Easter 2012

I can hardly believe we've closed the door on Easter 2012. Didn't we just celebrate Easter 2011? After coming to terms with the fact that it was, indeed, time to celebrate this special holiday again, we got busy enjoying all things Easter. It was bitter sweet knowing this is Mack's last holiday as an only child but we all agreed that it will be so much fun to teach Mason our Easter traditions starting next year.

Click on collage to make it bigger:
We created lots of Easter masterpieces. Our favorite was the "graffiti bunny" which Mack cut out and designed all on her own. She later added her own embellishments, doodling all over the front and back of the little guy to give him that " Mackenzie Flare".

My dear friend Angie gave me the idea to "plant" jelly beans to find out what grows. Of course, curious Mack was up to finding out what sprouted from a tiny jelly bean. She was amazed to find a lollipop where last we left our tiny bean:

We also attended an Easter egg hunt at a local church. Our church's kids activities didn't fit into our schedule for the day so we were glad the church a few blocks over was a happenin' place to be. Mack scored big time on eggs and also enjoyed a puppet show and " mini sermon" geared towards kids. Another special treat- cousin's Brooklyn and Kaleb came, too! Later that evening, we dyed Easter Eggs and Mack and Mike made rootbeer.
This is the egg that made the rounds to all the colors ( and was dropped several times in the process. ) This one later met a worse fate: dog treat.

Easter morning was a treat- we all actually slept in, Mack being the last one up. After she crept down stairs to find out what the Easter Bunny had left in her special basket, she slipped on her sandals to find out where that silly bunny hid all our eggs!

I wonder where those eggs could be? :

Ellie was a big help in finding those pesky eggs:

After a super lazy morning, we headed over to Grams' for dinner. Cousins Brooklyn, Kaleb, Cam and Anaka were all there to play the afternoon away! Despite a quiet morning, the afternoon packed in so much action that Mack was barely awake for our bed time songs and prayers. That, to us, means it was a great day!

One last picture to round out the massive Easter update. One of Mack and Ellie, the girls in pink. I was finally able to get them together in one location and snapped just two pictures before Ellie escaped. This picture makes me giggle because they are making the same exact same" Enough pictures already!" face.

Rough life for a dog

36 weeks and a birth day!

I'm 36/40 weeks pregnant this week! The 36th week is an important one- it's where weekly OB appointments begin and the baby is just one week shy of being considered " full term" . For most women, it marks the dramatic slowing of time to a drip's pace because they become uncomfortable , their belly like an anchor to the couch! This isn't the case for me. Though I am noticing myself being more moody and tiring more quickly, by and large ( yes, I just used that phrase to describe a pregnant me) I feel really good, not at all like my pregnancy could be over any time now.

So off to my weekly OB appointment we went , this time with extra anticipation. I knew that this day was the day we could officially schedule my repeat c-section- Mason's birth day. This , a repeat c-section, has been something I've struggled with over the course of my pregnancy. It's different, being on the scheduled side of a c-section. With Mackenzie, it wasn't a question. Things were going down hill and something had to be done. There was no time to think about whether I wanted a c-section. I NEEDED one. And even though I've gathered the opinions of several people whose experience and knowledge I trust, I couldn't quite get comfortable with CHOOSING to have surgery until just recently. What did it for me was this: having a great doctor who could sense my anxiety over this choice. Who could see that I would be fine with a repeat c-section if I knew that I wasn't " taking the 'easy' way out". After taking the time to listen to my family history of c-sections and then my own birth story with Mackenzie , she said she would support me 100% if I wanted to attempt a VBAC ( vaginal birth after cesarean). In her experience, there are two types of c-section moms. Those who have a c-section because of an issue with the baby- breech presentation, a baby in distress ( umbellical cord issues) or placental issues. These cases, while very serious, aren't likely to repeat themselves making for a great VBAC candidate. The rest of the women, the group I belong to, who have a c-section after extremely long labors, who's labors stall or fail to progress, suffer from what she likes to call " repeatable offenses". Remember Mackenzie and her 33 hour labor? Remember how, after all that time I only dilated to 7 cms? Dr. Appleton says in many cases like this, the bone structure of the mom or the size of the baby prohibits the baby's head from actually being able to put enough pressure on the cervix to dilate it. The contractions are working but something keeps the baby from getting to where it needs to go. Mackenzie was an 8 and a half pound baby. My mom had four c-sections because of her bone structure. This didn't look like a very good VBAC climate to me. So, armed with this information and a new sense of peace that I'd done my home work before making such a big choice, we set the date! April 25th, 2012

It's a little bit strange to PICK your child's birthday. It was an easy choice though. See, though I would have picked an even numbered birthday ( because my brain is random that way) , Dr. Appleton only does surgeries on Wednesdays and since they don't like c-section moms to go very far past their 39th week, the choice basically made itself. Wednesday, April 25th!

Aside from that, my blood pressure was a little bit high before the appointment and remained high even after and even still when Mike checked it that evening as well accompanied by a far amount of swelling in my legs and feet . I am under strict instruction to drink my weight in ounces of water ( that, by the way, is a LOT of water) and call the doctor ASAP if I develop concerning symptoms. I'm not overly worried about this since I spent nearly all of my last trimester with Mackenzie living this same story.

36 weeks have flown by and , just three weeks from today around THIS time, we'll be counting the fingers and toes of our brand new baby boy!

A cute side note: Poor Mackenzie really is having a hard time figuring out how this time line will go down. Each doctor's appointment, she's convinced, is THE appointment where she'll meet this brother of hers. Yesterday, as we were leaving for the doctor's office, she said " Mommy. After your c-section today, lets go to the park!" This , of course, followed by a discussion of how mommy will be sore for a few weeks after Mason comes and the park would be off limits for me. But even still, Daddy would be her park buddy until I could get back in the "swing" of things ( ha ha) . She assured me that the swings would still be there when I am feeling better.

April showers

Since we haven't had any real showers, we decided to make our own! The thermometer hit 80 degrees so we fished out the sprinkler, splashed in puddles and gave our grass a much needed drink with out turning on the sprinkler system . Mackenzie's favorite thing was putting the sprinkler under the slide of her play set, making her go "super de duperdy fast!"

" Spot light ON!"

As little girls, my sisters and I were always putting on shows. Whether we were acting, showing of our singing voices or dancing, we three always had the next big show in planning.

Until recently, Mackenzie didn't seem to show much interest in being a little performer. I would catch her singing to herself or dictating a scene to her dolls or stuffed animals but she was not one to stand in front of people, endlessly showing off her talents. That is, until now!

My favorite thing is introducing her and hearing her say " SPY LOT ON!" which is really a direction : " Spot Light ON!" and then you never know what sort of talent she may wow you with. Check out this video we shot of her yesterday being a little performer. The rec center in our town offer dance classes which don't start until age 5. I'm sure our little dancer will have lots of new moves by then!

For some reason, my videos aren't up loading to blogger so easily so, for now, cut and paste this link into your address bar and press play!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZZH9tohpBM&feature=youtu.be

Pony tail

Ever since finding out that I'd be having a girl, I was excited at the prospect of all the cute hair styles I would be able to try with her. Working in day care in my late teens and early 20's, I'd often braid the little girls in my classes hair and couldn't wait for the hopeful day that I'd be able to do up my own girls hair. Mack spent most of the first two years of her life bald or sporting some form of a mullet but since then, I've been able to do all sorts of fun things. So I'm not sure if I'm sad or excited that she has shown the same excitement about doing her own hair.

She hasn't perfected the art just yet. Usually her morning routine consists of brushing the length of her hair, leaving most of the tangles behind, followed by spritzing one section ( usually the right side) with water, detangler and several squirts of the Plumeria body spray I gave her. You can always tell when her routine is complete because the scent of Plumeria fills the air. Lately, her abilities have increased and she manages what she calls a pony tail:



So far, she's only mastered wrapping the little pony tail holders around the " pony tail" one time so the " pony" doesn't hang around very long but I still think getting that far is a real feat! The other latest craze is to braid her hair into tiny little sections after her bath so that the next two days, she can sport "crazy hair". It's always fun the next morning to take out the many braids and see what we are left with. The poofier/frizzier the better for this wild child!

The Tulips are here!