Cousin Fun

Bethany, Doug, and Madison came into town this past weekend and we all had so much fun together. I got to see my favorite sweet niece and the kids got to all play together. Aside from Mark still not wanting to share all of his toys, they had a good time playing. We look forward to seeing them next month again!

Diego Rockstar or Calvin Klein Model?

Well, we finally have begun the potty training and have almost conquered it! Mark loves wearing his Diego and Pablo underwear and has only really had a couple of accidents. He gets a sticker on his chart everytime he goes. This was the first day we were potty training so we decided against clothes. We'll see how it goes!

My little old lady

Here is a video of Makenna walking tonight with her walker! I just brought this out today for the first time and Mark has been hording it most of the day. She loves to hold onto my hands and walk around so I thought we would try this. This is the video Matthew took while I was at Volleyball tonight. We both agreed she looks like a little old lady walking with a walker, but we are so proud of her. Probably in the next few months she will be off an running. (Then we can all agree that it's all over!)

Dressed and Ready to go!

Here are some pictures of Makenna from the other night when we went out. I just thought she looked like such the little girl! She's growing up way too fast!

Sports Star

Here are some pictures of Mark lining up all of his sports balls on the toy box. He loves every sport right now and is constantly wanting to play something. He even picks up two random toys and hits one against the other and says he is playing tennis. He's definitely active enough for it!

Pulling Up

Here is a video of Makenna pulling herself up on her kitchen. Yes, that is a shiner right below her left eye that she got after falling on the piano bench earlier that day. It is her first battle wound. Mark of course also tried to come in at the end and take over for her. Nothing unusual there!

Musical Duo

Here is a video of Mark and Makenna from this morning playing the piano and keyboard. Makenna loves to pull herself up to the piano and play. I think she is even trying to sing with him most of the time. They have become quite the little team. Enjoy!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day from Mark and Makenna!

So Loveable...Not always so photogenic

Here are some pictures of Makenna and some of Mark and Makenna. It is so hard to get them to cooperate with me anymore. I think Mark had a heart to heart with her or something about when the camera comes out, don't smile and just look away. Maybe someday I will catch them off guard or something. Until then...

Mr. or Mrs. Potato Head?

Mark loves to play with his Mr. Potato Head that he got for Christmas. He just started pulling them together one day and this is what he came up with! Interesting huh?

Makenna Standing!

Well, this is how I found Makenna when I came into her room yesterday morning to get her. I had heard her just talking away on the monitor and couldn't believe my eyes when I went in. She loves to pull herself up on things now and prefers standing to anything else. She will still crawl a lot, but is even walking around her toys while holding on. She even likes to try to be a daredevil at times and lets go. She can stand on her own for about 10-15 seconds before grabbing back on or falling down to her bottom. She just amazes me more everyday!

Valentine's 5K Run

Matthew and I ran our first 5K run yesterday. It was -30 degrees below outside with 30-40 mph winds. It made it just a tad bit more challenging than usual and was interesting for my first competitive run. The cold made it hard to breath, but we both did okay. Matthew could've run it better, but chose to stay behind and help me try to catch up. His best friend Craig came into town and ran too. He stayed with me the whole time trying to keep me going as well. Matthew finished in 26:58 and I finished in 28:16. I was trying to get below 28 min, but was happy with the result considering the weather conditions. I also ran my first mile in 8:08 which is my best mile time since I started training. Our next race is March 15th so I am hoping to improve my time by then.

Soccer Star

Well in the past few days Makenna has started crawling everywhere. We realize now we will have to baby proof everything. Today she wanted to play soccer with Matthew and he would roll the ball to her. She would try to crawl towards it when she lost it too. Let's hope she will want to play soccer like the rest of her family!

Rockstar

Well, if Mark continues the way he is today, in no time he will want to be a rockstar. All he wants to do everyday is play his guitar and sing in his microphone. In this particular video he is singing Rascal Flatts, "Mayberry." It's amazing how fast he picks up songs. And if he doesn't sing a song he knows, he will make one up. I just can't get enough.

Yummy Yummy

We all know Makenna loves to eat and she was especially enjoying her Scooby Doo Graham Crakers today. I looked over at one point and couldn't believe what I saw. Her face says it all!

Big Boy Mark

Here are some pictures of Mark with the Big Boy Chart I made for him. This is to try to help him behave and was mostly made with the hope of going potty on the big boy potty. As you can see, he has yet to go (that would be the blank column all the way on the right) but we are still trying. He did tell me he had to go yesterday and he sat on the potty for a good half hour, but still nothing. Hopefully he will start getting it soon. I just don't want to push him too hard. All in due time I guess. So when he does something good, he gets to pick out a sticker and then we tell him where it goes, and he puts it on. It has really helped with going to take a nap, bedtime, and getting dressed. Maybe soon the other stuff will come too!

Monkey See Monkey Do

Here are some pictures of Mark and Makenna from the other day when they were playing with her kitchen. Mark wants to do everything with her and will even follow her by putting stuff in his mouth. I tried to tell him only babies put things in their mouth, and he just laughs.

Makenna Crawling!

I finally got a video of Makenna crawling today! She started crawling last week, but still doesn't do it all the time. She will definitely use it when she sees something she really wants, but still likes to stand more than anything. She also pulled herself up on her musical table today too! I couldn't believe my eyes! Her favorite things to say are dada and mama. She is just getting so big so fast!

A family divided!

We had a SUPER BUSY Day today. Not only did we run the Super Bowl Brunch at Church this morning, we had Marci's birthday, and then of course the Super Bowl, which we spent at friends of ours. I left the house at 7 AM was here for about a half hour from 4 - 4:30 and then just got home for the night at almost 10. It was a LONG, tiring day. But we all had a really good time. We all were supporting our teams today. Makenna and I were dressed in our black and gold Steelers and Matt and Mark were sporting their Brett Favre jersey's. I guess we are currently a family divided. Maybe after Brett Favre retires Mark will realize his true colors and return to Steeler Country. Until then Matthew will keep steering him wrong.

Going to Work Today!

Mark was talking about how he was going to work today. These are the things he wants to do at work. For some reason they always include Uncle Ryan. Uncle Ryan has to do everything with him! This was the day he kept picking up the phone and Uncle Ryan was always on the other end. It was a riot!