The Tradition Continues

The day has finally come for me to take my girl to her first Notre Dame football game.

Yesterday we headed to South Bend for the Notre Dame/Stanford game with Daddy, GP, Aunt Krissy, and Aunt Beanie. We had so much fun introducing Kenna to our most favorite fall activity. There is nothing better than the Spirit of the University of Notre Dame on game day.

The only thing that could have been better is if Notre Dame won... it was an ugly game, they couldn't have looked worse as we lost 37-14.

But...funny thing...it didn't erase one single smidge of my excitement of having my girl at the game with me.

Not many kids can say they went to their first football game at 5 months old. It'll be pretty neat to tell her all about it when she gets older...maybe we'll leave out the part about the loss...

I'm McKenna Jo and I'm ready to go!

Aunt Krissy is always prepared...she had Colgate Wisps in her purse!

sister spider legs has trouble sitting in the way back

we're here! Kenna, this is our favorite tailgating spot!

it was supposed to be 68 and sunny...

ha! not so much, it ended up being 55 and cloudy

gotta love the midwest!

nakie baby getting warmer clothes on

hurry up mom, I'm ready to tailgate!

snuggling with Aunt Krissy

grill girl

wings, dogs, and burgers, oh my!
keep up the nice work, grill girl

Daddy loves tailgating with his girl

loves her celery!

Go Irish!

GP couldn't be happier

passing down the Notre Dame love through the generations

Kenna's ear protection headset worked perfectly,
she fell asleep as soon as we put them on her in the 2nd half
I totally recommend them for little ones!

sitting in the stands

she did great during the game!
During the first half she faced the field more and was interactive with the fans around her, she then slept for most of the 2nd half!

the expressions say it all...ugh...Kenna,
don't worry, you're not missing anything

Coach Brian Kelly doing what he's going to do a lot this season...yelling

but who cares? I still love Notre Dame football
and I love it that my girl got to share it with me
we're fans through thick and thin...we're just still waiting for the thick part!

oh yeah oh yeah, wooo!
Gooooo Irish!!!

the girls...just missing Momma and Mackie

post game tailgating and snuggling

playing and getting warm with Aunt Krissy in the car
it didn't last long, she wanted to be outside with everyone!

Thanks GP, I had the BEST time!

Dad, Superfan Pete, Brian, & Liz
wrapping it up...time to go home

...and just like we began the day, we end it...
Time to head home now, Sweet Girl

We are looking forward to the Pitt game in a few weeks

when we'll head back to South Bend!

LET'S GO IRISH!

Baby Samples Shower

McKenna's newest friend, Brayden Samples will be making his debut soon. So we showered his Mommy last Saturday with lots of baby gear. Grandma Samples & Aunt Jaimie hosted a really nice baby shower at their house.

Now all that's left is Baby Brayden to come and use all of this fun stuff! We can't wait to meet him!

view of the party....sorry it's so blurry, not sure what happened

cute little Ella Jean Lucas!

presents, presents, and more presents!

I bet you can guess who this was from!
Every little boy needs Brady Quinn gear!

Diaper bag from Grandma Arundel

Aunt Jaimie is sooo talented!

awww!
McKenna with Grandma Witkowski,
Aunt Sabrina, & Grandma Milazzo

Barb playing with Delilah Lucas!

Aunt Krissy with her Kenna girl!

little cheerleader and her cheer momma!

smooches!

Brayden's....Great Grandma Rowe, Great Grandma Samples, Mommy, Grandma Arundel & Grandma Samples

FRIENDS!!! McKenna, Ella, & Delilah

3 expecting Momma's!
Megan is due Nov. 5, Steph is due Jan. 19 with #2,
and I'm due March 16 with #2!

Thanks for hosting such a fun baby shower, Grandma Sassy! McKenna & I had a great time and we can't wait for the newest Samples to join the world. We love you!

Just some pictures of my girl for you to enjoy...

Kenna chewing on my work bag...
no working at home Momma!

getting this girl started early!

BabyWitko2 - Week 15

On Wednesday, it officially became my 15th week of pregnancy #2.

I also had my monthly OB appointment this week. Brian, McKenna & I met with Dr. Martin on Tuesday night. The appointment went as usual. I actually lost 2 lbs. since my last appointment! The funny part is I feel huge! The nurse gave me a harder time about it than Dr. Martin did. He said that he's not worried about the baby, the baby will take what he/she needs from me, he just wants to make sure that I'm taking care of myself. Which I do need to be better about. Work is a bit crazy this year and I need to be better about slowing down and making sure lunch gets eaten every day. Baby's heartbeat measured a beautiful 158 bpm.

I talked to Dr. Martin about the size of my belly and how I just can't seem to believe I can be this big at only 15 weeks. He said that all women pop earlier with their 2nd and in my case I popped even more because my body didn't have any time to go back to normal. He felt my stomach and said that my uterus is right where it should be, just below my belly button. I told him that I haven't really been feeling well lately. I don't feel nauseous, I'm just already uncomfortable and really worn out. Sleep is already getting uncomfortable and my belly just feels so heavy. Dr. Martin said that everything I'm feeling is normal for someone who is pregnant with a 5 month old. He said that I feel so different because last year at this time, when I was tired, I layed down and took a nap. I wasn't lifting as much and I was truly taking it easy. That just isn't possible this time around. So, I try to take it easy when I can. Overall, Dr. Martin said that he was happy with how everything was going with this pregnancy. He also told me that I could make my 20 week appointment!

We will find out the gender of our little #2 on...

MONDAY, OCTOBER 25th at 3:30pm!

Let the countdown begin! Wahoo!

Week 15

McKenna is 5 months 2 weeks old

McKenna loves to sit and eat dinner with us. She is always reaching out and grabbing our drinks, forks, spoons...anything she can get her hands on and put into her mouth. Chik-fil-a finally opened here in Naperville and Kenna was enjoying it as much as her Mommy & Daddy were! Here she is trying to get a sip of Daddy's pop.

We have one advanced little nugget on our hands. I had taken her out of her activity jumper and she decided that she wasn't done playing with her toys just yet.... look at her holding herself up in a standing position!

Aunt Mackie came over last weekend and Trippy was realllly excited...look at her laying right on her face! It was so funny.

what?! I'm just sitting here knawing on a pea pod.

love you my sweet happy funny giggly beautiful baby girl!

6 Word Memoirs

Can you pare the story of your life into just six words?

SMITH magazine asked their readers to try to sum up their life in a single sentence. They received millions of entries....some sad, some funny, but all in only 6 words.

Ernest Hemingway, many years ago, wrote: For sale: baby shoes, never worn

Comedian Stephen Colbert wrote: Well, I thought it was funny

a woman wrote: I still make coffee for two

a teenager wrote: I miss believing in Santa Claus

Last week during our Professional Development Wednesday, a district instructional strategist came and challenged us to do the same thing.

Project Arrow (Gifted) Teacher, Jen Campen wrote two of them:
Compulsive shopper, conquering perfectionism and procrastination
Avid rule follower, secretly seeking spontaneity

Interventionist, Katie K. wrote: So much to be grateful for

A 5th grade teacher wrote: So many hats, none fit perfectly

Me? Well, I was very intrigued by this challenge. Hmmm...my life in 6 words....

Little did I know, it came pretty easy and they just started to roll out. Now, do they describe my whole life? I'm not so sure about that, but each of them resonate with me in a different way.

Always loved being the Teacher's Pet

Will never forget lunch Senior Year

Believer in love at first sight

Blessed by God in many ways

My life is my Baby Girl

Nothing's better than Post-its and Flairs

Strive to be perfect in everything

The darkest moment to brightest light

...and my favorite...

I will blog about this today

Can you pare the story of your life into just 6 words?

If you feel comfortable, write your 6 word memoir as a comment, I'd love to read it!

It's Fall, McKenna in her Ugg's

two Momma's, baby trouble, beautiful daughters

5 Months Old

Dear McKenna,

You are 5 months old and I can't even believe it!

5 months old, September 9, 2010

It's been another absolutely amazing month...you sure have captured our hearts, we just love you so so much.

This has been a very busy month for us. We moved out of Grandma & GP's house and moved into our new house in Plainfield. We're excited that you finally get to sleep in your crib and in your own room! You have a nice big closet and you even have your own bathroom. You sure are one lucky girl! I don't know too many little girls who get that....I know me, Aunt Krissy, Aunt Beanie, and Aunt Mackie, are just a bit jealous! We always had to share!!! We've met a bunch of kids in our neighborhood; there are so many nice families living right on our street.

Oh, what a big girl you are. You roll all over the place, back to belly and then belly to back, you'll even roll to try to get to a toy or get over to a person. You're always reaching and leaning to grab and touch everything. Especially when we're sitting at dinner. You love to try and grab Daddy's cup and try to drink from it.

Grandma gave Kenna some celery to knaw on during the Notre Dame game last week, she loved it! I think the coldness felt good on her gums.

You love to eat dinner. Every night, if you haven't fallen asleep for the night!, you eat your rice cereal and a vegetable. We have now tried sweet potatoes, carrots, and squash. Remember how you used to hate sweet potatoes? Well, that's not the case any more! You love them now! Actually you've started to really enjoy sitting down to the dinner table with me & Daddy. Sometimes you sit in your Bumbo and sometimes you sit in your high chair. Trippy comes right to you when you're eating...you will wipe your mouth and then reach it out for Trippy to lick. You sure do love your sister!

You find Trip to be absolutely hilarious! You laugh so hard when she comes near you. Your eyes are always following her, watching every move she makes hoping that she'll come over to you. We're working on showing you how to pet her, rather than just grab her! There is nothing better than Trippy coming over to lay by you...you just love that so much!

At 5 months old, you've now grown into size 2 diapers, but you're still wearing 3 month clothes.

You're almost sitting up on your own. We sit you up on the floor and you can balance yourself for a bit before you start to tip over. You do best when you're sitting up with your favorite LeapFrog spinning ABC toy.

Team 6 'The Next Generation'

Kenna loves her Team 6 onesie from Uncle Brady and Aunt Megan

she can't wait until she can play volleyball!

This past month, school started, so I had to go back to work. It was really hard at first, but all is good now. I sure do miss you all day...so much. You are one lucky little girl though! You get to spend Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays with Grandma & Grandpa Witkowski. G&GW like to take you outside to walk around and look at the leaves in the trees and the flowers, you also get to see lots of kids that live in their neighborhood. On Wednesdays, you get to hang with Aunt Lynn and their dog, Louie. You go for walks, out to lunch, and play, play, play. Doggie, Louie, doesn't leave your side. When you're napping, he lays right next to the packnplay...always protecting his Kenna. Danny comes home early every Wednesday because he is so excited to see you and hold you. We love going to Neuqua Football games with Grandma, Aunt Lynn, and Uncle Rick to watch Danny & Mikey tear it up on the field. You love looking at the movement on the field and the green grass. Plus, you get to see so many people you know at the games...you are the most popular girl there!

My favorite part of our day is our mornings. You are just so so happy when you get up in the morning. Whoever comes to get you out of your crib is treated to the BIGGEST smile. You are just so happy to see us...and we couldn't be any happier to see and be with you. I sing you a song every morning as I get you up..."good morning, good morning, it's great to be with you, good morning, good morning, it's great to be with you, I love you, I love you, it's great to be with you" oh how you laugh and oh how you smile. It's priceless. It's our time, and I love it.

You're loving your bouncy even more these days. You've now figured out how to actually play with all of the toys that are on it and you've figured out how to BOUNCE! You're such a silly girl, laughing, giggling, and working on putting everything in your mouth. The best is when Trippy comes up to you when you're playing in it...I think that is your most favorite!

You have the best personality, we're just so lucky to be your Mommy & Daddy. There isn't any other person in the world we'd rather be experiencing every day with than you.

Just know that you are the most perfect little girl in the whole world.

I love you sweet girl.

Love, Mommy
Grandma Milazzo bought these ear protection head phones for when we go to the Notre Dame game next weekend. Doesn't she look so funny?! It's amazing how well they block out the sound.

Momma and Kenna with Baby at 14 weeks