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