Chistmas Preview

The Nutcracker

Today Mac went with two friends to see the kids version of The Nutcraker. The kids version is only one hour - and trust me, that was enough. Eli did great and watched the whole thing, Mac enjoyed most of it but wanted to dance herself, Gabriel was not so crazy about it - but he is just a baby so we will let him get away with that. We have been listening to the music for the last couple of weeks and it was fun to see her recognize the music. She is amazing at breaking out what instruments she hears playing ... I think that is quite a talent for a new two year old! She will tell you what she hears playing - a violin, drums, piano, bells, flute, horn and things like that.

Snow Day

Mark has been home for 2 days because of the snow ... Mac thinks that is great. One picture is when the snow first started and we ran out because we did not know if it would last or not ... very funny! The top picture is our Northwest Snowman - notice the umbrella! Fun times!

Nana is in Hawaii...

and she got me this beautiful dress!

Happy Birthday

Mac is 2!! Where has the last year gone? She is such an amazing child and we are so blessed. We had a fun birthday at the zoo with Grandma, Grandpa and cousins! We enjoyed pizza for lunch and had a fun birthday time at Aunt Missy and Uncle Bryce's house. Enjoy the pictures!

Celebrate!

We packed our suitcase and went to Vancouver for a great weekend getaway. We did so many fun things to celebrate McKaden Day! She loved the Beluga Whales at the Aquarium! What a fun family weekend.

Happy McKaden Day!

One year ago we held McKaden in our arms for the very first time ... where has the time gone? Look back at the archives to see that great day ... November 13th, 2005. Today I am still amazed that God would allow me to parent such an amazing child. Mark and I are speechless. She it such an amazing little person - she lights up the room when she comes in, she does indeed bring joy.
McKaden, we love you so much and are so glad that God chose you to be our daughter.

Pumpkins!

Notice the chocolate chip cookie around her mouth ... she needed to snack while carving up these pumpkins. Here is our end result!

The Patch

We finally made it to the Pumkin Patch! I thought we might not make it this year ... but the Friday before Halloween, we made it! She loved it and have such a great time. She wanted to take home ALL the pumkins, ride in the wheelbarrow ALL night, pet ALL the farm animals, play in the straw maze and eat anything that looked like it might be food. It was a great family evening. We ended the night at the homecoming football game where she experienced a great fireworks display ... can life get any better?

Weekend with Grandpa and Grandma

Sorry for not updating our blog ... we have had computer issues. Anyhow, a couple of weekends ago we had a wonderful time with Grandma and Grandpa! We met in the middle of the state and had relaxing and fun weekend. She loves Grandma and thinks that she is just so funny! She also loves Grandpa Moondoggie ... or as she says "Grapa Moondoddie".

Sweet Sawyer

What a great weekend we had ... again! This has been an amazing autumn in the Pacific Northwest. Last weekend Mac got to hang out at the beach with Jack, and this weekend it was the zoo with Sawyer. Of course, we could not really get them to look at the camera! Sawyer is very special to us for a number of reasons. One of those reasons is that Sawyer and McKaden share the same finding date. On November 28th, 2004, two tiny infants were carefully placed, by two loving mothers, in a place they would be found. We like to believe that this was an act of love and an act to save the life of their child. It they did not indeed love their children, they would have never allowed them to live. McKaden has been home with us for almost a year - the 13th of November is they day we got her. Sawyer has only been home for a couple of months, due to the fact that he was on the waiting child list [SN]. We were really surprised how much a year at home makes a difference! Mac is much bigger than Sawyer - which is actually nice, as she is not bigger than hardly anyone! Just kidding. They are only 3 days apart in age, so it was surprising to see the difference in them. Other reasons we love Sawyer is that we really had to pray to see if we were to have him join our family. When we saw his picture on the waiting child list AND saw his birthday and finding date, we wondered if he was to be a "twin" to McKaden. As we continued to pray about this, another family saw this child and KNEW, without a doubt, that he was their son. So Scott and Shelby got Sawyer and we got to have new friends! How cool is that!

The first time I saw your face

It is one year today - October 3rd - that we saw your sweet face. We cannot believe how much time has gone by since we opened the file named Xin Hong Yi. Daddy and I loved you the very moment that we saw your face! Thanks for changing our lives with your precious life. We love you McKaden Joy!

the beach

What a great weekend we had at the beach with our friends! It was just one night, but we had a great time. The kids loved the sand and running around on the beach. I don't have the best camera, so I don't have many great shots ... but here are a couple. Jack is about 6 months younger than McKaden, but he is bigger! They were really cute together.

piggy tails

I just had to let you see these pictures of Mac with what she calls "piggy tails". How cute is she! She is just looking more and more like a big girl.

Trouble!

22 Months

Time for another birthday! For those of you who heard me say that my daughter will never wear pink or eat sweets ... well, you can say "I told you". She is growing and changing so fast. She has really started talking and putting thoughts together - we are amazed. She thinks that if she says "please" or asks to "share" that she can have anything she wants. She likes to pick out her own clothes - especially her shoes!

First Day of Music

McKaden is not old enough for pre-school this year - but she is old enough for a music class! This is her ready to go to Kindermusik last week ... what a big girl she is!

21 months and the beach

We took a short trip to the beach and McKaden had her 21 month birthday. I cannot believe how fast time has gone ... she is really not a baby anymore. We have found that she knows a lot more than we realized. How scary is that! She can count to 15, sing almost all her ABC song, can finish the lines in all her books and who knows what else! She is really going to keep us on our toes.

Hair Cut

Well, as you can see, our girl is getting really big. She seems more like 2 everyday. She is talking up a storm and is starting to sing and count anything and everything she sees. We did break down and get her a haircut this week - yes, her hair has been bobbed. We think it only makes her look older ... what have we done?! No more baby at this house.

Can I get a pony?

On Sunday, McKaden went to her cousin's cowgirl birthday party. What a fun time! She loved riding the pony and looked quite comfortable on it. I thought she was so cute and wanted to get her expression ... well, every picture I took was a close up and you cannot see the pony!!! What a Mom I am!

A Day at the Beach

We had a great weekend! We went and spent the day at the beach with some friends and enjoyed our first experience with catching crabs! Mac loved getting dirty in the sand and was fascinated by the crabs.

You woke me for this?

Mac had her first day out on the ski boat! We had to wake her early to go, but she loved it! Don't mind the bedhead! She will tell you that Daddy "ski's" and Mama "boards".

Happy Birthday

Little did I know last year, that this year I would spend my birthday with my amazing daughter! God is SO good!

19 months and 39 years

I suppose I just need to be honest and face the fact that on the 25th of June my daughter turned 19 months and I turned 39 years old. Still do not know how this happened ... when did she get so old!

Swimming Lessons

Tonight was Mac's first swim lessons ... if you want to call it that. She had a great time and Mark loved it too!

Enjoying the Day

Just a couple pictures from a fun day Mac had out! Notice the butterfly on her leg and her talent in driving the tractor- must take after Grandpa!

It has been raining

When it rains a lot you put on your rainboots, your lifejacket and go ride your bike!