McKay's First Birthday

When McKay woke up on his birthday, I walked into his room singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to him. He didn’t know what it all meant but he could tell by how I was acting that it was fun and he started grinning and laughing! After we got home from our walk, Nanna Anna, Grandpa V, Uncle Dustin & Aunt Chantelle called to sing Happy Birthday to McKay. He loved being able to hold the phone and listen to them. He loves 'talking' on the phone and as far as I know he hasn't broken anyone's eardrums yet. During his first nap I hung red, yellow, and blue streamers up in the front room. McKay noticed right when he woke up. Lots of enjoyment for $1.50!

For McKay's 12 month pictures, we went to Central Park. He loved seeing all the geese, ducks, and pigeons as well as all the dogs out for walks. He wanted to chase the birds. Between all the distractions and my little TODDLER'S new ideas (meaning NOT looking at mom when she has the camera) it was an interesting 'photo shoot'. He loved the park so much I took him back the next day for a walk.

He was so worn out after going to the park that he actually took another nap. He just laid quietly in his room for an hour or so and then went to sleep for another hour and a half. Wonderful! When Jordan got home from work we had dinner and gave McKay some of his birthday presents. We were really excited to give him his lion (it took ALL our self control to not give him early!) and so we all played with it for a while. As soon as he got the idea, McKay had a blast and we got a lot of enjoyment out of watching him. McKay lasted through one more gift from us and the gifts from his grandparents and was ready for bed!

Friday morning I baked McKay's birthday cake. I have let him taste brownie batter before but I have never given him the beater to lick. At first he didn't know what to think but he got the idea pretty quick and loved it!

Saturday afternoon we had a barbecue to celebrate McKay's birthday. We invited the Clark family (Mark, Jennifer, Brooklyn, Jack & Isabelle) and a couple who just moved into our ward a few houses down from us, Ben & Nancy Bailey, to come celebrate with us. We had hamburgers & hot dogs, pasta salad, fruit & fresh lemonade from the Bailey's tree. McKay really enjoyed playing with the Clark children, especially Brooklyn who will be 7 on July 25th. She loves to play with McKay and is really good with him.

McKay enjoyed eating his birthday cake, though it did take him a few minutes to catch on. Now whenever he gets any food on his fingers he tries to squish it between his fingers like he did his birthday cake. Lovely.

The Clarks gave McKay a Lego set and duck book and the Baileys gave him a big red ball. McKay enjoyed putting the Legos away each time they were dumped out. Thats my boy! We also had McKay open the last few gifts from us and the gift from Grandma Cardon. We had a very enjoyable evening. McKay waved bye bye to everyone as they left and was asleep by 7:45.

It has been interesting to observe the transformation that has occurred in our little guy during the last several days. He suddenly has an opinion on what he wants to eat and on what book he wants to read first. He makes sure someone is watching him as he drops his sippy cup on the floor and looks everywhere but at the camera when I am trying to take his picture! He is always on the go and wants to be part of whatever we are doing, even more so than before. I've lost my baby and gained a toddler! But he is still the sweet little boy, ready with a grin and a laugh, and noticing everything around him (we name everyone in our family picture several times each day) and loving it all! What a joy our little boy is in our lives!

McKay - 12 Months

12 months ago today, at 6:28 pm, McKay Jordan Moser was born. We had no idea we could love our sweet boy so much!

An update on our boy (mostly for us):

McKay sleeps on his side with his arms and legs at a 90 degree angle to his body. He has slept like this since we stopped laying him down on his newborn wedge. He also prefers to sleep at the very bottom of this crib, with his head in the corner where the bumpers meet and his body along the bottom. He is getting taller though and the crib isn't wide enough for him so one foot is usually up on top of the bumper.

McKay's hair is starting to curl in the back. Yeah!!!

I am trying to teach McKay baby sign language. He understands most of what I say and has signed 'book' back to me. He also likes to fold his arms for prayers.

McKay loves watching the picture screen saver on the computer, especially when he sees himself. He gets SO excited!

Another thing McKay gets really excited for is a bath. He acts like he is going to jump out of his skin he is so excited!

McKay has 4 teeth on the top and 4 on the bottom.

In the last week and a half or so, McKay has decided it is time to phase out one of his naps (sniff, sniff). During one of his afternoon naps when he was not sleeping, he figured out how to click his tongue.

McKay likes 'Popcorn Popping' and will do the popping action but not during the song - he's too busy watching Mom & Dad doing it! Now anytime we do anything remotely similar to that action (ie. Jordan snapping his fingers) McKay does the popping action.

He has also started 'dusting' off his hands. It took me a while to figure out what he was doing. I realized what it was one day when I was feeding him lunch and I was snacking on some trail mix and had to dust off my hands. One handed dusting prompts the popcorn popping action and two handed dusting prompts him to do the 2 handed, fancy way of clapping (basically it is clapping your hands sideways, one hand on top and then the other. :) ). He thinks it is so funny when we both clap our hands that way!

This morning, McKay got my bluetooth and was holding it up to his ear and saying 'aaahhh?' at the top of his lungs. How does my 1 year old know what to do with a bluetooth!?!

New Calling

Today I was sustained as the Second Councilor in the Young Women's Presidency. Our membership records were also read today. :) I am excited for this new experience. I haven't been in YW since I was one! I will be over the Beehives. Our ward has 8-10 Beehives and 4-5 Mia Maids and Laurels. I don't remember 12-13 year old girls being so young! It is such an awkward stage yet the decisions they are making will shape their lives. I hope I can be a good example for them and truly lead them and help them as they are making important choices.

We have been so impressed with our new ward so far. Everyone is so friendly and willing to introduce themselves. The Santa Clara ward is constantly changing. This summer there are probably 10-12 families here for internships or selling security systems - so they are here just for the summer. The 2nd councilor in the Bishopric was released today because his family is leaving tomorrow (their truck is all packed up) to move to Chandler, AZ. Both he and his wife are from the Valley. It was neat to hear his testimony and experiences he has had in the ward and to be able to relate to his first Sunday in the ward. I have a feeling it will be hard for us to leave this ward when the time comes, just as it is for the Catmull family.

There are also more converts than I have ever experienced before - and I LOVE it. It is so neat to hear the testimonies of people who are celebrating their 8th year of being members of the church, or the 1st councilor in the Bishopric who just celebrated his 20th. The testimony meetings are generally focused on bearing testimony and the sacrament meetings are always good; the speakers are well prepared to speak and use assigned conference talks as their basis. Simply wonderful.

Daddy & McKay

McKay Kisses

McKay loves to 'give' kisses. Usually that means leaning over to you so YOU can kiss him. Once in a while he will surprise you by giving a 'kiss' but usually when we ask for a kiss he will lean over so we can kiss him. When it is naptime or bedtime, he uses it to his advantage - isn't he too young to stall? When I say 'night night McKay' he'll lay his head back on my shoulder to cuddle some more (who can put him down then!) or lean his head in for a kiss. Or sometimes he'll just lean in for a kiss just because. So sweet!

McKay Walking

McKay took his first steps alone on June 29, 2008. This video was taken last Sunday, July 13, 2008. We had a new couple in our ward over for dinner and boy was McKay showing off! It was a lot of fun!

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Today McKay & I went with some friends we met at church (the same great family who invited us over for dinner our first Sunday here - the Clarks) to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. They are members there and had a guest pass for us, so that was really nice. It took about an hour and a half to get there, though if you were to ask little 5 year old Jack, it took forever!

McKay loved looking at all the fish in the first aquarium we saw - for the first few minutes he was really excited. He also enjoyed a play area that actually had a couple of things for babies to do. I tried to get a picture but he was too fast going from one station to the next. He ate his lunch very well; thanks to the pigeons for entertaining him! He took a 45 minute nap around 1 pm (yes, the ONLY nap of the day and he got up at 6:30 am!) and then he was interested in the Jelly Fish exhibit and the Outer Bay exhibit. By then it was time to head back home, despite the older children's protests.

This is a male sheephead. All sheephead are born female and most of them change to males at some point. Their diet consists of hard shelled animals so they are very dangerous with their sharp teeth. Click sheephead to learn more.
Overall we enjoyed our day at the aquarium... but now I'm itching to go cruising again!

Big Basin

On Saturday we decided to go and check out Big Basin Redwoods State Park. It is about 30 minutes southwest of us. We didn't have a lot of time but now we know we definitely want to go back and spend a day there hiking. There are trails everywhere; a map is a must. We didn't have a map or a lot of time so we did the Redwood Trail and part of another trail. The Redwood Trail takes you past the Mother of the Forest and the Father of the Forest. The Mother of the Forest is the tallest in the park at 329 ft and the Father of the Forest has the largest circumference of 66 ft 9 inches. Talk about big trees! We saw a Stellar Jay and a doe that looked like it had just lost its spots. We took the scenic way home and decided it is the only way home - absolutely beautiful. We all enjoyed our first time seeing the majestic redwood trees.

The Father of the Forest

Jordan and McKay in the Mother of the Forest.

This redwood tree was cut down when the park was opened and they have labeled the rings for what happened during certain years of the trees life, such as when Columbus discovered America. The tree was about 1500 years old!

No matter how much or how little time you have to spend among God's beautiful creations, you will leave feeling refreshed and at peace.

Independence Day

The 4th of July was a big day for our little family. Last Saturday on our way home from Oakland, we stopped in Fremont to look at a couple of Toyota Corollas Jordan had found on the internet. He is the official 'researcher' in our family and he does a GREAT job. We ended up putting a $1,000 deposit down on a 2008 Corolla with 10,860 miles on it. Probably as close to a new car as we'll ever get. This car also cost more than both of our other cars put together. Yet we still got a smokin' deal and are thrilled. As soon as the guy who sold us the car saw we were from Utah, he asked if everyone in Utah is as cautious and does as much research as we did. He said he would like to take Jordan with him when he goes to buy cars. :) Like I said Jordan is really good at researching! On INDEPENDENCE day we went to finish paying for it (ouch!) and brought it home. Jordan will use it to drive to and from work and McKay and I will have our Ford Contour (the car I bought after graduation) at home. Yeah!!! We are independent again! It seems like forever since I've been able to go whenever I want and not have to walk there and push the stroller! Now I just have to figure out where I am going... The Corolla is supposed to get about 28 mpg in the city and 40 mpg on the highway so we will definitely use the Corolla when ever we are all going somewhere together.

Santa Clara has a huge 4th of July celebration in Central Park, right by the library about 1/2 mile from our duplex. We made it to the last event of the day - the fireworks show. We walked over to the park around 8 pm and found a spot on the grass. There were people EVERYWHERE. We asked some of the people around us where the fireworks are and they said they had sat in several different places in the park every year and had not ever had a problem seeing. As we sat down, Jordan was sure the fireworks would end up being behind a tree in front of us. Sure enough, the fireworks started and we all (including the family we had spoken with before) jumped up to run to the side of the tree. So our blanket sat empty while we stood and watched the fireworks. McKay enjoyed the show, though at first he wasn't too sure about the noise. As long as we kept reminding him how pretty the 'lights' were, he was okay and seemed to enjoy it. The grand finale was AWESOME! There was so much smoke in the air we couldn't see the fireworks and it looked like a huge forest fire. We even felt the ash falling on our heads. I think every inch of that park must have been covered with people because when we went to leave with the masses... WOW! They closed down the major streets around the park and everyone was walking down the middle of the road. It was quite a sight. I felt a little bad for the people stuck in their cars but the feeling passed. People around us got a kick of Jordan's white knuckle stroller driving and McKay enjoyed the ride. And of course it was nice to get home and head to bed... what a day!