Finishing my trip

I am finally back in Colorado, but we had a wonderful last bit of our trip.  I can't believe how many pictures I actually took.  You should be very proud of me because normally I have all good intentions of taking cute pictures and then I either forget my camera or just forget to take pictures. 

So to continue our trip...

The night before Easter we dyed eggs.  Papa and Nana were over also to watch.  Kenzie really enjoyed making them all solid colors.  And if you tried to change it...she would tell you that was HER EGG!  Which meant that is how she wanted it and leave it alone.

Then we went to see fireworks and the Kinston Indians Stadium.  We were going to go to a game while I was home, but it just didn't work out.  This stadium was my home for many summers.  I worked there every summer starting at either 14 or 15.

Mackenzie was waiting for the fireworks to start, so she was playing in the car.  She loves to buckle and unbuckle seat belts.

I stayed in the car, but everyone else got out to watch.  Nana and Papa met us there to watch the fireworks as well.

Gigi, Kenzie and I also had fun picking strawberries.  I have always loved fresh picked strawberries.  There is NOTHING like them.  Kenzie thought they were pretty good too.  She ate 2 that she picked while we were finishing our buckets.  She had a good time finding the bright red ones!  She actually picked about 15 herself.

Then came Easter.  Mackenzie was worried that the Easter Bunny wouldn't come to Gigi's house, so we wrote him a letter before we left to let him know where we were going to be. (I never thought a 2 year old would understand this concept, but she asked me every day for about 5 days if the Easter bunny would find us at Gigi's house).  I guess he got it because on Easter morning her basket was full.

She was so excited to look at everything, this is the best picture I got.

 Mackenzie in her Easter dress right before church.

Poppy has been doing a huge garden for a few years now and I guess it is just too much work to do it by hand.  So he borrowed a tractor to plow everything up.  Mackenzie and Kaden went outside to watch.  Mackenzie even got to drive the tractor with Poppy.  She had a great time.



Then we got a blow up pool for Gigi and Poppy's back yard.  Mackenzie went swimming 2 different days.  Yes, it was very warm there and not too cold for a pool.  I can't wait for constant warm weather!  I am sick of up and down 80s then 40s!!!!

There is also a great park that we went to play at 2 or 3 times.  It has a nature center, planetarium, and park with lots of fun things to do.  This is actually another place I worked for a summer (the planetarium).  Now they even have a train there to ride with a real conductor and everything.  The place has definitely changed since I worked there.  We have tried to ride this train the last 3 times I have been home and either it was broken, closed, or there weren't enough kids to ride I guess.  So finally we got our chance!  At first Mackenzie was a little scared, but we had a good time.  Gigi even rode along with us.

Not quite sure about things yet.

Enjoying the scenery. 

A cute indian set up they have on the ride.

A real live train you can go in a look at!

Picture op!

And Mommy had to get in one at least.

We had such a fun time in NC this time.  We hung out and had fun, but also did a ton of things, as you can tell from the blog! 

I have a few videos also to come, I just have to load them and they take FOREVER!  But if I don't do it soon, they will never get done.  So they should be up soon. 

And lastly I just have a fun picture of Kenzie with Gigi and Nana at Outback the night before I left to go back home.

Back in NC

So I have taken yet another trip to NC.  I have a little less than a week left here and we have had a blast.  This trip we actually have done a lot with Mackenzie.  When we come home, normally we just hang out a lot.  Yes, we do fun things, but this time we have made a special effort to really DO things.  This has also helped me to remember to bring my camera or to just have it around.  So here are some highlights from the trip so far...

Get ready for picture OVERLOAD!

The first few days we were here, Mackenzie was really not feeling well.  She actually was throwing up on Sunday (We flew in here Monday), but we decided to fly anyway.  She just slept the entire flight and I felt so bad for her.  She didn't throw up anymore that day, but she was just soooo lathargic.  She was kinda out of it for about 3 days.  She was just trying to get over being sick.  She needed a lot of Mommy cuddling and loves, but luckily no one else, including me, got sick.  Then we she was feeling better and actually eating real food, we started to have some fun.

We went out to Grandma and Grandpa Reese's grave to put out new pretty flowers with Gigi.  She never got to meet them, but at least she can make their headstone pretty.

 

Then we tried on lots of new clothes that Gigi bought for summer.  She wanted to model a pair of her new PJ's for me.

We needed to see the flower on her shirt.

Don't ask about the thing she is leaning on...She thought it would be cute.

 Then as we have driven through town...we realized how pretty spring is here...

Poppy helped Mackenzie plant some tomato plants behind the house.

The next day she ask Poppy if there were any tomatoes yet.  This girl LOVES to eat tomatoes.

Gigi had some strawberries that we cut up and Mackenzie made some whipped cream.  She thought it was a very fun job.

On Saturday Gigi had to be out of town helping with a wedding reception, so Poppy, Uncle Chad, Mackenzie and I ran lots of errands.  One of those errands happened to be stopping by a feed store where they were selling bunnies, baby ducks, and chicks, etc.  Mackenzie thought they were just so cute.  She got to hold a baby bunny and a baby duck.

That same day, Mackenzie was getting a little restless after her nap because we weren't running and doing lots, so Poppy took her out on the front swing to heng out.  This is what I saw when I went to see what they were up to (they were out there for at least half an hour.

How precious?

We have also been to the park twice with a little friend.  My best friend from middle school has a little girl who is Mackenzie's age, so we have met at the park twice to play.  This is them on the alligator.  The only bad thing is there is a little train out there that the kids can ride on and it has been closed both times we have gone.  Mackenzie was really sad, so hopefully next time we go out there she will get her chance to ride on it.

Mackenzie's little cousin Kaden is finally back.  Katie and Kaden went to see her parents for a couple weeks and it happened to be when we were here.  We are just glad they weren't gone the whole time.  So Mackenzie is having a great time playing with her baby cousin who is as big as she is!

Mackenzie also wanted to help Poppy in the yard the other day.  So she ran out there (without my knowledge) to help him.  He brought her back inside because it was a little chilly and this is what we could get her to wear.  She was worried Poppy would finish before she got dressed, so we threw on her tennis shoes and a jacket over her gown so she could help.

Last night Katie, Chad, and Kaden came over and we made sugar cookies to decorate for Easter.  Mackenzie had a great time using the cookie cutters and also picking out which sprinkles to use.  Can you tell with that face?



Then today Gigi, Poppy, Mackenzie and I all went to the beach for the day.  We figure Mackenzie would only last an hur or so on the beach and get tired of it, but we were wrong.  At first she didn't like the sand or the water.  I was worried that coming was a bad idea at this point just because if Mackenzie didn't like it, it would have been a wasted hour drive.  But after a little time and playing she decided getting dirty wasn't such a bad thing.  The water was COLD but she didn't care.  She was shivering by the end because she didn't want to get out.  But she had the best time.

Still trying to figure out if she should get her feet wet.

Taking a snack break with her cool sunglasses like Mom.

She had to have a place to wash her hands and shovels.

Burying Poppy's feet.

Putting sand into her washing bucket.

This is when she figured out the water wasn't so bad.  Can you see that smile?

True happiness!

Thanks Poppy for being a good sport...Mommy was not up for all that.

And that is our trip so far in a nut shell.  More to come soon.  I really need to catch up on everything else that we have done before we got to NC.

Mackenzie Updates

Things she says ALL THE TIME!!!!


I Sorry
Not et (not yet)
All done
So Full
Yummy to my Tummy
Fix it
I Miss Him (anyone who she isn't with at the moment)
Be Careful
Mommy doos that (not does but doos)
Don't get hurt
I Just Tending (I'm just pretending)
2 more minutes

She really is a talker...she doesn't just use 2 or 3 word phrases...these are just phrases that she uses ALL THE TIME in her sentences.

She loves to sing..

(She knows these without help)
Twinkle Twinkle Little star
I am a Child of God
ABCs (even during church and at Grandpa's funeral)
Sunbeam
Ring around the Rosie

One's she needs a little help on...
(A lot of church songs)
Popcorn Popping
I'm Trying to be like Jesus
A Child's Prayer
The Christmas Song (I sing it to her at night and she sings right along)
I'm So Glad when Daddy comes Home

She really likes sound books...her Grandma gave her a Clifford sound book and also a Christmas Songs book for Christmas this year.  She loves to sing along to all the Christmas songs that are played especially Jingle Bells.

She likes to talk on the phone, but really has to be in the mood to really talk to someone on the other side of the phone.  She normally just walks around talking to her imaginary person on the phone.

She always wants to hide when Adam gets home from work.  When he opens the garage door she runs for her closest blanket and throws it over her head.  When he comes in the door she yells "FIND YOU!"

She is actually really good at hiding sometimes.  It kinda scares me a little.  If she is in the mood to really hide and you don't know where she went, she will sit there silently until you find her.  It has taken me up to like 5 mintues to find her before.  She does NOT move or make a peep.  We are trying to teach her that if we say "come out come out wherever you are" she has to make a silly noise so we can have a clue.  She only does that about half the time.

She has been calling her fruit snacks names.  She will pick up 2 and say "This one mommy, This one daddy" and then eats them and tells us they are yummy.  Don't ask me where she got this from?  I have NO IDEA!

She can mostly count to 20...she gets a little confused between 15 and 18.

She got a computer from Nana for Christmas that does animal sounds for all the alphabet.  Well the L is for Lion and for some reason they don't know what a lion says.  It makes some noise that the lion is shaking...so now my brilliant child thinks a lion says this tisk tisk kinda noise.  So next time you see her ask her what a lion says.  It will give you a little laugh.

She loves to clean.  IF her room is dirty at night she wonlt go to bed until we clean it up.  She is scared that she might fall on something if she gets up in the middle of the night.

She is doing so much better with sleeping.  I don't know if I wrote this earlier, but we were spending like 2 hours at night with her in her room to get her to bed.  It was really rediculous but NOTHING we were doing worked.  Then one day I was so fed up, Adam and I talked to her all day about our bedtime rountine and that we weren't going to stay in there very long...and it worked!  Since that day she has been so good about going to bed.  And she is also sleeping through the night.  It is so nice to finally after 2 1/2 years to get some decent sleep.  Except now I wake up because I am uncomfortable or have to pee.  Something is not right about all this!  Maybe with our little boy I will teach him much earlier!

But this is about all for now.  Maybe if I think of more I will do a shorter blog later.  But just a few cute things about Mackenzie.

A Ton going on

So this is a catch up from the last...month?  2 months?  who knows...I just know I have definitely been lacking in the blogging department lately.

So you can read this if you would like to know about what has been going on in our lives.

President's Day weekend we had some of Adam's family come to visit.  His two sisters, Ali and Amy, and Ali's husband Ryan drove over from Utah to visit for a long weekend.  We didn't really do much but just hung out and had a great time spending time together.  We went to a huge mall near Boulder and went to see the fishies at Bass Pro Shop, but basically just hung out at home.  We played lots of games and Mackenzie loved having family to play with. 

When they left on Tuesday morning, Alison decided she wanted to stay a little longer.  She isn't working and had nothing else REALLY important to do, so she wanted to spend some more time with us.  Ryan was fine with it because it gave him time to work on his motorcycles.  She was supposed to catch a ride home with Amy who decided she was driving back with her boyfriend 2 weekends later. 

Well that plan went down the drain.

We got a call 2 Sundays ago letting us all know that Adam's grandfather was not doing well.  He ended up passing away, so we wanted to be at his funeral.  He lived in Pennsylvania, but tickets were so expensive so we decided on a road trip.  Wednesday afternoon Adam, Ali, Mackenzie, and I packed up our little Honda Civic to make a 22 hour drive to Western Penn.  It actually was a pretty good trip.  Mackenzie does great in the car and didn't complain at all the whole trip there.  We slept in the car Wednesday night and made it to Penn Thursday afternoon. 

The great part is that all of Adam's family was there.  Even his brother Jeff, who lives in London, flew over to be there.  I was the only in-law there but it was so great since we haven't seen Adam's parents in over 2 years.  They got to play with Mackenzie and enjoy spending time with her. 

The funeral was Saturday and it was a great service.  It really wasn't extremely sad...it was more just celebrating his life and all the joy he brought to others.  He was a great man and I loved hearing all the stories about him.

The rest of the weekend we just spent with family catching up and having fun.

On Monday afternoon, we packed up our little Civic again for a 22 hour ride home.  Once again Mackenzie was WONDERFUL in the car.  I couldn't ask for a better traveler at 2 years old.  We made it home on Tuesday afternoon and were all extremely exhausted.  We are catching up now and getting back to normal life.

Also, since Amy didn't come to our house this past weekend like we had planned (they are now planning on coming next weekend.) Ali doesn't have a ride home.  So she had to buy a plane ticket to get home to her husband that she hasn't seen for about 3 weeks.  So she is flying out on Saturday morning.

In other news, I am now 26 weeks along in this pregnancy.  Things are still going really well.  Just like with Mackenzie, I am not really gaining much weight and the nausea has gone away.  Everything is still looking good, except this next doctor's appointment I have to do the disgusting glucose test.  That is the worst part of prenatal care. 

The baby is moving a ton and loves to kick, punch, and do flips all day.  But mostly when I am trying to sleep or relax, so it can be aggravating.  He also thinks my bladder is a trampoline.  When we were having the ultrasound done, he just kept jumping off my bladder.  It was fun to watch, but I felt it everytime.  And I seriously feel like I have to pee 5000 times a day.  That is one thing I can't wait to be done with.

Lastly in news from the Rankin household.  Mackenzie has been sorta potty training on and off.  I haven't been pushing it, but she really seemed ready.  So we talked about it and went to pick out big girl pants.  She got what she wanted and was so excited to wear them.  She has done really well whenever she has underwear on, but knows she doesn't have to worry about using the potty if she has on a diaper or pull-up.  Also with the trip and everything, she has been in and out of diapers.  Well this morning I asked her if she wanted to wear her big girl pants again and she was excited.  So back to potty training we went.  Today so has peed 3 times and pooped once in the potty.  She is doing so awesome.  She really has been so easy to train so far.  She has only had a handful of accidents through this whole process that has been going on for at least a month or so.  With those accidents though she is running to the bathroom yelling "Mommy I dripping."  She hasn't done any REAL accidents and I have been so blessed for that.  Most of the time she would basically make it to the bathroom so I only had to wipe up a few drops along the way and a little in front of the potty.  She would be sitting on the potty when I made it to the bathroom behind her.  I am just proud of her for catching on so fast.  This is still a work in progess but it is coming along great so far.

But that is really all that is going on in our lives.  Everything is pretty normal other than these things.  We have just been busy doing normal everyday stuff.

So there you go... I am sorta caught up!

Ultrasound pics

These aren't the greatest because the glare on the paper...but at least you can sorta see the baby.

He was all curled up.


Still curled up...


Profile, our little boy is laying down.


Profile with his hand by his face.

Time with Daddy

They were having such a good time reading together, and Mackenzie was just funny so I took a few videos.

Well the next videos aren't working now....so maybe later.

And Finally...

We are having a baby.....

He was not shy at all!

Flying "Dinky"

Mackenzie still calls her binky her dinky.  I don't know how it started, but that is what Adam and I call it too now.  Anyways, she still loves it as much if not more than she ever has.  She loves to talk to us and tell us things, but I can't really understand everything she is saying with it in her mouth.  So I always ask her to take it out before she talks to me. 

Well the other day in the car Mackenzie was trying to tell me something and I had already told her 3 or 4 times to take her dinky out so I could hear her.  Finally she got frustrated after the 4th time of me asking and a dinky went flying past my head.  She had just thrown it hard at my head and started laughing.  It actually was really funny, I am just glad I didn't get hit.

Our House

My mom has been begging me to put up more pictures of our house.  We have been doing a ton in here...especially now that we are adding to our family.  So here are pictures of our after living room and master bedroom.  We got a ton of furniture from my parents when we were in NC for Christmas.  We are so grateful for everything they saved for us and gave us even straight out of their house. 

Thank you Mom and Dad for all the great furniture.  And we are so excited to start putting more in our house and making it feel like a home!

Big News

So I have obviously known for a while and wanted to do a fun post, but now it is just so late that will just let everyone know....

Mackenzie is so excited because she is going to be a big sister.  I am 19 weeks now and can't wait to find out what we are having!! 

I have the ultrasound next Tuesday YAY!!!

I am due June 12 and am already so excited to have our little boy or girl here.

Parade of Lights

Last Friday night we went to the Parade of Lights here in Denver (Downtown).  It is the big Christmas Parade.  It was so much fun, except we wish we had gone about an hour or more earlier to get a good spot to see.  But we still had a wonderful time with our friends Chelsea, Nathan, and Luke. 

Mackenzie had to sit on Adam's shoulders to see, and she sat there almost the enitre parade.  We left maybe 15 or 20 mins before the end, and it was a LONG parade, so she did awesome!  She was amazed by all the lights, loved the balloons, and danced when the bands came down the street playing music.  I am so glad we went.

Kenzie on her daddy's shoulders

This was the first of I think 4 big balloons that they had.

Luke, Nate, and Chelsea