A First for Everything

Well, we are officially under a BLIZZARD WARNING!  Yikes!  This is the first time that I recall ever experiencing this.  Let's just say we are prepared, but hoping it doesn't get too bad.  We'll keep everyone posted.

Pictures...Finally

I finally had some time today to edit photos from the past few weeks.  We have had a fairly relaxed weekend with not a lot of plans.  The only thing we had on our agenda besides church today was family pictures yesterday.  We went mainly to have Beckham's three month pictures taken, but we had a few family pictures taken and Makenna had a few taken by herself.  I say a few because Makenna was less than cooperative during the session, but hopefully there will be at least 1 good one of her by herself.  This week we don't have much planned other than our normally weekly activities and then, unfortunately, Justin has pager all next weekend so that means there will be no plans for the Coffer family.  Bummer. :(

The kids posing for a picture

 Makenna with her small cake we got her for her actual birthday

 The best picture I could get of Mak on her birthday

 One silly face

 Beckham

Makenna's Dora cake--not my best work, but she still liked it and that's all that mattered (and the edges are rough because a little girl couldn't keep her fingers out of it)

 Makenna posing with her cake--once again we can't get a normal face

 This is what she did while everyone sang to her at her party

 Opening her presents

 Opening more presents

 Diving into the gift bag that was almost as big as she was

 Makenna and Beckham playing on our snow day on Thursday

 My two greatest blessings

Recap of the Past Week

Busy, busy, busy.  That pretty much sums up our past week.  We had something every evening last week except Friday and that night was spent cleaning and preparing for Makenna's birthday party on Saturday.  The party was great, but it honestly wore us all out.  This week is once again pretty busy and I really just want a day with absolutely nothing to do or nowhere to go.  That doesn't look to be happening in the near future. 

I will post pictures of Makenna's birthday as soon as I find time to edit them.  Hope everyone has a good remainder of the week.  Try to stay warm.

Makenna is 3!

Dearest Makenna,

Three years ago today our lives changed forever when you made us parents.  We will never forget the moment we first saw you and how completely in love we were with you.  You have blessed and enriched our lives over the past three years and we can't wait to see you grow more into the wonderful girl God created you to be.  Happy Birthday! We love you.

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

Current Things about Makenna
-Weight: 28 1/2 pounds
-Favorite food:  Mac and Cheese, Pizza
-Favorite drink: Strawberry milk
-Can sing ABCs without any difficulty (have been able to do that for 8 months) and can recognize all letters
-Can count to ten with no mistakes and to 20 occassionally (you like to skip 11-14)
-Favorite things to watch:  Dora, Strawberry Shortcake and VeggieTales
-Favorite book:  Loves all books, but particularly enjoys the story Bible and Dora books
-Is a great big sister to Beckham
-Has a very extensive vocabulary
-Has nicknamed Daddy "Dodaub"

Back to Work I Go

As a kid, I always dreaded going back to school after Christmas break.  In college, I always hated returning to campus after winter break.  As a teacher, I hate going back to school after Christmas break.  I guess some things never change.  I just enjoy having some time off to relax and I honestly hate to give that up.  I know many of you reading this are thinking, "Well, it must be nice to have all the days off that teachers get" and I would admit that it is.  But I also like to point out that we don't get paid overtime for SEVERAL extra hours outside of contract time put in during the year so I guess it balances out.  This year is especially hard because going back to school also means Beckham going to daycare.  I know that he will be in wonderful care while I am at work, but it will still difficult to leave him for the first few days.  Wish us luck.

I also forgot to post about Beckham's two month check-up this past week.  He weighed 11 lbs. 2 oz. (25th to 50th percentile) and was 23 1/2 inches long (50th to 75th percentile).  This is right where Makenna was at two months based on their individual birth rates, so it appears that we might have another long, skinny child on our hands.  Dr. Hampton said everything else was great so we were very pleased. 

Hope everyone has a good first week of 2011.  The Coffers will be spending it trying to get into a routine again and planning Makenna's 3rd birthday party, which is on January 15th.

Holiday Pictures

This Christmas we learned that it is difficult to take all the pictures you would like with two kids (especially when one decides to eat in the middle of opening presents and also when you forget to bring your camera to a Christmas gathering), but here are some of what I have.  Don't get me wrong, I still have enough to capture the memories, I just wish I had more.

Makenna with her gingerbread house she made with the help of Mommy and Nana

Close-up of the house.  She did a very good job.  These are great to get at the Christmas clearance sales and save for the next year since you don't eat them.  I have one stored in the pantry ready for next year.

Makenna posing with her Happy Birthday, Jesus cupcakes or "pupcakes" as she would say

Makenna and Beckham with the cupcakes--Making a birthday cake for Jesus is a holiday family tradition and we leave a piece for Santa instead of cookies.

Our little cutie who turned two months old on Christmas Day

Beck with his stocking.  Yes, it was bigger than him!



Watching Makenna open presents



Makenna holding up her new Dora necklace

Opening gifts from Santa

She loved her Barbies from Santa so much that she hugged them

She also got a Wonder Pets flyboat from Santa



Makenna still opening presents.  Both kids got so much including a soccer goal set, books, stuffed animals tons of toys, dollhouse furniture, savings bonds,  money, Barbie doll case, a portable DVD player for the car, games, and so much more.

Calmy sitting in Daddy's lap--I am sure he won't be this calm next Christmas

Makenna sporting her new shades from her Aunt Sue