Nothing Exciting

There really hasn't been anything exciting happening around here lately. Makenna is doing good. Her two teeth on the bottom are really starting to show and she looks really cute. She has had a little bit of a fever the past two days and has been fussy. I looked in her mouth yesterday and she has two teeth on the top just about to break through. She isn't eating or drinking well and I think that is because of her teeth. She is such a big girl now. She just walks around all day long. She makes a HUGE mess wherever she goes. You can tell where she has been because there is a big path of destruction. I can't believe what a big girl she is now. Today I was sitting on the couch watching TV and I heard Raider drinking from his bowl. A few minutes later I heard it again and I thought, wow he must be thirsty. But then I thought, that doesn't sound like Raider drinking. Then I realized I didn't see Makenna. I went to Raider's water bowl and there she was splashing around having a great time and making a big mess. I couldn't help but laugh. She is really enjoying her swing. We go out there everyday when I water the plants. Here are some pictures of her in the swing. There are also some pictures of her in a cute outfit we bought her in Branson. She looks so grown up in that outfit.




Doesn't she look like a big girl!!!

She loves her books now. She loves to pull all of them off of the shelf and carry them around.


She decided to stand in her dad's boots. Isn't she cute!!


Stuffing her face again. Does anyone else see a pattern here?

Bad Week

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I didn't feel good last week and I don't really have an excuse for this week. WARNING: If you don't want to hear about my female issues then stop reading now. Last week I started my period for the first time since Makenna was born. It was awful! DJ had to bring me clothes to work, it was a blast. I forgot how awful I feel during that time of the month. I was reminded of the loveliness of being a woman. I guess I shouldn't complain since it has been almost 2 years since I have had a period. So, I felt yucky for about 4 days last week. But thankfully I'm feeling much better now. Enough about that. I gave Makenna a bath a few weeks ago and she decided she wanted to splash like crazy. She was being very funny so I decided to take a video of her. She is so cute.

Gardening

Today DJ and I planted some tomatoes, strawberries and herbs. We planted them in pots and put them on our back porch. I'm so excited. They are going to taste very yummy! We had a great time. We planted two of the tomato plants in "topsy turvy" planters, the upside down tomato planters. DJ heard from a friend at work that it was the easiest way to plant tomatoes. Hopefully we will have some yummy fruits and vegetables very soon. DJ also put up a swing for Makenna. Mimi bought her the swing for her birthday but the weather is finally good enough for her to use it. She loves it! She had a great time in it today. I will post some pictures of her in the swing later.Here are some pictures of the swing and our garden. Don't look at our back yard, it really needs to be mowed.



The upside down tomato planters.

The upside down planters are better boy hybrid tomatoes.

This is a strawberry plant.

Cherry tomatoes.

Sweet basil is on the left and cilantro is on the right.

Awesome Film

I watched an amazing documentary this week. It is called "The Business of Being Born". I know not everyone is really into the birth process the way I am, but everyone needs to watch this film. It is very informative and has a lot of research that everyone needs to know. I'm a big fan of being educated about lots of things but especially about what is happening to your body. I don't hold to the adage " The doctor knows best." In some cases that is true but in some cases they are idiots. They are running a business just like everyone else. They want to make money. And sadly many of the decisions they make are not based on research, evidence, or the good of the patient, but they are based on what is easiest for them and makes them the most money. Now don't get me wrong, there are some awesome doctors out there and I'm so glad we have them. But obstetricians are trained surgeons. Someone like that taking care of a healthy, low risk pregnancy is overkill. It is unneccessary. I think everyone should watch this film but especially women of child bearing age. We as women need to stand up and take responsibility for our bodies and what happens to them. Don't let someone bully into doing something that isn't good for you. As a society, I think women have lost our power. We have forgotten the power that lies within our own body. We need to stand up and take that power back. Birth is not something that just happens to us or something that is done to us. It is a process which we are a part of. As a society we have lost that faith in women and their bodies. We think that the female body isn't capable of having a baby without help. Why? Women had babies without any ones help for thousands of years. Does it make sense that all of a sudden our bodies aren't capable of that anymore? What changed so drastically that we are now not capable of having a baby without being "induced" or "medicated" by a doctor? Women go in to be induced into labor every day. Have you ever asked yourself why. Why do they need to be induced? The baby will come when it is ready. What did they do before induction? They waited until labor started. Other women go into labor on their own but then the doctor says its not going fast enough so they speed it up by using pitocin. Why? There is probably a good reason her labor is the speed it is. Her body may know she needs a break or the baby may need a break. Contrary to popular belief there is no time limit on labor. Your body is very smart. Our Creator is not stupid and he made our bodies very intelligent. The female body was created to birth babies. We just need to get out of the way and let it do the job God created it to do. I'm not trying to rant but I'm terrified about where the obstetrical community is heading in our country. We are the wealthiest country in the world and we have the worst maternal and infant death rate of all the developed countries. That is terrifing!!! We have more moms and babies die than some third world countries. Why is nobody bothered by this? Why are our doctors not trying to figure out why this is happening? With all of our money why are so many moms and babies dying. It is because birth is a business in this country. Its sad but very true. New research is also showing that since our percentage of interventions during birth have increased so have many childhood problems such as autism, cancer, and chronic diseases. Why are these not on the rise in other countries but they are in ours? We as a society and we as women need to stand up and take control of our healthcare. People are so scared of birth in this country. The media has done a great job of making birth this scaring thing. It is only scary when the medical field gets in the way. A natural, undisturbed birth is one the most beautiful and amazing things you will ever witness or be a part of. Most of our society will never know that truth. It breaks my heart. We as women have so much power that God gave us through our bodies that we are not using. What a shame. Please, please, if you can get your hands on this movie, please watch it. Your eyes will be widely opened.

Some Random Thoughts and Pictures

Makenna has had a hard time going to sleep lately. This is really the theme of her life. She will sleep great for a few weeks and then she won't sleep good for a few weeks. For about the past week she cries when we put her down for the night. Sometimes she will quit on her own and sometimes I will have to go get her and hold her for a while. Even then she still cries when I put her back down. Maybe she is cutting some more teeth. I don't know.
Breastfeeding is going better. I nurse her 2-3 times a day. In the morning, at nap time and at night before bed. If she wakes up in the middle of the night I nurse her then too. My milk supply seems to have stabilized for now. I know some people think I'm crazy but I don't care. It is so good for her and I love it, so I'm going to keep going until I feel like stopping or she wants to stop.
I have some pictures that I have taken recently but haven't gotten around to posting so I thought I would share them with everyone. I know I post a lot of pictures but I have a lot of family who live out of town and this is how they get to see Makenna. So for those of you who see us all the time, sorry about the overload of pictures. Also I have the cutest daughter in the world and I love to show her off!!


Makenna opening her Easter basket from my mom.

She was very excited!



DJ got a really cool Raiders check book cover.






She loves to stuff her mouth with food.

This is Makenna after a dinner of Ravioli. Oh my!!



I gave her a bath the other night and she had a blast splashing around!


Stuffing her face again.

Isn't she the cutest. She gets this sleeping position from her Uncle Phillip.

Easter 2009

Last year on Easter Makenna was only 10 days old. So this Easter was much different. We went to church with DJ's parents and his brother Phillip and Phillip's girlfriend Whitney. They go to New Life Church and we thought it would be nice to go to church with family on Easter. Once we got over the shock of how huge it was, we really liked it. If you're not my mom, stop reading right here. Hey mom I think this would be a great church for you. I think you would really like it. OK everyone can start reading again. During church we kept hearing this rumbling and we weren't sure if it was thunder. Then all of a sudden it started raining so hard. It was SO loud. For a few minutes it was hard to hear the preacher. The weather for the rest of the day was no better. It was very rainy and cold. Yuck! After church we went to DJ's parents house and ate lunch. Yum! Thanks mom, and Whitney your squash rocks! Then we opened our presents. The boys got money and a really cool glass basketball on a stand. Makenna got silver sandals to wear in the wedding, 3 sippy cups with straws (the only kind she will use) and a barn with animals. It goes with a fisher price set she already has that she loves. She also got money. We all hung out for a while and of course took pictures. Then DJ and I went to Walmart to buy groceries for his new diet. He's as bad as I am about trying new diets all the time. Overall it was a great day. Here are some pictures. As usual there are a ton of them because my daughter is so cute I can never pick which ones to post so I just post a bunch!:)




DJ and his brothers opening up their presents.


Makenna opening up her present. She was really into getting her presents out of the bag.


Her silver sandals to wear in the wedding.


She was showing up her basketball Easter egg.

Her barn.


She loved her new sippy cup and tried to drink out of it even though there wasn't anything in it.


Makenna opening her Easter egg and finding her money.


This is kind of a weird face!


Isn't she so cute!


I have to say this may be the cutest family I have ever seen!


Greg and Jessica.


Whitney and Phillip


Grandma and Grandpa. Can you tell Makenna was not very thrilled to be taking pictures.


The whole Walker family.


I she looks adorable in this dress (thanks Mimi)



The don't get any cute than this!


Makenna is giving her bunny (her Easter present from Aunt Whitney and Uncle Phillip) a big kiss.


I don't know what she is doing here but she looks precious.



Pushing her firetruck around in her pretty dress.


This is a scary face! I think she gets this from her dad!