4 Weeks of Makenna on the Outside :)

Makenna (a.k.a. Bright Eyes, the Pirate, Bumpkin) is 4 weeks old today! Time as flown, memories have been made and weight has been gained. She is filling out and is transitioning from newborn clothes into 0-3 months. Officially Makenna is spending her days in cloth diapers, while nights and outings we opt for the disposables. Over the past week Makenna was able to wear her Flip diapers whereas up until then she was wearing her newborn cloth diapers. She is modeling one of my favorite diaper covers in the above photo...gone are the days of pins and white diapers in the world of cloth.

Start to Finish

The incredible transformation the body undergoes to create life. Outside the womb Makenna gradually changes from day to day just as my body changed over the course of the 9 months she incubated. When the "bookends" of the snap shots are placed side-by-side the change is obvious and awe inspiring. I look upon the beginning of this transforming journey and don't recall ever being that skinny!! Understandably after a glimpse of the "final chapter", taken the night before Makenna's birth, thin was something that had been long forgotten. I am left amazed that our 7 lbs 11 ounce baby girl came from this body. Now it is onto the snap shots of her transformation in the coming days, weeks, months and years.

Approaching Makenna's First Month

Since our last posting life with Makenna has been filled with many firsts. In this time Evan has also returned to work after three weeks of paternity leave while Makenna, Wayne and I have adjusted to life without him during the day. We have missed him. Thank goodness for three day weekends! That made the transition much easier.

Makenna met her Uncle Paul and Aunt Shannon. They were a huge hit as Makenna gave her seal of approval with producing a special present for Paul! It was so great having them over!!

Grandma Sue came down for the weekend to get her Makenna fix. She also brought my newborn photo for a little comparison.

This past Saturday we took a day trip up to Seattle to meet up with my college friend Mike and his girlfriend Carrie. This day was filled with firsts for Makenna. Her first time to Alki Beach, meeting her Uncle Mike, seeing a lighthouse, boat ride and visit to Seattle.

It was another gorgeous day in Olympia yesterday so we packed up the munchkin and met Grandpa Steve & Grandma DelRae at the local pool. An afternoon of just relaxing as we soaked up our years worth of Vitamin D was just what we needed before heading into another week. Lathered in sunscreen Makenna slept under the protection of the shade. Sporting her pink and brown whale swimsuit (her very first) she went swimming for the first time! She reacted better than her first bath, so here is hoping that she will grow to love the water as much as Evan, Wayne & I do!

Our Baby is 2 Weeks Old! :)

Time moves more quickly as the days slip away giving way to the next marking Makenna another day older and changing ever so slightly with each cycle of the sun. It seems that having a child makes one notice the passing of time and its steady increase as days melt into weeks. Makenna is 2 weeks old! And with this milestone came a doctors appointment to check her progress. We had noticed over the past few days her cheeks becoming more "pinch able", her belly rounding, and the weight of her in the crook of our arms. Our goal was to get her at least back to her birth weight (7 lbs 11 oz) and were hoping to exceed that. Exceed it we did! She is officially no longer in the 7 lb weight class! Our growing girl gained 1 lb 5 oz in 11 days (since her last visit to the doctor)!! At 8 lbs 8 oz she is in the 50 percentile. She grew another 2 1/2 inches, making her 22 inches long (75 percentile)! All in all she is growing by leaps and bounds and is overall one healthy little lady. Unfortunately Miss Makenna wasn't so happy the day of her appointment as it was in the middle of her longer nap session in the middle of the day. And to make matters worse everyone was prodding and poking her. She had a repeat test to check for jaundice (note the photo above- they placed a warm wet diaper on her foot to draw the blood down and then pricked it before extracting drops of blood to be tested). Also scheduled was her HepB shot, yet one more annoyance to send her screaming! Definitely not easy to watch.


Since her entrance into the world we have noticed a few things about our daughter. She has Evan's detached ear lobes. She has blue eyes like both of her parents, with Evan's darker blue pigmentation. She has the sleeping ability of my Aunt Jen- the child can sleep anywhere and through anything! She has my long fingers and chubby cheeks. She has my lips. We are still debating about her nose, although at this stage we can feel a prominent bridge just like her daddy. She sneezes in a series of 3 more often than not, which is something she shares with me. Although we see little bits of each other in her, she is her very own one-of-a-kind self. She looks like Makenna.

Makenna Meets The Beach

Today was the perfect excuse to introduce Makenna to one of our loves: the beach. So we packed up the car and took off towards the coast in hopes of avoiding the 90+ degree weather that Olympia was expected to get today and find refuge at West Port where it was only predicted to reach mid to high 70's. As it was our first day trip with Makenna we lucked out that there was a marine layer and it was more like high 60's so we didn't have to worry too much about her overheating and sun exposure (yet we were prepared for a sunny warm day at the beach). Of course Wayne wore himself out swimming and chasing the ball and overall just loving life. Makenna slept through most of the day which translates to her really enjoying her first time at the beach! :) Great day spent with our little family creating new memories. We live a very blessed life.

8 Days of Parenthood

It's hard to believe we've been Makenna's parents now for a little over a week. We are parents to one amazing little girl who we've both fallen completely and utterly in love with. From the first moments Evan has been a natural, seeming quite at ease with a newborn. I shouldn't be surprised for Evan strives to be great at everything he does throwing his whole self into what he is focusing on. Watching him with her only deepens my love for him. I am so blessed with my little family. I've even surprised myself. All during my pregnancy I was told what an amazing mom I would be- yet I wondered how people knew or what they saw that would lead them to believe that. I had my own doubts about my abilities and fears that comes with the responsibility of another's life knowing my own shortcomings. The moment she was placed in my arms, a switch was flipped. Years of babysitting prepared me for diapers, prepared me changing clothes, prepared me for so many things yet to come, but nursing was new and so was the round the clock care. Nature has taken over and thankfully Makenna has a ferocious appetite and caught on to nursing right from the start. It seems like I was always ment to be a mom. That I was always intended to be Makenna's mom. It's funny how her personality shone through even while in the whomb. The girl is opinionated. She lets you know exactly how she feels without reservation. While I was carrying her if I happened to be in a position not to her liking or comfort I would receive a jab or a kick so uncomfortable that I would shift into a more "suiteable" position. These past few days I have absorbed so much about our little girl and her developing personality. Each day I look forward to seeing how she has changed physically in her ablities and what in her personality I am noticing for the first time.

One unhappy Makenna flips a double bird! :) priceless

At 7:59 AM on Tuesday, June 29, 2010...

Makenna Skyler Oderman

was born.

7 lbs 11 oz

19 inches long

First Family Photo

First Bath

She embodies a new kind of love. She deepens existing love.