Camera Dump: June

So, i guess that any pics that wont need their own post will just be dumped here! Plus, lets be honest, i'm ready to be done with June and move on to July. It will make me feel better if I'm at least posting about the month that we're currently in :-) 

And btw, I totally forgot to do a 13 month post on Mack :-( But i've decided to do quarterly updates, anyways, so it worked out. Bottom line: Mack is doing well. Still screaming a lot (*sigh). Still "touchy" (happy one minute, made the next, happy again, crying the next, etc...). Trying to get two top molars in that are just bugging him like crazy. WALKING!!! (started July 3rd).

Spud, still the lover of all scrap foods!

Our sweet Pastor, Jeff and his wife, Brenda are in our small group that meets in our home on Sunday nights. Rhyan usually goes to my Mom's or Mommie's house during this time, but Mack hangs with us old folks b/c he goes to bed right after we finish dinner/before we start our bible study. Well, Mack LOVES Jeff and Brenda. He likes to cuddle with Brenda's "lovelies" (yes, i said it) and Jeff plays with him and makes him laugh so hard! I think that they love him as much as he loves them :-)

Mack can seriously rock a "crab crawl"

And is climbing EVERYTHING! 

Sure, Rhyan, the water table is a great pool?!

Showing off his muscles :-) I love this pic! lol

TA-DA!!! He loves to do this because it ALWAYS makes us laugh. The boy will do anything for a laugh!

And of course, Rhyan has to show us that she can do it too ;-)

I've mentioned before that we like to make ordinary things a little more fun around here, right?!

The kids LOVE adding the slide to their little kiddie pool!

WE LOVE outdoor fun!!!

Mommie's visit

Ever since Mommy got home from the hospital and has been VASTLY improving (thank the Lord!), she has come to visit on a few occasions! This particular day was to bring Mack his birthday gift!

She was in the hospital on his bday and his party but asked me to pick out a couple of things for him. He really doesnt need anything, so i kept it pretty low key. I knew he'd be happy with anything!

Turns out, he was just happy his Grandmother was home and came to see him!

(btw, Mommie has lost 44lbs since battling illness(s) in Jan. She is so thin but praise Jesus, is gaining weight now! Please continue to pray for her!)

She got him a percy train (the chunky one... super cute!) and he LOVED it! Its funny that you dont have to teach a boy to play with trains/cars/trucks! It comes so NATURALLY for Mack!

and some animal crackers, of course! She loves to feed my kiddos!

and some 18 month onesies. I never dreamed when i picked them up that he'd already be needing them! lol

I cant begin to explain how wonderful it was to have Mommie 1. home 2. Feeling great! and 3. in my home, visiting my babies! What a sweet, sweet blessing!

Mack's 1st Bday Present

We got BOTH of the kids the playground for their birthdays this year. It was expensive (even though Jeff's parents went in on it with us) so we felt like it had to be for both. But then it was also Mack's first birthday and we did, after all, give Rhyan a few smaller things for her birthday this year, too! 

So I had the idea to go with a sandbox. Our boy loves playing in messes, so we figured it would be a fun addition to the playground area! 

The only thing is, we FORGOT to give it to him at this birthday party! I mean, how do you present your kid with something like this, anyways? I guess we could have had it ready to go and then asked all our guests to accompany us to the playground area and show him to it and see how he responded, but honestly, we just forgot to even set it up! (lots was going on with Mommie at the time and i had a hard time balancing everything/making things special).

So one evening, i decided it was time to get his "Crabby" Sandbox out of the back of my van :-) I hauled 2 of the sandbags from the van all the way to the back yard area before deciding God blessed me with a buff husband and that I'm ok with being a weakling. So my beastly husband helped finish up!

Then, we had to remember to take him out to try it! HA!

He seemed to like it!

Except, everything goes in his mouth these days. And so did the sand :-(Maybe he's a little young, yet? I'm hoping he'll grow out of the desire to eat it and will learn to play!

He was really more interested in playing in the lid! Leave it to a one year old to see a toy where there isnt one!

So, Jeff hates the thing. He says its too messy and Mack eats the sand too much. I really think that in time, it'll be great. I mean, Rhyan plays in it GREAT now (at three! HA!). Here's to hoping!

Rhyan's 1st trip to the Dentist!

...Rhyan turned 3 in late April. Some literature recommends taking your children for their first dental appointment at 12 months old. As a dental hygienist I'll just share my two cents worth... 

unless you have concerns about the eruption of your childrens teeth (which, btw, you can do NOTHING about, but if you feel like you cant get a good nights sleep until you get an official "ok" from the dentist), if they've taken a hit to the teeth or you have some other concern or injury, WAIT.

You want their first dental experience to be positive. Meaning, they need to be able to be a good listener and obey. They need to be able to  sit still. And not be too afraid :-)

Three years old (or somewhere around there, plus or minus a few months) is perfect for most kids.

I happened to have an opening one day in my schedule, so i asked Jeff if he was up for bringing Rhyan for a cleaning. His only question: "who will keep Mack"?. Um, his DADDY! Mack can be bad sometimes, but for the most part he's pretty well behaved when we're in new environments.

She didnt act afraid at all! Jeff was worried about me being the one to clean her teeth... thinking maybe my co-worker, Esther, would be better. But i insisted. I mean, she's not only my kid but really, i'm GREAT with kids! I mean, not long term, but i'm great at making scared kids comfortable. The key? Be HONEST! Show them everything before you do it. Gain their trust by respecting their space and recognizing their concerns.

Yep, kids love me, if i do say so myself ;-) (haha)

I let her touch the polishing cup to feel it when it spins. She liked it!

Using "mr thirsty" as jeff calls it! She did great giving him "kisses" and thought it was funny!

And while i cleaned her teeth, Mack felt it necessary to explore Mommy's work :-) Checking for OSHA compliance, i'm sure! haha

I finished up with Rhyan really quickly and told Jeff i'd go ahead and clean his teeth since i had time (and he was overdue. yuck!... kidding, i've been over a year before). His only question (i bet you can guess...): "who's gonna keep mack"?

YOU, silly! Thats what our TV's are for!

Would you believe that he lay on Jeff's chest exactly like this for 30 minutes, watching tv and sucking his thumb?! He didnt move! So proud of my boy!

Now, my husband, on the other hand... he was a bit squirmy. He did NOT earn a trip to the treasure box.

Which, btw, in my haste to get finished up, I forgot to allow Rhyan to choose a toy from! *sigh*

She was a FANTASTIC patient. Her little teeth are seriously jacked up (severe over jet and overbite and narrowed palate). AKA: BRACES! Girlfriend has GOT to stop sucking those fingers at night! (we may have to do a finger brace... she doesnt even know she's doing it usually because she's asleep). OH well, Most kids are bound to get braces regardless so maybe its not such a big deal ;-)

Days like this, where I get to take care of people i LOVE make my job so great!

A Day at the Beauty Parlor...

With my favorite stylist: Rhyan!

My absolute favorite thing she says to me as she gets her trunk of dress up clothes is:

"Mommy? I make you dorgeous?!"

Yes, baby, I love it when you make me dorgeous :-) Just like you!

More fun in the sun!

I know everyone is probably tired of pics of our kids on the patio, but we kind of live there in the summer :-) On the upside, we made the day a little more interesting..... you'll see how.

Jeff put our "sump pump"  (i think its called) in the water table and made a FOUNTAIN! The kids LOVED it! I'm telling you, their daddy is creative, for sure!

Mckinnon: ONE YEAR!

Oh, little Mack..... you're a BIG boy now!!! (well, you were a month and 4 days ago... your mama's a little slacker lately!) You are the cutest, sweetest little boy i've ever met!

 And you are into EVERYTHING :-) So its a very good thing that you're so cute!

 And your big sister is showing you the ropes on just HOW to get into everything!

 You are standing up all by yourself and loving being outdoors and playing in the water!

And on this day, we saw you take your first step! (June 4th, i think?)

This month was a BIG month; you weaned from the bottle!

I was worried that you'd miss it since its such a wonderful cuddly time, but you were the easiest kid to wean! We started by cutting out your morning bottle at 11.5 months old. You were a little hungry for breakfast a little sooner so we bumped it up about 30 minutes. You also weaned to ALL finger/big boy foods at the same time. That transition was the easiest because you love ALL foods. If only you chewed a little better before swallowing.... one thing at a time, though. :-) So we'd get up and eat some oatmeal or a pancake and eggs or whatever at 7:30 and I offered you a cup of milk.

We were giving you a cup with a straw, but i started hating on them because they all started leaking. So one day, i decided to see how you'd do with a cup like Rhyan uses that you have to tilt back. I had to help you a little at first, but within 2 days, you were a pro! You catch on to things SO quickly! Especially when it involves getting food or drink :-)

We gave you 3 days to adjust to each bottle being dropped. And with each new phase of the transition, we were excited to see how great you did! I think its just another benefit of not letting our kids fall asleep with a bottle... you've never associated the bottle with anything other than food so as long as something replaced it, you were happy!

With Rhyan, i was always concerned with how much milk she took in. It was only about 8-10oz when she first weaned. However, you seem to think that milk is liquid gold. We have to actually limit you! Overall, you were so easy to wean. I kept you on the night time bottle until a week after you turned one.... but only because i loved holding you and seeing you get all drowsy as you ate that last bottle (it was the only bottle you ate before going down for a nap/sleep.... all other bottles came after waking from the night or nap). But eventually, your Mama decided it was time to let you be the big boy that you are. So one night i just got you ready for bed, read you a book and you went to bed like nothing had changed. Man, you're so big!

Another big change: your naps!

You started taking a REALLY long time to go to sleep in the afternoon so we had to shorten your morning nap to NO MORE than 30 minutes. You arent really ready to drop it yet, but we have to really limit it!

Here are some other hilights of this months milestones:

-moved up to 18 month clothes (fatty!)

-2 new teeth (lower laterals)

-standing alone

-taking one step on occasion

-still in size 4 diapers in the day, size 5 at night

-loving all foods. Except tomatos. Who can blame you, kid?

-you know that a cow says "moooo"

-your favorite game is to drop something and say "uh oh!" Its cute Until you start throwing food :-/

Schedule is pretty loose, but is as follows:

Wake between 7-7:30

breakfast around 8am

Independent play time around 9am

nap from 10:30-11

lunch around 12

nap around 1-1:30

wake around 3:30-4

dinner around 6

bed somewhere between 7:30-8 most nights.

 My sweet boy, you challenge me. You scream. A lot. And you cry if you get told "no". And you randomly lay in the floor and suck your thumb as if you never get to sleep. And you're cuddly and vibrant and you LOVE to be engaged and playing with your mommy, daddy or sister. You are absolutely a precious gift from God, just like your sister, and while there are days that i want to go far, far away to get a break.... every day, i am overwhelmingly grateful to be yours and Rhyans Mommy. The two of you bring me the most pure joy i've ever known, and i'm thrilled to have got