Sick Baby :(

Some of you may know that I breastfed Mackenzy for the first year of her life.  Besides having a bout of acid reflux and colic, she was a very healthy infant.  She didn't have any colds or ear infections and might have had a runny nose once...  Now that she's 17 months and no longer gets breast milk I believe this child catches a cold a month!  Since her birthday in September, she has had some sort of runny nose or cough on an off throughout the months.  Nothing has compared to the cold that she currently has right now.

Last Thursday I was woken up by a half sleep/half awake child that was coughing up a storm.  She coughed for about 2 hours and couldn't seem to catch a break.  Naturally when she woke up in the morning (for real) I was a little worried.  She had red eyes, a red nose, said "Mommy", and then proceeded to sneeze projectile snot all over me.  Yes I did say PROJECTILE!  I was going to take her to daycare, but the snot kept coming, then the coughing started up again, and then she proceeded to vomit all over the floor.  Needless to say I didn't go to work that day and we went to the doctor to only be diagnosed with a cold!  I thought for sure she had something major with all that snot and mucus, but no!  A cold... 

So for the past week, we've been dealing with snot, coughing spells, and loading her up with Infants Tylenol and Baby Vicks Vaporub.  She hasn't been eating much, but has been drinking lots of fluids.  Luckily today she began acting more like herself and is eating much better.  Unfortunately, they don't recommend giving cold medicine to children under the age of 2 I believe so we are stuck waiting this cold out and hoping it doesn't get any worse...

Here is her Day 1 of the cold.  At this point the coughing and snot slowed down enough so that she could take a nap.  Poor baby :(

17 Months!

Mackenzy Star is now 17 months old and is such a big girl!  According to my measurements she is now over 20lbs and is around 32 inches tall!  If I'm correct, that means she has put on 2 pounds in 2 months and gotten 1 1/2 inches taller!  We won't get the official measurements until her 18 month appointment and I'm hoping she is 21 lbs by then...  We'll see!

Hitting 20lbs means that were were finally able to turn her around!  Yay!  She is so much happier looking at the scenery rather than the back seat.  During her first few days forward facing we had a few temper tantrums because she could see my car keys and got angry when I wouldn't give them to her.  All I heard on the way to Mrs. Karen's house was "key, keY, KEY!!!  Ahhhh!  Mommy!  KEY!"  Luckily that obstacle passed because she has some lungs on her!

She's been taking up a storm lately and it seems like she says a new word everyday.  She can say the names of her few of her friends at daycare- Nomi (Naomi), Le-ya (Leah), Niki (Karen's niece), and Karen (Mrs. Karen)!  I've also heard hair bow, bus which sounds like butt when she says it, sky, clean up, sock, shoe, boobie, my chair, knee, apple, and cracker.  She now knows where her eyes, nose, ear, mouth, belly, knee, head, toes, and bottom are.  She signs eat, more, cracker, thank you, please, and this morning she did the sign for candy but she said apple!  I just think she couldn't get her fingers in the right position, but I was super excited!  We're also working on "yes" and nodding our head.  Her answer for everything is no and although I know she knows how to use it appropriately, I believe she means yes in some situations but doesn't know how to say it.  We're working on it though!

We're also thinking about potty training her and she has a little potty that she will sit on before bath time!  Nothing has appeared in there yet, but she looks in her potty and waits for something magical to appear!  It's very cute!  Once we get the rest of our supplies, potty training will begin...

Her new loves include buttons, zippers, snaps, mac and cheese, helping mommy sweep by holding the dust pan and taking it to the trash can, carrots, taking long walks or jogs with mommy in the jogging stroller, slides, and taking her shoes and socks off!

Our Grumpy Saturday...

This week has been "uber" exhausting and I think everything I did caught up with me and Mackenzy this morning.  Not only did I work job #1, but I've begun to get things squared away for job #2.  We finally had our first basketball game this week which kept me out past my bedtime.  I had a meeting with vocational rehabilitation services that was completely pointless and then my father in law had to go in the hospital.  Needless to say, I was one tired Mommy by Friday afternoon.

Today, I was really looking forward to sleeping late (meaning until 7:00am).  During the week I wake up at 5:20 to get dressed and I wake Mackenzy up at 6:00 so that we can eat and get out of the house by 7:00.  Usually, if I don't wake her up she'll sleep until 7:00 or 7:30 ish, but this morning she wasn't having that at all.  She was wide awake, ready to play, and slightly whiny at 6:00am.  I was NOT happy to be awake that early when I didn't have to go anywhere and I guess my grumpiness rubbed off on her...

She was whiny because her teeth hurt and bored because Mommy was still sleepy and in a bad mood because we were awake so early for no reason!  Then when nap time arrived, she wouldn't go to sleep!  She did take a 20 minute nap while we were in Target which was far from the usual 1.5-2 hr nap she usually takes.  Her lack of a nap, me being exhausted, and both of us being in a bad mood sort of ruined our Saturday plans. 

After lunch with my mom at Red Robin, I thought she would be sleepy for sure, but nope... Not. At. All.  Instead of napping, she decided to throw her paci out of her crib and poop.  After a quick change I thought she would drift off to sleep, but I was wrong again.  Luckily Ray came home and took over.  He occupied her while I took a much needed power nap, which instantly put me in a better mood!

I was rather disappointed that I had to cancel our run with Brandi because of our grumpy day so I decided to go for a walk since that usually puts us both in a better mood.  She had a great time and after all day of being awake the little stinker fell asleep in the stroller on our way back to the house!  Even thought it was 4:30pm when she finally fell asleep, we decided to leave her in the stroller so she could rest...  She slept for about 30 minutes, I was able to get dinner started, and she woke up in such a better mood!

I guess all we both needed was a little sunshine and shuteye!

Below are a few random pictures I've taken over the past few days:

This is her favorite spot in the kitchen- in our recycling crate.

 I think every parent has the naked pictures of their kid!  This is her before bath time attempting to clean up.  We're still working on that concept.

 She was ready for her close up and right after I took the picture she stole my camera!

 "Mom no close ups please.  I'm busy drinking my PediaSure"

 And yes she does have my glove on her hand...

Happenings in the Cheek Household...

Hi Everyone!  Nothing much as been happening over here in the Cheek Household.  We've been working and playing hard as usual.  Mackenzy did have her first dentist appointment last week and it went really well!  She shed minimal tears and had a wonderful time playing with all of the toys they had in the office.  She has all of the teeth she's supposed to have and the dentist said she has a little bit of crowding (I'm still trying to figure out how he could see that when she only has 7 teeth and 4 molars slowly appearing...)  Anyways, we go back in about 6 months and Mackenzy got a balloon for her good behavior!

She also went to the doctor to get her second flu shot and of course while we were there I had to weigh her.  She weighed 18lbs 14oz which means that she gained a pound in a month!  AWESOME! But that also means that she gets to remain rear facing for a little bit longer.  Her next appointment isn't until the end of March so I hope she can stand facing the back of the seat until them!  She's getting taller and is beginning to kick the back of the seat!  You might remember us having this same issue when we switched from the infant car seat to the convertible car seat...  She has the long legs from the Cheek side and just keeps getting taller!

As she gets more active it gets more difficult to take a non-blurry picture of her!  I was able to get a some good ones over the past few days.  I even managed to catch Ray!

Ray came home with this blow up chair on Monday and after we quickly realized that it wasn't comfortable for us to sit in, we put it up in her playroom!  When she saw it she said, "WOW," and immediately wanted to climb in it.  It doesn't take much to please her!  She loves her chair!

 This picture was taken at about 6:00 in the morning hence the sleepy/blank look on her face...

 By the afternoon she was more alert and even posed for the camera!  I told her to say "cheese" and this is the smile I got.  Ha ha!  Do you see her new tooth on the bottom?  That's 1 of 6 new teeth that she cut/is cutting/has been cutting over the last month.  Darn those molars!

 Doesn't she look so innocent in this picture!  Don't let that look fool you!  Right after this picture she crawled in to the dogs cage...

How could I forget the most important update!  (No I'm NOT pregnant)  She is now pacifier free!  It just felt like the right time and Mrs. Karen, her sitter, has been keeping it away from her during the day so I decided to follow her lead and she hasn't had it since!  It's been a week pacifier free and it's been wonderful!  She does get it at bedtime, but that's it!  We're very proud of our Big Girl!!!

Little Gym Showcase!

The following post was written my Mackenzy:

"Hi Everyone!  Today was my last class at The Little Gym for the semester and I was able to show my Nana, Daddy, Mommy, Mimi, and Granddad all the skills I learned!  I had a great time and I can't wait to begin classes later in next semester!

I love love to climb on things now at home and I would like to thank Ms. Ellen, my teacher, for giving me lots of fun mats to climb on!  Here I am climbing on the pommel horse!

The balance beam is fun, but I'm still learning on how to walk on it by myself.  Mommy helps me walk so that I don't fall.

I got to class early today so I was able to play before my classmates got there.  I love walking in between the parallel bars.

Here I am climbing again!  I decided to say hi to Ms. Carley who was sitting at the front desk!

We start and end every class with bells and a song.  I love playing with the bells and I've gotten very good at cleaning up.  All Ms. Ellen has to do is sing the song and I know exactly what to do.

Here I am running and jumping during our warm up.  I love to run, but I'm not good at running in the circle like everyone else.  What do you expect?  I'm only 16 months!  Plus it's fun to have Mommy chase me!

Here I go again!  Catch me Mommy!

Catherine is my most favoritest friend in class.  She's a little older than me and will be moving up to the big kids class next semester.  We like to have conversations and give high fives! 

Here's my other friend Samantha.  She was in my bugs class when I was little.

The best part about class is that I get to hide in the barrel and Mommy plays peek-a-boo with me.  I love to play in here and talk to the other babies and big people that walk by.

I also learned to climb down from high objects.  This has really helped me because now I can get down off of the couch at home and I'm getting better and climbing down the stairs.

I just decided to make a silly face at Nana...

I got tired of walking on the beam and decided to sit down.  Then I spotted the balls!



As you can see I'm making another funny face, but this time it's for a good reason.  My darn bottom molars are coming in and they have been hurting me for days.  Mommy has been giving me orajel and Tylenol but chewing on my tongue feels really good!





Finally, since I am a big kid now, I got to stand on the podium and get a ribbon!  I learned a lot of skills at the little gym and I got to play with my friends.  Thanks Mommy and Mimi for letting me go to the Little Gym!"

16 months BIG!!!

I can't believe our little girl is already 16 months old!  I thought I'd take a moment to provide you with an update on her new talents!

Stats: At her 15 month appointment, Mackenzy weighed a whopping 18 lbs and was 30.5 inches tall.  She wears a size 18 month in clothes and a 5.5 in shoes.  I have no clue how this child eats so much and only weighs 18 lbs, but the doctor reassured us that as long as she is eating and gaining steadily then there was nothing to worry about.  He did say that since she is on the go all the time that she may be burning off the calories she eats and if she isn't sitting still long enough to eat a full meal then she may not be consuming enough calories.  So as a result we bought her some Pediasure, which she LOVES, and she now gets to sip on that after dinner.  The thought is that if we give her a high calorie drink at bedtime, during her most inactive time of the day, then she will pack on some pounds.  I think it's working, but I'll know for sure at the next doctors appointment.

Sleep: On average, she sleeps around 11-12 hours at night.  She goes to bed between 6:30 and 7:00pm and sleeps until around 6:00-6:30am, sometimes later if she's really tired.  She typically takes 1 good nap a day and it lasts around 2 hours.  On busier days, she may catnap all day when we're not out and about.  She's very easy going and doesn't seem to get bothered when her schedule is changed. 
 
Personality: She is miss independent and wants to do everything by herself, which sometimes creates frustration for her.  She wants to feed herself, but the darn food won't always stick to the utensil and she hates it when Mommy tries to help with difficult food....  She wants to put her clothes, shoes, and coat on by herself, brush her hair and teeth, and close all doors. 

She is talkative, loves to say "hey" and "bye bye" to everyone, loves meeting new people and hates it when people don't pay her any attention,  loves to "talk" on the phone, loves to feed Mommy, Daddy, and Nicholas, loves to put lids on everything, and loves reading books with Mommy.

Words: Snow, snowing/snowy, ha (hat), baw (ball), Mimi, Nana, Pop Pop, Mommy, Daddy, Nick Nick, doggie, car, baby, boy, gir (girl), go, mine, key, one, ly (light), hey, bye bye, nanana (Banana), bear, owl, mow (mouse), ca (cat), boo (book), Digo for Dora the Explorer, Boots from Dora the Explorer, neck (necklace), no no, more, Kenzy, hanga (hanger), mik (milk), tank you (thank you), ba-oon (balloon), bubbles, booger, bird, pabi (paci)

She knows and will point to her belly, ear, nose, head, and eye upon request!

Communication: She signs eat, more, cracker, thank you, book, sometimes please, and we are working on apple.  She's starting to put 2 words/phrases together like "Bye-bye Daddy", "Hey Mommy", "Get doggie" and "No more".  She understands simple directions and requests like "Go get your paci", "Put your coat on", and "Give it to Daddy".  She understands a lot more that she is able to say but usually we can tell what she wants by her gestures and expressions.

Reading:  She recognizes pictures of Mommy, Daddy, Nana, Pop Pop, Nicholas, Mimi, ball, and herself.  When she sees a picture of herself she says "Kenzy", but I don't think that she really knows that that is her in the picture.  We're working on that! 

As you can see, we no longer have a baby!  Mackenzy is a full grown TODDLER and she is starting to give us glimpses of the terrible twos...  She throws tantrums, slaps people when she doesn't want to do something, throws things, climbs on furniture, runs, and squeals at the top of her lungs when she is happy.  She steals things that she's not supposed to have like the toilet plunger, toilet bowl cleaning thing, keys, tooth brushes, and glasses.  Turns the dishwasher on.  We've had to start disciplining her for things she does wrong and she's shed some tears, but she's definitely learning the meaning of "no".

There's never a dull moment with her that's for sure and we're loving every minute of her!

Snow Day!

It's the beginning of January and I'm already tired of snow!  We had snow over Thanksgiving, Christmas, and now I am home again for yet another snow day... At least I'm getting some much needed Mackenzy time before basketball season starts at work!

This morning Mackenzy did not feel like sleeping in and woke up around 5:00am... I wasn't happy about that, but she was nice enough to take a nice 3 hour nap so that I could get some laundry done!  She's so considerate!

It's been a great snow day!  We've been in our pajamas all day and played in her new playroom which is still a work in progress.  As you can see below we created quite a mess..  She even decided to stick a name tag on her head...


 She likes riding in the big chair and says "wweeee" as she goes around in circles!

We got a new TV for our bedroom and as a result we had to take the mirror off of our dresser to make room for it.  Mackenzy loved it so we decided to put it in her play room.  She loves to run up to her reflection and give herself a kiss!

Stopping to pose for a picture

Climbing under her art easel