Collaborate - Children's Ministries Conference

This past weekend Saj, Isaiah and I attended a children's conference that was held at our church called "Collaborate - parents & leaders shaping the next generation." I wasn't too sure what to expect, but we did want to go because now that we are parents and we are involved in our church we wanted to get a better understanding of where the children's ministry is heading. I am so happy that we went, because it was really a great time of hearing from great speakers, and being inspired and encouraged to go out there and make a difference in your child's life. Pastor Carey Nieuwhof was the guest speaker, and he brought up some great points. Here are some of them below:

"put yourself first when it comes to personal growth."

"put more quantity in the quality of your time"

"we have 3000 hours a year to invest in our children's lives"

"a 15 year old child is not looking for a 45 year old best friend" (this point made me laugh)

"we are the most influential person in our children's lives well into their 20's"

"we have to be in Christ what we expect them to be in Christ - kids have fake detectors"

There were so many other great points as well as breakout sessions led by other good speakers which we had the chance to go to. I wish we could have gone to them all, but really that wasn't possible. What this conference did for us was really empower us to go out there and be the best parents we can be for our son. Its not always going to be an easy road, but we do have the support of our church family, and the support of our immediate families around thankfully. I am so happy that our church did something like this. I am really happy about the direction that our children's ministry is heading in. I also must mention that I am really impressed with Pastor Laura Bogner who is our Team Leader for Children's Ministry. She has such a gentle spirit and a big heart for our children. You can feel the passion that she has for them in the way that she communicates. Our church is truly blessed to have her and the whole team.

A Year Ago Today :)

Its so hard to believe that a year ago today I found out that I was pregnant. I still remember that morning and taking the test. Here's how it went (I remember in full detail because I have a sticky note and wrote down some notes as I went through the experience - haha)

8:00 am - went to the bathroom and started the test (dollarama test)

8:02 am - noticed that the lines were changing

8:03 am - realized that the test was positive (2 lines). went into our bedroom to inform Saj of the amazing news

8:04 am - SO EXCITED (Saj and I continued to talk, we were in shock, so happy, too many emotions). I remember telling Saj that I thought it was a boy right away.

9:10am - prayed together about this new journey

Its so amazing to see that 1 year later we are parents to an almost 4 month old. Isaiah continues to amaze us everyday. We are so thankful and we are blessed!

A Co-Sleeping Night

Well as you know, I've been trying to get Isaiah use to the crib. He's been doing fine for the most part - except last night was really strange. Every time I put him down in his crib while he was sleeping, he would wake up shortly afterwards and cry, and cry (and really - I can't take the crying). After about 4 or 5 attempts of trying to get him to rest in there, I gave up. It was about 4am and I decided that we should do some co-sleeping on the couch instead. In the end, I got sleep, he got sleep, and all was happy again in the McKenley home. I'm accepting that there will be days when things don't go so smoothly, and you just have to do whats going to get your thorough the night. This morning of course, he took a nice long nap in the crib, and now he's back down again for another nap - go figure.

Isaiah's first full night in his crib

Last night for the first time Isaiah spent the night in his crib in his room. For the past 3 months we've had him in the pack n'play in our room. Its been great - especially for me with night time feedings. As he continues to grow, and sleep longer its really best for him to be in his own space. I laugh at what my husband said the other night- "we didn't spend money on the crib for it to be just decoration -haha." I agree.

How I've eased Isaiah into the transition was by having him take naps in his crib. He was great at doing that thankfully and didn't cry. Realistically he could have been moved into his crib sooner, but I liked the convenience of having him close by. I could hear him breathing, and it made night time feedings easier like I mentioned before. All in all, his first night went pretty well. I did check up on him a lot. We do have a monitor, but I actually hate having it on. Every little sound makes me jump sometimes. We've also picked up on another baby before. So right now were not using the monitor. We just sleep with our door cracked and his door cracked. Our rooms are right next to each other so there's no way we won't hear him -plus he has a loud cry.

I'm happy that we've started doing this now. Isaiah seems to be doing really well with adapting to change, and he goes down now without me having to rock him to sleep. I've been picking up on his sleeping cues so as soon as I see that, I swaddle him up and give him a soother and off to sleepy land he goes.

Here's hoping for more restful nights in the McKenley home :)

New Blog Layout

Since joining the blogger world I've kept the same template. Today I've decided to change it up. Not too wild or crazy, but more true to my style (simple and to the point).

Here's hoping to blog more in 2011.

Isaiah & Sleeping

Since Isaiah hit the big 3 month mark - I decided that January would be the time where we try out some new things with his sleeping. I'm not into "letting them cry it out," especially in the early weeks when he got home. We were big into cuddling him and rocking him to sleep. That's what worked for us. On Sunday night after he was fed, burped and changed, we swaddled him up, gave him a soother and put him down. I was expecting him to fuss or cry, but to our pleasant surprise that wasn't the case. He just turned his head from side to side (that's how we know he's tired -lol) then he fell asleep. It took less then 5 minutes thankfully. On Monday we did the same thing with his naps - and it worked again. No fussing. Going to bed though, I may have put him down too early because he was crying. It took a bit longer, but I believe it was because he wasn't fully tired at that point. If he rubs his eyes, or starts turning his head, or pulls at his hair - those are the signs that he's getting tired. It took about 30 minutes, but eventually he did fall asleep. This time we did make him cry it out for a bit - but I was in the room with him and kept on putting that soother in his mouth whenever it came out. Thank God for the soother - it really helps him when its time to sleep.

Today has been pretty good so far. He's on nap number 2 and went down without fussing. We really want Isaiah to learn how to fall asleep on his own without having to be rocked all the time. So far its been going well and we couldn't be happier :)

Happy January 1st!

Today marks the beginning of a new year. Its hard to believe that 2010 is gone. What a year it was though -filled with God's blessings :)
Here's my top 10 highlights for 2010:

1. Finding out I was pregnant on January 23rd
2. Seeing our baby for the first time via ultrasound on March 6th (a hook up from my ultrasound tech friend Jodi)
3. Finally meeting our baby on September 29th and hearing the words "its a boy" from Saj - best day ever :)
4. Celebrating 7 wonderful years of Marriage to my best friend
5. Being blessed by many baby showers from family and friends
6. God blessing us with a new place to live in
7. Having our 1st thanksgiving dinner as a family with Isaiah
8. Sharing in Isaiah's first Christmas
9. Being on maternity leave
10.Giving my parents a new title "Grandparents."

As we've entered into this new year, I'm really excited to see all that the Lord has in store for the McKenley family.
Today is a new day - a day that I'm so happy to see.
Happy New Years Friends!