On the Go!

We knew we had it coming... and oh boy did it!! Mackenzie has gone from rocking back and forth on her haunches, to taking one leg movement at a time, to moving across the room in no time flat! What a difference 4 days makes!

Sorry about the quality...

Just Plain Cute

Bath time cuteness!

Peek-a-boo!

Playing with Daddy!

Spirit

The last five days have been filled with smiles, tears, talking, coughs, meds, laughter and change. I'm not quite certain where to begin as they all seemed to happen at once. Our sweet Miss Mackenzie has officially started crawling. If she wants to go anywhere, she does it on her own. If she wants anything, she puts it in her mouth. Her favorite things to play with are Hudsons toys, the coffee table and the computer cord. She is talking up a storm and says "dadadadada" which melts Blake's heart every time he hears her. Last week she came down with a vicious cold and after 2 trips to the doctor, 2 calls to the on-call nurse and at home breathing treatments, she seems to be on the mend. She is still struggling with eating which is very concerning but we are hopeful that it will also turn around quickly. With her illness we decided to not travel to Houston for Christmas with the Laidlaws. With broken spirits Blake and I decided to make the best of it and traveled to Gig Harbor to spend the day with the Eckhardts (thanks D&J for supplying the tree and present for the photo op!!). Thankfully with all of her congestion she still has a great spirit and laughs her way through the day. Now, if we could just get her to eat!!

Giddy Up!

Little Cowgirl Mackenzie got her own little pony!! Well, really, rocking horse!! It neighs, rears it's head and makes clomping noises... it's just about the most hilarious thing ever!! Here's our little Wrangler (sorry to borrow your name Suz) in action! Thanks Ceecee and Poppa!!

Yum Yum!

Tonight Mackenzie tried fresh apples for the first time. We found some really cool mesh rings that hold fruits and veggies and she can suck the juices through without any choking hazards. Here is a shot of her loving up on her apple!

Mackenzie's the Hostess with the Mostess

Yesterday Mackenzie invited a few friends over to celebrate her first Hanukkah. We spun the driedel, ate latkas (thanks Elliot) and lit the menorah! Here are a few shots from the party...

Lighting the menorah

Ava winning at the dreidel game

All of the kids... Mackenzie (7 mo), Jack (2 yr), Ava (5 yr),

Adelyn (6 wk), Molly (3 yr), Elliot (1 yr)

Trouble

I foresee trouble in our future! Mackenzie is on her haunches and rocking back and forth... and soon to be crawling. We are now looking into baby proofing our house... T.R.O.U.B.L.E.

Flashback...

I have found a few pictures from the past few months that I hadn't shared so I thought I would...

Sweet face - July

Momma and Kenzie - August

Daddy and Kenzie - August

Family photo shoot in California with the Legare Family - September

The Laidlaw Family - September

Pregnancy announcements are on the rise and it brings back

memories from when we got pregnant - August 2008

Lucky Girl

Miss Mackenzie is loved by so many people! She has 6 grandparents... 4 half-grandparents (don't ask, it's complicated when it comes to my family) and lots of aunties and uncles that adore her just the same. Fortunately for us we get a lot of help from everyone! When CeeCee and Poppa came to visit for Thanksgiving, Blake and I got to have a date night (we didn't even have to pay them for babysitting!). We captured the moment before leaving... when we got home they were exhausted!! Thanks Ceecee and Poppa!

holidays... holidays... and more holidays

So the last entry was Halloween... yesterday was Thanksgiving.... Hanukkah is 2 weeks away and Christmas is in 4 weeks.... REALLY? Are you kidding me? Where the heck has the year gone?

Kenz has past the half year mark and we just can't believe all that has changed. Just 6 months ago Blake and I stood staring at each other at 4 am with a screaming infant wondering what we had gotten ourselves into. Now we stare at each other in amazement when our little girl is playing with her toys on the floor by herself and realizing what an independent baby she is. Our sweet girl continues to make our hearts melt and fill every day with joy.

We recently went to visit the Portland branch of the Laidlaw clan and Kenz got to see her cousins again!! She is also days away from crawling which her and Daddy are working on several times a day. She has officially had her first bus ride into the city as we took on the crowds of Black Friday and had a visit with Santa (sorry Dad!). We celebrated my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving, with my mom and Frank.... and a DELICIOUS turkey!!! We are preparing for the holidays with a Hanukkah party for Kenz and a Christmas celebration with the Laidlaws in Houston. This is a wonderful time of year when we can all be thankful for each other and celebrate with family... certainly the best time of year!! We'll share more pictures as the holidays progress... until then, here are a few from the last few weeks!

Kenz and Daddy like to open the mail together every day!

Kenz and her cousins, Katelyn, Joseph and Caroline

Kenz wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

Blake getting ready to carve my DELICIOUS turkey!!

Kenzie with Santa and Mrs Claus (our friends Mike and Jamie Castagno)

BOO!

Today is Kenzie's first Halloween and she was sure to scare all the ghosts and goblins with her scary pea pod costume! To celebrate the season we visited the pumpkin patch, traveled through the corn maze and picked out pumpkins! She and I also stopped by the Chef'n Halloween Potluck last week and got to play with her soon-to-be-friend Adelyn Ruby (at the potluck in Megan's belly). Adelyn joined the world on October 28th and Blake and I got the chance to meet her today. Congrats Megan and Brian! Happy Halloween!!

Kenzie visiting the Pumpkin Patch

Kenzie at the Chef'n Halloween Party... if you look closely you can see baby Adelyn in Megan's belly!

Blake with Adelyn Ruby

Kenz carved this pumpkin all by herself!

I think this is just about the sweetest thing EVER!

B.A.N.A.N.A.S.

We started feeding Kenzie real food this last week! You would have thought that she has been eating food since day one with how well she took to it! She naturally opens WIDE and helps you guide the spoon into her mouth, hilarious! She can't get enough!

Rolling Over Nana G

Okay okay, Kenz didn't really roll over Nana G but she did roll over!! On Friday last week she rolled from back to belly like a champ! She was sooooo excited that she was on her belly she stayed for several minutes! Then once on her back again, she rolled over again! She loves it and does it all the time... except in the crib thankfully. I haven't seen her roll from tummy to back but we know she can do it. So back to the Nana G part... Nana G came to visit and meet Miss M! We went and visited our cousins and ate yummy dinners and drank wine... a lot of it really. Kenz was sad to see her go but SO excited she's met all of her grandparents now! Here are a few pics from our weekend...

Broken Record

I feel like a broken record when I say, wow time flies and we've been busy and I'm sorry for the lag in postings... yadda yadda yadda. But it SO true it's frightening! Being back at work, having visitors and taking trips has kept us all so busy that we just don't have time. But here it is, a brief run down of all the happenings in our world with the best little girl!! For those that don't use Facebook... achem you know who you are... JOIN! I post pictures to it constantly!!

Mackenzie is four months and one week currently and oh my she is so big! She's weighing in at 15.5 lbs and 25 inches! She's a great sleeper and giggles constantly. Daddy is her best friend and can't get enough of his goofiness. Kenzie LOVES to talk, once she starts she doesn't stop, I think she's warning us that it's just the beginning! She is very independent and loves to play in her exersaucer and johnny jump up! She has rolled over from her tummy to her back, but not for Blake and I yet... oh the joys of day care, they get to see all the cool stuff first! She's very close to rolling from back to tummy but not quite there yet. Kenz has also taken her first flight to Southern California and boy was she a champ! She slept both ways from take off to landing, not a peep! Blake and I had to high-five each other we were so excited!

There are SO many pictures to share but here are just a few to highlight the recent days.

tummy time

the beginning of an annual tradition .....

the after... yes that's me trying not to laugh!

laughing with zeyda

her new buddy elmo

playing with poppa



mommy's paradise


just a cool shot of our day at the beach

Our Girl is Growing Up...

Mackenzie has officially completed a whole week at day care. The first day back to work for me came on the 3rd of August and it wasn't without a few tears from both Mom and Dad when we dropped her off that day. Each day gets easier and easier but it's still tough to miss the daily growth of our girl and not get to see her smiling face every minute of every day. Blake and I find ourselves rushing out of work to get home and try to enjoy the few hours we have with her before bedtime. It's still an emotional time but we are so thrilled with the day care choice and really are thankful that she is so loved there already.

She's really smiling, giggling and reaching for things so much more. Here's a little video clip of her in her exer-saucer. Happy 3 months Kenz!!

Kenzie and Her New Pal Dylan

Kenzie got to meet Dylan Lanham this last weekend when Matt and Jennifer brought him up from the Oregon coast for a visit. Kenz is very popular with the boys already but she was pretty enamored by Dylan. We had such a great time touring the Seattle Underground, playing with Lego's and but mostly enjoyed catching up with each other.

Kenzie having tummy time with the man.

The Lanhams

Friends, Beer, Burgers and Fun

August started out with a BANG, a visit from the Croft's and Gunnett's. Blake's best friends from grade school came to meet Mackenzie and had a blast doing so! With the Seattle heatwave in full force we did everything possible to stay cool. Walked Pike Place Market, had a picnic at Lincoln Park, a tour of Red Hook Brewery (technically Kenz's second visit... boozer), BBQ with the Fuller's and trip to the Ballard Locks where Blake and I were married two years ago.

Brandon and Valerie Croft with Darin and Lea Gunnett at Pike Place

Kenzie enjoying a taste of beer

Busy Busy Bee

We have had an extremely busy summer and we are loving EVERY minute of it.

Here are a few hightlights of the last week!

Kenzie met her new cousin Joseph when Alec, Angela, Katelyn and Caroline came to visit!!


Miss M's first Scotish Highland Games


Daddy and Kenz checking out the view from the pier

Grandpa came to visit and see the babe and enjoy the Seattle HEAT wave!!

Can you see the Space Needle?