Makenna - 8 Years Old

Nicknames: Kenna, Nenny, Nenna, Nenner, Nenner Benner, Nen, Buddy
Weight & Height: I can't remember anything specific from her physical other than she's still really tall :) Once I find the papers in one of our many moving boxes I'll update this.
Hair: Medium length blond hair. Has to be long enough for a ponytail :)
Favorite foods: Sushi, Hamburgers, Meatloaf
Favorite Drink: Root Beer (although she's only been allowed to have it on a few occasions)
Favorite toys: iPod, anything with her imagination, Littlest Pet Shops, Perler beads
Favorite stuffed animal: Duckie
Favorite Books: She is currently digging through all of my old Baby-Sitter's Club books from when I was a kid. She also loves the American Girl series, Vet Volunteers, and Life According To Humphrey series. She also read Swiss Family Robinson this summer and loved it.

Makenna on her 8th birthday

Bedtime: This is a big question mark for me currently. It seems as she's getting older she doesn't need as much sleep, but I have a hard time giving up early bedtimes. This summer she's been in bed by 8:30/9:00 most nights (which is late to me) but doesn't fall asleep until closer to 10:00.
Wake-up time: Depending on the day she could easily sleep until 10:00 if I let her, but most often is up around 9:00 in the summer.
Best Friends: This has changed quite a bit over the last year. The friends that she used to say were her "best friends" were not so nice over the last year. Her current best buddies include Sophie, Chloe, Caroline and Celia. And even though I don't think she'd admit it, I think Maryn is honestly one of her best friends. They play together all the time.
Latest Accomplishment: She completed her 1st triathlon on July 28th!!!

Right after completing her 1st triathlon!

Likes: playing outside, listening to music, reading, writing in one of her many journals (she's always writing a book or story of some sort)
Dislikes: when her sisters get into her stuff
Activities: Swimming lessons, soccer in the fall and spring, soccer camp this summer, softball, training for the triathlon
Fears: She has become a worry wart since I got pregnant. She does not like having mommy sick and not feeling well. She is constantly asking if I am okay and when I will be back to my old self :)
Favorite shows: Jessie, Shake It Up. Her favorite movie is currently the American Girl movie "McKenna".
Health: I'm so thankful for healthy kids! Makenna has somehow avoided most viruses/illnesses over the past year. She was tested for allergies in January and that came back with a bunch of stuff that she is allergic to... molds, grasses, weeds (ragweed) to name a few. Also a sensitivity to pineapple. But ironically once we moved to our new house she didn't seem to need her allergy medicine everyday anymore. We'll see how that plays out in peak allergy seasons (fall/spring). She has also been struggling with back pain over the last year. Nothing major but we took her to 3 different doctors/specialists to get to the bottom of it. Long story short, she has VERY tight hamstrings (especially after doing all of her sports) and that in turn then bugs her back. We just have to remind her to stretch really well on a daily basis and that usually helps.


Playing outside with her sisters on 4th of July

I thank God for Makenna. I honestly don't think I could've made it through this pregnancy without her help. She is always there for me and has responsibilities that most 8 year olds don't have to deal with. She takes care of her sisters, makes lunch/breakfast somedays, helps Maya in the bathroom, gets her sisters dressed, chores around the house, pretty much anything I ask of her. Especially these last few weeks when I can't do stairs very well. And she does it all without complaining. She has a huge heart and is always willing to serve others. I love her so much and wish I was more like her. I love you Makenna. I don't know if you will every truly understand how much I appreciate you.

We Moved!

Yes we are officially insane! We decided to build a house and move all while pregnant with twins! But we are so glad we did. We are finally moved in and loving it! The girls had no issues adjusting to their new home at all. We are so thankful that we were able to move into a bigger house and make room for our expanding family! Now to just get everything unpacked...


Our new home! So happy to call this place home :)

Our new view in the backyard. Complete with all the wildlife that goes with it. We have a family of deer and lots of wild turkey. The girls have named the deer Barnsley and Baisley.

The back of our home

The girls enjoying some Scratch cupcakes in their new backyard

Front entryway

Looking at doors going into the office and hallway on main floor

Great room

Dining room

View 1 of kitchen

View 2 of kitchen

Mud room with docking station (which you can't see very well in picture). Functionally my favorite room in the new house... helps keeps everything cleaner.

Another view of the master bathroom.

Tub in master bathroom... so glad to finally have a bathtub for me!

Ahhhh.... my new shower :)

Master bedroom

Reading nook... soon to be complete with lots of cushions and pillows :)

Kids new study space right off the family room... new space for homework so I don't constantly have school/art projects all over my dining room table!

Lower level family room

The girls being goofy in their "wing" of the house. We were very specific in wanting the girls to have their own living area.<

Makenna's new room... teal was her color of choice!

Maya's room. She picked pink walls with a pink and apple green striped quilt. Very girly :)

Maryn's room. She picked pink walls as well but her bed is red with pink polka dots. Very bold... just like Maryn :)

One view of my laundry room... I finally got a sink!

Other side of the laundry room (hard to photograph)... has shelves for laundry baskets, area for hanging clothes and a counter for folding and sorting :) I'm in love with this room.

Maya's 1st Haircut

Yes, Maya is 3 1/2 years old, but she just had her first official haircut! I did trim some random long strands of hair in the back around Christmas time, but this was her first time going to the salon. Even with that, you can't really tell the difference... she's really lacking in the hair department! But she's adorable anyway and to be honest I'm not so sure I'm ready to cut the curls off in the back yet :)


The before picture! She is SO excited to finally be getting a haircut just like her big sisters! Even if the lady would've just pretended to cut her hair it would've been worth it for how happy it made her :)

The after picture! Yep, not much difference. Maybe a little cleaner, that's about all! Still my adorable Maya.

Twins' Baby Shower

My very sweet sister-in-laws threw a baby shower for me and the twins at the beginning of June. It was so nice to have family get together to celebrate these two little peanuts! We are so blessed to have family and friends that are excited for us!

All ready for the baby shower with my three favorite girls!

28 weeks pregnant!

Me and my mom :) I love this picture. Probably one of the best ever taken of us together!

Me, Alissa, Shelly and baby Jayla. Such sweet friends :)

Me, Shelly and Meghan... my two sister-in-laws that were so thoughtful in throwing us this wonderful shower! Thank you!

Poppy & Peepie's 60th Birthdays

I've been digging through old pictures and finding everything I didn't blog about for months and found this adorable picture of my parents with their granddaughters. So sweet! This was a fun weekend we had celebrating both of my parents' 60th birthdays! Looks like they are going to have to find some more room on their laps since they will have double that amount of grandchildren at the next birthday party :)

Maryn Softball 2012

If you've already read my blog post about Makenna and softball this summer, we had the opposite experience with Maryn and softball. She was so uninterested that we actually had the "threaten" her to pay attention or else she wouldn't go any more. This was her first year playing and we actually thought given her interest in soccer and her natural athletic ability that softball would be a good fit for her. We were wrong. Very wrong. The pace is much too slow for Maryn and she spent most of the season singing, dancing and twirling her hair in the outfield.... Loud enough for everyone watching the game to hear and get a good laugh out of it. The coach had to yell at her to stand up in the field numerous times. I don't know that she ever once ran after hitting the ball without being told to. She was more interested in making friends when baserunning than actually running bases. She wore her glove on the wrong hand for at least the first 3 games (despite being corrected constantly) and even once threw her ball and glove both at first base after she stopped a ball. When a kid tells you that their favorite part of a sport is the snack at the end you know it's not their thing. But that's okay... she tried it and we now know. Once again, this mommy had it all wrong. Never predict what your kids are going to like or be good at because they will shock you each and every time. I think next summer we are trying a faster paced sport with Maryn, possibly tennis :)


Making friends while paying 3rd base

Maryn at bat - yes, our daughter INSISTED on wearing a pink, ruffled skirt to softball. Did this pregnant mom have the energy to fight with her? Absolutely not. I had to laugh when we got there and 3 other girls on her teams were wearing skirts that day as well :)

Trying to hit the ball

Maryn at bat

Not quite sure what she was doing in this picture... fitting since that seemed to be the entire season.

Running to 1st base

Trying to keep her helmet on :)

Makenna Softball 2012

Another season of softball is complete. Whew. That was a difficult, hot one for this pregnant mama! Makenna LOVED softball and she shocked us all by somehow improving drastically over the winter with no practice. Josh and I still aren't sure how that one happened, but it was fun to see. Out of all the games they'd played this season (which is a lot) she only had two at-bats where she didn't get a hit! She moved up a level this year (3rd-5th graders) and we thought she would be lagging behind in fielding experience but once again she proved us wrong. It was fun to spend some of our summer evenings relaxing at the ballpark enjoying a good softball game! I kind of forgot what it was like! Most importantly, Makenna had a blast and we had a blast watching her have fun! Good season Makenna!


My Kenna in the dugout.

Serious in the field.

Makenna at bat

Smiling while running bases :)

Maya Gracie enjoying a ring pop at Makenna's game. I'm sure this child despises softball by now after the large number of practices and games she was drug to this summer. At least Makenna's games had concessions!

33 Weeks Pregnant

I read somewhere that twin pregnancies shift from the "uncomfortable" category to "miserable" somewhere between 32-34 weeks of pregnancy. They were spot on for me... my shift occurred right at 33 weeks. I always like to put on my brave face and tell everyone that "I'm fine"... but this is hard. I've been through three pregnancies and I've never felt like this. I've had a 9 lb 3 oz baby, a kiddo that sat on a nerve that caused me extreme pain in my hip/leg for a month and another kiddo that made me vomit so much that I lost 12 pounds. Nothing compares to this. Thank God I have worked into this because I'm afraid I would be much wimpier about all of this with no prior experience.

The good news is that the babies are thriving! We've now had 2 non-stress tests both of which showed the two of them are just happy as clams in there :) Our last ultrasound at 31 weeks 5 days showed that we have some very big babies... the boy is 5 lb 4 oz and the girl is 3 lb 15 oz. A fairly large discrepancy, but even with the girl being so much smaller she is still over the 50% for weight at that gestational age so they are not worried. Note I said "they" are not worried... I am absolutely terrified at the thought of giving birth to 16 pounds of baby, which is now proving to be a real possibility. Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful they are growing so well, but can someone please tell me how this is all going to work out since my c-section isn't scheduled until August 20th? That little boy will be 9 pounds on his own by then! Both babies are head down, with the girl in Baby A position, meaning she will come first most likely. Her brother is pretty much sitting on her head thus not allowing much movement from her. Both babies have hair that is visible on the ultrasound :)

Symptoms: Swelling, swelling and more swelling. In my feet and hands mostly. Acid reflux and heartburn. Pelvic pressure. Seeing spots occasionally. Dizzy. Back pain. Run out of breath easily. Difficulty sleeping. Go to the bathroom frequently (and a plethora of other bathroom related issues you don't want to hear about). Pains in my ribs. Difficulty walking. Carpal tunnel. Basically, I just hurt all over. End of story.

Here is a pretty picture of my swollen feet... I'm pretty sure I no longer have any shoes that fit.

My belly at 33 weeks. I measured 42 weeks pregnant just 3 days before this picture was taken.