So Close

We're so close to sleeping through the night! I am not sure how much longer I can last, so hopefully Mack will figure it out SOON. She will be 5 months old in 3 days, and considering how you don't sleep through the night halfway into pregnancy, that means I haven't slept through the night in nine months! I can hardly wait. It will also be so beneficial for her to get a good night's rest as well. 

Today was Chris' last day at the job he's had for almost three years. Monday starts a new chapter where he will be a dispatcher! We are very excited for this opportunity for many reasons, and I am anxious to hear what the schedule will be. There is a good chance he'll be doing something in the middle of the night and I'm a planner, so I want to know what our days will look like! Chris will also only have a fraction of his old commute, so that just added an hour to everyday. 

We've been battling a few sick bugs for the last couple of weeks. We've all been feeling pretty good the last couple of days though, and I'm planning on disinfecting the whole house tomorrow just to play it safe. It's so hard having sick kids and definitely helps you appreciate the healthy days! Reilly will also TELL you she is sick so she can have more of her tasty medicine. Luckily all Mackenzie has had to deal with is a cough.

 Reilly has been a very sweet big sis - she'll play with Mack and help find her toys. When Mackenzie is crying, Reilly will go rock her and say "Shh, Macky, honey, it's ok!" Whenever we're in the car she always gets concerned when we stop at a light because she knows that Mack likes it best when we're actually driving. She doesn't like Mack to be sad.

 Mack is getting so big! She started rolling right about four months. She wasn't so sure about it at first, but a change of scenery is nice sometimes. She also is a thumb sucker for sure. We were trying to only use the paci, but it just wasn't working unless you wanted to be on 24 hour patrol. No one has time for that, so we just gave in.

This happened one morning when I was out. She usually is content with feeding her dollies, but must have decided Mack needed a little help too!

I found ten minutes

Well, to be honest I would rather be sleeping right now. I have to stay up to feed Mackenzie one more time before going to bed. The last couple of nights she has gone six-hour stretches! Sleeping a little longer each time has been really nice and I'm already dreaming of the day I can sleep all night again. On special days I might get to take a nap while the kids are napping - but not today. I really could have used one too. Reilly was up then Mackenzie then Reilly again. Reilly didn't end up sleeping at all and I am too scared to leave her in her room for too long. She is always finding trouble and most commonly when I go in there she is diaperless and has peed on the floor. She has used her princess potty several times, and would probably camp out there all day if she didn't let herself get distracted. Every time the princess potty makes music, that means it's candy time! I am pretty sure she only pees on the potty for the candy. Whatever though. I only give her 3 skittles at a time. 

We are doing well in general and staying plenty busy. We aren't busy with the Holiday bustle really, just everything else. I realized that I do about ten loads of laundry every week, so we are folding stuff just about every night after the kids go to bed. There are a lot of diapers to wash when there are two kids wearing them! If I can get laundry washed and dinner on the table in the same day, I'm feeling pretty good. I am also still working at the church part time and have spent some extra time there due to buying a building and having to move. We have been in the new place for ten days and I still feel so far from organized. Reilly also has her own little role at the church because she always helps get the chairs ready for Sundays by making sure the envelopes and pens are there. We are blessed to have the flexibility to bring the kids to work when I need to! There are some pretty fun toys there too, so Reilly doesn't mind that much.

Last week Mackenzie was being unusually cranky, and it turns out she had a virus and a really bad rash to finish it off. Poor kid! She has become very smiley though and is really a sweet baby. She is already 3 and a half months old, so she on her way to being a big girl now. She does great with standing and is super strong in general. She is getting more and more curious and aware and will just sit on your lap and look around. 

Reilly has been obsessed with Veggie Tales lately. I'm not a huge electronics person (all the toys I put on her Christmas list are wooden), so it's hard for me to let her watch VT too much. What that turns out to mean though is that I am singing VT songs ALL DAY. Her favorite is "God is bigger than the boogey man", but she calls it "creeping my bed." When she first started talking about that song we were confused and slightly alarmed. We didn't know what she was trying to tell us. She also has decided that her favorite color is green.  It turns out that just about everything I do in the kitchen is dangerous because when I'm in there cooking or cleaning, Reilly tells me to be careful - probably once every 5 minutes. It's sweet she is so concerned. Most of her prayers before dinner or bed go something like this: "Dear Jesus, thank you food, vitamins, Tebow, amen." Whenever I ask her what she wants to eat, she'll say "broccoli rice." When I actually give it to her though, she hardly eats it. I don't know if it means what she thinks it means. 

Anyway, time to do a dream feed and SLEEP! Can't wait. Enjoy some pictures below:

A Few Pictures

Some Updates

Well, Mackenzie is 6  weeks today! Time has really gone by so quickly and my baby is growing up so fast. She already looks so different. She is also very strong-she holds her head up a lot and was trying to roll over earlier this week! She went from back to stomach, but couldn't figure out how to get her arm out from under her. It has been fun having her be more alert and she has her dad's eyes. We are also doing well with a routine. I feed her every 3 hours starting at 7am and she is usually tired about an hour after waking. She likes to sleep swaddled, and once she gets all bundled up, it usually doesn't take her long to fall asleep. We've been blessed with two very easy babies - I really hope it lasts with Mackenzie! 

Reilly has been talking a lot lately - speaking in sentences a lot more and repeating what we say. We've also started her on vitamins, and they might be the highlight of her day. Whenever she hears me getting out my vitamins, she runs over and asks for hers. Most of the time she hangs on to them, savoring the delicious cherry flavor for as long as possible. She also loves to share my fiber drinks and if I don't drink most of it before giving it to her, I hardly get any. We're definitely getting healthy at our house!
This morning Reilly was drawing pictures with Daddy and she asked him to draw "hair, eyes, nose, feet, knees." I clarified that she wanted him to draw a person. Of course she did.
She also sang a song over and over for more than 30 minutes. It included all the hand motions, but we couldn't understand a word. She told us she learned the song at church.
Chris also has her saying "GO Broncos!" whenever he can get a word in.

I have a lot more pictures of Mackenzie but they are not available to me for this post. I will hopefully put them on soon!

Mackenzie Rose is here!

We are happy to announce our beautiful newest addition! 

Mackenzie Rose Loyd

8.26.12

10:08am

7 pounds, 15 ounces - 19.5 inches

My labor was only 7 and a half hours long, and progressed wonderfully. I didn't have a normal labor experience with Reilly, so I didn't quite know what to expect. It was still very hard and I don't want to do it again until I forget what it was like. :) It was of course worth it though!

 Reilly has enjoyed holding her new baby sister very much. A couple of times since being home she has run to the couch, put a pillow on her lap and said, "baby please." We also are learning how to be careful  around the baby and have luckily only had a few minor incidents.

I was very insistent on leaving the hospital as soon as possible and we were discharged after 24hours. Recovery has been completely different than the first time and SO much better. I am not exhausted like I was last time and feel like I can actually enjoy the newborn stage. Unfortunately with Reilly I was tired for weeks, rested whenever possible and because of that, missed out on snuggling my newborn. :( I am grateful to get to do it again.

We are all doing wonderfully and are settling in to being a family of four. Mackenzie is eating and sleeping better than I could have hoped and we are already getting into a rhythm. I have another week and a half off from work and all my sisters coming to help, so I am excited to just sit back and it enjoy it.

Cheers

Reilly is TWO!

Two blog posts in one week is quite unheard of these days, but I thought I would quickly let you all know about Reilly's second birthday! We have had so much fun these past two years with her, have been blessed beyond measure because of her, and can't wait to see what this new year has in store! MOST of the time she is a real sweetie and she brings us so much joy.

Reilly slept in today (must have been treating herself) but once she was up and running we started off her birthday right with a real treat: fruit smoothie! Then we put on her ballerina dress. The day continued normally until after nap time when she and I made a birthday cake! She saw me put the butter in the bowl and was already running over with her stool and saying "Mommy help! Mommy help!" She loves to help me bake anything. After we were finished it was snack time and I let her watch a Baby Einstein while she was eating. We played outside until Daddy came home, ate dinner, took a bath, and then had cake and ice cream. And more ice cream. Couldn't say no to that face.

I believe in the video Reilly tells you that she is two and that it is a "happy day." She has been saying those two things all day - maybe she really knows what is going on? I wouldn't put it past her because she is pretty smart. :) Well, I had better cut this blog off now lest you start having too high of expectations.

Happy Day!

Reilly Taking a Trip

Before I shot this video today, Reilly had everything you see in the video except her hat. She had already bid her farewells to me and left the house but came running back saying "hat! hat!" Once she was sure she had all see needed, she set off again. Luckily for us she didn't get too far. :)