The cute, the funny and the things I wish I didn't say in front of McKenna

So McKenna has been saying and doing a lot of cute and funny things, and some I am kicking myself for, but i thought I would write them down because they are awesome.

So when my mom was here in August we went to the outlet mall with Travis mom. We were sitting down eating pretzels and Suzanne was telling us a story about this guy when they were at Costco who did something totally rude and McKenna puts down her drink and goes "are you kiddin me?" It was halarious, we couldn't stop laughing.
Suzanne took her to Target one day when I was sleeping and they were going down the isle and there was a lady there and her 2 year old who were taking up the whole isle with shoes everywhere; Suzanne asked politely if they could get by them and the lady was very rude about it and wouldn't get her daughter out of the way so McKenna goes "move it!" I wasn't there but I thought it was halarious!
Most of these things happen with Grandma Allen, but they are still great! We were in Beaverton the other weekend spending the night at grandma and grandpas and McKenna woke up early and went into their bedroom instead of ours. Travis' mom told me that she opened her eyes to find Kenna standing over her looking at her and Kenna goes "are you done yet?" Kind of creepy that she was watching her sleep, but really cute at the same time.
The cutest thing ever I think is when we were at the Allen's again spending the night and I had just done McKenna's hair. McKenna went in to show grandma and grandma has these mirrors in her room that you can see all angles of your hair, so she was showing McKenna her hair in the mirror. Grandma said "aren't you so pretty," and McKenna goes "yes because I am a child of God, and he has sent me here.." she sang the whole song, I thought that was just so flippin cute!
These next ones are kind of funny but I am embarrased she picked them up from me, but here it is. We were driving in the car and this guy did something really dumb, I can't remember what it was now, but McKenna goes "you tard!" I was dying, it was so funny! That one she got from daddy though, not me.
Another incident was another driving one where someone cut me off and she goes "you idiot!" So yeah, you can tell I have really bad road rage. :) Of course I told her she shouldn't say that and that I was sorry for saying it so if I say it or something I am not supposed to say she goes "that is naughty mom, we don't say that, go to time out right now."
McKenna is very observant, and likes to tell me when she sees big things. We were at church in sacrament meeting and this guy got up and was walking out and McKenna points and goes "that's a big man!" Thankfully I don't think the guy heard, but I was way embarassed. Along those same lines, I was feeding Graysen the other day and she goes "wow that is a big boob!" She cracks me up.
Although McKenna is potty trained, she still needs help wiping when she goes #2. She had finished going and I was wiping her and I happened to look at her poop and it was the biggest thing I ever saw, so without even thinking I yell "holy crap Travis come look at this." He came in and she goes "look dad, that is a big crap!" I have to be very careful what I say from now on, but I still thought it was funny.
She has started making up her own songs and singing along to songs she knows whenever she hears them. Well it is super cute, but in church during the sacrament hymn she will just start singing really loud and just make up the words if she doesn't know them. It is adorable don't get me wrong, but a little distracting for everyone.
We took Graysen to get his shots for the first time and when Graysen started crying as they poked him 3 times McKenna started bawling and kept saying to the nurse "you don't do that to Graysen" It was so sad. She is such a protective big sister. If Someone is touching Graysen she says "don't touch him, leave him alone." She harasses him and gets in trouble, so naturally she thinks everyone else does too.
Another cute thing is whenever Graysen sneezes, McKenna goes "goodness gracious great balls of fire" It is so funny!
We were passing out Halloween candy to all the kids last night and she would answer the door and go "okay, let me get the candy," and as she dropped candy into their buckets she would say "there you go sweetie," or "here you go sweetie pie." It was so adorable!
Whenever she is holding Graysen she always says "he is such a cute baby boy, I love you baby boy!"
As you can see she is very entertaining. I am either rolling on the floor laughing, pulling my hair out, or going gaga at all the things she says and does. She is such a cute little girl and I can't wait for the many more things she will say and do.

Pumpkin Patch

We went to a pumpkin patch in North Plains with grandma and grandpa Allen last weekend. They treated us to a really fun day. It was really neat, and McKenna had a blast! Travis couldn't go unfortunately since he had school stuff to do, but we still had a good time.

We took a little train over to the pumpkin patch which Kenna absolutely loved! Once we got off the train we picked out some pumpkins. It was fun to see McKenna try to pick out a pumpkin and try to carry the big ones. We got some pretty good pumpkins and are excited to carve them for family home evening.
We then took the boat back which was cool because they had sea dragons that popped up out of the water as well as sharks.
It was a pretty nice setup, they did a great job.
We looked around in the store a bit while grandpa bought the pumpkins, and then McKenna really wanted to ride the centipede ride so of course grandma and grandpa couldn't say no to her cute face and treated her to a ride. I loved seeing the pure joy she had on her face when she was riding it, although in this picture it doesn't show. She is so animated in her facial expressions, she turn anything into such a joyous event. It was definately her favorite thing though and I think she loved the fact she actually got to ride it by herself.
There was also a little hay bale maze for the little kids to go through. McKenna enjoyed running through it and trying to follow the other kids in there.
We were also able to pet a pony, bunny, pigs and goats while we were there. McKenna loves animals so it was fun for her.
Graysen was really good and just slept the whole time. I just had him in the little carrier and he was just a happy camper.
It was such a fun little place and I am grateful for Travis parents for taking us there it was very nice of them. We love spending time with them and enjoy making many memories that will last forever!

Mr. G is 2 months old

I can't believe that Graysen is two months old already. Time has gone by so fast and I am so sad because I don't want him to grow, I want to enjoy him!
He had a doctor appointment today and here are his stats: Weight-13lbs. 9.5oz (84th percentile), height-23.5 inches (66th percentile) and his head circumfrence is 40 inches (42nd percentile). Overall he is a chunky baby with a really small head, but I love his little squishy body, he has rolls all over and I love them!
He is such a sweet little baby. He really likes to cuddle and be held which is totally the opposite of how McKenna was. It is hard to get things done because he always wants me to hold him, but I love just rocking him and playing with him, it is fun! Everything else can wait because he won't be a baby forever.
He really likes to be talked to, when you put him on the floor and just talk to him and play with him he smiles up a storm. He has the cutest little smile and flirts with all the girls already.
He is going to be a heartbreaker for sure.
He giggled for the first time a few weeks ago, it was the cutest thing ever! He is just so happy and fun loving, it is adorable! We just love him to pieces.
He is really strong; he can hold his head up very well and tries really hard to roll over, he is almost there!
It has been a wonderful 2 months already with the little man, and I am looking forward to see his little personality develop and watch him grow. He is such a blessing in our lives, and little McKenna absolutely loves him. She always tells me what a cute baby he is and that she loves her baby brother so much. She is the best little helper and I am so glad she is not jealous of him at all but tries to be his mother. He definately is not deprived of attention with McKenna around.
He is getting better at sleeping and by that I mean he sleeps a 5 hour stretch at night before he goes to his 2 hour stretches after that. Needless to say I am pretty much tired all the time, but surprisingly I still have enough strength and stamina to last through the day; I will chalk that up to the Lord.
The only thing I am dreading now is going to get his shots...I am not very good at dealing with them being in pain and crying, but it is worth it so I will endure it. At least I am not the one getting them. :)
I love my little boy so much and am so grateful to have him in our family! It will be interesting to see how much he grows in 2 months!

Labor day weekend

So I know I am a little behind in bloggins, but I am trying to get caught up. For Labor day weekend we went up to Travis parents house and spent time with them. We shopeed and went out to dinner and just enjoyed their company. McKenna's favorite part was when we roasted marshmallows and made smores out on the deck. They have a nice fire pit and a patio warmer which was really nice to be warm while we were outside. It was really fun! Travis brother and sister-in law were also there which was nice.
The best part of the weekend though was that we were able to bless Graysen on September 5, 2010 in the ward that Travis grew up in. Since we just moved to Oregon and had only been to our ward once, we decided to bless him in a ward where we actually knew people.
It was a really special day. Grandma and Grandpa Allen got his blessing outfit as it is tradition in their family to give the blessing outfits to the grandkids. It was such a cute outfit and he looked so handsome in it!
Travis brother and sister-in law came down from North Plains to enjoy it with us, and we had many other good friends there as well.
Travis was very emotional before he gave the blessing and it was such an amazing thing to witness the love he had for his son as he preformed this sacred blessing. There is probably only one other time I have seen him like that and it was at the blessing of McKenna. It is so special to witness the love of a father and child and the bond that is created from giving them a blessing.
The blessing was wonderful and said a lot of special things. I know Graysen is going to be a wonderful person who will love the Lord and have a special relationship with him. I am so lucky to be his mother and I feel very privelaged to be able to raise both my children in this day and age.
We had some close friends and the family over for dinner which my in-laws arranged and it was very deliscious and fun with everyone. It was a wonderful day, and Graysen was a perfect little Angel the whole time!
on memorial day the boys went golfing and we went shopping so it was a blast! I always have fun with the in-laws!
We had a great weekend and feel very blessed to be close to family and be in a place we love so much! We miss all of our other family who couldn't be here with us to see Graysen's blessing but it was nice to have some family at least.

Beach trip

I have been wanting to go to the beach for about 3 years now because when we have come to visit Oregon it is always around Christmas, so naturally that is one of the first things I wanted to do when we moved here.
Travis parents, my mom and Travis and me and the kids all went down to Tillamook for the day.
It was supposed to be a nice day at the beach or so we thought, but when we got there it was pretty chilly, typical Oregon weather I should have known. :)
We still had a lot of fun though despite the cold. It was McKenna's firt time to the beach so it was so fun to see her reaction and to play in the sand and the waves.
Grandma Allen brought some beach toys to play with in the sand which were a big hit! She loved playing in the sand with the toys.
Grandma Marshall and Grandpa Allen built sand castles which she just liked to stomp on, it was great. She and grandma Marshall got wet sand and dripped it on top of itself so that it made large towers, she thought that was so cool!
We tried to get her to go by the water, but she wasn't having it, that is of course until she saw another little girl go into the water and she decided it looked like fun, grabbed grandpa and ran into the water. Grandpa said it was so cold but Kenna just kept running out and then running back in, she loved it!
It was really enjoyable watching the joy she got out of the beach. We will have to go there when it is nicer weather.
We had a nice bbq there though with the best hot dogs! It was nice to be together with the fam. Graysen just slept in his car seat with a blanket over him and didn't really get to experience the beach, not that he would have really cared much but for pictures sake I wish I could have gotten some but it was too cold.
We went to the cheese factory afterwords which was fun since I haven't been there forever! I love the squeaky cheese! We got some yummy ice cream which McKenna loved! We looked in the gift shop and then called it quits for the day.

We had a really good time and I loved going and just seeing how beautiful the area was even if was cold I can never be sick of the beach! I love just looking out at the water and rocks and trees, it is such a pretty coast and I am grateful I get to experience such beauty. I love Oregon!

The move

So a lot of things have happened all at once and I am just now finding the time to write them all down.

We are finally in Oregon after waiting forever to move out of Utah, and we are so happy! Oregon is beautiful and I love being here. The journey to get here however was not so fun.
Just having Graysen 5 days before made the trip a little strenuous for me but surprisingly I survived and it wasn't terrible. We packed up our van, it was literally loaded to the max with all of our stuff we had been using for the past couple of months. Travis had already moved most of our stuff to Oregon a few months before so thankfully we didn't have to deal with that. Looking from the outside into the van you would wonder how we all fit in the van comfortably let alone at all, but we did and we were all comfy for the most part.
It was really hard for me to sit for that long and what was supposed to be a 12 hour trip relatively took us like 16 hours or so because of all the potty trips we had to make and no not for McKenna, for me! After a second child I cannot hold it worth anything. I also had to stop and breast feed a lot as well so you can imagine how many stops we had to make between all those things. It was also not enjoyable having to walk into public restrooms with my little cleansing bottle and all the other wonderful things I had to use to take care of myself; not to mention it was time consuming having to do it all....those of you with kids know what I am talking about. :)
Travis was so nice and went out and bought me a nice soft pad to put on my chair to sit on as well as a back support thing that hooked onto the back of the seat. It made the drive so much better. My feet got huge though from sitting that long, but they eventually went down.
I was so sad to leave my sisters and their husbands. We did a lot together and it was so nice to have them so close and be able to see them all the time. Now when we see them it will be few and far between. I love my sisters and loved living by them and that is probably the only thing I will miss about Utah, and maybe the mountains.
The kids actually did really great on the trip, Graysen slept most of the time and McKenna just played with toys and watched movies and ate snacks. It was really nice to have my mom there with us so that we could have help with the kids and all.
I was so happy to get out of the car and actually stretch out, it was heaven. After that I didn't want to be in a car for a while. All in all though it wasn't too bad and now it is over with and i don't have to do it again for a while hopefully.
We stayed at Travis parents house for a few days until we could get all of our stuff moved in, the place cleaned and set up which was nice. Grandma and Grandpa Allen were so excited to have us in Oregon finally and to see their new grandson for the first time.
Our new house is in Salem which is about an hour away from his parents house so we took many trips from Beaverton to Salem working on the house and getting moved in. It took a while but we finally got all moved in and I absolutely love our place! It is in a nice quiet neighborhood,(minus the dogs,) and there is a little park across the street and we are really close to everything! There are so many things here in Salem, it is crazy! We just rented a house and it has 3 bedrooms and a two car garage and a big back yard.. There is also a little park across the street so we have been taking daily trips there. Here are a few pictures of the kids rooms. Graysen's is still a work in progress
Our ward is really great and welcomed us right away and we have gotten situated pretty fast. My mom stayed with us for a couple of weeks and it was so nice to be able to get some needed rest and help with McKenna while we got situated with our new lifestyle.
Travis started Law school the day after we moved in and is loving it! I had to take him to school and pick him up for the first couple of weeks and let me tell you down town Salem is really confusing. I got lost quite a few times, but I think I am starting to get the jist of the area now. I don't see Travis a lot because he is at school or studying, so sometimes I feel like a single mom, but it is realy nice to have his parents close because they have been a big help and I don't feel like I am so alone and know I can call on them if I need anything.
We finally have a schedule down as far as Travis school/studying goes and with the kids so it has made things a little easier to deal with. Sometimes I feel like I am going to go crazy between my energetic child who always wants me to play with her and my son who always wants to be held.....it's a wonder I get anything done, oh wait if you have seen my house you are thinking you don't...haha.
Graysen is a good baby but I feel bad that I am not able to spend as much quality time with McKenna as I would like because Graysen always needs something or wants to be held and so it is really hard trying to balance the two, but McKenna has been a trooper. She loves her brother so much and always wants to help. I am really working on developing patience with her but she is so forgiving and patient with me. I think she knows that I am working on trying to be a mother of two and that Graysen needs a lot of attention but that I still love her and try to do things with her. She is such a good little girl and I love her so much!
Well, as far as moving and starting school and what not that about sums it up. I have other things I need to catch up on but will do it in another post since this one is already so long.

Graysen Allen Harris

I have been crazy busy the last few weeks and have not had time to post anything, but I thought I would do the most important event, the birth of our son!
Graysen Allen Harris was born on Friday August 6th at 12:21pm, weighing 7lbs 12oz. He was the cutest little boy ever and are so grateful we were able to welcome him to the world.
I was enduced because we were moving to Oregon the very next week so we couldn't wait for nature to take its course unfortunately. I had to go in at 5 in the morning, but it was definately worth it. I had a relatively easy labor, the only part that sucked was that my blood pressure dropped really low and so I was nausiated and throwing up pretty much the whole time, but at least I didn't feel any pain; thank you epideral!
I delivered at Orem Community Hospital which is just a maternity hospital, so it was super nice! I absoulutely loved my experience there and would recommend it to anyone who lives in Utah! :) The nurses were fabulous and the room was huge and very nice. I didn't want to leave the hospital because the food was soooo good! Travis was so great and stayed with me in the hospital the full 48 hours.

We were kind of worried when Graysen was born because his heart rate was super high, and he wasn't really breathing that great so they had to take him to the nursery right away to evaluate him before I got to hold him. They said everything was fine though and that he was okay so they brought him to me and I got to hold him. He was so precious and I just fell in love with his big cheeks and double chin. He had a full head of blonde hair which is weird because McKenna was bald. Travis was so sweet with him and it was so wonderful to see father and son together.
We had lots of family come to visit which was really nice and they brought Graysen so many cute things. I wish all our family could have been there, but we will take what we got! :)

Graysen latched on right away and hasn't stopped since then. He slept really good and it was really nice to be able to get some rest in the hospital. My mom was there from Illinois and she watched Kenna while we were in the hospital which was such a big help.
McKenna is aboslutely in love and obsessed with her baby brother. She just wanted to hold him and touch him and love on him, it was the cutest thing! She is such a great big sister and I know will be a big help with the baby even if she might mawl him to death.
Having a boy is definately a different experience especially when it comes to changing diapers. The first time we changed the diaper he peed all over....I have to learn how to do it pretty fast so that he doesn't do that. I definately didn't watch when they circumsized him because just the thought of it makes me so sad. He did really good though and just wanted to be held afterwords.
We went home on Sunday and it was nice to be out of the hospital even though it wasn't really our "home" persay since we were moving the next week. My mom cooked dinner and my sisters and their husbands came over which was really nice.


We are so happy we have another addition to our family and are looking forward to see Graysen grow and to see his personality. This is just one big change in a long list of them to come, but it is definately the best one! We love him so much and are grateful that we have to beautiful healthy children and can't wait to see them grow up together.