Cruisin'

As promised I took some pictures of McK on the back of the bike today! It was another BEAUTIFUL day here in J-ville and we made the most of it! I know some of you may be thinking..."Where is her helmet?" I have yet to find one her size... We will get one as soon as we do. Until then, we are safe and sound cruising in our neighborhood! McKenna loves to ride...her feet kick and she looks all around...side to side actually, her daddy's bootie is in her way looking fowards :o) Our girl just loves to be outside and along for the ride...



Dave's face is kinda funny in this picture, but it's cute of McK!!!

8 Months Old!

(This is a good shot of her 2 teeth)

Oh my heavens above...are we at 8 months already!!! The 18th of the month seems to come so quickly! For some reason this month in particular has been especially tough on my heart strings. I think it's because I feel like she's really about to not be a baby anymore!!! As with all of the months so far, this one has been no exception...life has been FUN and BUSY with Miss McKenna.

To start off, we took McK into the doctor several weeks ago with another little cold. It ended up being nothing to worry about, but we did get her weighed. She weighed 17lbs 13oz then, so we're still growing and Mommy's muscles are getting bigger :o)

From the pictures in previous posts, you can see that we have tried a few new things with her. She loves to swing in the "big girl" swings at the park. She is all smiles and kicks her little feet! We have gone at least once a week since our first little "swing experience" and I have Dave on a McKenna project for building a swing set in the back yard.

The weather is starting to get warmer and we are taking advantage of it! Dave hooked on McK's baby seat on the back of his beach cruiser and we have taken her around the neighborhood. I think our girl just loves to be outside. It was hilarious to watch her take it all in. She was right up against Dave's "backside" and she would stick her little hands up his shirt and down his britches :o) Finally, we figured out we can hook her toys onto one of his belt loops and that keeps her from having some "curious moments" about her daddy's backside :o) She loved to peek out of the side of her seat and watch the tires of my bike as I rode beside them. She would just kick her feet and squeal in delight. I still need to get pictures of this and will put them up as soon as I do.

We've also ventured out to the beach to take her walking in the stroller. We hadn't taken her out there since we were just home from the hospital and had our first little family photo op. She enjoyed the wind in her hair and the sand beneath her feet...haha...just teasing. She did seem to like it though. She would watch the water and kick her feet (happy feet) in the stroller. We didn't let her get into the sand QUITE just yet. Mommy has to be mentally prepared for her to put fists of sand into her mouth...needless to say I'm not there yet! It makes me ready for summer though, that's for sure! I can't wait to take her out there for some REAL beach experience.

McKenna is now able to stand on her own. Of course we put her into the standing position and are close by for when she's done standing :o) As long as she is holding on to something, she's good to go for a bit! She is still not interested in crawling. I've been spending more time on the floor with her on her tummy. She can spin a full 360 on her belly and even push herself backwards...but there has been no movement to get up on those knees and move forwards!...I'm still REALLY OK with this fact :o)

McKenna loves to watch older children play. I can see the wheels turning in her head as she watches them closely! I can practically hear her internal dialogue as she thinks about being a big kid some day :o)

McKenna is now pretty professional with feeding herself puffs and small bits of banana. She would eat puffs ALL DAY LONG if I let her. I must admit, after trying one...I can see why she likes them over her veges :o)

McK is starting to look like a big girl. Her hair is getting longer and so is her little body. I go to get her from her crib and she is stretched out so long, taking up much more space on her mattress than she used to!! Her hair is kinda funny...it's what girls call the "in between stage." It's getting longer, but it's not long enough to lay down...so yup...it sticks straight up. We're still not wearing bows without the headband, but we're getting there!! She still just has her 2 bottom teeth, but I believe we are on the verge of getting some more. I'll keep you posted if I'm right and they choose to reveal themselves! One thing that I'm going to be working with McKenna over the next month is waving hi or bye-bye. I'd also love to see her clap her hands...so these are some of Mommy's goals :o)

So that's it...I guess now we're on our way towards 9 months...oh gracious! We love our sweet girl more and more each day...didn't even know that was possible!


Daddy and his little Princess!


I hope you can see how sweet her face is in each of these pictures...she loves to fly in the air!

Happy Valentine's Day!

We did a little photo shoot with McKenna for the grandparents' Valentine's Day cards. I thought some of them turned out pretty cute!

Happy Valentine's Day from The Burke Family!

OSU Cowgirl!

My Dad (aka: Pop) is a HUGE Oklahoma State fan and bought McKenna several OSU outfits even before she was born!! She is finally able to sport some gear to help support his team!




I told her to show me what Pop does when the Cowboys lose, and this is what she did :o)

Finger Foods!

Ever since McK turned 7 months I started working with her on finger foods. We started with half of a Gerber Puff and have since moved on to a whole size puff and bits of banana and avocado! I found out a fun trick with the slimy foods...if you crush up a bunch of cheerios and roll the bit of banana (or anything else slimy) in the cheerios, it helps the baby pick up the food better! McKenna is definitely not a pro with using her little pincher fingers, but she's on the fast track. We are still having little to NO luck using a sippy cup. My girl wants nothing to do with it...but we'll keep trying!

I know these videos are practically the same, but I had 2 of them and wanted to post them for the grandparents...you know how it is :o)

Day in the park...

On Dave's day off yesterday we loaded up and went to the park. It was a pretty, but chilly day. The sun was shining but there was definitely a chill in the air. We knew that it would only get colder through the week so bundled up and went. I had seen a girlfriend's pictures with their little one (a month younger than McK) in a park swing and thought..."I need to do that with McKenna!" So ever since I saw the pictures I've been dying to get her into a park swing. She didn't know what to think at first. She was very stiff and motionless :o) She just stared at me like, "Mom...what in the world is going on?" Once we started swinging her she let loose and had fun! She held on tightly though, but was all smiles! We ended up taking a nice walk too and just enjoyed the clear blue skies and sunshine. Today the fireplace is going and it's 41 degrees outside...brrrr! We won't be swinging today :o)