"Sister, Sisters....

There were never such delightful sisters".....my mom used to sing this song all the time to me & my sister growing up & now it is popping in my head as I look over these photos I took of the girls in the matching sister shirts. I finally got a somewhat decent shot of them in both of their shirts.....I have had them since Keelyn was 3 weeks old! Good thing Keelyn doesn't grow fast, giving me more time to get around to posing them in the outfits on a rare day when they are both game for a few photos!

This one might be a bit better, but Mackenzie was covering up her words on her shirt :P Cute anyways!

Aquarium Visit

I braved my first trip to the Aquarium with two kids in tow this week - and it was overall a pretty big success. I lined up a number of my friends (& Mackenzie's friends) to go to for some reinforcement! It was a fun day :) I almost thought I could possibly do it alone! We'll see.....

Glued to the glass in amazement :)

Watching a giant grouper swim by

We got to see one of the "Diver Shows"

The girls watching the diver in with the fish (he had a microphone & was talking to them - pretty neat!)

The whole gang (minus Keelyn!)

These two are quite a pair!

Thanks Mrs. Stephanie for the rare photo with mommy in it! Notice Keelyn wearing her appropriate penguin outfit :)

Cutie Patootie

I just love this picture of Keelyn! Isn't she the cutest in her stylish hat?? She is really turning into such a good baby. I remember really enjoying it when Mackenzie reached around 4 months, and I realized this week that we are almost there for Keelyn :) Something about that age seems to be such a good age where they are interacting more, more content, not feeding quite so constantly, just all around good age!

I do, however, wish she would sleep through the night on a consistent basis. By this point for Mackenzie, it was a done deal. She slept good from about 2 months on...... I've just decided everyone was right that we were lucky with Mackenzie & I've decided that Keelyn is a light sleeper. She can make it a whole 7-8 hours, but it's just as likely (or more likely) that she won't make it that far. If it's been 3/4 hours or less since her last feeding and she's crying, I try not to go get her b/c that just means I'll be feeding her back to sleep. So I give her some time, maybe 5-10 minutes, to cry and often she'll go back to sleep. If it's more like 5/6 hours since her last feeding, she will NOT go back to sleep. And being a little peanut, I go feed her because she probably could use the extra calories! The whole not taking a paci is a bummer b/c I could sometimes get away with that if Mackenzie did wake up in the middle of the night & just run in, put the paci in and go back to bed......

We're trying a new bedtime approach that I'd heard of folks doing, but never had to do with Mackenzie. And that is to do a midnight feeding. I wanted to move up her last feeding, but she wasn't sleeping longer so it was hard to move it too far up. (With Mackenzie, as I slowly moved it closer & closer to 8pm she just would sleep longer and wake the same time in the morning....) So, she's doing her last feeding around 8:30-9 and going to bed at that time. Then, I wake her to feed around 11-11:30 when I'm going to bed & she doesn't even really wake up. I top her off and head to bed myself to extend my sleeping hours! I really like this since it didn't seem she's ready to sleep through the night but I couldn't handle her after 9pm - I needed more "me" time :)

It's Gone

That's right folks.....the paci is a thing of the past at the McKay household. Since my newborn won't take it & my 2 year old just gave it up like it was no big thing, they are no longer needed at our house! I'm still amazed at how easily Mackenzie gave it up, though..... Here's how it went down:

Brannon was getting anxious to get Mackenzie to give it up. (Me - I was fine with it b/c I was too scared of having a second child not sleeping through the night!). BUT - I knew it was probably time & was a little worried that Brannon would just take it from her one night and that would not have been pretty.

So, I decided to go to Toys R Us last Friday and get her a new "lovey" that she could pick out to give her something else to comfort her at night. So, she picked out a little stuff winnie the pooh attached to a little blanket. Perfect. Then, I thought, as we were passing the princess aisle, that maybe I would also let her pick out a toy to have if she gave up her paci. So, we walked down the aisle & she was in heaven. Finally settling on a Beauty & the Beast (Belle) doll that has a wand, plays music, and has flowers that bloom on the dress (a bit odd, but she loved it). In fact, she held it in its box all the way home! And when she asked to play with it, I told her it would be hers if she gave up her paci.

I had actually intended on giving her an additional night with her pacis, but by the time bedtime came around, she WANTED her Belle doll. She knew what she had to do & Brannon went up to room with her, opened the Belle doll box, and made the exchange when she threw her pacis in the garbage. She never looked back. She now happily goes to sleep, sleeps through the night & for naps, with her Belle doll & Winnie the Pooh lovey by her side! Wow. Would never have guessed it would have been that easy. She was seriously addicted to her paci. I guess that shows you how much she LOVES her new Belle doll!

My Valentines

My sweet little valentines.....

Happy Valentine's Day

This year, I thought we wouldn't get to go out for Valentine's Day, given that my newborn REFUSES to take a bottle...... which would be the first time 10 years! But I concocted a plan to get Keelyn down by 10pm (I'm slowly inching up her last feeding) and have our babysitter come by around 10 and watch to make sure the house didn't fall down while we went to get some drinks and get O.U.T of the house withO.U.T. any kids! (A feat for me these days!) And by the way, talk about the easiest babysitting

gig ev-ah!

Anyways, it was nice. It was Sunday night when we actually did it and I wasn't thinking, but now we live in

suburbia-ville, so

everything shuts down here around 10pm on Sunday. So, we ended up at the only place still open..... Applebee's! HA! Oh well, nothing spectacular, but before we found it, I said I'd be happy just driving around without any screaming coming from the backseat!

Our actual Valentine's Day was a bit more of an adventure..... I decided to get the girls all dressed up in the Valentine's Day gear and head for Daddy's office downtown where we could eat lunch with him. The morning getting ready went smashingly well (that should've been a sign!) and we met him in the food court of his building. Loud environment, kid-friendly food. This should work, right??!?

WRONG. One thing about the food court is you have to go get your food but we can't all go through at once, so we decided that I would go get mine & Mackenzie's food while he sat at our table with the girls. As I was handing Keelyn over to him, I noticed a yellowish/brown spot on her pants..... Oh boy. She hasn't had a leaky diaper in quite some time. But, of course, today she does! So, I take her back and begin looking for a public restroom to get all cleaned up. (I was sure glad I got photos before leaving that morning because the outfit was gross! I almost waited til I got home...)

When I got back Brannon took

Mackenzie to get his food & hers. Then, I went to get mine. Well,

from then on it was decent I guess. But Mackenzie ate barely anything, yet wanted the cake slice they were handing out & we got for her. So, we had a nice battle of PLEASE eat something so we can let you have dessert & not just have dessert for lunch! She was being a typical two year old. What fun. Keelyn

was also fussy by this point so I ate my lunch standing up bouncing her with one arm & eating with the other. Not much of a relaxing lunch!

Maybe we'll try again in a few months!

At the Mountains

Two weekends ago (and the beginning of over a week of BEAUTIFUL weather here) Brannon took Mackenzie up to our mountain property to play & hang out (and also gave me a big break having 5 or so hours with just one kid....amazing how easy one kid seems nowadays!). We bought this property years ago, and don't use it much since having kids so we often debate if we should sell it (if we even could sell it these days.....) but now Mackenzie is getting to an age where she's gonna be fun to take up there & man is it beautiful up there.....maybe we'll hold on to it! Here's a couple videos daddy took.

Taking Advantage

We've been trying to take advantage of some beautiful weather this week & get outside and soak up some rays before the cold weather is sure to return for a little bit longer. But I can't wait until it stays warm for good & forspring to arrive! On Sunday, we went for a hike aroundthe Chattahoochee with the girls. Keelyn enjoyed going along for the ride (as long as the sun wasn't in her eyes!)and Mackenzie loved running along the trail and then throwing some rocks in the water when we got to the river. Fun day. Warmer weather is right around the corner.....

Making Valentines

We got a little Valentine's package from Meemi last week full of pink, red, & heart shaped goodies! In particular, she sent us plenty of Valentines stickers and some heart-shaped door hangers & doilies (is that how you spell that?!?) for some V-day craftiness! (As a former kindergarten teacher - she is helping me get in touch with my crafty side!) So, we sat down after her afternoon nap on a couple days last week (her attention span didn't last long enough to do it all in one sitting!) and made some valentines. Then, we took a few of them along with some valentines cookies we made to her friends last night at our community group. I can tell we're gonna have a lot of fun in the next year as she develops the ability to do more of these types of crafts & activities :)

Cutie in a Carseat

You can't tell from this shot, but this girl hates her carseat. I would say about 95% of the time when you put her in it, she screams! Such fun. I keep hoping she'll realize she has to get in it despite how much she protests, but no luck so far. She usually quiets down once the seat is in the car & moving. But from the house to the car and about 5 minutes down the road.....that girl shares her feelings about the matter. Then, once you get where you're going and the car stops, she starts up again (unless she fell into a deep sleep) although if you put the seat in a stroller and keep her moving she'll be pretty happy. BUT once you get her out & are holding her, all is well again.

G & G Visit

Last weekend, my parents came up for the weekend. Mostly they were here to help my sister move into her new apartment (which by the way.....yay for some local family!!) but we got to hang out with them when they weren't on moving duty. Mackenzie had a blast with them extra attention as always! And Keelyn enjoyed not having to be put down (that girl still loves to be held! I thought second borns got used to being put down.....)

Out at breakfast with the grandparents

Sporting her new clothes from the grandparents complete with her way old jelly shoes (from last summer!) that she insists on wearing with everything these days despite the fact that they are a bit tight! Can't wait til I see the new jelly shoes for this spring so I can buy her a new pair!

G-mommy & G-daddy with the newest granddaughter

Cute shot with both girls

Got a family picture thanks to having extra hands around.....and miraculously everyone 2 & under was in a good mood at the same time as when we wanted to take pictures. amazing.

My New Crib

Wow, three posts in a row about Keelyn :) It's usually so hard to outshine that big older sister! But, she's getting to that fun age & I guess easier to get pictures of her if she's happier more often (and not just in my arms!). I finally got the chance to go buy her some of her own bedding for the nursery a few days ago (thanks to some friends who watched the girls while I went shopping!). I had planned to purchase something when I first got home from the hospital (because we didn't know if she was a girl/boy before we had her, I decided to wait instead of going with a green/yellow theme :) ) BUT I got a little busy with life & also couldn't commit to buying something by just looking online, so I went and saw in person & purchased a butterfly themed bedding and her room will be yellow with accents of dark & light pink. FUN! Glad I waited really because I want her room to be girly :)

Here's some pictures of her in her

new bed. I'm glad I took pictures right away because she started squirming around her crib and trying to roll over so I had to take the bumper off almost as soon as I put it on. We'll see it again in about 9 months when the risk of SIDS is gone! Now that I have a bedding picked out, I'm starting to order wall hangings to go with the room & I'm excited to get it finished!

She's enjoying her new bed & also the mobile (which was Mackenzie's) that I hung for her. Isn't she the cutest??!?

3 Months Old!

Hi Everyone!

I recently turned three months old. And I am finally getting adjusted to this big crazy world :) Mommy says she can't believe it, but she thinks that time is going even faster this time than with my big sister. Some of my recent accomplishments include smiling alot & even showing off my first laughs for everyone (they get a big kick out that!). I've also found my hands, but unlike my sister when she discovered hers, I don't look at them at all, I just try to fit them into my mouth :) I've also started showing signs of trying to roll over from my back to my stomach. This surprised mommy, because she so rarely lays me down (something about me crying when she did that!). But even with just starting to be laid down on my playmat & such, I'm already making lots of efforts in that arena. Speaking of crying when laying down, I'm not such a huge fan of this thing called tummy time. If mommy lets me do it on the boppy, then it's alright for a few minutes, but straight on the ground - no thank you! So, guess what, my mommy rarely makes me do it! She doesn't like to hear me cry!! She says that would've bothered her with her first baby, but with me, she knows I'll roll, crawl, walk, when I am ready so she's not too worried about tummy time everyday! Whew!!! There are benefits to being #2 she tells me :)

I'm still not as good of a sleeper as my big sister, mommy says, but she also says that Mackenzie spoiled them in that area, and really I'm not too bad. I slept in my bouncy seat for the first 2+ months of my life. First in their room, then in my crib in the bouncy seat. But once I got my reflux under control & I started sleeping longer, mommy figured I should start sleeping on my back in the crib right before I turned 3 months old. At first she didn't swaddle me, because I didn't like it early on, but after the first night of being woken up at 1:45, 4:45, and 7:45, she gave the swaddle a try for my second night in the crib. Voila! I slept like 7 hours :) And I've been doing pretty good ever since. Mommy says I'm a sporadic sleeper still. About 2-3 nights of sleeping 8-9 hours & then I'll wake up at 3am for a night, and then back to a few nights of sleeping through the night. Just keeping her on her toes!

I'm turning out to be a little peanut, just like my big sister. (Hate to break it to mommy, but it just might be in the gene pool!). She thought I'd be bigger because I started out a 1/2 lb bigger at birth. But nope. Still little. She even scheduled a 3 month weight check, because between 2 & 4 months, my big sister dropped off the weight charts & she wanted to watch it more closely with me since I'm exclusively breastfed. Well, I'm also dropping. Just 10 lbs, 5 oz at my 3 month appointment, that's just 10% (down from 20% at my 2 month). Now, she's a little worried that she's not making enough milk. But I'm a pretty happy baby, always content after eating, so she thinks maybe I'm just a little peanut. But she's taking some pills, drinking some special tea, and pumping alot more to see if that helps by my 4 month appointment. The

thing is that for Mackenzie, she was easy to supplement because she liked a bottle. Me. I DO.NOT. LIKE. A. BOTTLE! Thank you very much. So supplementing me is going to be a tricky thing. We'll see how this goes. I'm sure mommy will keep you posted!

In other news, it looks like I have some sensitive skin. I had started getting these reddish rashes and dry skin a few weeks ago, so she had the doctor look at that too & it seems I have excema. So, I get to get all lathered up in a baby oil substance twice a day! It seems to be helping :) I also still have pretty dark hair, but mommy still thinks that it will lighten up. When looking back at

Mackenzie's 3 month post, she realized that Mackenzie's hair looked reddish at this point and now she is a little toehead. So, alot can change in a year.

Overall, I am becoming a much easier baby. Mommy says in that way I am very similar to my sister. We were not the easiest newborns, pretty fussy, but once we hit 3-4 months, our whole attitude improves! I'm different than my sister though, because when I am awake, I just LOVE to be held. I may be a bit more of a snuggler :)

Well, that's about it for now. I'll be back in a month :)

-Keelyn

The Bumbo is Back!

About a week ago, I sat Keelyn in the Bumbo for the first time.....well, maybe not the first, but the first time she sat in it without screaming! Not sure she liked having to support her big ol' noggin at first, HA! But right before she was 3 months old, she thought it was okay. Maybe sitting her out on the deck on a rare nice winter day this year helped. Anyways, here's a few pictures of my cutie, who is growing up so quickly. I was going for the artistic look and didn't realize until I uploaded them that I didn't take any from far away where you could actually see the whole Bumbo. Oh well!

OH Yeah! That's right, I'm sittin' up!

Cutie Pie

This one cracks me up. She has such a look of steely determination! Also, in case you're wondering (as I was when I uploaded them) her one cheek is bigger because she was leaning that way - still has to work on balancing in a completely upright position!

2 Going on 10? Why? And Other Thoughts.....

Mackenzie is developing quite the personality. She totally cracks us up so often these days, especially with her stories & such that she comes up with. Like when Daddy comes home from work each day & asks her what she did - she doesn't always tell him the truth...... Maybe she tells him what she wishes she had done that day? It's pretty funny though to hear what she might say we've done that day & how far it is from the truth!

She is also HEAVILY into asking us "Why?". To EVERYTHING! Seriously. I thought we had until she was 3 to get into the why phase, but nope, not even 2 1/2 yet, and already it starts. For instance, today we went out to eat with her grandparents. As we were trying to get her into the car, she bent over and started picking up rocks (another favorite pastime), and my mom realized she was starting to pick up some glass from the parking lot. My mom, of course, tells her not to pick up the glass. "Why?". Because it will hurt you. "Why?". Because it is sharp. "Why?". Because sharp things can cut you. "Why?". (I'm not exaggerating!). Enter her father. Because when sharp things break your skin, it sends a message to your brain that says that is painful. "Why?". Just because!!

Another favorite thing she does sometimes is over-extend her age by a few years. I'll ask her how old she is, and sometimes I get the correct answer, 'TWO!". Other times, it has been "SIX!". And every now & then, I get a "TEN!". Oh boy, she's two going on ten. Sounds about right.

Trying to Capture a Smile

Keelyn has turned into a really smiley baby lately, which, of course, we all just love! Mackenzie can even get a smile out of her, which makes her feel like the best big sister :) It is just so gratifying to make a baby smile - finally being able to feel like you are connecting with them, so I think that is special to Mackenzie! Anyways, it's not always easy to catch it oncamera..... Here's my attempt from a couple weeks ago.....

Alert.....but not smiling.....

What is mommy doing? I think she's acting silly trying to get me to smile!

Finding her hand......

MMmmmm, my hands are tasty!! What's that, you want me to smile??

No smiles, but I am cute anyways!!!

I am DONE with this photo shoot! PICK ME UP!!!!

We Love our Friends!

It is so fun to see Mackenzie really start playing with her friends. And she asks specifically about her friends - like if we get in the car to go somewhere, "Mady Kay be there?" or if we get there and someone is absent, "Sophia sick??". No longer are our playdates just about my friends & their babies, but they are for me & my friends as well as for Mackenzie & hers! Here we are at Kangazoom a couple weeks ago.....note how my child is the only one unwilling to pose for the photo!

Happy Baby, Happy Sisters

With Keelyn getting a bit bigger, and a good bit less fussy, she is now enjoying being held by her big sister a bit more. For about a month, after she got out of the really sleepy phase, but not into her happier baby phase, she was not a big fan of being held by a two year old! She's a little particular with everyone, about how she should be held! But as she grows, her flexibilty is growing a little, and I can now get some decent shots of the girls! Prepare yourself for many future sister photos!!

This Looks Familiar

Apparently, this is a comfortable way to sleep in a swing. I wouldn't think so, but we're two for two on babies that do this!

Keelyn - Jan 2010

Mackenzie - November 2008