A Trip to the Farm

Yesterday Macey and I went to a petting farm with my friend Becky and her sweet little boy Mason. We’ve read to Macey about farms and little farm animals, but this was Macey’s first visit to a farm. Macey got to see lots of animals and she was even able to pet and feed some of them. She saw cows and calves, horses and ponies, goats, llamas, sheep, turkeys, chickens, pigs, ducks, bunnies, and an ornery little donkey that seemed to want to nibble at her toes.                                              

     

There was a cute little lamb that I let her feed. I helped her as I didn’t want the corn kernels to end up in her mouth rather than the lamb’s mouth. That’s a problem with the bread when we feed the ducks. So much of the bread goes into her mouth rather than the pond. Macey also got to go on a horse pulled wagon ride. She did fabulous. She sat contently on my lap the entire time, looked around and occasionally put some cheese in her mouth. She loves cheese and would eat it all the time if we let her.

  

The highlight of the farm was Macey’s first ride on a little pony. At first, she seemed to enjoy the ride, but toward the end she was ready for Mommy to hold her. She’s definitely a Mommy’s girl, which I love.

  

After the farm, we were so hot that we took a dip in the kiddie pool. Macey enjoyed the water much more this time since it was nice and warm. She splashed, crawled, and climbed the edges of the pool. I just sat and played lifeguard. By the time we got out and I got her dressed she was so tired. I gave Macey a bottle and within seconds she was sound asleep.

                        

This is a funny video of Macey after she woke up from her nap. She looks pretty sleepy. We’re working on waving hello and goodbye, which she’ll only do with both hands. She’s super cute!!!

Long Overdue

So I knew when we started a blog I would be horrible at updating it and well I didn’t disappoint myself because I am pretty horrible. I guess that it’s time for redemption so I’ll try to cover the past couple months.

Surprise for Great Grandma

In February, Macey and I flew to Maryland to surprise my Grandma for her 85th birthday. I think we succeeded. Grandma has told me multiple times that it was the best birthday present she has ever received. It was great because it was the first time that she and Macey met. On our trip, Macey was also able to meet her other Great Grandma and lots of Great Aunts and Uncles and cousins.

                     

February Surprise

Brittney came back from Maryland a few days before Valentine’s day.  On Valentine’s day, we decided to get take out from the Olive Garden to celebrate.  That night, and for the next week-ish Brittney felt……funny, sick.  We assumed it was due to flawed food and figured it would pass.  When it didn’t pass, we became more worried.  Then, Brittney started noticing a familiar, pregnancy-like similarity to smell sensitivity.  Her nausea from the food had also not passed.  Fearing the result, she took a pregnancy test. Negative.  So we thought, “okay, good, but what is going on here?”  After about a week of continued symptoms, Brittney again took a pregnancy test: Positive.  SURPRISE!  It is a little hard to describe the feelings when you find that out in our circumstances: Shocked, happy, sad, excited, worried, sick, overwhelmed.  We didn’t tell anyone until a few weeks later when Brittney was really struggling with morning (all-day) sickness and needed backup.  At that point we told our parents and swore them to secrecy.  Everyone else found out on April Fool’s day (unless you’re finding out from this post).  It was kind of fun because at first no one believed us.  Everyone believes us now. 

Baby girl #2 is due in the middle of October.  That makes her less than 14 months younger than Macey.  It is also six weeks after Macey has her cochlear implant surgery, or when the implants are activated and the work begins.  We’ve informed the doctors and specialists we meet with about the new baby, and they’ve told us that Macey will require more work than the newborn.  Good thing we have wonderful mothers and friends willing to help us out.  Also, thank you to those who already helped us out earlier this year when Brittney’s sickness was at the worst. It was very tough for us.  While this was definitely NOT planned (trust me, we took the proper precautions), we feel that it was supposed to be this way for Macey’s sake.  Doctors and specialists have told us that children with hearing loss/implants do much better when they have siblings, even younger siblings. 

BYU Graduation

I graduated. My degree: Mechanical Engineering.  Doesn’t it seem like it took forever?  I think so. I feel like my whole family was more excited for me to graduate than I was.  I think they all know the time and effort it took for me to finally finish and were happy for me.  Good thing college isn’t this hard for everyone: nobody would stick it out to graduate. 

   

   

Macey and some Milestones

Over the past few months, Macey has grown a lot.  She eats new foods, sits up, crawls, pulls herself up against walls and couches, claps, and has developed a cute cheeser smile.

This clip shows Macey pre-crawling.  I think she just sounds frustrated that she can’t go.  But the outfit sure is cute.

This one shows features her more developed crawling skills.

This next one shows some even better crawling.  She grows so fast that even this video is out of date. 

And this clip shows her standing up using the couch for help.  Again, the clip is out of date.  She pulls herself up on anything and everything without a problem now.  Obviously, Cookie Monster is worth learning to stand for.

Macey loves to walk.  She can’t do it on her own, but really wants to.  We’ll walk her around and then stop, which will make her unhappy.  Some people have told us not to get her walking too early, because it’s more work for us.  We figure it would be good to have her walking before the next child comes.  Also, her doctors have said it would be good if she was walking before her surgery.  This clip also shows how excited she is to see and be with her mommy.

Easter

I just have to include a short blip about Easter.  It was the weekend of graduation, and Macey wore a really cute dress, so I have to include some pictures of it here. 

                    

Warm Weather!!

Since the warm weather came, Brittney and Macey have been spending a lot of time outside.  Macey loves it.  She loves the sunshine, watching cars go by, seeing and interacting with other kids who are playing, eating and feeling the grass, etc.  They blow bubbles, visit the duck pond, get the mail, and go for walks.  Macey is already more tan than me.  Don’t worry, Brittney lathers her up in sun block, and she’s usually  sits in the shade, but she did not receive my beautiful, fair, white, French skin. 

Sleeping

Earlier this year, Macey was having trouble sleeping through the night.  She woke up multiple times, and would only go to Brittney.  Poor Brittney, in the middle of her sick pregnancy period, would never get any sleep and just be dead tired on top of everything else.  So, to teach Macey how to sleep through the night, we let her cry it out one night.  Apparently this is common practice, but it’s still terrible.  I didn’t even think I’d feel that bad, but I did.  It didn’t help that while Macey was screaming with all her effort in one room, Brittney was crying in another.  Thankfully, Macey learned to sleep through the night, and learned how to be comfortable in many different sleeping positions.

Memorial Day Weekend

This year for Memorial Day, we decided to get sick.  That’s right, for three nights in a row we all hurled whatever we ate that day.  The first night was Macey, then Brittney, then me.  We’re still not quite sure what happened.  We ate Panda Express right before it happened, so some say it was from their food.  Others think is was a weekend, ruin-you-holiday stomach flu bug.  Either way, we’re happy it’s over and won’t be eating at Panda Express for a while.  To be extra sure any trace of the bug was exterminated, we disinfected and cleaned EVERYTHING.  We did the best we could.  We used disinfecting wipes on whatever couldn’t be washed, washed sheets and clothing, and boiled toys.  Only a couple of things melted. 

Strait Family Visit

Brittney’s family came in June to spend some time with us and Macey.  It was good for her to see her grandparents, aunts, and great grandparents.

   

   

Macey’s First Swimming Pool

We ordered a kiddie pool for Macey from Amazon this week for 7 bucks.  I love Amazon and free 2 day shipping.  We set it up outside, put a little water in it, and let the warm sun heat up the water.  She was a little timid about the water being cooler than her bath water, but she got over it.  We think she likes it.

       

Additional Pictures to Enjoy

And, after many requests, a clip of Macey eating fruit for the first time (she was 4 months I think). Enjoy.