Christmas Celebration

Christmas has always been a great holiday for my family and me so naturally it has been hard the past few years to be away from my mom and sister.  This year we were still unable to go and be with them since I am at the end of my pregnancy with Gabe but we managed to make it a wonderful celebration for Makenzi.  The biggest part of her Christmas was that she got a full new room completely done in Disney princess style plus new toys that are also all Disney Princess as well.  We were also able to get her some new clothing thanks to Walmart having a ton of 24 month and 2T clothing on sale for a buck.  This year was all about getting the most for the least especially since we are also getting ready for Gabe to arrive and needed to get little boy stuff.  It is amazing how much I was able to reuse from Makenzi for him but yet still didn't have nearly close to everything we needed.  But now we are in a better position to have him and after we get the house cleaned up from Christmas and get the rooms set up for "easy" on mom care of the kids, we will be just about ready for him. 

So this year we celebrated Christmas with Ty's family here in North Carolina. It was pleasant overall to be surrounded by family and watch Kenzi and Kinley, her cousin, play together as well as watch them both interact with their new cousins, Sarah and Dakota who are just 11 weeks old. Kenzi was very gentle with the twins and surprised us by being helpful or at least trying to be helpful.  She was mimicking me when they would be crying or making noise I would go and talk to them or comfort them and after seeing me do that once she tried to as well. Then one time she was baby talking to them sweetly and acted like she was gonna pick them up which we had to explain to her that she wasn't big enough to hold them yet but she could give them a kiss which she did.  She is just a big sweet heart and I can't wait to see her become a big sister, I know she is going to be a big helper and love bug. Anyway, we were able to celebrate with family which is how it should be and that made the celebration special.  I know that as time goes on that we will find we can't always have the big family gathering so the ones we can do are special.  The one tradition we are starting with Kenzi is a tradition passed along from my family where we open one gift on Christmas Eve, that being our Christmas Pjs, however we modified it to include her also opening her Christmas outfit to make Christmas morning a little easier with getting her changed.  That part may or may not last as she gets older.  We may drop having her open her out fit for Christmas and let her open that Christmas day but that is in the future and we don't know how things will be at that point.  Anyway, so she had fun opening those on Christmas eve.  Christmas day we got up and had breakfast with the family and then Kenzi opened all her gifts from Santa.  She had fun playing with them throughout the day and then after dinner was over with all the family we all opened the gifts from eachother and Kenzi also got to open the gifts from us in front of everyone however she got bored about 1/2 way through and just wanted to take her new toys and go play not open anymore so Ty and I had to open some of them for her.  We all decided that we needed to start opening presents much earlier than we did since both Kenzi and Kinley were getting grumpy towards the middle and into the end of opening the gifts. 

So that was Christmas.  One things I have decided to start doing for both out children is to start buying them next year's Christmas gifts in January this way I can get one or 2 Christmas gifts a month for each kid and they will have tons of Christmas gifts come Christmas and we wont be broke. I have also decided to start the month after their birthdays with buying their next years birthday gifts, I think just one per month on that so we can get them everything everything we want them to have, or that they want.  It just makes sense for us to do that and stash it away, granted I will have a running list of everything they get each month for those special days so that I don't buy it 2x and so I know what I still need to get.  Like this coming year for Makenzi I think we are going to get her dress up clothing from Disney princess dress up to Minnie Mouse since those are her favorites. And for Gabe we will start buying Winnie the Pooh stuff for starters and possibly some Cars stuff or Mickey Mouse stuff, we will see. 

Well, to wrap this post up and finish my little family update.  Kenzi is doing good.  We are about to start potty training her plus switch her over to a toddler bed which she seems to be interested in doing so I am excited to get that all going.  The sooner she is potty trained the easier it will be since her diapers are running us about $50 a month and Gabe's aren't going to be any cheaper.  She is also getting into her picky eater phase where she doesn't want to try new things and goes through fades where she only wants chicken or only wants shrimp.  Then some times she just wants buttered pasta or lightly sauced pasta, where some days she just wants snack foods like puffs or cheerioes.  It never fails to amazing me how I can take time and get her a bunch of food she liked yesterday ready today and then she doesn't want it.  I think she is starting to really pick up words now as well but not fast enough to keep her from getting frustrated with us when we don't understand what she wants.

Ty and I are also doing well.  We are stressing about the coming arrival of Gabe since we wont have a lot of help when we need it but everything will work out.  Just have to modify sleeping arrangements and get everything ready and brought down so I can have everything within reach.  I think he is more nervous than I am but he will never admit that but we are both ready for Mr. Gabe to be here already.  Well, I hope that 2012 will be an amazing year for all of us.  I am ready to say good bye to 2011, a very hard year, and am looking to the future in a positive light.  I wish you all a very happy new year and will post on how we celebrated ringing in 2012 once we have done so.  I hope you all had a wonderfully merry Christmas and happy holiday to all my friends who don't celebrate Christmas. 

Getting ready for Christmas...and Gabriel.

Life here has been hectic.  Lots of unexpected mishaps that have worked themselves out finally and thus our life is starting to actually feel like its getting settled down here in New Bern.  Though money is tough for us just like everyone else we are trying to keep a great and happy air to our holiday preparation.  We have been able to buy some Christmas presents for Miss Makenzi, of course we wish there was more for her but we do what we can, and I am sure many of you are feeling the same about your own children. We have decided this year is going to be a Disney Princess kinda year which I know she is just going to love.  On top of getting ready for Christmas with decorating and trying to keep ornaments on our tree, which is now bare half way down thanks to a special little girl, and cleaning the house; we are also getting ready for our family addition, Gabriel, who should be coming into the world either the end of December or beginning of January.

For the pregnancy progress update: so far so good, the doctor assures me that everything is going great, no sugar issue and my blood pressure is doing great and stay low.  However, I am feeling extra tired lately and have noticed a loss of appetite as of late, mainly because when I eat a whole lot I get an upset tummy and then Gabe decides he is going to kick and push on everything he can to cause me pain.  Oh well I am sure the doctor will just tell me it is normal like everything else I have worried about.  Gabe has been very active in the last few weeks and enjoys to be active so I am hoping that he wares himself out so when he makes his big entrance that he will just want to sleep all the time and let me ease into having 2 children.

Update on Makenzi: She is growing like a weed big time.  She has been eating like crazy and has been on the cranky side of things which I think means she is either getting those 4 missing teeth in or she is going through a growth spurt.  With that said I have started to switch her clothing over to 18 month size clothing and have her 24 month and 2T clothing waiting in the wings in case she does a big growth spurt.  I like to be prepared and so we are doing our best to keep things in order.  Shortly after Christmas we will be switching her into a toddler bed so that I can get the nursery fully set up and ready for Gabe so when he is ready to go into his own room it'll be ready for him.

I feel like there is still so much to be done before the little guy gets here and so much we still need to get for both him and Makenzi, but I just have to take it one day at a time and do a lot of shopping around to find that perfect price and piece. I have made a lot of pieces that would have been bought other days, like his name plaque for his door, and the letters for his wall.  I made 2 blankets and 1 quilt and am working on a knit blanket for his as well. I also made out great with getting supplies to make our 2011 Christmas ornaments which turned out great. I even made one for either Gabe if he decided to come before Christmas or just a family ornament if he decided to wait until the new year.

Coming up in the next week I will be announcing when we are actually scheduled for Gabe's arrival and what scramble we are going through, as well as, announcing what we have left to get for both kids before Gabe gets here.  I will also be working on getting a second additions for this blog which will high light everything I have for sale from my hair bows to my quilts as well as knit blankets, hats and scarves. This will have pricing as well as great pictures too.

Well, life is getting better every day even if I am not sleeping that great these days.  First its nice to have my family all in one place again and second we are excited to almost have our little boy in our arms to enjoy as a complete family.  Life can be pretty tough and we are learning from each trial the importance to be prepared for each possibility.  However the number of things you need to be prepared for is stifling and is taking us a little longer to make sure we are prepared is hard to do when so much was going on at once but like I said we are getting there and it'll be so much better once we get the safety nets truly in place.  Thank you all for all the support in these trying days and I am hoping that in the coming days and in the new year we can enjoy life and get things truly on track for a happy and prosperous future.  I wish the same for all of you and look forward to all of us having a wonderful holiday season and new year.

Christmas shopping...on a minimal budget

So, despite my wanting to go crazy and buy every little thing I can get my hands on that is Disney Princess or Winnie the Pooh, I have been able to keep myself from going crazy and stick to a set budget.  Mostly was thanks to the amazing black Friday sales that were still going on in the afternoon on black Friday.  One thing I have learned this year for gift buying is to space things out over the full year and you can get more for the kids that way and that nothing is worth leaving your family on Thanksgiving to go shopping.  I found almost everything I wanted to get for my daughter still discounted in the early afternoon after all the crazy people had gone home, didn't have to wait in crazy long boring lines either. I love a good deal and hate paying full price when I can shop around and find it for the best price, but if you pay attention to what is and isn't selling you can set it just right to still get the sales price but with way less hassle.

So now I am excited for Christmas as I was able to get Makenzi some great Disney Princess stuff that would have run me over $200 to get at full price for $60, and for those of you who keep hearing about Walmart matching prices on anything, well they really do.  I wanted to get Kenzi her 1st Disney Princess Toddler doll of Cinderella and couldn't find it anywhere except on line until I went into Walmart and found it there but was much more expensive than Targets every day price and they matched it. Unfortunately Kenzi was with me when I got it for her but I am doing good at not giving it to her early even though she was trying to open the box and get the doll out.  I think she likes it.

So part of Christmas for Makenzi this year is that she is getting her room redone in, you guessed it, Disney Princess.  She is getting a big girl canopy bed which scares me a little but I think she will like it 2 different storage type contraptions, a table with 2 chairs, bedding, a rug; pretty much everything she could want to have a true Disney Princess room.  I can't wait for her to open her presents from everyone and discover that she is getting this new room and then to see her face once Daddy and Mommy get it all put together and her stuff put into it...she is going to be so happy.  This is something we decided to do to make her feel completely special as we welcome her baby brother to the world. 

As of right now Gabriel is set to come into this world January 3rd but we will for sure have date and time on December 15 which also happens to be the day that we found out we were pregnant with Makenzi. Funny how time flies. Though there is still things we need to get before our little guy gets here we are starting final preparation for him to get here and welcome any help anyone wants to send our way.  Things we still need to get include a monitor, a my pal scout, a dresser, laundry soap, security stuff for baby proofing more of the house, Diapers, wipes, always clothing is needed.  We would like to get a booster seat for Makenzi, as well as a table top night light, and a new pop up hamper.  If you would like to get us anything, regardless if its for Kenzi or Gab, just email me at akayda1014@mac.com and I will send you our address.  Any little bit helps and we appreciate all the help we have already received from the baby shower gifts, we got a good start with clothing.

Anyway, like I said before we are starting to gear up in anticipation for our little guys big entrance and Christmas.  So much going on all at once its crazy but we are all doing good even after a little spat of a cold attacking we are all starting to feel a little better and as things start to fall into place getting into a little better spirits.  I hope you all are doing well and are abundant with Christmas Spirit this year.  I'll post again when we find out our date so you will all get to see him when he gets here. 
Now, remember to stay safe out there while you are shopping around and getting those amazing deals.

Doctors appointments all around

So, we had to go to our first doctors' appointments this past week and though mine was a let down, Kenzi's was wonderful. 
I had my doctor's appointment first and we sat in the exam room forever waiting for them to come in ask a few questions listen to me breath and listen to the baby and then tell me they would be in touch with me once they got an appointment with the OBGYN in the area. I guess it didn't matter to them that I haven't seen an OBGYN in almost 3 months and that I am having a high risk pregnancy.  Sorry all I am still a little mad that no one seems to listen to you when you make appointments in the first place.  We sat at that office for almost 2 hours for a 5 minute conversation, though they did check my blood pressure that despite the massive stress we have been dealing with has stayed low and was at 100 over 60.  Granted that was on a good day where nothing had gone wrong at that point, later that day I am sure it was much higher. 
Miss Makenzi's appointment was much smoother and more relaxed.  She has a great team of doctors who are all seemingly nice and make her laugh even after shots, good sign right?  She is 31 inches long putting her in the 90th percentile for her height, 23 pounds which put her in the 80s for her weight and 18 inch circumference for her head which is in the 50th percentile.  They said this is what they look for in healthy happy children and she is doing great.  She only cried for a little after her shots and then I got dirty looks after her nap when I removed her band aides.  She took a good nap that day and then went to bed early due to her being cranky.  She is still a little cranky today which is only to be expected.  Hopefully tomorrow we will have our normal Makenzi back.
So a few things going on that I wanted to share is the new education we have started with Makenzi.  We are using some flash cards to start her identifying the alphabet, shapes and colors, and next week we will also be working further with textures.  We are also working on animals and animal sounds.  She seems to be very interested in the flash cards and thinks the animal sounds are funny, she laughs at me when I make them which makes me laugh.  We are hoping to get her to start really communicating with us besides pointing at things she wants and crying if she doesn't get it right away.  She can say, mama, dada, juice, yes, no, see ya, bye, dog, thank you, and please.  She also knows what clap your hands means and does it when you say yay.  She shakes her head yes and no, appropriately, and waves hello and bye bye.  I think the education is also helping her with these things plus we constantly tell her what she is touching and feeling to get things to click together. 
On another note we have also said good bye to Fisher Price Diapers.  We have loved using them but with Babies R Us so far away we had to find a different diaper that was carried locally.  So we have switched to Huggies.  So far we have loved them just as much as the Fisher Price ones.  They are doing a great job during the day as well as the night.  We highly recommend the Huggies over night diapers to everyone.  We fell in love with night diapers from Fisher Price and found that the Huggies over nights are just as wonderful especially after having a few nights with out any night time diapers and having wet jammies.  We are using the Huggies Movers, Over Nights, and the natural wipes.  That said I am happy to report that Kenzi has still been diaper rash free.

Life is amazing again for us.  We are getting fully settled into a new place, schedule, and life really.  We have a fairly easy budget that will be in place come November 1st, which is saving everything we can.  With deployment on the horizon we are hunkering down and trying to enjoy every moment we have together.  Anyway, I'll keep you posted as we truly start using Huggies for all our diapering needs including us trying the new pull on diapers, which will be coming next month.  I'll also let you know if I find anything super wonderful along this fun journey of being not only a military wife but a mother of 2 under 2. 

Kicking off the creative season!

Alrighty, here is my shout out to all my friends and family and anyone who happens upon my blog.  I am back up and running with my hand knit blankets, hats and scarves, my hand made quilts and throw pillows as well as my hair bows.  Prices have come down a little my blankets will now start at $60, hats and scarves start at $15 for the pair. My quilts will start at $50, and throw pillows will start at $10. My bows are the same price which is any 3 bows for $5 ( these come on either a alligator clip, small barrette, or thin hair band).  If you want a head band they are 2 for $6.  Shot me an email if you want to place and order and I will be happy to send you an order form with envelope for payment return.  keep in mind that if you are ordering one of my blankets or ordering in bulk there is a shipping charge of $5 plus and it will be sent via USPS flat rate boxes unless you request differently.    Also I am trying to reach as many people as possible to get the best exposure so if you have a friend wanting to get a baby blanket and you refer them to me I will give you a 10% commission on blanket and pillow orders. 

I love making these things and would love to see this actually turn into a business of sorts. So now that I am settled I want to get to crafting and need orders.  So if you want to get someone a baby blanket as a shower gift or a quilt or throw as a wedding gift check out my blankets 1st.  also its fall which means my hat and scarves are back and I'm ready to make them for you.  They are perfect stocking stuffers and I can make them in any thickness, size and color, my hair bows also make great stocking stuffers as well as cute bows on the outside of gifts.

I also include 2 hair bows for baby girl blankets and will be including a hat for the baby boy blankets.

Anyway, I will be putting up pictures on my facebook and can be emailed for pictures at a.reynolds0809@yahoo.com

Mumfest in New Bern

Today we went to a great Festival called Mumfest. It is an annual festival to celebrate the mum flowers and Fall in general.  We Had a great day in the sun with a nice breeze to keep us cool. As for the festival it was amazing, tons of people were there of all ages with booths ranging from plants to stained windows, makeup to home made candles, and plenty of food and rides. We were luckily to take in some of the performers one who juggled flaming batons.  He was pretty amazing since he was also a comedian and was good about getting the crowd involved.  Then we watched the Silver Drummer Girl.  I think this performer was Miss Makenzi's favorite as she watched the drummer the entire time we were standing watching her show and then as we walked away she couldn't take her eyes off of the drummer. I also got some great ideas for some new crafts like a pillow case style dress with ribbon for the straps and a wooden lawn decoration of a ghost with a rustic paint job.  There was a few places set up for live music and a kids corner where they were doing a magic and a puppet show.  We also caught a little of the Purina dog team show which was pretty cool and saw some BMX bicycle tricks as well.

The best part of the Mumfest was that it was in downtown/historic New Bern.  We got to enjoy a great day of being outside in a beautiful waterfront environment meeting the community.  Over the years I have found that the best way to get introduced to a community is to go to  local events and to have so many festivals makes it so easy.  I do recommend to everyone that if you have festivals near you to check them out and see what your town has to offer.  Mumfest is a great one and if you find your self in the Crystal Coast area in early October you should check out the Seafood Festival which happens the 1st weekend of October and then the following weekend check out Mumfest. 

Also on a different note we are loving our new home and Ty is starting to like his new squadron.  He is unfortunately going to be going to training in Arizona over Thanksgiving and then will be deploying in January. The good news about him deploying is that he will be deploying with one of our good friends whose squadron will be deploying with Ty's squadron.  So now we get ready to handle him being away over Thanksgiving and then 7 months, its sad but at least he will be home for Christmas and hopefully Gabriel will join us at that point as well so that Ty will be home for his birth.  Well, keep an eye out for my next post on my birthday weekend review of what we do. So far New Bern has been a very welcoming place for us.  Here's to a new chapter and a new start. 

Preparing to move....

It is amazing the stress that moving can put on you especially when you have a 1 year old who doesn't understand why all her stuff is gone and why she can't mess with the little tv like she did the big entertainment center.  It has been a test of patience and all to get this move done but we didn't have a choice we have to move.  Now we are on the eve of actually turning over the keys and everything to the management office and I'm feeling a little sad.  I can't believe that tomorrow morning we hand over the keys to our house, which has truly been our first home and the only home Kenzi has ever known. She has calmed down quite a bit since the movers left with our stuff though the stress that was suppose to be taken away by using TMO has not subsided as they tried to tell us that they didn't know when they would be able to deliver our home goods. But its been figured out and so a little less stressed though it seems like one thing gets taken care of and another pops up.  I'll be a little more relaxed when we are driving away from Quantico tomorrow morning. 

Life other than moving is going okay.  Just trying to figure out why Kenzi doesn't want to eat meals she just wants her snacks.  She use to be fine with eating what ever we ate but now just seems to want her puffs or cheerieos or yogurt melts or gold fish.  The list of little snacks goes on but I think I understand what is going on with her.  She wants to feed herself and she doesn't like her hands to get messy with sauce.  So hopefully we can get her to eat other foods but for now we wont be going out to eat even at lunch because she just doesn't want to sit still.  Looks like, weather permitting, we will be doing a lot of picnics and family meals while we can.

The best part of raising a little girl is the caring nature that is already coming out.  We get to see her love on her kitty, Mitsie, (yes she was my mom's day gift but Kenzi and Mitsie are best friends so she is Kenzi's kitty) and she will pet Einstein.  She gives me hugs and kisses especially when I am not feeling good or upset as she does with daddy too.  She has a massive destructive side to her to in she likes to bang on things with her toys or what ever she can get a hold of that is hard, however, I think she is just trying to make noise because she will find something that makes noise and just mess with it over and over again. Its great to see her exploring we just don't like her exploring the back of the TV or standing on the xbox or trying to pull down the blinds because she wants to see out the window.  Its amazing what she is getting into now that there is nothing in the house.

Well, as I said before we are getting ready to actually drive away and to a new house waiting for us in NC.  We have tried to prepare for this move as best we could but with money being tight its been very tough.  But thank the lord we are almost through this move and then we shouldn't have to move again for a while.  One thing we are going to try and do with the next house we live in is to remove our shoes before walking around the house this we hope will help keep the amount of dirt out of the carpet.  Anyway, all we have left to move is our food, some clothing, some toys, an air bed, a pack n play, the animals, and a tv its so wonderful.  Anyway I can't wait to get out of here and start this new chapter.  The next time this mom posts will be from the new house as we see how Miss Makenzi (along with ourselves) adjust to a new house, new area, a new schedule, and (I'm sure) many new adventures. Take care and wish us luck.

Gabriel Alexander

We found out that we are having a boy at the end of August and we couldn't be happier. We will now be complete as a family a boy, a girl, cats, ad a dog. I can't believe how quickly our family is changing and what a blessing it all is. So switching gears to having one of each is tough. So far our family has been set with fairies, princesses, and lots of pink now we get to have trucks and blue and plenty of Winnie the Pooh. Luckily Kenzi won't miss her current room decor since I've got her new decorations of Disney princesses tray to go once we get moved. I think that it will e a fairly easy transition there but I'm not looking forward to the crib to toddler bed transition though I'm sure it'll go better than I'm expecting. As for our move we are waiting on hearing back from a rental company about the house we want to rent, pretty much we are waiting for them to call and ask how we want to pay the deposit so we can secure the property then we are set to pay the prorated 1st months rent on the 15th an move in on the 23rd. Very exciting time but I hate the waiting game we are having to play while references are checked and all that fun stuff. But until we move we are working on completing projects and getting our stuff cut down too. Garage sale here we come, plus it'll put some extra cash in our pocket to help with the move. The only thing that is bothering me is that here again I'm pregnant and we are moving which is stressful and stress and me don't get along so I'm hoping that since I'm only half way threw and not almost all the way threw that it won't cause my blood pressure to stay elevated. I guess we will see what happens. We are all doing ok right now. The stress of being pregnant and trying to house shop and clean and set up a move as well as detaching from HMX has got us all stressed but we are getting a hold on it and working threw it for sure. And as the month carries on we are starting to see things fall into place and once this rental agreement is reached we will be in a much better mood and again not so stressed. The end of this chapter and beginning of the next has been a tough one but together we have found that we can get through it all and trust that God isn't giving us anything we can't handle. Just have to prioritize and take it one step at a time. Anyway, we are buckled down and getting ready to fully close this chapter with a bang. Wish us luck.

July has been crazy....August looks like it will be busy

Things have been going a mile a minute around here making it tough to blog but I finally found the time and energy to get back on and update everyone.

So, Kenzi has been growing up so much. She is now fully on milk and no longer has to take her liquid vitamin.  She had a good 4th of July with getting to play in the park though she didn't get to see the fire works because it got too hot and she got grumpy so we just came home and relaxed.  The next big thing was her 1st birthday.  On her actual birthday we were able to take and let her pick out a birthday present which she picked out a My Little Pony Plush toy named Sweety Bell, and yes she picked it out.  We let her walk around the toy department in Target and she was grabbing different little things but then dropping them and moving on to something else until she found this toy and then she wouldn't put it down.  She also got to have her first ice cream sundae because I forgot to get stuff to make her a cake.
Her first birthday party was down at her Grandma and Grandpa Reynolds house.  She got to wear a cute Disney Princess tutu with her light up Disney Princess sandals a pair of Wings, a crown, a princess sash and a wand and had so much fun running around after she ate just about all of her smash cake which I got to bake. The cake was a chocolate, strawberry and vanilla cake with cream cheese icing decorated with a Disney Princess topper and pink and violet swirl icing. After eating her cake, some hot dog, drinking some strawberry kiwi juice and opening presents, she got to get into her bathing suit with grass skirt and then we went swimming (yes I took the grass skirt off before we got in the pool).  She had so much fun trying to swim and splashing in the pool which we were in until her hands and feet were prunes.  Then we let her stay up late playing with her friend and her new toys.
The end of the month brought us news of where we are getting stationed next and then finally a time line of when we will be moving there.  For those of you who don't know we will be heading to Cherry Point in NC and we are heading there at the end of September.  Its a little sad but exciting all in one. Its sad because we are leaving behind friends and memories here at Quantico but exciting because we are getting to start a new chapter in our life together.  Then we found out that Ty will be being deployed in January so please put out your prayers that he doesn't leave until after baby Reynolds gets here.  He will be heading to Afghanistan for 7-9 months so if you want to come visit me during that time please let me know it would be great to see everyone, plus with a new born and a 1 and a half year old I won't be traveling much besides by car so people coming to me would be the best.
So now we are into August and are gearing up to move and get everything in order. Lots of paper work and calls to make to set things up.  It is a little nerve wracking right now because we do not have housing yet but hopefully they will have something for us before Ty has to check in. (Crossing Fingers)  We have lots to clean and get rid of, which I am planning on having a garage sale at some point this month to try and get rid of clothing and some furniture we don't use. 
Well that is all for now.  I promise I won't take so long to update y'all this next time because there is so much going on and hopefully we will be able to take Kenzi to DC before we leave. 

1st blog post ever-welcome to my crazy life

So this is what's going on I decided that I have a lot to say about all sorts of things so I decided to start a blog.  Just to start things right I am going to introduce myself and my family which I will most likely write about most of the time unless something crazy happens, then I might get a little more serious.  So My name is Ashley Reynolds and I am a mom.  I am married to a wonderful man, Joseph (but we call him Tyler or Dad), and we have a wonderful little girl, Makenzi, who is about to turn 1 year old.  Its been a crazy year with traveling all over and watching our little girl grow.  Oh yeah, I should mention my husband is a Marine and so we have a very different way of life than a lot of people.  We live on a military base and don't have too much say in where they send us which is part of the adventure of a military life. 

Back to reflecting and bringing this blog fully current. So the past year started out with our little girl surprising us by coming a month is advance and caused quite a bit of panic partly because I was diagnosed with HELPP Syndrome, which was extremely scary after I got home and found out what it fully was and that it could come back in the future when we get pregnant again, but hey at least now we know what to watch for and to watch for it.  Anyway, so C-section was no fun and recovery was pretty painful even with the meds but we made it thru strong as ever.  So our little girl was only 5 lbs when she was born and nearly doubled that weight by the time she was 2 months old.  Then shortly after she turned 4 months we took our first big trip and went to Jacksonville, Florida where she got to experience the beach for the first time and saw her first 2 historical sights and 1st aviation museum, which she stayed awake thru all of them and seemed very curious about all of them.  Then after Christmas where she got massively spoiled with clothes and toys, no thanks to Black Friday, we went out to California so my family could meet her for the 1st time.  It was a lot of fun and she again got to experience the beach and snow for the 1st time, and she had her first cold , cut her 1st tooth, and started getting up on hands and knees.  She didn't crawl until we were all together at home again and then she was mobile and we had to start with the baby gates.  Word of advice, when you have a child (especially your first) start buying the gates you will need when you have the baby don't wait for them to get mobile because gates are not cheap and they will get into everything no matter how well you think you have gotten things put up.
While Kenzi was only 2 months old she showed us that she could sleep through the night and as soon as she did that we moved her into her own room and crib.  I highly recommend this because it starts getting them in the habit of sleeping in their own room immediately.  I know sometimes its easier to just have them right there but trust me my daughter rarely wakes up during the night, sleeps in her own bed and has been doing this since she was 2 months old.  Granted it wasn't always easy to get her to sleep and there were a few nights that we just had to sit and watch the monitor light up as she yelled for what seemed forever but it was only 15 minutes at the most, and bath time is a must I swear by the johnson and johnsons bedtime bath wash and bubble bath, its suppose to help them sleep better and we love it.  it smells great and I'm pretty sure it really does help her sleep better.
Okay back to the happenings so it seemed like as soon as she was crawling she was pulling up on everything and then by 9 months she was trying to walk and before 10 months she took her first steps and then it was all over for us, and the animals. 
So as you can see life has been crazy and I look forward to reporting on all the new adventures that wait for us in the 2nd year of life for our little girl.  So here is your invite to check back here on a regular base for updates on our crazy life and family. So much is about to happen for us its unbelievable and I can't wait for this adventure to truly start.