Mackenzie's Wedding

 When we visited New York in the summer of 2008, Mack, you were asked by Jannelle and Sal to be the flower girl in their wedding.  Of course, we happily accepted and couldn't wait for their big day.  In late April, Jannelle sent down your dress and you were instantly in love with it.  It's lavender in color, big and poofy.  You immediately wanted to try it on and it fit like a glove.  It became an everyday occurrence for you to try it on and twirl all around your room.  I found a cute, white head band with a big bow on it at all places, Old Navy and Granma bought you white "dancing shoes" to top the look off.  We had to leave your "dancing shoes" at Granma's for fear of ruining them, and by golly you definitely broke them in.  Every time we went to Granma's you wanted your "dancing shoes" on and it didn't matter what you were or weren't wearing!  You would tap dance your heart out on the tile floor and shake that little booty of yours.  Well, on June 30th, your dream came true.  You got to wear your whole outfit for real.  You bashfully told everyone that it was your wedding dress and your wedding day.  We tried to explain to you that it was in fact Jannelle and Sal getting married, but you adamantly disagreed.  I was a bit worried about just how well you would do.  The wedding wasn't to start until 6 p.m., however, we had to be at Aunt Barbara's by 2 p.m. fully dressed for pictures and then from there it was go time.  Mackenzie, you were a complete doll.  I think you were too excited to be nervous and you just loved every minute of all the excitement of the day.  The photographer actually had to ask you to stop sticking your tongue out, because you were having that much fun.  Once we were at the wedding location, you took your job very seriously.  When you were given your basket with real flowers in it, you immediately knew what to do.  When it was time for you to walk with Jarrett down the aisle, you had your game face on and such a sweet smile.  You were glowing.  You delicately placed the petals down for Jannelle to walk on and once you made it to the front with the rest of the wedding party you stood there throughout the whole ceremony.  At one point, Uncle Kerry, who was also the father of the bride, opened his arms out to you and you walked right over to him and sat in his lap for the remainder of the ceremony.  It was so surreal to me to watch you partake in such a special wedding.  You see, I was the flower girl in Aunt Barbara and Uncle Kerry's wedding and I even wore a purple dress.  I remember that day so well.  And now, Daddy and I were watching our little girl do the same thing.  I just hope time won't fly by too fast and it will be a long time before Daddy is walking you down the aisle.

Entertaining yourself while pictures were being taken.

 Chewies were a saving grace.  It was definitely your diet that day.

 On the way to the wedding.  Ipad, we love you.

 Desperately trying to stay awake while watching a show.

 The cutest ring bearers and flower girls around.  I think you were a bit nervous.  ;)

  

 You and the groom, Sal sharing a moment.  He absolutely adores you.

 You and the bride, Jannelle right before you two walked down the aisle.

 You did it!  You fulfilled your duties as a flower girl.

You and and Kyle, the best man, and brother of the bride.  He has known and been friends with Sal since they were 4 years old.

 Dancing machines!  At one point during the night, we couldn't find you.  Low and behold you were in the middle of a very large crowd that was standing in a circle around you.  Honey, you were doing the worm on the dance floor!

 Moments later, you passed out for the night.

 Nolan, you on the other hand, were ready to party. 

 Did someone say, "food"?

 Pop and Nolan.

June 30, 2011

These Are Some of the Best Days...

It's been so incredibly hot this summer (like most summers in GA).  But it's becoming more and more difficult to find things for you two to do when the sun is shining, but it's too hot to enjoy the heat.  I often find myself day dreaming of what life will be like in 2, 5, 10, 15, 20 years and so on.  What will you two be up to, where will you be in life, will you two still be as close are you now, will there be more siblings than just the two of you.  However, there's not a day that goes by that I beg and plead for time to slow down.  I will catch myself trying so hard to remember this or remember that.  It's so hard at times.  I think about how you, Nolan, are doing so much, and then I can hardly remember what you, Mack, doing at his age.  I don't like that.  Some people make fun of me because of how many pictures I take of the two of you, but I just want to remember it all. 

Nolan, you have learned how to feed the dogs, and Stetson knows exactly where to be when he hears me take your highchair out.

This picture just tickles me.  You're missing your shirt for whatever reason and I love how you're sitting on your knees.

Mackenzie, you have us in stitches every single day.  Whether it's something you say or do, you're one funny, funny girl.

You ran around with this head piece on for most of the day.  You declared that you were a princess.  Yes, indeed you are.  You're our princess.

Ok, mister!  We don't even have stairs in our house and you're not walking yet, however, you have learned to scale stairs.

All day, every day that we're at work, this is where you can be found.

Showing off your latest chompers.  Your front 2 top teeth finally came in.

June 15, 2011

Nolan's First Birthday!

I have so much to say to you, little man, but I have no idea where to begin.  You are such an amazing, fun, lovable little boy.  You've brought more love and joy to our lives in the past year than I ever thought was possible.  How you came into this world is a story in itself and from May 20, 2011 until your first birthday I've thought about the past year daily.  It's so hard to put into words exactly how I feel, but sweet boy, I sure will try.  We started off your birthday walking into your room singing to you.  Of course, you bounced your little booty all over your crib as you giggled uncontrollably.  We always laugh at you, because you love to end any song with your arms high above your head clapping all while saying, "Yay!"  Mommy had to run all over town getting the last of your party must haves while Daddy stayed home with you and Mack until I got back home and then he had to leave to coach a softball game.  Nolan, you took an almost 4 hour nap which gave me much needed time to get all of your party things together.  Mack, you went with Daddy to his game and game home looking like Orphan Annie that romped around in a huge mud puddle...oh well, I know you had fun.  We scrambled to get the house in order before guests starting arriving at 2:30, even though your party started at 3:00.  Since you have a new found love of Mickey Mouse, we did a Mickey Mouse party for you and you absolutely adored your giant Mickey Mouse balloons.

  At one point, Aunt Kari was holding you and you were just jibber jabbering away at that balloon.

 Mommy made your Mickey Mouse cake and you weren't too sure about it.  Your cake was a funfetti cake with chocolate frosting and I think you got a little overwhelmed when everyone started singing to you and then you really didn't want a whole lot to do with your cake.  Being the awesome parents that we are, we pushed your hands down into your cake and believe it or not, that kind of helped you along...actually, you got completely covered in chocolate icing and had to take a quick bath afterwards to wash off.

I love how proudly, Mack, you're looking at your baby brother.  You just love him.

Nolan, poor baby, you hated when everyone started singing to you and definitely didn't like when we put your hands in your cake.

Well boy, I would venture to say that you enjoyed your first birthday.

You're talking up a storm, but right now, you're the only one who knows what you're saying!  You will tell anyone all about it and you have the funniest expressions when you're telling a story...looks like you're following in your big sister's footsteps.  We're pretty sure we heard to say, "Detsy" the other day.  You were attempting to eat Stetson's food for the one millionth time (that day) and Daddy told you that you couldn't have it because it was Stetson's food, and that's when we think we heard you say his name.  When you can't find Mack, you'll crawl right over to her door and pound on it all while shouting at her.  Speaking of Mackenzie, you LOVE her.  You crawl right over to her and assume that she wants you right by her side at all times.  For the most part, she's been extremely patient with you and we often find her sharing with you. 

You're not walking yet, but you're pulling up and cruising around on anything you can get your hands on.  You're not a huge fan of the grass and we will often find you crawling with one leg completely locked up stiff while scooting along with the other one.  You're an eating fool.  If the way you eat at 12 months is any indication of how you're going to eat when you're 15, we're in BIG trouble!  I'm not exaggerating when I say this, you will eat ANYTHING and I mean ANYTHING!  For example, we spent some time at Granma's a
few weekends ago.  Granma served Swiss Chard with supper...you ate it...like a champ.  We can't eat in front of you, because you immediately stop what you're doing and believe that whatever we're eating, you're also entitled to it as well.  Seriously, there hasn't been anything you tried that you haven't liked and that makes me a happy Mommy.

Nolan, I can't say it enough, we love you oh so much and are so happy and proud to call you our son.  I can only hope and pray that we will raise you to be a polite, strong willed, christian man.

June 4, 2011

Mackenzie 32 Months

The phrases and words you are saying right now have all of us in stitches all of the time.  Some current favorites are: when we ask you about the big white building in Panama City (Ripley's Believe it or Not) you tell us that it's "upingside down", you refer to your feet as "foots" and things aren't "mine" according to you, they're "mines".  You call spaghetti, "mazetti", hotel, "hofel", anyone who is your favorite person, is your "best guy".  Late in the school year, you were learning about Goldilocks and The Three Bears.  You came home telling us all about Goldilocks and how she ate all the bear's oat-me-meal.  It's so funny hearing you say it and we often find ways to get you to say "Oat-me-meal".  And now that "Noly" eats grits or "oat-me-meal" for breakfast, you say it often.  You have something about the number 10 and letter "p", you leave both of them out now when you're counting or reciting the alphabet and we have no idea why.  You skip right from 9 to "eleben" and when you sing your ABC's, this is how you recite it,"A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J,K,ELMO,Q,R,S,T,U,B,W,X,Y,Z...sing with me!"  We laugh every single time you sing it. 

You're really big into the question, "Why?" and what's that right now.  You want to know why about everything.  Why we drive down the road we do, why do we eat the things we do, why things are the color they are, why does "Brother" do the things he does.  Why, why, why.  And of course, smarty pants, we can't just say, "Because I said so!"  (Wow, do I sound like my own mom!) because you then ask why about that too.  Reality on the "what's that" hit me while we were sitting in traffic in Marietta Square and I found you staring at the giant cemetery.  You were very curious about what that place was and I could see it in your face that you were about to ask what that was.  I immediately started to scramble in my head about how I was going to explain a place of resting for the deceased to you.  Of course, you asked, and the only thing I could come up with, was that when people we love go to Heaven, this is the place we go to remember the person by.  Lame?  Yes, but I drew a blank and you know nothing about dying, death, or killing.  These are the moments that I'm nervous about as you get older.  I want to make sure we don't lie to you and can be as honest as possible with you about whatever you question, but some things are so delicate.  

Back in the winter, you're class learned all about Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?  You made the most adorable little Brown Bear mask and you carry it around the house saying, "BROWN BEAR, BROWN BEAR what do you see?  And then will start naming random objects.  Your school had a book fair and they were selling the Brown Bear book.  I bought that and Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom for you.  We read it once as a family and ever since then you have memorized both books.  You read with such excitement and emotion and I'm so proud of you for loving your books.  There's one part in CCBB, that the alphabet falls from the coconut tree.  All the letters are all jumbled up and J and K are about to cry.  When you get to that part of the book, you make your voice sound like you're about to cry.  It's the cutest thing.  You love to play, I spy with my little eye and you are really good at it!  Sometimes you stump us and it amazes me how far you can see and the how small of objects you find.

You're favorite colors are blue and pink right now and even though you can count, everything is in fives.  Five boats, five cows, five cookies, five everything.  You've really started to get into all things Disney Princess' many thanks to watching "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" at least a million times in the past month.  And once again, you're not the least bit afraid of the "the mean witch" from the movie, you of course, think she's funny and the Dwarfs absolutely crack you up.  On a recent visit to Granma's house, you discovered that she had "The Jungle Book" which is one of Granma's favorite movie and of course, you two watched it together.  You refer to the movie as Blue for Baloo and we will often find you singing "The Bare Necessities".

You have a new found love for puzzles, but no longer the wooden cut out kind.  You discovered the cardboard ones, and although you need some help putting them together, if we put it together the first time, you will most likely get it all together on your own from the second time out.  It's hard for you to find a good challenge in most things.  Books, puzzles, games, and directions.  Once you've seen it done, you can do it on your own.  Your sense of direction never ceases to amaze me.  You know all the roads we need to take and which ways to go from our house all the way to Granma's, and that's over 60 miles, taking different roads depending on traffic. 

You're rocking the panties and potty and still get treats for pooping on the potty because of your horrible stomach "issues" and it's a big deal for you to even poop.  And speaking of poop, as you can imagine, when you don't go for a few days, you get ummm, backed up.  Of course, this makes things a little harder to come out, so you sometimes hold back causing a lot of pain and tears for all of us.  When you finally decide to let it out, it can be rather large.  You my dear, think this is hysterical.  You talk to your poop, say it looks like a specific shape (circle, oval) or object (snake, noodle) and if Daddy isn't home yet, you will often ask if we can save it for him to see.  *I know this is probably going to be embarrassing for you to read when you get older, but I'm almost 30 and Granma still brings up my "issues".*  And speaking poop, I'm so sorry, but this is just too funny not to add.  When we were in N.C., we were eating a lot of junk food and it was taking a toll on your belly.  You tooted rather loud in the "hofel" and immediately took the blame for it by shouting, "Shoo, my toot stinks!  I have a sour booty!"  We all died laughing at that one, silly girl.

June 4, 2011

Uncle Matt's Home!!!!!

Yes, just shy of 7 months later, Uncle Matt is safely back on United States soil!  He left for Afghanistan on November 11, 2010 and arrived back at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina at 7:40 p.m. on June 2, 2011 and we couldn't be happier!  About a week before his arrival, we started receiving notifications of his whenabouts, and of course that changed pretty much day to day.  When we got confirmation that he would be back in N.C. on Thursday, we packed our bags and headed to Flowery Branch to spend the night at Granma's with her, Hannah, and Daddy.  We got up early on Thursday and started the long drive to Jacksonville, NC.  You two were absolute rockstars in the car and we only had to stop ONCE for you, Nolan, to eat and in the same stop, you, Mack, had to go potty.  We got on base a little before 4 p.m. and were lucky enough to get our passes to go on base.  Instead, we headed back to the "hofel" to freshen up only to turn right around and get back on base. 

In the "hofel" parking lot balancing on the sidewalk.

 Pretty girl with pretty curls.

We got on base a little after 5 p.m. and we got word that the Marines were on base, but they had to go through every letter of the alphabet for attendance and turn in gear.  Even though we were only a mile or two from the ocean, it was sweltering, stifling, hot.  There wasn't a breeze blowing and forget looking cute, we were looking HOT!  The Marines do it right, and had all kind so of carnival food to munch on, plenty of drinks to keep hydrated, and fun bouncy houses for the kids.  And speaking of the kids, can I just say how many times I almost cried knowing that some of these babies were meeting their Daddy's for the first time?  The vibe in the atmosphere was so happy and anxious.  I was completely overjoyed and beaming with pride as we impatiently waited for the buses to arrive. 

The sign as we approached the base.  I was pretty much up out of my seat at this point.

 Uncle Matt's Battalion. 

 We were so hot!

 You two did such a good job sitting and waiting in the extreme heat....during your supper time.

 We waited, and waited, and waited.  My stomach was in knots.

 Discussing that you must take your "fast shoes" off before getting in the bounce house.

 We danced...a lot.

The Family Readiness Officer announced several different times that she would keep us informed as to when the buses would be heading our way, and that's all it took, everyone bolted for the road.  It was so neat to see how many people were anxiously awaiting the return of their Marine.  About an hour later, the music stopped and the FRO announced that the buses were in route to us.  The tears came as they are right now as I type this.  I was holding you, Nolan, and Daddy was holding you, Mack while he stood on top of the stroller.  Hannah was holding her sign, and Granma, Oh Granma, she was a mess at this point. 

 The first bus turned the corner, and then the second, third and finally the forth.

The doors all opened everyone started running.  Can I just mention every male Marine looked exactly the same!  What got me, was a female Marine returning home to her husband who we believe was also a Marine.  Her feet never touched the ground from the bus as she flew into her husband's arms.  There were no babies, no children, just a wife coming home to her husband.  As I got all caught up in their homecoming, I almost missed Scott shouting to Matt!  He found him!  I now know why my mom bought a treadmill.  I have never in my life run so fast.  She finally had her son back.  Hannah got to him next and that was sweet, all the funniness of her left and she was just so happy to be back in Matt's arms.  Hannah is such an amazing girl.  She was just 16 and a sophomore when they started dating.  They've stayed together through Matt's boot camp, and now a 7 month deployment.  Amazing.  Mack, you were extremely shy with Uncle Matt and we found out later it was because you didn't like his pants.  You had a problem with his pants being tucked into his boots and that all the Marines looked the same as Uncle Matt.  He was nice and bought you a really cute blue bear from Camp Letherneck and you and Daddy affectionately named him/her Semper.  As soon as Matt got off of the bus, he was ready to leave.  He really wanted to head back to GA right then, but we needed a rest.  Thankfully, the Marines gave him Friday off and he didn't need to report back to N.C. until today, June 6, 2011.  Now, Matt left Afghanistan on May 29th and it was now June 2nd...and he hadn't taken a shower since.  Matt needed a shower, and we needed a minute to regroup.  We enjoyed a fun dinner at Texas Roadhouse where Matt, Hannah, and Daddy acted like a bunch of fools, but what else is new! 

Self explanatory, they're nuts.

 It was after 9 p.m., almost 2 hours past your bedtimes, and you were so good! 

 Can not take them anywhere!

 Nolan, you are smitten over your Hannah.

 Just a boy sucking on a rib bone.

We left early Friday morning for GA and had a fun weekend welcoming Uncle Matt home and celebrating Nolan's first birthday.

June 2, 2011