McKenna Has a TOOTH!

I know it's been less than 24 hours since my last post... but I thought everyone would like to know that the 'eagle has landed' ... the tooth has finally broken the skin! I am thrilled, not because I particularly wanted McKenna to have teeth (maybe she'd need them one day, but I don't want her to get older than this, we've already had long conversations about how she needs to stop growing), but because I wanted a good night's sleep... selfish I know.

She's been miserable for the last few days, so I'm sure this is a welcome release. Unfortunately for her, I've heard that the bottom two come together or in close succession...which means this respite will be short lived. My fingers are not looking forward to the continuing teething process. Here's a picture of our newest arrival (click on the photo for further detail):

The Blizzard of 2009

I met John during the blizzard of 2003... some friends of mine made me drive them over to this guy's house during the blizzard to play Cranium during the blizzard, and that guy turned out to be my future husband... who knew? So fast forward 6 years to the same week, and BAM! Another blizzard. This time it's not nearly as snowy, but we have McKenna, so we get to take pictures of her in the snow which is really fun! Her little snowsuit is too short, thus we couldn't put up the hood with the cute little ears on it... but it was still her first experience sitting in the snow all by herself.

The Giant 8 Month Old Baby

McKenna is officially 8 months old as of Tuesday. E I G H T... sounds impressive doesn't it? She's changed so much, her little personality is amazing. She laughs, claps, and feeds herself Cheerios. She's a regular (miniature) person.

Check out the difference between 1 day old and 8 months old:

She has also begun to throw herself from a sitting position onto her face/head/hands/side/front/back/etc... which unfortunately for her means she's face-planted on the granite fireplace hearth a few times. We finally wised up and bought a rug and a new chair for the unused space behind our couch so that she would have a soft landing strip for her new found love of flying.

Here are some pictures and a video of her trying out her new digs:

McKenna also graduated from the Bumbo chair (we'll bring it back to you, Mercer's...thanks for letting us borrow it) to a real high chair. She loves it, and with her added tray space, she now gets to feed herself Cheerios. It's like we've given her a special gift every time she gets a Cheerio, and because of that we're treated to a big cheesy grin.

Here she is sitting in her new throne (she's not feeding herself in these pictures, she's eating herself... she's working on her first tooth):

I saved the best for last... McKenna thinks that everything Dad does is soooo funny... In the following video (sorry it's a little dark), I was helping McKenna tickle Dad's toes... She's funny. I'm sure you'll agree. If you don't agree, lie to me and tell me that you do. That is all. Thank you.

There's Mud in Your Eye...

In case anyone was wondering if baby spit up stings when it gets in your eyes, the answer is an emphatic yes... and the answer to the next logical question is, no, there will be no photos to commemorate this momentous occasion.

Tonight when John and I were putting McKenna to bed, John read her a bible story from The Jesus Storybook Bible, and I fed her a bottle and we prayed with her, which is similar to every other night of her little life. That's where the similarities ended. I stood up from the rocking chair to put McKenna in her crib... when all of a sudden she proceeded to sneeze and spit up at the same time. Did I mention she was facing me? Awesome. Thankfully, I was wearing my OSHA certified protective eyewear, but complete isolation was not achieved. Some droplets of stinky stuff still made it into my eyes. I am now wearing a completely different outfit and have washed my glasses with soap and water... dried them... they still were gross, and now they have been cleaned with Windex.

I have been so damaged by the contamination that I think I will call it a night and head for bed. Ah, the joys of Motherhood.

Bath Time and a Visit from Grandma and Great-Grandpa

Grandma and Great-Grandpa came to visit last week to celebrate the birthday extravaganza that happens around here during the month of February. Aunt Catherine's birthday is on the 12th, Aunt Mary's is on the 17th and so is mine and finally John and Great-Grandpa's birthday's are on the 18th. Needless to say we eat a lot of birthday cake in February.

In preparation for Great-Grandpa's visit, McKenna brushed up on her knowledge of the global financial marketplace and economic forecasts for the US and International Markets. Here she is reading the Kiplinger Letter:

We had a great time while Grandma and Great-Grandpa were visiting, McKenna learned how to clap, and we drove Great-Grandpa all over the state and once to the chiropractor (plane seats are not made for people his height). Here are some photos that we took on the lawn at church:

I thought I'd also include some photos of McKenna's new tub skills... seeing as everyone likes naked babies (except the babies themselves, when their parents bust out the naked pictures when they're teenagers..."oh look how cute she was, all pudgy and naked in the tub...") She has decided that playing with rubber duckies and splashing around is pretty awesome.