The Land of Disney

Disneyland was more fun this year than ever!!! We'll let the pictures speak for themselves:

Party Time x 3

I'm pretty sure this is the last year McKay will have more birthday parties than he is years old.

Party One

The weekend before McKay's birthday, the Kemps came over to hang out with us and brought McKay a delicious cupcake cake. They also gave him another weapon....a foam sword which he loves! What will we do now that they live so far away?!?!








Party Two

We went on a family vacation to California with Nathan's cousin's family, the Wrigleys (Jared, Sarah, Logan and Ethan). They are great friends and we love spending time with them. We spent McKay's birthday (4/26) on the beach where we had a little birthday party. (Two different beaches to be exact.) We spent most of the day playing in the sand on Balboa Beach. It was a little cooler than expected due to the wind, but we still had a lot of fun.

We saw quite a few dolphins swimming close to shore. I was never quick enough to capture more than the fins.



We ate lunch at Ruby's (on the roof) on the pier. We enjoyed spectacular views and fed the birds (even though the sign said not to---shhh!).

(Logan and McKay---two very good friends!)

(McKay either eats it by himself or not at all.)

(McKay was given a special Ruby's hat and sundae.)

Later in the day, we headed down the coast to Laguna Beach where we ate cupcakes and McKay finally got to have the fire (on the candles) he'd been asking for. He knows fire and birthdays go hand in hand. I made the cupcake toppers at home and was glad to find a store that sold cupcakes with blue frosting. (Because blue is McKay's favorite color.) I could've made them myself, but it was so much easier this way.





Party Three

We had another party for McKay with some family and friends at home on Saturday, May 1st. I made him an interesting excavator cake (it's only his most favorite object in the world). Please be kind. It had been a long week so it wasn't perfect to begin with and then McKay got his hands on it. It did resemble a digger, but not to the extent I'd planned. Hopefully by next year his favorite thing is a circle or a rectangle. (I hear those shapes make great cakes.)



At least it tasted good!




The present he loved most was his drum set. (I suspected it would be.) I got it after Christmas on clearance and have had to resist several urges to give it to him early.




(See previous post for McKay's birthday tribute.)

TWO!

Our smart, happy, funny, sweet, handsome baby is two years old!

Two! TWO! TWO!

There are so many things we love about McKay. Here are just a few:

::: His morning snuggles.

::: His special guitar performances with great dance moves.

::: The way his little voice sounds when he says things like:
"Mom, buy it!" "What?" "Come on!" "Cows, over der." "Fick it! (Fix it!)" "Mom, wake up!"
He talks nonstop and we mostly understand what he says.

::: How he says, "Cheese!" and gives us a silly smiley face when we try
to take his picture.

::: His shyness.
(He got a double dose of that from both of his parents.)

::: His never-ending supply of energy.

::: His affinity for large vehicles.
Specifically, boats, semi-trucks and trailers, dumptrucks, diggers and loaders.

::: His favorite color is blue.

::: Instead of sleeping with a soft cuddly teddy bear or blanket, he holds his miniature semi-truck.

::: He likes to be involved in anything we're doing even if it's work.
He loads the laundry in the washing machine. He helps unload the dishwasher and puts the dishes away in the correct places if he can reach. He really can wash dishes. (He'll even take the silverware out of the drawer and pretend to wash it in his play kitchen.) He's offended if we take the garbage out without him.

::: His curiosity.
(Even if it usually gets him into trouble.)

::: How he loves to sing and do the actions to "Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree".

::: His Atomic Elbows.
He pats his right elbow twice with his left hand and then brings the elbow down on his unassuming target.

::: His sloppy kisses and big squeezes.

::: His infectious laugh...even when it's fake.

::: How he lines up all the various bottles under my sink along the edge of the bathtub.

::: How he calls me "Mom" at least 200 times a day.

I can't ever say it enough or loud enough.....I LOVE MCKAY!!!
And I feel so blessed to be his mom.

McKay's Grandma Miller wrote him a poem for his birthday and I loved it so much that I want to share. Here it is:

Morning Star
By: Wanda Miller

Two years ago
With a baby's cry
A special star
Lit the morning sky

Trailing glory
And bringing joy
To the parents of
A little boy

Touching the hearts
Of those who knew
His miracle birth
Was a dream come true

Blessing lives
From the very start -
Lighting the landscape
Of my heart.

A little bit country...

...and a little bit rock 'n roll!




Actually, McKay's A LOT rock 'n roll. He never wastes an opportunity to play his guitar...whether it be to the music for a 30-second commercial, or to a 30-minute show of Imagination Movers. He adds in some crazy dance moves and even gets down on his knees. If his guitar isn't handy, he'll make do with the cutest air guitar you've ever seen! He even breaks out the air guitar in the car, stores and church!

Blossoms and Blessings

Beautiful and Bounteous

A bAbY sHoWeR!

This last Saturday, my sisters and I threw a baby shower for our youngest sister, Kristin. My sister, Suzanne, came all the way from Texas just for the event. I LOVED having all of my sisters together. Kristin's the last one to have her first baby, so it was a major event for us. We are so excited for her and know she's going to be an excellent mommy because she is an INCREDIBLE aunt. McKay is going to be a little jealous when the baby arrives.

I'm glad and relieved the event came together mostly as planned. We had a lot of fun planning and decorating, and loved seeing Kristin's reaction to all of it. We based the decor off of the shower invitation.






With her super talent, Suzanne drew (freehand) and painted the characters from the invitation:



The food was delicious! Croissants, chicken salad, seafood salad, Janet's black bean avocado dip (THE hit) and fruit kabobs. Holly made the adorable cake. Can you believe the detail on this teddy bear?



Janet put together the most adorable diaper cake I've ever seen!



We played fun games and had a onesie decorating contest. All the onesies turned out so cute!



Here's Kristin supervising the decorating. She looks a little concerned.


We had Kristin judge and pick the winners.


I think Baby Boy Porter is all set. We are counting down the days to his arrival, which should be in another month.