Monday, September 21, 2009

Happy Six Months, Hennessey!

I can't believe that six months has gone by already! I remember thinking that Tailynn made it to six months fast, but that was nothing compared to how quick this has gone!

Hennessey is such a great baby! She's learning all sorts of things, and is getting close to sitting up by herself. She's not much for solids yet, which is okay by us! She loves her big sister and the new kitten. She doesn't sleep all night yet, and I think she's got some teeth coming in soon. So far, no hair growth, which apparently is normal for our kids. :)

HAPPY SIX MONTHS, HENNESSEY!! WE LOVE YOU TO BITS!!

In other news:
Tailynn ate play-dough for the first time today. She didn't seem to love it or hate it... Maybe "purple" isn't her flavor. ;)

Today we had the best dinner of pork chops, brown wild rice, cold pasta salad, and fresh broccoli. *yum* I made chocolate chip muffins today, so we had those for dessert, and I also canned peaches today. Tomorrow I'm planning on making Peach Butter (like Apple butter, but with peaches) and pear jelly. I like jelly! It's pretty!! Depending on how the apples are holding up, maybe starting on some apple sauce on Wednesday, too....

Cats seem to be getting along, too, which is nice. Maybe they "bonded" over the scorpion they were chasing together the other night. *shudder*

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Pirate Day!

Today was International Talk Like A Pirate Day, so, of course, we had to celebrate.

I wore my "Pirates never get hangovers because they never stop drinking" t-shirt.
Tailynn had on her Pirate Princess Mickey Mouse ears for a while.
Hennessey wore her skull and crossbones babylegs.
Matt, we decided, needed a bandanna. Good thing I've got some! So I dug out my old red one (it's the softest!) and tied it on for him. Tailynn comes in, climbs up on the bed, pat's Matt's head and says...

"BEAUUUUUUTIFUL, DADDY!!"

Um, not quite the look we had been going for, but what can you do?!

Auntie Meg also came over and brought pirate themed cards for us! What a great holiday! If you want to see 'em, go here!

In celebration, we watched Pirates III. *I love you Cap'n Jack Sparrow*

Oh, we've recently adopted a kitten. We had been fostering four of them (Jackie, Davy, Elizabeth, and Willow (formerly known as Jack and Will for two of them that went in for a neuter and came out with a spay....)). We kept Jackie, and the others have gone to get new homes. So Mischief, as many of you may know, is not the friendliest of cats. She pretty much put any kitten that happened to wander to close quickly in their place.

BUT TODAY.... we had "snuggling." The two cats were sleeping with their backs touching! It was flipping AMAZING! I hope this means that Mischief is getting a little friendlier with the new kitty. She also needs to pack on a few ounces, as she's been losing weight (and not in a good way, she only weighed a little over 8 pounds to start, and now she's down to like 6 lbs 12 oz....).

I think that's about it for now... Hopefully more to come on a more frequent basis!

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Start anew?

Okay, so I'm going to try and keep up a little better with the ol' family blog.

We started the day by *gasp* going to church! We've been sort of "in between" churches for a while. Chandler Church isn't really our cup o' tea any longer. Central is WAY too far to drive (32 miles). We just aren't big church explorers, either. I had met the pastor to Song of Life at summer camp last year (2008), and that church is very close. We went once. It was great! But we didn't go back for a loooooooooooong time (probably 8 or 9 months ago). Anyway, we went today. It was really nice to go back. I like the contemporary service lots! We tried to get Tailynn to go to the nursery, and she did fine for a while. Then when right when the sermon is about to start, I can hear her crying from the "sanctuary!" I went and got her and came back. She did okay the rest of the time, but we've definitely got to work on whispering!

I decided today that Hennessey is officially teething! She's been a BEAR for naps, and Saturday night was not a good night. So today we took a dose of Tylenol, and the usual 45 minute nap from the past three days turned into a FIVE HOUR NAP! Poor baby! I also took a short video this morning of her kicking in her bouncer. She's figured out that if she keeps the right pattern of kicking going, she gets a great rock. It slays me! Her video is here.

Tailynn has been learning TONS lately. We like to sing a lot around our house. I've picked up a few Sing Along Songs DVDs from the Queen Creek Library. She's in LOVE with them! They aren't sucky songs, either, so I can stand to watch them a few times in a row. She's started picking up a lot of the lyrics, too. The other night we sang "You Are My Sunshine" a bunch of times, and now she'll fill in the last word to every line! I'm planning to video record that soon and post it to the ol' You Tube as well. :)

Now, tis bed time! Cheers!

-The Beckas

Monday, March 30, 2009

Welcome!

So, firstly, welcome to a new blog! Not that many will read this, but I need a good place to keep all my little observations and family tidbits.

I'm collecting breast milk for a friend who has adopted a baby and is trying to relactate to nurse this baby, so until she gains a full supply back, I'm one of MANY (probably upwards of 11 moms now) pumping to help her out. Our newest addition came in the form of Hennessey Jean, born on 3/21/09. So since about three days after she was born, I've been pumping a few times a day. I collect in small 4 oz. containers, and I've already given 22 of them to the mom (so about 88 ounces!), all in under a week. I feel so glad that I can offer so much, and if I didn't have a mom locally to give it to, I would be sending it to the milk bank in Austin, TX (I sent just shy of 500 oz. to them when our first daughter was born). My plan is to keep a running list of how much I pump, just because I find it interesting. :)

So... Hennessey was born on 3/21/09, as I said before. Right on the 21 month birthday of her older sister, Tailynn. Since baby came home, Tailynn has been such an independent lil' thing!!

We used to nurse a LOT, but after I got pregnant, my milk supply dropped, and she was nursing three times a day. Since I've brought baby home, and had a huge supply, you'd think she would be loving it...but alas! I have to COAX her to nurse (usually when I'm so full I feel like I'm going to burst!). She will say she wants "mommy milk" but then just sits there with her mouth on my breast for a few seconds, then pops off and says all done! She just wants to exercise her dominance, I think. Prove that she can still get it when she asks! We'll see how long that lasts for!

The other night was interesting for us. Tailynn had her very first encounter vomiting. She's NEVER been sick with a vomiting bug before (heck, she barely has had a cold and never had an ear infection!). The poor kid just starts WAILING at 10:45 the other night, so I went into her room right away. And I could see from the hall light something was not right in her bed. I turned on the light, and all over her blanket, sheets, and pajamas were the remains of dinner (black olives & spaghetti...what a combo). She's crying, and I felt SO bad for her! I picked her up out of bed, and we went into the bathroom. She had a bath, put on fresh pants, new jammies, and was chillaxin' in our bed watching Kung Fu Panda. Matt was getting the icky stuff in the wash (he had to rinse it in the kitchen sink so we could use the garbage disposal, it was so thick!), and I had Hennessey that needed to eat, so I'm sitting next to her in bed. She starts getting that "look" on her face again... but we were too late with a bucket! Nothing like the first incident, and we mostly made it to the bathroom....but on went ANOTHER pair of jammies, and a wash of the arms and hands. Third time was the charm, and that was the LAST time, thank God. I ended up sleeping with her until about 2 a.m., then going back into our room where Matt and Hennessey were, and then nursing Hennessey a few more times that night. Needless to say, the next day we were dragging quite a bit!!

In other observations, I can't believe how tiny babies come! I didn't think Tailynn seemed too big, but after bringing home a newborn, she's like a giant now! Hennessey is a GREAT baby (as far as you can tell disposition of a ten day old...), and Tailynn likes being a big sister well enough. She wants to hold hands, she says good night to her, she tries to sh-sh-sh her when she cries. It's super adorable!!

That's probably enough for one night. More will come soon, I hope!! :)