Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Shutterfly

Just a quick note to tell you about an account I've set up to store photos. It is through a site called Shutterfly and my plan is to up date the photos on there on a regular basis so that you guys can order prints as you want them. I'm not 100% sure if they can be sent to Australia, but fingers crossed they will! The site is http://thedouglasfamilyinpictures.shutterfly.com/


Mackenzie in her high chair

Mackenzie and I are both doing fine. She is 25 weeks old today and next week will be six months old! I can't believe how fast time is going by! I finally got around to buying her a high chair this week and she's slowly getting used to it. She looks so little in the chair! This shot was taken after I first set it up. Later that night when it was time to eat she took one mouthful and started screaming. I wasn't sure if it was the carrots (it was her first time eating those) or the chair! I took her out and calmed her down and she ate all her carrots so I knew then it was the chair. Today however she's sat in there for both meals and ate them without a fuss, so I believe her initial fear is gone.
She is also getting better at sitting up by herself. She tends to slump at an uneasy angle, but she is sitting for longer periods of time. I haven't gotten any shots of this yet because I'm always worried that I'll move and she'll lose her balance and fall over! She is also giving me lots of kisses these days. Sometimes there is a little too much drool for my liking and she tends to make a lot of noise, but it's the cutest thing in the world...it always makes me smile!!

Sunday, May 24, 2009

A Week of Firsts


Up on all fours...

As the heading says we have seen a week of firsts here. It all seems to be happening way too fast! As you see above Mackenzie has started to go up on all fours. Trying to get that on camera proved a little tricky, but I eventually got it! I was actually a little shocked to see her do it because I'm so not ready for her to start crawling! I'm hoping she can wait a little while before she starts. It would be nice for John to experience some firsts for himself, not to mention that I want him to baby proof the house for me!

The official first snotty face shot!

Mackenzie ended up with a pretty bad head cold this week too. Monday night she woke up and it sounded like she had a frog in her throat, which ended up turning into a pretty nasty cough and a lot of snot! The doctor checked her out on Friday when we went back for her eczema check up and said that it's basically all her in nose which is good. For a while there I was starting to think that she might have an ear infection because she kept pulling on one of her ears. She does it when she's sleepy, but I wasn't sure because at night time she was miserable! She is on the mend though now. She loves the saline drops in her nose and when I attempt to pump all the stuff out which kind of weirds me out! Oh, and he eczema is coming a long too. I have to continue putting the cream on it again, but it seems to be clearing up fine.

All dressed up in her pearls for her first veggie meal!

This week she also started on veggies and so far she's doing great. Shes had squash and today she had green beans. I thought we may have some problems with the green beans, but she seemed to enjoy them. She ate every bite! We will continue to work through the veggies to make sure there are no allergies and then we will start on the fruit. I'm looking forward to starting her on the fruit because I think once she tries that and I can mix the cereal in she'll be more inclined to eat the cereal.

"Squash...yummy!!"

I still haven't got a high chair yet, so I have been feeding her at her activity center. She cracks me up, because she now runs around in it, so when I was feeding her she would stop for a bite then run around the table! It gets messy real fast so I'll be picking up a high chair at some point this week. She really loves the activity center now. Like I mentioned she runs around it and I can see her now taking proper steps. Today when I was taking her into the bathroom to prepare her bath I stood her up and walked with her and she took the steps along with me, which freaked me out a little! Could my girl be wanting to walk soon?

Hanging out in one of her favourite places!

As for me I've had a long week. I had school to finish up which was a little tough with Mackenzie not feeling 100%. She was having trouble sleeping which limited my time for study even further. I managed to get it done though and I'm so relieved to be done. When it comes to study I'm feeling completely burnt out. I'm taking the Summer off, and will probably do one class in the Fall just to make sure I don't give up completely and because John won't be here. I am proud of myself for getting the classes done and I should hopefully come out of this with maybe an A in one class and a B in the other. For the last two nights I have actually starting reading for pleasure again so I'm beginning to feel a lot more relaxed!
John is doing fine and is down to weeks left in Bahrain. He moves out of his apartment June 1st and will be in a hotel until he leaves June 5. He's been doing some social things lately with the other chiefs so it's nice to hear that he's getting the time to relax. I do tend to give him a little bit of a hard time when he tells me about that though because I'm not able to do that! I keep telling him..."all I want is to be able to take a bath!!" I think that will be one of the first things I do once he finally gets home.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Counting Down to July

Well I kind of knew that John wouldn't be allowed to come home early, but I was still holding out that the Navy might cut us a break for once. I'm still a little down about it, but what can I do about it? Ice cream does not seem to be filling the void so I guess I need to get over it and continue to count down the days. I believe John finishes school July 2, but at the moment that still feels like a million years away...I just want him to come home!
Not a whole lot happening this week. Mackenzie has some how ended up with a head cold so that has been a little tough on the both of us. Monday night she woke up with a horrible cough so we have had some very long nights since then. We have a follow up appointment with the doctor tomorrow about her face so I'm going to get her to check her out to make sure it's just a cold. She had a mild temperature Tuesday, but apart from that she's doing ok. It's just the nights when it becomes a little difficult. If she just knew how to bring the phlegm (sorry Marn's I know you're probably horrified by that statement! :)) up I think she would feel a lot better.
This week is also my final week of school so as you can imagine having Mackenzie sick is horrible timing. Last night I had to turn in a paper that so wasn't finished, but I did it anyway. I'm just so over school. I sent an email to my professor explaining my situation, but I'm hoping I come out of the class with a B. I have to do a test in my other class and then I'm done. I just can't wait to not have to worry about trying to get school work done!

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Chrissy's Wedding!


Mackenzie all dressed up and ready for the wedding!


She looked so pretty!





Chrissy and her Dad walking down the aisle.

Yesterday was Chrissy's wedding and it was a really nice day. She got married at a golf club resort and it was a beautiful setting. Mackenzie and I went to the ceremony and I was a little nervous as to how she would behave, but she did a great job. When we arrived at the venue we met up with a couple of my friends and I think they may have over whelmed Mackenzie a little because she started screaming!! I thought that I would have to turn around and go back home before the wedding even began, but she eventually settled down.

Chrissy and Scott exchanging their vows.

The ceremony was really beautiful. They said their own vows and Scott included Chrissy's daughters into the ceremony which was really sweet. He gave them both a necklace which I thought was a nice touch.

The Marines doing their thing.


Chrissy, Mackenzie and I.

We stuck around long enough to get some photos with my friends before leaving. The reception was adults only and I am just not ready to leave Mackenzie yet. If John was home it would have been a different story, but I knew that if I had of left her with someone that I wouldn't have enjoyed myself because I would have been worrying about her. I was a little bummed to be missing out on the opportunity to hang out with my friends, but at the same time I totally respect Chrissy not wanting to be bothered by kids!


Mackenzie, Mere and I.


Mackenzie, Sasha and I.

The wedding was the big event of our week. I have been concentrating on getting my school work done and this week is my last week! I'm so excited about that!! Mackenzie's face is clearing up great and I'm hoping she eczema is not going to become a major problem for her. I have since learned this both John and I had problems with it when we were little so fingers crossed we haven't passed it on to Mackenzie. I'm now being super careful with her skin. She's plays in the bath before I wash her now so she's not sitting in the soapy water and I now pat her dry with the towel rather than rub her skin. She has become quite the giggle pot this week. Just tonight as I was trying to get her to go to sleep she was giggling...she is always making me laugh these days which I love!!
John is doing fine and trying to get everything in order in the hope that he will be leaving next week. We still don't know which is frustrating, but we should have an answer some time this week. I'm not holding my breath on it. Of course it would be nice if he does get to come home, but I'm not going to get my hopes up. I will let you all know once I find out!!
Have a great week!!

Thursday, May 14, 2009

A Trip to the Doctors

Today we went to the Doctors to see about the rash of Mackenzie's face. You may have noticed it in her photos, but she's had a bit of a rash on the left side (I think?) of her face that just wouldn't clear up. She also had it behind her ears too. Trying not to be a worried at every little bump and scratch I thought it was drool related, but I got around to making an appointment and today we went to see the doctor. It turns out that it is eczema and has become a little infected so the doctor gave us some antibiotics and a steroid type cream to clear away any infection that may be there. For the next seven or so days she has to have the medicine and the cream twice a day. Today when I gave her the medicine she LOVED it!! She was sucking on the syringe wanting more so I don't think the medication is going to be a problem for her! We have a follow up appointment with the doctor next Friday just to make sure everything is clearing up. It looks like she's going to have sensitive skin...time to start applying sunscreen!
She's doing great with her cereal too. It gets a little messy, but we're getting there. Next week my plan is to start giving her cereal twice a day, then the following week start introducing the vegetables, then fruit. I think she's going to really like the fruit if the medication is anything to go by!!
Lately as I'm trying to finish up with my school work or just check on my emails I place Mackenzie on the floor amongst all her toys so she can play. Lately she's starting rolling about the room, especially over towards my scrap booking table. The other day she was all over my albums, so I moved her away, then she moved to my draws and started messing about, then she's trying to tip over the trash can! All the toys she has in this room and she wants my stuff!! Yesterday she was at it again! This time she managed to get the draw open, but wasn't too sure what to do after that! Here are some photos of her in action!

Hmmmm....this looks interesting...I wonder what Mummy keeps in there!


Lets make Mummy think I'm playing with my own toys...


Hmmm....I wonder what's in this draw!!

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Four Years Ago Today...

Well today is our four year wedding anniversary! It sucks that John is not here. It also sucks that now with this deployment and the next that we will be spending more of our married life apart than we have together! I guess we never have time to get tired of one another!! :)
John sent me a beautiful bunch of roses and I got a real nice card in the mail from him. Our plan is to exchange gifts once he gets home. I have to admit I'm a little down that we can't be together so Mackenzie and I headed out to the mall for a little while just to get out of the house. I ended up buying her some shoes for Chrissy's wedding this Saturday and a new toy because she was so good while we were shopping. She stayed in her seat and didn't cry once!! What a good girl I have. As we speak though she is trying to open the draw to one of my scrap booking containers!! All the toys she has in here and she wants mine...better go rescue my stuff!

Sunday, May 10, 2009

My First Mother's Day!


My beautiful flowers from Mackenzie!

Today was my first Mother's Day and I had a wonderful time. I made the decision that I was going to do my best to make the most of the day and I think we did just that. It started at about 6am when Mackenzie started crying, and I thought "Oh No!" But she eventually went back to sleep and we got to sleep in until 8am!! I knew we were going to have a good day!
We got dressed up nice and had a really nice day. When Mackenzie went down for her morning nap I made myself a nice brunch and got a really nice surprise when I discovered flowers at my front door from Mackenzie! Yesterday I got some flowers from John and thought that these were it. Tuesday is our anniversary so the ones yesterday were for that. I got a little card with the flowers from Mackenzie and it just totally made my day!

Mackenzie posing with my flowers...she has great taste!

After talking with John today we decided that we were going to start Mackenzie on food in a hope that it would settle her more at night, so today was her official first day of eating big girl food. We had to go out and buy some bowls and spoons and some cereal too! It took me forever to decide what one to get her, but in the end I walked away with two different boxes just in case she didn't like one! After that we came home and watched The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. It's a really good movie...the make up they did on Brad Pitt is amazing, and the story is real sweet. Unfortunately the movie went on for almost three hours so that put me way behind in my organization of the first meal!


Our dressed up shot!

Eating like a big girl!

We got through it, but it was a bit of a comedy of errors. It started with my having to wash everything, then I had to pump some breast milk which I have never done before! By this time Mackenzie wants to eat so she starts getting upset! I don't know what I was thinking but I didn't think expressing the milk would be such a slow process. At one point I stop and feed Mackenzie because I thought this whole pumping thing wasn't going anywhere. After we had both relaxed a little I pumped what I thought was enough milk and I got the cereal ready.
John wanted me to try and get her first feeding on film so I'm trying to get the camera and the camcorder set up, all the while Mackenzie is rather upset! I try to put her in her bouncer because we haven't got a high chair yet and she's fine! I turn the camera on and start rolling, pick up the spoon and she starts screaming!! So as you can imagine I have to stop recording as I don't want her first feeding to be too traumatizing!! I pick her up and settled her and now the only way she'll eat is if I hold her. I'm rather proud of myself because she ate great and I was able to get photos and film of her first meal!! She really did eat well and ate the entire bowl.

A one handed action shot....I am rather proud of myself! :)


An empty bowl!

So far so good. She went to sleep without any fuss and she's still sleeping, so I'm hoping that this was what she's been trying to tell me for the last few weeks! Fingers crossed it stays this way and we will both be happy!
Enjoy your week!!

Thursday, May 7, 2009

22 Weeks



Ok, so you all know that I love Mackenzie, but there are some days where she won't even let me throw a frozen meal in the microwave so I can eat! It is so frustrating some days when all I want to do is do some dishes or make myself something decent to eat and she cries and cries and screams until I pick her up. Her bouncer hasn't been helping much lately so I decided it's time to start bribing her with fancy toys and we went over to the Exchange and I got her this thing!



It's an activity table that has a seat attached to it. The seat moves around the table so once she gets used to it she'll be able to move about the table. Eventually once she can stand on her own the seat can be removed and she still has a table. It took me forever to make the thing and when I sat her in it for the first time she screamed! She's getting used to it now, but it hasn't really distracted her as much as I hoped it would. She's still crying whenever I want to do anything!



She has also discovered her feet this week. She loves nothing better these days than to lay down, grab her feet and try put them in her mouth. Sleep time is becoming an even bigger problem for us too because now she's not happy enough to just go to sleep in Mummy's bed. Now she gets tired and starts crying. In frustration now I put her in her own bed and it's a toss up as to whether she sleeps in her bed or not. There are days when she won't go to sleep until I pick her up and then a minute later she's passed out...where am I going wrong!?! I guess she has about three more weeks of me with school and then we're putting her in her own bed permanently.
We haven't done a whole lot this week. We met up with my friend Sasha for lunch on Tuesday which was great. Apart from that I've been trying to get as much study as I can done. Everything is coming due with the end of the semester so it's time to stop procrastinating! I will get it all done, but I'll probably be finishing things right up till the last minute!
John is doing fine and we still have no word as to when he's coming home. If they let him go early we could be seeing him in a little over two weeks, otherwise we have to wait while he goes to school in Texas. I guess one way to look at it is that he'll be back close to us soon either way!!


So I finally got a shot of Nicole swimming upside down. This is how she spends most of her days. I don't know how many times I've come downstairs and thought she was dead...now I don't think twice about it, so if she does die she'll probably be floating around for a few days before I notice! Who says fish are boring pets!? :)

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Just Another Week...


Mackenzie has been rolling over for quite a while now, but this week it's all she does! She's doing a great job of rolling from her back to her tummy then back again! It is keeping me on my toes however, because now I have to think before I leave her some place to go do something. I definitely can't leave her on my bed any longer! She seems to be a lot happier too now that she is able to move about a little more....here are some action shots!

Almost there...but distracted by the ball!!

What a big girl!!!

We haven't done a lot this week. With all this swine flu hysteria taking over the world I thought it was best to just limit our expeditions out. Mackenzie is still a little congested from her school adventures so we are not going very far from home. Before this I have never really given the flu much thought. I have had it since living here and was so sick, but now that I have Mackenzie I'm a lot more cautious. I couldn't imagine her being sick like that!!
We did venture out to the scrap booking expo on Friday though. We had a good time. Mackenzie enjoyed watching everyone and everything and I enjoyed spending some money. My friend Brittny and I went last year and I didn't spend a whole lot, but this year there was a lot more that I wanted!! I don't know if maybe it was because I went on the first day this year and there was more product there, or if I just needed a good dose of retail therapy! I got some good stuff though so I was happy. Next year though I hope John is in town because I would love to take the opportunity to participate in the crops that they have! It looks like fun.
One thing I discovered while there though is that I have a new pet peeve of living in America! People will ask me if I'm from England and when I reply no I'm from Australia they always seem to say, "Ok, same thing." Now I want to say NO IT'S NOT THE SAME THING!!! :) Next time I think I'm going to reply with "So are you from Canada?" It's the same thing right!?! :)


This is my girl tonight...a little sleepy girl!

So we don't have much planned for this week. We're going to continue to stick close to home, although I am meeting up with a friend for lunch on Tuesday. I'm really looking forward to that. I've been getting a little lonely lately. It gets tough sometimes being here on my own. Once I'm done with school I'm going to look around for some play groups and stuff so I can get out a little more. With John leaving again I need find some more things to do to keep me busy. I'm also hoping that this time around I can maybe meet some wives from the ship. I have friends here, but they are busy with their own lives, at least if I was able to meet some wives they would be in the same boat as me with their husbands away. I think it will be better for all of us if I can keep myself busy and happy.
We still don't know when John will be home. It could be in a matter of weeks if they allow him to come home early, or it could be July. It's so frustrating not knowing, but one thing I've learned is that the Navy doesn't care about keeping the families happy...but I won't get started on that!!

Mackenzie with her new doll Emily.

This is a doll that I got for Mackenzie a week or so ago. It's a Lamaze doll that was called Emily and she's a little loud! She crinkles and she has different textures so at first Mackenzie didn't really know what to make of her...now she loves her!