Our Fall Walk in Summer Weather

This whole week has been great weather! But we have had a string of bad days and haven't gotten outside to enjoy the weather! So this afternoon we headed out! I brought out Makenzie's walker for her to walk around the yard with, but the grass is too thick and it doesn't move :0( So off for a walk we went! We headed down the road to the KalHaven trail. I hate walking down that trail in the summer... with all the trees it makes the path SO dark. Now that the leaves are falling it's just perfect! And it smells SOOO good in the fall!


Makenzie helped hold Ruger. That dog spins his wheels the whole half hour we walked and Makenzie would giggle! He is a bundle of energy. By time we were almost back home climbing that last hill I had to pull him up... haha he was done!

And the Garden Begins!

Last spring I was so excited to get our garden going again. And I got so sad because every time I went to work on the garden I would feel so sick (thank you baby Makenzie!), so Matt took care of most of the garden! I only help just a handful of times. So this year, I am ready to rock n’ roll!!

Matt’s mom and dad came down (tradition) to rototile our garden to get it ready for planting. Actually Matt’s dad did the rototilling…

Matt’s mom fed Makenzie…

We watched!

We planted:

Kennbrook Potatoes, Russett Potatoes, Green Beans, Onions, Carrots, Red Cabbage, Broccoli, Spinach, Swiss Chard, Tomatoes, Green Peppers, Red Peppers, Banana Peppers, Jalapenos, Zucchini, Grape Tomatoes! Whew! We’ll see how this goes ;0)

Here are some pictures of Makenzie and Grandpa Tom! She just loves him!

Playtime with Cousin Claire!

What a fun day! Claire had so much fun with Makenzie and Makenzie had so much fun with Claire!! Whenever Claire would talk to Makenzie she would just burst into smiles :0) So cute.

We headed outside for some fun playtime. The girls swung for awhile….

Slid down the slide awhile….

And swung some more! Claire had me pooped out asking for so many pushes! I totally got my workout that day!

Claire is growing up so much! In this past year she has become such a fun little girl that is full of energy!

Tulip Time 2011

We ventured downtown Holland beginning of May for Tulip Time! A friend of my mom’s let us borrow a Dutch Girl costume that she had made.

Before we went downtown we got to visit with Uncle Jim! Makenzie had so much fun playing with Great Uncle Jim...

... and telling him all sorts of stories.

So Makenzie, Grandma and I headed downtown on a PERFECT spring day! (Which we haven’t had much of.)

We tried SO hard to get that girl to SMILE…. With no luck. Sometimes she would smile, but she would be looking in the wrong direction. Either way she was too cute. Some tourist asked if they could take pictures of her by the tulips and of course she smiled for them no problem. Go Figure.

After wandering around looking at all the different kinds of tulips and watching the dancers we headed over to Kilwins for some Ice cream!

What a perfect end to a fun day with Makenzie and her Great Grandma!!

This pic was taken at Dutton Park for our Mother's Day Picnic!

Mother's Day!

Here are some pics of my first Mother's Day! Matt made me a nice breakfast and dressed Makenzie in a onsie he bought that said "Pretty just like Mom"! Very cute! We also started Makenzie on rice cereal too!! She did really good!

Stylin' in Shades!


Look at those cheeks!!! Hanging with dad on the mower!


First Feeding is done! Success!

Sunglass Fashion Show

So I couldn't decide at the store which pair of sunglasses to buy her.... I didn't want to try them on her at the store because I figured she would cry non stop :0) So I got both thinking I'd return one, but they are both soooooo cute!!!

Pair #1"What the?!?!? Can someone explain to me what is going on!?!?"

Pair #2"Daddy quit laughing at me!!!!! Quit taking pictures of me!!!! Quit putting things on my face!!!! Why is the world suddenly so dark!?!?!? Dad get your face out of mine!!!!"

Our Spring!

Oh about a month ago we had our first nice spring day!! Actually it felt like a summer day! It has been a really sucky spring so far... windy, cool, and rainy. So we weren't able to take Makenzie outside for awhile! We would bundle her up and take her on a few walks here and there, but with the wind she just wasn't having it. When the wind hits her she makes a face that looks like she's eating something sour and takes a deep breath and keeps breathing in and doesn't exhale until she starts crying. Haha... poor girl just doesn't get what this wind is all about.

When we finally had our one day of spring Matt and I were both anxious to get outside! We both had work that had to be done outside so we set Makenzie up in her jumparoo and went to work! Of course we had to put her little baby bonnet on that her mommy wore when she was just a babe!

And how cute was it!

Makenzie 4 Months Old, Ruger just turned 2!

Once the wind picked up (and Makenzie started screaming) we decided to head out for a walk down the KalHaven trail. Holy cow, was Ruger excited!


On our way home we about had to put him in the stroller with Makenzie... he was exhausted. We all were... a little out of shape I suppose!


One of the bows I made for Makenzie! New craft :0) Seems like I'm always doing one thing or another, haha! So I started making bows. Mandi had been making some for Natalie and it looked like too much fun... and addicting. So now I've joined this bow making fun! I don't think I have been out with Makenzie once while she was wearing one of the bows and not gotten a compliment. Everyone loves them and I think she just looks TOO cute in them!!


Makenzie loves her little snuggle bunny. When she is taking a nap she grabs it and cuddles up with it... too cute! She has gotten much better with her nap times and how long she is taking them. There is a Tigger stuffed animal in her crib that has a "crunchy" tail and a little bell in it that rattles! Oh she just loves that. Most times I know she's awake from her nap when I hear Tigger jingling :0)

This April we decided to sell our house! Sad... not sure we are 100% ready for it, but gas prices just got TOO high! Since Matt is working 45 mins away we might as well try to move closer and cut down on some cost and gain seeing Matt more often. He had been very very busy at work working lots of overtime, so he hasn't been around (and awake!) a whole lot! Hopefully we can sell and move by the winter so his commute doesn't get even longer once the snow flies.

It has definitely been an interesting experience showing people your house... weird. We had the house for sale by owner for just under a month and decided to give it to a realtor to hopefully "guarantee" a quicker sale. So far we had more people interested when it was for sale by owner! Fun to hear what everyone has to say about your house :0)

Makenzie celebrated her first Easter. Got her all dressed up in her little Easter dress that the girls from work bought her!! All her little polka dots matched all her Easter eggs! Unfortunately we didn't get many pictures of her smiling, she was WAY too busy with the eggs!!

Sweet Little Memories

This past Friday was the first day that I didn't come home at lunch to nurse Makenzie! Normally I'd stop at home for lunch and head back to work, but with gas going up so much I figured I should try working all day and getting out of work a little earlier!

By time I got home I was about ready to explode (if you know what I mean! :0) ) Mom and Makenzie were playing on the floor and she was so intrigued with her toys she didn't pay any attention to me. I felt the love!! After Grandma left we read Axle Annie, a great book that is my mom to a "T"!! It's about a bus driver named Annie that loves driving her kids around and singing and having all sorts of fun... my mom!



Finally, after the story Makenzie decided she was hungry and wanted to nurse! She would nurse for a few seconds, look up and smile at me, nurse for a few more seconds, look up and smile. I can't tell you how long that went on for!! It was the cutest thing!! I got so many smiles and giggles and her babbling on to me in that 40 mins it took her to nurse than I ever have!! In that 40 mins she probably only nursed for 10 mins, but it was totally worth sitting there to see her act the way she did.

When she would look up at me I would say 'Yup, your mama is still here!' She'd giggle and nurse for a few more seconds!! She had Matt and I grinning ear to ear!!! What a joy she has brought to our lives!! All these little memories I hope I never forget.

The Beast Feast

This year we attended the annual Beast Feast in Hamilton! What a pot luck I tell you what! I swear there was like a mile of all sorts of food! Thought I had died and gone to Heaven! WAY before I even got half way down my plate was already full :0(

BONUS for parents with little kids: You have a plate for you AND a plate for your kiddo... fill them both up!!! More food for you and your kiddo can just pick at what you've got!! (I've got a little bit to wait on this trick)

Makenzie totally enjoyed being there... she was so chatty! Especially when she was talking to her Grandpa!

"I think my daddy might be a little crazy. We were cuddling and all of a sudden he quick threw me in my highchair and ran off!"

...Still talking to Grandpa! And he is all ears!! ...

"Next thing I know, I hear Bang, Bang, Bang and he goes running outside after something called a coon! I just don't know what's going on!"
Grandpa: "Yup, that sounds like your Daddy... get use to it sweetie!"

Once the speaker started we scooted out to the church library where Grandma got her all nestled in her Daddy's Angel pj's!

Busy Little Hands

Makenzie is such a busy girl lately!! She wants to be in on all of the action. Don't put her on her tummy because then she can't see around very well. When you are holding her face her out... so she can catch what we are walking by! Scratch the bouncy seat for long because she can't see past all the toys dangling in her face! It is just incredible to watch this little girl grow. I am just totally amazed by it all. Probably as amazed as she is to everything around her!

Grandma Anne reading her The Grandma Story!

Makenzie now grabs for stuff, anything really! Sometimes it works out well for her... other times it doesn't. She is really strong and can pick up heavy things. Unfortunately, she doesn't hang on to stuff for very long before it comes crashing down on her! At least she can play with her toys now. When she is in a playful mood she likes to sit in her bouncy seat and kick a talking frog (which talks when she kicks it). That has been keeping her pretty busy lately!

Playing with Grandma, who just got back from a cruise!

She loves to watch me move around the kitchen cooking! So last week I thru her in her sling carrier and had her snuggled in there while I was making brownies. I go to grab the mixer's beaters and she grabs one out of my hand and brings it right to her mouth! Have to see how it taste ya know! Too bad for her that we hadn't mixed anything yet, so there was nothing yummy to taste!


I love watching kids with Makenzie! Caleb just loves his Baby Bakenzie! He had to be in on the action too and help change her diaper! Natalie started gagging after Makenzie spit up a little so we left her out of the poopy diaper change... Caleb was all game!

He's so serious about it too!! Love it!! It took a few mins for him to finish buttoning her up, but he did it!


I'm waiting for some teeth to be poking thru! She gnaws on her hands all the time... and the drool... good Lordy... I thought I had too many bibs, now I don't have enough! Funny how that works!

Pictures in Review

Okay.... I'm not totally to blame on not keeping this blog up!! Our computer is SOOOOO slow all of a sudden. This is a days project right here!!! I'm totally not kidding.

Makenzie snuggling with a bear that was homemade for her!!

Makenzie's Baptism! Family pics!

Couldn't resist taking this pic!!! Got kind of scared when I saw Matt walking by with a torch and fire extinguisher in each hand!! He was replacing our faucet in the shower :0) Nothing burned either!!

Funniest pic ever!!! I laughed so hard!! Her head is like half the size of her body!!

Cutest pj's ever!!! There are little bears on the feet too!

Makenzie can grab toys!! She can grab them but doesn't have a whole lot of control with them! :0) After hitting herself in the head three times with that rattle she started crying!! LOL... each time she'd hit herself she'd look around like crazy... "Who's hitting me!?!?!"

She's not too interested in Belly time anymore... she can't see as much that way!!

Feb 21
All cuddled up the morning after the ice storm!! No power!
Headed over to Grandma's for the day/ night!


Grandma playing Patty- cake with Makenzie!


View of the golf course 2 nights after the ice storm. Still a lot of ice everywhere!

Our ugly pine tree that lost a good chunk of it's branches right from the center! Nice!


2 Month Dr's appt... 75% percentile for height and weight!!
She got 5 shots!!! Poor baby....


Watching our favorite show!!


Cuddles with Dad....




Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Makenzie Loves to talk and talk now!!

Uncle Brian put her to sleep reading a hunting magazine :0)

Just Playin' Around! I can hardly get her to smile at the camera anymore! She's too intrigued with it!

Hope you enjoyed the pics!!