Japantown Festival

We went to the Japantown Festival between conference sessions today. For the first time since we have lived here it RAINED! McKay had a sweater but we were all in shorts and t-shirts. During the heaviest parts we waited under the booths or near a store. McKay liked to watch the rain splashing into the puddles on the street. The trip was worth it to each of us for different reasons.

Jordan loved his potstickers.

McKay loved his balloon.

I loved the strawberry, nutella, ice cream crepe we had in a little crepe shop we found and will be returning to often. They had specialty drinks, dessert crepes, and breakfast crepes as well as wraps. You'll notice no picture of me eating the crepe... yeah, well maybe anther time I'll get to it fast enough to get a picture! I didn't have time to stop for a picture when the delicious dessert was disappearing before my eyes! ;)

Things to Remember

I copied this idea from my cousin Ashley's blog. I've been recording funny things McKay does in the sidebar and then I'll post them once a month or so.

9-30-08
Another trick learned from Daddy: after Jordan or I finish taking a drink, McKay says 'aaahhh' for us!

We know McKay is enjoying what he is eating when he says 'UM um'. He did this quite a bit last night when we had tacos, especially as he ate tomatoes - that's my boy!

9-28-08
McKay enjoys drinking from a cup. His favorite part about it is cleaning up when he spills. Some punishment!

9-27-08
McKay recently discovered his pockets and likes to walk around with his hands in his pockets.

McKay has become quite the little tease. He will offer something to us and as we reach for it, he pulls it away and laughs.

9-23-08
Tonight after McKay's bath, we were just relaxing in the living room with the door open, letting the cool air come in. McKay loves to close the door. Jordan really wanted it open and decided to tease McKay a little by not letting him close the door. It became a game, me cheering McKay on to push harder and Jordan providing the resistance. McKay started hamming it up by grunting like he was pushing with all his might. Then we started having McKay give us 'five', first Jordan then me, back and forth. We're so easily amused!

9-17-08
We have an external monitor for our laptop and McKay has figured out how to get my undivided attention immediately - turn off the monitor by flipping off the power strip!

When McKay (14 mo) swings, he makes sure that I keep the swing next to him moving too. He signs 'more' and points to the other swing. I always get quizzical looks from other moms at the park but oh well. :) He also likes to wave at his shadow as he swings.

McKay does not like it when his hands are dirty. During meals he is constantly shaking his hands over the side of his chair to get whatever is stuck to him off or holding the dirty finger out for us to clean. He has gotten really good at dusting off his hands at the park.

McKay's Current 'Sign' Vocabulary
Help, More, Want, All Done, Drink, Eat, Book, Fish, Bath

He points to airplanes he sees in the sky and 'barks' like a dog every time he sees or hears a dog. He moos with his mouth closed and tries to baaaa like a sheep. He likes to give us 'five'.

McKay seems to understand most of what we say and heads for the door when I say 'lets go!' He LOVES to bring me my shoes!

9-10-08
If I happen to leave a cupboard or drawer open when I am putting dishes away while McKay (13 1/2 mo) is eating, the meal must stop until the cupboard is closed!

McKay loves chapstick. Wonder where he gets that? Anyway, Jordan has taught him to smack his lips together after he gets chapstick put on his lips. He can spot chapstick in places I didn't think he could see! I hardly get any on (or near) his lips before he starts smacking them together.

9-3-08
McKay still loves to read books - but he has a REALLY hard time sitting still. He switches which side of me he is sitting on, he'll sit on the arm of the rocking chair, then switch to sitting on my knees facing me, back to the arm, etc. I've learned to just try to accommodate him and keep reading as he moves around!

8-25-08
We were getting McKay ready for bed and Jordan asked him for a kiss. McKay leaned over so Jordan could KISS HIM. Then he leaned over so I could kiss him. Back and forth 'giving' us kisses.

Earlier he and Jordan were 'wrestling' on the floor. McKay was climbing over Jordan as fast as he could, back and forth, over and over again for 20+ minutes. His feet barely hit the floor on one side before he was working on getting over to the other side. The best were his grunts, mimicking Jordan's grunts as he climbed over.

Roses, Roses

Our duplex is surrounded by a wide variety of the most beautiful and fragrant roses. I love to have all the windows open and let the cool bay breeze fill our home with their fragrance. Who needs wall flowers when you have fresh roses?

McKay likes to smell the flowers. I don't know how much 'smelling' he really does but it is fun anyway. He notices roses peeking through fences we pass on our walks and we often stop to smell them.

For The Grandmas

These videos were all taken this month, with the top being the most recent. McKay does pretty well with his signs, though 'drink' and 'all done' take a little imagination to recognize. To see what McKay thinks he is doing for 'all done' click here.

Shoes

McKay constantly undoes his shoes. I am not sure if it is just because he CAN or if he is trying to set a new trend. The only time I insist he has them done up is when he is walking outside. I would say maybe it is time for shoelaces but he knows how to undo those too... just look at my shoes!

This picture cracks me up. Notice, his shoe straps are undone. Funny boy.

Sunday Dinner

For the first time ever I have been able to experiment with new recipes and have fun cooking. I have always been way too busy before to cook anything that took too much time or creativity. Most of the recipes I have been trying don't take a super long time but they are different so the newness factor makes them take a little longer for me. I have also been trying to find some yummy recipes that are healthy. Yesterday for dinner we had Italian Crusted Talapia and it was really good!

I pretty much followed the recipe for the talapia (except I toasted my own bread crumbs - can't waste that end-slice!) but the rice was the experiment. I used 1 1/3 c. water, 1/2 c. brown rice, 1 cube chicken bullion, 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning, about 1/8 teaspoon garlic salt, and a couple of shakes of paprika. The water & rice are the amounts you normally use for 2 servings of brown rice. Next time I will probably add 1 Tablespoon more of water, but it was still really good and wonderful with the talapia! Add to the fish & rice steamed broccoli, carrots & summer squash and we had a delicious & healthy dinner! Definitely one we will repeat!

Fort

I was doing the laundry and as usual, McKay kept grabbing whatever I was folding. He especially likes when I fold towels or sheets. This time I was folding the blue blanket in the picture above so I thought we would 'play' with the blanket. I took it into the front room and made a fort, using the desk chair, the glider, and a chair from the kitchen. McKay thought it was so funny when I got under it. To make it a little interesting, I got some 'instruments' from the kitchen. NOW he was interested! He had a ball making as much noise as he could. As soon as that wasn't exciting anymore, he enjoyed going in and out of the fort, standing up of course, and letting his head brush the blanket until the entrance to the fort collapsed. Cheap entertainment!

McKay loves when I do laundry because our laundry room is so fascinating - probably because the door going into it is usually closed and has a huge step to get into the room. He loves to climb up and down the step over and over again. Sometimes he goes too fast and almost hits the not-so-soft floor which prompts me to rush over and help him. He loves to push the basket full of clothes into our bedroom and to ride in it once it is empty. When he sees me heading for the laundry room, he drops to the floor wherever he is (usually 5-6 ft away) to crawl over, preparatory to climbing down the step. Makes me laugh every time!

All By Himself... Well Almost!

McKay has decided he is ready to start feeding himself. I usually give him a spoon and I have a spoon and together we try to get some food in his mouth. He actually does quite well, unless it is peas or something like that that rolls right off the spoon as soon as he gets close to his mouth. He loves to try and thinks it is so funny when his food rolls away.

Success!

Now McKay walks all over the house, the rings have lost their appeal and my closet has opened up a whole new world! We have the closet doors that you roll open and McKay loves to open them (because he can) and carry my shoes around the house. Notice he has one on each arm just like he used to have one ring in each hand.

Lands End

Today we decided to drive to San Francisco to do the Lands End hike. We have wanted to go back and do it since we discovered it on our last visit to San Francisco. The hike is about 3 miles round trip along the coast. Most of it is shaded too, so that is great. There were people out playing all over! Lots of people sailing, surfing (neither of us are surfers but those waves looked pretty perfect for surfing), biking, hiking, running, or just out enjoying the beautiful day. We were going to stay home and give the garage some much needed attention. But it was just too beautiful of a day to do that!

It was a perfect day for a hike... 77 degrees and a cool ocean breeze.

The water was so inviting, we wished we had come prepared for the beach.

We are really glad McKay likes to ride in the hiking backpack. He often falls asleep - Yeah!!

I thought McKay looked so cute with his face smashed into the side of his chair and his droopy, tired eyes about to close... again!

Where's McKay?!?

Peek-a-Boo!

ConRAC

Here is everyone, field & office, who is working on the ConRAC at the San Jose Airport, the BIG parking garage/quick turnaround rental car facility. You can see their progress behind them. It is a Design-Build project; they are about 13% complete with construction and still have some major design issues to work out. The current projected cost is about $230 million dollars, the biggest project the Northern California Hensel Phelps office has ever done. They also have the smallest team of any of the other airport projects. Jordan has ample opportunities to learn and gain experience, as well as building his resume. If you can't tell which one Jordan is, just look for the guy who isn't smiling. :)

Smells So Sweet

McKay smelling his 'popcorn ball'

A day at the Beach

Yesterday we packed a lunch, took our hiking backpack, and a blanket and went to Santa Cruz, about 45 min away, and spent the day at the beach. McKay LOVED it! To get to the beach we walked through the Boardwalk. McKay was all eyes, watching the rides, the people, hearing the screams, and the music. Every now and again Jordan would feel him dancing to the music in his seat.
We laid our blanket out on the warm sand, had lunch, and put another coat of sunblock on our boy. Then off for McKay's first time in the ocean! His first time to ever see the ocean was when we went to San Francisco. McKay loved the water; it was cool and there was a pretty good breeze so we just let him wade a little. He couldn't get enough - we had to hold him back from chasing the waves as they left the shore. His pure enjoyment was so much fun for Jordan & I to see.
McKay could have continued for hours... but he got a little too wet and started to get cold. He didn't want to stop but he was shivering! We could tell when he was warm again because he was ready for round two!
After leaving the beach, we continued along the shore to a historic lighthouse. The inside serves as a surfing museum. We enjoyed watching the people sailing and surfing, as well as the show the sea lions were putting on for us. They were all over in the water and on the rocks, barking and playing. McKay kept barking back at them, much to the amusement of the people around us. His bark was quite a bit higher than theirs but it was obvious what he was doing. Again, pure enjoyment!
To top it all off, our day of relaxation and memory making cost the gas to get there and $5 to park. :)

McKay - 1 Year Pictures

Signs

McKay is 13 months old today. Now he can sign: fish, more, want, drink, eat, and book. He also folds his arms for prayers, does the popcorn popping actions, moos like a cow (with his mouth closed), points to himself for 'McKay' and tries to mimic pretty much everything else we do!

We ran out of time in Arizona for McKay to try out the swings my Dad put up in the backyard for the grandkids, so the Sunday after we got home from Arizona, we went to the park and put McKay in the swing. He wasn't too sure of it at first but he caught on and really liked it.

Jordan stopped at a yard sale and found a bunch of Little People toys, these Legos, and a few other things a spoiled rich kid hardly used, all for $20. What a find!

Garlic Ice Cream

On Saturday we went to Gilroy to check out the outlets. We all had several things we needed and had been putting off this day for quite a while. Neither of us are shoppers unless we are finding really good deals. There are 145 stores there and boy do they put Park City to shame! They have pretty much anything you need (and lots you don't need) for good prices - our kind of shopping! We didn't go on a holiday (thank goodness! - don't know if the sales would be worth the extra crowds) but there were still a lot of good deals. We spent all day there and didn't even get through half of the stores. McKay was a trooper... he only took a 1 hour nap (he has been sleeping A LOT lately recovering from our trip) and enjoyed running his hands along the clothes as we went by in the stroller. We stopped at a Famous Footwear in the evening and there weren't many people there so we ditched the stroller and let McKay walk around, get all the mirrors dirty, and grin at everyone. That may have been his favorite part of the day! It paid off too. The manager gave us $10 off a pair of brown leather shoes for Jordan and 10% off the whole purchase 'because she liked McKay'. Who says good looks don't get you anything!

There was also a store there called the Garlic Store. They had the famous Garlic Ice Cream as well as some garlic peanut butter cups. We figured we had to try it and everyone had told us it was actually pretty good. YUCK!! McKay ate more of the ice cream than we did! And he only did it because of the cute little spoons they gave us. It was terrible. And what a waste for the peanut butter cups! We decided we like garlic but it really needs to be kept separate from our dessert!

Hide and Seek

Today, McKay and I were playing our version of hide and seek. I run and hide, and call to him so he knows what room I am in, and he comes and finds me. With McKay being so fast now, I can barely get hidden before he is coming to find me so I have started adding a few more hiding places to our regular spots. He gets so excited when he finds me. Once in a while I jump out and scare him and we both laugh so hard. It is a fun game (and a good workout for me!) So today something happened that was too funny, I have to write it down. The last time we played hide and seek, I 'hid' on the side of the fridge with the freezer door open to hide my face. (Yeah I really wasn't hidden but I didn't have time to think of somewhere else!) Today I ran in the kitchen and hid in a new spot behind one of the chairs at the kitchen table. McKay came in the kitchen, looked around the corner where I hide sometimes, and proceeded to the other side of the fridge. I wasn't there and instead of looking somewhere else, McKay tried to fit between the fridge and the cupboard and started calling for me to let him in. He was SURE I had gone in there and he wanted to come too! I was laughing so hard I fell over on the floor and McKay came over to laugh with me. Then off to the next spot!

Arizona

July 26th - August 9, McKay and I were able to go to Arizona. Jordan was able to come for the McCleve Reunion so that was wonderful. We stayed with Melinda and Devin in Mesa for a couple of days and then went up to Snowflake. McKay loved being around his cousins... kids his size. He and Kindsey (McKay is 1 month older than her) were super cute together. They were so excited to see each other again after naps!

During the week McKay and I were gone, before Jordan joined us, McKay discovered just how much faster he could get around walking than crawling. Jordan couldn't believe how much he grew up that week! McKay loved all the attention from Nanna Anna, Grandpa, Aunt Chantelle & Uncle Dustin. He was well entertained at meal time and loved Nanna Anna giving him baths. I enjoyed some great talks, awesome foot & neck massages, lots of ice cream, a couple of trips to the temple (thanks for the babysitting!), many much needed naps, and movies on the projector in the Marriott (the guest house with surround sound etc). It was nice to come home to a clean house (yeah, I know... I'm one lucky wife!) and a husband who missed us. It is nice to go and nice to come home. There is nothing like sleeping in your own bed (or crib, as the case may be). Thanks Mom & Dad for a great time!

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.