A New Year!

"Happy New Year! It's a time of new beginnings, so grab hold of the fresh and new and expect God to do something great in you this year" - Joyce Meyer



2011 is hours behind us and we are officially into the first day of the new year. Welcome January 1st, 2012!

God alone knows what this year will hold for us all. For some people this will be the year that they find that special someone, get engaged, get married, have their 1st, 2nd or 3rd baby, start college or university, graduate, buy a new home, get out of debt, start a new job, take an awesome well deserved vacation.... the list can go on an on.

Whatever your plans/goals are for 2012, I encourage you to give them all to God and allow Him to direct your path.

Happy New Year and God's riches blessings to you!

He walks!!!!!!

I'm happy to announce that Isaiah is officially a walker. It all began a week after he turned 1. He started to take 1 to 2 steps. Then little by little, he began to increase the number of steps that he would take. Then he discovered how to get back up again if he fell down. Its fascinating and inspiring to watch a baby learn a new skill. I love that they will keep on trying and not just give up because they didn't get it the first time around. I love the determination and the simple joys Isaiah would have each time he would take more steps. He was so proud of his accomplishment. Watching Isaiah grasp this new skill was a great reminder to me that you have to keep pressing forward in all that you do even when you stumble and fall (which we all do from time to time). As long as we get back up again and continue moving forward, we will eventually reach our goals. It was a great day when the walking skill all came together for Isaiah. Now he fully gets it and wants to walk around all day long. He roams from one room to the next. He occasionally crawls if he really needs to get somewhere in a hurry, but for the most part we have a full on toddler walking son in our home and we couldn't be more happier!!!

First Work Week Complete :-)

This week I started back at work. My first official day back in the office was on Wednesday. I'm really happy that I was able to start on Wednesday and not do a full week from the start. I've had 3 days to adjust to the new system/processes, and thankfully I've had Jordan Murray (an awesome woman) who has helped me out greatly and shown me the ropes. If it wasn't for Jordan I would have been so lost.

The transition on a whole has been okay too. Isaiah is with my mom so my mind is at ease. I never even have to worry or stress because I know that she's so wonderful with him. The only thing that I'm adjusting too is my early mornings. My days officially begin at 6:00am (sadly no more naps for me during the day -haha :) I do have to start going to bed earlier. My goal is to eventually be in bed by no later than 11:00pm. 10:30pm would be even better.

What has helped me greatly is being organized. Getting certain things done the night before saves you time in the morning. I try to pick out my clothes, make lunches & pack Isaiah's bag all the night before. I've also been doing some meal planning ahead of time so that meal times aren't a crazy time.

All in all I've had a great week. The warm greetings & hugs from everyone has made me feel so welcomed & blessed...kinda like I never left :-)

Words that describe my year with Isaiah!!!

Isaiah officially turned 1 last week on September 29th. While there is so much that I can write to describe my year with him, I'm choosing to list words. These words sum up our year together;

excitement,joy,happiness,mothergoose,mops,
singing,music,stories,playdates,anxious,tired,
stress,tears,hugs,kisses,treehouse,laughter,pictures,tears,
mistakes,forgiveness,smiles,giggles,peek a boo,high fives,
faith,growth,learning,insight,
sleep deprived,crying,teething,frustrations,irritations,
togetherness,early mornings,late nights,
long walks,milestones,trust,
LOTS OF PRAYERS!!!!!!!!!!!

It has been quite the year for our family and I praise God for all that He has blessed us with. Excited to see what this next chapter holds for the McKenley Family :)

Picture below taken at exactly 4:40pm on September 29th the moment of his arrival into the world... one whole year later of course :)

Tumbles “N” Toys + the cocoa cakery + family/friends = Isaiah’s 1st birthday party!

Yesterday we celebrated Isaiah’s 1st birthday at an amazing indoor playground & party centre. This was the only placed that I checked out in person. The minute I went into Tumbles “N” Toys, I just knew that this was going to be the place for us to host Isaiah’s 1st birthday party. The owner Carolyn was warm, friendly and so helpful throughout the process. The day of the party we didn’t have to do a thing but show up. We had 2 party helpers that took care of everything. They set up everything for us, sliced up Isaiah’s birthday cake and handed it out, made announcements when necessary, and packed up everything for us when it was time to leave. They worked so quickly and efficiently. This is a great place to host a stress free party for kids.

Isaiah was pretty mellow during his party partly because he was tired (go figure he didn’t nap beforehand – it’s like he knew he was having a party). He had fun playing with the toys and he was pretty friendly with most people (I think). The only time he cried was shortly after we sang the happy birthday song. I think it was the combo of everyone looking at him & the fact that he was so tired. I guess he knows that song “it’s my party and I’ll cry if I want too,” ha-ha. What’s a kids party without some crying right? LOL.


Isaiah had an awesome cupcake created from the cocoa cakery. I’m still snacking on some of it today-mmm. The cupcake was cute, yummy, and made with 100% love from the owner of the cocoa cakery, Christina McKenzie. She also brought along some cookie pops that were so addictive. Everyone enjoyed those special treats.

Isaiah officially turns 1 in three days. The little man was so blessed with so many generous gifts from family and friends that we’ve decided to open a few gifts each day up until his birthday. Thank you to all who came. You have blessed our lives over this year and even prior to the little man making an appearance into the world. Our hearts and filled with so much love for you all.
Happy Early Birthday to you Isaiah – We love you!

Cheerios and Tears.....

This past week while Isaiah and I were eating some cheerios (him in his chair & me on the couch) I had a moment. We were watching TV and I was enjoying my bowl of cheerios and then it hit me like a ton of bricks - this is all coming to an end soon. I started to shed a tear as I thought about going back to work in the coming week and not being able to have our snack time together & chill out. I love spending time with my little guy and it hit how much I was going to miss him. I thank God daily for his life, and I thank God that he'll be in good hands while I'm at work.

I'm going to cherish and soak in these last days off with my precious son. I love you Isaiah :)

The 11th month has come...........

A year ago I was literally awaiting to hear if I was going to have a c-section, and I just started my maternity leave. Thankfully I didn’t have a c-section and I was able to wait out the rest of my pregnancy (little did I know I was going to have to wait 8 days past my due date for this little man to make an appearance, ha-ha). 11 whole months have gone by since the arrival of our bundle of joy. Some days it feels like it was just yesterday – yet here we are in his 11th month. We have thoroughly loved getting to know our son more and more each day. Every month he does new things that amaze us. It is truly awesome to see how he’s grown. Here’s a few things he’s been up to:

-Isaiah says his name. We’ve heard him say it a few times
-He loves Cheerios
-He continues to only say dad/dad-da/daddy, no mommy yet :(
-He loves his walker more (he especially loves if you watch him. He already loves an audience)
-He claps his hands (although he often misses still –lol)
-He has perfected the art of crawling – and he’s really fast
-Sleeping is continuing to go well (yay- and please don’t change:)
-Sometimes he hits his head with his hand. He finds this funny
-He loves to say “hi”
-I love that he’s still pretty friendly to people
-He loves “peek a boo.” He covers his eyes to play the game
-He gives really BIG hugs. I love that he likes to do this still
-He’s fascinated with his dad. Whenever Saj is around he loves to stare at him and get his attention
-He enjoys bath time with daddy. He splashes around and will sing and laugh a lot (hmm – sounds like daddy)

We can’t believe that our little man is going to be 12 months at the end of the month. Infancy will be left behind and the wild and busy world of toddlerhood begins. God only knows what’s in store for us in this new stage. We are so thankful to God for giving us this angel. He makes us so happy and we love him to pieces. Happy 11 months Isaiah. We love you monkey :)