Quotes

Mackay can get into some pretty funny conversations. I have started to get into the habit of running and writing them down as quickly as I can before I forget. I now have all these scraps of paper with little sayings on them from Mackay that need to be consolidated. Here they are:

Mackay: "I am a child of God & He has sent me here."
Dad: Am I a child of God?
M: No!
D: What?
M: That's your problem.

Mackay: I want cheese & bananas.
Mom: I have bananas. (Just went to the store while she was away at school.)
M: I’m so proud of you.

I can’t talk very well. (After she had been crying really hard.)

Mom: Are you ready to go to the store?
M: I’m not going to the store.
Mom: You’re not?
M: No. You’re just going to leave me here. I will miss you.

Tanner’s Mom is my favorite friend. (This was just today!)

Dad: Do you love milk?
M: Yes.
D: How much do you like it?
M: Like, 2 ounces.

And one that makes me laugh every time: I guess Mackay is used to us trying to teach her how to pronounce her words correctly. So we will say things like, "P-P-Play" or "S-S-Sing" or "R-R-Rabbit". So if she is ever saying something that we can't quite understand she will say, "P-P-P" before it. Like, "P-P-Doctor", or "P-P-Cookie".

Texas State Fair...in October

Success is an interesting word with interesting meaning. Brought on completely by myself I have two completely separate realms where success can, and needs to, take place. #1 is mom. #2 is photographer. I think I do pretty good at both, though in both there are areas for improvement. In photography, I need to improve my packaging and hone my Photoshop skills. In motherhood, I need to do better at blogging. That, and making well balanced meals every night. So here I am, after the holiday rush brought on by the photography success. (which is a good thing, right?) I am now left to pick up the pieces. This past weekend I cleaned and organized my room. And now I am here, attempting to make up for all of my missed family blogs. First is our trip to the Texas Sate Fair in October.

We went for Nate's work "bonding" experience. It was on our 4th anniversary, and Zack was only two months old. Far from predictable. And we were far from experienced parents of two children. It's funny to think back to! But we went and had a great time. I went with the goal of trying as much food as I possibly could. First, we started with the famous corn dog. And it was delicious! And here we are in front of "Big Tex".

After the corn dogs, we went to the children's ride area for Mackay and her friend, Caroline. Mackay barely hit the 34 inch mark. And in this picture, she is bending her knees, so it really doesn't look very accurate.Here she is with Caroline on one of the rides. It was so funny because Caroline would have this huge goofy smile, while Mackay would just have a scowl.


Mackay got to do a really fun activity which involved her being a farmer. She wore this little apron, and carried around a basket. She had to do things like, water the tree and pick a fruit. Feed the chickens and get an egg. Etc, etc, etc. At the end they went to the Farmer's Market to sell all their goods. They got a fake dollar bill that they then went into a store with. There were little snacks and treats all around, so she picked what she wanted and went to the cashier to pay for her treat. It was so cute! And she had such a great time. One of Nate's co-workers, Ligi, was a LIFESAVER! Both Nate and I were dealing with Zack and trying to juggle all of our stuff. So she took Mackay around and helped her with everything. By the end we were all dripping with sweat, but it was worth it!

After the farming experience, we ventured down to the "fried" section of the fair. (By the way, the biggest State Fair in the United States. My feet were KILLING me!)

We were there for one thing, and one thing only. Fried Butter. We had heard about it on the news, and when Oprah did her show at the Fair she tried them and said they were delicious. So, since Oprah knows everything, we gave them a try. $5 for 5 small balls of fried butter was a little steep, but it was actually really good! For those of you that are in on this joke, it pretty much tastes like a gusher. The guy who invented the fried butter (along with other things) does this as his only job. He only works the few months out of the year during the fair, and what he makes here lasts him the rest of the year!
And here is a picture for my dad.

First Smile

Yeah!! Finally today, October 21, Zack smiled. The first smile is supposed to come around 6 weeks, but alas, week 10 we are graced with his gummy grin. (Woah, Nate is going to love that alliteration.) Zack was just laying in his bassinet in the living room, loving the vibrations, while I was starting to get dinner ready. I would check on him every couple of minutes, and I soon found Mackay climbing up the side of his bed to see him. She has been a great helper these days. So she found his bottle, and tried to feed it to him. Amazingly, he started sucking. I eventually had to refill the bottle, and she kept feeding him. Every once in a while she would take the bottle out of his mouth to wipe his face off with the burp rag. So sweet. She then discovered that when the bottle was tickling his lips, he would smile. We continued to do it all evening with the same result. (And yes, that looks like red hair to me, too.)


I later found Zack tucked into Mackay's bed with Mackay's sleeping buddies, Stinky and Mooch.
And the last picture: Zack was at the entrance of the kitchen on Sunday while Nate and I were making dinner. I checked on Zack to find that Mackay had made a row. And taken Zack's blanket from him, like usual. Those two are pretty cute together. And I have a sneaky suspicion it will only get cuter between the two of them.

The Holy Ghost

Last night for Family Home Evening I prepared a lesson on the Holy Ghost. Sadly, we haven't talked about this much with Mackay in the past, so here is how the lesson went:

Me: The Holy Ghost can make you feel better when you are sad or hurt.

Mackay: The Holy Ghost bit my elbow and I said "Owww!"


Nate: The Holy Ghost can comfort you like a big, warm blanket.

Mackay: The Holy Ghost doesn't get to sit on the blanket.


This went on the whole lesson with Mackay just missing the point. Unfortunately, she knows what a ghost and monster is, so she can't wrap her head around the idea of the Holy Ghost. Maybe we should use the word "Spirit".

Talk Like a Pirate Day!

September 19th is National Talk Like a Pirate Day, and this is the third year that we've celebrated. We also partied with the Brockbanks last year, so it was fun to get together again to celebrate our traditions. We had the usual treasure hunt and pinata. We also covered the table in plastic wrap and ate with only our hands. This year we actually did a hand food with hamburgers and chips. And Nate and Brad ate their cake with their hands as well.
Last year Mackay was held while Abbie and Tori hit the pinata. But this year Mackay was old enough to understand and enjoy the festivities.
For this holiday we really don't spend a lot of money. This year I thought I would buy some fabric to make bandannas. And then we remembered that Nate's costume from last year (Barney from Flinstones) could make a really good costume for a pirate if altered slightly. And with the extra fabric from his costume I could make Zack a costume. And then Nate found an old leather jacket of mine that we were going to be giving away and thought that would make a great costume for me. (Yes, he cut the arms off of it.) Nate also destroyed a white collared shirt and a pair of jeans. Ideas snowballed into much bigger and better ideas, and now we are prepared for Halloween and many Talk Like A Pirate Days to come.
Like Father like Son
At the end of the evening we played Dance Dance Revolution on the Wii. Mackay saw the adults playing, and really wanted a shot. At first she just stood there with her finger up her nose (literally), but she eventually got really into it--and it was adorable.

Life Update

Life has been a whirlwind since Zack has been born--which has been nice. Sleep deprivation hasn't been too overwhelming, and we have managed to capture some good moments in life on camera.

Today I was feeling overly productive, and I cleaned Mackay's room spotless. A few minutes later I came in to see her own organization techniques. Visiting teachers came over later, which made her room look like a tornado had blown through. But at least for a couple of minutes I had serenity.
One evening Mackay and Nate were playing alone together. This is what resulted:
Then it was Mackay's turn:
I knew this would cause problems for me later, and this is a picture from the next day: We drill into their minds that they are only to color on paper, and then one crazy evening with Dad ruins it all.
I have been craving sweets, and I have made two desserts in the last week (very unlike me, and really not a good idea). It has been a fun thing that Mackay and I have been able to do together. Mackay's favorite part is licking the beaters.
One afternoon Mackay was wanting some cheese. So I cut her a few slices, but then Zack was needing attention. So I left her slices of cheese on the counter for her to grab as well as the block of cheese. Next thing I knew she was saying, "I have the big cheese."
She ate some good chunks out of it.
We have had rain pretty much non-stop for the past week. Which has been lovely! What a nice break from the heat. Though this weather would have been nice a month ago when I was large and uncomfortable with child.
Mackay was very excited when we told her she could play in the rain.
Mackay for some reason feels that Zack constantly needs to be wearing her shoes. The problem is that they don't fit very well, but she insists. Here is little tortured Zack:
Today's heart pumping moment: I left the living room for a moment to get something out of my bedroom. All of a sudden I heard Mackay saying, "He likes goldfish! He likes goldfish!" I ran into the room seeing Zack peacefully on the floor (thank heaven), and a Pepperidge Farm Goldfish lying next to him. Luckily it wasn't stuffed in his mouth, but I smelled his breath and it definitely smelled like goldfish. Again we emphasized, Zack does not eat food, he only drinks milk.

Happy Due Date

Today is Zack's official due date, so I wanted to recognize it in some way--and what better way than a blog post. I am so lucky and so glad to not be pregnant anymore. I really hate that more than anything, but with sacrifice comes love, and I sure love this little boy. Five weeks old today!

I did a little photoshoot with him today, and got some pretty funny pictures. You would not believe how un-photogenic a little one can really be. Photographers say you really need to take their picture in the first ten days, and now I see why. Though it is almost 11:00pm and I am extremely exhausted and I have got to get some shut eye before Zack's next feeding. But I wanted to give a little view of our growing boy. So more pictures will come in the next few days.