me because a) I was freaked out she would suffocate in a pillow or something and b) I was adamant that our kids sleep in their own beds. Ultimately, I do still want this but I have realized that, in the big picture of life, who really cares if your kid sleeps with you for awhile?
Now for a few stats. At Mara's two-month check-up, she weighed 9 lbs, 14 oz (25th percentile) and is 21.5 inches long (25th percentile). Ironically, Kennedy was the exact same weight and length at her two-month check-up!

Mara is a fantastic baby. I mean, she's kind of a rock star. I am officially one of those annoying moms that can truthfully say things like "my baby slept through the night at eight weeks." I used to hate it when people said that to me after Kennedy was born. But, when you are blessed with a baby that can do this, you kind of feel the need to shout it from the rooftops because a good nights sleep does a body... and a mind.. good. Ok, enough of my bragging!


A few more details about our sweet girl:
*** she loves to smile but is quite stingy with them once the camera is out...
*** she strongly resembles my side of the family- particularly through the eyes.
*** she has lost some hair on the top but it is quickly growing back in with the same dark color... I am feeling excited about the possibility that she will keep this dark hair. I think it is so cute!
*** Mara drinks 4-5 ounces about every three hours. She has a tendency to get on a "snacking" schedule and I find myself feeding her 2 oz every hour and a half. This can be frustrating but it seems to be getting better. Both my girls seem to be born "snackers!"
*** she loves the swing!
*** her acid reflux has improved a lot over the past month and we don't even need to stay up and hold her upright after feedings anymore (one of the reasons I am glad to be past the new-newborn phase!)
*** has a fussy time each evening (right about the time daddy gets home, unfortunately).

And as it turns out (though I never really doubted this)... you really do love the second baby as much as the first. The only difference is a higher level of confidence as a mom and the increased awareness of how fleeting this time is. I will blink once and she will be a toddler. But for now, she is just a smiling, newly- cooing two-month old and we love her to pieces!

29 August 2011

Summer Fun

August has been a fun month for us! Amy and I took the kids to the Wiggles Concert at the Paramount theatre in Seattle. They loved it!



We have made several trips to the Woodland Park Zoo...

And, we have had some fun BBQ's with friends...



Mix in our trip to Anderson Island, Sean's poker party, and a few girl's nights out for me and it has been a pretty great end to the summer! 

Oh yeah, and did I mention how much we are loving these girls of ours?


26 August 2011

All Smiles

Mara at 7 weeks- full of smiles! And we love that she is developing a uni-brow... she really is my daughter! :)

A Marti Weekend

The Marti family came to visit last weekend and as always, we have a blast with them. The Harvie's hung out with us a lot as well so there were seven kids under the age of 5 running around - it was wonderfully chaotic! The kids played so well together and seeing them run around laughing and playing reminded me so much of my own childhood.

This photo makes me laugh and really shows how far we have come- great to see these fantastic guys with their babies. They are truly wonderful fathers and husbands. Funny to think that ten years ago, when I met them, we were all carefree and partying our way through college!

Bill and Sarah have BIG and very HAPPY babies and their youngest, Karter, is no exception! He is 8 months old and weighs 23 lbs! I was highly entertained by these photos of Karter and Mara (who is gaining weight like crazy but is still so petite next to this sweet boy!).


On Saturday, Sean's cousin Blake (one of my favorites in the McKenna family, I must add!) came over and cooked us breakfast- he loves to cook and is fabulous at it! Thanks Blake!



Hailey and Kennedy had a great time playing together. Hailey was so patient and attentive to Kennedy... sweet, sweet girl. Can't believe she starts kindergarten this fall!



We are already looking forward to our next Marti weekend!

18 August 2011

Island in the Sun

The past three months have been hectic... to say the least. Just to summarize... in the past three months we have moved into a new house, Sean started his new job, I finished up my school year and began my new "stay at home mama" gig and oh yeah... we had a baby! Mix in unpacking, potty training, two-year old tantrums, long work days for Sean, sleepless nights with a newborn, a touch of postpartum depression and voila! You now have a family that desperately needed some down time! Which is why I was thrilled when Sean said he could take a few days off so we could take a "mini-vacation" on Anderson Island. As I have mentioned before, Sean's family has property over there and we are lucky enough to be able to spend time there whenever we want.

So we packed up our family of four (and by the way... we now have so much crap to pack with two kids that we had to take two cars) ... and headed to the Island. We had a fantastic time! It was the first time in the 10 years that I have known Sean that we had the place all to ourselves. Of course, we love spending time with family when we are over there but I have to admit, it was nice to have so much time with just our little family. And, we did have a few visitors which was great. Amy came over for a day as did my friend Melissa and her two girls.

Here are just a few things we loved about our "mini-vaca"...






And last, but certainly not least...

Happy Summer!

10 August 2011

Mara at Six Weeks

 Our sweet Mara is six weeks old already! We are seeing smiles everyday but I have yet to capture one on camera. I should also mention that she is only waking up once at night... she sleeps from about 10 pm- 3:30 am, drinks a 4 oz bottle and the goes back to sleep for another 3-4 hours.
I am feeling rested and extremely fortunate!

Pretend Play

Kennedy has really been understanding "pretend play" lately. She plays with her dolls a lot and talks to them as if they were real. She often carries her purse around and tells me she is going grocery shopping. And, she loves playing with her toy kitchen and having tea parties. It is so fun to watch her imagination develop and I am constantly amazed by the things she says during these play sessions. So often they are things that Sean and I say when we are talking to her or in conversation with each other. I sometimes forget how much she learns from us when we aren't paying attention.

And, as I stated in a previous post- all pictures now involve a fake smile accompanied with the phrase "cheeeeese..." We are hoping this phase will pass soon so we can again see her eyes in photos!

Sticker Patrol

Being the little sister can be difficult... especially when your big sister is obsessed with stickers!

02 August 2011

Newborn Photos

I chose not to have professional newborn photos taken of Mara. I thought it made more sense to spend the money on professional family photos when she is a little older. But I have been trying to take some "newborn photos" myself over the past few weeks. Here are a few of my favorites.

Mara at two weeks old


Mara at four weeks old

Mara at five weeks old



Baby Announcement

Here is the baby announcement I sent out to our family and friends last week.

01 August 2011

Tub Fun

So I have discovered that when you have two kids, you will pretty much allow any form of entertainment in order to grab a quick shower, run a comb through your hair and rub on some deodorant. This includes letting your two-year old turn your bath tub into a play area.

And, just in case you were wondering why Kennedy's eyes seem closed in most recent photos... it is because she says "cheeeeese" and shuts them whenever a camera is pointed her direction. We look forward to many pictures like this until this phase passes.


While big sister played in the tub, little sister took a great morning snooze in her bassinet. I got an entire 15 minutes to get ready today!