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

A Beautiful Jan. Day (and goodbye to Newbie)

First off, Rhyan has now had 5 fish, all of which have died. But the first to go... to pave the way for the rest... the one waiting to be reunited with his fellow tank mates, was Newbie. He actually developed some kind of sickness or something. He started to get a hole in his head??! It was sad and he couldnt eat :-( And his jaw was stuck open. We took him out and tried to "work" on him (like we're vets or something?!) but he was just pitiful. So after checking the internet for answers, we decided that euthanasia was the most humane thing to do. Dr Jeff Kevorkian to the rescue.

One day when I was headed to the store, he instructed me to buy some vodka and clove oil. WHAT? Ok, so we dont even drink but he wanted me to get a whole bottle of vodka? I told him to get it from his dad. haha! And Jeff actually looked at me like i was crazy! Hello?!?! Anyone in there?!?

Idk what his plans were with the vodka and clove oil, but after consulting with the people at petsmart, we decided to go with baking soda in water. They said it was the quickest and most humane way to "help" Newbie, according to some association that protects fish. Ok.

So we followed their instructions and they said it would take no more than a few minutes. Well, after about 10 minutes we added MORE baking soda. And after 10 more minutes we put the mason jar in the freezer. And that did it.

He had a proper potty burial. I was afraid that Rhyan would be upset but really, she acted like it was totally normal and then said "We neeeeeed to go to the store and buy another Newbie". HA!

And this random pic is just to remind ourselves of how spoiled Mack is. At "Nack" time, he requires a lot!

There was one day in Jan where it was absolutely beautiful! I think it was in the 60s that day and the sun was shining... so we took advantage and took the kids to Harbins Park. And apparently, every other family in the area had the same idea... it was packed! But we had a GREAT time!

Twilight: the addiction completed

How SAD that the twilight series is over!

I'm actually NOT a chick flick kind of girl. I much prefer action or war movies or sci-fi... basically anything other than a romance. BUT, Twilight sucked me in.....

Shlaine started the whole madness when she read the books and got started on the movies. Then, she told Mommie about it who read the books and wanted to see the movies. I never read the books, but am always up for a girls night out for a movie. So I got sucked in by my vampire loving family!

And since the 2nd movie, Mommie, Shlaine and I have all gone together. Dont be fooled... Shlaine goes opening night to each one. But Mommie and I wait a while and Shlaine joins us for a second viewing when the crowds die down.

Shlaine and I are team Edward (how can you NOT be?! I dont base that on Looks... comeon.. Lautner has the looks hands down... but the love story with Edward is epic!) and Mommie practically swoons every time "Jacob" walks on screen. In fact, when we went to watch the next to the last one (we were in Pigeon Forge 2011 when it was out and we went to see it), Mommie actually made some weird noise like she was going to faint b/c Jacob came on screen shirtless. HA! I told her its not right to lust and she said (classic Mommie) "honey, i'm not lusting! I'm admiring Gods beautiful creation" LOL! Hilarious!

I'll admit that part of me was afraid we wouldnt get to see the last one all together because of all of Mommie's health struggles last year. But we did! And we had a great time! We tried out the "new" theaters in Bethlehem. Our issue is that we didnt take mommie's companion wheelchair and the long walk really was difficult for her breathing. But we just took our time getting in and really, we had left in plenty of time, so it was fine!

I wanted to try to get one pic and it absolutely cracks me up... bc mommie NEVER knows where to look when i take a pic with my camera phone! So she just stares off in the distance somewhere :-) ha....

Anyhoo, we had a great girls night and I know we were both grateful for the time together! Plus, the last movie was really good! I know the twist really threw off the book readers, but for those of us who didnt read it, wow... i didnt expect any of the end of it! Nicely done! And farewell, series that "bit" me!

New Years Day

New Years day started off with my kids sleeping in LATE. WAY late... like, we got Mack up at almost 9am! Whoa. For kids who are ALWAYS up by 7:30 at the latest, this was just unheard of. And normally we like to stick to a wake time of 7-7:30 am but occasionally you just gotta sleep in :-) So, we did! What a NICE start to 2013!

 We enjoyed our leisurely breakfast together and I snapped a couple of rough pics of me and the kids :-) wow... rough indeed!

We actually had some sick family on the first day of the year, although I dont remember who? This is the downside to being SO far behind in blogging :-( Someone had a fever or upset stomach or something... so we avoided going to Mommie's house for the yearly new years dinner together. Wait, maybe its because Mommie was sick? Thats possible. Anyhoo, my Mama cooked the greens and I took on the making of the black eyed peas and homemade cornbread. Yum...

The kids wouldnt eat the greens, no surprise there. But the rest they gobbled up.

I cant say that it was a great start to the year. Because I dont remember much about the day.... it WAS 4 months ago! haha... :-) I do remember thinking that in terms of goals or whatnot for the year, I have none, really. Only hope and optimism.

Hope that Mommie's health will improve and we will enjoy the year with her
Hope that we would make some decisions regarding church (we made our decision to leave Oak Hill towards the end of Jan)
Hope that our family would work together as a team and support and love one another
Hope that we would have patience and that the Lord would give us wisdom/discernment in parenting
Hope that spiritually, 2013 would be a year of renewing and growth...

So far, so good!

Fun with Friends!

I love that around Christmas time, with the extra days off of work, we get to spend time with friends that we normally dont get to visit with very often... 

For example, getting to hang with these CRAZY folks from Oak Hill... the praise band! From Left to right there is me (singer), Randy (piano), Sonya (worship leader), Kyle (electric guitar), Ferrell (Drums), Bob (Singer or drums), Kris (Bass), and Keven (acoustic guitar). Love that Kris's "hair" is in Kevens nose.

I wanted a cute pic of my kiddos in their Christmas outfits at church... but they werent having it!

And then, there was lunch with THESE lovely ladies! Ash, me and my BFF Ang.

So, funny story (haha, right?!)... 

On the way home from our girls trip this year, I suggested that we all MAKE gifts for one another instead of buying. I was all excited when everyone (Lindsay and Angela) liked the idea. The problem? I forgot that 1. I'm not crafty and 2. I HATE crafting. *sigh*. None the less, i had found a pinterest idea I was in love with and was determined to make their gifts. I bought all the stuff. Started the project. Hated it. And never finished. And literally went to lunch empty handed :-( Ashley isnt so crafty either, as it turns out, so she bought us all bracelets and made some peanut butter ritz crackers dipped in white chocolate (yum). Ang, of course, crocheted us all a scarf. I love it (and am wearing it in this pic!). Lindsay made homemade tea bags (i think?) and dropped them at Angelas house for her to bring to lunch b/c she couldnt come (sick kid i think?!) BUT, ang didnt realize that the three bags were for the 3 of us and thought they were all for her and kept them. LOL! (and she didnt know that unless she's reading this b/c i never told her... haha).

So... operation "Card and a Craft" was a BUST! :-(

Still... these girls (plus the missing lindsay and april) are the BEST!

Random... what a beautiful sky!!!

Another Random: Mack has gotten LOTS of spankings for climbing on the back of our couch... yet he continues to think its worth it ;-) His "perch", as he sees it!

We also had a great time exchanging gifts and hanging out with our friends, Taylor and Shelby! They gave Mack this little Melissa and Doug "tractor trailer" carrying 4 cars and I'll be honest... he plays with that thing all. the. time! He loves it!

How absolutely precious are these friends?!

I'm so grateful that our friends live so close and that Rhyan, since birth, has spent time with them almost every week! Even in the summer we try to let the kids play! Rhyan has really missed Taylor since she started pre-k so these little visits are so fun!

SO grateful for a season that we have time to spend a little time with so many people we love!

Christmas Day!!!

Christmas Eve night!!! Woohoo!

Santa was a BUSY fella! :-)

 I try every year to think of something yummy that can become our traditional Christmas Day Breakfast! This year, I took the advice of a patient of mine and made Paula Dean's French Toast casserole. You are supposed to prepare it the night before so it can soak and then bake it the next morning. So this is the night prep... it took me forever! (mostly b/c i didnt know what I was doing and had to reference the recipe constantly).

 And we finally used our santa plate! (i forgot last year!!). We ran out of time to make cookies so we just put out some sugar cookies. Rhyan didnt seem to care and Santa obviously didnt mind!

 CHRISTMAS MORNING!!!!

The kids, at their current ages, are GREAT about waiting until we let them go see what "Santa" brought.

All Rhyan kept asking for this year was a "Talking Tangled" (Rapunzel). Well, they dont make such! So we kept talking up a singing rapunzel in hopes that she'd start liking that idea. Eventually it caught on and she was on board! She was SO excited to see that she got that doll Christmas Morning!!!

 She had not asked for a bike, but we thought it would be a great gift seeing as how her knees were hitting the handle bars on her tricycle! She was SO surprised and immediately got up on it and started riding it around the house! We were concerned that a 16" was going to be too big for her but the 12" looked so SMALL! We were very glad that we went with the 16... great size for her now and still has room to grow!

 Mack got a Chuggington Choo-Choo (he's obsessed with trains) and he plays with it daily! Love it!

 Notice Rapunzel in her "basket"

 I didnt get many pics of Mack with his toys because he was just kind of everywhere and looking all around but not really "playing" with anything... I think he was trying to figure things out :-) That little people ramp toy you see in the pic below is by far the BEST thing he got this year... he and Rhyan play with it DAILY!

 Gran and Grandad came by later in the morning to see everything the kids had gotten! 

And Mack, with ALL of his new toys, decided that the most exciting thing to do is to climb through our end tables in the living room. REALLY?!!??!

 That evening, we went to Gran and Grandad's for dinner (yum). And Aunt GAYE came!!! She lives in S.C. but has joined us this last couple of years for Christmas, which we've all really enjoyed! Its so nice of her to come so far and we all love getting to catch up and spend time with her! And she, of course, enjoyed getting to spend time with the kiddos, especially little Avery, who she hasnt seen much of! (our kids are "old news" haha... kidding)

Look at that sweet grin!!!

 Rhyan loves her little "baby Avery" (who isnt such a little baby anymore!!!) and wanted to hold her!

 AND... help feed her! How cute is that?! Liz is so good and sweet about letting the kids "help" with her and hold her... especially considering that Avery is their first baby! Cool Mom/Aunt points for sure :-)

 Mack, however, wanted to make sure that she had her paci in her mouth... whether she wanted it or not!

 Time to hand out presents!!!

 Notice that this big red gift has hands and feet but no head?! ;-) hehe

 Little Avery had a LONG day... a trip to SC to visit Liz's family in the morning and to visit with us in the evening... poor baby was in the car most of the day and didnt sleep very much. Holidays can be HARD with family who doesnt live close, I know. I'm SO grateful that ours are both local! So Liz was helping get her to sleep :-) Precious times....

 Aunt Gaye gave Rhyan and Mack some SUPER cute outfits! And a few toys! she spoiled them!!! Jason and Liz gave them each a couple of toys (disney characters! and for Rhyan a movie and Mack some "tools") and then an extra, surprise gift for Rhyan... a sweet gold cross necklace! She felt so grown up and loves it!
Gran and Grandad gave some SUPER cute outfits, too! And a couple of toys, too. They racked up!

 LOL!!!!!!!!

We are so grateful for all of the time we get to spend with our family at Christmas. It truly is the most wonderful time of the year!!!