Dolls & Bows or Balls & Cars?

December 16th we had our 18 week ultrasound. The baby was asleep for most of it but the technician was able to get what she needed to determine the baby is healthy and everything seems to be OK. What a relief! We also found out that we are having another boy. Yay! Both Jordan and I thought we were having a boy so we weren't surprised. It was fun calling our parents and grandparents and getting everyone's guesses before we told them our news. Everyone guessed girl. Maybe next time!

2009 Christmas Letter

2009 has been a very eventful year for us. In February we had our first visitors in California. Maria’s brother Chris completed his mission in Southern California so he & Maria’s parents came to see us for a few days ‘on their way’ home. It was great to have them and we enjoyed showing them around. A couple of weeks later we had our second visitors, Jordan’s parents! We also enjoyed site seeing with them. We played hard the rest of the year with season passes to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, camping trips to Shaver Lake & Yosemite, a trip for Maria & McKay to AZ, a quick trip to Idaho for Jordan while Maria & McKay went to Southern California and a vacation in Monterey/Carmel over Thanksgiving.

Jordan’s biggest accomplishment this year was to lose almost 60 lbs. Yes, I said this year. His family did a ‘biggest loser’ competition for the first 6 ½ months of the year and we really focused on changing our lifestyle to eating healthy & exercising. He feels & looks great! He is currently a field engineer/commissioning agent for Hensel Phelps Construction Co. working on the ConRAC at the San Jose Airport. They are scheduled to complete it next summer. We were able to find a way for Jordan to make a quick trip to Idaho in September to surprise his parents at their mission farewell. They are currently serving in the Marshall Islands. Jordan is Secretary in the Young Men’s presidency in our ward and is focusing on getting our Young Men working on their Duty to God.

Maria loves being at home with McKay. She enjoys using nap time to do taxes, digital scrapbooking, blogging, reading, and anything else that is best done when a busy two year old is sleeping! She was recently released as 2nd councilor in the Young Women’s presidency and is now the ‘Sacrament Meeting Coordinator representing the Youth’. In other words, she assigns the youth to give talks in church!

McKay (2) is truly a delight to have in our family. Each day is a new adventure. He loves to read books and to go to story time at the library each week. He loves going to church and is very excited when it is time for nursery. We recently started doing a preschool/playgroup with three other two year olds in our ward & he has looked forward to ‘ool’ each week. He is day-time potty trained now, which has been great! McKay loves to help Mama whether it is with laundry or rinsing the dishes. He loves to go to the park, is good at climbing, and loves to slide down the tall slides. He also loves to play with balls whether it is inside or at the park. He knows the ABC song and recognizes almost all of the letters and points them out as we drive around town. His vocabulary is growing and it is becoming easier to understand him.

We are excited to be expecting an addition to our family in the middle of May 2010.

We have enjoyed striving to draw closer to Christ during this wonderful Christmas season and have felt His love for us throughout the whole year. We are so grateful for our testimonies of the gospel and of the peace it brings into our lives. We look forward to 2010 and hope the New Year finds our family and friends healthy & happy.

Love,
the Mosers

Thanksgiving Vacation

On Thanksgiving day we drove 1 1/2 hrs south to Monterey. Traffic was the lightest we've ever seen it! We checked into the Portola Hotel & Spa where we made reservations at a great price months ago, and set out to explore. The hotel is right on the bay and the wharf. Little did we know, this would be the nicest weather we would get our whole visit!

We enjoyed poking around in several shops and checking out the different turkey dinners the restaurants were offering. Actually, we took turns enjoying poking around in stores since McKay was always ready to move on before we were and most stores had breakables right at his level. In the end, we ended up sticking with the restaurant we had reservations at, with a great view of the ocean. It was definitely a different Thanksgiving dinner than we've ever had before but clean up was great!

Friday morning we set out on the 17 Mile Drive. It goes right along the coast and has several points of interest on the way. You have to pay to drive it and they give you a map with the points of interest & explanations along the way. It was very windy and rainy when we started. The wind never died down but it did stop raining.

This first stop is Spanish Bay. The waves were huge! There were actually several fatalities over the weekend from people out in boats on the waves.

Point Joe
We got to where we'd only take McKay out of the car when he insisted or when we wanted a picture with all of us. The stops are quite close together and the wind was intense so he didn't mind too much.

The Restless Sea

There are a couple of ships at the bottom of the ocean here where early mariners crashed into the rocks. The water is just white and very turbulent.

China Rock

Fanshell Overlook

Cypress Point Lookout

The Harbor Seals were very entertaining to watch. This lookout is closed April & May because they have their pups here.

The Lone Cypress

This cypress grows out in the rocks and is over 250 years old.

The Ghost Tree

Pebble Beach

Wow, what a beautiful place!

We brought our tri-pod and used the timer on our camera to take some pictures at the 18th hole. We weren't sure how well it would work but McKay thought the blinking light that goes faster and faster was pretty cool! So we took advantage of it. More pictures to come. :)

All of the above houses except the house in the top right were people's homes along the 17 mile drive. W.O.W.! The picture on the top right is in Carmel. It is a Hansel & Gretle house.

We really enjoyed the drive & would highly recommend it to anyone who comes out this way. McKay fell asleep and we were hungry for dinner so we punched California Pizza Kitchen into Jack (gps) and headed back to Monterey. McKay was so tired he slept while Jordan carried him into the restaurant and while Jordan and I ate. It was nice and the food was great!

After dinner we went to Cannery Row in Monterey. They had this reindeer there from Wild Things, where they have animals that have been on movies etc. Looks like a cool place to visit sometime.

We had fun trying on hats in several stores. The only store it wasn't fun was one in Carmel when the guy basically kicked us out because McKay was trying on hats too. Jordan actually found hats that fit his head and I found one I liked too. Yay!

We were just in time to see the tree lighting in the plaza. McKay thought it was pretty neat and has since been enjoying all the decorated trees.

We enjoyed poking around and seeing what we could see and soaking up the atmosphere. There is a Ghirardelli shop there too. Peppermint bark chocolate was the sample. ummhmm.

Saturday we went back to Carmel and walked up and down Ocean Avenue and found a few more deals. The Jane Austen store is an antique store full of items that were found in the era Jane Austen wrote about. The owner appreciated that I recognized the connection. Of course we didn't buy anything. The bottom right picture is of one of the many cottages that has the 'bendy' roof, as Jordan calls it.

After a delicious Mexican dinner at El Torito (yes I was able to eat Mexican! Yay!) we went back to Ghirardelli and actually ordered a sundae. Every time we have been to Ghiradelli in San Francisco, the sample chocolate is enough even though we have wanted to try the famous sundae. It was good but we definitely got our 'fix' for quite a while!

We really enjoyed our little get-away and may have to make it a tradition! Every time we went to get into the car McKay would say 'no home, no home'. Guess he was having a good time too!

Things to Remember

11-23-09
Since we visited A. Mary in September, McKay always wants me to open a banana the way Mary showed him: holding the stem and using your wrist to flip it open.

McKay likes to drink the leftover milk from my cold cereal in the morning. :)

Lately, McKay has insisted on holding either my or Jordan's hand while we eat.

Unless it is a song he has asked me to sing, McKay always says 'no Mama no' when I hum, whistle, or sing. Kind of interesting when you consider how much he enjoys listening to music.

11-20-09
McKay & I stopped at the dollar store on our way home from the library and I bought a roll of Christmas wrapping paper. McKay got excited when he saw the bin of paper & grabbed one and swung it around like a golf club. Woosh! The clerk was getting nervous at his swinging (not as nervous as me... I'd be buying stuff!) so I told him to wait till we got home. We got home and he wooshed a little more and then began to 'clean' the kitchen floor. His golf club transformed into a broom! *Update* He now uses the wrapping paper to 'hit' bottle rings around the kitchen. I haven't had the heart to open the wrapping paper yet!

11-14-09
I often hear McKay quoting books. Usually when he is obviously saying something specific that I don't recognize, I'll realize what he was saying the next time we read books.

11-10-09
Every time we drive past the golf course (or something that looks like a golf course to McKay), he says 'woosh!' We went to the driving range one evening and Jordan taught him that 'woosh' is the sound the club makes when you swing. Every time we drive past the course we went to (and we didn't even golf!), which is right by the grocery store, McKay says 'woosh'!

11-5-09
Last night I told McKay that today he had preschool. First thing he said this morning was 'ool'? He was so excited to go and kept asking all morning if it was time to go. Good thing it starts at 9 am!

11-3-09
McKay likes to say 'Mama best, Dada best, Me best'. If he mixes up the order, he does it again. Jordan kept trying to get him to say 'Dada best' and McKay, being the tease he is would say 'Mama best'. Then it evolved to him saying both of us were 'best' and I told him he is best too. Now all three of us are best!

He also likes to say 'Mama crazy, Dada crazy, Me crazy'.

11-1-09
When McKay is tired, he LOVES to exaggerate his yawn, which of course, makes us yawn too.

Any time McKay's body makes a sound (passing gas, burping, stomach growling, sneezing) he thumps his chest twice. Anytime my stomach growls, he thumps my chest twice. He gets this from Jordan who thumps his chest twice after a burp.

Jordan took McKay with him to the store and over and over McKay kept saying the same thing until Jordan figured it out and acknowledged it. He kept saying 'Mama crazy'.

You Know You Live in California When...

Your recycling bin is bigger than your trash bin.

Muir Beach

Saturday, November 14th Jordan ran the 11k (6.8 miles) Muir Beach Trail run. This was his first trail run and he did very well! We were worried it was going to be rainy & cold when we woke up at 5:30 to rain but once we got there, the rain had stopped and it was just overcast and cool. (Like 53 degrees). We had to park about a mile away since we didn't have at least 3 runners in our car so after a vigorous walk, we met up with some friends from the ward who decided to do the run after hearing about it from Jordan.

Before the run.

I wasn't sure how long it would take him to finish because of all the steep hills in the race (1900' elevation gain) so McKay and I hung out at the finish line after the first few runners came in. McKay clapped for all the runners coming in and gave them a nice 'woo hoo'. It was fun to cheer with him. I'd have him look each time a runner came around the corner to see if it was Daddy.

When Jordan came around the corner, McKay yelled 'hi daddy' and ran out to meet him. Jordan carried McKay with him across the finish line.

The sun finally came out just in time for us to look into it for pictures.

Our family with the Eggers family. It was great to have someone to wait with while the guys ran. Their baby boy is 6 weeks old.

This is the view from Muir Overlook. The run started just up from the beach. They ran up the first hill, down the other side and up the furthest hill you can see in the picture. Then they went down around out of sight and the steepest/longest hill was just before the finish line. There was only a short distance that wasn't either going up a hill or down. It was interesting to hear runners talking after they had finished. Some do the run every year but seemed to have forgotten just how 'brutal' those hills are!

Muir Beach is a small, very nice beach. We looked at the beautiful homes with walls of windows facing the ocean and thought how nice it would be to watch the sun set over the ocean each evening. *sigh*

Move views of the beach from the beach & overlook, plus a tree with dried moss on it since we are in the dry season now.

We crossed the Golden Gate Bridge to get to Muir and McKay loved going across the bridge. Even more exciting than that though were the several tunnels we had to go through to get there and back. We'd come out of one and he'd ask for another tunnel. The simplest things are so exciting when you're 2!

When the Music Plays

Dance!

May

Surprise!

McKay is going to be a big brother in May. We are so excited to have a new baby in our home. I am 13 weeks and have been less sick this time than ever before, which in my mind is a huge tender mercy. We'll (hopefully) find out just before Christmas whether McKay will get a brother or a sister. I've set up a 'poll' on the sidebar so go vote for whether you think we'll have a boy or a girl.

Pretty cute baby huh!?

BTW: In the top picture, McKay is actually mimicking the ghost on his pumpkin he decorated at preschool. Not bad eh?

Halloween

Halloween was supposed to be a really nice day so we were surprised when we woke up to a chilly & foggy morning. Jordan was cold after breakfast so McKay brought him some blankets.

Jordan likes to go for a run on Saturday morning and unless the trail is not stroller friendly, McKay and I will go with him. There are lots of great parks & trails around us so we like to try new spots. This week we went to Almaden Lake Park. There is a trail around the lake as well as connections to 3 other trails.

McKay and I walked for almost an hour and then waited for Jordan at one of the many playgrounds. It was cool when we started out and by the time we were done, we'd all shed our layers and were actually hot. It was beautiful!

The playground equipment was actually intended for older children but McKay still had a good time.

(click collage to enlarge)
After McKay's nap, he and Jordan carved our first pumpkin. McKay wasn't too sure about cleaning out the pumpkin at first but he quickly caught on and loved it! He'd blow in the general direction of all the pumpkins we saw when we were out to 'blow' out the candle. Every time we leave the house or come home the pumpkin gets an excited 'hi' and 'bye' from McKay who is bending down to be on the pumpkins 'level'. Definitely worth $3.50 to buy a pumpkin this year!

McKay didn't wanted to dress up for anything this year. None us us dressed up for the ward party, though McKay had fun laughing at his friends in costumes, and I only got him to put on his 'doggy' hat for his preschool Halloween party. I borrowed costumes from a friend this year so he could either be a lion or a bee. We didn't know if we would be going trick or treating or not. All we had to do was tell McKay he had to put on a costume if he wanted to ask the neighbors for candy. Okay, he'd wear the bee costume. :)

It was a beautiful night with a gorgeous full moon so we took him to the neighbors we know who live close to us and then walked to the people in our ward who live pretty close, hitting a few other fun houses on the way. McKay got lots of candy & had a good time saying 'candy please' and 'thank you', since 'trick-or-treat' is a little too hard to say just yet!

Things to Remember

10-29-09
McKay was anxious to do the dishes after dinner (as always) so I told him as soon as Daddy was done, we'd do the dishes. Jordan ate his last bite, the fork still in his mouth, and McKay said (pointing) "Dada done, wash?"

10-28-09
McKay gets two pieces of candy (Reeses Pieces) when he goes potty. He eats the first piece and sets the second one on something on the table until he is ready for it. It is pretty funny where he puts it sometimes. He'll put it on a banana, or on top of a water bottle or pear on the table. The most consistent spot is on his 'Elmo' chair in the front room.

McKay was getting ready to get into bed when he came to give me hugs & kisses. Jordan told me to ask him to kiss my forehead. McKay touched my forehead with his and said 'mmmwwaahh'. We repeated this with our noses, chin (that was funny) each cheek, each ear, each eye & eyebrow. Seriously, this kid keeps us laughing.

Our nighttime routine has evolved over time. Now we read a scripture to McKay, twice because he always wants 'more'; say prayers on our knees, he chooses who will help him and it is usually the same person for a week or so; brush teeth, Mama helps with this one; drink of water; hugs & kisses for Mama (Daddy gets them when he lays McKay down); Mama tells McKay a secret "I Love You", I did it once and now it is part of the routine he insists on and reminds me of by putting his ear to my mouth; he blows hugs & kisses to Mama as Daddy takes him to bed; Daddy & McKay sing 'I Am a Child of God' together, McKay knows the words; Hugs & kisses for Daddy as Daddy tells him to "be good for (McKay fills in the ending with:) dada, mama, me & Jesus.

10-26-09
Jordan paused before eating his last bite of dinner just long enough for McKay to say "uh ha go" translated to "ready, set, go". We all got a good laugh about that one.

10-22-09
When you hold the tongs by the tong side the handles look like an 'M'. McKay sees letters everywhere. This particular time he turned the tongs around and around 'M', turn 'M', etc. on and on.

10-21-09
Today McKay discovered he can open the doors in our home. He has done it by himself before but he didn't notice and I didn't feel the need to point out he had done it all by himself. Now that is another 'job' of his... opening and shuting the doors.

Conversation:
Maria: McKay, are you crazy?
McKay: No! Daddy!

10-19-09
McKay lined up his 3 sippy cups (juice, milk, & water) on the table. He pointed his finger, started on the left and moved across the cups like he was reading and said 'papa!' Then he moved the cups to the other side of the table & lined them up and this time they said 'mama'. Back to the other side, 'papa!'

McKay knows most of the words to 'I Am a Child of God' and he and Jordan sing it every night before bed.

McKay's 'jobs' are to put the silverware, plasticware & lids away, rinse the dishes when we wash, put the clean hand towels, dishtowels & dishrags away, help me pull the hampers into the laundry room, load the washer, load & empty the dryer, move the basket to the front room & hand me clothes to fold. I am sure there are other jobs he does but these are the tasks HE loves to do and reminds us if we start to do them. Good helper!

10-15-09
McKay likes to mimic what we do to get a reaction out of us. I'll sigh or yawn and he'll do the same thing (exaggerated) and look at me and grin. He is quite the tease.

10-09-09
In the last week McKay has gotten a free cookie & a free whole banana at the grocery store and suckers & stickers at the Dr office. Each person we see wants to give him something!

10-05-09
McKay is potty training now and was getting ready to go & watch Elmo. He invited his potty to watch Elmo too and carried it in and sat on it while he watched Elmo. It was funny to watch him asking his potty if it wanted to watch Elmo too. 'melmo? yeah?'

10-04-09
McKay identified each of the male speakers in General Conference as 'Papa'. Yes, they are someone's papa. :)

McKay recognizes when President Monson is speaking.

10-3-09
McKay said goodbye to Jordan as he was leaving for priesthood session and closed the front door behind him. Then he opened the mail slot and continued to say 'bye bye dada' through the slot.

10-02-09
McKay likes to put his alphabet letters on the stove (when it is not 'hot'). He'll put a few letters on the stove and then tell me to look and see it says 'Papa' then 'Mama'. Too bad none of his Papa's are around to enjoy being such a favorite.

When McKay has cold cereal for breakfast and the milk is all that is left, he likes to say 'hi moon' to the moon shape (crescent) the milk makes in the bottom of his bowl. Then he says 'bye bye moon' and drinks it.

After story time at the library, McKay likes to go outside in a little fenced in play area. This time there were a couple of Asian children there and one, who looked like she was about 3 was eating some dried apples of some sort. Her mother encouraged her to 'share' with McKay. After a slight hesitation he had one and continued his running back and forth on the grass. After he was done he said 'more?' and the girl gave him some more. This continued until I insisted it was his last one and the bag was nearly empty! The Asian girl got some good practice saying 'welcome'.

We stopped at the Deli counter in the grocery store to get some turkey and the lady who helped us asked if McKay could have a cookie. I told her it was okay. McKay said thank you and took a bite. Then he looked at the lady pointed at me and said 'Mama?' I told him it was okay, I didn't want a cookie & the lady thought it was so sweet he was thinking about me.

10-01-09
We were trying to get McKay to eat more of his dinner. Cookies? No. Ice cream? No. Wash the dishes? Yeah! THEN he'd eat!

McKay likes to have me open word on the computer and type 'words'. He even tells me what they say. First is 'Papa'. Then usually 'Mama'. Jordan wrote 'Papa' on the sidewalk with chalk and McKay always goes back to it whenever we go outside and says 'p-a-p-a'. Anything that has a 'P' in it says Papa (like S-T-O-P). For that matter, words he sees on the playground equipment at the park or in the cars attached to the carts at the grocery store also say 'papa'.

McKay and I went to the mall today to get a free cookie from Mrs. Fields and stopped at Bath and Body Works. McKay reached for the first thing he could and put it up to his nose to sniff it. :)

McKay was pretty proud he was able to get his sunglasses on. I was impressed they stayed!

McKay's preschool/playgroup friends Evee, Andrea, & Thomas. We take turns hosting & helping once a week for 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Each day has a theme and a letter we talk about. McKay loves it.

Choo choo!

McKay got a bunch of stickers from Trader Joes for Halloween and had fun putting them all over. He was happy there were still a few left the next morning!

Me & My Boy!

While We Were Waiting

Saturday we went to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. While McKay & I were waiting for Jordan to come back with our dinner, we took some pictures.

It was fun having McKay help me think of different body parts we could take pictures of. And of course he loved looking at the pictures after we took them.

I couldn't pick a favorite picture of his eyes. It was a great way to pass the time & both of us were entertained!

We took McKay on tons of rides. We were suspicious before but this trip confirmed it. He loves a 'thrill'. Jordan took him on a Roadrunner roller coaster in Looney Toons Town and McKay loved it! As I waited for them to get their turn to ride I listened to parents and kids getting off. The parents didn't like it and most of the kids were too scared to go on another ride. The ride went around 2 times and after the first time around most of the kids got off because it was too intense. We were surprised they let such little kids go on the ride, even with an adult. Jordan didn't like the ride. McKay wanted to go again. Oh Boy!

The park was all decorated for Halloween. Normally this is such a pretty fountain.

This was our first day trip with McKay in underwear... and he did great! I hope all our kids are this easy to train! He wasn't ready in August so about 6 weeks later, conference weekend, we started again. This time he was ready.

The forecast for the day said 72 and cloudy but the clouds didn't roll in until around 5:30 and it was closer to 80 than 70 - perfect day! We stayed late enough to see Shouka (killer whale) and the dolphin show. I think we go to the dolphin show every time and all of us enjoy it each time. This time was disco themed due to Halloween and McKay wasn't too sure about the disco ball when the lights were off. It was a great way to end a fun day.