Holiday Fun!

We had a very fun (and busy!) Christmas season this year. Christmas Eve we had our traditional big party at my parents house with all my aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. Then on Christmas day the craziness began. We started off the day by opening presents with my brother and parents and eating our traditional yummy egg souffle breakfast. Then we headed to San Clemente to open presents with Aaron's mom, stepdad, stepsister, sister and her boyfriend. Then we went back home so Mackenzie could squeeze in a nap before we went to my aunt and uncle's house for the rest of the day/night. On top of it being a great Christmas because we got to spend it with so many people we love it was also extra special because we got to tell everyone that we are pregnant! All of our family is very excited to have a new little one to love!

Our attempt at trying to get a family pic on Christmas Eve

Mackenzie had a great time opening her presents from her aunts and uncles


Christmas morning with Gamma

Opening our stockings

Mackenzie checking out all of her presents (Gamma and Gampa spoiled her this year!)

She especially loved her shopping cart and all of her play food

Big blue eyes

Christmas day picture

Mackenzie and her mommy

Mackenzie loved her build a bear Auntie Syd gave her (it even has bows in its hair!)

Aaron's family

For New Year's Eve we went to our friend's house for food and games. It was lots of fun! I wish I had more pics!

Mackenzie just being cute. She still loves to play in baskets.

And with stools... I love how kids can make toys out of anything

Only 7 more months!

Today we had the first ultrasound of our new precious baby. From the ultrasound it was concluded that I am 9 weeks pregnant...already! I still can't believe I am THAT far along because I barely feel pregnant. I mean I am a little extra tired at night and a few things don't sound good but for the most part that is it. I think the Lord is having mercy on me because I cannot imagine being deathly ill while running after Mackenzie all day like some of my friend's who have been pregnant were. Anyways, the official due date is August 3rd, 2009. 7 short months away...

Another one on the way...

I'm pregnant!!! We go for an ultrasound on Monday to find out how far along I am but from my bloodwork they think I am at least 5 weeks!

Me VERY pregnant with Mackenzie

Winter Fun!

This past weekend Aaron, Mackenzie and I drove up to Big Bear to see the snow. We didn't make it too far up the mountain (because we forgot to bring chains...oops) but we were able to pull off to the side of the road and let Mackenzie play in some snow. Mackenzie seemed to like the snow but she seemed to be more interested in watching all the other kids and people who were also busy playing in the snow. On Sunday we also stopped by the Mission Viejo Library to see Santa. They have a really cool (and free!) set up with a bunch of trains, Santa and Mrs. Claus, live Christmas music, and hot chocolate for the kids every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday from 6:00-8:00 during the Christmas season. Here are some pics from our winter fun!

A little bit of everything

Here is an update from the past couple of weeks.

Party!
Mackenzie's first birthday party was so much fun! We had a bunch of friends and family over to my parents’ house to celebrate. There was lots of playing, eating, presents and fun! I think Mackenzie loved being the center of attention (surprise, surprise) and she especially loved her cupcake which was entirely devoured in less than a minute.

I made a cupcake shirt to go with the pink and brown cupcake theme for her party

These were the pink and brown hair clips I made as party favors

Yummy cupcakes

Basketball

The remains of Mackenzie's cupcake

Opening presents

Mackenzie and her cousin Tera

The Bump
About a month ago Aaron and I noticed a tiny bump on Mackenzie’s temple. It was really hard and felt like bone or something so we called the doctor to see if we should bring her in. They said that what we explained didn't sound normal but since it wasn't hurting her and we had her 1 year appointment scheduled in a couple of weeks we could just wait for the doctor to look at it then. Then about 2 weeks later (a few days before her 1 year appointment) we noticed that the bump had grown A LOT (at least doubled in size). So when we went to her doctor's appointment we showed our doctor the bump and she said that it appeared to be bone or something on her skull and sent us directly to get x-rays. The next morning the doctor called and said that the x-ray showed she had a boney lesion on her skull and we had to go see a pediatric neurosurgeon to find out more info. So I called the neurosurgeon as soon as I got off the phone with the doctors and we had an appointment later that day with them. At the neurosurgeons we found out that Mackenzie has a dermoid cyst. What that means...basically when Mackenzie was in utero a skin cell was formed between two bone cells. The skin cell has begun to grow and will continue to grow unless it is removed. So they are going to remove it on January 6th. The good news is that once it is removed completely it should not come back. Also when they remove it they will test it to make sure that it isn't malignant (it almost never is) and then she should be perfectly fine. Although it is scary to think that our baby has to have surgery we are so thankful that it is only this and not something more.

If you look closely you can see it right above Mackenzie's left eyebrow on her temple (it is a little bigger than the size of a pea)

Florida
On Thursday we found out that Aaron's grandma (Mema) had passed away after having congestive heart disease for a while. On Friday we flew to Tallahassee, Florida for the funeral and stayed until Tuesday morning when we came home. While we were sad that the reason we went back to Florida was for the funeral we were glad that we got to see Aaron's family and Mackenzie's 5 new second cousin's that we had never met. We are also rejoicing that Mema is in heaven with her Lord and Savior in a new body free from all pain (she had just became a Christian about 2 months before she passed away).
*Pictures from Florida to come

Big One Year Old!!

On December 3rd our baby turned one! I can't believe how fast this past year has flown by. It feels like just yesterday that I held Mackenzie for the first time and now she is interacting with us and such a big girl.

Some fun things she's doing these days:
-Talking up a storm. She says hi, mama, dada, ouch, and uh oh and lots of other stuff in her own baby language.
-Walking and running all over the place.
-Exploring. Mackenzie loves exploring her little world and getting into things. She loves climbing up the stairs, pulling everything out of cabinets and drawers, etc.
-Organizing. Mackenzie got one of her dad's jeans because she loves to organize things...it's really funny to watch but she loves to make piles out of her toys and put toys away in random cupboards or buckets.
-Eating! She is such a little piggy and will eat anything and everything...seriously!

Mackenzie is such a blessing to our family and we are so thankful to God for her and the joy she brings to us each day! We love you Mackenzie Grace!