Halloween Cuties!

Alright, I know I am not great at keeping up on this blogging thing but at least I post lots of photos and not alot of random stories :-)
Here are our Halloween cuties...(Mckenna as a Flower, friend Charlotte as a Chili Pepper and Brownie as Horacio Cane - hubba hubba wink wink!)

From November 7, 2008

From November 7, 2008

From November 7, 2008

From November 7, 2008

From November 7, 2008

From November 7, 2008

Daddy & Me

Mckenna loves spending time with Daddy!
Here are some of my favorites:
Getting sleepy on the couch...

From Drop Box

Walking in the 5K Breast Cancer Walk

From Drop Box

"Tummy Time"

From Drop Box

And I couldn't resist posting this one sans Dad...

From Drop Box

Mom's Blogging Debut

Wow! Apparently I need to start being a better blogger...both checking and posting...I had no idea that there was a photo of me in my suit on here!
Thanks Dad :-)
Anyway, I thought that I would do a little post now that Mckenna and I are home from a week long trip to Seattle. We were there helping Grandma Mac (McCracken) clean out some of the stuff from the condo so that the Grandparents can make their way down here, yay! Mckenna was a champ on the first round of airplane flights...the one up to Seattle...slept practically the whole way and we had a whole row to ourselves so "mealtime" was nice and easy (BF'ing moms know what i mean) On the way home (to AZ) with Grandma and me, it was a different story. Not a bad one but definitely got spoiled from the first flight and thought (naively) that it would be like that every time...oh well, I can dream right? Okay, Okay enough of the posting stuff, here's what you really want to see...



I'm getting the hang of it now so look out folks, you just might get sick of me and Mckenna...but I seriously doubt it :-)

Moms and babies!

Jori and Ann taking a swim with the little ladies. Katie is looking to snag her hat...it is soooo cool!.

RB

2 Months old and soooo happy!

Just a quick update to let you know we are all alive and well. Little 'Kenna is just a happy little baby...as you can see. Seems she really loves to hang out on her changing table...weird...but oh well.

Today she is a total of 2 months old...man does time pass. She is getting stronger and more responsive everyday. More to come later...

Cheers!

RB

So much to see...

I guess Jori just takes better pictures than I do...I end up in them vs. her

This little girl just does not stop...so much to see, so little time. Oh if she only knew...

Cheers!

RB

PS - Yes I will start writing more...so stop pestering me.

Check out the Size of those Feet!

So I am a little behind...

OK,

So first off, yes I do know that I have been very delinquent in keeping you all up to speed with the happenings of the Brown Familia...bad me, bad me!

Second, we have been busy...well kind of. We really have not been doing that much, just figuring out how we work into our new little one's life. Yea, cause that has been the way it works for the past couple weeks.

So just to bring you all up to speed, I think we have just closed out our first week alone with 'Kenna. Grandma and Grandpa Brown left a week ago and we have been tweaking schedules ever since. Don't get me wrong, the girl loves to sleep (definitely a McCracken Gene) thru the night, but more on her day time schedule. Mckenna just loves to stay up during the day, and not ever go down for a nap...but I think Jori's will is a little stronger than little miss...so far. That or Jori just has more energy...and some ear plugs.

Beyond us just figuring her out...One month down, a lifetime to go...she has been a dream. She attended her first pool party over the weekend...and yes she swam again (w/Dad's assistance of course). We all had a great time!

So not allot of detail, but an update on the fact that we still don't know allot about anything.

Cheers!

RB

Mckenna's first swim

Just thought I would post a quick pic of our little wonder during her inaugural swim...by the way, she loved it!

Peak-a-boo

 

New Job Time...

I will find a picture of 'Kenna to throw up here, but this is more of a general post about another change in the wonderful life of the Brown's. Today is officiallymy last day as an Engineering Manager for Intel. Now don't get all crazy yet, I am still going to be working for Intel, but for a completely different division...Moving over to Marketing. Yes, it is time to make that MBA work for me vs. the other way around. So I am just cleaning up the desk (what is left of it) and getting ready to head out of here to hit up a "Moving on" Happy Hour...watching the clock tick, tock so slowly.

So wish me luck...well starting Monday...We will get to deal with a newborn and a new job...joy, joy!

Cheers!

RB

2 Week Birthday...Plus 1 day

So I am a little bit of a slacker, not having posted any updates about little 'kenna in a couple days. Not to worry, I am back on task. I was actually thinking how it was funny that the "Ryan & Jori" Blog has been hijacked by this little wonder...oh well how life changes.

Not much new down here it the desert, just allot of pooping and sleeping...and that is not including Mckenna. But in all seriousness, Grandma and Grandpa McCracken drove back over to LA early this morning, leaving their grand-daughter along with her parents for a couple days...then Grandma and Grandpa Brown come to visit.

She continues to be a pretty model baby, with little bursts of energy now and then, but mostly just eating and sleeping. One good thing about that is the Jori loves to eat and sleep too...so that is nice. Mckenna continues to grow like a weed...I don't really have any numbers here, more of a general dad feeling...I just know.

As for other happenings, our good friends Dave and Kim brought over Mckenna's soon to be best bud Charlotte (2 weeks Mckenna's senior) to hang out for some dessert on Sunday (see pic).

That is all for now, I will be back soon.

Cheers!

RB

Is it feeding time yet?

One thing is for sure...she loves to eat (Picture post snack). Yes, we have understood from the beginning that that is our job (to feed her that is), but until you are in the middle of it it is hard to understand. Let's just put it this way...there is a snowball's chance in hell that she is going to starve anytime soon. Another observation is that she is awake far more than I would have thought for a newborn. I expected our little eating machine to do just that, then sleep, then poop, then eat again (or in a similar order...maybe another poop in there somewhere). But nope...there is allot of wide awake check out where I am time in there as well. Now don't get me wrong, I think that it is great...in fact I thought I would have to wait a couple months for this kind of face time...but not so! She is definitely a bright, aware and smiley baby...smile, gas, whatever.

Grandpa McCracken showed up late last night from LA to meet his Grand-daughter. After a delayed flight due to one of our crazy summer thunderstorms he got in about 1:30...ouch. Now that he is here, he is soaking up as much time with 'Kenna as possible.

Just for fun, here is 'Kenna fending off the paparazzi during her bath...come one now people, I am not even dressed!


That is it for now...off to feed our little wonder!

Cheers!

RB

Pediatrician Visit #2

So...turns out our little angel is a little piglet. After loosing about 14oz after coming home from the hospital (see previous post) we seem to have gained 11oz back. Oh yea, all in 4 days...like I said good eater. Funny thing, our Pediatrician actually told us we could let her go further between feedings...you know, put her on a little diet. At the conclusion of our Ped check up we were given the thumbs up and told to come back in two months...NICE!

After all of the pediatrician hula-baloo, today has been pretty normal. She is not sleeping as much today which is a new one (as compared to her award winning sleeping every other day up to now)...but that is fine, variety is the spice of life right? We will see if anyone gets any sleep tonight...we will see how spicy we feel in the morning.

By the way, it is amazing how many little things change about her every day...so much fun!

A little update on Jori and I...Well I am the same (just a super proud papa) and Jori's body continues to be returned to her...and wow is she happy about that. We are completely wrapped around our new little girl and so excited to share our little adventures here for you.

Cheers!

RB

Bath Time!

Well it was bathtime tonight! Her are a couple pics...oh and she loved it!

Monday morning...here we go!

Well, we have made it thru her first week and all is still fine. Kenna is doing fantastic! We have started to settle into a bit of a schedule...if you can call it that which is making all of our lives a little better. Kenna is hitting up the boob every three hours during the day, and about every 4 hours at night (this is making life for mom and dad nice since she only wakes up one time...yea baby (literally)! So all seems to rolling along well, now we get to adjust again as dad gets himself back to work...at least part time. Mom will do great..no doubt, no doubt.

As for the gap in my reporting duties yesterday...sorry, things got a little busy. We had some visitors (Mal/Erin and Dave/Kim/Charlie) for dinner and some desert. On that note, Mal was nice enough to bring her a "0" candle for the cake...Kenna was so excited that she pooped...I know, what else could you ask for.

Another interesting fact about being a new parent...it makes your brain turn to mush...case in point: As Jori checked the calendar for the upcoming week late last night she made a interesting observation...yesterday was our anniversary...both of us completely missed the bus on that one. Oh well, we both agreed that she was the best early anniversary gift we could have got...check this year off and look towards next year!

That is all for now. Write at you all later.

RB

Pic - Yea, she has some attitude when she wants to...

Wonderful Day

Probably plenty to talk up today...but nothing of any huge significance. Only little wins that continue to build our case that Kenna is pretty much the best baby ever (and yes I am knocking of wood, probably will throughout my entire post). Grandma, Jori and Kenna went to do a little cloths shopping (more specifically, breast feeding paraphernalia - Different than drug paraphernalia, but not by much) and she was a champ...no snarks, cries or whimpers...well maybe a whimper, but only because someone looked at her funny. While I was not there and this is all coming to me second hand, I have no reason to doubt it at all.

Now we are off to a BBQ...coming to think of it, today is quite busy. We are heading out to my boss's new house to hang out for a couple hours...

I will update everyone later on how it goes...hopefully very well.

Talk to you later,

RB

Picture - Taken from stock footage - it is getting larger as we speak!

Friday Musings

Well a bit of a late post for all of my avid readers out there, but today kind of got away from me. Started with a bit of a long night...nothing out of the order, just turns out that Kenna's clock is about 12 hours off everyone else on the planet...so...we had allot of 1:1 time last night. No crying or fussing, just looking around and taking it all in. Just soaking in those moments whenever they show up...I hear they are fleeting...so we sacrificed a little sleep.

Getting away from that little bit of sappiness, she has been awesome today. We are finally getting the whole feeding portion of our jobs down so that is working out nicely for everyone...and when I mean everyone, I mean everyone even the neighbors. We made our first trip to the pediatrician today with solid reviews (four of five stars). We do need to head back next week due to the fact that she has lost weight (a little more than usual) just to check progress. Beyond that, we had a great day...Grandma McCracken is now here to dote over her new grand-daughter, Tricia and Kai came over to visit and our wonderful neighbors Dave and Carina brought us over dinner...awesome!

Anyway, wish us luck as another evening approaches.

RB

(Picture) - If she was anything but 6 days old I would say this is the happiest baby ever...but since she is only 6 days old...GAS.

Not all Streamers and Cake

So, we had a bit of reversion last night...lots of screaming and two adults running around not knowing what to do...or at least not knowing how to fix it. Yea, I know that is the way it goes, but man it sucks. Not to dwell on that, all is well now, full belly and sleeping like a champ in her car seat...have to get her used to that little sucker quick. Today's agenda...get a glider for mom (ordered one from Target in May...still on back order...so ridiculous) and get our pediatric appointment for tomorrow. So there you have it...a bit of a rager going on down here today, but all worth it.

Cheers!

Home again

Well our little 5 day oddesy is over, or just begining, depending on how you want to look at it. We just pulled the car in and unloaded...home feeding #1 going on right now...exciting! Anyway, we are getting settled and feeling out the scene. It is kind of funny, you come home with this new little person...and then what? Exactly, so we have a plan, first...well sit around and watch the girls, then nap, then feed, then...wow that's alot of poop, this is starting to sound familiar...College anyone? So there you have it...we are home and primed to show off this little wonder...why you ask - my answer is simple - because she is awesome and everyone will fall in love with her (of course I am biased)!

Cheers!

RB

D-Day +3...Wednesday

3rd night down anda all is well. Much better than night #2, and on par with night #1 maybe a little better. Got us a little sleep and getting her a bit closer to being on som sort of schedule...sheesh! She continues to pass all her tests with flying colors, and why wouldn't she...she is related to me. We have recived walking papers for Jori, but are still waiting for Kenna's to show up. Then it will be off to the homestead to introduce her to the rest of the fam...the doogs will love her I am sure! As for her overall progress, she continues to loose weight (very normal, no freaking out please) and is down to about 8.4lbs. Given that, she is a bit easier to haul around now...but she is still a lug. One more thing...for good or bad, I think she has my energy level...oh this roller coaster is just getting going!

Talk to you all soon.

RB

D-day +2

So after our first night was wonderfull...second night, not so good. We had a little bit of a feeding and gas issue...nothing I have not had myself, but then again I can get up grab something from the fridge and grab some gas-X...Now I am not making excuses for her (or me for that matter) but come on now...she was only 36 hours old. Anwway, today has gone pretty smooth...took a trip home to gather some supplies for another couple nights (probably only tonight, but you never know). Jori hunkered down here at the hospital and took care of Kenna...endearing nickname TBD. More to come later...as life really just gets started.




RB

One night down

OK, so she is officially 20 hours old now...good times, good times. Turns out she likes to eat and sleep and poop, just like every other baby...weird. I must say that she did allow us about 5 hours of sleep last night between tendings...very nice. It turns out her very strained beginnings have not damped her mood though. She is very mellow and has not got overly excited but once...crazy poop incident, don't ask about it or she will freak out. Updates as they are dreamed up by me.

RB

Baby Time!

So to dispense with all of the other misc. stuff going on. Mckenna Rae Brown was born at 12:45pm weighing in at 9.06lbs and measuring 20.5in long...so in short she was LARGE. She was flipped upside down and backwards making it virtually impossible for her to come out the regular way...so C-Section it was. Again as soon as I get a couple min I will post up some pics. (oh yea because she was at a funny angle, she is currently working on straitening out her nose...person thing.



Cheers!

RB

UPDATE...

12:00 - OK, new game plan, C-Section...like now...no one is at risk, but she is not moving any more...let's go!

Still working it out

9:30 - So it has been another 3 hours and one additional epideral...I guess that is how it goes. One good note is that since the last epideral, she has moved from 6 to 9cm...that is good.

Oh and on a funny note, Jori's doctor is on vacation this week...yup, just like in the move Knocked up...minus the angry phone call from me...LOL.

Talk to you soon!

RB

Rise and Shine

6:30 - We both got a couple hours of presious sleep (I am sure more for me than her), but we are back up and moving again...well I am, Jori is still working on that delivery thing. We are doing well and just waiting for our little girl to make her debut...soon I would imagine.

BTW - I will post some pics as I can...not allot of pre-pics as we arrived pretty much full bore into contractions...in short not happy campers.

RB

Getting settled at the Hospital

1:30 - OK, so this will be the second time since the first post didn't take...weird, like someone thought I should rewrite it. Anyway, we have moved from Triage to our room...good times! Jori has suffered thru enough contractions, so I decided it was time for a epideral...I know I am giving. But seriously, we had really good luck getting her numbed up quickly. So now we wait. She is about 3-4cm and the nurse just administered a small dose of Petosin (sp) to keep the contractions consistant. Our for now...time for a quick nap and I will write later as events unfold.

As a side note, I would imagine that it would be really hard for her birthday to not be July 27th...just a guess.

Cheers!

RB

Hospital part 2

Ok, so I am typing this from my blackberry due to the fact that we have just returned to the hospital. Our first trip as it turns out was just practice...oh well. But we are currently in triage waiting to be placed in our room...yes we are being admitted! As for progress, we are looking at about 3cm dialated at this point. That is a big step from zero at our 12 to 4pm visit. I will write a bit more later after I get my laptop.

RB

Labor?

So here we go...we are averaging about every 5-6 min so we will be heading out to the hospital soon. Wish us luck (mostly to Jori0!

RB

Still Waiting...

Okay, it is totally official that I am a lousy blogger...
I enjoy checking up on friends and family (see my links on the right) but somehow I just keep thinking that this one will just magically update itself. Pregnancy delusions I guess.

Anywho, this kid is just not done cookin' in there and I am constantly going back and forth between excitement and impatience. The official due date is this Sun the 27th and hopefully she isn't like her mother with a tendency to be late. I had my weekly appt yesterday and my Dr was out of town so I was seen by a new Dr to the practice... Long story short, I will not be seeing her again. Long story long, I spent two hours at the hospital where she sent me because she thought my "membranes had ruptured" (water broke). I knew in my head that my water had not yet broken but was hopeful that I was mistaken and that within 24 hours we would be meeting baby girl brown. Again, after 2 hours in triage, as they were very busy, I was discharged and sent home to be depressed on the couch. I guess it's better to be safe than sorry right?

On a different note, I can't remember if I mentioned that in addition to the "elephant" feet and "pipe" legs that I am waddling around on, I also have been diagnosed with pregnancy induced carpel tunnel. Essentially I have no feeling in my thumb and first two fingers on both hands... I mention this because it has been extremely hard for me to hold a pen and finish my thank you cards but they will be completed!!! In all reality, they will probably be included with the baby announcements but for now:

THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY THAT HAVE GIVEN US SUCH WONDERFUL GIFTS FOR THE NEW BABY! WE LOVE EACH OF YOU AND ARE SO GRATEFUL TO HAVE YOU IN OUR LIVES. BABY BROWN IS SO BLESSED TO BE BORN INTO THE EXTENDED FAMILY OF FRIENDS THAT WE HAVE COME TO LOVE AND ENJOY!

As for weekend updates, Ryan is in charge but we promise to keep all of you posted as we progress...and as always, keep those fingers crossed that she will be on time :-)

Can't Sleep

So it's June 9th at 6am and I have been up for about an hour now...and no, I haven't had this beautiful baby yet so what's the deal? I was prepared for "normal" pregnancy discomfort but had no idea that your feet could swell to the size of an elephants nor that my hands would become virtually inflexible, i.e. my fingers and joints are way stiff and my wrists feel like I broke them...again, what's the deal?



Oh well...not much to do at this point but ride it out :-) Here are some "fill in the gaps" missing photos as I am such a great blogger...

28 Weeks, 30 Weeks, and 33 Weeks...

Baby Brown - 25 Weeks

Okay, so it's now a week later and it's no big news that I just keep getting bigger and bigger! but I am still barefoot...ha, ha. Crib and changing table have been ordered (on backorder, of course) and the stroller just arrived. Daddy Brown being the handy man that he is made short work of the assembly and now enjoys taking the new toy for joy rides around the living room. As he was working on the new stroller we both (almost simultaneously) announced aloud that this was sure to be the first "child" assembly project of many more to come :-)

We'll see you all next week!

Baby Brown - 24 Weeks

Well, it's about time to show off the baby buddha...

Here's a shot at 24 Weeks, barefoot and pregnant :-)

We would love to tell you whether it is a boy or girl but all we know is that whatever gender is in there, it is definitely a stubborn one...during the 20 week ultrasound it was squirming every which way, crossing its legs and strategically placing its foot in the line of "gender" vision. We will have another chance to find out the sex in about 4 weeks at the 28 week ultrasound and we'll be sure to keep you posted.

So far the pregnancy has been pretty uneventful but I am not going to be one of those mothers who proclaim "I loved being pregnant!", the headaches and nausea come and go and converting to side sleeping is really not going as smoothly as I had hoped. All in all, I am extremely excited and happy although Ryan may paint a different picture, ha, ha.

Later gators, see ya next week,

Momma Brown