6 Months Old and 1st Bow

Mackenzie turned 6 months old on March 4th and we celebrated going to the doctor for shots and a check up the next day. All we know, is that we're so happy that we don't get anymore shots until the 12 month visit! We learned while we were at the doctor's that Mack actually lost weight from her 4 month to her 6 month appointment and the docs don't take this lightly. Now I will say, up until this point we've had no problems with the office and we really love the doctors there. When Mackenzie was weighed, the scales read 11 lbs. 13 oz. and at her 4 month appointment, Mack was just over 12 lbs. After some discussion, we ruled that since she stopped breastfeeding several weeks earlier, that may have contributed to the weight loss. Mackenzie became VERY stubborn that week and wasn't eating properly. We were advised to basically force feed her for 24 hours and bring her back to the office for a weight check. Momma wasn't happy about this one bit. I understand the doctor's are watching out for the babies, but Mackenzie was so full of food, that she would literally take my hand and push it away from her when I tried to feed her. We spent the next several days visiting the doctor's having daily weight checks and we finally got Mack to where she needs to be. As of March 9th, she weighed 13 lbs. 1 oz. We did talk with a different doctor (same office) at the final visit, and he believes the scale was off at the initial weigh in and that Mackenzie is just one of those children that can take it or leave it when it comes to food. Here's her stats from the initial 6 month vist.
Height: 24 1/2 inches 10-25%
Weight: 11 lbs. 13 oz. 0-3%
Head Cirr.: 41 1/4 cm 10-25%
In more exciting news...Mackenzie finally has enough hair to wear hair bows! There's no need for tape, syrup, glue, or anything else one might use to make a bow stay, just pinch a little bit of her fuzzy hair up and in goes the bow!

Exploring New Foods

I started back to school two days a week in January. My classes are Monday and Wednesday from 9:30 a.m. until 3:15 p.m. I drop Mackenzie off either with a friend or with Nanny and Papa on those days and since I knew I would be gone for those days, I was very diligent about breast feeding. I've made it a habit to feed Mackenzie first thing in the morning and then pump since the week we got home from the hospital with her. Needless to say, we had a massive stash of milk in the freezer. It got to the point that if the stash got below 15 bags, I would start to get nervous. On the days I have classes, Mackenzie had bottles with breastmilk in them and then I would feed her when we got home. Mackenzie is an incredible kid when it comes to adapting, she's never had a problem going from me to bottle and will take food anyway she can. Well, last Monday, February 23rd was the last day I breastfed Mackenzie. I've noticed the past few weeks that she was too busy to eat and was taking forever to get the amount that she needed. I don't know what changed her mind, it could be because she figured out that she didn't have to work as hard with the bottle, or that she simply didn't want to spend the time breastfeeding, but she was the one to stop. Monday night was a very long, tiring, exhausting night for all of us. I tried feeding her at her normal 6 p.m. feeding and she refused to eat. Daddy insisted on letting her cry it out and to try to get get Mackenzie to realize that she needed to breastfeed, but it wasn't working. After about 30 minutes of trying to calm her down, we made a bottle with milk in it, and sure enough she took it like a champ and even got so excited about it, she started to hold the bottle by herself! I've tried to offer myself to her, but she's over it. I tried to change my diet, drink water by the liters, and work with her as much as I could, but she said no way. The one thing that comforts me is that she was the one to decide to stop and that I didn't have to wean her when she wasn't ready. My frozen milk supply is quickly twindling down, and it's made me sad. Scott has been so supportive during all of this and has tried to help, but nothing has worked. I didn't expect it to effect me in the way that it did, but it's just another chapter in Mackenzie's life that's changed. She now drinks almost double what she was just two weeks ago, and eats cereal with vegetables for dinner and finishes it up with half a jar of fruit. So far, she's tried and enjoyed carrots (which is her absolute favorite), sweet potatoes, and peas (those make her gag, but she still opens her mouth everytime!). For fruit, she's also tried and enjoyed prunes, pears, and peaches. The only thing she's picky about is that her food must be warm, almost to the point of it being too hot, but if it's remotely cold she refuses to eat!

What in the world is this?!
Hmmm, it's kind of mushy, but I think I like it.

Yay for peas!!!

And now what is this stuff?!

Oh, it's prunes and they sure are yummy!

Such a big girl!

Watching the pups making sure they gon't try to steal my bottle!

White Oak Park

We found a new park in Paulding! White Oak park is so neat and it's huge! Not only does it have a playground with see-saws, they have walking trails that aren't secluded, and two duck ponds! We went with Kelly, Walker, and Jackson one day and as the boys played and fed the ducks, Mackenzie relaxed in her stroller taking in all the new scenery.

Walker pretending he's a goose!
The boys feeding the very hungry geese.

Jackson the monkey hanging from the monkey bars.

Riding in style, notice how Mackenzie has her feet crossed, she sits like this a lot and even sleeps with her feet crossed at times...such a little lady.

Mackenzie's 1st Valentine's Day

We had a very low key Valentine's Day this year. As some you may remember, I told Scott that I was pregnant last Valentine's Day and this year we had our baby to celebrate with. I can't express in words how much Mackenzie means to her mommy and daddy. Since Mack has entered this world she has brought us so much happiness and love. I loved every minute of my pregnancy. Sure, I had some tough days, but I couldn't have asked for a better experience from the day I found I was pregnant until the second that we met Mackenzie for the first time. Everyday I wake up listening to her talk and I smile knowing that the baby that's making all that noise is ours. With that being said, I didn't want to spend Valentine's Day without my sweet baby girl. Mommy, Daddy, and Mackenzie spent the morning with Hope, our latest foster puppy at a dog adoption. It didn't go so well, because we learned that all Hope wanted to do was play with all the other dogs so she barked none stop the entire time we were there. We made the decision for the sake of the other dogs to leave early. When we got home we opened up our presents. Mommy got a new pair ADIAS running shoes and daddy got a new pair of New Balances! I guess it was the year for new running sneakers. Mackenzie also got a brand new outfit from daddy and she gave him two pounds of his favorite coffee.

My new favorite thing to do is to reach for things.
Oh RJ the pink puppy is so funny!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

5 Months Old

Mackenzie turned five months old on February 4th and during that week we had very nice out of the ordinary warm weather. On Mackenzie's five month birthday we spent it at the park. We live very close to the Playground of Dreams and we visit it often, in fact, Mackenzie has been going since she was about a week in half old. Since mommy is home with Mackenzie three days a week we often find fun things to do and we like to go with our friends Kelly and her twin boys, Walker and Jackson. The boys are quiet a bit older than Mackenzie but they love to entertain her and Walker is convinced that Mackenzie is my little sister, it cracks me up everytime he says it.

First time in a swing, and very uncertain!
Oh wait, this is kind of fun!

I'm loving this!

Mommy and Mack on the swings, Happy 5 month birthday, baby!

The Many Sleeping Positions Of Mackenzie

When Mackenzie was a newborn, we swaddled her and she would never move an inch. She loved being all wrapped up, but once we moved her to her crib, I was nervous about her being wrapped up like a burrito and not being able to roll herself back over if she decided to roll onto her tummy. Off came her blankets and she became a free baby. With all the freedom of her hands and feet, she struggled to fall asleep at night. Once she realized that she could move around, we know find her in the craziest positions! She loves to fall asleep on her daddy's chest while they watch television, and she will start out on one end in one position in her crib and then when we check on her before we go to bed, we will find her competely rolled around facing a completely different way. Mommy was the same exact way when she was little, no one ever wanted to share a bed with her because she would kick, twist, and turn. I guess it goes without saying, "like mother, like daughter"! And Mackenzie has her bumpers! Gramma finished them awhile ago, but I haven't taken many pictures, but these ones show them pretty well. Mackenzie's room is finally finished now!

Mackenzie was so happy to have her bumpers, she decided to put her head right up against them.
Precious sleeping beauty

When Mackenzie goes to bed, she starts off this way. Hermie the Wormie keeps her company and sings her to sleep.
Two hours later, Mackenzie has made it to her side.

And in the morning when Mommy checked on her, Mackenzie moved herself sideways. Hermie the Wormie's feelings were hurt because of this move.

Daddy must have been watching something boring.

Sprawled out in the bouncychair.

Little Mack Make You Wanna Jump, Jump

Now that Mackenzie is getting older, we've starting exploring all of her fun toys. On night, daddy got out the door jumper and we put Mackenzie in it. She was very unsure of it at first and had no idea what to think of it, but once we showed her how to use it, she started to get the hang of it. Mackenzie still isn't strong enough to really jump, but she does hop on one foot and spin around in it. Here are a few pictures of her first encounter with her jumper. *Note, the yucky looking brown stains on the door is because of the stain that daddy used when he did our floors. Since Mackenzie been here, we haven't had the chance to repair the doors, but it's on our to-do list along with a million other things!*