Makenzie Ruth — Page 5

Merry Christmas Baby!

December 30, 2013 by erinqmcgee · Leave a Comment

(We’ve been relaxing and enjoying the holidays, hence the blog slacking. I promise I’ll go back to my regular Thursday morning posting schedule next week. Until then, pass the chocolate Santas!)

Dear Makenzie,

Christmas has come and gone in the blink of an eye. It’s almost impossible to believe that we just celebrated our second Christmas with you… wasn’t it just a few weeks ago that we put you in your teeny tiny 1st Christmas outfit to meet Santa?

December 2012 – Our little Christmas baby meeting Santa for the first time

Christmas 2013 has been a wonderful! Your dad and I are still on vacation, and all this extra time with you has been awesome – lots of sleeping in (if you count 7:30 as sleeping in), playing, reading and giggling . You make life so much fun!

In case you don’t remember this Christmas I figured I’d write this post for you with some of the best parts of the holiday season.

:: Decorating ::

You were really helpful this year in Decking the Halls! Thanks Kenz! (Right after you helped hang these ornaments, you took most of them down and piled them in your wagon, but either way it was very cute.)

:: Meeting Santa! ::

This December marked your second visit to Santa! You did great and you even waved to your Daddy and me as you told Santa what you wanted. You definitely made the Nice list. Way to go baby girl!

:: Enjoying the lights ::

Here you are at the door checking out the neighborhood Christmas lights! I’m shocked by how grown up you have become.

Then our family holiday fun began on Christmas Eve with a drive to Ohio. I’ll let the pictures tell the rest…

You were snug as a bug as we cruised along route 90 to Ohio.

You tolerated a few pictures as we dressed you up as Kenzie Claus. Daddy sure loves you!

Here you are getting ready for a Christmas Eve sleep as Nana reads you and Ryan a bedtime story.

Visions of sugarplums dancing in your head…

And finally, it was Christmas morning!!!

Ryan found the first gift of the year, his new train! All Aboard!

The morning was a blur of wrapping paper. You, and your cousins Ryan and Jack must have been good this year. Santa brought you lots of cool toys.

Jack Jack enjoyed his 1st Christmas along with Auntie Melissa!

Your new trike and matching helmet (in your reindeer-footie jammies). You melt our hearts. 🙂

After a few days we headed to Pittsburgh for a very McGee Christmas!

Cousin Connor was excited to see you!

Auntie Meg checked out the 2014 calendar with you.

Your Mamaw and Pappap bought you your very FIRST car this Christmas! It’s a super cute VW Beetle. We can’t wait to see you cruise down the street in it!

Your friend Charlotte loved your car too!

And there was more bedtime story fun waiting for you!

And it wouldn’t be a Christmas without the official cousin shot. It turned out very cute this year!

Another great Christmas in the books!

Makenzie, you make the holidays SO much fun. Your Dad and I count our lucky stars every day for healthy, happy you!! Merry Christmas Baby, you’re the best gift ever. We can’t wait to see what 2014 brings!

Love you to the moon and back,

Mom

xoxo

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Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged With: Dear Makenzie, Holidays, Makenzie Ruth

One of those amazing melt-your-mom-heart Moments

December 21, 2013 by erinqmcgee · 1 Comment

Call me a rebel because it’s not a Wednesday night, but I feel the urge to blog a little. It’s honestly a selfish reason… I don’t want to ever forget today.

Today in the middle of cleaning, in the middle of wrapping, in the middle of life, I had one of the amazing Melt-your-Mom-heart Moments. Those are the moments that make all the hard parts of parenting worthwhile.

It started simple enough… one of our wonderful neighbors/friends brought Makenzie an awesome (and incredibly generous) Christmas gift: the super adorable Disney Princess Klip Klop Stable. It’s so cute! She was napping when they dropped it off, but Denny and I were so excited to see her reaction that we woke her up early (after we played with it ourselves of course). Kenz came into the room and let out a shriek to see the awesome gift. The picture below highlights her joy. She just stood there with her little hands moving, and she had a huge smile on her face. It melted my heart into a million billion pieces.

Excited!

Kenzie played with it for a long time and didn’t even notice when I left the room briefly… When I came back it was as if I watched her transform from our baby to a little girl. Denny and I both snuck in the doorway and watched her picking up the little people and moving them around and babbling to them telling the ponies all about the storyline she was creating. It was the first time we ever saw her play like such a big girl.

So cute, and so amazing! There were tears in my eyes and there was a feeling of immense appreciation in my heart for what we have. Our little pumpkin is turning into a big girl one klip klop at a time.

For all the stress and the anxiety I’ve been feeling as I try to make Christmas “perfect” I was reminded tonight that it has nothing to do with perfection, It’s really about those super cool moments we get to spend with the little (and big) ones in our life we love the most.

Here’s to finding more of those moments in your holiday season!

Cheers,

Erin

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Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged With: Makenzie Ruth, People we Heart

A funny hubby, a cute baby and the Target Cartwheel app

November 22, 2013 by erinqmcgee · Leave a Comment

Thankful? Yep, I’m absolutely thankful!

I have a funny hubby, cute baby and the Target Cartwheel app… what else could a girl need (seriously I think those 3 things make up the ‘basic’ level on the Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs)?

I think we all try to be extra aware of the good stuff around us at this time of the year (at least until we wake up at 2 am the day after being thankful to arm wrestle people for hot deals on laptops, but whatever). I could write about all the obvious things in my life that I love, but who’s got time for that… there’s food to be eaten! So I thought I’d go a different route and think about all the little itty-bitty things that make life sweet.

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:: A day in the life of a Thankful mom ::

5:30 am – Alarm, snooze, snooze, hear baby girl, slip out of bed to get sweet sleepy baby… and the thankfulness begins…

…Thankful for flannel sheets (even if I don’t want to get out of them), thankful for Kenzie’s adorable bed head, thankful for extra absorbent diapers, thankful for morning snuggles…

Little pumpkin bed head… melts my heart!

6:21 am

…Thankful for hot showers, thankful for tights so I don’t have to shave my legs, thankful for a husband who did laundry the night before (true story, Denny does all the laundry)…

7:05 am

…Thankful (SO THANKFUL) for Tim Ho’s K-cups, thankful for morning playtime with Kenz, thankful for the Today Show, thankful for binkies on a string, thankful for Cheerios…

Mornings haven’t been this amazing since the days of kegs & eggs in college!

7:32 am

…Incredibly thankful for a wonderful caregiver, thankful for a baby that (usually) doesn’t cry at drop-off, thankful for a commute that gives me just enough time to catch up with a few loved ones…

7:55 am

…Thankful for Pandora, thankful for cute baby pics to look at while I’m in the office, thankful for a system to prioritize e-mails, thankful for my OU mouse pad…

Speaking of pictures on my desk, here’s Thanksgiving 2012. Our little turkey was about 7 weeks old.

8:45 am

…Thankful for a job that I really truly enjoy, thankful for a cool view of medical campus out office window, thankful for funny co-workers…

11:45 am

…Thankful for flat shoes to run errands, thankful for $5 foot longs, thankful for texting to send a note to a friend I haven’t talked to lately…

flat shoes

3:10 pm

…Thankful for a husband who likes to check-in during the day, thankful for leftover Subway cookies from lunch…

4:35 pm

…Thankful for flex time, thankful for blue tooth in my car, thankful for a husband who does pick-up duty…

5:40 pm

…Thankful for fun mail, thankful for Digiorno pizzas, thankful for sweat pants, thankful for sippy cups…

7:40 pm

…Thankful for adorable bare baby bums, thankful for baby shampoo that doesn’t burn if it goes in eyes, thankful for the smell of a clean baby…

8:20 pm

Thankful for a chance to just sit, thankful for baby video monitors, thankful for ice cream, thankful for DVR…

9:40 pm

…Thankful for a few minutes to share my thoughts on the blog, thankful for YOU for stopping by to read it…

And at the end of the day (every day)

…I’m thankful for all the countless blessings we have, and I’m thankful the people in my world (both with us and the ones we carry in our hearts) for the impact they leave in my life…

(Speaking of, this is one of my favorite pictures of when Aunt Lorraine met Makenzie last Thanksgiving. Tomorrow (Thanksgiving) would have been my Aunt Lorraine and Uncle Jim’s 50th wedding anniversary. She’ll be in our thoughts all day)

What I would give to go back to last year for just a little more time with Aunt Lorraine…

Wishing you and your families an awesome, turkey-filled holiday as you celebrate with all the people who make you thankful!

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Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged With: About Mommy McBlog, Holidays, Makenzie Ruth, People we Heart

Fall-la-la-la-la

November 20, 2013 by erinqmcgee · Leave a Comment

There’s no doubt that we are already knee-deep in the holiday season (who else is feeling the pressure?). BUT before we dive into the land of Fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la, I’m blogging once more about fall-fall-fall-fall-fall-fall-fall-fall-fall.

It’s been a fun few weeks since Kenzie’s Birthday party. Our little baby has quickly turned into a toddler (sobs!) and she’s ready to take on the world!

Here’s a peek into her busy little schedule…

:: Saturday Morning gymnastics class! ::

Kenz-o falls under the Bumblebee category at a local kid’s gym center and she’s doing great! Can we say Nadia McGee?

Bounce, bouncin on the ball!

Climbing on the obstacle course.

:: Driveway dismounts ::

Speaking of tumble, our little gymnast tried to run down the driveway but unfortunately didn’t get a perfect 10. She took a big Fall-la-la-la-la. We went to urgent care who sent us to the ER. Scary stuff, but luckily the ER told us the best news — we didn’t need to be there and she would be just fine! We spent 12 hours monitoring her and she’s A-Okay! We are thanking our lucky stars!

A few days after the fall and she’s feeling great!

Tweeting about her trip to the ER on her iPad. Such a modern-day babe.

:: Eating chili, the lunch of champions ::

We’ve been taking advantage of the crisp fall weather to enjoy football Sundays.

Yum!

:: And getting Holiday ready ::

We can’t deny it. Christmas is a-coming! This weekend we did a quick trip to Ohio to see some friends & family. We got some holiday photos and had a great visit.

Kenz & Keene… best buds and future bride & groom, perhaps the year 2042?

Still hard to believe Melissa and I have our own kids. Seems like just yesterday we were playing with our Cabbage Patch babies!

Our little girl looking very grown up and ready for the holidays. She makes us smile 🙂

There’s a lot more to do before Santa arrives and the next few weeks should be full of fun.

Thanks for taking time to visit the good ol’ blog!

Until next Thursday…

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Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged With: Holidays, Makenzie Ruth, Month by month

One Tense Mama

November 13, 2013 by erinqmcgee · Leave a Comment

My 2014 planner arrived this week, woo hoo! There’s nothing I love more than having a fresh planner to mark birthdays, work events and vacation dates. Totally lame but life’s all about the little things, right?

But before I could even flip to February I started thinking about my New Years resolutions. I’m serious about this… 2014 WILL be the year I make and stick with my resolution. I’ve known my resolution for a while so it’s time to get moving on it… and there’s not better way to hold myself accountable than to announce my resolution to all my ~~millions~~ ~~thousands~~ hundreds-ish readers on the blog (Hi Mom!).

So without further adieu.

My 2014 resolution is…. (drumroll please)….

To be one tense Mom.

No, not tense as in uptight. Tense as in present tense.

And here’s why…

Lately I’ve been thinking about how Moms are master multi-taskers. Even when we’re with our babes we’re sometimes not with our babes. Life pulls us in lots of directions and Moms, more than anyone, have a lot on their minds. And I’ve come to the conclusion that even when you are with your kids, you may not be present with them, hence the Three Tenses of Mommy-ing.

Present Tense Mama – The present-tense Mom is with her kiddos and having fun. This is the Mom that’s fully engaged and paying 100% attention. The present-tense Mom makes memories and lives in the moment. She rocks! This is my goal!!

Future Tense Mom – This is the Mom that’s spending time with her kiddos but rather than engaging she’s thinking about life 20 minutes from now, 4 hours from now and 3 days from now. This mom’s packing sippy cups for the afternoon trip to the park…. while thawing meat for tonight’s dinner…. while making a shopping list for Sunday’s grocery (no doubt we’ve all done this). She’s 10 steps ahead of the rest of the world. Watch out world!

Past Tense Mom – This Mom is spending times with her kids too, but rather than playing she’s caught up with the memories of the past. This past tense mom is too busy to have fun because she’s taking pictures, making calendars and sending photo books to the grandmas. Aside from carrying the baby, this mom carries passwords to all the accounts – Instagram, Shutterfly, and Snapfish.

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It’s not a bad thing to be a past tense or a future tense Mom. In fact it unavoidable at times, but my NY resolution is to focus on being a present-tense Mama with Makenzie as much as possible, and here’s a few tricks I’ve learned to achieve this….

Night-time prep – the more I can do while she sleeps, the less I have to do while she’s awake. Nighttime = full-on prep mode. Set out clothes, K-cups, keys, bags, bottles, binkies… you name it! Granted mornings still get crazy at times, but once in awhile all the prep will give me some free time before work and Kenzie and I get to play, play play.
Committing to activities – It’s true that the swim class and baby gym class benefit Kenzie but the other perk is that committing to a regular activity requires me to be a present-tense Mom as we splash, tumble and make memories.

And lastly, the key to being a present-tense Mama is…

Dance parties – We love these!! We stop everything and turn on 80’s station on Pandora to dance and get silly. There’s no time to stress about planning for the future or snapping photos, there’s only time to get crazy and dance your cute little 13-month old heart out. Awesome!!!

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Now Bring it on 2014!

I’m challenging myself to be more tuned in as a Mom.

Will it work??? I hope!

I’ve got a goal. I’ve got clear steps to achieve the goal. So now let’s see if I can be less tense and more present tense.

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Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged With: Holidays, Makenzie Ruth, My View on Life, Random Ridiculousness, Super Mamas

Tricks and Treats

October 30, 2013 by erinqmcgee · Leave a Comment

Happy Halloween (or Halloween Eve depending when you read this)!

We’ve had some a trick and some treats in our house lately. The worst trick we discovered is that peanut butter and Makenzie don’t get along. I haven’t had a chance to fill many of you in on what happened so here it is.

As many of you know Denny and I love peanut butter. We love pb & j’s. We love peanut butter cups and peanut butter patties. We love buckeyes. We love peanut butter ice cream. The list goes on and on and on (ask my thighs)…

Hello love!

Naturally when Makenzie turned 1 we were excited that we could introduce her to one of the Wonders of the Pantry, and we toasted up some delicious peanut butter toast for our little peanut.

The good news is that Kenzie loved it. But the bad news is that within minutes she was bright red all over, and her cheeks, chest and arms were covered in hives. It was scary but luckily her breathing wasn’t affected. After some Benadryl, a bath and a few hours she was fine. And within 48 hours we got to enjoy some serious family time during a long morning spent at the allergist with some extensive testing. Kenzie did great, but we confirmed our concern that she highly allergic to peanuts.

So what this means is no peanuts (obviously). She can have tree nuts (cashews, almonds, pistachios, etc) but definitely no peanut butter, Reese’s, buckeyes, etc. And it’s an unpredictable allergy. She could have peanuts 100 more times and only need Benadryl, or she could have peanuts 1 more time and have a severe reaction. Scary stuff. Not surprisingly I cried when we found out, but the more we thought about it, the less scary it seemed. We realized how lucky we are to have a happy healthy baby. And we realized how lucky we were to catch it early. Now we have everything we need (extra Benadryl and some epi pens) should a more serious reaction ever occur.

Now onto the treats…

Despite the poking & prodding, it’s been a fun month. Our little pistachio (formerly known as our little peanut) is all geared up for her 2nd Halloween! It doesn’t seem possible that it’s been a whole year since Makenzie was an 8-lb Where’s Waldo. This year she’ll be buzzing around the block as a little bumble bee (stay tuned for pictures).

Makenzie in 2012, a 27-day-old Where’s Waldo

And things are so different this year. Last year at this time Makenzie was eating for 50 minutes every 2 hours so the thought of dragging our sleep-deprived selves further than 10 yards away from the couch seemed terrifying. We bought her pumpkin at a gas station and we didn’t even leave the house to trick or treat.

What a difference one year makes… This year Denny and I brought Makenzie to the real pumpkin patch and she even had fun carving up her jack-o-lantern. Check it out!

Pumpkin patch fun!

Enjoying the sunshine

Fearless pumpkin in the corn maze!

Carving time in her awesome babe skinny jeans 🙂

So there you have it!

This month is full of treats and an unexpected trick, but if you don’t mind substituting some Oreos for Reese’s you’ll be able to get by while still enjoying the sweet stuff of life.

Wishing you a very fun (and dry) Halloween!

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At least Makenzie is not allergic to blogging! I hope you’re not either.

Grab your epi pen and follow the fun on Facebook!

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Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged With: Holidays, Makenzie Ruth, Peanut allergy

Pictures of the Week Celebrating 12 months

October 13, 2013 by erinqmcgee · Leave a Comment

Makenzie’s Birthday weekend was so much fun!

Last weekend was 3 full days of celebration. Denny and I both took last Friday off of work and our entire goal was to enjoy every second of Makenzie’s 1st Birthday. Despite my plans to turn our house into a full-out pumpkin farm, my mother-in-law convinced me it’s better to have the party somewhere else and save myself a lot of stress. Such a good call. So I deleted my Makenzie’s Pumpkin Patch Birthday Party board on Pinterest, and we hosted her party at a fun little place called Rolly Pollies. The kids had fun and we were able to enjoy all of our visitors without turning the backyard into a pumpkinville!

Since then we’ve been able to relax and I finally had a chance to upload all the pictures. It’s hard to believe this is her final month-by-month post!

Take a look…

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Friday, Birthday Day

Checking out the Kenzie Coupe! (Likely the first and last new car for this little girl, sorry Kenz!)

Vanity plates… because what toddler doesn’t need these?

Waiting for cousins Jack & Ryan to arrive!

The Birthday fun begins!!

Makenzie enjoying the new tunnel from Nana and Papa, and taking a minute to check birthday e-mails on Mom’s phone.

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Saturday, Party Day!!

Coasters, bounce houses and cake! Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate Makenzie’s 1st year!

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Sunday, An extra day with Family!

Giggles over pancakes with Mamaw

Hanging out with Auntie Meg, Uncle Scott and Connor

After breakfast picture with Nana & Papa

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We’re so lucky to have so many wonderful people in our world. Thank you to everyone who helped us survive the first year of parenting and who helped us celebrate the 1st Birthday of Kenzie!

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Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged With: Birthdays, Makenzie Ruth, Month by month, Picture of the Week

Dear Makenzie… A little note to the very special Birthday Girl

October 7, 2013 by erinqmcgee · 1 Comment

Dear Makenzie Ruth,

I say your full name not because you’re in trouble but because I like to say it. Makenzie Ruth. Makenzie Ruth. It makes me smile. And it makes you feel more real. And after celebrating your 1st Birthday this weekend I’m having trouble believing it’s real. How did a year pass so quickly? I feel like it was only a few weeks ago that you were born.

I have a little confession. Before you were born I would talk to you all the time. I told you that I had it all under control and that I knew what I was doing. Well, I lied. Not intentionally, but the second we left the hospital your dad and I looked at each other and worried that we didn’t have the slightest idea of how to take care of you. On your first night at home we all slept in the family room because we were too scared to carry you up the stairs and put you in your room by yourself. Luckily we’ve since overcome the fear of stairs.

And luckily I didn’t lie to you about everything. In fact there are a few things I want to tell you a hundred more times because when I said it the first time I meant it…

You’re the most beautiful baby girl ever, inside and out! True story. I’ve said it a million times and I’ve meant it a million more times. Just look in the mirror.

My goal is for you to be healthy and happy. And maybe if I’m lucky I can teach you a thing or two about life – how to swing a golf club, how to have compassion for those around you, how to have appreciation for your good days, and how to have a sense of humor for your not so good days.

And most importantly,

I’m here for you always. Even during teething pain at 3 am… even during nights when there are monsters under your bed… even during scary thunderstorms… even during junior high when the boy you like won’t ask you to dance (his loss, and I promise I won’t literally be there but I’ll be a text away)… even during finals week at grad school (again, not literally there, but just call me)… even during the toughest times of your life and especially during the happiest moments of you life. I’ll always be there for you – as your mom, as your support, as the one who will keep your heart safe.

Thank you so much Makenzie Ruth. You’ve brought a whole new level of happiness into our world. You’ve also brought me a whole new appreciation for coffee (and I mean that in the best way possible).

Happy Happy 1st Birthday Baby Girl! May all your wishes come true (mine already have).

xoxo

Mom

Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged With: Birthdays, Dear Makenzie, Makenzie Ruth

11 Months – How’d that happen?

September 25, 2013 by erinqmcgee · 1 Comment

One sticker left… wow! What a bittersweet feeling!

And it feels like it was just yesterday that I was saying the same thing about my pregnancy picky stickies. We were just weeks away from meeting our Beanette… How was this post a whole year ago?

In just about a week and a half our Makenzie Ruth will be a one-year old girl! I’m pretty behind with this post so I’ll keep it short and sweet…

Happy 11 month baby girl! I love love love when she’s fresh out of the tub and in her snuggly jammies. 🙂

This month seems like it’s gone faster than the others. Maybe because we spent 10 of the days relaxing and enjoying vacation or maybe because it’s the countdown to our little pumpkin’s 1st Birthday.

Either way she’s been busy:

Almost walking – she takes a lot of steps on her own but still likes to hold onto Mommy or Daddy’s hands (we like it too)
Babbling a lot more – her newest word is “uh oh”
Eating real food for every meal – no more baby food, this girl can chow down
Barely drinking from bottles – Our big girl is down to just 2 bottles a day
Playing, playing and more playing! She loves to explore everything!
And last but not least (drumroll)… She’s so excited for her upcoming birthday she’s not sleeping. Wah wah. We’ve hit a serious parenting plateau and the only thing we see for miles is the land of sleepless nights. Stay tuned with this, we’re trying to get her back to being a good sleeper.

But if there’s anyone we don’t mind cuddling with in the wee hours of the night, it’s Makenzie Ruth. She’s so sweet and fun and we can’t imagine our world without her. It’s going to be a fun 1st Birthday celebration. Stay tuned!

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Kenz-o is about to turn O-N-E, join the countdown on Facebook!

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Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged With: Makenzie Ruth, Month by month, The Beanette