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

Family Reunion

This weekend, despite more stinkin' storms, we trekked down to Btown to visit with family. Cary's uncle was visiting from Cali and his cousin was in from Tx too, so it was a great time for a get together. It was so nice for us to catch up with everyone.

McKinley got to meet some family he's never met before, as well as spend some time with his G&G, Aunt & Uncle and big-boy cousins. The weather held out and was BEAUTIFUL, thankfully. All in all, it was a great day.

We ended the day at Grandma & Grandpa's house, where McKinley got to go on a walk with his Grandpa. He went all the way out to the big fence where he gripped on and wiggled his little toes in the grass. So fun!

Below, Grandpa shows McKinley how to hang on to the fence.

What a fun day!

Lynn

Strawberry Festival

Yum! It's that time of year again! They painted the GIANT strawberry in the middle of Ohio Boulevard, so it was time to get ourselves to downtown and dive into some yummy-good strawberry shortcake.
Guess who went with us this year? Yup...McKinley had his first taste of authentic strawberries! He's had strawberries in his baby food and puffs many times (and loves the taste, thank you), so it was only fitting that he would enjoy this little adventure. Oh yeah...there may have been a HINT of whipped cream on them too. And he just might have really enjoyed that part as well. hahaha...bad mommy moment? Don't think so.

Um, I should explain the horse with all the strawberries...last summer after the Colts WON THE 2007 SUPERBOWL, BEATING THE BEARS...uh hum...our local art museum sponsored this really cool competition for our city with these fiberglass horses. Many local businesses puchased colts and painted them, some to match a theme of their business, or just in an artsy way. Most of them are downtown and a lot of them are back on display this summer, they are all so beautiful too. This one belongs to the church who puts on the Strawberry Festival every year. We just could not help ourselves...I did look for a sign that said, 'DO NOT TOUCH' and found nothing, so picture time!

Above, Daddy gives McKinley his first taste of the sweet fruit. And...he

looks at me as if to say, 'Mmmm, WHAT was THAT and HOW can I get some MORE?!!'

Loads of fun, can't wait until next year when McKinley can have his own little shortcake!
Lynn

Crazy times and a little vacation too

I've been so bad about updating lately...
Life has been at warp speed and there just isn't enough time for everything we want and need to do! Aren't we all this way? It seems that the last 3 months have seriously pushed us to live at even faster paces.
Well, The Vernon's have been busy, busy, busy and here are just a few things that have been going on:
*Bathroom reno - we did it again. We picked a weekend project and just went with it. I'm so loving our new bathroom color (GREEN!!!! BRIGHT GREEN!) and the new sink and cabinet. It is so different from anything else we've ever done. I love it!

*Vacation - We hit the road and went to Myrtle Beach, S.C. last month. It was much needed break and so beautiful there. McKinley was an A-N-G-E-L on the road, we were pleasantly surprised. We stopped off in Asheville, N.C. for the first two nights and were able to visit Biltmore Estate, which was one of my favorite trips as a child. The three of us truly enjoyed the beautiful day together as we toured the huge estate (LOTS more was open than I ever recall), the gardens (my favorite) and the winery. It was such a lovely day and the weather could not have treated us better.

At Myrtle Beach, we did just what the name says...we hit the beach. McKinley was obsessed with the sand and the ocean water as it rushed up to him. It was quite a sight! During our trip we visited some really cool outdoor shopping and adventure places, Cary bought a Harley (just kidding! Gotcha!) and we just chilled, enjoying the ocean view from the condo . It was so much fun. The worst part was running out of time...we forgot to do a few things we'd intended, like I really wanted to parasail again and we wanted to hit a museum. It's okay! Next time! The highlight of the trip was certainly spending some family time out on the beach and in the pool. We had a great week and cannot wait for our next vacay.

*Road trips - Lately we've been making many a trip to Indy, and let's just say that we will be until September of '09m if ya know what I mean. Oh well, we get to enjoy each other's company and get away from the norm for a couple of nights.

*GNO aka Girls Night Out - Jodi and I (and two other friends) made a night of it on the eve of my 30th birthday. We went to dinner at Outback, ordered cocktails (I had the most amazing Strawberry martini) and then headed over to see Sex and the City, the Movie. OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!!! Can't wait to see it again...and again...and again. Love those girls.

*BNO aka Boys Night Out - while the four of us were sobbing and laughing away at the movie, Cary and Jodi's boyfriend Dave hit the town as well. They smacked around a few golf balls, played a little pool and had a beer or two. Jodi and I met up with them after the movie...good times, kids!

*Mother's Day - Hard to believe I haven't updated about that. It was quite a day for me. It has always, always been an important day for me to celebrate all the women in my life, but this day I got to be in on that celebration as well. It was nice. The best part of the day was relaxing together, just the three of us before bedtime. McKinley was playing with us and so happy! It was wonderful. That sweet little boy and his Daddy gave me the most beautiful and touching cards and a new Coach purse for my first Mother's Day. Good goin', boys.

*Father's Day - This past Sunday was Cary's First Father's Day. McKinley is such a good boy...he got John Mayer tickets for his Daddy and Mommy to go next month. What a thoughtful little boy!

*Party planning - seems someone we know is turning a whole year old very soon, so we're hard at work planning a great day for everyone. Can it be possible that McKinley will be a year old? Whew! Look out, we're gonna have a very active little man on our hands!

Can't wait until McKinley's birthday!
Lynn

My Big 3-0

Well, my birthday came and went all too quickly. I had such a wonderful day! Mom and Cary...and McKinley, of course threw an awesome surprise party for me. I had no idea. No kidding. I got suspicious a few times, but was very quickly thrown. Trust me, when I heard the many voices singing, "Happy Birthday to You" in unison on the rooftop terrace of the restaurant...well, I was just very surprised.
The funniest thing was, we pulled up to meet my Mom for lunch at this great new place that I really like. As I'm getting all of the McKinley stuff out of the car I heard the singing and thought...what the? I looked up and saw Mom's and Jodi's faces and then all of these other heads started popping up from the terrace and the crowd grew and grew. It was HILARIOUS.
It was so nice to have some of my friends and some family to share the day with. I got to see some faces I had not seen in a long time, and the best part was everyone knows everyone now! I love that.
Mom and Cary put all this together...sneaky little things...they sent out invitations and emails without me being any the wiser. I didn't think I'd be that easy to fool.
I loved all the decorations they put together, the personalized M&M favors...in purple, of course and even the crazy-giant b-day hat, sunglasses and #30 lei they made me wear. It was pretty funny.
What a fun day!
I put together a slide show to make it easier to share all my pictures. With my lack of updating, I figured it would be easiest to share them that way.
To being THIRTY AND THRILLING!
Lynn

Thoughts on turning Thirty

Well, first of all...can it be that it has truly been over a month since I've updated this thing?! OMG. It's been busy, let's just leave it at that. I have so many pictures to post...vacation in Myrtle Beach, my first Mother's Day, McKinley's 9 mo. shots (even though he'll be 11 months!) and general updates, and the crazy amount of things going on in our lives!

Before I do that...I feel like taking a little time and reflecting on what's about to happen to me tomorrow. I'll officially be entering a new decade. A decade I've often heard referred to as the 'grown up' decade. No more twenty-something...now I'm gonna be THIRTY-something! Crazy how my life is flying by.

I'm excited about this new 'page', if you will. A while back, someone very wise told me that I have to look at each new happening in my life as a page in my book. At the time she told me this I was doing all I could to cope and just get up every day and figure out how to be, during my grief of losing Dad. Now, I can look at that statement as a very positive thing.

You see, there have been some really great 'pages', and there have been some really crappy 'pages' too. I do believe the great ones far out number the crappy ones. lol God willing, may it always be that way.

At the top of this blog, just above our family picture is my favorite quote. I found this quote during that dark time of grief and I again pulled from it in my daily life. Now, I look at it also in a very different way and feel it best describes how I try to look at life every day.

So, here are some of my 'pages' that took my breath away:

Turning 20...whoa, that was big time. I totally tried to wish a year of my life away just to be 'legal'. Hmmm, now that I look back on that I'm sure glad I couldn't fulfill that wish. If I'd lost #20, I would never have met Cary. So, that's my first really great page of my 20's.

CARY.

Nuff said! ;-)

Well, he gets many, many pages.

Whew, TWENTY ONE, well, Lordy...that was a pretty GREEN day. I don't mean environmentally 'green', either. Oh well, live and learn...and puke in front of a car-load of police officers as they laugh, right? Chrissy, I know you're laughing, and thanks for capturing those special moments on film. No, I will NOT be posting those on here. Huh.

Another really great page was finding my independance. At around 20, I was really going for it! I was paying my own way through life and working (HARD! FOUR jobs at one point), going to school and just beginning to appreciate the meaning of 'earning'. I felt so proud when I paid for my spring break trips all by myself, or when I would go out with girlfriends and have MY OWN money! It was great.

There for a while, all the pages were good. I was so happy in my relationship with Cary, had good friends, great parents,lots of fun, etc.

...but then it got REALLY good.

Cary proposed.

That's the page in my book that is lit up like freaking Christmas. Matter of fact, that whole year of planning our wedding was PURE joy! The wedding, the big WHITE page, was the highlight of my mid-twenties. Was I really TWENTY SIX then? Whew. Ahh, spring chicken, huh?

Our first year of wedded bliss went a little awry for me on a personal level. I became unhappy in my job (that's an understatement) and my Dad's health grew worse. Cary and I made the decision to do it on one income (SINK's are what we were! Single income, no kids! lol), it was great. I could take some time for myself and focus on my degree. But the darkest pages came in October of that year. My Dad became so ill, things were bad. We buckled down and did everything we could. I even 'moved' with him to Indy during his stay in a hospital there. On December 1st, I lost him and also lost a part of myself. For a long time my pages were dull and dark as I tried to find my way as whomever I was becoming then.

In the midst of all of that, Cary and I decided it was time to think about becoming parents. It just felt right, we needed something positive!

In just less than a year after Dad died, we learned that I was pregnant! It was then that things began to change and the pages got brighter and more purposeful everyday.

On July 13, 2007 I became a mother. That's the page in my book of life that, when you turn to it, the page just glows like the heavens. That's just all I can say. He makes me glow.

I finally got to where I needed to be in this journey through my 20's. I got things figured out that I hadn't been able to for a long time, through the dark stuff, anyway...there's always SOMETHING to figure out. I think I can thank McKinley, Mom, Dad and Cary for helping me figure out what I needed to know!

Now, today is the last page of my twenties...and I'm cool with that, really...I promise. I can hardly wait to see what those thirties will bring in my 'book'.

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!