We have been busy!

Many of you know that I do not bake. This is the extent of my skills. Last Thursday on my day off, I took pity on Mackenzie. She found my Christmas cookie cutouts in the Christmas boxes, and begged for 2 days to make cookies. Ten minutes, many bites of dough, and only 8 cookies cut out, she lost interest. They tasted great. And after all the taste-testing between me and Mackenzie, only a little of the dough was left to throw out!

Sampling the finished product.

The first cup of white milk Mackenzie has had in 2 years!!!

Jon took this one while I was in the shower. Apparently it was "Dress up like Mommy" time.

We went to Asheville over the weekend to visit my grandmother in the hospital. It was the first time Mackenzie slept in a real bed at a hotel. Our last hotel stay was Labor Day 2007. She did great, no problem at all. Of course, she had to wind down first! Regrettably, I forgot to take any pics of Mackenzie with 'Bama 'Ceil. Also, we were going to try to fit in the Biltmore, but with my lack of time management skills, it didn't work out.

When we got back in town from Asheville Sunday night, we stopped by the mall to see Santa. Mackenzie told us she was going to stand next to him, but when he held his hands out, she let him pick her up. Mackenzie stayed true to her word, and told Santa she wanted "Handy Manny toys, a Barbie, and a Care Bear".

After visiting Santa, we drove by the Lights of Life. Several times. Mackenzie has enjoyed the lights and decorations so much this year. In fact, she's our designated Christmas tree light-turner-on. She takes her job very seriously.

CHIROPRACTIC!
Ho!Ho!Ho!

We took this video one night this week after dinner. Suddenly, Mackenzie began to sing a song from "Finding Nemo" that Marlin and Dory sing. She hasn't watched Nemo in ages!!!! Anyway, it's cute. If you can't understand her, it's "No eating here, tonight, WHOO, no eating here tonight, WHOO, no eating here tonight, you're on a diet!" She was so funny! (Sorry for the sideways video!)

Family Resemblance?

My mom sent me the following picture after she saw my post with my 15 week belly. This picture was taken on December 27, 1981, the night before I was born. How eerie is it to see how much I look like my mom, and Mackenzie looks like my sister Michelle? Michelle was 4 1/2 years old, and Mackenzie is 3 1/2 now. I had not seen this picture in years before tonight, and I think it's so weird that in both pictures, we're in front of the Christmas tree, with the mom on the right, and her firstborn daughter at her right side, holding her toys with her head on the pregnant belly!

(and I just realized, you can't see it in my picture, but Mackenzie had in pink hairbows on both sides just like Michelle!)

15 Week Update

Here we are at 15 weeks, in front of the half-decorated Christmas tree. (Mackenzie looks sad, but she was trying to hold still while Jon figured out the new camera's red-eye remover!) Most of my 1st trimester symptoms are gone, although I still am exhausted (hence the half-decorated tree), and can get nauseated by some smells. The worst thing, though, is my sciatica. Yes, I work for a chiropractor, and I get adjusted all the time, but sometimes it's still a royal pain in the a**.

Our next OB visit is on Monday, and then we get to schedule an ultrasound. Since fortunately I have had no complications in this pregnancy or my first, I only get one ultrasound. We're going to try to wait until as close to 20 weeks as possible, so we have a greater chance at finding out the sex, since we won't get another shot at it.

We are excitedly preparing for Christmas. Mackenzie helped me hang our stockings tonight, and tomorrow we'll finish the tree. (I already have the baby's stocking to match the rest of ours--last year when I bought them at Target, I thought ahead and got an extra! Now we just have to name the baby and get an inital pen to go on the stocking for next year!)

P.S. As I was typing, Mackenzie started crying in bed. I went in to see what was wrong, and she said, "I need to hold the baby." I asked what baby she wanted, and she answered, "The one in your tummy!". So we got to cuddle for a few minutes before she decided she was okay. What a sweetie!

...

The past couple of months have been bittersweet for me. I definitely wanted to get pregnant and have another baby, but I am a little down that this is my last chance to be a mother of one. Mackenzie has always been such a good kid, and made us happy and thankful for her. I don't know if it is just hormonal me, or what, but lately she has been such a nut, and I'm so grateful for the times we spend together. I wanted to share a couple of things she has done recently to make me smile:



We were talking about the meaning of Christmas. I was sitting at the breakfast table eating Lucky Charms with her (the breakfast of champions, I know) and she starts talking about how Santa is going to bring her Handy Manny toys. I said to her, "Santa's so much fun, but do you remember whose birthday we celebrate on Christmas?" Mackenzie automatically says Daddy, since he just had one. I shook my head, and she proceeds to go into a list of everyone she knows. I stopped her and told her that we celebrate Baby Jesus' birthday. Gunning for punishment, I asked her where Jesus lives. She cocked her head, smiled, and said, "California?"


Mackenzie's favorite song right now is Rihanna's "Disturbia". She heard it for the first time on Dancing with the Stars (which she likes to watch almost as much as Jon and me) and every time she hears it in the car, she says, "Just like on Dancing with the Stars!!!" and bops around as much as she can in her car seat.

We had dinner in the living room (what a horrible parent I am). After Mackenzie finished and got down out of her booster seat (I'm not crazy--she doesn't sit on the couch to eat), she came and sat with us. Jon had the container of rolls on the couch, and I picked Mackenzie up and asked Jon to move the rolls, that they were going to smell like butt. Of course, Miss Copycat shoves her nose right in my face and says, "I don't smell like BUTT!!!!"


Talking about the baby one day, I got the bright idea to delve a little bit into the subject of the female body. After all, I knew all about how I was made when I was 3 (a long story involving a mirror, and embarrassing the crap out of my sister and grandparents!). Mackenzie brought up the fact that the baby was in my tummy, in the uterus. So I said, "And you have a uterus too, and one day when you're old like Mommy you can have a baby!" Definitely the wrong thing to say. Even today, at least a week after this incident, Mackenzie told me, "Mommy, I do not have a uterus and I am not going to have a baby." Adamantly.

I hope you enjoyed these stories. I know I have lots more, and I'm going to try to post more of what goes on day to day, and how sweet my girl is, and how she's growing up to be a wonderful person.

Enjoying the Wii

On Friday Jon finally got to really get into playing the Wii. He also had a partner in crime!

Thanksgiving 2008

As we do every year, we spent Thanksgiving morning and afternoon with the extended Cronon family, and then had dinner with my family (We missed you, Michelle & Eric & kids!). It was a nice, relaxing time. Mackenzie and Jon enjoyed playing outside with family, while I watched from the sidelines.

(Yuck, I hate having my picture taken. You can already see my 14-week belly!)

Jon and Jared in the yard.

Mackenzie...doing her thing.

Exploring Cousin Steve's front porch

Playing with the big girls :-)Exhausted!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Thanksgiving Day was Jon's 27th birthday, so we celebrated on Wednesday. He finally got to open his Wii, which had been sitting in the closet for over a month. He got to look at it every day, knowing what it was, but being the ogre of a wife that I am, I wouldn't let him open it until his birthday! (Don't worry, he's already getting me back. My new laptop he got me for Christmas is now sitting in the same spot his Wii was in)

We went to Jon's favorite steak place, Longhorns for dinner. Mackenzie acted so shy when the waitstaff brought the ice cream and sang "Happy Birthday!"

Being a sweetie with her Daddy.
Scarfing down Daddy's dessert!

Prayer request

Just wanted to post a request for prayer for my grandmother, Louceil. She is my mother's mother, and lives in North Carolina. She was taken to the local hospital yesterday morning with a pulmonary embolism (a blood clot in the lung). Since that hospital isn't capable (whatever that means) of taking care of her in this situation, she was transported via helicopter to Asheville, a two-hour drive by car, only a 25-minute helicopter ride. They are treating her with blood thinners, and she has to stay in a prone flat position for 96 hours (24 hours down, only 72 to go!). After she is stabilized and her blood thickens back up, they have decided to take her gallbladder out (apparently she's needed that done for a while). As of now, we are waiting to see what happens with the blood clot. I know how scared I would be, sick, having to take a helicopter ride while sick, and having to be immobilized. All your prayers are coveted and appreciated.

Mackenzie, me, & 'Bama 'Ceil, October 2007

Quick Update

Wow, it has been forever since I posted. I am finally getting over morning sickness, at 13 weeks. A few weeks ago, I passed out one Saturday morning, while I was getting ready for work. After I came to, I went on to work, and then came home and crashed. That Monday I called the OB. They wanted to check me out just in case. All three of us went (me, Jon, and Mackenzie). Everything is fine, but I'm supposed to watch my energy level, which has been non-existent, and let them know if I pass out again. The upside to this visit: We heard the heartbeat!!!! We had been to the dr. the week before, at 11 weeks, but they couldn't hear the heart yet. So, Mackenzie was there, and got to hear it with us. She was so cute. She entertained all the nurses, and told them she was going to have a little sister (no, we have no idea yet what the baby's sex is). When she heard the heartbeat, she told the doctor, "The baby is growing, and Mommy's tummy is going to get bigger and bigger, and then the baby's going to come out! The baby's in the uterus now!" I'm not sure who was surprised more, us or the doc. Either way, Mackenzie is so excited about the baby, and continually tells everyone about it, at the store, at my office, at the playground, library, everywhere we go. We go back to the OB on Dec. 8, then we set up the ultrasound for the end of December/early January to check everything and find out if Mackenzie's right about having a little sister!

Halloween 2008

We started out this year at 'Bama Joyce's, stopped by Nana & Papaw's, and then off we went.For the 3rd Halloween in a row, we went Trick-or-Treating with the Jordan's. The girls rode in Emma's wagon most of the time, having fun being silly.

Pretending to be asleep :-)

Wow...

I just realized what the blurb on the pregnancy ticker said. I promise you, I don't write that stuff, it comes from the ticker website. That's what I get for choosing the humorous ticker instead of the informative one.

Election Day 2008

Election Day: It can be a painful process, what with the lines and overworked volunteers. Today was no such story. Mackenzie and I dropped by our polling place at 1:30 and were done and on our way by 1:45. After a quick lunch, Mackenzie went back to the polling place with Daddy, and helped him vote. They were out in about 15 minutes, too. Mackenzie enjoyed voting, although she wouldn't wear any stickers. Only Mommy and Daddy got to wear those. The best part for our child: showing off her horse and cow toys, and sharing the news with perfect strangers that she's going to be a big sister! (Ask Mackenzie if she wants the elephant or the donkey to win--she'll say they're going to share--if only!)

Disney On Ice

Jon, Mackenzie, my dad, and I went to Disney on Ice at Philips Arena. We've had it planned for a while now, and the show was great. We had awesome seats, and were able to see everything. This is the opening curtain.

Before the show started, we were able to take a tour of all the princess dresses. It was really crowded, but somehow we managed to get a decent picture.

Cheese!

Mickey, Minnie, Donald, & Goofy emceed the show.

First up was 'Mater and the gang from Cars.

Then Ariel & Ursula...

Ariel & Prince Eric

Then Timon, Pumba, & Simba.

And of course, Tinkerbell!

We had to get souveniers from this awesome night. Between us and my parents, the child was spoiled. She got cotton candy with a Lighting McQueen hat, a Mickey Mouse cup, a Tinkerbell light toy, a Simba stuffed animal, and a program of the show.

Oh, and a Cars t-shirt that's just right for bed!

Fall Portraits

We went for our fall pictures at Portrait Innovations last weekend. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Picking and Carving

We went to a local pumpkin patch on Saturday to pick our 3 pumpkins. Of course, Jon got a huge one to carve, I picked a medium to decorate, and Mackenzie picked a little one for her; she got one for the baby the other day at the grocery store:-).

Mackenzie flew up the hill, she was so excited to be at the patch.

Mommy and Kenzie

Daddy and Kenzie
Digging out the guts was especially fun this year.Mackenzie had to make sure she got every bit of yuck inside the pumpkin. We had to grab her a few times because she almost fell inside!

The finished product: a spider in the moon

Economy slump hits us where it hurts...

...our appetites! We headed over to Johnny Carino's for dinner one night, and found it boarded up. We had just been there with friends a few weeks before, so it was a huge shock. This is (was) our absolute favorite place to eat, and where we'd taken Mackenzie for her birthday the last 2 years. There was a sign on the door advertising another location, but it will never replace the original.

Big girl bed

We finally made the transition to a full size bed. We had taken off the front of Mackenzie's bed months ago, and had no trouble. She absolutely will not get out of bed unless one of us is in her room with her. Mackenzie has slept like a rock since we transitioned her into this bed. On a side note: We went to pick out her bedding one night with our friend, Aunt Heather. She and I were looking, and found the bed-set below. Jon called to me from one aisle over to come look at a set he found. I was being my stubborn self and said, "No, you come look at the one I found." So he brought his with him---and it was the same one! We decided it was fate for Mackenzie to have polka dotted sheets!

Our 1st appointment for Baby #2

Jon and I went to our first OB appointment today. We switched doctors, and we were very pleased with the new office. Everything so far looks great. They are estimating our due date to be May 28, 2009. I'm not too sure about that, since I feel like I'm actually growing much faster. They will probably do an ultrasound in a few weeks, and that will give us a definite. Until then, I just have to remember to eat every few hours. If I don't, I feel so nauseated. :-(

Mackenzie has been so good about the new baby. She already talks to my stomach, and tells the baby how cute she or he is. She changes her answer every time someone asks her if she wants a brother or sister. We bought her a book called "Baby on the Way" to prepare her, and she reads it all the time. Keep all 4 of us in your prayers, and more updates to come soon!