What a difference a year makes…

November 3, 2012 by · 1 Comment

::   This weekend makes me think about how lucky we are   ::

~~~~~~~~

Exactly one year ago tonight we were in the emergency room of Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital finding out we lost our baby.  We were seven weeks pregnant during the 2011 fall back weekend when something went wrong.  It was without a doubt one of the toughest and literally one of the longest nights of our lives.

Fortunately we visited the same hospital again. but this time for different reasons….

Exactly one month ago tonight, we were again at Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital in the midst of labor awaiting the birth of our sweet baby girl.  She arrived in the wee hours of October 4th!  It was another long night, but a wonderful night.  And it was wonderful enough to make us realize that the heartache we felt on a cold night 11 months prior was part of our journey to turn us into a family of three.

I can’t believe it’s been a year since we said goodbye to what we thought would be our first baby, but I especially can’t believe it’s been a month since we said Hello to Makenzie!  How did time go so fast?  I’m certain we’ll need the extra hour of sleep tonight, but I’m pretty sure we won’t be too heartbroken if we spend it wide awake with good company.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged With: , , ,

The Pause Button

November 1, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

November 1, 2012… Wow, where did October go?

I was kind of disappointed when I woke up today and saw the date. Ever since Wednesday, January 25 at 5:30 AM Denny and I anticipated the arrival of October.  I kind of hoped the month would get here, we could meet our baby girl, and we could hit the Pause button on life for a while. It seems fair to ask for that, right?  But I guess that’s the thing about life… whether times are good or bad, it goes on.

I have never ever experienced emotions like I did in October.  It was One. Amazing. Month.

A recap about the 31 days of October 2012:

  • No matter what people told me about labor and delivery, it is the most incredible experience ever
  • I highly recommend the epidural during labor (leading to my earlier bullet)
  • Even though we weren’t sure what we would name our daughter, our Makenzie looks like a Makenzie and we knew it the second we met her
  • Dr. Karp is a genius, as is his theory about swaddling (if you are a Mom to be, read his book)
  • Always have a clean diaper under the dirty diaper before you take the dirty diaper away
  • 4 AM isn’t such a bad time to be awake when you are snuggling with a cute baby
  • I love coffee
  • Yoga pants should be renamed Amazingly comfortable maternity leave pants
  • The Ellen Degeneres Show is the best part of daytime TV
  • Being a Mom is the toughest job in the world
  • Being a Mom is the BEST job in the world
  • I didn’t think I could love my husband more until I saw him hold our daughter
  • I didn’t know I had so much love to give until I held Makenzie
  • Denny and I need to count our lucky stars every single day

It seems like hitting the Pause button is not an option , so instead we’ll just enjoy each day with our baby girl as much as we can.  Oh yeah, and we’ll take lots of pictures to remember all of her phases.  Speaking of,  I thought I would share one of my favorite pictures taken when she was just a few days old.  Too cute!!

One of my very favorite just born Makenzie photos! I swear she has already changed so much.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wishing everyone a great weekend and enjoy your extra hour of sleep (the next best thing to hitting Pause!)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged With:

Pictures of the Week *Happy Halloween!*

October 30, 2012 by · 1 Comment

What’s Bigger than the election and Bigger than SuperStorm Sandy?…

Makenzie’s 1st HALLOWEEN!!

(It’s honestly not bigger than either of the aforementioned events, but it’s pretty important to us )

Ever since I found out we were having an October baby I dreamed about taking her to Pumpkinville, a huge farm a few towns over full of corn mazes, live animals, crafts and thousands of pumpkins!

I envisioned a crisp fall day…  I envisioned Denny and I dressed in fall colors…  And I envisioned pushing Kenzie in the stroller while we kicked the fall leaves and sipped pumpkin spice latte…

And then we had Makenzie and got real.  We realized bringing a newborn to a giant farm to pick out a pumpkin, in between feedings nonetheless, was not happening.

Enter Plan B… the convenient ice cream stand down the street that sells pumpkins and bales of hay.  Hold the lattes, we’ll take the pumpkin express please!

So here she is on the big day of picking out her first pumpkin…

She was so excited she slept right through it all!

Denny and his little pumpkin

I might be partial but check out how adorable she is!!

And what’s Halloween without a costume?!?  Yes, we may have deprived Makenzie of her first trip to pumpkinville but we’re certainly going to dress her up for the big occasion!  We made a few trips to Target and Babies R Us to scope out the adorable infant costumes – pumpkins, ladybugs and bumblebees – but we couldn’t commit to any of these.  Then one night at about 4 AM while I was feeding her, my sleep-deprived eyes spotted her red and white striped onesie in her closet, and BOOM her first Halloween costume idea was born…

Meet the Little (and cutest) Where’s Waldo!!

Just try and find that babe in the midst of all of her toys!

A costume close-up

We’re pretty excited for the big day tomorrow!  She might not make it out to Trick or Treat, but we’ve done our best to capture the big moments of Makenzie’s 1st Halloween (okay, we haven’t yet carved that pumpkin, but we’ve still got 26 hours and 46 minutes and we work quite well under pressure).

~~~~~~~~~~

Happy Halloween to you!! May you have a wonderful holiday and get lots of delicious candy!!

~~~~~~~~~~

Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged With: , ,

Pictures of the Week *Parenting Lessons*

October 22, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

I try to make this blog as real as possible, so I figured it would be entertaining to have a post about the reality of the first 18 days of being parents.  We read the books, took the classes, listened to the advice, but now the real learning is taking place.  And as much as we absolutely ADORE and LOVE her, it doesn’t necessarily mean we have all the answers.  It’s like the movie Rudy… as much as he loved the game of football, he wasn’t destined to be the starting QB.

So here we are into day 18 of Makenzie Season.  We aren’t first-string parents yet, but we are working our butts off and putting in the time.  Makenzie is growing and doing great, and we continue to learn.  Here is the highlight reel:

Lesson #1 – Never take for granted the stuff in life that used to be easy

The simple act of showering is not so simple anymore.  Moms, any other advice on how to get clean when you the only one at home with a babe?

My morning view from the shower… luckily on this morning Kenzie was snoozing. I’ve had a few showers cut short by a screaming babe.

Lesson #2 – Dads are very innovative

When Dad’s in charge, never underestimate a good place for Makenzie to rest when you need both hands to cook dinner… case in point, her bathtub (even if she already took her bath for the day)

All swaddled and ready for a snooze in the bathtub!

Lesson #3 – Technology is your friend!

I have to be honest on this one.  I couldn’t get through a day as a Mom without a smart phone.  If I didn’t have a nursing app I would have no idea when Makenzie ate last.  If I didn’t have a white noise app the poor girl would probably never sleep.  Lullaby, schmullaby… my daughter only wants the consistent soothing noise of water and fans putting her to sleep.  Perhaps she can already recognize that I’m a terrible singer?

Lesson #4 – Life is Not a Norman Rockwell photo

What Mom doesn’t envision life with her newborn baby as a series of Normal Rockwell photos??

Don’t get me wrong, we’ve had our share of sappy family moments…  check out this picture; it kind of makes you think we are the Perfectsons, right?

Now let’s get real!!!   Yes, we love each other.  Yes we adore Makenzie.  Yes we try to make our Normal Rockwell dreams a reality as much as possible, BUT this is real life, not a storybook.  Take for instance Makenzie’s first photo shoot.  We had an absolutely AMAZING photographer ready to go, but I didn’t time it right and Makenzie was a hungry baby (oops! deduct 10 points for Mom of the Year).  Check it out:

We’re going to need a lot more than air brushing to make this a holiday card!

Luckily, Jessica (the amazing photographer), managed to get some unbelievable shots (see above the screaming baby photo) but I sure will try to manage her feeding time better next time.  Live & learn!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So for now my lesson is that I better stop blogging because this baby girl is hungry.  Sending everyone a lesson-filled and happy week!

Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged With: , ,

Pictures of the Week *The First Ten Days*

October 14, 2012 by · 2 Comments

Hi friends!

Mommy and Daddy have been really busy taking care of me so I thought I would help out and write this post.  Since I’m only ten days old don’t pay much attention to my punctuation and spelling.

So far I’m really liking this place called earth!  It’s much drier than my last home and I get to wear all kinds of cute clothes.  Check out my outfit on the day I came home from the hospital.  That was such a fun day!  All the nurses waved good-bye to me and then I got to see my home, my room, and meet my big sister Lexi.  She’s pretty furry (I hope it’s not genetic) and doesn’t seem super excited about me yet.  I’m sure we’ll be BFF’s in no time.

Going home, wheee!!!

My days are really busy.  I try to get lots of beauty rest although Daddy tells me I’m already the prettiest baby girl ever.  Then I spend lots of time eating.  Mommy and I sit in the big chair in my room and listen to the Lullaby station on Pandora.  She says it’s the best app ever, but I’m not sure what that means.  The other day we heard a song called The Rainbow Connection and it made Mommy cry (she seems to cry more than me and I’m the baby).

Snuggle time with Daddy! He’s the best!

I have been meeting all kinds of fun people too!  There are lots of cool girls that live on my street and they want to hang out with me, yay!  I hope they can give me some hair tips.  After Mommy and Daddy give me a bath my hair gets fluffy and sticks up a lot.  I might get made fun of at daycare if something doesn’t change.

Brrr!

This week my MaMaw and PapPap came from a place called Pittsburgh to meet me.  They held me super tight and MaMaw brought me my very first Steelers cheerleader outfit!   I think I’ll wear it for Halloween.

I LOVE MaMaw and we even have the same middle name.  How cool!

I Love PapPap too!

While they were in town Mommy had a really nice lady come over and take my pictures.  Guess who wasn’t excited about this?  Yep, me.  Mommy says that I must take after my Daddy because he hates getting his pictures taken.  But it was right in the middle of my second afternoon nap and I was kind of hungry too.  Despite this, I did my best to look cute and it worked.  Mommy even cried when she saw some of the finished results (see what I mean about Mommy crying so much).  Here are some sneak peeks of them.

Here I am in a pretty white headband!

I was pretending to sleep so they would stop taking my pictures here. But I did kind of like this tutu.

Daddy and Mommy kissing, eww!

Wow, writing this has really tired me out and I think I hear Mommy coming up to check on me!  Next week Daddy goes back to work (super sad face) but I’ll be sure to help Mommy update everyone with our adventures.

xoxo,
Makenzie

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged With: ,

Welcome to the World Makenzie Ruth!

October 10, 2012 by · 2 Comments

She Is Here!

Our sweet baby girl, Makenzie Ruth McGee, has arrived and our world will never ever be the same!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Part of the reason I write this blog is to remember the little parts of life that often get washed away with time, so for this post I’m going to document the night of Makenzie’s arrival with all the details that made her entrance into the world so incredible… that is if I can recap it all without being a weepy mess over my laptop)

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Wednesday was one day past our due date.  It was also a huge day because we were headed to the hospital that evening to be induced.  In preparation for a sleepless night, Denny was napping upstairs and I was downstairs watching the Kardashians (don’t judge please).  At 2:14 PM I felt a contraction much stronger than I has been feeling the past 2 days and I immediately knew our little girl was ready to arrive.  The next contractions came at 2:19, and then 2:24 and then 2:28.  Thanks to the recently downloaded contraction app on my phone we knew we were officially in labor!!

By 5:15 PM Denny and I were pulling up to Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital (yes, he was a gentleman and dropped me off, and while I waited I had a killer contraction which caused a group of what appeared to be high-profile drug reps awkwardly stare at me as I hunched over the flower beds).   As I recovered from the contraction and we walked through the lobby, the tears started for me… this was it, we were going to meet our daughter!  The nurses whisked us in, and before we knew it we were listening to our little girl’s healthy and steady heartbeat on the monitor.  It was a relief to know we made it to a safe place and it would only be a matter of time until we held her.

The next 11 hours and 29 minutes were a blur — countless contractions, 2 epidurals, 10 centimeters, and an exciting countdown to meet our girl.  We were told to rest but neither of us could close our eyes for a second.  I remember laying in bed trying to memorize every detail of the room, every scent, and every moment of the night.  Denny held my hand and supported me during every second of the night.

Auntie Melissa documented the progress

8 then 9 centimeters

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Finally at 3:44 AM, a perfect, beautiful, sweet, eight-pound, three-ounce baby girl arrived with ten fingers, ten toes and gorgeous dark hair!  Dr. Susan laid her on my chest and Denny and I fell madly in love with her.  It was the most incredible, surreal, overwhelming, amazing and beautiful experience of our life.

PERFECT!

Just like that, we were parents, and we were a family of three.  Despite worrying for months how we would decide on her name, Denny and I looked at her and knew her name within moments – Makenzie Ruth McGee.

The morning went by in a blink.  Makenzie met her Auntie Melissa, her Nana and Papa and spent some time in the nursery.  Here are some more pictures below!

Pretty girl!

Meeting Aunt Melissa!

Nana with Makenzie

Papa with Makenzie

The famous Quilty It’s A Girl sign! It was used for both Melissa and me when we were born.

We feel SO incredibly blessed to have welcomed such a sweet and healthy baby girl into this world.  We continue to be overwhelmed with love and support from our friends and family and can’t thank everyone enough for sharing our joy (even is we haven’t yet had the chance to call you back or return your e-mail).

The past seven days have been wonderful and I promise I’ll document more of the first week of her life shortly.  Have a great night and if you happen to be awake at 3:44 AM tonight think of our sweet baby girl and send her a Happy 1st Week Birthday wish!

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged With: , ,

40 Week Bumpdate

October 2, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

It’s October 2, 2012

~~~~~~~~~~

We Made It!  Forty Weeks and our Little Girl’s Due Date!! 

Our final sticker!   And check out the Bump, whoa!

Turns out our little girl is a little trickster and doesn’t seem interested in arriving just yet.  In the meantime, I finished my last day of work yesterday so now we are patiently waiting.

It’s so exciting but yet hard to really comprehend all that is about to happen.  Part of it is bittersweet because I’ll really miss being pregnant and feeling her move all day (and who doesn’t miss the chance to wear stretchy-waisted pants), but I know meeting her in person will be the most amazing day of our lives.

Based on our Doctor’s appointment yesterday it looks likely that we will try an attempt at being induced tomorrow.  We will be sure to keep the world updated when our little pumpkin arrives.

Stay tuned!  🙂

Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged With: ,

Pictures of the Week *The Week You Were Born*

September 30, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Dear Beanette,

We are SO SO Incredibly excited to meet you!!  I thought it might be fun to do a little post about what’s happening in the world during the week you will be born (here’s hoping you arrive this week).  Someday you can look back at it and laugh about the terrible trends… meanwhile, your Dad and I will look back and get teary about how fast you have grown up.

(As a bonus, if you have wi-fi access you can read up on pop culture so you can make small talk with the other babes in the nursery)

_____________________________

So, here’s what happening in the world:

  • 2012 is the year of the Dragon (ironically, your Mom went to a high school that had a dragon as a mascot)

  • The OU Bobcat football team is doing AWESOME!  They are undefeated right now at 5-0!  Your Dad and I met because we both went there and we even had our wedding there.  No pressure, but we would LOVE it if you decided to be a Bobcat someday.

  • The US experienced what your Dad refers to as the Ryder Cup meltdown today.  It was an ugly day on the golf course for the Americans.  I’m sure your arrival will brighten his week and he’ll forget about this golf course massacre.
  • The Steelers are 1-2 and are still getting warmed up for the year.  If you arrive before Sunday you can watch the Steelers take on the Eagles with us.  Maybe you’ll bring them good luck!

  • We also love hockey in the McGee house as you’ll some find out, but the NHL is in a lock-out currently (bummer!).  We’ll take you to a Sabres game eventually.
  • The Office is in the midst of their final season.  Maybe sometime you’ll watch these shows in syndication on Nick at Nite.

  • Obama is President currently and but Romney is running against him (kind of boring, right? Don’t worry, we don’t get too into politics in the McGee house)
  • ‘We are Never Ever Getting Back Together’ is at the top of the pop charts.  Justin Bieber has had a few hits this year too, but he’s way too old for you so please don’t catch Bieber Fever.
  • Brightly colored skinny jeans are pretty trendy right now, but luckily your Dad and I try to avoid any clothes with the word “Skinny” in them so you won’t ever uncover pictures of us in these.

_____________________________

There it is, fall 2012 pop culture in a nutshell, just for you!  Please hurry and pick your Birthday soon!  We really can’t wait to meet you.

Lots of Love, xoxo

Your Mom & Dad

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged With: ,

Operation: Let’s Get This Party Started

September 29, 2012 by · 4 Comments

Today marks 39 weeks and 4 days!

Beanette’s room is still ready, the bags are still packed (we surprisingly haven’t even eaten any of the “Dad/visitor” snacks), our kind neighbors are ready to Lexi-sit, car seats are installed (in both cars), house is relatively clean, and I finally feel like I’m at a good place that I can be done with work if she arrives.

Hooray, it’s Go Time!

Since we are getting anxious for the big arrival, and since it is football season, it seemed appropriate to hunker down, come up with a game plan and go for the Victory (aka the arrival of our little baby girl)!

Introducing: Operation Let’s Get This Party Started!!

Team Roster:

  • Captain: Little Miss Beanette McGee!!
  • Quarterback – Denny
  • Tight End (because I wish I had one) – Me
  • Offensive Line – Nurses
  • Kicker – anesthesiologist

Referees:

  • Dr. Susan and Dr. B

Cheerleaders:

  • Mom & Dad Quilty (sorry to put you on the cheer squad, Dad)
  • Mom and Dad McGee
  • Melissa
  • Neighbors, friends & family
  • Lexi (she wants to be at the top of the pyramid)

Today we brought out the starting line and implemented our early game plan… long walk at mall, long walk in the hood, spicy taco dinner and some jumping jacks (perhaps tomorrow we’ll do Beanette jacks).

At the end of the first quarter we’re still tied at 0-0.   We’re feeling good and moving the chains down the field.  If we keep up this momentum, we want to move into the red zone aka the maternity ward in the coming plays (although playing football in a hospital gown might get tricky – I’d hate to expose my non-tight end).

For now, we’re going to huddle up and take a breather (and a cookie break).   We need to rest up because tomorrow’s game plan entails some big plays — more walking, spicy chili dinner and maybe a bumpy ride screen pass.

If our Team Captain decides she’s ready for a big play and wants to get in the game, we’ll keep you posted!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged With: ,

Happy Birthday Deegan!!

September 27, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Today is my very first nephew’s Birthday!!  It’s hard to believe how fast he has grown up!

  When I started dating Denny he was just a little guy and always cracked us up!!   He’s still hilarious even though we don’t get to see him enough.

Here are some pictures of Deegan as he grew up through the years.  

Kennywood Trip with Scooby Doo – Summer 2004

#1 Steelers Fan with awesome hair – 2005 (the same night the Steelers won another SuperBowl)

Deegan & Connor
Happy Holidays 2011

::  We love you lots Deegan, have a GREAT day and a Very Happy Birthday!!  ::

Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged With:
« Previous Page
Next Page »