She's Here!



We're pleased to introduce

Jacqueline McKenna

Born March 7, 2012
at 11:20am

5 lbs 15 oz, 18 in

After a whirlwind 3 hrs of laboring, we were blessed with this little beauty!

She has dark hair like Cameron's was, just not as long, and eyelashes that make up for the difference!
Already she's a little girly-girl and likes her hair to be washed and combed :) I think Dad did a pretty good job fixing her up!

Big brother Cam couldn't wait to get this little girl on his lap and threw a fit when we told him he had to give her up.
Luckily, he thought my hospital bed was the next best thing to chocolate!

First picture as a family of four.

Ready or Not

Well, this kind of takes the suspense out of it, but we're having our baby tomorrow! I was really hoping to go into labor on my own since I was induced with Cameron, but D-Day has arrived with no baby in sight. At least I've gotten in a little more in shape the last week and a half running up and down stairs, jumping some jacks, and chasing after Cam a little more vigorously than usual.

We're super excited to meet our little girl, and I'm more than slightly terrified to be the mother of two kids. Here goes nothin'!

38ish Weeks

Have you ever had one?

"A month," I mean? In February, we had "a month." Yes, I know we all shared this same month, but really, February was A MONTH!

At times I wondered if I would have a mental breakdown. Overreaction? Yes, but I was an 8-1/2 month pregnant woman running on 3 hours of sleep a night.

Halfway into February, Cameron woke up and would not go back to sleep and just cried and cried. Mark, being the wonderful husband he is stayed up with him for a long while until he fell back asleep then tried to put him back in bed. Immediate meltdown by the little man. By this point I'm saying we just let him cry for a while in bed to see if he'll calm down himself and go back to sleep. Fast forward some minutes later -we hear a big thump, run to see what's happened only to find Cam has thrown himself out of bed. (Don't worry, he didn't get hurt). Immediate meltdown by the big mama.

A couple nights of the same pattern and I decide to take him to Dr. Russel to see if there's anything wrong besides those pesky bottom molars coming in. Something like my angel sleeper being replaced by a demon child. Nah, he's healthy as can be, so I think the end is in sight-just get those molars in and he'll be right as rain. I get him home and put him down for a nap because neither of us has slept for a couple nights and he proceeds to have a meltdown and throws himself out of the crib again. The first time, I'm okay. I look in on him, he's standing in his room just fine. I wait outside his door to see what he does. Little man proceeds to have a meltdown, crawls back in his crib then throws himself back out (I'm not talking about climbing out here, folks). Big mama proceeds to have a meltdown-remember, 8-1/2 months and zero sleep. Mmm, I'm seeing a pattern here.

Well, it's determined that Cameron will not sleep in his crib without someone at least being in his room, so each night, we both give up and Mark pulls a mat in around 4:00 am and sleeps on the floor.

The next week, Mark leaves on a business related trip for the week. Let's just say that neither Cameron or I got any sleep at night or during the day for naps. WHAT? My empathy button is about broken and I'm ready to throw Cam out the window and run for the hills after a week of just us two. Finally, the day comes to go meet Mark in Salt Lake and spend a night with him in his hotel. The Cam Pattern continues and eventually we're able to get him to go to sleep in our bed (which before all of this he had never done before). Sorry to all those who like to share a bed with their kids, but being kicked in the front by a baby and kicked in the back by another just isn't my idea of paradise.

Anyway, after two and a half weeks, Cam finally pushed both molars through, but would not sleep through the night in his crib, and I could not leave him in there to put himself back to sleep because he so vividly proved that was not a safe option. We finally debated ourselves into moving him to a toddler bed the week before baby sister was to arrive, gearing ourselves up for another week of sleepless nights of sleep training.

So far, our prediction is thankfully off. He transitioned without a hitch and we have all been much more happy after enjoying a week of blissful sleep.

Here's to a new month and many more sleepless nights with a new baby. Hopefully fewer meltdowns by everyone involved. In between Cameron sleep-training me for a new baby, we did some of the following:

Don't let this angelic face fool you!

Everyone's still smiling

Mmmmm, brownies!

and...

Jello with a fork?

Grandma Wendy knew just what would cure demon childness. . .Daddy and a kite!

New Elmo pajamas can make anyone's night!

Thanks for reading, I know fully well many of you have all been here in my shoes! Isn't parenthood a joy and wonder? Ha. Really, though, I think it is; even more so after having "a month." Good news of the day, my empathy button was fixable.

A Few Randoms

Cameron got a tool bench for Christmas complete with a couple power tools, wrenches...the works. He loves this thing (at least, right after he got it, it kept his attention for longer than ten seconds).

One day, Cam goes into his room and closes the door. Well, a while later, Mark and I realize we haven't heard that little kid for a good space of time which usually means something bad is going to happen or is happening right that second.

To our relief, we opened the door to find he had transferred nearly all the tools and gadgets from the tool bench to his crib and had climbed up on in himself. When he saw me he said, "No Mommy. Close the door, Mommy."

Ah, gladly child. Take as long as you need. No, seriously. You can stay in their all day long.


This fall, a pipe broke in one of my dad's fields and they weren't able to fix it before it got too cold. Turns out this leaky pipe created the perfect family togetherness opportunity.

A couple days after Christmas, we headed out to the fields of Hyde Park to do some ice skating. Best idea ever! Really, if you want to do some outdoor ice skating, I'll point you in the right direction.

If I wasn't so round around the middle, I would've participated a little more than just stuffing my face with cookies or roasting hot dogs on the sidelines.



Oh goodness, I just love this kid. We took him to get his pictures taken this last week and this is how about a third of them turned out. Stop cheesing-even if it does show your true personality!



Don't you just want to snuggle him?


Next on the blogging list is a little pregnancy update for those interested. Probably next week, after another ultra-sound when I know a little more. Right now, we suspect she's going to be another small one like Cam, which doesn't matter to us as long as she make it to us safe and sound! 30 weeks down, people!

My sweet cousin, Allisa Berry, passed away this morning after fighting a very courageous battle with cancer. I find myself being so grateful for her and her family's incredible example of faith and hope in a difficult and painful situation. They have strengthened my faith in eternal families and the Plan of Salvation. What a blessing to know Allisa's mission continues on.

If you'd like to read about her journey, you can go to their website at http://hopeforallisa.com/ . Or, you can go there to learn what you can do for others in Cache Valley who continue their fight against cancer.

Surprise!

We're adding another princess to our family!

To be honest, we couldn't be happier!

Due to attend her first ball in March 2012

Labor Day Weekend

The Saturday of Memorial weekend, we decided to head on up to Tony Grove with my sister and her family and my parents.

If I had a picture of what Cameron was really like during much of the drive up and the time spent at the lake, it would be of him either whining or crying. Ah, the joys. To his credit, he did have a cold, was in much need of some good ol' fashioned sleep, and it was super chilly.

We had a great time, especially in hindsight. Sometimes these outings seem to be less than ideal and I find myself getting frustrated, but in reality, I'm just glad we get to do some fun things and make memories as a family.

Before heading up to Tony Grove we ventured out the American West Heritage Center to watch Mark's brothers run in their cross country race. They both did great and actually ended up coming in 5th and 6th super close to each other.
Aggie cross country sees improvements - The Herald Journal: Sports:
So fun to watch them compete, particularly after knowing how much time and energy they put into training.