Happy Birthday lil' Man Mack

Mack turned TWO on Friday... where have the last two years gone?!

FYI, i'm so behind on my blog b/c of procrastination for one, business for two and my inability to get my pics onto cd's so i can delete them from my computer and download new ones (my memory on my computer is about used up... no, i'm not computer savvy...). Excuses, excuses...


My Sweet Mack,

Two and a half years ago when we found out we were having a BOY, i remember some members of our family saying they didnt a stinky BOY... they wanted another girl. I wont name those family members for fear that it may crush your spirits (but hint, hint, their names rhyme with "ammy" and "ayer"). But now that you've been a part of our lives for two years and we've had that long to get to know you, not one single person wishes you were anything but YOU. Stinky boy and all. You are scrumptious! And we all adore you!

I've been really slack at doing your quarterly updates, missing your 15 and 18 month updates on the blog. Not to be mean, but you were pretty much in a bad spot from 15-18 months so it might be a blessing in disguise ;-). We loved you through it, but it was not the easiest phase for you, or us. Lots of screaming. Lots of crying. Lots and lots and lots of whining. And disobeying. And time out. Whew. I'm so grateful its over! (Please God, tell me its over!)

And now, you're TWO! And while we still have an occasional hiccup, you are for the most part SO much joy for our family! I think the fact that you had 1 year molars AND canines coming in between 15-18 months had a LOT to do with the bad phase, and I know that your two year molars are coming soon, but I'm really crossing fingers that we will all be able to handle it a little better when there are only four teeth coming instead of eight. Bless your heart!

At two years old you are:

-In size 5 diapers in the day, size 6 at night. Interested in the potty and actually squeezed out a little pee pee recently and on occasion you poopie on the potty. I'm hoping you'll be easy to train, but am not stressing over it. It'll happen when it happens :-)

-In 24 mo or 2T clothing

-Kind of a freak about shoes. We dreaded the day that you grew out of your favorite tennis shoes b/c you always pitched a fit if we tried to put anything else on you. For a long time (in the winter) I decided to not make an issue of it but now that its summer... well, son, you cant wear tennis shoes to the beach or pool. So I've bought you a pair of brown, cute sandals, a pair of crocs, a pair of flip flops and new tennis shoes. We've had melt downs about the flip flops which i'm assuming may be because you dont like stuff between your toes, so  we've moved on from those. You prefer your crocs which is fine, unless you get a spec of dirt in them which makes you freak as you yell "i dirty! i dirty". :-)

-LOVING Thomas trains and Cars best. You know most of the Thomas theme song and are sure to yell out each name of the trains during the song. You even go to bed and sing it to yourself (we hear you yelling "THOMAS! JAMES! ERCY!  ORDON! EELY! ENRY! EDWARD! TOBY!" haha... you miss some of the letters in the names, which i also love! You got a train table handed down to you from some friends and are pretty much in love!

-Able to count to 12 and only miss the number 4. I think thats pretty darn good!

-Know a LOT of your ABC's. Idk what letters you miss, but i'd say its about 1/2 and 1/2 right now?

-Loving to pray. You love to say certain words in the blessing at dinner time but, true to Mack form, you yell them :-) Makes for interesting looks if we eat out, for sure.

-ONLY sucking your thumb in bed now and only to get to sleep. Unless your teeth hurt and then we may see you pop it in from time to time but a gentle "mack... no thumb" and you pop it right back out. Funny thing now, though... at night I say our night nights and ask for a kiss and here recently you look at me and smile and pop your RIGHT thumb in your mouth. HA! You are a left thumb only sucker so you're definitely doing it to be funny. See how cute you can be?!

-Tackling your sister, chasing her and being a great, annoying little brother :-) You love to give her hugs and kisses at night, and laugh your head off when you slyly decide to take her down mid-hug!

-Quite animated! You make all kinds of funny faces and say words in funny ways to make us laugh. Sometimes I dont even think you realize you are funny!

-Burp a TON! We treated you for a month with reflux medicine to try to get your tummy calmed down and while it may have helped a little, you still burp tons. Funny thing is you always put your hand over your mouth afterwords, say "oh wow! i burp! cuuuse me!" and laugh. So cute!

-Eating sporadically... again, it may be the teething or the fact that your taste is becoming more discriminate... either way, I wish you'd stop spitting out food that you dont like. I wish you'd just eat the one bite and refuse more. Oh well... maybe one day! haha

-Love to sing all kinds of songs!

-Do REALLY well with independent play time now! Thanks to the train table!!! You were really struggling with adjusting to our new church and Daddy thought some independent play time may be helpful and while you screamed a good bit in the beginning, you now do 30 minutes a day HAPPILY and clean up after! Thank you Lord for progress! (you are also doing GREAT in church now, too!!! halleujah!)

-Love to wake Mommy up in the morning on the weekends. You run into my room and yell "Mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy!" like you havent seen me in a month! You crawl up on the bed and hug and cuddle with me and then pull back the covers and literally push up on the back of my head/face and say "up mommy! UP!". You are not very patient ;-)

-LOVING being outdoors. loving water!

-Still screaming a lot. But that is just you. Most days, its less than it used to be. You still get frustrated, but as you get older and more able to do the things your big sister does, you seem happier and happier!

-Constantly sticking your finger up your nose and saying "mommy, i dot boo-dies" LOL!

Mckinnon Andrew Ford
Your first two years of life brought all kinds of challenges. From your reflux and protein sensitivity to your sheer stubbornness and refusal to use sign language... we've had our good days and bad! But the longer I have the privilege to get to know you, the more I enjoy you!

 I absolutely adore you, my sweet boy! You have the funniest personality and are so playful. Its true that I call you a "bundle of busy"... and for good reason. You're like a monkey with all of your climbing and jumping! I definitely see ER visits in our future with you ;-). But you bring so much joy to our family, lil man. Your daddy and I adore you and Rhyan is quick to say how much she loves you and how you are her BEST FRIEND! She gets upset with us if we spank you or make you cry and says "you be nice to my brother! he's my best friend!" Your Daddy and I pray that the Lord will always allow you to be life long best friends!

We love you, sweet boy! We get frustrated sometimes because we dont exactly know how to parent you all the time... and you get frustrated because we dont understand you! You keep us on our knees, asking the Lord to give us discernment on how to be your Mommy and Daddy. But this much is true... being your Mommy has taught me SO much about how our Heavenly Father feels about us, His creation. I am NOT easy  to love and am not obedient all the time. I pitch fits when I dont get my way and scream when Im frustrated with the Lord sometimes. I'm not an easy child of God, and yet God loves me. And so it will always be true with you, my son... you may not be the easiest child to raise, but through you, God refines your Daddy and I and no matter what, we will always love you! Thats what family is! Unconditional, never ending love... and you've got it right here!

We love you little buddy!!!
Mommy