The Jumping Baby!

http://
Last 10 seconds are better. She did better withoug the pressure of having it recorded.

A day in the life...

Not much to write tonight. It's been a good day off, especially since MJ did not sleep well last night. In my sleep-deprived incoherent state of mind, I got up in the middle of the night, went to the nursery, laid down in the floor, and slept there until about 3 a.m. when Chelsea came in to check on me. I plead exhaustion.

We got to take a walk tonight with McKenna in her new sling (compliments of her Aunt Jen and Uncle L). She did well, but it is a little odd feeling to put your newborn in a sack and head out the door. She did well.

Looking forward to seeing Don, Tianay, and their Makena tomorrow. They are great parents and it is nice to have some others going through the same experiences that we are. We were blessed to have James and Erin Prather bring us dinner last night (which was delicious), and it is great to have so many others around us that have offered meals and support. We appreciate everyone!

(Looking forward to seeing Katie Maxwell and Debbie Riggs Sunday!)

A Real Life Science Experiment

So here we are--3 weeks and McKenna is going strong. She seems to think that night time is party time, therefore, Chelsea and I are working to find a system. My mom stayed with us through this past Monday, and now it is just the three of us. We have yet to find a sleeping system, but we will keep experimenting.

Which brings me to the topic of today's blog. It is interesting being new parents and wanting to do a good job. When MJ has a good night of sleep (that means waking up every three hours to eat and not stirring in between), then we think we have done a good job and we begin to credit ourselves for all the good things that we must have done. Conversely, when she does not sleep well (like last night when we bounced on the exercise ball for a good hour), we begin to look for all the symptoms and what could we have possibly done wrong. From our diet to our swaddling, to the phases of the moon, we are looking for reasons why she will not sleep and what we can improve upon.

In actuality, everything is perfectly normal. There is no system and the answer is patience and flexibility as it makes little difference to McKenna if the temperature is 77 or 78 or if we had Pistachio frozen yogurt versus Coconut. You want to do everything you can as a parent to help your children, and normal is only a setting on a dryer. We have a beautiful girl and if I have to bounce or rock every other hour of the night, we will do our best--and try to stop wondering if it was the Ozarka or Aquafina water bottle that might have upset her.

Chelsea's Birthday!

Happy Birthday to Chelsea! Yesterday (June 13) was Chelsea's birthday, and she did not mind sharing all the attention with MJ. Since our power was restored (possibly a birthday wish), her mom and dad were able to come up and celebrate (although I believe they had alterior motives as to just seeing Chelsea :) ). Landon and Jen were also able to come over and spend some time last night. I hope Chelsea had a good birthday-

We welcome all friends, family, and even total strangers as we are adjusting to life without television. It may take a few days to adjust since we have not purchased a digital converter box, and it will be easier for me since I will be teaching summer school and not stuck in the apartment. However, with my mom here to stay with Chelsea and help with McKenna, I'm sure they will find some clever way to entertain themselves.

It is time to bathe the little one, so off we go -- will post more in the near future!

Home Sweet Home!!! / McKenna's First Tornado...

It is good to be home!!! After losing power Thursday morning at 5 a.m., we assumed that it would return shortly. We were wrong. At 5 p.m. that day we headed over to my brother Landon and his wife Jen's house here in Coppell to wait for our power to return. Thankfully, my brother is close and willing to take us in, not to mention they have a great house! We were able to spend the night there (McKenna's best night of sleep yet -- go figure), and finally (what seemed like an eternity) at 1 p.m. the next day our power was restored and we were able to go home. What should have been a minor inconvenience was multiplied by having a newborn. I am sad to say that McKenna had the best attitude of all of us as she is resilient and did not show the same frustration and negative attitude that we along with about 250,000 others displayed. We can learn a lot from children, and it is easy for us to be frustrated and want to blame someone for everything that happens, when in actuality, it was the weather, and many people have survived far worse. Hopefully in the future we will respond better to these minor inconveniences. That being said, we are now back home and counting our blessings for electricity.

The Summer Life of a Teacher

I cannot complain about the timing of MJ. The opportunity to stay home for a week with her before summer school starts is something I am very blessed to have. Although teaching summer school will make it hard to be away from Chelsea and MJ, it is a much lighter schedule and I will be out the door daily at 3 p.m.

McKenna's first trip to the pediatrician was overall a good one. The doctor was very knowledgable and answered a lot of questions. We have had some good times today as the pics will show. She is a treasure!

Laid back...

I guess we should change the name of the blog to "McKenna's Life and Times", but if it is ok, I will continue to post and dote about her. Mom is doing well and trying to sleep whenever she can, and having Chelsea's mom, Robin, here is a huge help! I will give her a shout out since she has been waiting on us and taking over the cooking and laundry detail. We are very blessed to have such wonderful family to help us out during this adjustment. I suppose a fringe benefit for her is being able to see and hold her granddaughter, but she has been a great help. Hoping for a few winks of sleep tonight...

I Love My Daddy...

To say MJ has good timing would be an understatement. She was born with 2 days of school remaining, so that I missed very little. And now I have a week break prior to starting summer school. What better way to spend your week off than with a beautiful new baby girl. Her shirt says "I Love My Daddy", and I suppose the feeling is mutual...


Every night is an adventure and I will set the over/under at 3.5 -- The number of hours of sleep I will get tonight.

McKenna's Birth Story

Hey All-

Patrick has been posting lots of pictures of our sweet baby girl, but I wanted to get on here while she was sleeping away and tell you all about McKenna's birth story.

Let me just start of by staying it was wonderful. I never imagined having a child would be quite like it was on June 3rd at 5:30 in the morning. I was actually due on May 29th, but obviously Miss McKenna had other things in mind, and our induction date was scheduled for June 3rd at 5:30 in the morning.

We stopped by a donut shop to get the nurses some treats that morning (so they would love us of course) and then made our way to the hospital.

We got there and they put me in a great room and hooked me up to an IV right away. I got started on the poticin (to start the induction) at about 7:00. It worked like a charm and I started having very regular contractions. On a side note, I had been dialated to a 4 for about 3 weeks and right away I was dialated to a 5.

My contractions started getting stronger and not so much fun so I got an epidural at about 12:00. It was wonderful and I would recommend it to anyone.

My amazing doctor came in at 2:00 to break my water and then she came back in around 3:45 and I started pushing. Fun, Fun!

At 4:12 our sweet baby girl was born. I seriously had a great experience with her birth and a very quick and relatively painless labor (thanks to the epidural)

I just thought y'all might want to know. The nurses were wonderful too. I guess the donuts worked! Thanks so much for all of the well wishes and we can't wait for all of you to meet McKenna!

~Chels

McKenna's First Bath

Not a pleasant time for baby McKenna. My plan was to be out of the house and no where around so she would not think that her daddy was trying to do these mean things to her, but I ended up staying around and holding her little hands while these mean people (her mom and nana), washed her with a cloth. She was not a happy camper, but she was able to wear herself out enough to sleep for 3.5 hours post bath. Nevertheless, she is safe and sound (and clean) now.

Little Rest

Not much rest for mom and dad, but she is worth it...

McKenna Jane Fariss

At 4:12 p.m. on June 3, 2009, we welcomed McKenna Jane Fariss to the world. A blessing and a gift from God, she was 7 lbs. 1.2 ounces and 19.5 inches long. Mom is doing great and we were able to come home from the hospital today. Sleep is at a premium, but we'll do what it takes. Family has been great to have around. It has been a lifetime of excitement in the last 72 hours, and I know we will have much more to share in the coming days. Thanks for all the prayers, support, and well-wishes from our friends and family!

Patrick, Chelsea, and McKenna

And they're off...

Off to the hospital...wish us luck!

T minus 24 hours...

24 hours and counting. Chelsea and I were able to go to Waxahachie this past weekend for her good friend Sheila's wedding reception. We were able to get some good pictures (we'll see how long it takes before she removes some of them), but Chelsea and her mom took a great picture.

Hopefully Chelsea got a good night's rest last night, and her and her mom are off to get pedicures today. Then it is up at 4 a.m. to grab some donuts for the nurses and report to the hospital at 5:30 a.m.

I will try my best to update and post as much as possible over the next few days. I would like to thank everyone for their prayers, support, and encouragment. Chelsea and I have been very blessed, and we are extremely grateful for all that we have and all that has been done!

17 hours and counting...

Yogurt!

Yogurtland is da bomb! My pregnant wife gives me an excuse to go and I will take advantage of that every chance I get.