Happy Easter!

Mirrors & Windows

McKay and I had a fun couple of days together while Jordan was out of town this week. It was the cutest thing: I was folding laundry on our bed and McKay was loving looking out the window.

Then he noticed the mirror on the wall and thus began our newest game. First he would look at me in the mirror with a cute little grin on his face and then turn and look over his shoulder at me and grin. Back and forth.

McKay - 8 Months

Well our little McKay is 8 months old! It really is amazing how quickly these last few months have gone. And he has grown up so much! I had a hard time getting his picture because he moves around so much. A couple interesting things about McKay are the following:

• He loves to watch Music and the Spoken Word
• He LOVES when I open the windows to let in the morning sun
• He loves being outside and looking out the window
  
• He likes people
• He is very observant
• He likes to talk but so far his vocabulary is 'ba ba ba'
  

We are so blessed to have such a happy little baby.

I'm gonna get you Mom!

McKay loves to play with the handles on our dresser. They are just his height!

Jordan may not have a lot of hair (he just cut his hair last week) but McKay is still going to hold onto it!

When Jordan went to the competition in Reno, he came home with this little hammer for McKay. He loves to play with his hammer! Well, the other day he put it in his mouth and went about his business crawling around the house. Jordan thought it was so funny and did his best to get a picture of McKay. Lately, that has become rather difficult though because he is getting
so fast; when you get down to his level to take the picture, he starts chasing you!

One of McKay's favorite things to do is to get his books off the shelves. Sometimes he plays with them but he mostly likes to just get them off the shelves. He likes to take the harder, 'tighter fit' route in getting there too!

McKay cruises around the house and his poor little knees are bright red. He always has pants or something covering his legs too. Doesn't slow him down at all though!

Can I help you with the dishes Mommy? No matter where we are in the house, McKay wants to be with us.

Hem Pants

As anyone with a body type similar to mine will agree, pretty much any pair of pants you buy you can expect to have to hem them. Well, I have had a few pairs of pants that have needed to be hemmed for anywhere from 2 1/2 years to 1 month just sitting and waiting for my attention (along with everything and everyone else needing my attention these days). They also happen to be pairs of pants that I can now fit into, or will be able to fit into shortly (hopefully). So tonight, I FINALLY DID IT! I kind of cheated and borrowed my neighbors iron & ironing board (yeah, still don't have those... it is okay though cause we don't do much ironing) and used the stitch witchery I bought when I was at Ricks College faced with the same 'hemming pants' problem. It was great because I didn't have to set up my sewing machine and change the bobbin colors etc and I didn't have to try to keep McKay from bothering the peddle when I wasn't ready. And I now have 4 pairs of new pants to wear. Yeah!

One More Month!

April 15th is a big day this year. Not only is it the tax deadline, but it is also Jordan's last day of classes (his heart is breaking, trust me). We are both looking forward to the changes our family will experience beginning that day. I love working but I don't like missing out on what my sweet baby is doing - and he is growing up and changing so fast! Working part time worked well but full time has been hard (yes 46 hours this week! - the most since I had McKay in July). The way tax season has gone so far, the worst is definitely yet to come. Good thing I love doing taxes!

Happy Birthday Jordan!

For Jordan's birthday today, we decided to take advantage of the almost nice weather and go to the driving range. We bundled up McKay and headed out, hoping the weather would cooperate. We kept McKay as protected from the breeze as we could while we each drove a few balls. It seems like it has been such a long winter and we are all SO ready to be outside.

Each time I would hit a ball, McKay would laugh. He is too young to know when I didn't hit it well right? I had a few good hits but after all, it has been over a year since I have held a golf club!

With a little help, McKay was able to hide his gift for Jordan behind his back while we sang to him. It is so fun to watch McKay get excited even though he doesn't know why. McKay enjoyed the whole 'birthday' experience. He especially enjoyed helping Jordan open the package from Nanna Anna.

Whose birthday is it anyway??

Apparently McKay likes to crawl behind the chair. Today was the first time I have ever seen him do it but Jordan says he does it during the day a lot. He barely fits!

Latest Discoveries

I just had to put this basket of clothes in 'McKay's territory' (which is quickly becoming the whole house!) to see what he would do. He didn't disappoint me! He started pulling the clothes out and putting them on the floor; unfortunately that picture was too fuzzy to keep. When McKay was playing with the clothes I immediately thought of this picture of me as a baby . I am not sure how old I am in the picture, but I am definitely older than McKay is now... much more confident on my feet than he is. Thank heaven my basket of clothes is not cloth diapers!

Today while Jordan was studying, McKay kept climbing on and over things. He crawled under the table, over all the table legs to the other side of the table. He also figured out how to open and close drawers in the kitchen. Yikes! It is so funny to watch him go from place to place; he gets so excited. I love it when I am getting ready for work and I can hear McKay coming down the hall to find me, laughing cause he knows where I am and he is coming to see me. So much fun.


A client at the office made these for me. I thought that was very thoughtful of him. He jokes that if I ever leave King & McCleary, he will have to find another accountant. He is getting a nice refund this year. :)

Each day is made up of job hunting, lots of taxes, homework, cleaning, cooking (once in a while), and taking care of McKay. Hopefully in April we can come up for air!

New Trick of the Day

McKay figured out how to pull himself up to standing today. He has been trying to and today he 'mastered' it. Now bedtime is interesting because he has figured out how to pull himself up in his crib but he can't get back down yet. We are counting our blessings he didn't get 'mobile' much before now... watching him while trying to do taxes & homework has gotten pretty tricky! It is so fun to watch him discover each new room. This morning he went in the kitchen and thought that was the coolest thing ever! We baby proof each room as he discovers it; yet somehow I have a feeling he is still going to be able to find things to get into!

Busy Week!

This week McKay got 2 teeth and started crawling. Yeah, all in one week! The 2 teeth are on the bottom. We have been amazed at how much better he gets at crawling every time he does it. He hasn't played with his toys much the last few days... he has a whole house to discover! Jordan and I were in the back bedroom and McKay was playing in the front room. Next thing we knew, he was half way down the hallway to find us! My boy is always on the move! I have some videos to post... when I have a little time. :)

We finally got to meet Maisey and Laurel Stevenson this weekend (Jeff & Hannah's babies). They will be 6 weeks on Tuesday and were delivered by the same doctor who delivered McKay. They are beautiful little sweet girls. It was fun to watch McKay turn one way when Maisey would make a sound and then the other way when Laurel would. I think this is the first time he has actually LOOKED at the baby... he usually just looks at the person holding the baby.

Here is McKay meeting Maisey (or Laurel???)

McKay - 7 Months

I can't believe my boy is 7 months! We can feel a couple of teeth poking through his gums, he is VERY close to crawling (he is scooting around now), and he is extremely interested in everything and everyone around him. Every sound gets his attention, which can make meal times very interesting. He loves to eat (most foods anyway) and follows each bite up with an 'mmmmmmm'. You can tell he is getting full when the mmmm's slow down. He is getting really fast at grabbing things and often hits the spoon at the perfect time to dump its load on his tray (Daddy loves it when that happens!) On a typical day, McKay takes a 1 to 1 1/2 hour nap in the morning, a 2 1/2 to 3 hour nap in the afternoon, and another 1 to 1 1/2 hour nap in the early evening. He usually sleeps 9 - 9 1/2 hours at night. (too bad we don't get to sleep when he does!) Overall McKay is a happy, easy-going baby and we love having him in our home.

I took these pictures at my Grandma Cardon's house in Benson, Utah. McKay is sitting on the furniture my Great Grandpa Fullmer (Grandma's father) made for them when Grandma and Grandpa got married.

I was changing the water for my roses Sunday night and took a few of the most fragrant flowers in for Jordan and McKay to smell. McKay didn't quite understand though and thought he was supposed to eat it!

McKay loves the new toys Jordan brought for him from the competition. His favorite is the hammer, though he also likes the bulldozer.

McKay and I went to Preston, Idaho Saturday morning for Grandma Wright's funeral. McKay loved seeing so many of his attentive cousins. This picture is of McKay with his cousin, Erin Moser.

Valentines Day

Well this has been a very unusual Valentines day. The element making it the most unusual is the fact that my valentine is in Nevada tonight at the ASC competition. He can't even call me today. Last night I was pleasantly surprised to find two boxes of flowers containing 3 dozen of the most beautiful roses I think I have ever seen or smelled on my doorstep. They are pink, white, and red. When I spoke with Jordan earlier in the day he told me his schedule for the night so I knew I couldn't talk to him until after 9 pm our time. I called to thank him for the flowers and he was as surprised at 3 dozen as I was. Apparently there was a mix up in the labeling and two labels were printed with my address and message. So instead of the intended one dozen, I have 3 dozen beautiful roses making my home smell like a fresh flower shop. I think it took me at least an hour and a half to cut and arrange the flowers into the two vases. They are some of the most fragrant flowers I have ever smelled and I am loving them. This is the longest Jordan and I have ever been apart. It is hard to be separated from your best friend on valentines day but we are planning to do something fun when he gets home - and no crowds! I am just glad I have my little McKay to talk to or I would be REALLY lonely.

Naptime & Bathtime

Like most babies, McKay LOVES to take a bath. It doesn't matter how tired he is, he is always happy when he is taking a bath. I love to watch his face when I take him around the corner into the kitchen and he sees his bath all ready for him. Lately he has been just sitting there grinning at me and sighing his content little sigh only he can do when I put him in the water... it isn't too long though before he is splashing and the whole wall behind the sink is soaked! It is amazing how much water ends up on me and all over the kitchen!

I actually had to take several pictures to finally get one with him NOT sticking out his tongue. Silly boy!

Lately we have been finding McKay in the funniest positions while he is sleeping or anywhere in the process of getting to sleep or waking up for that matter. In this picture he is actually asleep. Jordan took the picture just before he moved him. When McKay was sleeping in the billilights as a newborn, he would sleep with his arm up and his leg hanging much like he is here. We are finding he is definitely a side or tummy sleeper.

I love how happy McKay always is to see me when I come to get him up. We are so blessed to have such a happy baby!

Happy Birthday!

Yesterday, February 11, was my birthday. So many friends and family remembered and wished me a happy birthday. It even carried into today! I had an enjoyable morning with my sweet baby while Jordan went to a job interview in Sandy. Then I went to work for a few hours. I came home early and we went out for dinner to Cracker Barrel. McKay was perfect! He has gotten so it seems he is all arms sometimes so we wondered how he would be. He really enjoyed watching all that was going on in the restaurant, including the ceiling fans. We really like going to Cracker Barrel... lots of good food for a good price. After a quick stop at the mall, we came home and I opened the gifts I received from family. I really enjoyed visiting on the phone with family and friends. I had a great birthday.

Grandma Wright

Last night, February 9, 2008, Grandma Wright (my mom's mother) passed away just before 8 pm. This is a four generation picture taken with her on September 12, 2007. The last time we saw her was during Christmas break and we will never forget that visit. We brought McKay in to see her and she happened to be eating when we arrived. She demanded that we go to the other room where she could "hold that baby". While she was holding McKay, he was having the time of his life, bouncing up and down on her lap. Grandma thought that was the funniest thing she had seen in a long time. She was laughing out loud as I have not seen her do in a long time. When it was time to leave so Maria could feed McKay she replied that, "we have all seen a woman nurse and you can sit right there and feed him." So we told her that McKay eats cereal as well and we needed to go home to feed him. To this she politely suggested that we keep a box of baby food in our trunk and rotate frequently to keep it fresh. Needless to say, her persistence conquered and we ended up staying an extra half hour until McKay could not last any longer. Looking back at that day, we are sure glad we stayed with her as long as we could.

Grandma Wright has always been special to me. I have grown particularly close to her through my life. I have great memories of her babysitting me as a young boy and fixing me hot dogs or Ramen Noodles for lunch. In later years I spent a lot of time with her at her house mowing the lawn weekly and doing other jobs for her. After the jobs were complete, Grandma would always insist that I come in and have a sandwich, root beer, and a castco. She would sit in her rocking chair in the kitchen and we would talk while I ate. Grandma has always been there to support me in all my church and school activities and has always expressed genuine interest in my life.

Because of a BYU trip that I am committed to go on, I will not be able to attend her funeral so last night I decided to get in the car and drive up and see her one more time after hearing the news that she was not doing well. Unfortunately, I did not make it in time; she passed away shortly before I got there. I still took the opportunity to say my goodbyes to her. She looked so peaceful and relaxed and although she will be greatly missed by myself and many others, we are also happy for her to finally feel relief and to be back with Grandpa.

I know I speak for all of my family when I say that we love our grandma, we will truly miss her, and we are so happy for her.

P.S. I now have mad bogging skills, Maria taught me how to create my first post. Jordan

Ready, Set...

I was finally able to catch him on camera up on all fours, rocking back and forth. It is only a matter of time before he is crawling! I don't think a naptime goes by anymore without him up on all fours in his crib. He is also getting good at detecting when we are checking on him. Not so good...