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!