Countdown to Christmas

We are having the best time preparing for Christmas.  This year Christmas is extra exciting because well, for one we have a darling new baby, and secondly because Leila is really into it this year.  And because I still have my dog around to celebrate with us. 

Leila and Skylar-- so far they look nothing alike.  Time will tell.  Skylar's hair photographs red but it is a light brown--for now.

Leila at her school's Christmas program.  She was front and center, as usual.  Last year she was for her school program AND the church program and I missed recording it both times!  But this year I got it.

We made spiced sugar cookies and they were delicious.  We had a blast.  Little did I know dad does NOT like spiced sugar cookies, he likes regular.  Oops.

Decorating is the best part aside from eating them

We made gingerbread houses too. 

Had to get extra icing, I wonder where all of ours went??

Leila has been using my camera a lot, which means she is going to LOVE her big Christmas present from Santa (hmm, what do you think it is??)  She takes a lot of interesting photos, such as this one above and the one below.

Snow in Kemah!

Making a REAL snow angel

And a REAL snow man, with dad's help

Beautiful Baby Skylar @ 2 1/2 months.  She is such a little doll and a wonderful baby. 

Enjoying brunch with dear friends.  Sweet Gracie on the left (9 weeks) is crying while Skylar (12 weeks) is laughing, as Gray, Leila, Luke and Jamie look on.

Santa Pictures

We tried twice (twice!) to get good pictures of the girls with Santa. Now, even preparing for these pictures is no easy feat. A preschooler and an infant must be groomed from head-to-toe and dressed in their Christmas best, all the while praying there will be no spilled drinks or spit up in the time it takes to drive to Santa and get the picture. 

Leila was an absolute angel. And Skylar, well, she slept like one. Both times. So much for my perfect Christmas card picture. These pictures, however, are priceless all the same...

Posing with Santa at Leila's School

Brunch with Santa (and Mrs. Claus) at Sweetwater Country Club with my dad

Sadder News about Shrek (but he is still here!)

We got the devastating news last week Shrek had a tumor that had to be removed immediately. Even worse, it was on his cheek. He had surgery last Wednesday and came home that night. He had continued to lose weight and along with his other ailments was of grave concern to the vet. He is recovering slowly but his face looks 100x better. The surgeon did a great job. The good news is, being a shar pei, he had lots of extra skin around the tumor for the surgeon to use when sewing him up. The bad news (well, a small piece of all of the bad news) is that the tumor was on his face so he could not remove enough skin around it for a clean and total removal. This means it is a waiting game as it will most likely return. Luckily, the type of tumor Shrek has is not that kind that spreads.

Shrek means a lot to us, me especially, and I am so happy he will be home for Christmas. Last Tuesday I thought they were going to tell me his cancer had spread but for now he is hanging in there. He is currently on 6 (six!) prescriptions and 3 supplements. But you know what? He still loves life and is a fighter. The surgeon said if it was his dog, he would do the surgery and bring him home too.

I wanted our Christmas card to be special for Skylar but since this is probably Shrek's last Christmas, he is in the picture too. Anyway, Skylar slept through every single photo shoot for the card anyway! Wake up, sleepyhead!

He is such a funny dog. He sneaks on the couch when we are not home. He eats any grocery left on the floor--including flour (yuck!) He loves bread and has stolen hot dog buns and taken the bag outside twice (we didn't learn the first time.) He is always in the way, who knows how many times we have stepped on him or accidentally kicked him. He is extremely gentle with children and let Leila pull on him and hug him and even sit on him. He is basically a really great dog, despite all of his quirks.

We have a lot of funny stories about him. When we first got him, we took him to the beach. We were on a walk at dusk with Shrek on his leash. A couple with 2 bigger dogs not on leashes were coming towards us when their dogs ran up to Shrek, growling. He had one pinned to the ground by the throat in about 2 seconds. The woman ran up and said something about a "mean little dog" but our dog was the one on a leash and her 2 dogs charged him! Patrick likes that story because it shows what Shrek could do with that huge mouth of his. They were bred for fighting originally.

I have 2 favorite stories. After Hurrican Ike, my parent's fence blew down. When I went to stay with them because we had no power, Shrek got out of their backyard. I drove around looking for him in their unfamiliar neighborhood. When I found him, I got out of the car and called his name. He started running as fast he could in the other direction. I followed him back to my parent's house and when I pulled up, he was sitting by the back gate like he had been there all along waiting for me. Except he was panting!!

My other favorite story is about when Leila was a baby. We did not know how Shrek would do with a baby. He was great. He used to sit between me and the door when I was rocking her, protecting us. One time we took her and Shrek to a friend's house. She was in her car seat. A huge great dane-lab mix puppy walked up to her car seat to investigate what was inside. He jumped up and knocked that dog to the ground!

He is an amazing dog, and as anyone who has dogs know they are part of the family. He always knew when I was sad and would let me cuddle with him or pay me extra attention. He was around me all of the time during my pregnancies, like how they say dogs know something is different. Also, I am the one who feeds him too though...

This picture was taken in the middle of the night during Skylar's 1st month. Shrek could not find his bed in the dark and I woke up to find he had crawled into the laundry basket!! And yes, it was clean laundry. He loves to be on something soft.

Skylar is 2 months old!

I can't believe it; my baby is 2 months old today. The last 2 months have gone by so quickly. I don't know if that is sad or wonderful. Skylar is just a doll--she is a happy baby, sweet, cute, and cuddly. But she is not sleeping through the night, not even close, and I am so tired. Leila (also sweet, cute, and cuddly) has pretty much given up naps forever and decided to be an early riser all at the same time. Patrick and I both are tired.

Skylar has grown so much in the last 2 months. I am going to the dr. tomorrow for her stats and her shots :( She outgrew newborn clothes at 4 weeks and is about to outgrow 0-3. She is very long. She can wear 3-6 month onesies even if they are a little big. She is very strong! She can hold her head up now really well. She is a little houdini and can get out of any swaddle. She flipped herself over onto her tummy two days before turning 2 months, though I have not seen it yet (she also did it at 2 weeks when she was extremely furious, haha.) Skylar loves to be held, and prefers to be upright. She has the saddest sad face you have ever seen, lip quiver and all. She is not fond of pacifiers (boo, I am a fan) and went from loving formula to hating it. Her hair is still light brown and the jury is still out on whether it will turn red or not. She definitely has Patrick's coloring though. Leila is so sweet to Skylar and fascinated by her. I have not been able to get any good pictures of them together yet though.

Update: 2 month stats

Skylar weighs 11.0 lbs (55%) and is 22.25" long (45%)

Hurray!

One week old

Almost one week old

With new friend Madeline McClung! Madeline is 6 weeks older


Baby's 1st Halloween - one month old

This is how we roll... on our way to trick-or-treating

Tried to get a good picture of the girls in their "Big Sis" "Little Sis" outfits... this says it all

Skylar in her party dress @ 7 weeks

Me and my girls! On my birthday, 11/11/11

Cute & happy @ 6 weeks

Ranch wear... with her Dude in overalls @ 8 weeks

Skylar and her dad @ 8 weeks in hunting gear... yes that is a camo onesie, with lace

Trip to the Zoo

Trying to get out of the door with a dwadling preschooler and a newborn is almost like a comedy routine. We had hoped to leave for the zoo on what was promising to be a gorgeous fall day around 8:00 a.m., since it opens at 9:00 a.m. HA! What were we thinking?? OF COURSE Leila woke up reallly early when I was planning on packing up while they slept. OF COURSE the baby had a blow out, on Leila's bed no less. And Patrick still had to put together the double stroller. But we finally made it out the door at 9:40 a.m. and actually got good parking. We laugh that when Leila was born we did not want to take her anywhere but with baby #2 we are itching to get out of the house.

It was a beautiful day and we got to see all of our favorite exhibits--Leila's is still the goats. The most random thing ever happened at the Lion exhibit. We were looking at the lions when one of the moms next to me addressed her daughter as "Skylar." I asked if her daughter's name was Skylar to make sure I heard correctly. It turns out BOTH of the little girls on each side of us were named Skylar. So we had three Skylars in a row! What are the odds of that??? We all agreed it was a beautiful name.

Leila got to feed the giraffes--look at his tongue!

Family portrait! Doesn't the baby resemble her daddy?

Pumpkin Patch 2011

Our visit to the pumpkin patch was a little different this year with 2 girls. Leila posed beautifully but Skylar slept through the whole photo shoot. She is also too little to wedge between 2 pumpkins since she can't quite hold her head up yet. Skylar is a very strong little baby so I do not think it will be long.

This was my first opportunity to dress the girls in matching outfits. Missoni did a line for Target and I was thrilled to find these dresses. They are so beautiful and I hope they get to wear them again. Dad was slightly dismayed to find I dressed them in matching outfits but little does he know it will not be the last time.

Such a sweet big sister!

For some reason, Leila especially likes the bumpy pumpkins




Skylar turned one month old on the 29th! I can't believe it. She is such a little doll

Introducing Baby Skylar!

She is here!

Skylar Alice McKinney was born Thursday, September 29 at 11:29 p.m. She weighed 7 lbs., 9 oz., and was 20.5" long. She looks like Patrick, but not like Leila, who also looked like Patrick. We have decided she has Patrick's eyes, cheeks, and mouth; my ears; my mother-in-law's nose; and my mother's chin. She is long like me. She has a full head of light brown hair and deep blue eyes.

September 29 was my due date and I went into labor naturally in the afternoon. She was right on time! While we waited for Skylar to arrive, my family and Patrick's dad were hanging out with us at the hospital. We had a little party while we waited--after the epidural of course!! I had an easy labor & delivery and Skylar was just perfect when she was born. Screaming her head off, of course, which is somehow really cute on a newborn. Everyone was a real trooper, wating until after midnight to see her.

I have literally not had minutes alone to blog up until now. Two kids is a whole new ball game. Let's just say mommy is reallllly tired. Skylar is a sweet, good baby, but she wants to eat all of the time. She basically has an insatiable appetite. She is gaining weight quickly and is outgrowing her newborn onesies fast. She is really long but not chubby though. She does have cute baby rolls though!

Leila loves her little sister--"Sissy"- and helps me by holding her and feeding her, with help of course. She is so sweet to the baby and wants to take care of her babies too like we take care of Skylar. It is just adorable. Her baby dolls go in the swing, and in Skylar's bed and in a sling. Oh so cute!

Mommy loves you Skylar!

Our first family portrait. This was around 12:00 midnight so Leila was fast asleep...

My sweet Skylar! Oh so cute. She is very alert and just likes to take everything in.

Leila holding Skylar for the first time!

Daddy will teach you how to nap well....

Aunt Lili is the sweetest! She drove in from Austin and came to the hospital at 1:30 a.m. to meet you! Of course, mom was awake.

Nana and her new granddaughter!

Pops is a pro with babies!

Skylar, your Mimi will spoil you rotten!

Skylar and her Dude. He stayed for the whole party!

Uncle Jimmy and niece #4!

Aunt Courtney will teach you to be crafty!

Uncle Sean & Aunt Aimee with their new niece

Our last family photo as just the 3 of us. This was during my labor but not while contracting, haha.

Horseback Riding Lessons & Dance Class

For Leila's birthday, we purchased private horseback riding lessons but have waited until it cooled down to start them. We had her first lesson last Saturday morning so both Patrick & I could go. She is a natural. The instructor was really great, and started the lesson by making her work. She helped brush her horse and gather all of her equipment. Once she got on, she was ready to go! They rode around the equestrian center property and finished up inside the arena. She was on her own with the instructor. We go back next weekend (assuming there is no baby) for another lesson. It of course helps that she is not scared of animals since horses are so big. She was so excited and loved it.

I feel a little bit like we are cramming things in before Skylar comes. Leila's world is going to be changed forever and I know we all really enjoy doing things just the 3 of us. Chances are she won't remember these days before her little sister came, but I will! I love being Leila's mommy and doing all of the fun things we do. I have also been cramming in fun things for myself, including book club, bunco, and mom's club nights out in anticipation of being attached at the hip to Skylar for a while. I have been reading a lot, since I'm pretty sure in the year after Leila was born all I read were parenting books! Patrick has been doing his part and enjoying playing golf and watching all of the football he can stomach. And poor Shrek, his walks are sparse enough as it is without another baby coming to take more time away from him. I hope once the weather is nicer we can go on walks during the day. My parents got us a great double stroller I can't wait to try out.

Dance class is going really well, and oh my goodness are those girls cute. Leila's Mimi bought her some adorable leotards for class and she almost likes dressing up as much as the actual class, lol. Hopefully she will love dance and keep at it. The recital is not until late spring so we have plenty of time to see if it works out. Her "best friend" Adelyn is in class with her and they are too cute for words. They take breaks to hug! When Leila fell down, Adelyn fell down too, for sympathy maybe?? Their teacher, Miss Monica, is sooo patient and really fun and exciting for a class of 3-year olds that lasts an hour. They just love it, and at then end she is excited to get her "little dessert" (candy).