And she's off...

So Kena is a mover and a shaker. She is all over this house like wildfire. I am still so amazed how quickly she learned to crawl. On top of that how quickly she learned to pull up on furniture. For a baby who is constantly with ear infections, she sure does have good balance to hold herself up without holding on to anything. Hopefully the tubes that will be put in her ear next Friday will make her more comfortable. She is already so happy, I imagine the less pain she is in the happier she will be.

Yesterday Holli brought Faith over with a Led Zeppelin t-shirt on. Faith apparently LOVES rock music. Although she does have a wide variety of music she loves...here at our house she listens to Barney's songs, Sesame Street (specifically the intro to Elmo's World), Old McDonald amongst other geared towards children genre. However, I think we will start busting a move to some Rock 'N' Roll! The only pic I took yesterday was of Faith. So to all you Faith and Led Zeppelin fans...this one's for you.

"I'm Not Sleepy!"

Makena is starting to feel much better I think. Last night I put her to bed and she was all smiles. A few minutes later I walked past her door and heard her talking to herself. I peeked in and she was standing up with her blanket over her head just babbling away. I quickly ran for the camera. Unfortunately her room was dark so I couldn't see anything through the view finder. I just blindly took pics and hoped they turned out. She was so cute. Once she realized we were in her room she started bouncing up and down and just smiled so big. I LOVE MY BABY GIRL!!

Anyway, here is her pics below. She is also eating babyfood MUCH better these days.

Mother's Instincts Can Never Be Wrong!

What did I say on Saturday's blog?? Doctor said no ear infection, just a little bit of un-infected fluid behind one ear drum. Took her into the office today and guess what?? DOUBLE ear infection. I could have told the doctor on Friday that she would have an ear infection by Monday. He said they looked really bad and that she should be doubled over and cryingin pain...instead she laughed and played while in the office. He said she must have a VERY high pain tolerance. She is sleeping pretty well considering...she wakes a few times a night but quickly returns to her happy sleep state. She is on antibiotics yet again...Omnicef...those produce the yuckiest diapers! Anyway, all in all once the antibiotics kick in she will be an even happier baby than she already is. She is scheduled for tubes in her ears on Firday August 5th. Quick procedure according to the doctor. Okay...thats it for today. We will have Faith back tomorrow and we can't wait!!

Sick Baby + Sick Daddy = Tired Mommy

So the whole household is under the weather except me. I am feeling a bit left out I think. Justin has been playing tennis all weekend and its hard to say if it made him worse or not. He started running a fever last night. Makena...just when you think she is on the up-swing of things she seems to get worse. I am going to take her to the doctor today and I am trying to get Justin to go see his doctor. Being sick during the summer is the pits!

Anyway, not too much to say today as we haven't done anything except hold crying baby, hold hungry baby, change baby's diaper, suction baby's nose all the while she screams her head off (I know she is grateful when I am done...she can breath!) and of course take care of "J".

Oh on Saturday when I thought Makena was better, I took her to the Galleria Mall to meet up with Aunt Cassie and her crew. We played in the play center. Here are some pics of Makena below.




"Mommy...why is that camera always in my face??" (you can see how dry and red her skin is around her nose...my poor baby)

Happily crawling through a tunnel

"Hmmm...camera in my face again. I feel like she is chasing me around this place."

Not an ear infection...but maybe

Okay, so her doctor said there is fluid in one ear, however the ear drum itself doesn't look infected. Of course every time we take her in and we get this diagnosis...within a couple of days she has an ear infection. We'll see if she can pull through this without one. He believes she has a cold...I believe she caught it from her dear daddy. Justin has been feeling terrible and to compound the problem, he is playing tennis the entire weekend. I guess with sheer determination to win, even being sick can't keep him down. Makena on the other hand is just miserable. Her nose won't stop running, her face is blotchy, fever off and on and she has this really sad "I don't feel good cry" going. She however is a trooper! She still flashes you the most precious toothless smile that would melt your heart.

So how are we sleeping these days?? ROUGH! Kena is up at least 2-3 times a night and if I go to her, I forget about her going back to sleep for hours. I monitor her cry to make sure its not a hurting cry and I just have to let her cry herself back to sleep. She is not interested in being rocked or cuddled with unless you are standing and walking the floor with her. I can rock her in my sleep, but I can't walk in my sleep. I keep telling myself..."this too shall pass."

We finally got our camera from Aunt Cassie's house. Here are some pics that are a week old, but better late then never.



Look at her on her knees chowing down on COLD cantaloupe.

I bet it feels good on her gums

"I LOVE TINA!!!"

Well Baby?? Nah...Sick Baby!!

Makena is soooo sick today!

So she has been getting progressively worse...started all out with teething and now I think she has an ear infection. She woke up with a fever this morning and we have an appointment with her doctor today for a well baby check...I think this is going to be a sick baby visit. If she is sick they won't give her shots I don't think...Thank goodness! Only this means we will probably have to go back next week for her shots. So thats about all we got today. Nothing exciting happened yesterday...OH the new Super Wal-Mart opened this past Wed. We went yesterday to check things out. It is suppose to me an environmentally friendly store and we are the first store built this way. I feel kind of special!

Okay thats it. Maybe we will have more news later today after her Dr. appointment.

Poor Mak Mak!

Poor baby girl! She is drooling so much but instead of her nose running it is also stuffy. I am afraid she is teething and has another ear infection. She is pretty happy until she has to eat or sleep. She can't suck and breath at the same time and it really frustrates her. We have reintroduced the suction bulb and she still hates as much as she did 2-3 months ago. The difference now is she is much more mobile and stronger. It really is torture now trying to clear her nose out. Torture for mommy and daddy that is. No just kidding!

So I went to have a root cancal done yesterday and apparently my roots are curved and it makes it more difficult to remove all the nerve tissue. I have been referred to a specialist to removed the last 3-5% of the nerve tissue that remains. What a beating! Oh well...nothing with my teeth have ever been easy...braces for 4 years should have been a clue.

Not too much to report today...she is going for her well-baby visit tomorrow, unfortunately I think it will turn into a sick-baby visit.

Huggie Huggie Huggie!

I am sure Makena doesn't totally get the whole concept of hugging us, however she was giving lots of hugs yesterday. I picked her up out of her crib and she threw both arms around my neck and held on for dear life all the while her mouth wide open on my cheek like she was kissing me. Sweet baby girl!! She has been standing unassisted for longer and longer periods of time. She can't stand up without any kind of support, but once she is up she will let go. I counted 15 seconds yesterday to be her longest. She is growing leaps and bounds!! I probably helps to have Faith here. It gives Makena something to strive towards.

She has also learned to dance (bounce in place) when we hum Pop Goes the Weasel. If I start humming it she will bounce and then when I pause before I say "Pop" she stops bouncing too. TOO CUTE!!

I have a toothache and will probably get a root canal tooday...UGH! Mak Mak will spend the afternoon with her Dada. Still no camera...hopefully I will get it today.

She is 2-1/2 months old

Swim Lessons...cancelled again!

We were so excited about swim lessons we missed the week before last because of the 4th of July, then we missed last week once because a child had a potty accident in the pool and the make up class on Friday was rained out. We wallked into the swim center and within seconds of walking in, our class was cancelled due to a little boy who got sick in the pool. BUMMER! There was a little girl there who was talking about the boy who vomiting in the pool, her mother told her to quit talking about it cause it wasn't nice and it could hurt the little boys feelings. I swear not 2 minutes later she started talking about it in front of her daughter. Contridiction is the worse thing to teach your kids...oh well.

Since swim class was cancelled we went swimming at Ashlynn's house instead. What a blast! I think the girls really enjoyed it. It was cooler then the bath water pool at the swim center, very refeshing.

All the excitement about wore Makena out...she was out like a light as soon as we got home.

Still no new pics today since our camera is still somewhere in Carrollton, TX...enjoy the pics from Makena's early days.


Makena was 13 days old!













Makena 2 months old...sleeping like a baby.

Mak Attack!

Makena has been so happy lately. If you just look at her she flashes you a smile that would just warm your heart. This is a far cry from her cranky behavior last week. I will take happy baby any day!

Friday night we went to Uncle Steve and Aunt Thuy's house for dinner. Aunt Thuy had a four generation picture of my grandmother, my mom, Makena and me. She framed about four of them and suprised as with them. It is so cool to see four generations of women! You can see the evolution of the mixed babies (My mother and grandmother are 100% Vietnamese, I am 50% and Makena is 25%). I am very proud to come from such a diverese family and culture. It is one thing that makes me different from most. I would love for Makena to learn about the Vietnamese culture, to speak at least a little bit of the language and most of all...THE FOOD!

On Saturday and Sunday we lounged around the house...Justin played tennis both days. He is getting ready to play a city league tournament...HE MUST WIN! Practice makes perfect :P

So we forgot our camera over at Uncle Steve and Aunt Thuy's house...no pictures. Here is another photo of here when she was younger.





















Makena is almost 3 months old here with her great grandma...my grandma on my mom's side

Missing Faith...

Faith didn't come today so it was just me and the munchkin. We had a good day overall...she wasn't as crabby as she has been, however she wouldn't take a good nap if her life depended on it. She was awake within minutes of me laying her down. Hopefully though she will sleep tonight. Daddy loaded us up on baby motrin just in case we need it tonight. If teething is going to be this bad with each tooth that comes in...I hope she gets all her teeth at once. Not much else to report today...here is a pic from Makena's earlier days.















She was 3 weeks old here.

Is she crying wolf??

The last two nights Makena has not slept well. She has been extremely cranky during the day, she still takes good naps, however she is waking in the middle of the night and last night was horrible! She woke at 11pm and we didn't actually get sleep till about 3am. Somehow she ended up back in bed with us and I can't even remember getting up to get her. She cried like she was hurting...checked fever...none. Gave her mortin and orajel...maybe its her teething...didn't work. Finally gave her numbing drops for her ears...she hasn't shown any other signs or symptoms of an ear infection but heck...we thought we would try it. She didn't stop crying till we turned on all the lights and played with her in the living room. I was going to take her to the doctor this morning, however she is acting happy as a clam this morning and went down for her first nap like a champ. I on the other hand am exhausted and I sure hope tonight won't be the same. If she goes through the day without any problems, I am convinced that she has learned how to manipulate us into staying up late with her. We just got her into a good rythym of putting herself to sleep...I hope she isn't crying wolf!
















At 1:30am...















She is trying to eat the camera















7:30am when mommy and daddy had to get up

Faith stayed a little later with us yesterday...she had dinner with us and a bath. We had a ball...Faith is a good baby!































Splish Splash I was taken a bath...

Mona Lisa Smiles...err...Makena Smiles :)

Yesterday before our barrel of fun we had her pictures done at Kiddie Kandids. I have gone to other places before and aside from the fact that Makena is VERY hard to make smile...the people taking the pictures had no creativity or personality. I was pleased with Kiddie Kandids...the photographer was exteremly patient and waited for the perfect moment to snap the picture. Not one of her pictures turned out bad and....SHE SMILED!! Check them out below.

Chuck E Cheese...please!!

We had a great day yesterday! We went to Nicholas and Stephen's birthday party at Chuck E Cheese yesterday. Makena's first experience with Chuck E Cheese...she didn't seem to impressed. She however loves to people watch...tons of people there and of course she got to really see Samantha up close and personal. It was fun to be with friends...continuing on with the fun with friends, we had dinner last night at Jerod, Tara and Taylor's house. There was another couple there as well and they had a 10 month old, Abby and Taylor is 10-1/2 months and Makena. The girls had a blast...aside from daycare...this was Makena's first "playgroup". Tara even had enough room for us to put the girls down at bedtime so we adults could play poker...of course Kena was the first one up...she is so NOSY! She stayed up and played poker with us till her eyes just could stay open any longer.

Lots of pics below...











































Isn't Taylot B-E-A-Utiful!















Makena passes out finally!















"It's 1:00am can you people leave so we can get some sleep?!"

Does Makena think she is grown up??

Not too much to report really. She is still shrieking like it is going out of style...I have noticed however she does it when she is getting irritable and sleepy. She is still trying to feed herself, this is a great accomplishment, but it sure is messy! She is eating baby food a lot better, but since she can't put the spoon in her mouth...she will stick her fingers in it AFTER I have already pulled the spoon out. BABY FOOD EVERYWHERE. Check below for proof. We have to plan her bath around her meals. Oh well...at least I know we won't have any problems introducing table food on a more consistent basis when she is a year old. She loves bread...and of course anything she can put in her own mouth. We have given her little bites of our food from time to time and she seems to enjoy it.

Here is evidence she is growing up too fast...ask daddy about the cigar!

Growing like a weed!

The day before yesterday I went to check on Makena a few hours after I had put her down for the night. I took this picture below because I wanted to share how peaceful a baby can sleep.



She plops down anywhere her head falls and soon she is in dreamland. I am so proud of her...she can pretty much fall asleep on her own now and that is a huge accomplishment in and of itself. Although this last weekend being away from home was a bit rough on her sleep schedule, she didn't seem to mind it at all. By Tuesday she was back to her normal routine.

I believe Makena has found her voicebox...she has the loudest shrieks these days. As a matter of fact she and I had a shrieking contest last night and of course she beat me...That's hard to do considering I have been told many times that I am loud. It is sweet now, I am sure at 2 when she is shrieking in public, it won't be so cute.

Faith came back yesterday!! We had a rough start...she had about a 2-3 min adjustment to being back at our house, but she quickly reverted back to happy Faith! Justin worked from home yesterday and a couple of times Faith came into his office and "worked" too.

Bad Mommy!!

So I am a bad mommy...it has been a long while since I posted anything to Makena's blog. I felt so guilty after I ready Holli's wonderful Pretty on the inisde post. I never thought of a blog as something for Makena someday. I thought of it as something I am doing to keep relatives informed. What a gift to give to my baby girl someday.

Anyway...off my "I feel sorry for myself" mode...

A couple of weekends ago was fun...Makena and I went to see her Ba Ngoai (vietnamese for grandma...specifically grandma on mommy's side). We went to Grapevine Mills Mall and decided this particualr mall is WAY too crowded for a baby...no need to ever drive that far to go to a mall again! Do people have any respect for two woman and one of them pushing a baby in a stroller?? We would be going one direction and someone would be coming at us head on and wouldn't budge...nevermind the fact that he was driving...err...walking on the wrong side of the road! I truly believe that walking in the mall should have the same laws as driving. If we drive on the right side of the road we should walk on the right side of the mall...I felt like I was playing chicken with these grown adult and my baby in her baby stroller.

This last 4th of July weekend was fun! We traveled to Texarkana to visit with Grammy, Grandpops and all of Makena's relatives on Justin's side. Mommy and daddy forgot the camera so maybe we can get some pictures from grammy soon to post to the blog. On Saturday we ate at TLC a local hole in the wall burger joint downtown...Justin loves this place...not to mention the burgers are pretty darn good! Then we surprised Makena's Aunt Sarah at CiCi's pizza for her birthday. It was all good fun. We all went back to the house for cake and ice cream and Makena soon after went night night. She missed fireworks on her first 4th of July...don't most babies miss their first 4th of July fireworks?? It's hard to keep a crabby baby up just so she can cry as loud as the booms of the fireworks. On Sunday we went to my mom's for a family barbque. That was fun until the karaoke machine was turned on and the playing cards came out. then Justin and I were out of our element and Makena was getting pretty sleepy. Home we went and boy was she a little trooper!

Yesterday we carted her all over McKinney and she took it all in stride...as long as we were holding her and she wasn't in the carseat or the stroller. Of course she was in bed before the McKinney Forever Free fireworks.

So not much else going on. I sure hope I have caught up for the missing blogs. Faith is still in OKC visiting with her family. We are so glad to have her back tomorrow!! Although she had a pretty nasty boo boo (Flip-flops Plop) she is one of the happiest baby I know!


There's that camera in my face AGAIN!


Look at those chunky legs!!