The day I have been waiting for...

... its been a hard 16.5 weeks!  Don't get me wrong, I would never change them for a minute!  It has been such a learning experience and has caused both Mike and I to grow closer to each other and to rely more on the Lord and prayer.  Believe me when I say last week I was at my wits end... I was on my knees praying for SOMETHING to help Mackenzie sleep.  She has taken 45 minute (or less) naps since she has been about 3 weeks old.  She has been active since day 1 - always looking around, kicking and interested!  I must have read 4+ books, 25+ blogs and googles "how to get past the 40 minute intruder" at least 100+ times.

At long last Mackenzie out grew her swaddle, last week we woke up at 2:30am to her crying so I looked at the monitor and AH! she was on her STOMACH.  I ran to her and flipped her over and thats when the 'no more swaddle' rule started.  She had been trying to roll for a couple weeks but had been unsuccessful... with her arms down it made it easier for her to flip.  So we began the no swaddle... with 1 or 2 nights of waking up every 20, 30, 40 minutes it was bad... she hated the swaddle but it helped her sleep so much.  I called the pediatrician and she said that we could just begin to not swaddle and let her cry a little bit.  Since we had tried pretty much all other methods we agreed and started.  This happened last Thursday.. night one she cried for 30 minutes (so sad), night two Kyla got to put her to bed and she cried again for 30 minutes, night three Nana Kathy got to put her to bed and she cried for 6 minutes... night four was last night and she cried for 5 minutes!

This is the best part...... today Mackenzie took three naps and they were all over an hour and a half.  This is the day I had looked forward to, googled, prayed about, talked about, cried about.... for the past two months!  I am so overjoyed that she is sleeping SO much better.  She can sleep in just her onesie, a sleep sack or her zippy!  My favorite is the zippy because she can still use her arms and roll but they are covered and she can suck her hand through the fabric AND she can't scratch her face!!!

From David Crowders song, My Beloved "I see the light, oh thank you God I see the light!"  There is always light at the end of the tunnel no matter how dark, how depressing, how long, how sad or frustrating..
Now I know not everyday will go this way, there will be weeks of her growth spurts, fussy times, teething and who knows what else but its days like today I can thank God and remember that he does answer prayer, he does come through, its just on HIS timing and in HIS way.

Last year at this time we had just found out that we conceived Mackenzie.  It is amazing how much can change in just 1 year!  It was about this time two years ago we had conceived and did not yet know we would lose the baby.. we thank God for Mackenzie daily and live in expectation that He answers prayers and loves us beyond our comprehension.  There is no place in Him that we cannot find peace.

Mackenzie in her new cowgirl Zippy!

Love, Alisha & Mackenzie

Three Months

Mackenzie you are now 3 months old!  Holy Moly!  Time is going by so fast... as I look back to the day she was born.  Some days are extremely long but for the most part they are getting easier.

Mackenzie you are learning so much!  You looooves to be outside and go on walks.  You look around and smile at the trees and at mom & dad as they push the stroller.  You have been placing your hands together for a couple weeks now and just staring at them.  You love to put them in your mouth and are trying to put some of your toys in the mouth too.  Hand/eye coordination is still needed to do this better but you try hard!

You are going down around 7:30/8 at night and putting yourself  to sleep most of the time with less than 5/10 minutes of crying.  We are very grateful that you can do this at night!  Yoi is still waking up 2/3 times a night (midnight and 3 AM are your favorites).  Often times we do co-sleep after that point because we both sleep better!  Your naps are still only 30/45 minutes with an occasional longer one.  Waking up is around 7:30 for the most part and there are about 4/5 naps a day!  This is getting harder and harder as you gets older and she is fighting her naps.  Most of the "experts" or sleep books I read (even the pediatrician) say this is normal and your wake time should be less than 2 hours.  I remind myself that your development depends on sleep and that although its hard to get you down 4 times a day its worth it for you to learn and grow!!

You has recently started babbling in a whiny voice and blows raspberries (tries hard to).  Mackenzie you smile all the time and are close to laughing but not quite there yet.  Your eyes are so blue and her hair is finally growing - from far away you still looks bald hah!

Your eating all the daytime feeds from bottles which makes life easier for mom & dad!  You are beginning to want to sit up more and tummy time isn't the worst thing in the world.  You are still super active and cute as can be!

*first time wearing a jacket even though dad said you probably didn't need it. I thought you did! It was 65 out :) also dad hates it but I looove it :) 

On to month 4!! Praying for longer naps and sleeping longer at night - woo hoo!!! 

Love, mommy & daddy 

Two months old

Last week Tuesday, June 24 Mackenzie turned two months old! Here are some pictures my mom and I took :) 

Woah big girl! Mackenzie is trying so hard to always keep her head up. She is quite the busy body :) She has begun to suck her hand or her whole fist at times! She is awake much more, looking around making eye contact and smiling a lot! She is talking to us as well with all her different cooing sounds. She started to sleep in her crib right at 2 months. It's only been 3 nights but I think it is making a difference. She is sleeping well and sticking to the routine of 12&3 or 1&4. Mike and I are sleeping much better now since we don't hear every sound😜

Mackenzie is beginning to want to laugh. She loved her mobile on the crib and play mat. Music makes her smile also! She is taking 45 minute naps throughout the day and bed time is around 8:30! She doesn't like being burped, being swaddled (at first) or changed in the middle of the night. She is taking bottles ok and we will begin to do more now!! 

Oh! I can't believe I almost forgot... One of her favorite things is looking up! Up at the fans! She loves them.... Or the ceiling or the changing lights of dark/light and shadows. She is 11 pounds 1 ounce and that's a 1 pound 5 ounce gain from 1 month! She is 23.5 inches long :) her head is very strong and she can do tummy time for about 5 minutes before she's mad hehe! 

I love her :) she met a lot of new people this week.. Cousins Scott, Shawn, Tyler, Alex, Genevieve and William. Many family members too! She brightens the room with her cute baby qualities getting all the attention!! 

Dear Mackenzie

Dear Mackenzie, 

The past two days have been hard for mommy. Someone important in her life has passed away. It won't be something you remember and all you'll have is a few pictures and our stories we share. 

Your Great Grandpa Bob was a very special person. Here is when you were 3 weeks old and you two met for the first time. 

He was awake and very excited to see you! He asked all about you :) He gave you small kisses on your head. 

You went to see great grandma & grandpa in a pretty pink bow! 

There you are! Such a small sleepy baby :) Some things you should know about great grandpa are that mommy loved growing up next to a huge park he helped build. It's now named after him! It was the biggest park around with a lion water fountain, swings, slides, softball fields, a sled hill and eventually a place called warren special recreation where mommy worked! Some other memories with Great Grandpa are Christmas time, working at the Christmas tree lot, Christmas Day with the whole family around a big Christmas tree, driving around their neighborhood in a go-cart (so cool!), getting a new swing set, visiting Florida with family, driving around in their golf cart, stories upon stories of his life lessons and adventures, me cheering on the bears while he loved the packers, mommy & daddy's wedding day, mommy & daddy going to Florida to visit, conversations laying by the pool, dinners out & about... Visiting Florida with cousin Amy!! So many memories...

I'm so sad you won't remember meeting him or get to talk to him as you grow. The  second time you visited great grandpa he asked about you again, your grandma was holding you and brought you upstairs to see him. He of course loved seeing you!! You slept in grandmas arms. 

Great Grandpa passed away on 6.20.14 and was 84 years old.  He lived a great life! I'm sure I'll show you so many pictures as you grow. Here are some.. 

I am blessed to have had such a caring, generous, thoughtful grandpa! I will miss him so much. He was funny, not afriad to speak his mind and do his own thing. He knew Jesus as his savior and is in heaven rejoicing. It's beautiful to know that Jesus loves us so much that being perfect with no sin he died for us all on the cross. But us as sinners... We're not perfect and we need Him who is perfect to help us through! Because he died on the cross we have a way, a bridge to heaven. We surely don't deserve it with how much we all sin but God choose to give us a way.. In heaven everything is perfect and grandpa is perfect and in no pain! No more tears in heaven :) 

Mackenzie, you will be blessed to grow up with 4 grandparents. Daddy & mommy are blessed to have their parents  who love you so much already! As you grow you will build memories with them just as I have with my Grandpa Bob. You will cherish them and always remember.. 

I love you Grandpa. I love you Mackenzie. 

Love, 

Your Mommy Alisha 

Mothers & Fathers Day

Our sweet baby girl was born April 24th! Just in time to give Mike and I our first Mothers & Father's Day! 

Us on Mother's Day!!

Fathers Day!! (Putting m to sleep!)

This was her outfit until she spit up... A lot! 

By the end of Father's Day, Mike and I were tired... It was a long and rough weekend. Living with a baby changes so much! Suddenly being on time for church and trying to go to breakfast afterward isn't so easy anymore :( 

What Mike and I decided last night to commit to is Matthew 6:34- therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. 

{a prayer from my devotional}

Pray: God, help me. I often have strong desires, and when I don't get what I want, I get upset. Forgive me. Remind me that Jesus didn't want to die on the cross, but He lived in total submission to Your will. I ask You, through Jesus Christ, to help me live in total submission and be content with what You give me. Amen. 

Bonus: some pictures of Mackenzie with my dad & grandpa! 

Seven weeks later..

It's been 7 weeks since I went I to labor. We had small group at our house and during our girls time we prayed for little baby M and for labor/delivery. Little did we know... 6 hours later I would wake up in the middle off the night with labor pains :)

No one and nothing prepares you for motherhood. You get so focused during the pregnancy on ... The pregnancy! Recording month by month, looking up what you can and cannot eat.. The most we did was newborn classes about bathing, diapering and infant CPR. 

Not saying those things aren't important, clearly they are! But real motherhood has nothing to do with that.

It all started the moment my little girl came.. Mike and I saw her and instantly fell in love. She was here!!! She was beautiful! Now what??

These past 7 weeks have been a whirl wind. Feeding, changing, poop everywhere, oh the projectile spit up (literally flying feet across the room!), waking up every 3 hours, bouncing, swaying, walking, jumping, knee squats, car rides, walks... Ay YI YI !!! Motherhood should come with a serious warning - not for the faint of heart, not for those who can't depend on others, not for the one who quits.. 

Many times I've thought about giving up, I've thought it wasn't worth it.. But then my baby girl smiles, then she makes her cooing sounds, then she finally falls asleep in my arms. Then... I know she won't be little forever, someday she'll be walking, falling asleep on her own, eating her own food! When it gets to be too much, when I feel satan creeping in - only God gets me through.. His constant whisper of patience, love her as I love her. 

Blogging will be more frequent now! It will be an outlet and an update for family on how Mackenzie is doing! 7 weeks tomorrow.. Holy cow! 

Is he here alone? Is she sitting by herself...?

Its been a while.. its been super busy!  I cannot belive its the end of July.  As a teacher... after July 4th comes & goes your mind immediately tries to trick you and says "YOUR SUMMER IS OVER!!!"

Realistically its not at all! Its about half way.. but you can imagine the second 5 weeks are not nearly as relaxing as the first 5!

Well more updates later on our summer (more flowers growing, hanging out, our west coast vacation).. but right now I wanted to update you on our Milwaukee trip!

Every year we go to Milwaukee the same weekend for Mikes works meeting ~ Northwestern Mutual.  At this meeting - about 11,000 people travel from around the United States and join together for both fun & business/learning sessions. There is a garden party at the Milwaukee Zoo on Sunday and a concert on Tuesday.  This year it was Tim McGraw!

While we were at the meeting I had this realization that I need to be more open to people and friendly.  I typically shy away from being the first to introduce myself or start at conversation.  However, when dealing with interns or new financial reps I realized I need to be the one who introduces myself and gets to know them.  This is something that is often hard for me to do.  I want to be able to display the characters of Christ to people and I would like to think that he talked to anyone and everything, smiled when he walked past, and truly cared about people.  Of course there are great examples in the bible as well of how Jesus cared for all people regardless of status, religion and moral standards.


I realized all this while sitting at the Tim McGraw concert.  There was an empty seat to my left and then a man in the following seat.  He was alone.  Here he was at this concert, with 11,000 in attendance, with his 'northwestern mutual family' and sitting alone.  It made me really sad.  To the point of tears.  I hate when people are alone.  Maybe he was content with it but I sure wasn't!  I also hate when I see people eating alone..

Overall I am so thankful to have loving family and friends who make sure I am not alone in a room of 11,000.. I am beyond blessed and need to remember that more..

<3 Alisha


Here is an interesting article about the annual meeting in milwaukee!