This wasn't a major snowfall by any standard but it did warrant snow pants and a new sled. We got mayyyyybe three inches but it was snow nonetheless!
G had a horrible time, obviously.
Sledding 2-28-15 from Mackenzie Oakley on Vimeo.
Do You Wanna Build a Snowman?
Saturday, February 28, 2015
I've been waiting allllll winter to take Gracyn outside to play in the snow. My South Dakota heart has been let down time and time again this season - we've gotten several weather forecasts that had called for snow but then something happens where the storm fizzles out and we get nothing. Until today!
Sledding 2-28-15 from Mackenzie Oakley on Vimeo.
Sledding 2-28-15 from Mackenzie Oakley on Vimeo.
Photo Every Hour | Wednesday
Thursday, February 26, 2015
 |
| 6 AM | babies still sleeping, time for a quick shower |
 |
| 7 AM | party in mom's bed. the creepiest doll ever graces us with her presence. |
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| 8 AM | breakfast for some. naps for others. |
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| 9 AM | work while mr. potato heads supervises. |
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| 10 AM | playtime |
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| 11 AM | work with the best coworker |
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| 12 PM | lunch and still in our pajamas. also, hotdog with peanut butter. yum. |
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| 1 PM | nap time, work time, selfie time. duh. |
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| 2 PM | the other best coworker |
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| 3 PM | snacks |
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| 4 PM | daddy's home which means a few more emails get answered |
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| 5 PM | date night with my girl |
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| 6 PM | thumbs up. kinda. |
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| 7 PM | hide & seek. no shirt, no problem. |
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| 8 PM | triplets. |
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| 9 PM | because it's 9 PM and i still need to do things |
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| 10 PM | mama's down time |
We survived!
Friday, February 20, 2015
Friday is here which means I survived a whole week of working at home with the two littles and I only felt like a failure on one account. Not too shabby, if you ask me!
{ONE}
This week actually went better than I anticipated. It's been really cold so we've been cooped up in the house all week which could have been a recipe for disaster but we made it. I had Monday off for Presidents' Day so we spent the day playing. Leighton had her 2-month checkup on Tuesday (our one and only outing) and Gracyn decided to wake up before 6 am 3 out of the 5 days. Oofta.
Wednesday was particularly rough. G woke up several times during the night crying out for Daddy. I fed Leighton around 4:45 AM and by the time she was done and back to sleep, it was time to get up for work so I just stayed up. Both chicks were up for the day by 6:30 and Gracyn proceeded to whine the entire. day. She did take a decent nap and I managed to get my work done but by the time Justin got home I was tired and over it. Leighton had a meltdown that night that lasted 2 hours (yeah, she still hasn't outgrown it...) and nothing can steal your mom-mojo faster than not being able to soothe your crying baby. So if you can't beat 'em, join 'em am I right?!
Tears all around! By the time I crawled into bed I was certain my life as a work-at-home mom was doomed and that I wouldn't be able to handle it, which wasn't too encouraging since it has only been, like, 4 days. Dramatic, much?
Thankfully, Thursday was a new day and everyone was in much better moods. Myself included. I know I'll have other days like that but I'll have to try really hard to keep it all in perspective. Kids whine, babies cry, and I'm always gonna be tired. But a new day always comes.
Enough of that....
{TWO}
The rest of the week was filled with good, sweet moments. Like when Gracyn wanted to give sister a makeover....
...and thought it was so great. It was great. Leighton thought so, too.
{THREE}
Gracyn asks to watch Frozen at least once every day. If we don't watch the movie {which I try to limit to once a week} we watch the songs on YouTube or something like that. And yes, I wake up in the middle of the night singing "Love is an Open Door" more times than I'd like to admit, but she loves it. She literally shakes with excitement when the songs start.
Any who, when we put her to bed at night, she has a habit of running after us when we leave the room and hanging on the gate that is at her bedroom door. It's usually lasts a few minutes and is accompanied by screams and tears and her asking us to "come back." Last night, I told her to get back in bed and that I'd see her in the morning. She stood at the gate and let out the saddest, most pathetic "Okayyyyy, byyyyyyye." straight out of "Do You Wanna Build a Snowman." It was hilarious and a sign that we watch the movie far too often.
{FOUR}
When we're not watching Frozen, we pass the time with different activities. My mom put together oodles of activities for Gracyn to do while I'm working and they have already been a lifesaver. Kinetic sand, letters, numbers, magnets. All amazing and all things G can do on her own {to some extent} while I work nearby.
{FIVE}
Every once in awhile, Gracyn will randomly come up to me and ask about family members. Usually it's about her cousins Isla or Jack or Ruger. This morning, though, she asked about someone different...
This morning, she came up to me and said, "I want Ted."
My aunt and uncle, Priscilla and Ted, live nearby and we try to see them as often as we can. They were here last week when my mom and dad were visiting. I love that she can remember things now, especially things that happened several days ago and people we don't see every day.
Ted, if you're reading, you must have made an impression last time because she really wanted to see you today! ;)
That's all I have for now.... happy weekend!
Linking up again today with the usual crowd...
...and a new group, too. 'Cuz you can never have too many link-ups.
{ONE}
This week actually went better than I anticipated. It's been really cold so we've been cooped up in the house all week which could have been a recipe for disaster but we made it. I had Monday off for Presidents' Day so we spent the day playing. Leighton had her 2-month checkup on Tuesday (our one and only outing) and Gracyn decided to wake up before 6 am 3 out of the 5 days. Oofta.
Wednesday was particularly rough. G woke up several times during the night crying out for Daddy. I fed Leighton around 4:45 AM and by the time she was done and back to sleep, it was time to get up for work so I just stayed up. Both chicks were up for the day by 6:30 and Gracyn proceeded to whine the entire. day. She did take a decent nap and I managed to get my work done but by the time Justin got home I was tired and over it. Leighton had a meltdown that night that lasted 2 hours (yeah, she still hasn't outgrown it...) and nothing can steal your mom-mojo faster than not being able to soothe your crying baby. So if you can't beat 'em, join 'em am I right?!
Tears all around! By the time I crawled into bed I was certain my life as a work-at-home mom was doomed and that I wouldn't be able to handle it, which wasn't too encouraging since it has only been, like, 4 days. Dramatic, much?
Thankfully, Thursday was a new day and everyone was in much better moods. Myself included. I know I'll have other days like that but I'll have to try really hard to keep it all in perspective. Kids whine, babies cry, and I'm always gonna be tired. But a new day always comes.
Enough of that....
{TWO}
The rest of the week was filled with good, sweet moments. Like when Gracyn wanted to give sister a makeover....
...and thought it was so great. It was great. Leighton thought so, too.
{THREE}
Gracyn asks to watch Frozen at least once every day. If we don't watch the movie {which I try to limit to once a week} we watch the songs on YouTube or something like that. And yes, I wake up in the middle of the night singing "Love is an Open Door" more times than I'd like to admit, but she loves it. She literally shakes with excitement when the songs start.
Any who, when we put her to bed at night, she has a habit of running after us when we leave the room and hanging on the gate that is at her bedroom door. It's usually lasts a few minutes and is accompanied by screams and tears and her asking us to "come back." Last night, I told her to get back in bed and that I'd see her in the morning. She stood at the gate and let out the saddest, most pathetic "Okayyyyy, byyyyyyye." straight out of "Do You Wanna Build a Snowman." It was hilarious and a sign that we watch the movie far too often.
{FOUR}
When we're not watching Frozen, we pass the time with different activities. My mom put together oodles of activities for Gracyn to do while I'm working and they have already been a lifesaver. Kinetic sand, letters, numbers, magnets. All amazing and all things G can do on her own {to some extent} while I work nearby.
{FIVE}
Every once in awhile, Gracyn will randomly come up to me and ask about family members. Usually it's about her cousins Isla or Jack or Ruger. This morning, though, she asked about someone different...
This morning, she came up to me and said, "I want Ted."
My aunt and uncle, Priscilla and Ted, live nearby and we try to see them as often as we can. They were here last week when my mom and dad were visiting. I love that she can remember things now, especially things that happened several days ago and people we don't see every day.
Ted, if you're reading, you must have made an impression last time because she really wanted to see you today! ;)
That's all I have for now.... happy weekend!
Linking up again today with the usual crowd...
...and a new group, too. 'Cuz you can never have too many link-ups.
Leighton :: 2 Months Old
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Cue all of the mom clichés...
"How did this happen?!"
"They grow up so fast!!!"
"I can't believe it's already been TWO months!!!!"Seriously, though. Time is flying.
Sweet Leighton cracked her first smile around 6 weeks old and they became a regular occurrence (especially in the morning) by 8 weeks. She's starting to enjoy "playtime" more and will actually lay on her play mat for longer than 3 minutes. She will be grabbing for toys in no time, I'm sure.
She's a big 'ol baby and weighed in at 13 lbs 3 oz at her checkup this morning, hence the 6 month sleepers (so crazy) and was 23 inches long.
I went back to work {from home} and so far, she's been a pretty good sidekick. Big sister is a pretty good helper, too.
She's still eating every 2-3 hours during the day and if we're lucky, will give us a longer stretch of sleep for 5 hours or so the first half of the night. We're trying to get on a very loose schedule now that she's awake more during the day along with putting her to bed in her crib before 11pm like we had been doing. It'll help me especially if I can get to where her days are a little more predictable now that I need to be getting some work done during the day. I'd also like to have an hour or two in the evenings to decompress and talk to my husband for longer than 11 minutes without children crying or needing a diaper changed before I hit the hay myself.
I blinked and she's two months old. I don't like that she's growing and changing so fast but I always look forward to seeing what she's going to do next. I love watching her literally learn something new right before my eyes. Pretty damn cool if you ask me.
LL, we love you, baby girl. Thank you for making me a mama times two.
Sweet Valentines
Monday, February 16, 2015
We had a couple of sweet valentines this year. Two awesome little lovies we get to smooch on every day. Justin brought home a bouquet of flowers for each of his girls and we exchanged cards in the morning. Gracyn took time smelling every bloom and helping everyone open their cards and she only shed a few tears when she learned she couldn't slam her chocolate treats at 9 am...
No chocolate at 9 am but heart-shaped pancakes totally happened. I won this La Plates platter via an Instagram giveaway and it arrived just in time for V-Day so of course we had to put it to good use.
Baby's first Valentine's Day...
...and a mantel full of love letters.
Grandma and Papa were here visiting which meant mama and daddy even got to sneak away for a day-date. A matinee and and dinner from Chipotle to-go. Not a bad date at all.
But first, pictures of the sister-girls in their festive attire, obviously.
They are just delicious, don't ya think!? I do.
A Video :: Gracyn Year Two
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Ok, I promise. Only one more post about Gracyn turning two years old. I mean, she only turns two once, right?!
My mom and dad have quite the collection of home videos from when I was growing up. They converted all of the old video tapes into DVDs and gave a copy of the entire collection to my brothers and me. I love them and could watch them over and over again reliving childhood memories.
We don't have a full-fledged camcorder (do they even make those anymore?) but we do have a bazillion pictures and minute-long video clips of her doing random things on our iPhones. Last year, I decided to compile my fave photos and videos from the prior 12 months into a short movie documenting her year in hopes that she'll enjoy watching it when she's older. And lets face it, so I'm able to easily cry ugly tears any time I feel like it while I relive these precious moments that are all too fleeting.
Anyway, my lofty goal is to make a movie for each year until she turns 18 which will serve as her own personal home video collection. Two down, 16 to go.
I tried to cut it down since Year One ended up being something like 16 minutes long but I just couldn't do it. This one is still ended up being almost 11 minutes but she's just too cool! She had another big year and I wanted to include as much as I could.
Enjoy!
Gracyn :: Year Two from Mackenzie Oakley on Vimeo.
My mom and dad have quite the collection of home videos from when I was growing up. They converted all of the old video tapes into DVDs and gave a copy of the entire collection to my brothers and me. I love them and could watch them over and over again reliving childhood memories.
We don't have a full-fledged camcorder (do they even make those anymore?) but we do have a bazillion pictures and minute-long video clips of her doing random things on our iPhones. Last year, I decided to compile my fave photos and videos from the prior 12 months into a short movie documenting her year in hopes that she'll enjoy watching it when she's older. And lets face it, so I'm able to easily cry ugly tears any time I feel like it while I relive these precious moments that are all too fleeting.
Anyway, my lofty goal is to make a movie for each year until she turns 18 which will serve as her own personal home video collection. Two down, 16 to go.
I tried to cut it down since Year One ended up being something like 16 minutes long but I just couldn't do it. This one is still ended up being almost 11 minutes but she's just too cool! She had another big year and I wanted to include as much as I could.
Enjoy!
Gracyn :: Year Two from Mackenzie Oakley on Vimeo.
 |
| 13 - 24 months |
Five on Friday
Friday, February 6, 2015
Happy Friday! It's been a long week so let's just jump right into this, shall we?!
{ONE}
Ok, so when we left the hospital to bring Leighton home, they gave us this CD and informational booklet about the Period of Purple Crying in infants. To be honest, I hadn't really ever heard of it because I don't remember Gracyn being colicky or anything like that but this shit is fo' real. Every night, like clockwork, our sweet Leighton flips a switch and turns into a whiny, fussy, cranky, crying mess.
Some nights are harder than others and I know it could be a LOT worse - like, a lot - so for that I'm counting my lucky stars but when she is noticeably uncomfortable or crying for no good reason, it can stress a mama out. I've spent hours bouncing, pacing and shushing trying to comfort this sweet babe. Somewhere between 10 pm and 12 am, it just shuts off and she goes to sleep. So crazy. I'm also wondering how long it takes before babies normally grow out of it? The interweb tells me anywhere between 3-4 months so we should hopefully be halfway through this special time?!
{TWO}
In an attempt to calm Leighton one night, we decided to move her into her crib. She did so well but I automatically turn into a crazy person as soon as my babies start sleeping in a separate room, constantly wanting to go in and check their breathing. We have a the video monitor this time around which has been a sanity-saver. She's giving us 4 and 5 hour stretches at night - yay! - and I'm forcing myself to stay awake after her 6 am feeding so I can start getting ready to start work again next week.
{THREE}
Gracyn got a bunch of Playdoh for her birthday and I was hesitant to bust it out thinking she wouldn't really be interested in it and/or try to eat it but after we watched Frozen for the 23421th time this week, I decided it was time to try a new activity.
Girlfriend loved it. We played with it all day yesterday. She did so well keeping in on the table and only tasted one itty bitty piece ;)
{FOUR}
We're heading to Tulsa to visit Justin's family this weekend. Leighton has yet to meet everyone on that side of the family so I'm excited to see everyone and introduce her to the rest of the family.
{FIVE}
I went ahead and made a Facebook page for this little 'ol blog. If you could do me a solid and go "Like" Baby by Oakley on Facebook, I'd really appreciate it! Leave your FB page below and I'll reciprocate the love :)
Happy weekend!
Linking up with the usual crowd...
{ONE}
Ok, so when we left the hospital to bring Leighton home, they gave us this CD and informational booklet about the Period of Purple Crying in infants. To be honest, I hadn't really ever heard of it because I don't remember Gracyn being colicky or anything like that but this shit is fo' real. Every night, like clockwork, our sweet Leighton flips a switch and turns into a whiny, fussy, cranky, crying mess.
Some nights are harder than others and I know it could be a LOT worse - like, a lot - so for that I'm counting my lucky stars but when she is noticeably uncomfortable or crying for no good reason, it can stress a mama out. I've spent hours bouncing, pacing and shushing trying to comfort this sweet babe. Somewhere between 10 pm and 12 am, it just shuts off and she goes to sleep. So crazy. I'm also wondering how long it takes before babies normally grow out of it? The interweb tells me anywhere between 3-4 months so we should hopefully be halfway through this special time?!
{TWO}
In an attempt to calm Leighton one night, we decided to move her into her crib. She did so well but I automatically turn into a crazy person as soon as my babies start sleeping in a separate room, constantly wanting to go in and check their breathing. We have a the video monitor this time around which has been a sanity-saver. She's giving us 4 and 5 hour stretches at night - yay! - and I'm forcing myself to stay awake after her 6 am feeding so I can start getting ready to start work again next week.
Gracyn got a bunch of Playdoh for her birthday and I was hesitant to bust it out thinking she wouldn't really be interested in it and/or try to eat it but after we watched Frozen for the 23421th time this week, I decided it was time to try a new activity.
Girlfriend loved it. We played with it all day yesterday. She did so well keeping in on the table and only tasted one itty bitty piece ;)
{FOUR}
We're heading to Tulsa to visit Justin's family this weekend. Leighton has yet to meet everyone on that side of the family so I'm excited to see everyone and introduce her to the rest of the family.
{FIVE}
I went ahead and made a Facebook page for this little 'ol blog. If you could do me a solid and go "Like" Baby by Oakley on Facebook, I'd really appreciate it! Leave your FB page below and I'll reciprocate the love :)
Happy weekend!
Linking up with the usual crowd...
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