Terrible Twos Strikes The Bridges!

My beautiful daughter turned two in July. We have been very blessed because her behavior has always been decent! She's not perfect but we're not pulling out our hair...yet. :) Makenzie and I headed to Oklahoma this weekend. We went to celebrate my nephew, Mark, graduating from Metro Technology School. I'm so proud of him!! Makenzie, I guess, decided that she wasn't too thrilled about all the traveling and hoopla. On the way to Oklahoma, we stopped to eat and she decided she didn't want to walk...at all! Then she screamed while I tried to change her diaper. She decided she wouldn't sit on the bench at the table (which I NEVER let her stand on). Then we got to OKC and she decided she wasn't going to walk to dinner that evening. The only problem was that it was very windy and I was wearing a skirt! I carry her and I moon everyone!!! When we got back to my sister's, her attitude didn't change very much. The first night, she threw the biggest tantrum I have ever seen. Even my sister was a little in awe of it! So finally we headed back to Odessa. The trip back was totally different!! She was sweet and playful! I hope that the terrible twos are just a fading memory....but I won't hold my breath!!

It's Been A Long Time

My goodness but it has been a long time since I last blogged anything! There have been some really great things that have happened and some sad things that have occurred. An unexpected event that happen was the death of my mother-in-law, Doris Louise Bridges. We used her middle name as Makenzie's middle name. Doris had not been feeling well for some time. The doctors would run test, take their time looking at the results, and then tell her they couldn't tell what was wrong. Finally on May 4, she went into the hospital, and on May 20, she passed away from cancer. I can't believe that she is gone. She was so young, 63. I tried to stay strong for my husband, who is an only child, and had the burden of taking care of everything. When we realized she was not going to get any better, we had her taken to the hospice house. Since she had been in the ICU for over a week, she had not been able to see Makenzie at all. The first thing she asked when she saw me was, "Where's Makenzie?" That's when it hit me that she wasn't going to be here to see Makenzie grow up. She was going to miss Makenzie's first birthday, her next Christmas, and so many more milestones! That is when I broke down and cried. Doris, or grandmama as we would call her, loved her granddaughter. She always was willing to "show" her off to anyone who would listen! It has been a long and hard journey...life will not be the same again. We are trying to take things as they come and we'll miss "Grandmama" very much. But, we will make sure that Makenzie knows how much her Grandmama loved her and what made Doris special.

My Heros!

When I became pregnant so quickly, we teased my husband and gave him the nickname of Superman! So my sister gave him a pair of pajamas with the superman logo on it. While shopping the other day, I found pajamas for Makenzie and they had the supergirl logo on it! So when we went to Ruidoso for Spring Break, my two heros made sure they were ready to protect me! We had a great time while there. The weather was wonderful. We went up to Ski Apache and hung out at the ski lodge. Makenzie got her first taste of snow....not litterally! We also saw some deer hanging out in the neighborhood!

Ride 'em Cowgirl!!

One of the best things to do when you are expecting your first child is to go baby shopping!! Ken and I headed to Babies R Us in San Antonio about one year ago during spring break. We decided that that would be one place we would register for Makenzie. WOW!!! The store was HUGE! Being new parents, we were not sure what exactly we needed. However, there was one thing we really WANTED: a bouncer that was in the shape of a horse. At one of our babyshowers, Ken's side of the family gave it to us. I was so excited that I wanted to open it up before she was even born!! Finally at the tender age of 3 months, I convinced my husband to put it together. I had visions of her getting in it and jumping, giggling, and having so much fun. Reality sucks! We put her in and she looked at me and then cried. So, being the mean parents, continued putting her in and "helping" her ride the horsey. After 5 months, I am glad to see her enjoying her horse as much as I enjoy watching her! She now gets in it and jumps and jumps and jumps. She really loves it. The only problem we have now is she is getting to "plump" for it! Well, we aren't going to send it out to pasture just yet.

Makenzie's Baptism

On December 28th, 2008 Makenzie was baptized at Ascension Lutheran Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This is the church where I grew up in until I was in 5th grade. I had my first communion here. My parents, when they moved back to Oklahoma, rejoined this church. Even though Ken was raised nondenominational, he thought it was fine to have her baptized, since I was raised to believe in it. It was the same with me for the baby dedication. It is hard to raise a child in a family where there are different religious backgrounds. However, I feel that the most important thing to teach our children is that God loves us, he sent his son to die for us, and when we accept Jesus as our savior, confess our sins, God will forgive our sins and we will spend eternity in heaven. If Makenzie decides later on that she wants to rededicate her life to God, I will support her in every way!

Visiting Santa

Lori is a great friend. She works at a bank in Odessa. Santa came to visit the bank the other night. Makenzie was able to go and tell him what she wanted for Christmas. Because he is Santa, I think he understood everything she said!! Makenzie did really great with him...although she wanted to touch his white beard!

Little Pete

I have a friend who, like me, struggled to have children. When I went to tell her I was pregnant with Makenzie, she was able to tell me she was pregnant too!!! What a blessing! We were able to go through our pregnancies together which helped when we got nervous! Unfortunately, she is not able to stay home, so I have started to care for her son. Pete is such a sweet baby to care for! I was a little nervous about caring for two babies but it has really been fun. Even Lucy, our dog, loves having Pete over! Last Friday, Makenzie and Pete made eye contact for the first time. They would smile at each other and then look down and then look at each other again. It was really sweet. I hope that Makenzie and Pete become best friends as they grow up together!

Spending Time Outside

I wanted to weed the flowerbed one more time before the cold weather arrived. I decided Makenzie needed some sun too! Unfortunately, the bees also wanted some sun. We didn't get to stay out too long. But we looked really cute while we were outside!

Eating Cereal For The First Time

Makenzie started eating rice cereal this past week. I'm not so sure she likes it!! It is so funny to see her expressions as she eats it. However, Daddy knows not to get too close when she's about to sneeze....ewwww!

Where do I put my pinky?

My beautiful daughter loves to suck on her fingers. The only problem is that she doesn't know where to put her little pinky! Somehow it ends up in her nose!! She looks absolutely adorable but I know she can't keep it there. I love watching my daughter grow! Everyday she learns more and more. Giving her a bath is so much fun! We even had bubbles.

Makenzie's Baby Dedication

Today, we celebrated God's wonderful gift, our daughter. It was baby dedication at our church. Lutherans do not do this, we do baptism instead, so it was a new experience for me. I think it is so important for Ken and I to show that we want Makenzie to grow up in a christian home and become what God has planned for her. She did so well and never cried! Thanks to Feather, we have some really good pictures.

Happy Halloween

On Saturday evening, we went to Renee's to celebrate Halloween. Everyone brought a pumpkin to carve. Makenzie had a very small pumpkin because she is very small too! We had a nice time with lots of food, friends, and fun. Aunt Feather was very helpful to hold Makenzie while her mommy carved the pumpkin (Daddy did not want his hands dirty)!

Nothing Much To Say!

I haven't blogged in a while and I have to tell you that I don't have much to say. My mom had a sore foot last week and we all thought it was a blood clot. However, testing did not show one and so the doctor put her on steroids. She says it feels better. I hate watching my parents getting older. I don't want them to get older. When I was single, my biggest fear was that they would pass away and I'd have no one to lean on. My sister had her husband and kids. My brother had his kids. I had my dog and cat....good to cuddle with but not someone to hold your hand or take you out to get your mind off of things! I'm married now and I still fear what it will be like. However, I know my husband will be there with me through it all. I just hope it doesn't happen for a long long long time! I want Makenzie to get to know her grandparents. My husband participated in the men's bake off today at church. He made a cake called 22 minutes cake. It was really good. Unfortunately, he did not win but I think he should have!!! There was a cake that was in a cat litter box and looked like something the cat had used! GROSS. I couldn't bring myself to sample it.

Flying High!

We made it! Makenzie and I flew to Oklahoma and back without any problems. She did awesome! Most of the time, she slept. When she was awake, she and I talked and played...okay, I did most of the talking. While visiting, Makenzie started to coo more and more. I LOVE it!!! Last night, Daddy was talking to her and she cooed at him. I thought he was going to cry, he was so excited! This is when she starts wrapping him around her little finger...even more! We had a great time in Tulsa. My parents really enjoyed seeing her. My sister and I wore her out with our shopping!! My niece, Madison, who will turn 13 tomorrow, was getting really comfortable holding her. While we were there, we celebrated my Mom's (Sept. 3), my brother's (Sept. 9), my sister's (Sept. 15), and my niece's (Sept. 23) birthdays. My brother and his sons got to see Makenzie for the first time. I love hanging out with my family. We always have such a great time! This year, my brother wanted a pair of nike shox. So my mom painted a pair of her old shoes pink, then we got an old nike shox shoebox and wrapped them up! It was so funny to see his expression when he opened them up! My nephew, Christopher, played a soccer game on Saturday. I was able to see him score a goal. YEAH!!! I am really impressed with his skills, he is getting so good. Last night, we went to Dairy Queen for our usual Sunday meal. Guess who showed up!?! Yep, Grandma and Grandpa. I can't blame them...their granddaughter has been gone for over a week. They were really excited to see her. Who wouldn't be!?!?