McKinley's First...QUAKE

No, I don't mean the tasty little rice cake chips that I am so addicted to. It was a real, live Earthquake.

The saying goes...if the house is a rockin', don't come a knockin'. Guess it rings true in the midwest today.

At around 5:30 this morning we ALL had a rude awakening from Mother Nature. Not only did we feel it, we could hear it too. Everything that could rattle, rattled. Of course, I was still half asleep when this occured as I hear Cary exclaim, "Are we having an EARTHQUAKE?", like a smart person (sense the sarcasm) I lept out of bed and wobbled around the house. WHY? I don't know. Guess I needed confirmation that the ground beneath me was shaking.

First thing I did was check on McKinley, who lay wide awake in his crib. I have to laugh because he really looked perplexed. Then I ran in the living room. Gunther, who had been SOUND asleep above my head, followed me, along with Valentine, who's belly was touching the floor as she crawled VERY, VERY slowly, afraid of what she might find. CUTE! I immediately turned on the TV to find a 'wired' weatherman interrupting his forcast to confirm the quake. Oh, good. WE AREN'T CRAZY! Finally, I went back to bed. Cary asked what I'd heard. I explained, then I remembered waking up about an hour earlier to check on McKinley. The first thing I found in his room then was Valentine, wide awake sitting at the doorway of the nursery. At the time, I thought, 'Hmmm...how strange".

I got goosebumps when I realized that you're supposed to go to a doorway for safety during a quake.

Our sweet kitty-girl must have known what was coming, so she went in to be with McKinley.

I don't care what you think of animals, you HAVE to respect their senses. How crazy is that?

She stayed in the nursery until she crawled down the hallway with me, post-quake.

I've ALWAYS thought Valentine was very intuitive. She has been by our sides during illnesses, consoled me many times during my grief over Dad, and would not leave the nursery before McKinley was born. Even when we were all sick earlier this year, she stayed every night in the nursery. She's our little mother!

Hope everyone is safe and had no damage from today's little wild ride and it's late-morning aftershock.

In honor of Val, here's a pic. Here's Cary feeding a VERY young McKinley while Valentine looks on and admires her two favorite men.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Lynn

McKinley's First ride on the swing

The weather FINALLY turned 'spring-like' for us. We took full advantage and decided to introduce McKinley to a place I loved as a child. One of our City Parks, Deming is very near and dear to my heart. The playground has certainly changed over the last 30 years (uh, did I just say that?), but one thing remains the same. The kids of this city LOVE it there!

The new playground is equipped with two 'age-appropriate' stations and even has some kind of super-cushy, shock absorbent 'flooring', if you will. Um...Cary and I had the distinct privilege of landing on asphalt and gravel when we romped around on the playground as kiddies. I have scars to prove it and I'm SURE that Cary does too. Now, McKinley will be fortunate enough to make a soft, pillow-like landing!

Anyway, we walked over, found the little swings, placed McKinley in and, 'whoosh'! He loved it!

Cary and I took turns pushing him for a while then headed over to the Deming Park version of Disney's Tea Cups for babies. Whew...that was funny. I think I'd puke. McKinley remained calm and chill (see picture), he just smiled and got comfy, enjoying Daddy pushing his little 'cup' while Mommy took pictures.

We ended the nap-inducing trip with McKinley's very first slide experience...with Daddy, of course. It was pretty cute to see Cary climb up that slide with McKinley. I don't think McKinley was too amused yet, but he'll LOVE it soon enough.

McKinley was no sooner in his car seat and was peacefully napping, dreaming of his first swing in the park.

Today McKinley is 9 months old. We are only THREE months away from having a toddler. Can this be possible?
He is continuing with new syllables and loving the fact that he is becoming more and more mobile by the day.

It was so nice every day this week until Saturday, other than a little rain. So,we dusted off the jogging stroller (which had a very long hiatus during the winter) and have walked every day this week...except for Saturday when it suddenly turned bitter cold and actually spat a snow-like mixture...uh, hello? It's April. Anyway, McKinley LOVES being outside. He sings and waves his hands in the air as if to catch the wind. I pack a toy each time we go, but he barely bats an eyelash at it. Too much to see and do! Passers-by think he is waving at them and they get very excited over that. Do you know he even lets us put sunglasses and a hat on him every time? Can't start eye and skin protection too soon!

We have a 9 month pedi appointment this week...I'm sure we'll update McKinley's new stats as soon as we find out! Check back when you can...

Have a great week!

Lynn

GNO + DMB + PiP = GREAT weekend!

Translation:

Girls Night Out plus Dave Matthews plus McKinley and his mommy's picture in print equals a really great weekend!

Friday, April 11th I left 'the boys' alone (they had a great evening together, by the way...boys' night!) and went to dinner with my Mom, Jodi, her sister Jill and their Mom, Brenda. After that, we headed over for this city-wide Girls Night Out thing at the arena. The feature of the evening was this absolutely HILARIOUS comedienne, Anita Renfroe. She does this 'estrogen flavored' comedy, as she calls it, that will seriously leave you in stitches, if you can laugh about yourself or the woman in your life. I laughed until I cried. I laughed so much that I bought her DVD, of which she signed for me and took pics with all of us girls! NO WAY! The pics are on Mom's camera...will upload ASAP. In the meantime, here we all are at dinner. Good times, good times.

This comedienne is WAY famous for her insane version of the William Tell Overture, you've probably seen it, but just incase...click and watch. It's on youtube and has had millions and millions of hits.

Now, before our GNO...Thursday night Cary checks his weekly DMB (Dave Matthews Band) email. He starts yelling, very excited. I came running. He informs me that in some crazy twist of fate, Dave Matthews has chosen BLOOMINGTON'S Assembly Hall at I.U. to give a 'small' concert with his friend and awesome guitarist, Tim Reynolds to show support for his candidate of choice...Obama. Okay, whatever about the Obama stuff...really. Oh, did I mention that the concert was FREE?

RIIIGGGHHHTTT. Another April Fools joke? No. Cary's dream come true? Yep. Dave & Tim...IU...on a Sunday afternoon. Awesome.

I called the T.H. Obama office to double check, sure enough...they said they would have tickets the following morning. We began to plan our strategy of ticket-getting. So, the next day, McKinley, Mom and I headed to the TH Obama headquarters to line up for some tickets. Mom would get Cary's ticket for us, since it was only one ticket per Indiana resident/registered voter. After waiting for almost 2 hours (McKinley was warm and cozy in the car), we got to the front door of the headquarters, where a Trib photographer suddenly went papparazzi crazy. He picked up to snap, snap, snap. Once we were out of the door and glowingly holding our tickets, the photog stopped us and took McKinley's and my name. He said we would be in the paper the following day. OMG. GREAT! Now everyone will think I'm crazy for Obama. I tried to make it VERY clear to Mr. Photographer that we were only there for DAVE tickets. LOL, he got the gist. You have to look hard for our well-bundled McKinley...and I look like I am completely lost, but whatever. I love the caption. Well put.

So, we'd already been planning on spending the night with Cary's parents over the weekend. That worked out really well. They offered to watch McKinley (we REALLY had to twist their arms...hahahahah, right.) while we had some good quality time together. Just the two of us and 17,000 other Dave fans. It was fabulous. One of the top three concerts for sure (we go to Dave every year...it's our thing). We even got to see Dave's twin girls! And he talked about his baby boy, born just before McKinley. I'm sure August and McKinley would be great friends...
We got home SO late Sunday night, but nobody minded. McKinley was fast asleep, dreaming of his walk with Grandma & Grandpa. He never even woke up when we put him in bed!

Not our best pic...but for a self-portrait on a super-sunny day as we searched for the end of the line...not bad, I guess.

Oh, and he said the concert was being recorded for a CD...yahoooooo!

Here are clips from the concert...click and check it out!

The Wave-we're in there some where!

Crush

It sure was a busy couple of days, but so fun!

Lynn

Adventures in Indy

WOW, did we have fun in Indy this week! McKinley, Mom and I headed up to meet Diane (McKinley's 'Honey'), Shelby and Mary for lunch at Circle Centre. It was so great catching up with them during Shelby's Spring Break. We even got to do a little shopping while we were there.

Many pictures to share of our super-fun day...we can't wait to do it again!

Lynn









Here, McKinley cozies up to 'Honey'











McKinley, Nonna and Honey (I was SO excited when I snapped this pic! "Stayin' Alive" was playing at Johnny Rocket's and these two were dancing away with McKinley. It was hilarious!)

McKinley opens his new present from Honey...a telephone!
Look closely, you might remember this very toy! Mary and I decided they have not updated it too much. We remember having it as children, it looks the same after all these years! Not that Mary and I are old, but whatever.

Here's McKinley, at home Tuesday evening playing with his new phone. I SWEAR we didn't show him how to use a phone like this. He seriously just picked up the 'receiver' with his left hand and started 'dialing' with his right! Hahahahaha!

The Easter Bunny & another week of milestones!

The Easter Bunny made his very first visit to our home this year. He left McKinley a pack of big, fun beads, a sweet little snowglobe with an Easter Chick inside and a fuzzy little tiny, wind-up, hopping chick in this precious little baby-boy basket!

He's a good bunny.

McKinley LOVES the big beads, but he really liked chewing on his Baby's 1st Easter card the most. Hahahaha.
This year we packed up the suv and headed down to visit with Grandma & Grandpa, Uncle Mike & Aunt Lorie and those big-boy cousins.

I truly can't remember a better holiday for me. There for a while the holidays were a real bummer for me, personally, after losing Dad and stuff. This year, WHOA BOY! I loved seeing our nephews with McKinley, being with all of my inlaws and having my Mom there with us too.
At one point, I looked outside and saw Cary and his brother, Michael playing with Logan and Mason in the front yard of my Mother & Father-in-law's home. I was holding McKinley and could barely contain myself when I thought...ya know, little boy, you'll be right out there with them next year! That'll be a sight!

Later, Grandpa took McKinley out (bundled in his EASTER BUNNY outfit!) to be Logan and Mason's mascot for their impromptu basketball game. I think Logan said they were the Blue Bunnies! TOO CUTE!

I had fun taking pictures while my sister-in-law, Lori proved that she is definitely the 'baller' of the fam. LOVE IT. I guess I'm gonna have to tuff it up a little...not be so afraid to mess up my hair or something with all these boys in my life. Hahahaha. I KNOW everyone of you who really knows me is currently laughing your butts off at the sheer image of ME out there playing BASKETBALL. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So what if I'd rather go shopping. I'm learning to be versatile! Cary keeps up with the gentle, encouraging reminders that we do, in fact have a B-O-Y. Tuff en' up a little, girl! ;-)

So...Easter was great!

I think Cary's and my highlight was when Grandpa escorted our little bunny on his very first egg hunt. He ended up scoring some cash in the two eggs he picked up. Nice!

I love this picture. He was so excited.

Okay, down to some serious baby business...

Da da da daaaaaahhhh!!!

We've got a crawler!

I can't believe it. Time to put the crystal up...omg, I NEVER thought I'd have to do that. Oh well, it'll be just as pretty in the dining room, where I can 'rope it off', so to speak.

On Wednesday, McKinley decided he'd had enough of the army crawling and enough of the up-on-all-fours rocking trick. He did a 'real' crawl. He's not doing it all the time, in fact he has really honed his army crawl skills and is even faster now. Gotta keep our eyes on him at all times, so do the cats. He's quick!

I hope to upload a video of our crawlin' boy very soon. Check back with us!

Also on the milestone list...as I've mentioned in previous posts McKinley has really got Mama, Dada and Oh! down quite well - and the Baby Idol singing, of course. Last night he added a new consonant to his repetoire: Baba. It is so cute to see him say it because he can't stop smiling as he's talking! When he woke up this morning, he looked right at me and said, 'Baba!' Like, "Look, Ma! I remember!" What a sweetie.

So, another fun one we've started is a little wave. He usually does this when he wants something, so he's not like, arm in the air, hey, there, how ya doin' kind of wave, but he's getting there.

But my very favorite new thing of McKinley's is his kiss. OH. MY. GOSH. Words cannot even begin to express how it feels to get a big ol' slobbery kiss from our child. We'll say, 'Give me a kiss' and he'll grab our faces, or hair (an OUCH that is so totally worth it) and pull our face into his and SMACK! We get kissed! It's precious.

I think we are really seeing more of his personality come out, I love it.

Here, McKinley makes his first official basket. Future Indiana Hoosier, baby!

And McKinley admires his big-boy cousins with Grandpa and Aunt Lori during the 'game'.

Can't wait to share his next big tricks.

Have a great weekend!

Lynn

Spring has sprung...well, maybe.

I am so glad it is almost officially spring! We had such a lovely taste of that weather for a few days, and now it is cold and yucky and rainy. BLAH! Oh well, Easter is this weekend so Spring is almost here and we can't wait to get outside.

Last week McKinley turned 8 months old. We always take a picture of him on his 'month' birthdays, this month though we were all pretty exhausted from a busy night. So, this was a pretty relaxed picture...post bath, as we were rocking and listening to the lullaby cd getting ready for bed...hence the paci in the pic.

I can't believe we are so close to the one year mark now. He has made so many awesome changes again. He will give five on command, which nearly put an older gentleman at Subway on his knees last weekend. Evidently he was missing his grandchildren at the time so he came over to our table with his wife to chat and visit McKinley, who immediately took to him. He asked if he could hold his hand...normally this isn't cool, the whole stranger-danger-touchy thing, but he seemed so heartfelt that I said okay (knowing I had plenty of wipes and antibacterial lotion to mop us down with afterward...OCD, I know, can't help it). I told McKinley to give him five, which he did with panache and that giant gummy grin. The man had to step away because he was so overcome with emotion. His wife just oohed and ahhed and thanked us. For what? Anyway, the man said his birthday was this Tuesday and that this truly made his day. I was touched.

McKinley also recognizes his pictures as 'baby' and when we ask, "Where's the baby?" he looks right at his pictures and laughs. He knows Gunther's nickname 'goo', when we ask, 'Where is Goo?' The word association thing is pretty cool.

He's a real army-crawler now, and he can spin on his belly like no body's business. He's pretty fast at it too. He's pulling up on all four's and ready to go...and he WILL go, when he's ready! lol In the meantime, rolling and spinning and crawling like there's something 'INCOMING!!!!' is just fine with him.

Oh, and if you call us on the phone...I apologize in advance for the loud button-pushing and 'Ohhh's! you will no doubt be subjected to. NEVER have I seen a child get so flipping excited over someone or something as McKinley does when he sees our cats, Mom's dog or any of our phones. He cannot control himself and will scratch, claw, climb and gnaw his way up to those buttons and lights! And the amazing sound of voices through the little holes is MESMERIZING! If only Mommy and Daddy would let him chew on that cushy antenna, he just KNOWS its a teether.

I'm sure the next month will be full of exciting changes for us, check back for updates!

We had a very busy week last week, but loads of fun. Diane came over for a visit, so we all had a nice lunch at Mom's. It was great!
My sorority chapter hosted a fund-raiser night at our local Beef O'Brady's. We did pretty well, for the four of us who actually showed up to work! I'm proud!

Oh, and with being so busy I haven't even posted the pictures from the weekend before! McKinley's social calendar has been so full of birthdays for some of his favorite girls this month...Lila, Sara, Sarah and now Reagan! She turned two already! CRAZY. We had so much fun at the party. Here's Reagan digging into her cake and some fun 'kiddie time' that quickly went awry.

Check back soon for some Easter Bunny pics that are sure to be a sight!

Have a great day!

Lynn

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Here's our little leprechan wishing everyone a happy wearin' o the green!
We had so much fun with these pictures with Daddy as the 'prop guy', Mommy as photographer and McKinley as our model. He particularly loved the leprechan pipe and glittery shamrock.
Hope everyone has a great St. Paddy's Day!

Lila's Luau, Queen's Ball & so much more!

So many things have happened since I last blogged! I can't believe it has been this long, but with the busy schedules we've been leading lately...gosh...I just wonder how any of us are awake.

I looked and saw that my last post was on McKinley's 7 month birthday...guess what? He'll be 8 months next week, really. I also saw that I'd shared my beautiful Valentine roses, I have something wonderful to add to that.
To further my gift, Cary took all three of us away for the weekend to Keystone. We had a lovely suite, which made for such a relaxing trip. We did some great Target, Trader Joe's & Keystone/Castleton shopping, hit the FABULOUS Babies R Us (HUGE) and ate at two of our favorite restaurants; Claddaugh (YUM!!!) and Cheesecake Factory (DOUBLE YUM!!!). Heck, we even had the luxury of plopping on the couch to watch 'Superbad' after McKinley was tucked in bed. Oh, and yes...we did get Cheesecake...to go.
I think we all had a great opportunity to totally rejuvenate that weekend. It was so nice.

That rejuvenation, however was short lived. During that week, Cary played Mr. Mom while I was completely incognito. I had so much to do for Queen's Ball it was crazy. I hated being away or tuned out from 'my boys', but it was for a good cause. Have I mentioned that Queen's Ball was a fundraiser for St. Ann's Clinic for those in our area who cannot afford proper health care? It was worth it. Besides that, I realized that I do indeed want to pursue a career in event planning. I swear, its just in my blood. I'm assuming that God will guide me where I need to be and when I need to be there. But I'm very certain that I AM where I need to be right now. I'm a lucky girl to get to spend so much time at home watching McKinley grow into a little boy, and to get to concentrate on being Cary's wife too. I treasure these times and know that I will miss them someday.

Back to Queen's Ball, everything we planned turned out so beautifully, I hope to have some better pictures soon, which I will post FOR SURE! The photographer we hired was excellent...he did our engagement pictures way back when and totally came through for us again. I didn't even have an opportunity to take the first picture that evening, which was a disappointment but understandable. I'm relying on my sisters to give me some fun candid shots. In the meantime, I've decided with all the pictures I have to add and share, it will be so much easier (and more FUN!) to add a slide show...

I'm pretty proud of how everything went down. Our chapter played host this year and are the only chapter that I am aware of who had the honor of welcoming every Indiana State Beta Sigma Phi officer for this event. They came from all over the state in that LOVELY weather to be with us. We were also honored to have the head nun who runs our charity with us as well.
I gave a speech, well...two, I guess. I think I did pretty well. I thought I'd be a little rusty since I hadn't spoken publicly since last April. I'm satisfied with what I did. A friend of ours said she liked my speaking voice so much that she could listen to me and easily fall asleep. Hahaha...hmmmm...NOT so good for a SPEAKING voice, good for McKinley lullabies though.
I'm also beyond thrilled with the backdrop for the 'Queen's Crowning'. My Mom made it! Its gorgeous and everyone oohed and ahhh'd. We really pulled it out.
Cary was a huge help as well. He really did so much for McKinley that week and that day and even came up with some great last minute ideas during the evening. He's a good one to have by my side.

As you can see, we had even more fun the following weekend while visiting friends and a very special birthday girl.

In honor of Lila's birthday, we've put together a slide show of the day.
We had SOSOSOSO much fun at Lila's 1st birthday party. It was so exciting for us to see how McKinley reacted and interacted with everyone. It was his very first kiddie birthday party too! He was so good and I really think he had fun! We sure did. It was good to see Vanessa and fam again, it had been so long. It was also very sweet to see all the changes in our children since we last saw each other.
It is hard to believe that Lila is a year old...McKinley will be turning the BIG ONE so soon!
In traveling up north for the party, we again decided to make a weekend of it. It was another nice getaway, we enjoy doing little 'weekenders' like that.

I'm proud to report that Cary has a new route...and it is so much better for him! I know he misses his favorite old patrons, but I think he is enjoying this change of pace. He needed a refresher!
I'm also really proud of him for deciding to play baseball this year. I CANNOT WAIT to see this lefty pitcher in action. I've heard about his abilities and the fun he has on the field for so long, now it will be so nice to SEE it! Pictures to come, I'm sure! How fun it will be to take McKinley out to watch his Daddy this spring (with plenty of Baby sunscreen and hats, no doubt)!

Finally, I'll update on McKinley's amazing new tricks...last Saturday, amid the celebration, McKinley started teething! He's getting his bottom two teeth in, poor guy. He's had a few bad days, is not sleeping as soundly as normal through the night, and sometimes is a little less giddy but I think he's doing okay with it. We can't wait to see what he looks like with some chompers! Hahaha!
He has definitely mastered the famed sippy cup through all of this. We chose a sippy with a teething spout, so its nice and soft on his gums. Throw some ice cold water in there and he's a happier boy.

McKinley has added some vowels and syllables to his repertoire, it is hilarious to listen to his squeals of new sounds. Pretty funny. Also, we're happy to announce that McKinley will most likely win the new Baby Idol contest...as soon as Simon, Paula and Randy discover him that is. As we watch American Idol, on the floor with McKinley while he plays, he occasionally looks up to see who's making all those lovely sounds. He always thinks he should join in. We need to record it and send it in to America's Funniest Videos. It's something to see!

I think that is all for now in the crazy land of Vernon.
I PROMISE the next entry will not be so long.
I'm very hopeful that things slow down for us for a minute or two.

Have a great weekend and don't forget to turn back those clocks!
Lynn

A week of milestones and a 7 month birthday

In my last post I said that I was having a hard time keeping track of all the changes McKinley is making. I wasn't kidding. In just one week's time he has said his first words, which are quickly turning into many other jibbery noises, graduated to the 'big boy car seat' and rides in the grocery cart and a first try at 'puffs' (think melty rice cakes for babies). Note in that I said he is saying...WORDS.

Last Monday, Cary was changing McKinley's diaper and 'talking' to him, as we do, trying to get him to say "Mama". Guess what? He said it! OF COURSE, I was out of the room getting things ready for his bath. Of course, I was! Thankfully, he was all too happy to continue repeating it for me. And yesterday I was given a very special gift. I woke up to "mamamamamama" on the monitor. THAT is the BEST way to wake up, EVER!

Well, it would only be appropriate that Cary would hear McKinley say "Mama" and I would hear him say "Dada" first, right? That's how it happened! Last night, while Cary was in the shower and I was getting McKinley ready for his bath (I SWEAR this child gets 'talkie' before bathtime), he said "Dada"!!! I screamed Cary's name so loud it made McKinley jump! FUNNY! I ran into the bathroom, with a naked McKinley in arms, to tell Cary what I had just witnessed. Its kind of anti-climactic when it is 'your' word and you don't get to hear it, but I was so excited! I can't believe our baby boy is chattering so much already! It is amazing to see.

Last Saturday, McKinley took his very first ride in the big boy car seat, you see how it ended...zzzzzzzz. He was really able to look all over and even outside the car. I think he enjoys this one much more than the infant seat, he was WAY over that. I would be too, if I had the option of riding in what can only be described as a rear-facing lounger! Geez, if only we could all be so comfortable in our 'car seats'.

Anyway, it was a major realization for me and Cary that McKinley is really growing out of that baby phase. The first time we had to carry him from the car to a destination - not in a car seat - was startling to both of us.

On Sunday, McKinley had his yummy sweet potato flavored puffs. He wasn't so sure about them, but he sure liked pushing them around on his high chair tray. He finally got the hang of it...put puff piece in between finger and thumb, bring hand to mouth, put puff in mouth. It was a really entertaining process. Also, within the week we have tried out the grocery-cart cover. WHY didn't someone invent that sooner? BLAH! They need to make them for adults. Hmmm...there's an idea. Who wants to touch that nasty, dirty grocery cart handle anyway? YUCK! And don't even think about the germs you'll find on that little seat part. Ewwwww! Creeps me out.

Well, this thing just covers all of that funk and keeps McKinley (and us, for that matter) as germ free as we can manage. How have I turned into a germ-o-phobe?

So, tomorrow is Valentine's Day. Yay! I love it! Once again, the online 'July Mommy' group I belong to chose to do an exchange. This time we exchanged a book for our children. I don't know how, but we were lucky enough to have the same Mommy and baby we had for the Christmas outfit exchange draw us again! She and her son sent McKinley the cutest Elmo Valentine themed book, and a cute little pez dispenser for us. FUN!

Tomorrow evening we will read our two Valentine's Day books to McKinley, while he is in his 'Heartbreaker' sleeper and hope he will grow to appreciate the day as we do.

I'm so excited to share that I got my Valentine a little early this year. Cary and McKinley sent me the most gorgeous roses and a box of chocolates! I was so surprised, it was very sweet of my boys to think of me.

Can't wait to exchange Valentines with them tomorrow.

Not much else is new on the home front. I'm hard at work finishing up stuff for the Queen's Ball (NINE days and counting) with my chapter. We will all be glad when its over (husbands and family members included). I told Cary that after this is over I'm going to need a nice, stiff drink...or two, or three...hmmm, maybe 5?

Happy Valentine's Day!

Lynn

Lovebug

Ahhh, so many things have been happening I have a hard time keeping up on the updates! Our lives are so busy right now what with planning our annual sorority Queen's Ball for this month and just the normal day-to-day life of parenthood, its crazy around here!



We've had fun times despite being so busy...McKinley and I have been 'lunching fools' lately sharing lunch with 'aunts' Lisa and Jodi and next week we'll see Honey and Papa (my Godparents)! But the best lunches are when we all three lunch together when Daddy comes home at noon to see us.

McKinley has been hard at work being my little helper, happily going right along with me as I run many errands for sorority and Queen's Ball. He's such a good sport. As long as he can see me, see what's going on around him, has his paci and maybe a toy he's very happy.

Some sad news in our lives, two weeks ago we lost our dear, dear neighbor and friend, Mickey. Many who have been to our home have met the famed pair next door, and if you haven't met them you've met/heard Badger their dog. Mickey has been battling leukemia for some time now, he had also recently developed some various skin cancers while Jane, his wife continues her second battle with breast cancer. Mickey left us on January 18th. Our hearts and our prayers are with Jane and their families. Cary and I keep talking about how they just don't make good neighbors like that anymore. He will be missed, especially this summer. He and Cary had a friendly 'grass cutting competition'. Jane once told me that every time Cary mowed, she 'got on Mickey' to get out there and cut it like Cary did and to learn from his beautiful work. So, Mickey began charting the directions he mowed every week on his calendar, changing it up just like Cary. TOO FUNNY! The yards on this block are always meticulous, that's for sure.

I fondly remember Mickey's kindness last winter. He and Jane were so happy to be welcoming a new 'neighbor' (McKinley), they couldn't wait! During our last big snow I lumbered out to the Eclipse (which we'd left outside) to leave for an appointment. Mickey was busy clearing off the sidewalk, but when he saw pregnant me he came right over and started digging out the car, insisting that I stand by and wait. This coming from an 80 year old man! He was always so kind to us. A true gentleman.
Our neighborhood will NOT be the same.


Last weekend we visited Grandma & Grandpa, Mamaw, Aunt Lori & Uncle Mike and cousins in Bloomington. We had a lot of fun, as you can tell! I LOVE this picture of Cary's parents and McKinley, it is precious. I also love the green bean face. Grandma was feeding McKinley and he could not have been happier to be having green beans,
served by his Grandma, while having his picture taken.

McKinley has been making some very big changes lately. So many, in fact that I am not sure I can keep up! I'm confident in saying that in a post in the not-so-distant-future I'll be reporting that we have a crawler! He's so close and very determined. We can really tell that he is tired of being immobile and is just ready to go. Great! Great...
As I previously posted, he started by saying, "Oh!" all the time. That was quickly followed by "Mmmm", which is leading to "mamamamama". Now his very favorite thing to do is where you say 'ahhhhhhhhhh' and you move your hand to and from your mouth, making an 'ahh, ahh, ahh' sound. Hard to explain, but very cute! Now he sings a very (VERY) high pitched squeal along with the funny mouth thing. It gets him so excited and he looks like he's going to burst. The best is when he does this in the middle of mass while everyone else is singing. I keep saying he's our 'Baby Idol' (I think he's going to love music like his Mommy and Daddy-Dave Matthews Band and Justin Timberlake, especially). Cary and I can't keep from laughing out loud when he sings in church when it is SILENT, or when Father Joel is speaking. I know the people around us are all greatly entertained, they don't mind his 'singing' and have reassured us that they enjoy such a happy baby. I could swear one of the greeters was going to clear 'our' pew so she could see him when some newish parishoners 'stole' our regular seat last week. After mass, she came up to us and told McKinley how much she'd missed him that night! She was even complaining about the other people who were sitting where we do! How funny is that? Cary and I are so glad that McKinley's loud expressions of happiness are so well received, sometimes you never know how people will react to a baby.

Also, new are the stage 2 foods. He has really enjoyed all the same old favorites (green beans, peas, applesauce, even pears!) in the thicker purees and now we've added turkey, macaroni and cheese and chicken to his repertoire (NASTY, we think). Here are some pictures of McKinley in his new high chair. He loves that thing, we are SO glad we got it!

Recently, McKinley has shown some interest in the television, so we whipped out the Baby Einstein DVD and let me just say that he is so taken by the whole thing we are just amazed. Its not like we sit him in front of it for hours, by any means (lol), just for the duration of the show. I get down on the floor and we do the moves that the DVD instructs together. He is so happy and just sings and watches very intently. It is so sweet.
Soon we will have our 6 month pictures back to post on here, but for now we'll share the 'home photo shoots' that we enjoy doing.

Busy weeks ahead as we finish all the Queen's Ball planning and prepare to host the event on February 23rd. I'm honored to be serving as our chapter's princess, and my sweet husband will be escorting me that evening. We will have many pictures, I'm sure.

Also, the day after Valentine's Day, Cary and I will be celebrating NINE great years together. I just can't believe it! Time flies when you're having fun, right?! It seems like yesterday that he walked up to my jewelry counter...I don't think we will ever forget that moment. Sometimes God puts us right where we're supposed to be, right when we're supposed to be there!
And speaking of Valentine's Day...here is our little Valentine Prince. He's our sweetie!









Have a great week!
Lynn

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