In the toddlerhood

We have been insanely busy again...seems like we go in spurts. Cary's Grandmother has been very ill, but is on the mend - thank goodness, we've had our annual trip to Indy and many trips to Bloomington and Indy to spend time with family lately. Then there's that loud nagging in my head...homework. Almost done. August. Light at the end of this 13 year tunnel. And finally, we top off our chaos with a major renovation. I call anything more than painting major renovation, but this is a big one. New carpet, new tub, maybe a new bay window...all kinds of stuff! We're excited, but we are tired already. lol

Now down to some McKinley business. This boy is changing every day, learning all sorts of new words, a different way to do something, or discovering something for the very first time that we all take for granted. It is still so amazing to me to see those moments through a child's eyes, it's beautiful. A while back I went to change out the Diaper Genie and noticed something inside the bag along with all of those lovely diapers. Mr. Potato Head had recently been missing his ears...just guess who put them INSIDE the Diaper Genie? As in - where the poopie diapers go? Mr. Potato Head promptly had his ears cleaned and returned to the sides of his spud. I'm happy to report that his hearing has been restored. hahahaha!

Yesterday McKinley finally named his pacifier, we've encouraged words like paci, cup, milk, water, etc on a daily basis for a long time. I guess he just wanted his own word and timing for his special paci! Finally yesterday he told me he wanted his 'Pass'! Yay!

Today he discovered his shadow. We were rocking and listening to his lullaby CD, our bedroom light reflected in just right so that the shadow of McKinley's sweet little hand shown on the nursery wall. He noticed it. I didn't say anything. He watched intently and began moving his hand in a wave, watching every move. It was like, 'Oh, that's cool. Look what I can do!'

McKinley does some of the cutest and funniest things! Every night when we start his bath he gleefully brings in his towel and wash cloth - I mean, he's squealing with delight as he does this. Funny! Have I mentioned that he greets everyone at the front door by flipping open the mail slot? It is the perfect height for him to stick out his hand and say, 'Hi!'. It can scare the crap out of you if you don't know someone is right there. He also really loves to help us do simple tasks like unloading the dishwasher (once we've removed the knives, of course), or wiping off his highchair tray, and he is still our main grocery de-bagger. I treasure these efforts as I know one day, sooner than I would like, I will be begging him to pick up his room and do his chores! Goodness knows he's already in the middle of this toddler hood independance exploration thing. He's giving us a run for our money!

My favorite thing McKinley is doing right now is kissing. He'll kiss anything! He loves to kiss our pictures (omg, melt my heart!), his Elmo Live, Valentine (our girl cat), us, stuffed animals, etc. He even makes a smoochy noise now! I love it.

Below I'll share some funny pictures of our own celebration of Mardi Gras. I got all of us some beads, a different form of a King's Cake (traditional Mardi Gras cake) and made a REAL 'fat Tuesday' meal that was oh so NOT low in calories. We HAD to celebrate the start of the Lenten season!

Lynn