McKenley's first Gingerbread house!

Our fabulous Mommy Group had a party last week to decorate Gingerbread houses, so of course, McKenley and I were there!! We had so much fun & believe it or not, she actually helped quite a bit!!! Oh... and she also ate a TON of candy!!! Here are some pics of the festivities...

One of the amazing moms made ALL of these house for us!! They were all ready for us to load with candy and icing!!

The house McKenley "picked"

 She was VERY serious about putting the M&Ms on the roof!

 And she would get SO excited when she would "accidentally" get icing on her finger and had to lick it off... just like her momma :)

 

 She also helped me with the windows, the snowflakes on the front, and the snowman!!

 The finished product!!! ... this is her "cheese"... yea, we're working on it!! haha

 And then it was candy time!! It was her first time to try candy canes, jelly beans (her favorite), Twizzlers, and Snowman Peeps... can you say sugar high?!?!!

 She is sooo proud of her "ginger house" as she refers to it & it is proudly displayed at our house!

Can't wait to do more fun Christmas activities like this with her... its been such a fun December already and I know there's more fun to come :)

How to plant bulbs -- with McKenley and Mimi!!

This past Saturday, Daddy and Grandpa David laid the pretty hardwood floors in Parker's room (pictures to come!!). While they were hard at work, we had to keep the princess busy, so her and Mimi headed outside to plant tulip and daffodil bulbs so we would have pretty flowers in the spring (fingers crossed I don't find a way to ruin them!!). Here are some step-by-step instructions on how its done McKenley style!! haha

FIRST... you should make sure you are very educated about flowers and the bulbs... McKenley told me all about them :)

THEN... dig a hole and toss the bulb in!

 Make sure to cover up the hole.

 Its ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY to stomp all over them to pack in the dirt... this was probably one of McKenley's favorite parts!!

 DON'T FORGET they need lots of water!!!

 This was her other favorite part...

 can ya tell :) haha

We can't wait until these bloom (again assuming my "brown thumb" doesn't find a way to mess them up before then!!) McKenley is going to love visiting them everyday. We love our little gardener and are so lucky her Mimi loves to do things like this with her!! Thanks MIMI!!!

Happy 21 Months Princess!!

Again, a few days late...

I can't believe we are just 3 months away from our little baby turning TWO!!! I feel like she is changing so much everyday, I can't even figure out where to start this update!!

Accomplishments and Changes...
- McKenley is turning into quite the little parrot!! She repeats just about everything we say and is starting to use 2 and 3 word phrases to communicate with us (unless shes just screaming at us... see struggles, haha). Her favorites right now are, "Thank you momma/daddy," "more please," "whats this?" and "whos dat?"... so polite and sooo inquisitive!!

- Her swimming skills are becoming more and more advanced with each week!! She is SUCH a little fish, absolutely NO fear in the water!! I can now drop rings down on the second step and she will dunk her head under and pull one up, it is the cutest thing. She is swimming under water for 10 seconds, and jumping from the side of the pool or the tower in the middle of the pool :). Her teachers say she is more than ready to move up to the class where momma no longer gets in with her!!! Don't know quite how I feel about this, is she ready? Am I ready?? So many changes, my little baby is growing too fast! But, this will help a lot when Miss Parker arrives!!

- MOO, OINK, NEIGH, QUACK, SSSSSSS, ROAR!!! I think she communicates most thoughts through her animal sounds!! She pretty much knows all of her animal names and sounds and is SOOOO animated when she tells them to us :)

- Colors!! We are now working on memorizing colors and it is pretty darn cute :) She is OBSESSED with coloring right now and if we could just get her to associate the right color with the right crayon it would be great... everything is "BU" (blue) right now, haha.

-Counting - She is familiar with numbers and LOVES to count things down, the digits just don't always come out in the correct order... "3, 4, 2, GOOOOO!!" haha, so cute!

- The pretend play is just getting better and better. Yesterday she was trying to put her baby to sleep and was patting her on the back saying "shhh, shhh, shhh, shhh" just like her momma does to her. She makes herself "lunch" and "dinners," and was even trying to get Minnie mouse to balance on the rocking horse because I guess she wanted a pony ride :)

Struggles:
- McKenley has decided she is going to be a picky eater again!! I am hoping if I stay persistent this too shall pass. We pretty much stick to a pasta, hot dog, chicken nuggets, yogurt diet!! haha... those and snacks!! Eesh

- The lovely 2's are just around the corner, and the fits and tantrums are starting to rear their ugly head! We are trying to do the timeouts and reason with her... but unfortunately that doesn't always work, haha... should be interesting with a new baby around the house... prayers are appreciated!!

- Our daughter is a TORNADO!!!  nuff said :)


Overall, I'd say we are pretty luck. She definitely makes us laugh NUMEROUS times a day and if we are lucky enough for Parker to be just a fraction as cute as McKenley is every day, then we are going to be kind of a perfect family of four :) And now to leave you with another classic McKenley shot to make your day...

Fall and Halloween....

Ok, I know its a bit late, but better late than never... right!?!?

We had SUCH a fun time this year! I love that she is actually understanding more of what is going on and is really getting into the holidays. We explored the pumpkins at the Arboretum...

went to look at pumpkins with Daddy, went Trick-or-Treating with all of our friends, and just had so much fun!!


We had so much fun celebrating with our little Abby Cadabby!!

Grapevine Aquarium trip

Check out the pictures from McKenley's trip to the Grapevine Aquarium today!! She had SOOOO much fun, we will DEFINITELY be going back!!

 

Thanks for going with us Julia, Liam, Kara, and Haley!!

Little girl is off to school!!

Well, I can't believe that she is big enough to go, but last week we started McKenley in a Mother's Day Out program at a local church. It has been an adjustment, to say the least, for both McKenley and I, but I know it will be such a positive experience for her, and it lets be honest, it gives mommy some time to get some things done around the house!!

Before the big day, we had to get some practice with her backpack and lunchbox. Someone should have told me to have her practice with the backpack packed up, because once there were things inside it definitely weighted my little lady down!! Almost fell straight backwards in the parking lot!! haha

Needless to say, she was SOOO excited about her new backpack, lunchbox, and first day of school outfit!! Little did she know that momma was about to leave her with strangers!! haha

Then it was off to check out her new school!!

Casey taught her how to say "bee" so she kept pointing to all the bees and yelling "BEE!! BEE!!" haha

Getting her things settled in her cubby and the bins

Ahh!! SOOO cute, her little name on her first name tag!! <3

BEEEEEE!!!!

I wanted to get a picture of her and the teachers, but things have been a bit crazy these first few days, so hopefully I can snap one soon. She isn't TOTALLY sold on the idea of mom leaving her all day, but slowly but surely, things are going better and better.  She does cry a bit when I drop her off, but the teachers say it only lasts for a few minutes and then she is off and playing!! Today when I picked her up, she didn't notice me right away and I got to see her running around with the other teacher, giggling and playing!! It made my heart feel sooooo good to see for myself that she WAS indeed having fun and wasn't sad all day that mommy was gone.

We can't believe our little lady is getting so big! Can't wait to see what all she learns at school!!

The Big Reveal!!

Casey and I had the BEST time with all of our friends and family last Sunday at our Big Reveal Party!! It took every OUNCE of self-control not to peak ahead of time to see if the next Boyd would be a boy or a girl. But, we were so excited to share in this moment with everyone we are closest to, that it was definitely worth the wait :)

Everyone had to pick a side!!

We did!!!

We had soooo much fun with the decorations!! Everything in pink and blue and LOTS of chevron :) Everyone chose a pink or blue button when they walked through the door, got to take pictures with lips or mustaches based on what they chose, and then we all got to enjoy the big reveal cupcakes!!!

Then it was game time!!! Before the party my mom and I looked up all the silly wives tales that everyone looks at to pre-determine whether they are having a boy or a girl. So before the reveal, we thought it would be fun to see what they said I would be having!!

Here's how most of them divided out... 7 out of 11 said girl!!!

We even did the ring trick right there on the floor

AND THEN IT WAS TIME!!!!!

Everyone picked a side... Team Pink...

 And the crazies who were holding out hope someone in the family would figure out how to make a boy!!!

 IT'S A....

 GIRRRRLLLLL!!!!!

Don't know why were were all so surprised and excited, again, my family just doesn't seem to know who to make little guys! But it was sure a fun way to find out what baby #2 will be.  McKenley is so excited to be a big sister!!

We had such a blast seeing all of our family and friends. And of course, had to get a picture with some of my favorite ladies... and duh! McKenley had to be a part of the "girl pick"

Princess turns 18 months!!

Ok, ok, I know, I've been completely MIA in my blogging, but with a new baby on the way I HAVE to get back into my routine so I can blog as much for him/her as I did for McKenley!!!

So, what a better way to get back on routine than to celebrate McKenley turning a year and a HALF and to share all the amazing things she is accomplishing each and every day!

Here are a few pictures to show you the great time we've been having the last few months!!

Summer outside fun!!

Loves her hats, Happy Fourth, first ponytail, helpin around the house, BOOMER!!

Accomplishments:
- TALKING, TALKING, and more TALKING!! After month of worrying, unnecessarily I might add, that our little one may never talk, its like everything clicked around 17 months. She went from staring at me blankly when I would try and get her to say "more" or "bye-bye" to trying to mimic everything Casey and I say... which is something we will now have to be careful about!! It's so fun to watch her work her mouth in a way to say "Deuce" or "WHOA!" and she gets so excited when she realizes she has successfully said a new word. She has started asking for things by name, "milk" and "snack" and definitely "Elmo"... which sounds a bit more like "Momo" :) We can't wait for her to start putting several words together!!

- Running, jumping, bear crawling, somersaulting, wheelbarrowing... this girl moving and grooving EVERYWHERE! We've been taking classes at the Little Gym and she soaks up all they have to teach her! She loves swinging from the bars, going upside-down, kicking the balls, and generally just exploring every inch of the place!
- She's beginning to pretend play... many of you saw the picture I posted on Facebook last week of McKenley "having lunch" with Monkey! She carries her animals around everywhere, reads to them, feeds them, gives them some of her milk and water, it is so cute to watch and it makes my heart at ease knowing she is going to be such a good big sister!
- Eyes, Ears, Mouth, and Nose, McKenley knows her body parts!! And even more entertaining is when she locates them on the dogs or mommy and daddy! 
- McKenley is learning more and more animal sounds all the time. It is the cutest thing to hear her version of what a cat says or to watch her make a "fish face" or a "bunny nose"... the girl loves her animals!

I know there are probably many more things, we are celebrating milestones with her all the time. This has got to be one of the most fun ages, she's turning into such a little clown and makes us laugh daily!

I don't have her stats yet because her doctors appointment is not until next week, but our little peanut is growing, but I doubt she'll ever be one of the bigger kids in the group. She is still wearing 12 month clothes and sometimes she can wear an old 9 month shirt!!
 
Food:
Our little "trash compactor" has now decided she has preferences on what she ingests... and boy are there A LOT of preferences!!! Her favorite things right now are cheese (cheese and more cheese), mosts fruits (LOVES grapes!!), crackers, ravioli or pasta in general, sometimes green beans, tortillas and guacamole (yes, shes her mothers daughter!!!), and eggs! Yes, you are right, you did not see any meats in that list! haha, our little lady has decided that meat is NOT on the top of her food list :) she'll occasionally eat lunch meat, hot dog, or chicken nuggets, but its very hit or miss!!

Sleep:
For the most part we are on a SOLID schedule!!! and I am loving it!!! (which is great since we have a new baby coming and schedules will most likely be thrown out the window) She takes about an hour and a half to two hour nap everyday between 12pm-3pm. Then she's up and moving until bed time around 8:30. MOST OF THE TIME, she sleeps for a full 12 hours and yes, has a wake time between 8am and 9am, LOVE that she sleeps in a bit :)

We are enjoying each and everyday with this little lady, I really couldn't ask for anything more!!! We are so excited how she takes to being a big sister and can't wait to see what all she learns next.

How could you not love this face:

Look what I can do!!

Well its official...
For those of you that haven't seen our little lady show off her newest trick, she has officially become a walker!! On April 9th, she took her first steps!! It was only a couple at a time then, and honestly I don't think she really knew what she was doing.  We honestly weren't trying to get her to walk, we were seeing how long she could stand without holding on to anything, it was the cutest thing to see her stand there and play on the iPhone like she was an adult! haha

I can't believe I actually captured her first steps!!!

 But now, she is walking EVERYWHERE!!! It has even started become her preferred method of getting around! It is SOOO weird to see our little person walking through the house. I'm still not used to it and have thought several times that someone elses baby MUST be in our house! hahaha

Here's a small clip of her showing off her skills:

She's able to go further than this, but when she walks to daddy or me, she gets so excited at the end and throws herself the last few steps for us to catch her! hahaha, its the cutest thing ever :)

We are SO proud of our little girl!!

Baby's first SNOW CONE!!!

We had a great time today with some of our friends visiting the Snow Cone Lady in Frisco. It was quite hot outside, but we were able to stay cool with a snow cone, and boy did McKenley LOVE it!!

Can't wait to enjoy more of these as the summer goes by!!!

Hoppy Easter 2012

Its crazy to think how much has changed since Easter last year!! Since a picture speaks 1000 words, here's 2,000 to show how much our little lady has grown!!

The top one is pretty much the best picture we could get of the two babies of the family, haha!! Things improved a bit this year if I do say so myself!! :) This may be something we have to try every year!

Blake & McKenley 2011 & 2012

 AHHHH!! These pictures make me smile! I can't believe how happy these two people make me!

Miss McKenley also got to visit the Easter bunny for the first time. I was extremely nervous she would freak out at the site of the life-size, furry bunny, especially since it was a bit on the creepy side, but she LOVED him!! She sat there for so long and even started petting him, haha!!

Turned out SOOOO cute!!

McKenley had a blast this Easter! She didn't get to do much egg hunting because it was like a MONSOON outside :/ I'll be super excited when her and Cousin Blake can hunt for them together.  

We were also super lucky to have most of Casey's family join us! His brother, sister-in-law, and cousin Andrew came in from WYOMING!! and came to Gigi's house to enjoy an Easter lunch with us! She had so much fun with them & really took to them fast, we were sad they couldn't stay for longer & can't wait to see them again! Hopefully it won't take 3 years until the next visit!! :)

Love spending holidays with my amazing family & McKenley makes them all the more special!