A Big Birthday Celebration

McKinley's first birthday came and went very, very quickly. All three of us had some serious recouperating to do post-soiree, so I'm just now writing about the big day. I wanted to be sure that the post reflected just how much fun it was for Cary, McKinley and I. It was so great to see family, friends and neighbors gather together to celebrate 'The Big 1" with us.

First of all...let's just talk about the weather for a second. I don't know WHERE such a gorgeous, non-humid, non-sweltering day came from in Indiana in the middle of July but it certainly was welcome, if not down right unheard of. We can only hope/wish/pray that each year is just as beautiful for our boy and his parties.

Just before the party got started a giant, blue castle arrived in our back yard. It matched our Little Prince theme perfectly! It sure was a sight watching that thing expand and reach high into the sky. I am sure all the children enjoyed it, and I think a few of the adults got a little thrill in the jumping throw back to their childhood too...self included. Ha ha! Though, I certainly do not remember the jumping causing an instant head rush as a child...perhaps that's due in part to aging???

Everyone was invited to the make-your-own-crown/tiara station, I didn't see as many adult crowns as I'd hoped though...hahaha, just kidding! All the kids did such a great job on their little works of art. And on their way out we had treat bags complete with a 'grow your own' castle or rubber ducky, some glow sticks, star erasers and a hand clapper noise maker (bet those were noisy rides home...sorry parents...didn't think about that). Each of the kids also got chocolate-dipped, crown-shaped rice crispy treats that I made. Those were fun for me! I haven't made rice crispy treats in a very long time, probably since I made them with my Mom and Grandma actually. That smell of melting marshmallows brought back so many wondeful memories of my childhood.

After everyone was finished eating it was quickly time for CAKE! So, we got McKinley dressed in his cake outfit, complete with birthday crown, lit the candles and sang. He dug into his cake and got icing E.V.E.R.Y.W.H.E.R.E. It was in his hair, in his NOSTRILS, in my hair, on Cary's face, on our clothes...heck, we're still finding it in all of the little nooks and crannies of the high chair! Mmmm, the cake was so yummy, McKinley especially liked it between his fingers. That was the best part of the whole day! He got so 'into' his cake that we took him straight to the tub.

Once we were finally done cleaning McKinley up, we started opening presents. It's too bad some of our guests had to leave early because McKinley really started to get into the package opening and LOVED playing with his new goodies. He got some really great stuff!

Eventually, the castle came down and the three of us headed inside for the night. McKinley slept like a little log that night and had some extra long napping the following day.
I know he had such a wonderful time.
We hope all our guests did too.

Lynn

Reminiscing

So, we're heavy into preparation for an awesome First Birthday Party for McKinley Shane.

Wait.

Did I just say that?

Could it be that our boy's FIRST birthday is really here?

I get teary-eyed just thinking about it.

My, how our precious son has changed and grown and developed. My, how our precious son has changed the world as we knew it. What a smile he brings to our faces each day just with a silly jibber-jabber sound, or by clapping for no apparent reason, or by snuggling in real close and sighing. Was there a time before him? Yes, but it certainly was boring in comparison to the pacifier runs, incessant bottle washing (because you KNOW I insist we do it by hand, with non-toxic, biodegradable, plant-based dish washing liquid), and silly sounds we suddenly are professionals at making. I mean, who ever thought it would come so natural to do all but stand on your head, in public just to get that infectious giggle out of your kids?! It's GREAT!

I can honestly tell you that in the last year of our lives, Cary and I have become quite proficient at the following:

*calculating total fluid ounces of formula consumed by McKinley, as well as vegetables, meats and fruit and the baby food pyramid

*multi-tasking, one handed

*swooping (as in things OUT of McKinley's little grasp, very, very quickly)

*knowing and predicting his every move, every sound, every mood before he even knows it's happening.

And finally...my favorite:

*waking up, numerous times throughout the night, every night, just to see how McKinley is...that's a big one for me especially. Prior to motherhood I could easily sleep through a flipping hurricane and not be any the wiser.

As I anticipate the weekend's festivities, words cannot express the emotion of motherhood behind this big event. Can it really be that a year ago tonight TWO of us had checked into the hospital but THREE would be coming home? I remember every second of those last few days before we became parents (um, whomever said you forget these painful things CLEARLY did not have the memory I do. HOW can you FORGET pain like THAT?). Walking into the hospital, climbing into that ridiculously uncomfortable bed, watching Cary's eyeballs grow bigger and bigger as he calculated the levels of each contraction. Holding our tiny baby boy. Wow.

Though I was so out of it from the anesthesia, I still remember hearing McKinley cry for the first time. I remember the doctor bringing him over to me so I could kiss him...it was seconds before I conked out. I remember barely being able to move, but when he cried I felt this urge to get my sore body going so I could comfort him. I remember watching Cary change his first diaper (Lord knows I still had too much anesthesia and was in NO shape to do that...Cary did a FINE job!!!). I remember everyone who came to see our boy! That's mostly thanks again to Cary. He took pictures of EVERYONE.

I won't go into our birth story in detail...who wants to know that stuff anyway, right? Suffice to say the induction didn't work and after a complete mental breakdown from yours truly, we ended up going C-section VERY early on the morning of Friday the 13th of July.

I think perhaps the funniest thing that happened during our all-too lengthy stay at the hospital was during my Mom's call to everyone to update them on the news that we were going with a C-section. My Mom handed me her phone and I was suddenly telling a girlfriend the story. I do NOT remember what I told her, I only remember saying that I was seriously so hungry. After I was finished, in the most calm, collected tone she could muster my friend asked me this:

"So, just to clarify. You're having a C-section because you're really hungry?" God bless her for making it sound like it was the only reason there was and that it made SO much sense! She never questioned any reasoning of mine, at all. I really wonder what I said to her...hmmm.

And to clear up any confusion...no, I did not choose to go with a C-section because I was very hungry. I WAS very hungry, but there was a failed induction, no progress and a baby that needed to come out that factored MUCH higher in the decision-making process.

Also, I actually got to eat MUCH later than I would have if we had been able to go 'natural'. Ends up I went from 7pm Wednesday night to SATURDAY EVENING before I got to eat. And even then all I was allowed was CHICKEN BROTH and JELLO.

Yuck.

Have you ever tried to EAT chicken broth?

Well, don't.

Trust me.

So, I looked at McKinley's newborn picture tonight. And then I looked at him. It is truly one of God's many miracles to see all the changes and growth of human life. McKinley is our blessing. A beautiful, sweet little soul that was a gift to us, from God. We are forever grateful.

Lynn

Then & Now

Yahoo for date night!

Cary and I ventured to Indy last Saturday to see one of our favorite musicians, John Mayer. Mom and I each bought a ticket for Cary's Father's Day present, so it was a win-win situation for us. I got a date with my hubby and Mom got a date with her precious Grandson!

Cary and I have been John Mayer fans almost as long as we've been Dave Matthews Band fans...well, I guess that's probably not true. We've been fans of DMB since we were in high school, John Mayer would still have been in high school too, he's the same age as we are, which makes him all the more cooler in my book. Anyway, whatever...point is, we love him. I'm absolutely obsessed with his 3rd studio album - every song is just awesome!!! My iPod is full of his stuff and I can never pick which song I want to hear. I fondly remember the day that Cary surprised me with a really cool new cell phone...this is LONG before we were even engaged! He also surprised me by picking the ringtone..."Your Body is a Wonderland", JM's first hit. I caught a lot of flack for that at work...I think my co-workers thought I had a pretty big ego, but I don't. I'm just a John fan!

So, that being said, can we just talk about how great the concert was?! OMG. We had the best seats, we were SO CLOSE! Not close enough to catch one of his guitar picks, or get an autograph (as he so graciously did at the very end...how COOL is he?), but we were very content. He sang almost everything we wanted to hear, he jammed with his band in that bluesy way of his, talked to the audience and even bragged about seeing Indianapolis' fireworks - oh...and making his own, in his hotel room I might add. Cary swears that's a reference to his very famous girlfriend, another favorite of ours.

Speaking of JM's girlfriend, humor me here. Never in my life have I ever uttered the words, "I just got to see Jennifer Aniston's boyfriend" until Saturday night. How cool is that? I know, I know, I'm a dork...and a long time FRIENDS fan.

So, get this: cameras are now allowed in concerts. Guess they finally gave it up. They all know we sneak 'em in every time, especially now that everyone has a camera on their cell phones. Gone are the days where I stuck my little crappy camera in my pants/shorts/shirt praying that no one would strip search me and stick a knife in my film, as was the big, scary rumor back in the day. I was always the kamikaze of our group, stating that I was taking it in anyway! lol This was also WAAAAAAY back when we always bought lawn seats only, please. So you know you couldn't even tell who was on stage in my pictures because what high schooler actually had ZOOM on their crappy cameras in the mid to late 90's? FUNNY!

This time it was simply posted, 'No Professional Cameras'. Well, great! However, that left me seriously out of luck. We lovingly use my Dad's camera from his dabbling in professional photography, so there was NO way I was going to get in with that hum-dinger. The only thing I have is another goofy self-portrait, taken in the car of me and Cary to share.

Oh - KUDOS to the genius engineer who finally figured out a completely foolproof way to get people the heck outta the Music Center. We waited THREE MINUTES, as opposed to the THREE HOURS we have previously waited to get out onto the interstate. Awesome job, Noblesville.

What a great night!!!

Happy Fourth!!!!!!

Hope everyone had a safe and happy 4th of July. We did!

On Thursday evening, the three of us headed downtown for our City's annual Fireworks. We weren't sure how McKinley would be, so we stayed near the car. It's a good thing too...once the big boomers (as my Mom calls them) started, McKinley thought it would be a MUCH better idea to enjoy the fireworks along with the simulcast of music from a local radio station. Good thinkin'.

It was pretty sweet seeing him react to the big, bright explosions in the sky. He sat in my arms and laid his head down on my shoulder to watch from a comfy spot.

On Friday evening, we invited Mom over to watch our own little display of 'kid-friendly' fireworks. McKinley didn't mind the tank (which was my own childhood favorite), and he liked the egg-hatching hen (which 3 out of 4 did NOT hatch any eggs, thank you) but his favorite had to have been the chinese pagoda (also a favorite of mine back in the day...). All decked out in his 'Little Firecracker' shirt, which we felt very appropriate for a July baby, he was quite the picture of Independance as he 'walked' all around the patio in his walker.

We put McKinley to bed that evening and had to play his lullaby CD three times to help drown out the crazy fireworks. It has never been so lively on the 4th in our neighborhood as it was this year. Fun! One of our neighbors had HUGE, professional-like fireworks...it was pretty cool to watch, once you got past the smoke screen in front of our house. hahahaha

Happy 4th of July!!!
Lynn

Cutest Invitations EVER

Okay, I cannot get over how cute these things are. McKinley's birthday invitations could NOT have turned out any more special or more like what we asked for.
I have to toot Polka Dot Bumble Bee's horn here (formerly Secret Stork Surprise), Veronica's company also did our Christmas cards and we loved both of them equally. I'm adding a link to her site (see left side of page), if you use her please mention our name.
She comes highly recommended!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://polkadotbumblebee.com