Frogs and Snails, and Puppy Dogs' Tails...

That's what little boys are made of!

 It's a BOY!

Precious Profile Picture of Sawyer Matthias Folden!

On July 15th I had my 20 week ultrasound and we found out that we'll be welcoming a little boy into the Folden Family! While we would have been ecstatic for either gender (honestly, though I was really "feeling" a boy vibe early on), it really is exciting knowing that our son is on his way. We are praying that God will continue to bless this pregnancy and provide health and safety to myself and to baby Sawyer. This week I will have another prenatal appointment where I will have to get an early screening for Gestational Diabetes (which I had with Mackenna). If I have it again, it means a strict diet with barely any carbs or sugar! I am not too concerned about the screening because I don't mind giving up my carbs and sugar to ensure the health of my son. But, what I'm not looking forward to is the needle prick that tests my blood sugar! I remember with Mackenna, my fingers were so sore for the first few weeks!

Anyway, I am having a blast trying to design Mackenna and Sawyer's room. They'll be sharing a room at least for a year, but probably longer than that. So we are going with the colors: Green, Brown, and Pink. Colors they can grow with. Mackenna's side will be all girl and Sawyer's side will be all boy! Dustin is so excited to see it, which makes me excited to start on some of my projects.

Anywho, that's a quick update on pregnancy #2! Until next time!

Sleep, Anyone?

There has been little sleep going on this week in the Folden household. Wednesday evening, Dustin and I painted our kitchen and two walls in our living room. What I foolishly thought would take two hours ended up taking close to five! When we finished painting at midnight we were starving and had to have a snack and unwind. So we got to bed close to 1:00 AM but I slept like a rock!

Thursday night, one molar and one incisor tooth are to blame for a second sleepless night. I fell to sleep around 9:30 (on the couch while watching a movie with Dustin). After being woken up and settling back to sleep in bed, Mackenna awoke at 12:30 AM with what I can only guess was tooth pain. Her gums have been really swollen this week and I can almost feel the teeth... come on, already! From 12:30 AM to 2:30 AM there were a few thirty minute increments of sleep, but nothing truly restfull. Combine that with a mind full of thoughts and I am awake. I am exhausted, my eyelids are heavy, but I am awake. And I am planning to stay awake instead of tossing and turning in bed wondering why I can't fall to sleep. It's Friday. Maybe I can talk Dustin into letting me sleep in a bit tomorrow. ;-)

Mackenna's One Year Pictures

One Year Ago, Today

One year ago, today, I was finally admitted into the hospital after four days of "pre-labor." I was growing in patience as I learned time and time again that I was only 3 cm dilated. I grew in trusting God's wisdom and love as the nurses and doctors rushed around me trying to find Mackenna's heart beat. They found it. Praise the Lord!

One year ago, today, I thanked the anesthesiologist for giving me the epidural that, during my pregnancy, I vowed I would never want. I stared at the fetal monitor and watched Mackenna's heart beat with every contraction even though the nurse told me to get some rest. {After our scare, are you kidding me?}

One year ago, today, I had a feeling in my gut that Mackenna would we welcomed into this world via a cesarian section. Today, I wear that scar proudly! One year ago, today, I once again learned to trust God more as Mackenna was admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit to receive antibiotics for an infection that could have gotten a lot worse then it did. Again, God is so good! Praise the Lord!

One year ago, today, my little girl was brand new! And we were brand new parents! Still learning how to dress, feed, soothe, and protect our precious girl. Diaper changes took three times as long as they do now and bath time was almost more stressful than it was worth. Three hours of uninteruppted sleep was glorious and the newborn sleepy stage was not taken advantage of (if only I knew then what I know now)!

And today, we are a family of three. Today, I am a little weepy-eyed as memories of the past year flood my mind and fill my heart. Today, I am humbled by the grace of our Savior, giving us so many gifts that we don't deserve. First and foremost, our salvation in Christ. Today, I'm thanking God for the gift of Mackenna Grace Folden. Our hearts grow in love for her every day. And while today we may be a tad bit more experienced and a tiny bit wiser, we still have much to learn, much to experience, and much more wisdom to gain as we grow in parenthood.

Giggly Girl!

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

I am not sure if I could document with words everything that my precious girl has learned over the past two months. So, I thought now would be a great time to do a picture blog... Here we go!

FEBRUARY

 New Room Decor... Courtesy of my Cricut!

First Valentine's Day!

 Learned to climb into the laundry basket... so proud!

 A visit from Uncle TJ!

 Sweet sleeping girl... this was after quite a battle, ending with a negotiation of napping with her pillow pet... but see, NO pacifier!

 Playing with her Valentine's Day card from Gigi Rose (Great Grandma Rose)

 Cruising the Couch!

 Pulling to Standing!

 "Soooo big!"

 "Helping" mommy with laundry!

My little sporty girl!

MARCH

 "Broccoli? No, thank you!"

 A visit from Grandma Lee Lee & Auntie Allee!

 Loves her baby, Ruby (named by Grandma Lee Lee)

 I understand why this toy was given to us without battaries, but she just loves the "Ch-ch-ch-ch-pow!"

 "The perimeter has been breached!"

 Reading with Auntie Allee!

 Learning to walk!

 "For splashing and scrubbing and rub-a-dub dubbing, hands are dandy for toweling and tubbing." (Excerpt from Hooray for Hands!)

 "Soooo big!"

 We are ready for Spring!

 Some new wheels! She cruises all over the place!

 Munching on some toast!

 Organizing the garage with daddy!

 My girl loves to read! She'll sit and babble, I mean, read, for 30 minutes sometimes!

 Mackenna's very first pedicure!

 Mackenna LOVES Dustin's old "lovey," Ricky the Raccoon!

 Taking a snooze on the way home from church!

 Spring Tease day! It was 70+ degrees here and we made sure to get out and enjoy the warmth!

 Colton & Mackenna loving the swings!

She won't take a sippy cup, so we're trying a straw... she loves it!

Just because it was so cute!

Bye bye, Pacifier!

The pacifier. For some parents, it's a must-have baby item. For others, it's the biggest parenting "no-no." For us, it was somewhere in between. During my pregnancy, we were set on not introducing Mackenna to a pacifier. I didn't register for any and I gave Dustin strict instructions to make sure that the well meaning neonatal nurses did not give one to Mackenna.

And then Mackenna was born. And she was admitted to NICU. And she wasn't really "sick," but she would cry at times (like all babies do) and her nurses had no other choice but to give her a pacifier so that she would be pacified so that they could pay attention to all the tiny babies who really needed their help. One problem, Mackenna didn't like the pacifier. You know, those green soothies that they give to every baby in the hospital. She hated them. But her strong dislike for the pacifier was quickly forgotten when those same nurses dunked the green soothie into sugar water. She loved sugar water. And so, her love for a pacifier began.

After bringing her home from the hospital and, shortly there after, discovering the world of a colicky baby, the pacifier brought us moments of peace amidst the crying and chaos. But we, of course, replaced the awkward green soothie for a more traditional pacifier, the Nuk. We limited her pacifier use to her most fussy time of the day and car rides (for my sanity). Months later, when the colic resolved, we found a more optimal time for pacifier use was for naps and bed time. And since then, her pacifier use was strictly before naps and bed time, and while in the car.

Well, for some reason, for the past two weeks, Mackenna has decided that playing and crawling around is much more fun then sleeping. So she's been fighting her naps. She rebelliously stands up in her crib, rips her pacifier out of her mouth, and throws it on the floor. During her first week of rebellion I would come in her room after 20 (OK, probably more like 5) minutes of crying, pick up her pacifier, stick it in her mouth, lay her back down, and we'd repeat this cycle about three times until she finally cried herself to sleep. One week of that was enough.

Week two's strategy is dramatically different. At nap time, I take her to her room, turn on her noise maker, give her a hug and a kiss, lay her down, walk out, and shut the door. We don't offer the pacifier since she's just been throwing it on the floor anyway. I don't look back after I start walking out and I shut the door. Shutting the door helps me resist the temptation to go back in to rescue her or even to check on her during her naps (which usually wakes her up). And then, I usually find something to keep me occupied. The house is very clean this week and I am almost caught up on all my chores!
"So," you ask, "how is she doing?" She's doing great! Day one was rough. She cried for 45 minutes, but then slept for an hour. Today, day five, she's cried for ten minutes! And bed time has had little to no tears all week! It will be nice to have this behind us. We've heard so many horror stories about getting rid of the pacifier. We are so thankful that Mackenna has made this a bit easier by initiating the pacifier elimination! Now we can focus on the next parenting hurdle... bottle to sippy cup... let's hope it's as easy to clear as eliminating the pacifier has been!