I'm Having a...

The pregnancy story: At Matt and Rebecca's wedding I had my suspicions that I might be pregnant. Nate said definitely not. I decided to keep it a secret from him, and Mackay and I raced to the store for a home pregnancy test the second Nate left for work the Monday we got back from St. Louis. Positive! I found out on a Monday, and Nate's birthday was on Thursday, so I thought it would be fun to surprise him with a "special" birthday present. When I lied to him and told him that I wasn't pregnant after all, he was relieved! (I laughed inside because I knew I really was.) It was fun having a little secret with Mackay. When I told her there was a baby inside mom's tummy, she got really confused, lifted up my shirt to find her doll, and then tried to look down my pants. She was really confused.

The night before Nate's birthday, I asked him if he wanted to open a present on his birthday-eve. I was getting worried about the pregnancy, and thought Nate needed to know. So after MUCH begging and pleading, he finally said he would open one present. I got the video camera out, and since he was in a bad mood, he refused to open his present with the video camera in my hand. So I got out my camera. This is the last picture of a poor, unsuspecting Nate.
I made him a coupon book, but the coupons were things like, "Good for one free foot rub for your wife." Or, "Coupon for taking your wife to Taco Bell whenever she desires." They were all about the tiring and awful parts of my last pregnancy. Good memories.
You can see on his face here that he is starting to get it...
And this is when he looked up kind of perturbed and said, "Are you pregnant." It was more a statement than a question.
And this is what was at the bottom of the box. Yeah!
I went shopping shortly after I found out that we were having a baby. Kohl's was having a great sale on their going-out-of-season clothes. Clothes that would be perfectly in season when I had my baby. I only bought boy clothes. I really wanted a boy. Here is Mackay trying on a 3-6 month little boy outfit. Notice the drool that I caught right before it detached from her chin and hit the floor.

I have a great doctor. They have an ultrasound machine in every room, so every time I go in I get to see the baby. Mackay gets her own printout that she can carry around. It is her baby. She has a baby in her stomach just like I have one in mine. It's great to go through this process with someone. Sometimes Mackay starts feeling "sick" and has to pretend to throw up in a bowl. In this picture she was carrying around her baby, and it was crying, so she gave it her binkie.Here she is cuddling up to the baby.
And drum roll please......

IT'S A BOY!

The doctor said that all day she was telling people that they were having girls, and all of them were wishing for a boy. "Great" we thought, "we came in on the wrong day." Both Nate and I had grins from ear to ear when we heard, and saw, the good news. To celebrate, we went to Taco Bell. (Woohoo!) The usual lady I order from wasn't there today, so Mackay and I will probably go back tomorrow to tell her the good news. We are regulars there. Now it's on to the debating over names... I hate that part.

Mackay is 2!

Mackay had a fun birthday. On Saturday we went to the library and played with the puzzles, and to the store to pick out some presents. For dinner we had Mackay's favorite--pizza, or "pizzis". On Sunday we went on a walk and ruined all the anthills with sticks and then she did her very most favorite thing--went to nursery. When we got home Mackay had fun washing the windows with baby wipes and paper towels, and she helped me make her cake (she ate the frosting). Her friends, Abbie and Tori came over to open presents and have cake. They loved playing with the playdough and accessories she got. They stayed until about 10:00, and Mackay was laughing the whole time. Tori and Abbie (6 and 4), even got her pajamas on, brushed her teeth, and tried to put her to bed. After they left she called Grandma and Grandpa Barker, and she sang the never-ending song, "Happy Birthday." Lyrics, "Happy birthday, happy birthday, happy birthday to you, happy birthday, happy birthday, happy birthday to you..." (You get the idea). She then put her binkies into a bag so that we could send them to babies that really need them. That explanation didn't work too well, but when Nate said, "Mackay, I'll give you chocolate if you--" the binkies were in the bag; he didn't even need to finish his sentence. She went to sleep pretty well, and it looks like she is formally a "big girl" now--no more lap child!

Here is Mackay eating the badder from the cake mix. Making the cake was way too stressful. I thought that Mackay would like helping me with it. She got her "apron" on, and poured the water and oil into the mix. I then greased and floured the pans, put them out of reach (I thought), and turned my back for a minute. Mackay had grabbed one of the pans and ruined my beautiful flouring job. So I had to wash the pan, re-grease and re-flour it. Since we don't have beaters, (it broke a long time ago and we just haven't gotten another one yet), I had to stir the mix by hand--I don't have much strength in my arms. I then poured the batter into the cake pans, and noticed that they were barely covering the bottom. I then realized that I had forgotten the eggs. So I scraped out the cake badder, re-washed the pans, and re-re-greased and re-re-floured them. Finally they were in the oven. I took them out at the perfect time and turned them upside down. They fell out of the pans beautifully. But then I had the idea that I didn't want the cakes to cool upside down, so I got the gumption up to turn the hot cakes over with my bare hands. That obviously didn't work, and it fell into three parts. I didn't attempt it with the second cake.
On Sunday morning, we decided to let Mackay open one of her presents before church. In trying to locate the wrapping paper, we realized it was no where to be found. Therefore, her first present was "wrapped" in a pillow case.
She got a water baby! I childhood dream of mine. My cousin Brittney had a water baby, and every time I would go over to her house I would just carry it around. It was magical. Here is Mackay reading him a story.
Later, when the Brockbanks came over for cake, we opened the rest of her presents--which were wrapped in tin foil. It was actually great, because you don't even need to use tape. She got two cars, playdough with accessories, two "shows" (dvds), and her water baby. Happy birthday, Mackay!
And stay tuned for tomorrows exciting announcement!

New Hobby

I have begun a new hobby--bird watching. I thought Mackay would love to see birds on our balcony, and thought a bird feeder would be a fun little project to do together. I started out buying a hummingbird feeder--it brought back childhood memories. I remember spending time at my Grandma Harvey's house, and in the morning while we were eating breakfast, we could look out the front window. She would have a hummingbird feeder, and we would watch the little hummingbirds come and eat. I remember eating my cereal (if we were lucky it was cold cereal, but most often cream of wheat), and my grandma would be at the stove making the hummingbird's food of red dyed sugar water. For some strange reason, that is a great memory in my mind. So I wanted to share that experience with Mackay. Then I realized that it might take a while to get hummingbirds to find our feeder, since we have no flowers around us. So I bought the traditional bird feeder. It worked the first day! I became obsessed. I didn't want to leave the living room because of the fear that I would miss the birds. The first time they came, (pictured below), I ran and got my camera, took a few pictures, and then ran and got Mackay up from her nap so that we could watch them together. I also called Nate to tell him the good news, but he didn't answer--I'm sure he loved the breathless message that he received later.

So now it has become an obsession of watching the birds, studying their bodies, and then trying to find out their name on the internet. I still can't decide what these birds below are called, but I suspect that they are male and female of the same kind.
These other pictures are just ones that I have found off the internet, but they are examples of what we have had grace our presence on our balcony.

Mourning dove. I was so excited that we had a dove, until I read that they are of the pigeon family. That takes all of the majesty out of the word "dove" for me.
Blue Jay. Oh, what a treat! This bird is so beautiful in the branches outside our window. Yesterday I was watching one eyeing our food, and then saw him swoop down to the ground. Oh man! I had swept the bird seed off the porch earlier in the day (birds are very messy eaters), so that is where the blue jays and male cardinals were! This is Mackay's favorite bird, probably because she can say the name perfectly. She gets pretty messed up on the word "cardinal."

I was excited to see this bird, and even more excited when I found out that it was a female cardinal. They have a more common, brown looking body to keep them camouflaged while they are nesting. She came and ate from our bird feeder yesterday. Yesterday was a great day.
And ta-dah! My favorite. (Actually, I really can't decide between the male cardinal and the blue jay). Mr. Cardinal sat up in the trees a lot of yesterday, but never coming to ear our food. This morning, while Mackay and I were playing in her room, I heard a bird, came out to the living room, and saw this brilliant red bird eating our seed! For some reason, this past time is so exhilarating. I thought it was kind of boring when I heard of old men claiming this as their hobby--but I understand! I'm even thinking about buying my own little bird book so that I don't have to run to the computer. I would be able to flip through the pages while looking at the bird!

I think I've gotten a little carried away through this post, but recommend to EVERYONE that they get a bird feeder. Especially if you have kids. Sure, cute nephew William can say bifurcated, but wouldn't it be cute if he could say, Cardinalis cardinalis? (The scientific name for cardinal.)

Home with Mackay

MOST of the time it is great being a stay-at-home mom, just hanging out with Mackay all day. I say 'most' because it is not always a bundle of joy. There are days that I am completely envious of Nate going off to work; he gets to have conversations with adults all day--how cool would that be? I love what Elder Ballard said a few conferences ago about being a mom, "the joy of motherhood comes in moments." I hate wiping off little hands all day long. I hate cleaning up an entire box of 64-count wipes when they are strewn all over the floor. I hate going to the grocery store with a toddler. I hate changing poopy diapers. I've learned to hate the words, "Don't touch." "Mine." and "Holdyou" (one word--means hold me.) At a party with Nate's co-workers a couple months ago, I was having a conversation with some fellow moms who said they couldn't imagine staying home with their children all day long. After 6 weeks of life, they put their child into daycare for 8 hours a day. I was completely shocked! Why have kids then? No offense, some people have to work, I understand that. But if there is an option, we should want to raise our own children. Yes, it is frustrating, monotonous, and completely exhausting. But I wouldn't trade it for anything! Below are pictures from the last week that is proof of the joy of motherhood:

I have to say thank heaven for Playgroup. Mackay and I look forward to it every week. Last week Mackay made a hat for St. Patrick's Day. She had to wear it all the way home (ruining the squiggly ears that I made for her). She also had to have it on during meal times. She was so proud of it!
I've tried to be more creative with Mackay. It can sometimes get boring at home, and I usually end up going to some store needing to buy something. This afternoon I thought it would be fun for her to play "chef." I got some rice in a bowl, gave her a pot, some measuring cups and spoons, and some utensils to stir it with. She also insisted on having her "apron" on. She was a culinary genius. After a while of doing this, and feeding her creations to her stuffed bear that was sitting nearby, she accidentally spilled a cup full of rice all over the floor. When she heard my high-pitched scream she thought it was hilarious. I tried to guard the rice, but her little hands always seemed to get through and throw more of the rice on the floor. I have never heard her laugh so hard in my life. So, I let it continue.

Looks fun, huh. I got out a big broom, and then a little handheld broom with a dustpan. Mackay wanted to help sweep--so she took the big broom. I'm trying to teach her how to help clean up her messes, so I let her keep the big broom. So I swept up the entire room on my hands and knees with a little brush while Mackay pushed it all over the floor. Mackay and I were playing in her room this morning, and I saw her just laying there with her head in a box. She was "hiding" (since she can't see me, I can't see her). She was hiding her head in the box because she had found a binkie, and knowing that she doesn't get those outside of bed, decided to hide from me so she could suck on it.

I had a good laugh and ran and got my camera. I have at least one good laugh a day, and usually one pull-my-hair-out moment. But they cancel each other out.

We went Camping!

One Saturday afternoon we were driving down the freeway, and I saw an REI. "What does REI sell in Dallas?" So we went into the store to see if they had any great ideas for camping locations and other outdoorsy insider information for crowded, cramped, urban Dallas.

Once we got there, we found a handout that said, Local Climbing. "Local climbing in Texas?" When we got home we looked up the locations, and all but one were at least 5 hours away. But there was that one that was only 1.5 hours away, which was totally do-able. So this past weekend we ventured out on a camping trip to check out the local climbing.

One thing I absolutely hate about Texas: In Utah, you take I-15 to get wherever you need to go. Yes, there is I-215 as well, but I-15 is all you need to know. Let me give you the brief run-down of how we got to the state park: We got onto TX-161, then TX-183 W to I-820 S to Tx-121 S to I-35W S/US-287 S/US-377 S to I-30 W/US-377S to I-20 W to Cleburne Hwy/S Farm-To-Market Rd 51/FM-51/S Main St/Tx-171 to Palo Pinto St/US-180/US-80. And the destination was on the right. Holy cow. Give me a break. What is worse, is we left after Nate got off work, and it was dark while we were trying to navigate. The funniest incident was when we got off the wrong exit, and as we were sitting at a stop sign, looking up into the cement-filled sky, all you could see was overpasses going in all different directions. Nate points to what seemed to me to be a random freeway and says, "That's the one we need to get on." How he picked that out of the haystack, I have no idea. So we followed under that road into some random run-down town until we found a place that we could get onto the freeway. He was right.

It was fun taking Mackay camping this time around, because she is old enough to look forward to something. At the beginning of the week we were looking through some flashcards, and I showed her a picture of a tent and explained to her what it was. She thought that it was so cool that you can sleep outside. So the entire day she was excited to sleep outside in a tent with her monkey, Mooch. Mackay fell asleep quickly in the tent, and Nate and I had a nice relaxing evening camping next to the scout troops. (Not as bad as you would think). When we eventually went into the tent to go to sleep, we looked at the sleeping bag and there was no Mackay. She had somehow gotten out of the sleeping bag, rolled off of the mattress, and was sleeping soundly on the cold, hard, rocky ground. She woke us up in the morning jumping all over, so excited that she had slept in a tent.

We packed up our stuff and went on a little hike. Mackay did really well in the backpack, as long as she had Mooch with her. We had to tell Mackay to put her hands down after this picture. I put my camera away, we started hiking, and I looked up and saw her still holding her hands in the air. She is so obedient.
We forgot to bring any water bottles with us. Oops. We did have a large jug full of water, so on the hike Mackay drank her water out of the lid. I think she thought it was kind of like taking the sacrament at church, and loved her little "cup".
Mackay and I. While we were in Utah, Grandma Linda became "Mommy" and I became "Mom."
What isn't pictured from our camping experience is the awesome rock climbing that we found! I'm pretty sure Nate was salivating when he saw it. Although bouldering isn't allowed, he couldn't help getting his hands on the rock. After Mackay saw her dad, she wanted to rock climb too. Nate, the beaming father, coached her on the best holds. Eventually, she got scared and started saying, "Woah, woah, woah." (That is what I say when she is doing something dangerous.) I had left my camera in the car and didn't have the energy to run back and get it.

On our way back home, we drove through this cute little town. Nate said, "Kalli, do we need to stop so you can take pictures?" "No, I'm fine." "Really?" "Yes, it's okay." "Are you sure? Because we can stop." "Okay, that would be great." What a nice husband I have. After a few minutes of taking pictures I could tell that this was not a tourist town. EVERYONE was staring at me and my camera.
We went to lunch while we were there. It was between Chickenscratch and the Weatherford Downtown Cafe. I chose the cafe. We walked in and everyone stopped eating to watch us walk in and sit down--very awkward. I wanted to take a picture of the menu, but Nate thought that would be rude. This was a real small-town Texas cafe. I couldn't decide between the fried zucchini, fried pickle, fried cornbread, or fried chicken. The special of the day was fried liver and black-eyed peas. I really don't know what black-eyed peas are, though I know there is a music group called that. I ended up getting the chicken fried chicken, and couldn't believe that the chicken wasn't in the shape of a circle. It was good, but honestly, I prefer the frozen circle that's been reheated.

And of course, you have got to get a picture of the Texan Pride. Benches painted with the Texas flag.

Mackay Sleeping, Eating Chalk, and More!

Mackay is growing up to be quite a character. The other day I was taking her out of her high chair after lunch, and she stood up on the arms of the chair, and fell asleep.
"Falling asleep" means she closes her eyes and pretends to snore. It is pretty funny every time. Especially now that she has started doing it standing up. (I know this is an awful picture, but I thought it was so cute showing her lips as she is snoring.)
Mackay and I went to Target, like usual, and were walking through the toys. I found some chalk for 99 cents, and decided that would be a fun activity to do out on our balcony. Of course Mackay treated it like make-up, and got it all over her face. I had her lay down and I traced all around her body. She thought it was so fun that she made me lay down. She didn't fully comprehend what I did, because she just started coloring all over me. When I would try to sit up, she would point at me and say, "down". So I was stuck laying on the ground, laughing, and trying to explain to her how to trace my body.
Here she is making funny faces.
Mackay is definitely growing up. The last week or so she has really been trying to dress herself. She is getting there, but at the same time she isn't. Whenever she does something herself, and we are about to go out, I let her stay the way she did it because I want her to know that I am proud of her and her accomplishments. Here she put her sweater on all by herself, backwards. I went to get the camera, and while I was out of the room she was trying to put her backpack on. She was having trouble getting it on, and so she got really frustrated (see below).
I helped her out a little bit with the backpack, and she was so proud of herself! She has recently started saying, "Ta da!" and throwing her arms out to the sides. I believe she got that from Cammie's little girl, Jane, because I don't often do that. One thing that Mackay has shown me that I do is I clap when I am getting frustrated. She says "Please" when she wants me to come with her to do something. If I don't come right away, she has started clapping as she says, "please". I had no idea where that came from until Mackay was getting into something she wasn't supposed to and I said, "Mackay, come here." When she ignored me, I started clapping and saying, "Mackay. Come Here." Oops. Oh, and back to picture below: we did go to Target with her sweater on backwards and her shoes on the wrong feet--and she was beaming with pride. Mackay has been helping me out a lot more in the kitchen, with stirring and holding things for me, and things like that. She has also started to need an apron. I bobby pinned this hand towel around her waist, and she loved it!
She got out some dishes and put them on the stove and was cooking away.
More of Mackay venturing out and exercising her right to choose: One morning Mackay wanted to go outside on the patio. She found some of her clothes lying on the floor and brought me her shorts to help her put on. Then her frilly church socks. And sandals. She loved her outfit. When she went outside and noticed that it was windy, which to her means "cold", she came back inside and demanded that she have her jacket on. Here is her finished ensemble. I think she looks dashing.

Random post of life:

Mackay got sick yesterday. Nate was up with her most of the night (thanks Nate!). She had a fever of 102. And you know what? Outside of knowing that she was in pain, it was a great day. She just sat in our laps and cuddled with us. She hasn't done that in so long. It was like having a newborn baby again, although it was an extremely large newborn baby. Too bad it could have been contagious, or we would have been to church in a heartbeat. How nice would it have been to have her sit quietly on our laps the entire time? She was generally back to her usual self today, which is a good thing...

This picture was taken of Mackay with a cool cloth on her forehead. Both Nate and Mackay fell asleep, so it slid down her forehead to cover up her eyes. I thought it was pretty cute.She had her monkey, "Mooch", with her the entire day. She has recently become a fan of Dora the Explorer, which also has a monkey in it (Boots). She always has to have her monkey when watching Dora. I think it makes her feel more connected that way.
Mackay loves playing "mommy". Here she is feeding her baby juice. I just taught her how to hold the bottle correctly so that the baby got the juice with the least amount of bubbles. She also knows how to burp her baby after feeding her.
Mackay loves to pretend that she is a baby sometimes, too. She will walk around "drinking" these bottles, and sometimes she will climb into my lap and say, "baby". Which means I need to give her a binkie and she will lay in my arms.
The other day Mackay fell down and scraped her knee. I got her a band-aide, which immediately fixed the situation. She loved her band-aide, and wouldn't stop poking it. When I finally took it off almost two days later, she insisted that her knee still hurt and she needed another band-aide. Sorry, Mackay.
I have learned that I need to keep my closet door closed. She recently discovered my purses, and insists on carrying them all around at once. When she can't keep them all on her shoulders, she gets really frustrated and cries. What a girlie-girl.
Mackay has learned a new game in nursery--Ring-Around-the-Rosies. She runs around in circles singing, "Ashes, ashes, ashes, ashes, ashes...." She did this a lot when we were at my parents house. I wish I got a picture. But imagine Me, my mom and dad, Kyle, Andy, Matt, Chad, Tanner and tiny Mackay. Minus Mackay, my mom and I, all participating are manly, non-singing, non-dancing, definitely non-hand holding men. But all are holding hands, and walking in a circle. "Ashes, ashes, we all fall down" (only my mom and I singing), and then everyone spreads out on the floor. Mackay looked so cute completely oblivious to the ginormous favor she was asking when she pulled everyone into the same room to play this game. When we were playing that song Mackay was sure to get everyone in the house to play--and she can get very pushy. Now that we are at home it is a bit less humorous. She plays with her babies, making sure she is holding their hands.
"Ashes, ashes, we all fall down." Poor babies, who get thrown to the pavement.