Monkey Business

McKay usually follows me around the house, room to room, all day long. When I left the kitchen for my bedroom I expected him to be close behind. When he didn't follow, I called to him to see if he would come. He didn't come, so I continued putting the laundry away for a few minutes happy that he was entertaining himself. I decided since things were a little too quiet I had better go find him. I found him in his bathroom having the time of his life:



I try to keep the door to the bathrooms closed at all times, so this was his first toilet-paper unraveling. When he saw me, he laughed like I'd never heard him laugh before. I wish I would've been fast enough to also catch his laugh on camera.

Birthday Bash!

We had a two day fun-filled celebration in honor of McKay's first birthday. On Saturday evening, we had a little party at the park. It was so fun to have some of our family and friends come celebrate with us. On Sunday, Uncle Preston and Aunt Kristin came over and I made McKay's favorite dinner of chicken and rice. After dinner, we sang "Happy Birthday" again and gave him his own little cake to smash and eat. We then opened presents, played with them a little and then put a worn-out McKay to bed.

Ahh, yes, the pictures. Here we go:

The cake.

(There was supposed to be a fondant banner between the two monkeys on the bottom that read, "Happy 1st Birthday, McKay!" At the last minute, I couldn't find my icing writing pens so I scrapped it. I guess I shouldn't have pointed that out.)

(For all you fondant users out there, use this recipe...only mix it in a
KitchenAid or Bosch instead of by hand to avoid the sticky mess.)

Birthday Boy


Pinata Time

Brennan Kemp getting ready to take a swing!


Ethan's turn.


McKay trying to figure it all out.


Happy to not be forgotten about.


Not quite enough to get air born.


Playing in the grass at home.

Cake time!

So fun to get Mom messy, too!

Let's not forget about Dad!

McKay stayed surprisingly clean. Most of the cake just ended up in his lap.


McKay loved all of his presents!

The Big ONE!

Happy Birthday to our precious little man, McKay! There's no doubt about who has ruled our house over the last year and we wouldn't want it any other way. Having McKay in our home has brought us so much joy and happiness. We can't imagine what we ever did without him.

Here are some pics from a year ago today, followed by the first 48 hours at home:

7 lb 7 oz
20" long
Born at 10:11 am
Saturday, 4/26/08
McKay was given his dad's middle name.
McKay's middle name, Orion, was chosen because of its symbolic nature...
he is our little star.

Not our very first meeting...but close.

A thinker!

The resemblance wasn't so obvious at first...but now it is unmistakable.

Nothing smells sweeter than a newborn babe!

Jaundice Treatment (It was torture to have to do this to him.):

McKay is such a big boy and has such a fun personality. He is so happy and friendly and has a smile for EVERYONE. He is turning into quite a big tease...I'm pretty sure that's genetic. (I'll admit it's from my side.) He is a momma's boy most of the time, but gets so excited when Nathan comes home from work and actually gets a little offended if Nathan doesn't go straight for him first thing. He's been walking for over a month, but still is a little resistant to walk around the house without one of us by his side. He's great at feeding himself with a spoon for the first several bites until he gets distracted by how fun it is to play in his food. McKay's all-around favorites are bread, buttons (the kind you push), books, balloons, baths, dogs, and cords. (I bet if he had a favorite letter it would be "B".)

Oh, how we love this little guy!

(Party pics to follow.)

Cold Turkey

I've officially been dumped....by my baby. There wasn't a warning...no signs. You know the old saying, "It's not you, it's me." Well, clearly in this situation, the saying was, "It's NOT me, it's YOU!" Who told him he could just decide when he wanted to quit nursing...all at once? That's MY job! It's not even that he just didn't want to nurse...it was his reaction at even the thought...crying, screaming, pushing and kicking.

It doesn't matter, what's done is done. It's now been three days and obviously McKay has moved on and I'll only sulk for a little while. Not that I loved every minute of it...we definitely had our issues (especially the first three months). I just don't understand how he can go from LOVING it, to completely despising it in the blink of an eye. I am enjoying the freedom and had been anticipating this day for months, but I wanted to do it on my own terms.

Happy Birthday to Kristin!

My cute and fun little sister is celebrating her birthday today and in her honor I thought I would share a few of my favorite pictures.

Five-year-old me holding 3 month old Kristin.
(Why can't I ever keep my eyes open for pictures?!?)

In this picture I think Kristin was eight or nine. It's a classic! Does it make you worry that this person could be the one filling your prescription at the local Wal-Mart? She actually is quite smart and doesn't dress this way all the time.
For some of her amusing pharmacy stories, click here.

We spent a lot of time fighting when we were growing up, but I'm seriously glad she's my little sister and that she now lives close by. She's so fun to be with and is a ROCKSTAR friend, sister, aunt and pharmacist!

EASTER

San Antonio

McKay and I took a quick trip along with my sister Kristin to visit another sister, Suzanne, and her family in San Antonio at the end of March. The time went by too quickly and I wish we would've stayed longer. I was able to revisit the Riverwalk, SeaWorld and my favorite San Antonio landmark...the Alamo. We also visited the San Jose Mission. The architecture was quite impressive and it's still being used as a functioning church.

What a cute family!

McKay loved playing with the girls, and his favorite item to play with was this mini-piano that was just his size.

Along the Riverwalk, McKay kept taking his socks and shoes off...so that's why he's barefoot and wearing a jacket. I'm glad it wasn't very cold...silly boy!


On the airplane ride home we had an empty seat on our row, so McKay was quite comfortable with his very own seat.



When we got home, Kristin was greeted with a cute little surprise. Her husband picked up a Teacup Yorkie for her while she was gone. McKay LOVES this adorable dog named Bear. (Just because I think it's cute doesn't mean I'll ever own one.)