I Miss Him

I'm not sure why, but I've been missing John Moeller a lot lately. John is the one who started up Carpenter's Son Construction where Scott has been employed for the past 9 years and John was also a huge part of our church. His daughter is Nancy Moeller Hutchins who some of you may have had for an English teacher at good ol' MHS. So with all this being said, Scott and I spent some time with The Moeller's. John and Diane hosted the company Christmas party year after year where we would sit in the great room and marvel over the giant Christmas tree they had and who could forget the train set that John had going around, through, and under the tree? He was so proud of that train and loved to show anyone how it worked. Sadly, John passed away in May. Scott and I visited him several times in the hospital, once being in March where he was so concerned about his hair loss and how large his ears must have looked. He told us stories of how his grandchildren said how much he looked like a monkey, and he did, but I will tell you that he was the cutest Pop monkey you've ever seen. Scott brought the newspaper clippings from the tornado we were recently in. And he told us how he couldn't wait to have a new addition to our family. This struck a cord with me. He didn't say to "the family", but instead "our family". This made me realize how much he treated us like we were part of his blood. He was discharged in March, and was quickly back in the hospital in late April. This time, he wouldn't leave. Scott and I again visited with him on May 3rd, not ready to say good bye. I promised myself that I wouldn't cry, we knew Diane had been spending night and day by John's side and I insisted on standing strong for her. I broke my promise. At this point we found out several weeks earlier that we were having a girl, and we wanted him to know. Diane was so excited for us as we whispered to her what we were having and giving her details. John was struggling so hard to stay awake and to be apart of the conversation. Diane went over to John and told him that we found out the sex of the baby and before we knew it, he grabbed his oxygen mask, lifted it over his head, and said with his eyes closed,"Girl". I will NEVER forget that moment as long as I live. There's no way, he heard us tell Diane, and that's when I broke my promise. As we left the hospital, we knew it didn't look good. And at 10:40 a.m. the next day while Scott and I were on our way to church, we got the call that John had passed away. When we went to visit the family and to say our good bye's at the funeral home, I was so upset to see that John didn't have his hearing aides in anymore. And he needed those hearing aides, he couldn't hear anything without them. When you would hug John, those silly hearing aides would squeak and squeal. Without them, he couldn't hear and seeing him without them made me sad. I miss his absolutely beautiful clear blue eyes. His eyes were the color blue that you could almost see through, they were gorgous. John's funeral was later that week and his family did such a good job of honoring him. Scott and I shared stories, so many of them laugh until your stomach hurt funny, and some of them so heart warming and comforting. John was the type of person you along with your children would want for a Pop. I'm sad that Mackenzie never had the opportunity to meet him, I know she would have loved him and I know he would have loved and treated her like one of his own. He was wonderful, and I miss him...a lot.

10 Weeks

We've been having so much fun with Mackenzie. In the past couple of weeks, her personality has really blossomed. The fan and lights are just a few things that facinate Mackenzie right now. She will move her head from side to side and up and down to find lights and fans in any room. Thankfully, Scott installed a fan in her room before it was hers, so once she moves in there, she will have one more thing to entertain her. Speaking of, the big move to her crib is on the horizon. Mackenzie has been sleeping through the night since she was 3 weeks old and she usually goes to sleep around 9:30/10 p.m. and wakes up around 7:30 a.m./9 a.m. therefore, we think it's best to get her in there soon. She is absolutely adorable when she wakes up(we think she's always adorable!), she always wakes up happy with a smile on her face and will just look around from side to side until we get her. When we unwrap her from her swaddle, she stretches just like big people arching her back, stretching her legs and arms, and giving out a cooing yawn. Mackenzie is becoming such a little person, loving when we talk to her and almost always smiling and cooing at us when she likes what she hears. I can't believe our little girl is 10 weeks old!
This is what we wake up to every morning...priceless!

Our little baldy

Reading with Daddy before bedtime

Love those baby blues and long eyelashes!

All Things Bumbo

We've been so fortunate to be able to borrow so many toys and such instead of buying all the baby "must haves". Scott's sister had a little boy 2 years ago and she kept all his stuff and has allowed us to borrow all of it! We just got a Johnny Jumper, Bumbo, Exersaucer, and a walker. We've only tried the Bumbo and so far, so good.
We call this the "Bumbo Lean"

Maybe if I raise my arm, I will tilt back the other way

Bumbo Feet

Bumbo Yawn

Bumbo Sneeze

Bumbo Prayer

Bumbo Shock

9 Weeks Old

Shots. Yuck. Mackenzie received her first round of shots on November 5th and it was awful. Luckily Scott went with us. He held her hand and head while I tried to talk to her, but I couldn't do it. Mack got three shots total and when she got the first one, I knew we were in for it. Mack has NEVER cried as hard as she did the day she got her shots. I of course, started to tear up, but held it together. Thankfully, we have 2 months before we have to go back for more. The nurse weighed, and measured Mack. Weight-10 lbs. 12 oz.=50%Length-22 and 1/4 inches long=50%
Head Circumference-38 cm.=50%
Even though Mack got shots, she was so happy all day. She did sleep a little more than normal, but it just meant that I was able to get some things done around the house!

Mad Mack! Bear was trying to console her.

I look so much like my Daddy here!

Mackenzie's First Halloween

We took Mackenzie to a local church to pick out her first pumpkin. She hung out in her daddy's arms while we picked out a family pumpkin and a small one for her. Scott later carved the pumpkin while mommy and Mack watched. On Halloween night, the 3 of us headed over to Scott's brother and sister in law's house in Woodstock for a night of trick or treating and eating! A couple of houses in their cul-de-sac get together and hand out candy while the dad's take the kids around the neighborhood. Mackenzie was a little kitty cat and was warm and snuggly all night. Scott and I took her to about 4 houses and everyone fell in love with her.

Abby was a sweetheart bat

I promise, no children were hurt in the production of this photo!

Cutest kitty cat on the block.

At the pumpkin patch

8 weeks

Mackenzie is starting to become so social. She loves to smile when you talk to her and if you smile at her she will almost always smile back! It's the cutest thing and melts our hearts every time she does it. She also loves to watch the fan...moving or not she will stare at it so intently. She has also really started to enjoy her bouncy seat. When we put her in it, she starts kicking her legs and smiling so big. Mackenzie is such a happy, content baby. We get compliments everywhere we go about how good of a baby she is and quiet she is. She loves being held and will let anyone hold her.

Love the raised eyebrow look

Mack's big brother keeping her company while mommy cleans her room.

Such a serious look!

7 weeks old

I'm so behind on blogging! Ugh, it's so amazing how fast the time gets away from you. Mackenzie had her first cold last week. It started out with a stuffy nose and we all thought it was because of the changing weather. I borrowed a humidifier from my mom and got it all set up. I'm sure it helped, but we quickly realized that it was more than just a stuffy nose. Poor Mack sounded like a little piggy. Of course you would never know that she didn't feel well, she was her normal self not complaining one bit. She got a small fever that lasted a day, and when we called the peditrician, they said there wasn't a whole lot we could do. With Mackenzie being so young and small, any medication isn't safe for her. So, Mack and mommy had several lazy days last week trying to get her back to good health before Halloween.

It looks like her bear just told her something funny

Our little E.T.

Love those baby blues!

Seven weeks and still fits into her sailor outfit.