Our Christmas 2014

At our house we were quite spoiled this year! We did not have just one Christmas, but THREE!


On the 23rd, Grace's PaPa, Grandmommy and Aunt RaRa came for the day. Grace had her first showering of gifts. (aka being completely spoiled!) Grace was given her first tool bench. She loves helping her daddy when he is working around the house and in the garage. We had a great day spending time with them and celebrating the season.



 Christmas Eve was filled with even more family! The McKenzie side of the family all came over to our house and we had a big party.


We had dinner fireside with the entire family!

The newest two members to the family, Aunt Brittany and baby Isaac, helped Grace and Luke create the best gingerbread house I have ever seen! Grace absolutely loved "her house" (as she would say). 



Then Christmas Day was the big crescendo with my very own family of four. (That still sounds funny to say) It was the absolute best Christmas yet! We were a little (ok a lot) sleep deprived, but it was so much fun seeing Grace's face light up when she saw what Santa had left for her! 

I already can not wait until next year when David Michael will be able to participate.

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas & wish you a happy New Year's week ahead!! XO

David Michael is 1 Month!



10 lbs 3 oz 38%

David Michael is rapidly growing! He has outgrown all of his newborn clothes and diapers. I had to break out the three month clothes and size one diapers.

Mommy has not lost anymore weight, but was cleared to begin exercising again. I am starting slow trying to walk every other day. Even though I am so anxious to lace up my shoes and go for a run; for two different reasons- 1.  I have been waiting forever to run 2.  I HATE the size I am currently. 

I do not know about you, but with Christmas comes more stuff... So I have already begun spring cleaning. Toys, clothes, and freezer have been cleaned out this week.

I was looking over my previous post of 1 month must haves with Grace and see how things have changed. 
1. Pack N Play- We are still want to use this for David Michael to sleep, but unfortunately he can not use it right now. (more on that later)
2. Diaper Genie- Still use and love this everyday. Great investment!
3. Soothie Paci- Have not changed pacifiers. I would even say David Michael likes and takes to these pacis a lot quicker. 
4. Desitin- We have found over the years that nothing works better than Triple Paste. 
5. Infant Bath tub- I have not used this tub yet. I do not even know if I am planning on using it? One of good mommy friends gave me this mat and this is all you really need. You can travel with it, give baths on the counter and it takes up a lot less room. I am still hanging onto my tub to see if we use it in the future. I definitely do not need it the first month however. 
6. Changing Pads- These are a must unless you have an endless amount of changing pad covers. 

Hope this helps! I know I love looking over lists from other moms about things I actually need, and this is a list for the first month with baby #2. 

Week 3 Update


This week feels like survival week. David Michael will not sleep at night... I am beyond exhausted. I am not really sure what to do? He continually coughs, spits up, and clears his throat which wakes him up. I nurse him every two hours because he acts like he wants food. After I nurse him I hold him up for thirty minutes to make sure he has time to digest his food. I can tell he is tired and wants to sleep, but he is woken up with either coughing, spit up or this weird thing that sounds like he clears his throat. I have tried him sleeping in his bassinet, bouncy seat, car seat, swaddled, and unswaddled. I am at a loss at what to do? I willingly accept any advice...

On the other hand, he is an excellent eater. He will not let me push him more than every two hours. Which means he is growing! He is even wearing some size three month clothes. Most newborn clothes no longer fit. (sad day) 

As for the momma, other than being completely exhausted am doing well. Down a couple more pounds this week, which leaves me with seventeen more to go. (because I really want to wear my wedding ring again) I began walking again this week. I am working my way up. Only made it three times, but felt pretty good. I just do not want to over do it too early and set myself up.

I can not believe Christmas is next week! And my little one will be one month old! How time flies!

David Michael's Birth Story- Part 2

Day two of David Micheal's life was pretty exciting! His Grandmommy, Uncle Oliver, Aunt Callie, Aunt Margaret, Aunt Karen, Aunt Rebekah and most importantly his BIG SISTER were there to greet him! I was so excited and anxious for Grace to meet her baby brother.

It was a pretty hard first night with David Michael, not because he was a bad sleeper, but because it was the first night my baby girl spent away from me. I missed her terribly and was praying and hoping she was managing ok without us. Thankfully her Aunt Karen had spent a little time with us before David Micheal's arrival, so she knew Grace's nighttime routine. I wanted Grace's world to be rocked as little as possible.



Grace was so happy to meet her baby brother. She immediately wanted to hold him, and did a great job! I believe she made the connection that "her baby" (as she likes to say) had made his way out into the world.


We were able to go home after twenty-four hours. Our family was so wonderful to have Thanksgiving dinner ready and waiting for us that evening! It was an absolutely perfect day!

Check out Part 1 here

2 Week Update


8 lbs 3 oz 39%
1 ft 8 in 29%
14.25 head cir. 64%

David Michael is eating every 2.5 hours in the day and at night it varies. He is still a very gassy baby which makes for a long night. He is still wearing newborn clothes and diapers. 

Momma is recovering well. Still have twenty pounds to lose, but have not began working out yet. Still letting myself recover. But still lost three pounds this past week, but know it is all water weight. Sadly still unable to put my wedding ring on my finger. Can not wait for that day!

David Michael's Birth Story- Part 1

I will begin this post by saying that I am not going to write this for the faint at heart. So if you do not want to know the gory details of birth, then this post is not for you! (aka my brother)

I had been experiencing contractions for two weeks, but never consistent. They would become consistent, usually at night, and I would be ready to wake up Michael and head to the hospital, but then they would stop. At 38 weeks to the day I went to my OB and he said that I was dilated to 5 cm. He asked if I wanted to go to the hospital that day, but after finding out that my least favorite doctor was on call they day I told him I would wait, because he was on call the next day. I came home and told Michael that we would be having a baby tomorrow! The rest of that day I hung out on the couch so my labor would not progress any further. On 38 weeks and 1 day I knew it was the day to have a baby! Michael and I took Grace that morning out to breakfast to her favorite place, Chic-fil-a. (or in Grace language chic-chic) We also took a quick trip the grocery store to stock up the fridge for Grace and when we came home. After that I called my doctor's office and asked if I needed to head straight to the hospital or the office first. They wanted me to come and see first if I was really in "true" labor. The doctor in the office said I had not progressed from the day before, but felt very comfortable sending me on to the hospital if I felt I needed. I told him I was ready to have this baby today! So off we went, after a quick lunch. (With Grace I did not have time to eat lunch and she was not born until 10:30 that evening and I was starving!!! So I did not want that to happen again, because I did not know how long it would take for David Michael to make his entrance.) We made it to the hospital right after lunch and after checking in it was about 1pm. We made it to the room and met the most wonderful nurse, Amy. She immediately got me set up on fluid and monitors. After the monitor had been running for a while we discovered my contractions were coming at a very random rate, which I knew. I would have a contraction two minutes apart and then maybe not for twelve more minutes. At this rate we might not have had a baby for days. We made the decision to go ahead and break my water and begin pitocin.  At this point I was dilated to 6cm. It was not long after that my contractions became almost unbearable. They felt as if they were continual and never breaking. I immediately began asking my nurse if I could get an epidural. She came in and began the process, but when she asked me to sit up on the edge of the bed I looked up at her and said, "I can't because I am pushing". She looked at me as if I was crazy, but went ahead and checked to see where I had progressed. She immediately said, "get the doctor, this baby is coming"! Before I knew it my legs were up and the doctor, nurse and scrub tech were attending to me. I really did not have to be told to push, because it was involuntary.




 I did have to have another episiotomy because my doctor, Dr. Price,  was worried I was going to tear on my scar. The only pain medicine I had was a lot of lidocaine. I remember Amy saying, "Look David Micheal's head it out". The last thing I wanted to do was look down and see his head! I just kept saying, "I want him out"! It was VERY painful! Once I began pushing, it was not fifteen minutes later and David Michael was placed on my chest.


He and I were able to just sit there and cuddle for about thirty minutes. It was so nice to have some alone time before introducing him to the rest of the family. He immediately latched on and nursed like a champ. (I have been spoiled with two great eaters!) After all the family came in to meet our new addition, we were wheeled to our next room.


To be continued...

1 Week Update


This  week has flown by! I can not believe my little man is already 1 week old! He lost 8 oz initially, but then over two days gained 4 oz back. He is a super nurser. He wants to eat about every 1.5 hours to 2 hours during the day. At night he has made it 3.5 hours a couple times. He is definitely a sleeper too. He maybe found awake a couple hours a day. He has been getting a lot of snuggle time from mommy this week since mommy has other hands around to help with big sister. Momma has been getting used to changing her little boy's diaper. Poor guy has been peed on more than once! New born clothes and diapers fit him perfectly currently. 

Momma has lost fifteen pounds leaving me twenty three more pounds to go. Still wearing all maternity clothes, but hoping to get out of them sooner than later. I am nursing him one side at a time to even out my enormous amount of milk! This momma is not lacking at all! I have been just trying to survive right now! My days and nights are kind of running together.
Hi! I'm Katie. Wife to Michael. Mom to Grace, David Michael & Emma. Christ Follower. Runner. Stay at home mommy.



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