A special day to our family

Today would have been my Dad's 64th birthday, it would also have been his first birthday as a Grandpa. I STILL cannot believe he's not here for that. We miss him dearly and wanted to share his memory and what today meant. I know he was here with us in spirit, as usual. I treasure that thought and keep him with me always. However, not one visit to Hallmark do I not look at the 'Father' or 'Grandfather' section and think of Dad and what fun (and who) we are all missing out on.

Yesterday was McKinley's 6 month appointment. It went very well! He had his 3rd round of vaccinations which he, thankfully handled really well. The doctor said McKinley is in the 75th percentile all around and she was very pleased with his progress. We were given the go-ahead for 2nd foods (thicker purees and mixed flavors) and next month we can try the fun little melty puffs!
Here are his stats for 6 months:
Weight: 19.75 lbs
Height: 27 inches
Birth stats:
Weight: 7 lbs 11 oz.
Height: 20 inches

We completely understand the term 'growing like a weed'.

Finally, our big news for the week: we got a new fridge! Whoo hoo! Its too cool, and yes...I just called a fridge "cool". Its the kind that has the freezer on the bottom, fridge on top. LOVE IT!
Cary and I say that you know you've been officially domesticated when you get excited over a fridge, or any other household appliance, for that matter. When we got our new dishwasher last year we were practically giddy!
Oh, by the way...to toot our horns...the cool fridge is even cooler because it is an energy star appliance (meaning it #1 costs MUCH less to run than a non-energy star appliance and #2 takes MUCH less energy to run). Good for the environment AND attractive in our kitchen. How good is that?!
You gotta remember, sometimes it is the little things in life...right?

Have a great weekend.
Lynn

McKinley's Half Birthday!

McKinley turned 6 months old today! We cannot believe our teeny tiny baby boy is half a year old! Where did all that time go?

I thought I'd share some shots we took this evening after bathtime. He always loves his bath so much and is in such a good mood afterward, so it was the perfect time to take some pics!

Updates in McKinleyland...as if there haven't been enough lately, we feel like he is making huge strides in the milestone department. Along with everything I've posted below McKinley is now saying 'OH!' and OH, so dramatically too! His eyes get really wide and his mouth makes a perfect 'O'. Its so funny! Below is a picture taken tonight where he got all serious on me and started repeating 'Oh, oh, oh' over and over again!

This week is McKinley's 6 month check up with our pedi, and its also time for his next round of professional pictures. So, he's got a packed schedule this week.

As for us...we're getting back into the post-holiday daily grind. Cary is thankfully past the holiday mail rush and I am focusing full force on the planning of this year's Queen's Ball, hosted by my chapter of sorority, of which I am currently serving as President.

Now that those busy celebratory months are behind us, we are once again focusing on going 'green'. At Saturday's 'E-scrap', hosted by Trees, Inc., we donated an old computer monitor to be recycled and/or reused. Here is the link to the story in our local paper. http://www.tribstar.com/local/local_story_012220720.html You can see the ASTOUNDING number of electronic items that were 'scrapped' yesterday, it was a RECORD! Seeing it made a difference for me...I mean, you just don't realize how many things we just throw away! All those Monitors/Computers/typewriters/televisions/radios! It was nuts.

We also have found some awesome new products that we are anxious to try; we recently discovered that our favorite local grocer, Baesler's is now carrying a wide selection of non-toxic, environmentally friendly cleaning products along with their usual but ever-growing selection of organic and local foods. Even Walmart seems to be getting in on the fun, we found a really nifty non-toxic, biodegradable dryer sheet (lavender scented, thank you very much!) that had an excellent price point (CHEAPER than the usual Downy or Bounce sheets we always buy) and some non-toxic for environment, pets, or children carpet cleaner. We've used the dryer sheets, they work very well! Plus, they kind of remind me of wax paper, and they biodegrade in something like 21 days! Awesome!

See, its little things like that we are all throwing away that we just don't think about! I would have never given a dryer sheet a thought until we found these, but it all adds up-literally...in landfills. I think the best part about the increasing availability of these products is that none of us has to go out of our way or spend any more money than we currently spend. In some cases (i.e. the dryer sheets), we're spending less.

I'm happy to report that we have also made our donation from McKinley's Christmas tree to our local Catholic based, low/no income health clinic. St. Ann's Clinic and Dental Clinic provide their services totally free. This clinic is run, administratively by nuns, and the physician and nursing staff are volunteer based. Its just a good thing. Anyway, when I dropped off this large bag of diapers, paci's, new clothing, new toys, nursing and feeding supplies the nun was surprised. I told her that this is something we were going to do annually, as a family. We want to help at least one child who's Mommy or Daddy cannot afford these very basic things. She assured me that they would be put to good use.


















Too many cute pics...had to share them ALL!

Here's hoping that your 2008 has started out well! Don't forget that you can post a comment on here. We love reading how all of you are doing.

Lynn

I made him LAUGH!

OHMYGOSH. I finally did it! I finally made McKinley laugh! He laughs ALL the time, for his Daddy...but just hasn't given up that bubbly little giggle for Mommy. Well, tonight during his bath HE LAUGHED FOR ME!
When we give him baths, we alwasy try to switch up his toys a little, to break the monotony. He loves all his bath toys (especially the water book we picked out for him for Christmas-he SCREAMS when we take it away to get him out of the tub), and I think its partially because we do switch them. Anyway, I chose these cute little squirty toys that we registered for back in the preggy days. They're very cute, 'water' animals and babies (seahorse and baby, penguin and baby, etc.), well I picked up the pelican and baby, filled it with water and squirted it against the 'wall' of McKinley's baby tub. As you can imagine, it made a funny squeeky, squirty noise and before I had time to comprehend what was happening McKinley was in a full-throttle laugh. You know, the kind where you are sucking in air real fast and it makes noise too and your whole face squishes in a wide smile? OHMYGOSH, how cute was that? Tears immediately sprang to my eyes, I called for Cary. He was just as surprised as I was, he has never previously laughed THIS much! He kept it up for quite a while while we played with him and boy, the tears were rollin'!
Between the raspberries and standing (do you believe it?) and now the laugh...I don't think I can contain my extra levels of emotion hormones! Hahahaha!
It was precious, can't wait until he does it again.
Lynn

Razzzzberries, anyone?!

Awww, how cute!
We noticed tonight that McKinley is officially blowing raspberries. Its pretty funny because its usually followed by a gleeful screech, which then leads to more singing, of course.
Guess where we made this discovery? At mass! Hahaha!
He was such a good baby, but he just wanted to talk to us so badly! It cracks me up.
I'll capture it soon and post the pic!
Too fun.

Happy New Year!

We had a great time ringing in the new year as a new family. We all went out to dinner, did some shopping and then went home to celebrate in our jammies. Because of the wind (which was CRAZY), dropping temps and the fact that we are all ailing, we thought it would be best to be cozy and warm at home.


It seemed like McKinley could just feel the anticipation and excitement that surrounds New Year's Eve, he actually stayed awake until midnight! Granted, he threw in a few quickie naps that made the whole process easier, I always say he doesn't want to miss anything. We didn't try to keep him up either, I swear! He just kept singing and talking and playing. We couldn't make him go to bed before his first New Year, especially since he was WIDE awake.


When it came time to don our party hats and horns, McKinley really got into the spirit. While watching Cary and I "toot" our horns, he decided instead of making noise with he would use it as a teether! Too funny. The horn totally prompted more singing, lately it seems if he finds something he really likes he puts it in his mouth and sings. Happy boy!

As the countdown began, we watched Dick Clark (as was ALWAYS tradition in both our homes as children) and hugged and kissed "Happy New Year!". Soon after, McKinley was fast asleep. I'm sure he was dreaming about what 2008 will bring him; crawling, walking, talking, teeth, maybe a little more hair, etc. It was such a sweet night! We hope everyone had a safe and happy evening as well.

Happy New Year!!!!!!
Lynn