McKay's Blessing

Over President's/Valentine's Day weekend, we were able to bless McKay. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, this is when a worthy male member of the church who holds the Priesthood (in our case, Cory) gives the child a name and a blessing. It was a special time for our family, and we were so grateful that my brothers and their families made the effort to come share it with us. David and Maida and their daughter Abi came from Pennsylvania, and Scott and Brook and their sons Lincoln and Tad came from Michigan. We had a really fun weekend together!

Of course, I missed not being able to have my parents, grandparents, other siblings and their families here. But, since we do live far away, I am very thankful that my brothers moved to the east the same time we did so we can get together now and then.

Also, thanks to our friend Diana, we were able to go on a Valentine's Date with Scott and Brooke (David and Maida weren't able to come in until later) for lunch at Mt. Vernon. This was no small task for Diana to take on, as she already has two boys of her own, then added 2 of ours (we took McKay) and Scott and Brooke's 2...all done solo since her husband, Dave, was out of town. 6 little boys under age 6! We were very thankful for her generosity and had a great time!

Crazy Hair Day

Last Friday was "Crazy Hair Day" at Lucas's school.

I Want to be a Missionary Now

We got the boys new shirts and ties last week.

They were excited to wear them to church and told me they looked like missionaries.

Lucas said, "No one is going to recognize me!"

Food

I was washing my hands after a diaper change when the thought came to me, "A large portion -- 95%? -- of today's activities have revolved around food!" Nothing earth shattering.
And I don't know why it came after a diaper change... just a realization. Just for kicks and giggles, here's a quick run-down of the day from McKay's 6:30 am feeding....
Make breakfast for family, which includes a separate meal for Gabriel.
Make lunches to send with Cory and Lucas.
Make snacks to send with Lucas and Gabey to school.
Get everyone to school, come home to clean up food prep mess.
Feed McKay.
Feed myself.
Shower.
Make week menu/grocery list.
Pick up Gabey and do grocery shopping.
Return home to put food away.
Feed McKay.
Feed Gabriel and myself.
Clean up food prep.
Play with Gabey.
Snack for Lucas when he gets home.
Feed McKay.
Prepare dinner.


Following dinner will, of course, mean clean up. Then we'll do bedtime ritual, followed by another McKay feeding. I anticipate ending the evening by getting Cory his dinner when he gets home later...and, to be honest, a little snack of some sort for me. After all, all those McKay feedings don't come from nothing.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words.....

Lucas Turns 6!

2 weeks after McKay was born (which was the day after Christmas, which was a week after our anniversary, which was about 3 weeks after Gabriel's birthday....yes, each year we will be cramming 3 birthdays and our wedding anniversary within a month of Christmas. Oi.), Lucas celebrated his 6th birthday!

Fortuntately, since Mom was a bit of a dud for his birthday this year (still mostly in the nursing and napping mode), he had his grandparents and aunt, uncle, and cousin with us to celebrate. My parents were in town from Utah (which was wonderful!) and my brother, David, and his wife Maida and baby Abi came down from Pennsylvania. He thought it was really special to have them all here.

Gabey sharing in the excitement of Lucas's gifts...the theme of which was overwhelmingly Star Wars.

Everyone went bowling (except Mom, McKay, and Grandma) and found out that Grandpa -- who claimed he hadn't bowled for over 30 years -- has golden fingers. At one point, Lucas told his Uncle David, "I'm having so much fun, I don't even need to open presents!"

The birthday boy chose breakfast for his dinner menu, followed by Yoda cake and presents. I did manage to do some amazing pyrotechnics for the occasion.

We're proud of Lucas and are excited to celebrate another year of his life!

Stay Tuned

Time Flies!
I need to get pics of here of Lucas's 6th birthday and updated pictures of little McKay.
The pictures I posted for the last post do not look like him -- I've decided cameras do not do babies justice. His face is not nearly that round (not that there's anything wrong with a round face, he just doesn't have one). My parents and brother and sister-in-law have seen him and all agree he looks nothing like the pictures.