A busy, fun weekend for all...

The last weekend in February is always reserved for the ODAC basketball tournament, which is held in Roanoke. Whether I am working or not, I always take a day or two off to travel with Andy to the tournament. We have such a great time each year. There is always a trip (or two or three!!) to Krispy Kreme, visits to the mall, shopping at Target, comfortable hotel rooms and a lot of free food, courtesy of the basketball team:) This year Andy and I made the trip with only one child, Kendall. Mimi and Papa kept Alley for a fun filled weekend of her own. Sadly, HSC's basketball season ended very early on in the tournament. We lost in the first round after a miserable game. So, our hope of a long weekend away was cut short. So we decided to extend the fun and join Alley in Richmond with my parents. We had a great time! Here are just a few pictures from the weekend.

Mimi and Papa really wore Alley out...this is a picture from Saturday morning! Her binkie and blanket must have snuck out of her bed and found her on the couch;) She definitely got some good ol' spoiling from the grandparents- and she ate it up!

Just too cute for words:)

Meanwhile, here's Kendall all ready for a night out on the town...let's party:)

Papa and Kendall having some serious heart to heart conversations - she's so attentive to her Papa

Giving Papa some smiles and love

More pictures of this past week will be coming soon...still downloading:)

Big changes

Last week Kendall went to the doctor for her 1 month check-up. It was a very quick appointment with no shots (thank goodness!). They just wanted to check her jaundice, weight and height/length. No lie, it was a 5 minute appointment!! The report...she is doing beautifully!! Her jaundice looks better and seems to be improving each day (whew!) AND...she has gained a good amount of weight! Yeah! We were concerned about her eating/weight so the doctor told me to pump and give her the milk from a bottle. After that, she seemed to gain weight at a rapid pace. So bottle feeding in conjunction with the decrease in her jaundice level (high jaundice levels make babies lethargic and sleepy, which makes it hard for them to eat) helped her reach 7lbs 8oz by her 1 month birthday! We are so happy with our little chunky-monkey:) Of course, she also gained 1 and 1/2 inch in 4 weeks as well, so she's a long little thing! Recently Kendall has been staying awake for longer periods of time, holding her head up on her own for several seconds, and smiling a lot (you can say it's from the gas, but it still melts my heart!). She sleeps beautifully at night. She'll wake up once (sometimes twice) to eat at night and then goes right back to sleep. She is still pretty laid back, but we've been having gassy issues for the past week which is making her a little fussy after eating. Overall though, she is a perfect baby and we are so blessed:)
We are having more camera issues and it completely died last week! So, we don't have many pictures of what life has been like in the McPherson household. Not that we've been doing much other than playing, resting and working. We are currently borrowing my parents camera while we research new ones - if anyone has a camera they love and would recommend, please let me know!!!

Finally, we've got eyes:)

waking up from a nap - thanks mom and dad for waking me:(

This week we finally had a semi-nice day outside, so we tested out our new double stroller. Both girls seemed to really love it! Kendall slept the whole time while Alley enjoyed patting her and checking on her...every second...

Sweetheart Dinner

This year we celebrated Valentine's day at our church's Sweetheart Dinner. The dinner was held on Friday night this year, which was good because Andy was home! It's a family dinner with all the members of our church and not just for couples, which makes it so fun! They had games and activities for us all to participate in throughout the evening. Sadly we had to leave before they started playing the "couples game show" game...darn;) Alley thoroughly enjoyed herself that night running around with her friend Merrick. They were just too cute together! They kept yelling for each other throughout the evening and chasing each other around the room. Here are some pictures that my friend took (she's actually the mother of Merrick - and a great photographer!!)

Our own little "sweet pea" - she kept yelling "mommy look" as she posed in this picture - too precious;)

Alley and Merrick giving "uuugs" before dinner - they're great friends!

In the spirit of Valentine's Day....Yikes! They were too cute though! Side note, they are two weeks apart in age and the only two kids in their age group at church - so they have to be friends;) Alley doesn't stop talking about "Mer-wik"

Visitors

We had some visitors this Saturday:) John and his girlfriend, Marion (or as Alley calls her, May-yon), came from Harrisonburg to visit the new addition to our family. It was great seeing them and Kendall thoroughly enjoyed relaxing in their arms all day! She even "let them" feed her one of her bottles;) We loved getting to see them and hang out for the afternoon. Thanks for coming John and Marion!

John holding Kendall like a pro

Marion helping John watch Kendall:)

Kendall holding Marion's finger - so cute:)

Alley wanting to get in the action! "Cheeeeeeeese"

Gift

My mom sent me this little gift the other day. So sweet! I love it:)

Well, we are on snow day #8...while this helps me with maternity leave (aka - unpaid leave), it's quite annoying to be cooped up in the house daily. Don't get me wrong, I love snow - I did go to school up in Wisconsin to play soccer! - but I feel like a caged animal right now. We all need a little sunshine and warmth just about now;)
This morning Alley was overly excited about Kendall and helping out. I had to save Kendall from being dragged from her seat several times this morning! This is a picture of Alley after being told she could sit and look at Kendall but not touch her...so she sat and stared at her! I'm not sure Kendall likes being stared at;)
Overall the morning went very well. I was able to take a shower without either girl melting down or touching each other:) Alley was very occupied in her bedroom, doing what, I have no clue! I had planned on keeping Alley home with me today, but about mid-morning she kept asking to go "see friends"...I asked her if she wanted to go to school and she about fell apart trying to get her jacket on and drag Kendall's car seat over to me...do you think she wanted to go?? Who am I to say no to a child who wants to go to school?! So off we went:) She's probably thinking, at least at school they let me touch the babies....

Life

We've been doing a lot of this:

And this:

Because of this:

We've had two BIG snow storms in the past week or so that have kept us from getting out. I am so ready for warmer weather so I can get both girls outside and so we can enjoy the fresh air. I think we're all getting stir crazy...even Kendall:

"Stop snowing!!!"

Alley has been a little helper. It's been fun watching her try to help me with everything, but at the same time I've got to watch Alley like a hawk around Kendall. Alley thinks that blankets go over peoples heads and not on their bodies...poor Kendall!

Kendall has been a champ! She sleeps so well and is such a cuddle bug. She is completely happy to either sleep in your arms or by herself in her crib or her infant seat. She is still wishy-washy about eating and has completely thrown our schedule to the wind! We'll get one eventually;) But how can you be frustrated about feedings when you look at a face like this:

We have been living in the playroom and living room over the past week or so and poor Kendall is getting moved around everywhere. Here she is all snug as a bug in a rug on Alley's bean-bag chair in the playroom. She's such a good and flexible baby:)

Hopefully this storm will pass and we'll be able to get outside soon. But for now...we will continue to cuddle up near the fire and read lots of books:) I hope everyone is staying warm!