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.

Snow Fun

Photobook Madness

I've finally completed McKay's first scrapbook!!!! Not his first year though, it just covers the first five months. I started over a year ago but kept getting distracted by other projects. I put together his pages in GIMP by using FREE digital scrapbook kits and quickpages (picture-ready pages). Winkflash.com is having a great deal right now on photobooks. So other than time, the total cost for this 100 page 12x12 book was $36.44 (including shipping). A professional scrapbooker I am not, but I'm happy with it and I hope McKay will like it. If you're interested, you can check out the pages (in backwards order) by clicking here.

Christmas Extraordinaire!

We were a little too excited this year to wait for Christmas to give McKay his presents. So we started before Christmas...like a month and a half. I was actually hoping it would help keep him busy while I got more things done. It helped a little, but not like I'd hoped. At least he was able to enjoy the novelty of a few of his presents in their singularity (guitar, shopping cart, computer) instead of heaping them all on him in one day. Although, he did end up getting quite a load on Christmas anyway...I was a crazy deal seeking mom who couldn't resist a bargain. (I still am.) We spent a quiet, cozy Christmas at home this year. We woke up, and in true Pearson tradition, got dressed and ate breakfast before opening our presents. We had delicious crepes, savory and sweet, made by our in-house gourmet French chef, Nathan. (He did spend two years there. In France, that is.) We let McKay take his time opening his presents. I think we were still opening presents a few days AFTER Christmas. Mckay LOVED his new kitchen: The burners on his stove quit working, so I took it back and bought a different one on clearance from Target. He loves it even more. He was so happy to have his own motorcycle. He still is a little cautious and likes to turn it on its side to "work" on it with a screwdriver more than he likes to ride it. We are very blessed and truly had an extraordinary day...McKay made this year's Christmas the best one yet. We had a relaxed, happy Christmas with our little family. We look forward to making some of the new things we did into traditions in the years to come. (See previous post for Christmas Eve photos.)