Beautiful Ballerina

McKenna had her first dance class a few days ago. I absolutely love to dance and have always wished that I had taken lessons and actually knew how to dance well. I always knew I wanted to put my girls in dance. In June I took McKenna to the dance studio's year end show. She loved it, and stood in the front of her chair and danced along with the dancers. I knew she was ready so I signed her up. Her first class was a huge success! She loved it and came out saying "that was so fun!" She especially looked so stinkin cute in her little ballet outfit.

For FHE this week Ryan showed the kids pictures and told stories about his mission to the Philippines. The kids loved it. They especially loved to listen to Ryan speak Tagalog and look through all his souvenirs. It was fun to talk about what it would be like when Nate and Ty went on missions. I'm glad its a long ways away though. It was sure precious to watch.

Sleeping Beauty

Or I guess I should say Sleeping Snow White!

And her Prince...

New Love

This girl is in love...



She followed Ryan's aunt's dog around while we were camping. She loved him. Too bad her mean..or maybe smart, Mama will never get her one of her own.

This is what happens when Daddy does McKenna's hair...





Pretty scary...although McKenna loved it and wore it it that way until we were leaving the house, and then Mommy put her foot down.





And...



A tea party with cheerio's! How fun!

Mud.

I'm kind of a sarcastic person who likes to joke around a lot. Sometimes I forget that my kids might not understand that kind of humor yet. McKenna was reading me books when I had a craving for oreo cookie ice cream. I didn't want to get ice cream out for all the kids (selfish, I know) so when I brought my bowl into the living room, I held it up high so McKenna couldn't see what was in it. She kept wanting to know what it was so I kept telling her it was mud. She would say "oh, mud." I finally brought it down so she could see what was in it, and started eating it. It definitely does not look like mud. She said "I don't like mud, but I like ice cream!" I thought she had it figured out, but when I offered her a bite she turned her head away disgusted. I couldn't stop laughing, but then felt bad for tricking her. I didn't know she would believe me after she actually saw the ice cream. I told her I was joking and convinced her to take a bite. Then we had a nice time sharing a bowl of ice cream. I hope she is always this trusting of her wise, all-knowing Mother!

She's Three.

Last weekend we had a dinner with the Malacko clan to celebrate all the February birthdays at my Dad's house in Lethbridge. We did it in the name of all the birthdays for the month, but it was mostly for McKenna. We had a nice dinner, McKenna opened her gifts, busted open a pinuata (or as Ty calls it a Prada), and ate delicious cake. We had lots of fun and it was nice to spend some time with Dad and Penny.

Baby girl.

My baby girl is three today! Here's a little reminiscing of how things all began with her!

July 13, 2007

"We just found out that I'm pregnant again! It was quite a shock. We were being really responsible and not expecting it at all. But we're really excited and I know that this baby needs to come now. I really hope its a girl. But I guess we'll see. I'm due Feb 17, so Ty and the baby will be like a year apart. Crazy! I'm nervous and scared but I know I can do it because I have lots of help."

Feb 20, 2008

"Well, I'm still pregnant...but I've been getting contractions that I can feel all morning and I lost my mucous plug so at least I know its coming soon. The contractions aren't too hard, I can still walk and talk through them, so Ryan went to work. No point in him waiting around here when it could be awhile before I'm in hard labor. He's still planning on taking the boys out to Cardston today. He has a job out there so the plan is for him to take the boys out around 11:00am and then do the job. So if nothing changes with these contractions then that is still a go. I hope it all works out. I need these boys gone. I'm just too tired and cranky to deal with it."

March 2, 2008

"This has been the longest week of my life! First of all McKenna was born @ 4:41am on Feb. 22. It seemed like a long labor, but the easiest. I was getting contractions for 2 days but they would be regular for awhile then completely stop for awhile, and they were always 5 min apart or more and not too strong. It was a little frustrating. Connie had the boys so I was able to relax. Then @ 11:00pm on the 21st they started getting closer so we headed to the hospital. I was already dilated to 7 cm and the labor hadn't even been that bad. I was like Yeah! This is going to go quick. But like 5 hours later I had her. I got the epidural though so I didn't even feel any of the hard stuff. I pushed her out in about 10min. She weighed 7 pds 7 oncs and about 19 3/4 inches long. We only stayed in the hospital for like 13 hours. I wanted to get the heck out of there, and McKenna and I were both doing well enough. She is so beautiful! We all just adore her! She's a week old now and is doing very well and growing tons. This has been my fastest recovery. I'm doing very good. I tried nursing the first day but when it started to get hard I decided to not even try anymore. I've actually really been enjoying McKenna at the newborn stage. Ryan's been home all week so Its been nice. Regular life will start again tomorrow."


I'm so glad you came when you did McKenna Ray! You are an important piece of our family and we love you tons! Happy Birthday!

Rose Petal Cottage!

I found this cottage when I was pregnant with McKenna and fell in love with it! It took all my will power not to buy if for her before she was born. I finally got it for her this last Christmas. I was definitely more excited about it then she was! It is the funnest thing. It comes with two sides that are easy to move around, and then they have a lot of appliances and things that you can buy separately. If you have little girls, I highly recommend it. Check out all the dream town products at hasbro.com, they also have a market place and castle. Its a great product!

Jipped.

After preparing two birthday parties for the boys, I kind of got birthday partied out. Poor McKenna didn't really get a party. We had a February bday celebration with both families having cake for all the February birthdays, so she did get a couple of shout outs and some gifts, but no actual party. On her birthday I pulled out some cupcakes from the freezer that I had made for my brother's birthday, and we ate those and gave her the presents from us. Of course she enjoyed it and didn't realize what she was missing, but I wouldn't be a true woman if I didn't feel a little guilty. I promise baby girl that you'll get a party next year!

TWO!

I can't believe my baby is two! Happy birthday baby girl! I love you!





ps. it was her birthday on February 22nd. Anyone surprised that I'm posting this so late.

Look who's One!

Wow. this is quite late.











15/03/09

McKenna Ray!

My little baby girl. She' got the cutest little face and these gorgeous almond shaped eyes. She's got this spunky personality already. She jabbers, sings, dances, does this crazy laugh, and entertains me all day. I love having a daughter! My original plan would have been to have her Feb. of this year but Heavenly Father knew we needed her in our family sooner. What a blessing she has been. I'm so happy you are a part of our family! Happy bday Kenna! Love you!








Sorry the pics are so small. I borrowed them off my friend who took the pics facebook, so the sizing is off, but you can still see how adorable she is!

24/02/09

And then There was Five!

5 months after I had Ty I started feeling pregnant, but just brushed it off as my body getting back into the groove of things. Then my period was like 2 weeks late, but again, I brushed it off. It would only have been my second one since Ty so I just thought my body was still adjusting. I finally decided to take a test so I would stop worrying about it. I was completely shocked when it was positive. It wasn't part of our plan but Ryan and I got excited anyway. We knew this baby was supposed to come now. Of course I was ready for a girl! Lucky me, I got my wish for the third time and McKenna Ray joined our family February 22, 2008. She's been an angel and has all of us wrapped around her little finger. She's starting to get quite the little personality and loves to chase her brothers around doing this funny fake laugh. She could play in the tub and climb stairs all day long. She brings so much happiness to our family and has taught me that Heavenly Father knows what I need more then I do and that the mother-daughter bond is so special and strong.

18/11/08