Mondays with McKenna {1}

I have a goal. Every Monday I am going to write about the little lady. OR if not every Monday I will write each Monday when there is some tidbit of exciting news to share. Or goofy story. Or fun video.

McKenna. Ya’ll. She makes my heart smile.

Milestones: well. she is finally crawling (and has been for a few months). She pulls up on pretty much anything and everything. She loves loves loves to walk with assistance – holding her Dad’s hand or pushing one of her many toys around.  She is not walking on her own yet, but we are ready for when she does.  She has mastered the stairs (going up, not down) and how to slide down the slide. She no longer sits in her high chair; she has joined the family at the dinner table. Basically, she is a big girl or something like that. I don’t think she has a favorite toy right now, but she loves all things Little People and she is obsessed with anything that she can stand up and push.  She has a mouthful of teeth and loves to get her teeth brushed.  I think she just loves the apple banana toothpaste, but whatever.

Other Happenings: We recently had a birthday party to attend. It was at Chuck-E-Cheeses. She was pretty much overwhelmed at first and just wanted to be held, but then she warmed up to the whole place and had a ball.  She LOVED the Barney ride and would try to put tokens in on her own to make the ride start over again once it stopped. I am pretty sure she rode that ride about 15 times, many times back to back.  And she learned to climb and slide and had the time of her life. Of course, the Barney ride was at the foot of the slide so she would power crawl over to the ride, pull herself up, and pretty much say, “come on guys, time to ride Barney” …  She chowed down on 2 pieces of pizza and 1 cupcake and got bright blue icing all over Kyle’s polo. This girl can eat. Best part: she napped HARD that day.

Because of Chuck-E-Cheeses we are pretty much living at the park on weekends.  Well, “living at” is a bit of an exaggeration. But, we do spend some time there every Saturday and Sunday. She seriously LOVES to slide and we have thought about buying her a backyard play thing for our deck, but it is more fun to take her to the park and watch her climb and slide around.  And she loves her wagon rides down to the park. …well, she actually loves everything about her wagon. She has a cup holder for her sippy and she loves to “read” her books on the ride. That thing was the best hand me down EVER. 

She is a wild thing. When we keep her indoors at our house she likes to “fall off” our bed. Fall off = slide off the side with Dad ready to catch her.  She loves to climb all over her pink chair and climb over the back of it onto the couch and then fall back down onto the pink chair.  And she loves to slide off the couch onto the ground.  Needless to say, I have the worry gene from my Mom’s side of the family so I think she will gray my hair sooner than later.

This little one constantly keeps us on our toes.  But she seriously brings us an insane amount of joy and it has been so so so fun watching her become more and more mobile over the last few weeks. 

Grateful Challenge || 21 || Summer

Labor day marks the end of the summer.  So I thought it would be fitting to talk about summer and why I am grateful for this season.  Summer has its downsides. The heat. The humidity. People walking their dogs again (this is bad because we have bad dogs). I no longer get months to do nothing.

But despite its downsides there are some things about summer that I am just flat out thankful for.

FIRST. Schools out. Which means traffic isn’t quite as bad. It is still bad, but not everyday and frankly just not as bad.  There is something beautiful about a 45 minute commute instead of a 60 minute or longer commute.  There are no school buses clogging my neighborhood that I have to fight with/wait for their pesky stop sign to go down. The scommute to work is simply just easier.

SECOND. Longer nights = family dog walks.  Most nights this is the only 30 minutes that Kyle and I have to catch up on the week. When we get home we are rushing around to get the table set, dinner cooked, and everyone fed.  Then post dog walk we are bathing the baby and then really taking selfish (but needed) me time.  So these strolls (sometimes hot and humid strolls) are our 30 minutes to dish on the day. Plus, it brings me so much joy to watch McKenna sit in the back of her wagon “reading” her book and drinking her milk from her sippy.

THREE. The pool. I am thankful and grateful for days at the pool. Activities at the pool have changed since having a baby and my melanoma diagnosis. But again, it is the family time. Slathering the family in high SPF and packing everything up to go splash in the water. I was worried that M would hate the pool. but she warmed up to it and now we have another fun family activity to do together. And I am forever grateful for anything that gives me family time and activities that make my heart smile.

FOUR. The weather. It may be hot and humid 99% of the time here in Atlanta, but the weather is just great for family activities, grilling out, and fellowshipping with our great neighbors.  As the weather starts to get cold we all turn back into hermits.  We try to maximize the spring – fall weather as much as possible. 

Let’s be honest.  Summer is a great season.  As you get older you find a different appreciation for it.  Had I written this post 10 years ago or so I would be grateful for long days by the pool with my friends, patio drinking, short summer school classes, summer concerts with lawn seats, floating the cahaba, and other shenanigans like that.  But. As summer comes to an end, I can only count down the days till next summer.

Gratitude || 4 || Family Member

I went to a funeral the other day.  A very good friend of mine lost her dad. Suddenly. Unexpectedly. He was 62. When I told her I was so very sorry for her loss and reminded her that I was there for her & told her that if she needed anything to just let me know, she response was simple and short. All she said was: thank you and hug your dad next time you get the chance.

And it made me start to think. I don’t just hug my dad every time I see him. Most times he pulls me in and makes me give him a hug as I am rushing through life.  My dad makes it known every time he sees me (or my brother) that we are loved.  Those hugs are important to him. I need to do better. And just pause. Take a moment to hug him and then go back to rushing around.

I am grateful for my Dad (and many other family members). Yes, he may drive me nuts from time to time, but he is my Dad and he has showed me and taught me many things throughout my life.  He has taught me that family is important. Friends are important. And if you can, you should be there for family and friends in both good times and bad.  He introduced me to all things Alabama.  He (and my mom) have shown me what a respectful, solid, and good marriage looks like.  He was an insanely active participant in my childhood, so I know that I will expect no less from Kyle. My dad has shown me (and continues to show me) that life is not just about me.  That it is important to be generous with your time and to make people a priority if they’re important to you. And that sometimes those times are hard and trying and tiring, but it is the right thing to do and most times those situations are just temporary.  I can think back on different times in my life where my Dad has set a good example for how you should live your life. Caring for an immediate family member, building churches, getting me out of trouble, opening his house to friends and family members pretty much whenever, donating his time and money, and just taking a genuine interest in people and their story – my dad may not find joy in each and every thing, but he understands what it means to be a good person and to live a good life.

With my friend’s dads unexpected passing it made me think. My Dad won’t be around forever. As morbid and sad it is to think that, it is the honest truth. But, I have been so lucky to have my Dad by my side for 31 years and counting.  He is one of my biggest cheerleaders and advocates. Have there been times that I have let him down? Yes, probably too many to count. Have there been times where I tested his patience? Oh heck yes. But his love for me is unwavering (or at least I think it is) and at the end of the day I know I have impressed him and make him proud. And I am forever grateful that my little sassy firecracker has a Grand Bobby who simply adores her and loves her.  And I know she brings him immense joy as well. 

And, I still owe my Dad a hug.  But I guess that will have to wait until we meet him in sunny Florida for a quick, easy vacation.

Writing. I’ve been doing it.

 

This post is nothing exciting. But, I have been writing. Everything is in draft form right now. But… there are a few things queued up.  I started back up the 52 week thankful challenge. So there are a few of those. Plus, I have to gush about little McKenna.

So, if there is anyone out there reading (other than my parents and aunt)… …you will have reading material soon. I promise.

Um. Hello?

I have not blogged since May. I am pretty sure I have zero followers at this point. Well, my aunt and parents probably still eagerly await any type of update on this thing. So if anyone is still out there. Hi. Hello. Good to see you again.

I should probably do some life updates, huh? Well. I now have a one year old. McKenna turned one in July and we had a super low key birthday party. All family and all attention was 100% on her. I got a promotion at work. I am now a director. That means I am important. But not really. I started running again as prep for my half marathon at the beginning of October. We still have two dogs. And I still have a husband.

So. McKenna is one. And it is A LOT of fun.  The girl is getting more and more mobile. She still is not walking, but at like 11 months she finally started crawling which was a sigh of relief. Now I just wait for the walking, but she is making strides and will get there eventually. I just worry about her being behind and parents judging her. (Which is something I need to get better at because I have turned down play dates with friends who have kids walking.)  She just decided this past weekend that she loves the water.  it took all summer, but she does like the pool. Now, we need to think seriously about swim lessons. ;D And. She loves books. LOVES books. If a book is by her, she has her nose in it.

Me. I moved into a Director of Major Accounts role back in July. I am in charge of a few of our major accounts. It has been a big challenge but I am enjoying that.  I sometimes wish I had more direction, but I have one coworker who has been great to bounce ideas off of.  I have had some travel in this new role, nothing more than usual. And don’t judge me, but the break from life is kind of nice.  I am running more and more lately and I am really enjoying it. Oddly. I have a half marathon on the books for the beginning of October and have 2 races that I am thinking about signing up for.  A 10k and a 5k.

Dogs and Kyle are good too. Nothing going on with them really.  Just a lot of fantasy football starting for Kyle and better weather which means more puppy play dates for the dogs.

I am not 100% sure of why I chose to blog or update on my life tonight.  maybe it is the new laptop. but hopefully I get better at this……..

|| 4 Things Friday || What We’ve Been Up To!

I know it is supposed to be 5 things Friday, but I wanted to catch people up on what we have been up to and well, there just was not 5 things so you’re getting 4 things friday. We have been pretty busy lately, life has been keeping us on our toes and when I am lucky, in bed by like 9:30……but that does not happen nearly enough. I thought it may be easier to just break down what we have been up to in this format versus a zillion different blog posts – though I know my aunt would love a zillion different blog posts. Sorry!

|| ONE ||
We celebrated our 3 year anniversary back in March and I had no idea what I wanted to get Kyle for his anniversary gift. I didn’t want to get him the normal clothes, video game, books, whatever that I normally did, so I thought I would get him Darius Rucker concert tickets since Kyle always says he misses our date days. WELL…our super babysitters {also known as the grandparents} were traveling so I then had to get creative. Well. I ended up getting us tickets to Tree Top Quest in Buford and let me tell you, it was A LOT of fun. Terrifying at times [there may have been one part where I told kyle, “I am frozen, like cannot move” and I also told kyle multiple times, “we have a baby at home, we cannot die”], but the ziplines were fun and the challenges were challenging at times {for example moving logs} but we had a great time. There was one “course” that was literally just zipline after zipline and that was refreshing after Course #4 where I literally thought I may have a heart attack {it did have one really long and fun zipline though}. We got to just spend time together and have fun together – something that we rarely get to do.  Totally recommended for anyone who wants an out of the box  day in Atlanta and I was shocked we had something like this that wasn’t in the mountains of Georgia.

|| TWO ||
Little Sassy had her first {and last} Saturday Gymboree “session” or play date – whatever you want to call it.  The poor girl was a trooper, she was teething {and got 3 teeth at once} and she had a double ear infection {that we didn’t know about} so she was a little out of it and not so sure what was going on. Honestly, I couldn’t quite figure out what was going on. But… I think this place would be a great idea for a future birthday party or maybe when she is crawling or running or just moving around better – but everything there she has at daycare.  We just do not see the added value since she gets all the same things Monday – Friday …and right now she can’t even crawl to move around on the various “activities” so truthfully, it was kind of a waste – which was a bummer because I had such high hopes and expectations and thought it would be a great addition to what she gets at daycare to keep her learning and busy and it just was not that.  BUT.. she did LOVE their waffle balls and she may have had 3 at one time. I do still want to do Mommy and Me tumbling classes when she is like 2 … so hopefully we have more success then. 

|| THREE ||
We had a little mini vacation in Orange Beach, Alabama for my best friend’s wedding #takenbyclaytonn and we had so much fun.  The grandparents had a long, fun filled weekend with the little one.  We disappeared Thursday morning to meet up with an old college friend and his wife and then stay with his family in Gulf Shores. On Friday we ventured over to Orange Beach and after the Bridesmaid Brunch laid out by the pool, floated the lazy river, drank some beers, and got a little sunburned {sorry dermatologist, I just missed a few spots}. We just had fun catching up and doing nothing and for reals, I need a lazy river in my life full time OR I need a full time job that is just floating a lazy river. It was just relaxing to get away and make it a point FOR ONCE to be on PTO and actually be on PTO.  We had the rehearsal on Friday night, the dinner, and then we all {Kyle, my friend from college, his wife, and me} headed to the FloraBama – which I had never been to before and probably was not missing anything.  But, I can now say I have been there & evidently, I was supposed to drink a Bushwacker or something like that. Whoops. 

Saturday was the wedding day. Kyle and my friends got to spend all day by the pool – with one strict instruction – do not drink too much – while I was with the bride getting her ready and myself ready. It was a fun wedding, a gorgeous wedding, and I could not be happier for Greg and Heather.  T hey are 2 of the nicest people in the world and I wish  them just a zillion years of happiness, good times, great memories, and lots of beautiful babies. And I was honored to be part of their day and to help H-Bomb get ready and to love on her and Greg!  And, I may still be using the sunglasses because well, they were awesome and such a fun touch and I could use some more sweet potato fries. I loved having a reason to escape reality and celebrate 2 amazing people and their families.  We cannot wait to go back and bring McKenna with us because we think she will have the best time on the slides and the lazy river.   CONGRATS TO HEALTHER & GREG!!

|| FOUR ||
We ran our annual 5k together {The Brookhaven Bolt} and I pushed McKenna in the stroller. Kyle ran ahead of us like he normally does and then he came back to get a few more miles and ran to the end with me. Kyle and I were not happy with our 5K times, but Kyle did forget his water bottle with me so he had to start farther back than he likes to so he did lose time weaving in and out of walkers and strollers and slow people. My time, truthfully, wasn’t bad – it was faster than the last 5K we ran where I pushed McKenna by a few seconds, I just thought it would have been faster. Granted, the first half mile or mile I couldn’t find my groove – when I did, I was golden – and this race is pretty hilly so it was harder. but still. I thought it would be faster.  As always, this was a great race. The turn out seems to get bigger and bigger each year, but it is always very well executed and it is a challenging course which is always a plus.  It does benefit an elementary school so I hope McKenna’s school and PTA puts on a similar event. I would LOVE for her to be part of some kiddie run club that preps for a community race like this.

…I think that is a pretty detailed life update… we have some house improvements on the list for this summer that I am looking forward to. and should provide some blog content – maybe. But all in all life is good. we are looking forward to the summer, even though we have no plans.

M is for McKenna (and Monday)

I have not done a post about McKenna lately. I slacked on her 9 month picture taking and blog posting and then her 10 month milestone has kinda come and gone. Granted, she is still 10 months and we could do it. …we need to do it… But I thought I would do a quick update on all things McKenna Marie.

Well. She is 10 months and 3 feet tall. She is rocking 18 month clothes.  I am wondering when we can sign her up for volleyball or basketball.  She is so tall we should use that to our advantage and maybe she can go to Alabama on an athletic scholarship. The ladies at daycare always talk about how tall she is.  She is 24 pounds – or at least she was at her 8 month appointment.  She has 6 teeth – maybe 7 – but we aren’t 100% confident that the 7th has grown all the way in so we don’t really count it as a tooth.

Girl loves to eat.  We cannot seem to get her to eat her veggies – daycare can, we cannot – but she loves pretty much every fruit she has tried.  She does like Cheerios; however, the dogs get a lot of them.  Actually, the dogs get a lot of food.  McKenna has started hand feeding Mulligan things she does not want to eat. Mainly her veggies. And when I catch her she immediately snaps her hand back up and looks at me like “what, I am not doing anything”.

She still is not crawling, but she is scooting across the room and she can scoot FAST. Which basically means we are all eyes on her all the time. And we are pretty confident she is going to be a handful once she starts walking because she already gets into pretty much anything and everything.

We recently had to drop the mattress on her crib because she has a new trick. She likes to sit up on her own now and jabber until we come and break her out of baby jail.  We figured it was only a matter of time before she started pulling herself up.  And this new trick means the days of leaving her in her crib and letting her jabber herself back to sleep are long gone.

She moved from the 100 room to the 150 room at 9 months so she is now with the bigger kids and does a lot more arts and crafts. Sadly, we don’t get any of her artwork sent home, but she did make me two pretty awesome crafts for Mother’s Day.  But, we need to buy her crayons and coloring book and some play-doh since she loves those things at school and we are always looking for new things to do with her at home.  But, I think the move from the baby infant room to the little walker room is helping encourage her to move around a little bit more.  And the lessons are a little bit older as well so she is theoretically learning more advanced things.

She still loves the stroller, but now she likes to sit up and look around and smile at dogs as they pass by.  And she really just likes to look at pretty much anything and everything.  We have started going back to the greenway on the weekends so she gets to see a lot of people and nature, before she just passes out for naptime.

McKenna did get her first ear infection last month. And it was a doozy. It was a double ear infection and she hated her medicine so we had to sneak it in her bottle.  She was a total cuddle monster when she was not feeling well.  And to make matters worse, she was teething at the same time so she was just one unhappy little baby.  BUT – that is all past us now and she is back to the happy, perfect little thing that she is.

Needless to say, it has been a fun and busy last 2 months.  McKenna is keeping us on our toes, but it is all just so fun.  She is figuring things out and jabbering all the time.  She is starting to FINALLY say mama, since she was just saying dada all the time.  We feel like she is always learning something new or getting into something that she shouldn’t be [for example, my bookshelf is her favorite thing ever since she can pull every book onto the floor and then shake them]. But. It is just fun.

I am probably missing something or a lot of somethings. But, I wanted to do a recap on what the little lady has been up to.  And hopefully we will take those 10 month pictures and 11 month pictures and 12 month pictures.  Mom needs to stop slacking!!