McCleve Family Reunion - July 31-Aug 2

This year my parents were in charge of the McCleve family reunion, which is my Dad's immediate family. There were 150 in attendance and 50 were under 8 years old! It was a lot of fun and great to get to see everyone there. We enjoyed great food, horseshoes, late night games, and lots of catching up. We also enjoyed going out to dinner with the rest of the adults Saturday night. We weren't able to attend the reunion last year because McKay was born 2 weeks before and it was amazing to see how much the kids have changed since the last time I saw them! Some aren't kids anymore!

Friday morning we had an Amazing Race. We divided everyone 8 and older into 9 groups and mixed up all the families. Each of the 10 'original' children (except Aunt Connie who couldn't come this year) were at a different location in Show Low that had some significance to the McCleve family growing up there. Dad started them off with a puzzle - something always found at a McCleve family gathering. As each group finished their puzzle, they got their first clue, which took them to the different locations in town. Once finished and back to camp, each group had to line up youngest to oldest (the line up for Christmas morning at the McCleve home) for Dad. The winning team got peanut M&M's and the rest got suckers. :) I think everyone had a great time and enjoyed learning more about what the 'original 10' remembered and visiting places in Show Low they had only heard about. And the 10 enjoyed reminiscing about growing up in Show Low.

McKay's First Haircut

McKay's hair was getting into his eyes a lot so we decided it was time for him to have a haircut. Here he is a couple days before his haircut, talking to Jordan on the phone. He LOVES to talk on the phone, especially to Daddy.

Nanna Anna cut his hair after dinner.

McKay would not hold still... he kept turning at every sound.

So we enlisted Grandpa to help entertain. McKay didn't move a muscle after Grandpa came!

Final trims on the back...

And he is done!

I am not too sure how I feel about how much older he looks with his hair cut.

Here he is combing his own hair. Thanks Mom for cutting it for me and Dad for the entertainment... we were ALL entertained! :)

Swimming

On Saturday, July 26th, McKay and I flew to Phoenix, AZ to visit family & go to the McCleve Family Reunion. That night we went swimming with my sister Melinda & her family. McKay was really tired but for the first 20+ minutes he had a ball splashing and kicking in the warm water. This was the first time I have ever taken McKay swimming. Now we know how much he loves it (no surprise there!) we'll have to go again.

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!

Our Weekend

Jordan leaves by about 7:15 every morning, (by 6:45 on Monday mornings) and doesn't get home until around 6 unless he has to stop somewhere on the way home and then he doesn't get home until around 7-7:30. McKay has started waking up around 6 or 6:15 am (ouch!) and being ready for bed by about 7:15-7:30 so they don't get to spend a lot of time together. Wednesday when Jordan got home from work, McKay was super cuddly with him. McKay is usually not a cuddly baby unless he is sick. It was really sweet to see how excited he was to see his Daddy... and Jordan LOVED it!

This weekend Hensel Phelps had their summer family BBQ in Oakland at Robert's Park in the Redwood Regional Park just outside of Oakland. It was a BEAUTIFUL park. (sorry, no pictures!) They had 'Olympics' sponsored by each 'team' in the Northern California Office. They had a Tug-of-War, a football throw, a water balloon toss, and a few other games. After lunch they had a softball game. It was really nice for me to be able to put some faces to the names I have been hearing. We also got to visit with another couple from BYU who graduated the same time as Jordan. They were actually in my ward at Campus Plaza for the semester before they got married (Shawn & Bonnie Malloy). Small world!

After the BBQ we went across the street (almost literally) to the Oakland Temple. It was so beautiful! They have a really nice Visitors Center and currently have on display an original 1830 copy of the Book of Mormon. It was so wonderful to be on the temple grounds! We really enjoyed the beautiful flowers and the music playing. The Oakland Temple is beautiful and we are looking forward to doing a session there.

We noticed something rather interesting as we were walking around the temple. There was a couple who had just gotten married but the closer we got to the group we noticed the bridesmaid dresses were missing the shoulders and sleeves. Then we noticed the BRIDE was missing hers too! There were a couple of sister missionaries standing nearby so we asked them what was going on. They said that several couples get married elsewhere and then come to take pictures at the Temple 'because it looks like a castle'. Very interesting. Saturday's are the busiest day for people taking pictures so they have to put a sign by the temple gate entrance saying 'no limousines'. The limos can't make the corner... we saw a stretch hummer try it and lose his bumper. Luckily no damage was done to the gate.

With all the fires in California right now, our sky has been anything but clear. We have a lot of ash on our car and I even noticed some on the stroller after our walk a couple of days ago. You know there is a lot of smoke when you can take a picture of the morning sun.

New Skill

McKay learned a new skill today - without any help or coaching either. I was working in the kitchen and glanced over to check on him. He was putting the ring ON the toy! I've tried to get him to put the rings back on after he takes them off but he has had no interest whatsoever. His goal has been to make sure none of the rings are ever stacked up. It was cute - he was putting his finger through the hole in the middle and then it was like something clicked and he started putting the ring on the toy. McKay LOVES to play with his rings. He still crawls everywhere with one ring in each hand. Or he'll have a remote in each hand, or a DVD case in each hand or any other toys in BOTH HANDS. The other day I was putting away clothes and the next thing I knew he had two pairs of socks, one in each hand. But the one constant is his rings. So it is really fun to see him discovering a new way to play with his favorite toy!

This is McKay's wrist 3 days after he got hurt.

McKay - 11 Months

A few things about McKay:

• He LOVES to walk (or run) around the house holding on to Mommy or Daddy's hands. He has excellent balance but just needs the confidence to walk on his own. Probably this month...
• He likes to stand alone (this was more at the beginning of the month) and gets a grin on his face that says 'Woah! Look at me!' and wobbles until he falls over on you. Then back up again. He gets such a kick out of that 'game'
• He loves music. Anytime he hears music he starts bobbing his head back and forth, no matter what the source is, including walking down the street in San Francisco last weekend. He will start the music on some of his toys and watch to see if Jordan and I are dancing with him. He usually stops squirming in church when we start to sing a hymn.
  
• McKay loves to be outside. He gets SO excited when I take him out to the grass, especially since he has been sick and has had to stay in. He loves to go for walks and to look at flowers with me... though he still isn't sure what to do with them!
• He wants to eat anything we are eating. He grabs your arm and brings your hand, with the food in it, to his mouth. He is actually pretty strong!
• McKay has started reaching for things. If there is anything close to the edge of the kitchen table or desk (like a stack of newspapers) he will pull it off to the floor. The other day he pulled my water bottle off the desk. Lucky for me, it wasn't full! He is also getting good at seeing where we have put his pacifier and reaching to get it.
  
• He is a very social little guy and wants to see what people around him are doing. He'll usually grin at them if they give him any attention at all. Or if they ignore him he still grins for a minute.
• He has started calling 'Aa' when he wants me. Usually this is when he is waking up or is looking for me around the house.
  
• He has a new fascination with the stereo. Probably because now it is low enough he can reach it. If it is accessible, he will be turning knobs as fast as he can, watching you to see if you see what he is doing, because he knows he isn't supposed to touch it.
  
• Whenever the fridge, the bathroom, the front door, or the pantry doors are open (basically anywhere we don't let him go as he pleases) he bolts to the door as fast as he can. It is funny to watch him start to make his way over until he sees you watching him or starting to head over to it and then he turns on turbo speed.
• McKay loves to clap his hands, give kisses, and wave 'bye bye'.
  
• He loves to explore and touch everything, especially if it makes a noise. He has some toys he knows make noise but hasn't figured out how to get them started so he just hits them as hard has he can until they make noise. This also goes for his little space heater.
  
• McKay always has a grin for you, especially when he wakes up from his naps. He is an easygoing happy little guy.
• McKay likes to have conversations with us consisting of aaas. High aaas then low aaas. He'll keep going as long as you will. He also likes to clap his hands or hit the table, first Dad or Mom then McKay, back and forth. We usually tire of this game much sooner than Mr. McKay will!
• Just in the last week or so he has started doing high fives and giving you five. Another new and very fun game!
• McKay is pretty funny when I vacuum. He crawls from room to room as fast as he can, usually he doesn't stay in the room I am in but he'll peek around the corner at me. Once in a while he'll sit and watch the vacuum for a minute and then he is off again.

We love our sweet little boy and are so thankful to have him in our family.

Ouch!

I had quite the scare tonight. McKay likes to be in the kitchen with me while I am cooking dinner so I try to keep him occupied by letting him play in the Tupperware cupboard or in my lid drawer. Tonight was the Tupperware cupboard. He was playing and having a great time. I only opened one side of it (they are old so he can't get them open easily on his own) and he had the front half of the top and bottom shelf cleared out and onto the floor and was slapping the top shelf as hard as he could. I glanced down to check on him and saw blood all over the floor and shelf. McKay noticed his wrist was hurting then and started to cry. I searched for the source of the blood and found a piece of glass about 1 1/4 inch long sticking out of his wrist. His whole sleeve was soaked with blood, blood was running down his arm, and he had it on his shirt and pants. I pulled the glass out, put him up next to the sink, and used cold water to rinse his hand. The blood was gushing out into the sink so I grabbed a paper towel and applied pressure to his wrist. The blood stopped gushing and I tried to call Jordan at work. Since we are down to one car, I don't have wheels at home and we forgot and left the car seat in the car. When Jordan didn't answer after 5 calls, I left him a message and sat down, still holding McKay and putting pressure on his wrist. I tried to put a Band-Aid on it to see if it could put enough pressure to stop the bleeding and didn’t have enough hands to do it and his wrist started gushing again. Back to the sink we went. Then I heard my next door neighbor with her little dog outside. She is a medical assistant (anyone is welcome at this point!) so I went outside and called to her. She was surprised when she saw all the blood and offered to help me. I had blood all over my hand and running down my arm (somehow through it all I didn’t get any on my clothes…) McKay has a little puncture in his wrist, probably about a ¼ inch in diameter. She thought for sure he would need a couple of stitches and offered to take us to where she works a couple of miles away. Without the car seat and insurance (we just have a temporary plan on McKay until we are covered at Jordan’s work in September) we thought we would just see if it would stop bleeding. Jordan finally answered his phone and left work to come home right then. With my neighbor’s help, we were able to get a Band-Aid on his wrist. By the time Jordan got home, the Band-Aid was still stopping the blood so we figured he would probably be okay. We changed his Band-Aid a couple more times tonight and he seems like it will be okay. I have not broken anything here yet and that cupboard only has Tupperware in it so somehow that piece of glass made it past the cleaning when the family before us moved out (my neighbor said the previous tenants were ‘clean freaks’) as well as cleaning before we moved our stuff in. Yet my boy found a piece of glass!

We feel very fortunate that McKay did not get hurt worse. He did not hit an artery - probably a capillary. He is such a tough little guy, the only times he cried were right after it happened and when he would start bleeding again. My neighbor kept commenting on how calm he was. Definitely made it easier for this Mommy!

BTW: I am sure my family is wondering if I got sick at all during this – I am proud to report the only time I felt a little light-headed was after my neighbor came in and I finally had help. On an empty stomach even!

Happy Father's Day!

We were all really tired after our long weekend so after church and dinner we all took a nap. McKay slept 3 hours and Jordan and I slept about 2 1/2. We all needed it.

McKay wins the award for the best hair!

We had a nice, relaxing Father's day. We had a great steak dinner, a nice long Sunday afternoon nap, a bowl of ice cream and a new season of Monk and Andy Griffith to watch. This was Jordan's first official Father's Day and he made the most of it. We were talking to my Dad yesterday evening and he commented that if you can't get something on Father's day you might as well forget it! We enjoyed visiting with our Dads. Jordan is a good father to McKay and McKay loves his Daddy!

San Francisco

Last Saturday, June 14, 2008 we went to San Francisco. We went to Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39 all the way down to Pier 1 to the Farmer's Market, to the Coastal Trail to Land's End, and to the Golden Gate Bridge. The highlight for us was the Coastal Trail, which we accidentally found. It was absolutely beautiful. This time we were smart and brought our Atlas and the map of California Aunt Mary gave us. We drove home on the 280, which was a beautiful drive. It was a fun day scratching the surface of what there is to see and do in San Francisco.