Life With Two

Wow. I can safely say that I underestimated life with two kids. Mara is almost a month old and I am just now feeling like maybe... maybe... I will be able to handle this. Between the raging post-pregnancy hormones, sleep deprivation and just generally feeling completely overwhelmed, the past few weeks have been a bit ... okay a lot... difficult. There is light at the end of the tunnel though and I can feel it beginning to shine through.

Today I did the laundry. And, I even mopped the kitchen floor and  vacummed. Sad to say that these felt like major accomplishments while caring for a toddler and a newborn. I am generally an efficient and capable person so the past few weeks of feeling so inept and unable to do the things I normally do have been difficult, to say the least. The phrase this too shall pass keeps running through my head as I muddle through the days in a sleep-deprived haze.

It isn't all tough though. I am absolutely in love with our new baby girl. I think she is precious and I love her to pieces already. It feels like she has been with us longer than 3 1/2 weeks. I am trying to savor these newborn moments because she is growing already and I know... this too shall pass. 

Kennedy suddenly seems older and though she is demonstrating some challenging two-year old behaviors, she is a fantastic big sister.

And with that, I am off to try and catch a few hours of much-needed sleep and so I leave you with a handful of photos from the past few weeks.

Rachael is 7!

I can't believe my little sis is already seven years old! Rachael was born the summer before I graduated college and her arrival into our lives was and is such a blessing. It is so fun watching her grow and mature- this past year has seen a lot of both. She understands so much more about the world and seems so much more mature than she did even a year ago. She is a smart, beautiful, spunky girl and I can't wait to see where life takes her. Love you Rach!

Mara at One Week Old

Sister Love

We are love, love, LOVING our two little girls. And it is fun to see these two together- in the early days of their life-long relationship. Kennedy is adjusting well to her new little sister (thus far anyways!). She has been spending a lot of time with daddy since he has been off of work - they have been to swimming lessons, the park, papa's car race, Lowes, Fred Meyer and on Tuesday they are making a trip to to the zoo. It has been a nice distraction for her as I am learning to breast-feed and care for a newborn again. :) Sean returns to work on Wednesday and I suppose this will be when reality hits. But for now we are enjoying time together as our new little family of four.

Mara

We are so excited to introduce our new baby girl, Mara LeeAnn McKenna.
A few details about our new little girl:

Weight: 5 lbs, 11 oz
Length: 18 3/4 inches
Date of Birth: June 28, 2011
Time of Birth: 3:38 p.m.

My labor was great! No complications and relatively quick. I chose to be induced four days early as I was dilating and progressing. Had I known that she would be so little, I probably would not have chosen to do that but in all reality, a few more days probably wouldn't have affected her weight too much so I am trying not to dwell on it. I was induced at 8 am and my doctor broke my water shortly after. I began feeling painful contractions about 8:30 am. I received my epidural around 10:30 am. At about 3:25 pm, the nurses had a difficult time finding Mara's heartbeat- they quickly discovered that she has dropped low and was ready to be delivered immediately! My doctor came running in and 3 pushes later, she arrived!

What we know about our little one so far:

** Lots of beautiful black hair

** She looks a lot like her sister

** She has mommy's nose and lips (or lack thereof!)

** She is small but mighty- she is eating like a champ!

We are feeling pretty blessed with our two beautiful daughters!

Last Days

Today, I discovered that we have amazing morning light in our bedroom so I took advantage and snapped some black and white photos of my girl.

We are soaking up these last days, she and I, of just being she and I. Baby girl will be arriving soon- possibly as early as Tuesday so I am really trying to take advantage of my time with her. We have been snuggling and reading lots of books together. Today we went to the mall and shared a pretzel. We sat at the table like old friends chatting away.

She has changed so much these past few months... I knew she would but it is still amazing to watch. Back in October, when we found out I was pregnant, I can remember telling Sean "she will be so different by the time this baby arrives." And she is. She is inquisitive and bright and asks why about a hundred times a day. Her vocabulary is absolutely exploding and we hear new words and phrases everyday. She is independent and wants to do everything herself- "I do it myself, mama." From choosing her hair bows to putting on her shoes to getting her own cereal bowl... she wants to be in charge. And despite the recent temper tantrums and exertion of power, she is just a sweetheart. Full of hugs and kisses. I love it when she pats the spot next to her on the couch and says "sit mama, sit."

We are on the verge of a major change and though a part of me is so sad to say goodbye to this little family of three, I am equally excited to say hello to our family of four. I am excited for our daughters to meet.

"Happy Daddy Day, Daddy"

This morning Kennedy gave Sean a big hug and said "Happy daddy day, daddy." Our girl has been more than a little challenging lately and unfortunately, daddy has taken the brunt of the two year old "tude." She seems to have snapped out of it a bit this weekend though and returned to our sweetheart of a girl who loves to snuggle and cuddle with daddy.

I love, love, love that he is her dad. What a lucky girl she is. And, please make note of the fake, cheesy smile she gives the camera now... two year olds really are funny little creatures.

38 Weeks

Alright baby girl, feel free to come out anytime! I am officially 38 weeks. With exactly two weeks until my official due date, I am so excited to meet you! And, I am just feeling a bit pooped out and wouldn't mind having my body back to myself. :)

When I was pregnant with Kennedy, I actually kept a pregnancy journal and documented every phase of the pregnancy. Needless to say, that was not the case this time around. With the exception of the few photos I have taken, I haven't written anything down! So, I thought it might be nice to jot down a few things I would like to remember about this pregnancy because I know I may not remember the little details.

*** First and foremost, this has been a GREAT pregnancy. I really can't complain. There have been absolutely no complications and I have felt really good for the majority of it.
*** I found out I was pregnant on October 24th, 2010.
*** I had a slight bit of nausea in the beginning but it was completely gone by about 11 weeks.
*** I walked and did the elliptical 3-4 times per week until my eighth month when we moved and I got too distracted by unpacking and getting settled.
*** I started wearing maternity clothes at 16 weeks.
*** We found out we were having another little girl at my 18 week appointment (January 31, 2011).
*** We moved into our new house when I was 32 weeks pregnant. The move and subsequent unpacking prompted a nice case of tendonitis in my feet which took about 2 painful weeks to heal.
*** I have had a handful of nighttime charlie horses in my calves. Ouch!
*** No major cravings which was true of Kennedy's pregnancy as well... I am just more likely to cave into my normal cravings (i.e. macaroni and cheese, ice cream and muffins to name a few)...
*** I did better with my overall weight gain - 30 lbs this time versus the 50 lbs I gained with Kennedy.
*** My favorite part of pregnancy is feeling the baby move- it is pretty amazing.

Despite all the great things about this pregnancy, I really am ready to wrap it up! Stay tuned for baby news (hopefully sooner than later!).

Marji + Nick

Sean's stepsister, Marji got married this weekend and with the exception of chasing our very energetic daughter around the building, we had a great time! Congrats Marji and Nick!

the happy couple

 Kiki and Rocky ... all dressed up

 Sean and his uncle John

 Sean, Harv and kiddos

 Jessica and Rachel- adorable flower girls!

 David and Heather's newest addition, baby Jaxson (7 weeks old)

 Kennedy and Auntie Amy

 And most likely, our last photo as a family of three! (C'mon baby!)



Recommendations

I read a lot and people are always asking me for book recommendations so I thought I would start posting some of the great books I read on the blog!

I just finished this book and it was great- different from what I usually read. It really held my attention- I finished it in two days.



I also cook quite a bit and have gotten so many great (and easy!) recipes off of this website: http://www.melskitchencafe.com/ 

Last night, I made this great chicken pot pie recipe:

http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2011/02/chicken-pot-pie-crumble.html

And, throughout this pregnancy I have craved muffins for some odd reason! So here are two great muffin recipes as well!

http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2009/04/lemon-sugar-crusted-blueberry-muffins.html

http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2010/09/healthy-and-delicious-refrigerator-bran-muffins.html

Enjoy!