The McKinnons

Cuteness

2012-01-26T20:04:00.003-06:00

This past Sunday, Kate went over to her best friend RyRy's house to play. These 2 are absolutely obsessed with each other. It is so much fun to watch them play together. We talk about Ryan all the time. I even can get Kate to do some stuff (brush teeth, etc) by telling her that RyRy does it. Jenny wrote a precious blog about the 2 of them. Hop on over to their blog for a few more pics...

500

2012-01-23T19:48:00.010-06:00

This is my 500th post. Kind of crazy. The sad thing... I really don't have anything very monumental to blog about. I've been in a bit of a blogging rut lately. There's a ton going on at school... we come home and it's dinner, bath, then bed. And then a bit of work (school and cards), hanging out with my cutie of a husband, and bed. It's pretty exciting around here folks. I guess we can kind of call this the calm before the storm. So... since there isn't much else to report - here's a little phone dump for you :) Happy Monday!!Stinker playing at the parkQuick mommy/Kate picClayton playing with some straws

Proud daddy moment...

#2

2012-01-18T20:08:00.008-06:00

Sweet #2 hasn't gotten much action on the blog. Typical 2nd child, right? I'm determined to try not to let it be like that though. So... how things are going with this pregnancy? It is completely different this time around. From weight gain, to how I'm feeling, it's different. With Kate, I was really sick in the beginning (hugging the toilet sick) and with #2, I felt bad, but I felt better when I ate something - which means I was eating ALL THE TIME! The "sick" feeling started earlier with this one and stayed around a lot longer. I'm much better now (thank goodness), but am exhausted 99% of the time. Things are a bit different with a demanding 2 year old around. But... things are going great! She is right on track and kicking like crazy. I think she moves around a bit more than Kate did. Not sure what that means (if anything)... but it's a lot of fun!

Kate has been really cute with the thought of her, too. She keeps talking about when she comes and wanting her to get here. Pretty cute when she asks to kiss my tummy. Poor thing doesn't realize that her world is about to be turned upside down in May. A couple of weeks ago, it got really quiet, so I went down the hall into the nursery and found this...

Kate pulled out a bunch of baby shoes, socks, and tights so that they would be ready for her sister. Kind of precious. I'm so thankful that Kate is excited... makes it a little easier. I just hopes it stays this way when she gets here.

Too much?

2012-01-16T15:01:00.001-06:00

Clayton took this video of Kate on the way to school Tuesday after the National Championship. It has become comical how much Kate dislikes Alabama. Every time we see an Alabama sticker, flag, shirt, you name it, she says, "boo bama!" This weekend, she actually saw a flag and said, "They need to take that down." Wow! One of her past teachers at school is a big Alabama fan and Kate loves to taunt her. Because of this (and our own dislike for Alabama), we really talked up LSU (the purple team) winning just so that Alabama wouldn't be the winners. Clayton broke it to Kate Tuesday that Alabama won and she started crying. He of course had to film it after that. After watching this and seeing her reaction, I'm hoping that we haven't turned Kate into a crazy fan. I don't think so... right now it's pretty cute. Clayton said that our payback was going to be when Kate decides to actually go to Alabama. Let's hope not...

My Mama

2012-01-12T17:44:00.004-06:00

My mom's birthday was Tuesday. She's pretty special around these parts. We went to Sister's house to celebrate. It's kind of hard to get all of the grandkids with her in the same picture... I tried -

After dinner, we just enjoyed each other's company. Ford wanted to show her his game on the computer. Of course, everyone had to get in on the action... We love you, Ninny!!

Musings...

2012-01-04T22:06:00.004-06:00

of a hunter's wife.

That is a blog that Clayton told me I needed to start. Kind of like a forum for fellow hunters wives to go to to vent, complain, lend an ear, etc. It started as a joke, but as the season has gone on, I'm starting to think it isn't such a bad idea. Don't get me wrong... I'm not *technically* complaining, just trying to see if there are others out there in the same boat. This season has been long... and not entirely productive (sorry Clayton). We have yet to score a deer for the freezer due to the fact that deer hunting isn't necessarily a passion at our house anymore. It's all about the ducks these days. There are 4 more weekends and I couldn't be happier. I'm very thankful that one of those weekends I will actually be going along for the ride. But there is definitely a light at the end of the tunnel. But wait... turkey season is just around the corner. Oh brother!

(text/pic we sent Clayton this weekend when he was in Arkansas)

2011

2012-01-01T14:08:00.004-06:00

2011 was pretty fantastic and I think we have a lot in store for us in 2012. I borrowed the idea of doing a different header every month and I'm so glad I did. It's been fun looking back at some of my favorite pictures of the year. Here is our 2011 in blog headers...

Big Girl Bike

2011-12-31T21:00:00.006-06:00

We took Kate's bike out to a nearby parking lot so she could ride it freely. She was very excited to wear her new "big girl" helmet and ride her new "big girl" bike. Everything is "big girl" this and "big girl" that these days. We of course had to strap baby Parker into her seat, too. Clayton helped her out at first
and she was all smiles.

She hopped off after riding for awhile and her imagination took off. We were in an old grocery store parking lot, so I'm sure that's where she came up with all she did. She said she was taking Parker to the store...

"Open the door!"

She would even bend down and pretend to pick up food. She told us, "I'm getting y'all chicken."

And then it was back on the bike to go to another store.

After awhile she had had enough and decided to just sit and hang out.

She said that they were both tired and needed to lay down to take a "nap."

And then Parker "bit her" so she was sent to time out.

I have been blown away lately by her little imaginiation. It has completely exploded. She is making up stories, singing random songs, and coming up with the craziest things. We do a lot of pretending around the house these days. It's been a lot of fun to see what all she comes up with.

It was fun

2011-12-27T18:53:00.003-06:00

Christmas that is...

We started off the festivities on Christmas Eve with some chocolate chip waffles. Doesn't everyone make waffles without clothes on?? After breakfast, I stayed inside to finish wrapping presents and Kate went outside to help Clayton with some yardwork. Millie came along, too. I walked outside and saw this - thought it was pretty sweet.
Little mess.

That night, my parents came with us to our church's Christmas Eve service. Best memory of the weekend - the last song we sang was "Silent Night." Kate was sitting in my lap with Clayton beside us. We were singing and then all of a sudden we heard this sweet little voice singing with us. I almost lost it right there. Kate was a beat behind us, but it didn't matter one bit. It was quite possibly the sweetest thing I have heard in a long time. We are blessed with that one, I tell you.
After church, we went to my aunt and uncle's and I didn't take the first picture. I do have to pat myself on the back with my meal contribution - my bread pudding with whiskey sauce was highly raved. I wish I could take credit - it was all Pioneer Woman (with a few tweeks).
Christmas morning, Stinker decided to sleep in. My parents came over after they left my sister's house and Kate was still sleeping. We decided to finally wake her up to get the show on the road. She was pretty overwhelmed at first (she is not a huge fan of being woken up), but warmed right up. After everything was opened, we went outside to play with our big present. It was sprinkling, so I was glad Santa gave Kate some new rain gear.

How did this little baby get so big? She is certainly not a baby anymore. I almost can't handle it!

She loved her bike and is getting pretty good at figuring the pedals out.

Of course, "baby Parker" came along for the ride. How cute is that seat?

We then packed up and went to my parents' house for Christmas brunch. Pregnancy brain set in and I completely forgot my camera. Sister - if you read this, email me some pics that you took, please! We had a great time with family and of course, the food was nothing short of amazing. Baby Sister even got a few things, too! Kate is obsessed with wanting her to use them now... trying to get it across that we hopefully have awhile before she comes.

The hard part now... explaining to Kate that Santa isn't coming back any time soon. She keeps asking... "Why is Christmas over? Was Jesus born yet? Santa can bring me some more Hello Kitty socks if he wants to."
I hope that everyone's Christmas was as blessed as ours!

An Early Christmas

2011-12-22T13:04:00.004-06:00

We went to Birmingham this past weekend to spend an early Christmas with Clayton's parents and Joseph. Kate loved opening everyones presents... and especially loved opening her own.She racked up on all things Barbie.And was pretty excited about the next present she saw -

This is like the mack daddy of all doll houses. It is awesome! She was excited to dress some Barbies so she could put them in the house and play with them.

Later, we went outside to play and the neighbor's (the Alexanders) cat ventured over. Kate was a tad obsessed.

I am not a fan of cats and even I liked Luna.

I told Clayton that Kate was going to start asking for one soon. His reaction...

Sorry, Kate. I don't think it's happening.
Thank you Mimi and Papa for a fun weekend!

One More Year...

2011-12-21T11:27:00.002-06:00

until the big 3-0. I had a birthday last week... We headed to my parents' house for a little celebrating. We always get to pick our favorite meal and dessert and this year, Mama did not disappoint. I usually go for strawberry cake, but this butterfinger pie I found on Pinterest sounded delicious... and it was.
I am blessed with an amazing family and a precious little girl to be able to spend time with. And that actually wants to spend time together.
I had a crew to help me blow out my candles.

Here's to another year!

O.F.F.

2011-12-12T20:43:00.006-06:00

Clayton got to participate in an incredible hunting opportunity this weekend. He helped guide for an organization called Outdoor Friends Forever. This is one of the weekends of hunting that I'm perfectly content with letting him go and do (there are many other weekends that I tend to complain about). But when this weekend rolls around... we try to arrange our schedule for him to be able to go. He went 2 years ago, but couldn't go last year because we were all struck with the stomach bug. It is incredible to hear his stories from the weekend and realize how blessed we truly are. To read about his experience this weekend, please check out his post at www.backroadsoutdoors.wordpress.com. Not sure if it was because of pregnancy hormones or what, but I have to admit... I teared up a few times :)

Tickled

2011-12-08T21:00:00.002-06:00

The awaited announcement...
We had my family over after everyone got off work today. We were thrilled to report that we are having a very healthy baby. They were excited about that, but also wanted to know what this precious baby is. We filled up balloons with confetti (blue or pink???) and left some ballooons empty. We let all of the kids try to pop them. You'll notice in the video that Sister got a little anxious and took it into her own hands (feet)...

We are thrilled and a tad shocked to announce that Baby McKinnon is a girl! I told Clayton that he could get a boy dog so he wouldn't be so outnumbered. She is healthy and growing right on track (about 7 oz today). Her heartbeat today was 146 bpm. She was all over the place when the ultrasound tech was doing her measurements, but then decided to just hang out when she turned the screen around to let us see and explain everything to us. We are both kind of in shock... we were fully prepared for a boy. But the good Lord knows exactly what we need in our family and we coulddn't be more excited. Kate is excited, too. She wanted a sister all along and is pumped that she gets to wear her "baby dresses." Thank you all so much for your prayers, comments, texts, and emails today. We are very blessed with fabulous friends and family to share in this special time with us.

Anxious

2011-12-06T21:47:00.002-06:00

I'm feeling a tad anxious these days. For multiple reasons, but the biggest one... our ultrasound is Thursday. Where this is a time that we could hopefully find out what this sweet baby is, it is also the time when we get measurements and see how this sweet pea is doing. I have found myself feeling so anxious and worried. A lot more than before my ultrasound with Kate. I can only reason that I now know what a miracle and a blessing a baby is. And that the Lord has granted us the responsibility to do this twice?? I'm floored. I have had the craziest dreams and the scariest thoughts... the devil is definitely at work (it is really easy to tell my head that... trying to tell my heart to get a grip and to have a bit more faith). I am absolutely asking for prayers for my anxiety and our family. Thank you :)

On a lighter note... I added a poll on the blog. So all of you Google Readers out there, click on over to the page and place your vote. We will hopefully blog about this blessing on Friday after we have told all of our families. Thank you again for your thoughts and prayers!

Crawdaddy's Birthday

2011-12-05T20:24:00.003-06:00

My dad's birthday was last Tuesday, so we all gathered at their house to celebrate. We started with presents...
The kids all signed a picture from the beach - and then gave him "cornhole" aka bean bag toss. We wrapped it when we got there (before he got home) and the kids all were excited to be giving him this game. *They like playing it a lot, too* When daddy walked in, my little stinker blurted... "We got you a game, Crawdaddy!" Really? What a mess!
After a delicious supper of snow crab legs, we had Crawdaddy's favorite cake... spice cake. The kids all gathered around to sing and blow out candles.
I absolutely ADORE this picture. Can you tell who Crawdaddy's namesake is? They kind of act alike... (I'll give you a hint... it's Ford)

Happy (late) Birthday, Crawdaddy. We love you so much!

Thanksgiving

2011-11-27T20:30:00.006-06:00

We went down to Thomasville, GA to spend Thanksgiving with Clayton's family on Thursday. We got there, ate lunch, and then went outside to play/do a little photo shoot. Kate had a blast playing with all of Clayton's cousins. His youngest cousin, Brandt is 5 and they had a great time with each other...
They especially loved jumping on Uncle Mills. They both thought it was hysterical. I'm not sure Mills thought the same thing.

And then Kate got Papa in on the action and asked him to spin her around. She kind of has him wrapped around her finger.

The boys were all standing around, perfect photo op... (Clayton, Randy, Michael, and Joseph)

The only one missing was Brandt... had to get him in on the action.

And of course someone couldn't get left out...

I don't know how we managed to miss a girl picture... sorry Lindsay and Katherine!
We went to the farm after naptime for hotdogs, s'mores, and a hayride. We first had to stop and pick some satsumas. They were so good and so juicy!

Kate couldn't get enough of them

And it wouldn't be time spent on the farm without a little photography practice

The geese came in while we were there. We had to hide so they wouldn't see us.

Kate helped get ready for the hayride. She loved spreading the hay out.

And had even more fun playing in the hay.

We had a great time in Thomasville. It is very nice to spend time with family that we don't get to see that often. I hope everyone had a blessed holiday!

This Time Around

2011-11-17T13:42:00.004-06:00

I haven't been very good at documenting this pregnancy. So... I'm going to try to start now. I'm 14 weeks today and feeling a lot better. The first trimester was not pleasant at all. I don't remember being that sick with Kate. I threw up a few times with Kate and felt a bit nauseated, but not like this time. This time, it was an all day event. From the time I sat up in bed, until the time I went to sleep. I had to constantly be eating (which of course, nothing sounded/tasted good). If I ever got hungry, I got sick. So needless to say, the weight was packed on a bit more in the first trimester than with Kate. I even think I lost weight in the first trimester with her. Oh well. I feel a lot better now, just EXHAUSTED. I still get a bit nauseous ever few mornings, but it is nothing compared to what it was. For that... I am very thankful!

My next appointment is December 8, where we will have our first ultrasound and get to check to see how this sweet baby is developing. We have no preference boy or girl... just praying for health!
And I couldn't just post and not include a picture. Clayton picked Kate up from school early a few days ago and they went to the park and played. This is a picture he sent me. Love those two!

The Beach

2011-11-13T14:41:00.007-06:00

We went to the beach last weekend with my parents, Say and Jo, and the boys. We had a great time. I absolutely love the beach in the fall. We couldn't really get in the water and play, but we sure did try...

Priss pot got upset when her jeans got wet, so she shimmied them off...
I couldn't resist taking this picture from the balcony. It was beautiful!

There was an Ironman taking place that Saturday and we could see the first leg from the condo. We saw bikers and runners all day... absolutely incredible.

We went back to the beach Saturday afternoon and had some more fun playing.

Kate was content playing in the sand and looking for shells.

Ford didn't love it when Kate stood in his fort/castle. The stinker probably did it just to make him mad.

My goober of a husband thought it would be funny to jump in the FREEZING water. It was indeed funny, but I think he was a tad bit cold after...

I had fun playing around with my camera settings. I had some pretty cute subjects.

This was a photo op I couldn't resist. I swear, little boys never grow up.

We sure did have a fun time with our fam. It was a lot of fun watching the 4 cousins playing with each other.

Christmas card picture maybe??

Ford's Birthday

2011-11-09T21:39:00.003-06:00

This knucklehead turned 5 last week. I'm still in shock that he is actually 5. We went to my parents' house for dinner and presents. This kid LOVES Legos. He got plenty for his birthday. I think Joseph totaled it and said it was somewhere around 1300!
Don't you love this face?
Uncle Clayton got in on the fun and was silly (of course).

The cupcakes were delicous and decorated with army men. Ford's choice :)

This precious was just happy to be there

And this one...

she is a complete and total mess.

Happy (late) Birthday, Fordman! We love you so much and are incredibly blessed to have you in our lives!

Blessed

2011-11-08T16:45:00.003-06:00

We feel incredibly blessed to be able to write this message in the sand this weekend at the beach... Sweet baby #2 will be here around May 17!

Halloween

2011-11-07T20:01:00.006-06:00

I'm a little behind these days... I have A LOT of posts coming up. I'll start with our Halloween festivities. Wednesday night, we went with the boys to the Parkway Festival and had a blast. Look how cute these pirates are with my sweet Tinkerbell. They had fun at the festival... I was shocked at how timid Kate was around all of the inflatables/games/people. She gets a bit overwhelmed in large crowds, but I was sure she would overcome that when she saw the boys having fun. Oh well... she still had a good time :)

Monday night, we went trick-or-treating around our neighborhood. We only went to a couple of houses before Kate told us that she was done. Literally, she said, "I'm done. Let's go home." So we did. Before we left, we had to have a photo op on the porch.The Stinks didn't want to take a picture with me. I was a tad bit hurt.
Then she cheered up and obliged when I told her I would give her a piece of candy. Bribery at its finest!
We had a great time!

I Pinned It...

2011-10-30T19:57:00.002-05:00

It's no secret how popular Pinterest is right now. I've been pinning for awhile and am a bit obsessed. A few weeks ago, I actually decided to try one of the recipes I pinned. After showing some of them to Clayton, we decided on Almond Stuffed Chicken. It was delicious! It was a tad bit involved to make, but definitely worth it. We paired it with some asparagus bundles (wrapped in bacon), rice, and some garlic bread.
Here is the recipe if you are interested.
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/almond-stuffed-chicken-10000001880000/

Pitiful

2011-10-27T11:23:00.005-05:00

When Clayton travels for work, Kate is a tad bit pitiful. It kind of gets us all off our normal schedules, but that makes it even better when he comes home. He is out of town yesterday and today, so I have had morning duty by myself. It's usually not too bad when we handle "grouchy" together, but today kind of broke my heart. She usually asks for Clayton in the morning if I'm the only one to get her up. But this morning, she was hysterical. In bed, she started kicking her feet and saying over and over, "I want my daddy! I want my daddy!" Oh, it was pitiful. With her sobbing, I got her out of bed and carried her into the living room to watch a bit of Mickey to calm down. She flung herself off of the couch and ran into the mudroom trying to find him. She even got as far as trying to open the door. I went to check on her, and this is what I found...

She kept telling me to go away and leave her alone. As pitiful as it was, I couldn't help but chuckle.

(banging on the door)

I think someone is ready for her daddy to get home! (I agree!)

Corporate Retreat

2011-10-24T19:23:00.002-05:00

This past weekend, we took a trip to Smith Lake with John and Stacy to do a little business. In case you don't remember my previous post, the boys have started trying to break into the outdoor video industry. Their name is Backroads Outdoors and they have a lot of hunts lined up to film this year. We went this weekend to do a little filming and photography in preparation for the season. Kate stayed in Bham with Mimi and Papa and couldn't have had a better time.

While we were at the lake, the boys filmed and the girls took pictures/slept/read. It was a great weekend of fun and relaxation.
The boys learned a bit more about how to use their cameras and I was even able to get some great shots for their website.
Make sure you visit their new website http://www.huntbackroads.com/ and their Facebook and Twitter pages. You can get to those from their website. Thanks!

A Little Late

2011-10-16T14:53:00.003-05:00

I was going throught my camera this afternoon and realized I never pulled these off and blogged about them! A little late (like almost a month)... But Uncle Jo's (Sister's hubby) birthday was September 18, so we celebrated with a little breakfast for dinner (his request). The dessert - cream cheese danish. Delish! Surrounded by some of his favorites to help him blow out the candles.

This stinker adores Unc Jo (as she calls him). She was among the first to climb up in his lap.

I absolutely adore this picture. Luke was waving and Kate had to copy him. Ford was being his usual cheese ball self. I love these kids!

Dunc and Clayton have a special relationship. Love watching them together.

We were so blessed to be able to spend some time with Jo on his birthday. And even more blessed to be able to spend time with family. Happy VERY BELATED Birthday, Jo!!

Vent

2011-10-10T19:57:00.004-05:00

Yeah, she looks sweet doesn't she? And most of the time she is. But folks, I'm gonna be real with you for a bit. That darling is 2... and she is giving us a run for our money. I refrained from posting last week because it would have been nothing more than an emotional bunch of posts. Last week was hard. I was finishing up a 9 weeks and all that entails with that, a training session off of campus, a small fender bender (my fault), and an out of control 2 year old. It was a bit much. BUT after advice from Sister and A LOT of prayer, we are doing better. It is still a day to day case, but Friday and today at daycare were immensely better. This weekend was even better, too (ie less whining and fits). We have started on a daily reward system and Kate is buying into it. Today when I picked her up, she told me that she was good at school and Jesus was happy. I guess it is sinking in after all :).
I would definitely covet your prayers as we enter this season of life. I know that I will look back 6 months from now (prayerfully) and laugh at my venting, but going through it right now is hard. Whoever said being a parent was easy was crazy...

Shoot It

2011-10-02T20:39:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago, Clayton and Kate went to the "hunting store" (aka Academy) and emerged with this...Clayton said they were just walking around and she told him she wanted a gun. And of course - Clayton obliged. She likes to pull it out when they are watching hunting shows together. She will point it at the tv and say "SHOOT IT!" It is kind of priceless (and a tad redneck). Not sure what I'm going to do with her...

Good Dog

2011-09-25T20:44:00.003-05:00

We have definitely been blessed with a sweet, sweet dog. Clayton would tell you that it is all because of his training, and where I definitely agree with that statement, 5% of it is that she is just really sweet. We didn't really worry about Millie and Kate together when we brought Kate home, we knew everything would be okay. What I didn't count on was how ridiculously gentle Millie would be with her and how much Kate would love her. Kate adores this dog and I have to think the feeling is mutual... She let Kate put all of these necklaces on her and didn't bat an eyelash. And then when Clayton told her to stand next to Kate for a picture...

She did just that. They are quite the pair. Millie even has to come with us to put Kate in bed every night. It really is sweet.

And a partially unrelated story from today...
We were in Kroger today and Kate was being 2 (if you are unaware about what this means... bless you). Clayton gave her one more chance and then had to take her out SCREAMING to the car while I finished shopping. We talked through our little shopping mishap when we got home and things were okay. We decided to eat dinner on the deck and Clayton told Millie to sit down. Of course, she sat and then Kate said, "If you don't sit down, Millie, Daddy is going to give you a spanking. Good girl." That child, I tell you what...
Clayton also made the comment that his lab minds better than his 2 year old. At this point in our lives, truer words have never been spoken.
We have a very strong willed child on our hands who I have been told is starting to act a bit like her mama did when she was little. And the stories I remember hearing about myself... we are going to need a lot of prayer and grace in our household.

Once a Week

2011-09-18T20:39:00.003-05:00

Looks like I'm becoming a once a week blogger. Sorry to anyone who misses us... I'll try to do better. Not making any promises, but I'll try. In keeping with the once a week title, something that I have enjoyed that happens once a week started up 3 weeks ago. A few years ago, a couple of teachers and I started a FCA huddle at my school. I cannot begin to tell you what a blessing this has been in my life. I have begun to look so forward to Fridays. It is awesome to see so many 6th and 7th graders all eager to talk about Jesus. This past week, a local youth minister came to talk and he was amazing and so encouraging. I snapped a picture from the back/side of the classroom. As you can tell... we are busting at the seams. I couldn't even get every student in the picture. It is definitely a prayer that these kids will learn something this year and hold on to it. And most importantly - go out and share what they've learned. (Preach to myself much??)
I truly am blessed to work in a school that lets us do this every week.

The Auburn Song

2011-09-11T15:36:00.002-05:00

The Auburn Song - that's what Kate calls the Fight Song. Absolutely precious. I think she sang it probably 37 times Saturday. And she was ecstatic when she woke up from her nap to find out that Auburn won! We videoed her singing a couple of nights ago...

WAR EAGLE!

Quick Visit

2011-09-07T20:19:00.003-05:00

A couple of weekends ago, Mimi and Papa came to visit. We had a great time and as always, they brought along a few surprises. Anna Rose (previous post) let Kate have her old ballet slippers and tap shoes. Kate thought she was so big and sported them all day! Tap shoes and hard wood... Clayton is just going to have to get used to it :). JoJo came and hung out, too... we were celebrating his birthday a little early. For the celebration, Clayton decided to fry up some alligator that Bill (Baggett) caught. It was actually yummy... kind of tasted like chicken.
Kate even tried some and she liked it, too!
Stinker!

This mess was everywhere and being a major show-off... she decided that she wanted to roll around on the floor. Why? No clue? It is just how we roll.

Of course it wouldn't be a birthday party without cupcakes... Mimi and Papa brought these from Edgar's in Birmingham. Oh, they are better than good!

Stinks had to help JoJo blow out the candles.

A good time was had by all. We love when Mimi and Papa come to visit!

War Eagle

2011-09-06T19:51:00.002-05:00

We didn't go to the game this weekend - it was a bit too hot and early for us. Instead, we hung out on the farm putting out corn for the deer (Kate loved it). We got home right after kick-off and I just couldn't watch the game. I'm a slightly competitive person and I don't like to lose (even if it wasn't really me losing, it was still my team). Anyway - Kate and I went outside to play, then ate lunch, and then it was time for a nap. I still couldn't watch the game, so I took off to Kroger instead. And then listened to the end of the game in the middle of Kroger with a bunch of other fans. It was awesome!
After nap, we were a little stir crazy, so we took a trip to campus to see some family friends of the McKinnons (and ours). The Alexanders live next door to Mimi and Papa and have 2 precious kids (Anna Rose and Christopher). Anna Rose was actually our flower girl in our wedding. She was absolutely precious with Kate and so sweet... Anna Rose gave Kate some Auburn stickers and she proudly sported them :)We were so excited to see them and spend a bit of time with them. Thank you Alexander family for hanging out with us!

Old School

2011-09-02T20:39:00.003-05:00

Kate has become very interested in Barbie lately. Helen gave her a few old ones a while ago and Mimi bought her a Belle Barbie. She likes to talk to them and has even put them in time-out a few times for not listening. Kate and I went by my mom and dad's house the other day and Mama went and found some of mine and Sister's old Barbie's for Kate to play with at her house. Y'all... I laughed so hard and these things. Talk about circa 1980s and early 90s... Please look at how awesome these things are... Kate says this one is in her pj's. That hair is awesome!!! And that zebra?? Priceless

How risque is that bathing suit?? I mean, really??

And is this a spacesuit?? What in the world?

Loving the sparkle on this one.

Are those not awesome? And of course Kate got to bring one home. She named all the ones we have after her friends at school (Ryan and Londyn) and her favorite Little Einstein character (Annie). Of course I can't forget the original, Belle....
Life with a little girl - never boring :)

Back Roads Outdoors

2011-08-28T14:51:00.003-05:00

So, my husband and good friend, John Morris have decided to delve into producing outdoor videos. They have started a blog (this will eventually turn into a website)... check it out at http://www.backroadsoutdoors.blogspot.com/. The first episode, titled "Training Day" has been posted and it is a short sample of what they will produce after this hunting season is over. They will be filming all over the southeast and in Illinois this season. You can also view the Back Roads Outdoors facebook page by searching for it and "liking" it. At this point, they need as many hits on the blog and likes on facebook as they can get. This is something that we have been praying about and something we are continuing to pray about as it hopefully grows. We would welcome any and all prayers and feedback. Please feel free to post comments on thier blog as well. Since most of my blog readers I assume are women... PLEASE let your husbands know :)

Picnic on the Farm

2011-08-25T19:49:00.004-05:00

A couple of weekends ago, we packed up some food and headed out to the farm to do a little picnicing. It was so nice to do something a little different and just spend some time together. We parked and opened up the "tailgate" of Clayton's car and just hung out for awhile. You know that being on the farm requires boots. Kate wanted to share her cupcake with Clayton. After we ate, Kate wanted to check out the deer stand. Since we HATE snakes, Clayton had to check to make sure there wasn't one (or more than one) hiding in the stand. Kate thought he was funny climbing up the ladder.
And a little pose before coming down Sweetness wanted to pick flowers to put in our hair.

This is definitely something we will do again and something we need to do more often. We had a blast!

Tie-Dye Cupcakes

2011-08-21T13:41:00.004-05:00

Last weekend, Kate came up with the idea to make cupcakes. We were watching Beauty and the Beast and she said, "Mommy, I wann make cupcakes." You don't have to ask me twice to do anything when sweets are concerned, so we went straight to the store to get what we needed. I wanted to do something a little more fun, so we bought some neon food coloring and did tie-dye cupcakes. I was Kate's assistant as we made the colors and put them in the cupcake pans. I had to try real hard not to help her. She wanted to do it by herself, so I bit my tongue (and kept myself busy with the camera) and let her go...

She made a hot mess, but it was well worth it to see how excited she was to do it all by herself.

Can you see the concentration on her face?

All done with one pan... ready to put it in the oven.

Look how colorful they turned out! So fun!

We of course had to ice them and put sprinkles on top.

I caught her sneaking a few sprinkles for herself... Stinker!

My favorite part was biting into them and seeing the inside. They were all so unique and so much fun. We will definitely be making these again!
(Thank you, Clayton for being my hand model)

Bittersweet

2011-08-18T20:39:00.005-05:00

We have had a couple of bittersweet days at our house. Our last puppy went to her home in Birmingham yesterday. We all knew this day was coming, but it was kind of shocking how sad we were to see her go. We told all of the other puppies bye at 8 weeks and kept "Little Bit" for an extra 2 weeks while we waited for someone to want her. While we waited, we grew pretty attached... It was tough for Kate to like her at first... "Little Bit" really just wanted to play with her toys and Kate didn't love that.And then she would lick Kate... and Kate would whine, "She bit me!"But once Kate realized "Little Bit" just wanted to be played with, it was all fun from there. Her favorite game was throwing the "bumper" with her. We took her to the lake a couple of weekends ago and she LOVED the water.

And then we got the call that we were both thrilled and sad about at the same time... someone wanted "Little Bit." We were going to sale her all along, but were kind of sad to see the day come. Especially since "Little Bit" was going to be taking our last paci with her (that's a story for another blog). So, we soaked up our last night with her. Before bath, "Little Bit" chased Kate around the house...And then at bathtime, all "Little Bit" wanted to do was get in the bath with Kate. She actually jumped in at one point... she is a quick little thing! (my apologies if this grosses any of you out... Kate thought it was hilarious!)
Then the day came for her to go... Clayton took her to Birmingham Wednesday on his way to Arkansas for work. As much as we are going to miss this sweet puppy, we know she is going to be happy with her new family.

Neglected

2011-08-14T16:01:00.003-05:00

The blog has been a bit neglected lately. Did anyone notice? School is back in swing full force and this past week was one of the craziest/tiring weeks I have had in a long time. The start of a new school year always makes me nervous and this year was no exception. I moved teams this year and trying to pretty much start from scratch with my new team mates left little time to actually spend working in my classroom. I now know what all you 8-5 workers feel like. Pair that with my sweet girl moving to a new room at her school AND getting a molar in.... phew! It has been a week to say the least. BUT we have had a fun filled family weekend that I will hopefully post about soon. Until then, I am leaving you with a precious picture of Kate and her BFF, Ryan.
Their sweet teacher took this at school.

Are they not absolutely adorable??

Living it Up

2011-08-04T08:34:00.003-05:00

Sorry for the lack of posting over here. We have been cramming every last bit of summer with as much as we can. Do you get panicked when summer starts to end?? Like, I've had this list of things I wanted to do all summer and now that it is over, really none of them are done?? Oh well- we have had more than enough fun without doing all of the things on the list! I've got to edit some pictures from the last few days, but I had to post this video of Kate from the other day. She has really gotten into singing lately and will bust into song at the drop of a hat. Her favorites are in the video below...

Caught

2011-07-27T13:54:00.003-05:00

I caught these 2 being silly in the kitchen the other night. I absolutely love that Clayton can rough house with her a bit... and she LOVES it, too.
It started out simple enough and then moved to doing some flips
and some tickling
and some hugging Yes - she is smelling his feet. She thinks it is HILARIOUS!

I was caught taking pictures and of course Kate had to pause and do a silly face... Just a normal night at the McKinnon house...

Smith Lake

2011-07-25T13:42:00.004-05:00

We went to the lake this weekend to spend some time with Mimi, Papa, and JoJo. So excited that Aunt Penny (Mimi's sister), Uncle Jeff, Sarah, and Carter were there, too. We packed a lot into one day and had one tired girl on the ride home. Kate actually slept the ENTIRE (3 hours) way home. Saturday morning, we got there around 10:00 and immediately put on our suits to go swim. We swam for a bit and then went on a boat ride. Kate loves all things water and was so excited to go back to "her island" and throw rocks and swim. I unfortunatley didn't get my camera out until after naptime when we sang Happy Birthday to Papa. Kate helped put candles on his chocolate pie...and gladly helped him blow out his candles...

We then all enjoyed the delicious sinfulness of this ridiculous chocolate masterpiece -

After pie, we actually went tubing with Kate (she LOVED it) and then just played around and enjoyed spending time with each other.
We left at naptime Sunday and were clearly exhausted
She slept the whole way home... including us having to turn around 15 minutes into the drive to go get my camera (thanks for meeting us Papa!). Shocker I couldn't live without it for 2 weeks until we could get it again. Kate wasn't the only one who slept. Poor Clayton - I fell asleep, too and had a pretty good nap. Until I woke up and had the worst neck pain. But it was obviously much needed!
Even though it was a world wind of a weekend, but we had a great time!

6:20

2011-07-20T14:57:00.003-05:00

(take a picture of my silly face, mommy) See that Stinker... my sweet child who used to sleep until 8:00 or even have to be woken up at 8:30? The one who we have to wake up in the morning so we can go to school during the school year? Know what time she woke up this morning? 6:20. And yesterday... 6:45... the child has not slept much past 7:15 since Sunday. I know a lot of y'all are rolling your eyes at me right now, but the only reason I'm saying something is because this is not our norm. Wanna know what I think the culprit is? Potty training. Where I am so proud of Kate that she is wearing "big girl panties," I think she is waking up early because she now realizes the sensation of having to "go." And this new normal is obviously just something we are going to have to get used to... the worst part of it? I am SO not a morning person... (she used to not be either).

I'm a Big Kid Now

2011-07-19T08:04:00.003-05:00

Reporting back from Boot Camp... we officially have a big kid now. The weekend was definitely not all rainbows and butterflies, but I think it was a success. Day 1 - we woke up and had breakfast and then introduced the big girl panties! Kate was kind of reluctant, but we talked it up and she was excited to put on her Belle princess panties. We took a magic wand and turned her diapers into night time panties. And then we started drowning her in juice. We told her repeatedly, "Make sure you tell Mommy and Daddy when you need to go potty," and finally there was the dreaded first accident... She was DEVASTATED! We scooped her up and took her to the potty to finish. We kept up the praise and had only one more accident on Day 1. The rest of the day, we would tell her to tell us and she would say, "I DO!" The only bad thing - Stinker was too smart for her own good and would tell us she had to go just to get a treat. We decided to stop the treats after every time and only give her an M&M when she landed on a "blue square" (homemade potty chart). We woke up Sunday and started the process all over again. We quickly found out that she has a bladder of steel... it took her until right before 11:00 to actually tell us she needed to go. And she only went 3 more times on Sunday. BUT she told us before she needed to go every time. Monday was the true test because I was home alone since Clayton had to go to work. We had successes all day, except going #2. Last night was definitely the worst... she kept telling us her bottom hurt and we knew it was because she had to go. But she kept telling us that she couldn't... we didn't want to push it, but we felt so bad. We just gave up and put her "night time panties" on and went to bed. I took her to school this morning with extra panties, so we will see what happens. I definitely think the process was a success, but we were completely stir crazy all weekend! It is really nice not to have diapers to buy, but now we have the added worry of an accident floating around. AND I no longer have a child in diapers (except at night of course, but I'm not really counting that)...

Nervous

2011-07-15T10:19:00.003-05:00

My stomach is in complete knots. Why?? We start Potty Training BootCamp tomorrow. It's the 3 Day training method - start Saturday, be trained by Monday. We have picked out big girl panties, gotten M&Ms, juice boxes, special little treats, and our little potty. It worked for Sister and her boys, so I am more than praying for it to work for us, too. I am fully prepared to have Kate joined to my hip all weekend and plenty of accidents.

A plus? She is super excited about wearing her big girl panties that she picked out (princess, Minnie, and all the girl characters from Cars, Nemo, and Toy Story). So, we should be prepared and ready to go. Please send prayers our way this weekend. I am definitely praying for patience and understanding as I know this is a huge step for the Stinker. I'll let y'all know how it turns out Tuesday!!!

A Little Late

2011-07-12T15:04:00.002-05:00

Clayton and I went to the beach with friends last week so we weren't home for me to blog about his birthday. Clayton's bday was Saturday and while we had a great time spending it with friends, we missed Kate something fierce. We had my parents, the Martins, and JoJo over last night for a belated celebration. Kate helped Clayton blow out his candles... We took the puppies out to the front yard and the kids had a blast chasing them and getting chased. I think Dunc liked them the most. He was precious with them.
He kept grabbing their ears. Trying to talk Sister into getting him one - what do you think are my odds???
These 2 were attached at the hip. Everything Ford would do, Kate would do. They are pretending to go night night here... don't worry - I don't usually let Kate sleep in the driveway :)

We had a blast and were very tired, dirty, and sticky by the time the night was over.
I do have to say a little something about the birthday boy - Clayton will be the first to tell you that he is just a big kid and I absolutely LOVE that about him. We often joke that little boys don't grow up, their toys just get more expensive... definitely true :). I have to tell you that he is a terrific husband and a fabulous daddy. I am beyond thankful that I am the one to get to spend birthdays with him for hopefully many years to come.
Happy late Birthday, Clayton! We Love You!

The Fourth

2011-07-11T22:05:00.005-05:00

For the Fourth, we went to my parent's house for some good ole fashion barbecue. The kids had a great time playing...
There was swinging -

and jumping -

and eating of course...
Aren't they a good looking bunch?
Dunc was fearless and wanted to do everything the big kids did...

Trying to catch Ford

And of course, Kate had to be a copycat

There's nothing like holidays to bring about family time. Don't worry - we all got together the next day, too...

Playing Catch-Up

2011-07-11T09:18:00.006-05:00

It's been awhile...

Over the Fourth weekend, we spent a lot of time with fun family. We had a Fourth Celebration (coming soon) and a birthday celebration. We had some special people to celebrate...

Luke's birthday was the 3rd (turned 3 on the 3rd...so cool) and Uncle Bobby's birthday was the 5th. We went to the Duncan's house to swim, eat, and have a fun time with family.Ford showed off his jumping skills.The Stinker thought about it and I was shocked when she didn't jump. She wanted to do it with Mommy... of course I obliged :)Will and Duncan are cute aren't they? They are both William DuncanWe had to have celebratory cupcakes...To say they were enjoyed would be an understatement...A naked dip in the pool was a must after the cupcakes. Apparently this started something because Luke stripped and got in and then of course Kate had to join them. I'll spare you the pictures :)This one thought they were funny... he didn't partake in the naked swim - he kept his suit on.We love getting to spend time with family.

The Beach - Part 3

2011-07-01T14:28:00.003-05:00

Saturday night at the beach, we went down the street a bit for dinner. Kate wanted JoJo to play with her in the fountain. Walking with Mimi and JoJo
She was telling me something, but I don't really remember what it was. I LOVE when she gets really serious and wants to tell me something, she holds my face so she has my attention. Funny- I do that to her, too :)
We found a nice grassy area and played for a bit. Kate wanted to pounce on Clayton...

Trying for a little family shot There were a lot of people walking on the beach and Kate had to show out in front of them. She kept jumping up and plopping herself into the sand. How beautiful is this?

Because Kate was covered with sand, we had to stop and try to rinse it off. Kate went a little overboard and decided to take a full-out shower.

We think she's kind of cute :) And a bit of a handful.

The Beach - Part 2

2011-06-30T08:14:00.006-05:00

We spent each morning on the beach. Kate wanted to be out in the "big water" and play. We had a blast riding waves with her on the boogie board. Her face was priceless the entire way in. Once the salt water got in her eyes though, she was done with the ocean. Salt water mixed with sunscreen is not a fun combination. She loved playing in the sand with everyone. She particularly liked playing with JoJo (Clayton's brother) because he would pretty much do anything she asked...

Stinker is cutting her eyes at someone here...I think she is selecting who to pour water on Hard at work digging... don't ask about her hat being so low - that's how she wanted to wear itFriday night, we went crabbing. The boys desperately wanted to find something Kate thought they were funny in the water, and of course wanted to help. (I love how she smiles with her eyes...)Clayton got her and took her in... and of course, she got SOAKED! So she ended up in her favorite outfit... this child loves being naked!

And leaving you with the gorgeous sunset that night...

The Beach - Part 1

2011-06-28T20:17:00.004-05:00

We went to the beach with Clayton's parents and JoJo this past weekend. I took over 300 pictures, so the beach postings will be in installments. I'm going to try to do them in days...
We had way too much fun. Enough fun that when Kate woke up from her nap on the way home, she cried over and over, "I wanna go to the beach...I not wanna go home." It was slightly pathetic. If you ask what her favorite part was though... the pool. We couldn't get her out of it. We did the sand and the water for a good while, but we would always end up at the pool.

We drove down Thursday afternoon and got there in enough time to play a little bit.

Kate thought jumping over the waves was funnyAnd digging in the big hole Clayton made was fun, tooThink she knows a thing or two about dump trucks? That's what she gets for having boy cousins :)
I'll be back soon with more...

Puppy Update

2011-06-21T18:56:00.002-05:00

I haven't talked about the puppies in awhile... and they have changed A LOT! They are almost 3 weeks old and are so cute. They started moving/walking around a lot and they have opened their eyes. We took them out of their "box" last night to watch them play. Precious! Kate thinks they are funny and gets concerned if one of them "falls off the bed" when they are inside (she is chewing on a popsicle stick if you were wondering)
We keep them outside in their "box" in the morning and then bring them inside around lunch because it gets really hot. If we go somewhere, when we get home they are usually all over the kitchen because they have all crawled off.

That one kept licking her... Precious.... and they even smell good (right now)

Sweet sisters :)

And in case you were wondering how the runt (or Little Bit as we call her) is....

She is just getting bigger and bigger. Sometimes it is hard to tell the difference between her and the others.

We have had a blast with them so far and I know it's going to be bittersweet to see them go in a few weeks.

Father's Day 2011

2011-06-20T19:40:00.005-05:00

We headed to the lake Sunday to celebrate the daddies in our life. The kids had a great time - as did the adults! It was just fun to hang out with each other. We went on a boat ride to a "beach" to let everyone swim.
Kate loves playing with Clayton in the water... they are both fearless. Luke LOVES his mama

Future cheerleader... she gets to the top and says, "War Eagle!"

Ford was a little fish

This monkey was EVERYWHERE!

Cuteness
After a long day of playing and reapplying sunscreen, the best way to get clean is to have a bath in the lake. Growing up, we did this ALL THE TIME. And of course, naked is the only way to go.

To get all of the soap off, Kate showed off her skill of jumping off the dock. The water was down a good bit, so she jumped off pretty far! This was the first time...

She of course had to do it again, so we lathered up once more and headed to the edge...

Absolutely priceless!

As Kate would say, "Happy Daddy Day!"

Sweet

2011-06-17T19:57:00.004-05:00

Sorry I haven't posted much... we are deep into the fun of summer. Kate and I are trying to find things to do to occupy our time. We've been swimming, to the park, visiting friends in Birmingham, jumping on the trampoline at "Ninny's (aka Granny) house, playing in our "baby" pool, reading books, playing with play-doh, coloring pictures, painting... and it's only the middle of June! Kate is going to "school" 2 days a week and she is loving it. She told me the other day that she wanted to go to school instead of hang out with me :(. My feelings didn't get too hurt. It's good that she loves it as much as she does! When she is at school, I've been up at my school getting moved out of my old room and setting up my new one (I'll blog about that soon)...
So I'm not incredibly boring you, I wanted to post a delicious recipe I found (can't remember where...). I made it to celebrate my parents 2 sons (also known as Clayton and Sister's husband aka my brother in law - Joseph). You see, Clayton passed the Professional Engineering test (remember the one that he took that 6 week class for??)!! That's right... I'm ridiculously proud of him! And Joseph got a new job! Sister could probably explain it A LOT better, but he is doing something with payment processing and is really excited about it. Needless to say, we are very proud of our boys!
Without further ado...
Here's the "cast of characters"

1 stick of butter (for the cookies), Double Stuffed Oreos, Chocolate Chip cookie mix, Brownie mix (family size), and hot fudge
1. Mix cookie dough and spread it on the bottom of a 9X13 dish (make sure you coat the dish heavily) *her recipe actually called for cookie dough from scratch, but I improvised*

2. Place Double Stuffed Oreos on top of the cookie dough

3. Mix the brownie batter together and pour it on top of the oreos and cookie dough
4. Bake at 350 degrees for about 50 minutes. It is best if it is served RIGHT out of the oven with a huge dollop of....
vanilla ice cream.
(fudge topping was not shown...drizzle that on top of the ice cream)
To say that this dessert is sweet is an understatment. If you aren't a fan of chocolate... I'd steer clear.

Farmer's Market

2011-06-10T17:10:00.003-05:00

I hit up the Farmer's Market at AU yesterday. Every Thursday from 3-6... FABULOUS! Local vendors, FRESH produce... it doesn't get much better. What I brought home this week - tomatoes, peaches, strawberries (a huge bucket), and field peas. Pair that with a porkchop... delicious! Clayton marinated the porkchop in one of the sauces we got in the mountains... Roasted Peach Whiskey Sauce. Probably hands down, the best porkchop I have ever had!
Before I committed to this huge bucket of strawberries, I asked the guy selling if he thought it was worth it to buy if I didn't think we would eat them all before they went bad. His advice - freeze them! I saved a few and put the rest on a frozen cookie sheet to freeze.
I put them in freezer bags this afternoon. I can't wait to use these for smoothies or my favorite, homemade strawberry ice cream!
Clayton said he wanted to go with me next week. I am going to limit his spending though. They only take cash and I know him--- he would spend a fortune if I let him!

4th

2011-06-09T14:26:00.002-05:00

4 years ago, I married the love of my life. Thinking about our wedding and reception makes me smile! We were surrounded by family and friends who loved us and supported us. Does it get much better? Clayton and I were talking today about how much we have "grown up" over the past 4 years. Not only have we had a baby, but she really isn't a baby anymore. Clayton commented that, "It kind of sucks not being a kid anymore... I'm still a kid though; my toys have just gotten a bit more expensive." He's right - Clayton is a big kid and that is one of the reasons I love him even more now than I did 4 years ago. He makes me laugh and the best part... he loves me for me. So...
Happy Anniversary, Clayton! Love you!

Puppies: The First Few Days

2011-06-07T13:23:00.003-05:00

In the mountians, we got a text from Clayton's mom that said: "call dad- one puppy here." We both looked at each other in disbelief and shock. We of course called right away and Clayton's dad told us that when they got back from dinner, there was one puppy here! They told us Millie was doing great and they had it handled. Of course, neither one of us really slept that night. When we woke up, we called them back and Papa told us that Millie delivered the last one around 2:00 AM. She delivered 7 in all, but 3 were stillborn. We had 4 boys, 3 girls (all black, but 1 chocolate boy). 1 of the girls, and 2 boys (including the chocolate) were the ones that didn't make it. Ted and Ashley stopped by to take them away so that Millie (and Mimi and Papa) wouldn't have to worry about them. I am so amazed at the instinct that is in both Millie and the puppies... it is amazing that they just "know" what to do.
Here is one of the boys the morning after they were born... We took them to the vet yesterday to get everybody checked out. Of our 2 boys and 2 girls, the boys are the biggest weighing 1 lb 2 1/2 oz and 1 lb 1 oz. The little girls are a bit smaller: 15 oz and 12 oz. The 12 oz one is by far the runt of the litter. I am a bit worried about her. It is obvious that she isn't gaining as much as the others or "getting it" as fast. There is something called Fading Puppy Syndrome that occurs in a lot of litters. I am praying that this sweet little girl doesn't fall victim to that. We are helping her nurse as much as possible and might try to bottle feed her if she doesn't improve within the next few days.

Here are few pictures from today: They love to be all cuddled up on top of each other most of the time.
They are pretty precious and I am already smitten!

I know it sounds really silly to ask for prayers for the little runt, but if you think about it and don't feel stupid praying for a puppy, will you please pray that she will start to nurse better and get bigger?? Thanks!

Waterfalls and Puppies

2011-06-06T21:02:00.007-05:00

Before I get into mine and Clayton's FABULOUS trip, I have to touch on the fact that Millie did have puppies this weekend...while we were out of town. THANKFULLY, Papa and Mimi were there and took care of things. And Ashley and Ted (their babies, too), thank you for helping, too! I will be back later with a post devoted to just the puppies - but until then: our trip!

This was the sunset from our porch. There were a "few" trees in the way, but it was still ridiculously nice! This is where we spent the majority of our time. On the porch just sitting.
Saturday morning, we got up and went for a run and then came back to make breakfast. Look how big these cinnamon rolls are!
After breakfast, we drove down the street (literally) so we could hike to Glen Falls. This was the view from the top of the mountain.

And Clayton's expression when I stopped for the 12th time to take a picture of something...

A cute pic :)

Some of Glen Falls

Some more of Glen Falls

More...

And another :)

After our hike down to the falls (and back up the mountain), we went into town, ate lunch, and just walked around a bit. Having nothing to do in a little sleepy town was great!
We stopped by the local farmer's market and the local butcher to pick up some nourishment for dinner. Having an uninterrupted conversation over dinner on the porch with Clayton was just what the doctor ordered!

To say the trip was great would be an understatement. I love Kate to pieces, but I sure do love her daddy, too. And time for just us is definitely necessary. Thank you Mimi and Papa for coming to Auburn to take care of Kate AND Millie and puppies. We really appreciated it!

Just Us

2011-06-02T20:30:00.002-05:00

See that cute cabin?? That's where Clayton and I are heading this weekend. You see, our anniversary is next week and as a surprise, Clayton booked this place for us. A nice getaway in Highlands, NC. I am beyond excited. We love the Highlands/Cashiers area. We don't really have plans - we are kind of just going to go with the flow. Mimi and Papa are keeping the Stinker. We were planning on taking Kate to them in Bham, but then Millie's "due date" is Monday (plus or minus a few days). We started to worry about her having the puppies while we weren't here, so Mimi graciously offered to keep Kate in Auburn AND look after Millie. How nice is that??
While Kate is getting spoiled in Auburn, we will be relaxing in the mountains. Pretty sweet deal! I hope y'all have a fabulous weekend!

Memorial Day Weekend 2011

2011-05-31T20:42:00.010-05:00

We spent the weekend with Mimi, Papa, and JoJo at Smith Lake. We had a great time!
When we got there Friday, Kate had to help Papa fish And Clayton caught a huge carp
Saturday morning, we went on a boat ride and stopped to jump off the rocks. "Sweet" brother pic -
Kate loved the boat a lot more than last year

We did a little tubing
Boys will be boys (no matter how old they get)

Kate LOVED swimming in the "big water." She was a little fish. We couldn't get her out.

She loved jumping off the dock and she even swam a bit by herself.

Family pic...

Sunday afternoon, we enjoyed a watermelon

Love this kid!

Kate roasted hot dogs and and marshmallows

There's not much that is better than a S'More

The messier the better! Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend!

A Celebration

2011-05-22T20:13:00.002-05:00

Today is Sister's birthday. Her and Joseph headed out of town to celebrate and split up the kids between my parents and us. We all met up at my parents this afternoon for a celebration is Sarah's honor. Before they got home, the kids made her cupcakes. They are definitely the most sprinkled cupcakes you have ever seen (this was halfway through the sprinkling process)...

We did a little fishing (of course)
Sarah and her boys
Even as sprinkled as they were, the cupcakes were still great.
The big boys were loving having their mama back...
I have no words for this kid... he is a complete mess (and he knows it, too)

Kate couldn't be left out of course...
All 3 boys helped Say open her presents...
Happy Birthday, Say! We love you!
Let me tell you a little bit about my sister...
She is unreal - the best sister anyone could ever ask for. I am blessed to say that she is not only my sister, but she is my best friend. She is a fabulous mama...more patient than I ever thought about being... completely unselfish... and she loves her boys. She is an amazing friend to all who know her... and she is more than honest. She has a way of telling me exactly what I need to hear (even if I don't want to hear it)... she is supportive...she has a servant's heart. To put it simply - I look up to her in so many ways that she really will never know. Sister - I am beyond blessed to have you in my life. I love you!

Bring It On

2011-05-20T15:07:00.002-05:00

See that cute kid? He's staying with us this weekend and we are pretty excited about it. We are going to get a taste of life with 2 kids, so that should be interesting. Praying that we have enough planned to keep him entertained. I've got cookie dough, pancake mix, dinosaur nuggets, a trip to the farm, ice cream, a new movie, and more that will hopefully interest him. Ford is one of Kate's favorite, so she will be fine. She doesn't quite understand that Luke isn't coming (she refers to them as Ford-Luke), but she'll be fine. From what Sarah has told me, Ford has been counting down the days. Makes me nervous that I can't live up to the hype. It's okay though - I think just hanging out with Clayton will be adventure enough!
Wish us luck!!

Kate's First "Real" Haircut

2011-05-19T10:40:00.007-05:00

I kind of can't believe that Kate has never really had a "real" haircut before. My mom and sister cut a few strands at the beach when she was 7 months old because she was developing a mullet. But other than that... it has never been cut. If you have never seen her in person, it is hard to grasp the amount of hair this child has. It is thick, but fine and it has the prettiest curly waves. People ask me all the time if I curl it... no, I can't make my 2 year old sit still that long. When it's wet, it's in precious ringlets and dries in perfect long curls. To say that I am jealous of her hair is an understatement. All of this to say... The longness (to her lower back when wet) was out of control, so we HAD to get it trimmed...
We went to the girl who cuts my hair (Lindsay) and she was fabulous! Kate was a tad apprehensive at first, but Granny came and had M&Ms... doesn't get much better than that! While Lindsay was cutting, Kate told us what color M&M she wanted. We had a steady stream of them going and she thought that was great!

Man, look how long it was!She made sure to tell everyone that Aubie says, "War Eagle" after eating an orange M&M.Think she was proud?? I am beyond happy that she did as good as she did. I was one apprehensive/nervous mama beforehand. But she really did great!
And major props to Lindsay for working so fast!
We didn't get a ton cut off, maybe an inch or 2... but it was enough to make a difference in my eyes. It looks fuller and is a lot more even.
One of the first things she said when we got in the car to come home was, "I go show daddy my hair?" What a girl! (and one that adores her daddy!) Precious!

Slacker

2011-05-17T10:55:00.006-05:00

I have been slacking in the blog department lately. No excuse other than life. We've been living a lot of it lately. I was going through my phone pics the other day and found some cute ones of the stinker!
holding a fishing worm at "the farm" really blurry, but cutie in Daddy's hat
playing in our car that our sweet neighbor gave us
eating donuts

busy, busy

thinking she is funny in the mirror

eating a Cadbury "egg"

birthday dessert at Chill

Life really has been full lately. We are blessed to have a happy, healthy 2 year old. She comes home from "school" with new skills everyday and I am beyond amazed at her. We do have our share of tantrums... but thankfully she gets over them quickly. Summer is right around the corner... 7 days of school left! Can't wait to see what we get ourselves into this year!

PUPPIES!

2011-05-12T11:52:00.000-05:00

Guess who is going to be a mommy??? Sweet Millie! After breeding her last year and having a miscarriage, I was a little apprehensive to let her do it again. BUT we were successful this time! We bred her with Huck ("Bryant" - Ted and Ashley) and we should have puppies around June 6. Dr. K told us that he thought she would have about 6-8 puppies! They will be ready to go to nice families around August. So... say prayers that we will A - be home when it happens and B - know what to do!

Mother's Day Weekend - Part 2

2011-05-09T22:13:00.004-05:00

For the second part of our Mother's Day weekend, we went to the lake with my parents and the Martin clan. We took a boat ride and the kids loved it...
Luke and Crawdaddy Me and Kate
Cuteness

Ford and Crawdaddy

Duncan

We did a little fishing and Clayton and Ford caught a fish!

Completely random - but Joseph flippantly dared me to see how many cheese balls I could fit in my mouth. I'm not one to turn down a dare, so I took him up on the challenge. I was given a minute.... and I was successful with 15 cheese balls (talented, I know).

We are a competitive bunch and Sarah had to see if she could beat me. Her total... 15, too.

Joseph wanted in on the action... he slayed us with 20.

Clayton joined in (although he thought we were silly). His result - tied for 20.

Silliness and all... it was a fantastic weekend.
And I can't let a Mother's Day post go by without saying something about my mama. Thank you so much Mama for sacrificing so much for me. I am blessed to be able to call you my mom.

Mother's Day Weekend - Part 1

2011-05-09T14:24:00.004-05:00

How blessed am I to be able to celebrate Mother's Day? Being Kate's "mommy" has been the absolute best job I have ever had. We kicked off our weekend with Mimi and Papa coming into town. We went to breakfast (at the egg place aka Panera). We go there when Mimi and Papa come into town and Kate always eats the eggs from everyone's sandwiches.
After that, we headed out to the farm for a little fishing...

Kate (and Papa) caught the only fish of the morning.

Why I didn't take anymore pictures, I have no clue! We had a great visit though! Come back soon, Mimi and Papa!

Wedding Weekend

2011-05-02T22:13:00.006-05:00

We went to St. Augustine this weekend to have a little family fun at my cousin Will's wedding (welcome to the family *officially* Katie!). We started the festivities with the rehearsal dinner. It was beautiful and absolutely perfect!
(Clayton, me, Aunt Carol, Will D.)

We didn't have a lot going on on Saturday, so we did some sightseeing...We also made a trip up to Jacksonville to spend time with the Dosties. LOVED seeing them!

We had to wait for our trolley to take us to the church... had to take a picture of our own Will and Kate.

Kate really liked hanging out with the "big girls" Julia and Gracie (my cousin Molly's girls).
A little candid shot of me and the StinkerSarah, Will L. (the groom), and meKate was so tired! She did such a great job and was a trooper. She got in a lot of dancing!

I love getting together with my big, crazy family. We really do have a lot of fun together!

Easter 2011

2011-04-25T21:59:00.005-05:00

We had such a fabulous Easter weekend... I really hope you did too. We kicked off the weekend with a little egg dying on the deck. Kate is really into mixing colors, so she had a blast mixing the dyes to find just the right shade... When they were all dry, we brought them inside and got ready for the Easter Bunny. We have tried to put a little spin on the Easter Bunny...if you ask Kate who the Easter Bunny comes to tell us about she'll say, "Jesus." It's a start. We of course left him eggs to hide and carrots and marshmallows. I don't know if you realize it or not, but according to Kate, marshmallows make the Easter Bunny hop.
Kate left him a message. We asked her what she would say to the him if she saw him and she said, "Hey, Easter Bunny." So that is just what we put...
Sunday morning arrived and we hopped out of bed (excuse the mass of bed head) and ran outside to see what we could see... The Easter Bunny had indeed come and as Kate said, "He made a mess..."
After checking out her "stuff," we hunted eggs... Kate thought it was great! Every egg she picked up she would say, "That's Mommy's, that's Millie's, that's Kate's, that's Daddy's... that blue egg..."

After the hunt, we came inside so we could peel our eggs (and eat them of course) and for mini monkey bread (monkey bread in a muffin pan)...DELICIOUS!

After church, we went to my parent's house and tried to take a cousin picture. My mom made Kate's dress and Duncan's outfit. The big boys have on pants that match (as close as possible). They are all pretty darn cute if you ask me!

Of course, we had to get a family shot...

We ate the most delicious brunch and then once all of the little kids were asleep, we all assembled in the "pavilion" to hear the rules of the annual Easter Egg Hunt. Now, this isn't your ordinary hunt... it's cut throat! Coins are in the little eggs (that you get to keep), the silver egg is $5, and the gold egg is $10. I'm not lying when I say that we are a competitive bunch... elbows have been thrown, pregnant people have been pushed down (how many times have I apologized over that one??), it's ugly...but so much fun!

Guess who found the gold egg this year??? (me!)

Once everyone got up from naps and it cooled down a bit, we headed down to the pond to do a little fishing. I couldn't pass up these pictures of Clayton and D-man... too cute! And that Ford, there is just something special about that boy. Kate is a bit obsessed with her Aunt Say, too... everyday after school she asks me if we are going to Say's house (9 times out of 10, we do!).

And of course, playing around....

We had an amazing weekend. Easter is by far my favorite holiday! How can it not be? I'm surrounded by amazing people and the best of all....Jesus is indeed alive!!

Are We Bad Parents?

2011-04-21T20:13:00.002-05:00

Clayton and I were talking last night and realized that we have never taken Kate to see Santa or the Easter Bunny. Are we bad parents?? And is it bad that I'm okay that we don't have any pictures of her screaming in one of their laps? I'm not entirely sure why we haven't made it out to have her picture made with them... I know her first Easter, she was too little (2 weeks old) to have it done. Her first Christmas, we were in quarantine for fear of a chicken pox outbreak in her class. Last Easter... I don't know why we didn't go. And this past Christmas, it just didn't happen (sick, out of town, etc. I guess). Will we brave the Easter bunny this year?? I don't know. She is not the biggest fan of dressed up "things." Take Aubie - LOVES Aubie from a distance, but you get up close and personal with him... not so much- she is terrified ! And I'm not sure if I want to get all caught up in the "bunny" part of Easter either. Anyway - anyone out there have the same issue? Or any tips on how to do the picture with the strange stuffed bunny??

Duck, Duck, Goose

2011-04-19T19:34:00.003-05:00

The Rays (sister's "in-laws") came into town this weekend. We all went to Granny and Crawdaddy's house Sunday afternoon for a little fishing and fun. Parker was beside himself when he caught this fish. Clayton helped, but he basically reeled this huge fish in all by himself! My parents have some ducks that have inhabited the pond, so we were being friendly with them when the newest members of the pond decided to attack. Two geese have decided to live there and they are a tad bit hostile. We were looking at the ducks when all of a sudden one goose flew all the way across the pond and literally tried to attack us. We were running through the woods screaming and trying to get away. The kids were terrified (as were the adults). The goose fell down the bank and didn't do any harm, but it was pretty scary. Kate told me, "That goose scare me, Mommy." Me too, angel!
After that episode, we hauled everybody upstairs and I decided to take pictures of this precious little guy... Couldn't you just eat him up?

Kate thinks he is pretty cute, too. They are a year and a week apart and are pretty cute together.

She went over to kiss him... completely precious.

First of the Season

2011-04-14T20:30:00.005-05:00

We got the baby pool out Sunday afternoon for the first time this season and Kate had a blast. I took over 100 pictures, so beware... *PICTURE OVERLOAD* Clayton positioned the slide where she could slide into the pool - It was COLD! Kate of course thought it was hysterical and giggled like crazy.

Clayton asked her to do her "cold face" - this is what we got...

and her "hot face"... (don't know where this came from)

She wanted to practice her swimming strokes like she does in the bathtub (she is a little fish).

and then came the fun part - pouring water on Daddy's head...

monkey see, monkey do

She got tired of the pool after awhile and asked Clayton to do "Dizzy Kate"

and a piggy back ride around the yard.

To say it was a fun afternoon would be an understatement!

Fishing

2011-04-10T20:55:00.002-05:00

Clayton took his "big" test Friday (woohoo), so to celebrate our first study free weekend together, we went fishing. Clayton went early to enjoy some "man time" and Kate and I came when we got up and moving. He had a fish ready to go on her fishing pole when we got there... Kate thought it was funny. Clayton asked if she wanted to hold it and she said yes. He tried to teach her the "right" way to hold a fish... She didn't go for that and just grabbed it instead.

I think that this moment goes down in Clayton's book as one of his proudest.

I really wish I could have gotten a picture of Clayton's face when she just sat there holding it. It was priceless! Seriously - she held the fish like it was absolutely no big deal and she did it all the time! We let the fish go and when it was swimming away Kate said (a tad bit prompted), "Go get big, fish!" We definitely had a much needed family weekend. Now if we can just wait 15 weeks to find out if Clayton passed his test!!

Little Mama

2011-04-07T19:59:00.003-05:00

I have mentioned before that Kate is becoming a "little mama." She takes care of "baby Parker" constantly... feeding her, putting her down for naps, making sure she has her paci, etc. It's really cute. She told me last night that baby Parker was stinky and she needed to change her diaper. The Martins got her a bunch of "baby stuff" for her birthday, so she took the changing pad and put it on the floor to change her. Here is how it all unfolded- "I get a wipe, Mommy." "You stinky, Baby Parker." "I change her diaper, Mommy....okay?" "Hold still, Baby Parker."

"There you go."

"I did it, Mommy!"

It's the moments like this that make me want to eat her up! I can tell her imagination is BLOOMING!

Friends

2011-04-04T21:00:00.002-05:00

We spent a lot of time with the Mims this weekend (Drew and Clayton had to work on their boat), so Kate and Parker got to hang out a bit. Saturday night, Kate tried to tell her a few secrets... Parker did her best to tell her some stuff, too. Kate told her, "Baby Parker...this Baby Parker." Sunday, they stopped back by for a small photoshoot in front of our flowers. Laura Ann and I realized that Kate had never actually held Parker. So...

It started out sweet enought and then Kate decided she had had enough. This picture was taken .5 seconds before she started trying to shove Parker off the couch.

I am so thankful for Parker (and her family). Here's to hoping that Kate and Parker don't get into too much trouble together down the road...

Kate's Boat

2011-04-01T20:16:00.004-05:00

Clayton mentioned in a previous post about our newest "family member." Enter, the duck boat. Also known as "Kate's boat." We were missing the boat for awhile because Clayton sent it off to have a duck blind structure built on it. Well, the boat is back in our carport and Kate couldn't be happier. Everyday we go outside and she wants to get in "Kate's boat" and blow duck calls or fish. It is actually kind of precious... Clayton got her a pink fishing pole for her birthday and she likes to sit in the "fishing seat" and practice.

She gets really intense when she is reeling in her fish. You can just see the concentration.

Getting excited about really taking the boat out when it gets a bit warmer!

Duncan's 1st Birthday Party

2011-03-29T21:26:00.003-05:00

We had the pleasure of joining together to celebrate the first birthday of this PRECIOUS boy! Joseph was serious about his grilling And Sarah was serious about some cupcakes. She makes an awesome cupcake... The kids loved eating outside

There was a smash cake of course....

and smash it he did...

I have never seen a child have so much fun with their cake before!

It was EVERYWHERE by the end of it.

This one would have been content swinging the entire time... the child LOVES a swing.

but then she had to get silly and try to be the center of attention (wonder where she gets that from?)

I am so thankful for sweet little Duncan. I fall more in love with that child the more time I spend with him. Love you, Dunc-Dunc!

The Zoo

2011-03-23T19:53:00.004-05:00

During Spring Break, Kate and I traveled up to Birmingham to hang out with Brooke and Will. It's always fun to get the kids together and I wanted to see Brooke's growing baby bump (AKA Alex). We woke up bright and early and hit the road. When we got there, there was a bit of a hiccup (you can read about it here). I thought the keys locked in the car was comical (probably because it wasn't me) and we got to spend some time playing and watching Kate and Will interact. When we got the car unlocked, we headed to the zoo and the fun really began. Our first stop was the tiger. Kate told me the day before that she wanted to see a pink tiger. Sorry kiddo... she seemed happy enough though.The tiger came right up to the glass. Both Kate and Will thought it was great!Later, I asked Kate what the tiger did and she said, "Tiger drink wa wa." We stopped to look at the zebras and they were fun, too. Kate called them "neigh neighs." That is horse in her world. Close enough!We saw a lot of fun animals... pictures were kind of few and far between. It's a little tough managing strollers, toddlers, and cameras. The giraffes put on a show for us. One kept picking up sticks and kind of "tossing" them around. I asked Kate what the giraffes did and she said, "Pick up sticks." Very observant.
We were pretty excited to see the big elephant (although Kate DID like the tiger better). Tried taking a picture of the two of us. You can see how that turned out...

Kate of course just wanted to stand at the fence and look at the elephant. He definitely put on a show for us - about 10 seconds after this picture, he started using the bathroom. Kate of course tells everyone now that the elephant, "tee-tee" (ed). Pretty cute.
The big highlight was riding the choo-choo train. Of which no pictures were taken. Will kept shouting, "All Aboard!" They loved it.

It was a fabulous little trip and I am so glad we have sweet friends that we can spend time with. Thank you for letting us come hang out, Brooke and Will!

Belated

2011-03-20T13:56:00.004-05:00

Due to the sickness talked about on my previous blog, I didn't get to give this precious little boy any birthday blog lovin' Friday...

Sweet Duncan turned 1 Friday. Yep, he is as sweet as he looks. He is a MAJOR cuddler and has a smile that is more than contagious.
Happy {late} Birthday Dunc-man. We love you so much!!

2 AND Other Ramblings

2011-03-19T14:10:00.005-05:00

It is really hard to believe that I have a 2 year old... one who has a precious little mind of her own...
(literally telling me to stop taking pictures -look at that little hand)

2 year stats -
26 lbs (50%)
33 in (30%)

The past few weeks have been rough at the McKinnon house - but there is an end in sight. Clayton is going to sit for his "professional engineering license" at the beginning of April. He has been taking a class every Saturday AND Sunday from 9-5 for the past 4 weeks (this weekend included). He has one more weekend, a weekend to study, and then he takes his big test on April 8th. Needless to say - there are a few girls in our house that are missing him. Loving the time change, we are trying to make the most out of our nights with him once he is done. We have enjoyed spending time at Town Creek Park watching the ducks. Kate was calling them here..."Ducks! Ducks!"

They were doing this... she of course thought it was hysterical and will now tell you that ducks eat with their hiney in the air.
Spring break has been fun - I'll post pictures of our trip to the zoo with Brooke and Will later. The only downside of the week... a yuck stomach bug. First hit me, then moved on to Kate. How I have hated seeing this sweet face feel horrible...especially since I know exactly how she was feeling - not fun!

We seem to be on the mend now... and a beautiful Saturday is helping.
And I can't step away from this post without including a picture of our other child (who is also missing Clayton... he says that Millie is depressed)

Now off to get the "sick" smell out of my house!!

The Pink Party

2011-03-17T12:54:00.005-05:00

We had a small party for Kate Saturday afternoon. Fun family and friends came over for pizza and "pink" dessert. I made the giant cupcake again and we all gathered around to sing Happy Birthday
We blew out the candles (Luke was a huge help)

and then dug in.

After that, we opened presents. Luke went after this one and Kate was quick to get it back...
(please notice Luke crying in the background)

Kate's new car was a hit among all of the kids...

This was one of my favorites! Ashley promised my mom a squirrel one of these days. Owls are just fine with me :)

The little mama used her new "baby paraphenelia" and hauled "baby Parker" all around the place.

And then it was outside to play with some of our new toys!

We are so blessed to have such amazing family and friends to come celebrate our sweet Kate. I think a good time was had by all :)

Happy Birthday, Kate!

2011-03-10T13:17:00.005-06:00

Birthday countdown, Day 10! My sweet baby's birthday.
2 years ago, the Lord blessed us with Kate. I never knew at that moment how much joy, laughter, heartache, excitement, fascination, apprehension, love... I would feel. My life completely changed at 12:56 AM, March 10, 2009.

It was a LONG day, but after an hour of pushing, there she was! All 6 pounds, 5 oz; 18.5 inches long. Head FULL of jet black hair. Perfect button nose, sweet little lips. My heart stopped when I saw her for the first time and in that moment, I knew that my life would NEVER be the same.

1st birthday, 2010
My love for this little girl has grown with each passing day. I've heard it said that when you have a child, it's like your heart walking outside of your body. That is completely true.

making birthday cupcakes, March 2011
Kate-Kate,
Your daddy and I love you so much. We cannot believe that the Lord chose us to be your parents. How blessed we are. You have grown into such a spunky little girl. Your smile lights up any room you enter and your laughter is completely contagious. When you give hugs, you melt in and hang on for dear life. You are so inquisitive at this stage, asking, "What's that, who's that?" 100 times a day. I love to see the wheels turning in your head as you work your puzzles or try to figure out something. I am captivated by your heart and the love you have for others. There are so many times I wish I could freeze time and keep you little forever. Right now, you are such a mama's girl, but LOVE to play and be silly with Daddy. You have developed such a sweet personality, are strong-willed, and when you have your mind set on something...nothing can stop you. Kate, I pray for God to give your daddy and I the grace, patience, and strength to raise you and to love you as only He could do.
You are loved by so many, and I hope you will never forget that.

Happy Birthday, sweet girl! We love you!

Birthday Countdown - Day 9

2011-03-09T15:11:00.005-06:00

I can't believe tomorrow is my baby's birthday!
For day 9 - a sweet letter from one of Kate's most favorite people... Aunt Say -

To our Kate-Kate,
Happy birthday, baby girl! I can’t believe you are 2! You are so special to me for a million different reasons and I feel so blessed to be your aunt. With a house full of boys, I’m so glad I have you right around the corner to spoil. I remember the night you were born like it was yesterday. We waited and waited and waited, and when your daddy finally came out to tell us you were here, I could hardly see through my tears. You had a head full of black hair and I thought you looked just like your beautiful mama. My heart skipped a beat the first time I held you, and from that second on I’ve loved you just like you are my own! Everyone who knows you adores you; you have a way of wrapping everyone around your little finger. Those big blue eyes and that smile that lights up the room are going to give your daddy lots of sleepless nights!
I know we are going to have so much fun together – I am looking forward to all the special times we will share as you grow up. Your cousins are going to take such good care of you and will make sure you are treated like the princess you are! I love watching you with them...I know you are going to keep them in line! I have a feeling you and Luke are going to be a force to reckon with as you get older. I love that you will all grow up together like one big, crazy family!
You can do no wrong in the eyes of your Uncle Jo! He thinks you hung the moon, and I’m pretty sure you feel the same way about him! Whenever the two of you are together, you are usually in his arms laughing about something. You could ask him for anything and he’d find a way to get it for you!
You add so much to our lives, sweet girl! Your spunk and sassiness remind me so much of your mama, and I’m so excited to watch you grow into a beautiful young lady. I pray that you grow up healthy and happy. I pray that you know how much you are loved by your family and most of all, by your Jesus. He will be there to help you even when we cannot. Even when you think that no one understands, He does. I pray that one day you will look back and read these words when you need them. I am praying for you, sweet angel. Don’t grow up too fast! Enjoy every moment – they were all created by Him. We love you so much! ~Love, your Aunt Say

Birthday Countdown - Day 8

2011-03-08T20:58:00.002-06:00

Kate is a little bit obsessive about things... and I love this about her. I wanted to say she was a bit quirky, but Clayton said that didn't sound right. Either way you put it -quirky or obsessive - it still kind of fits.
She is obsessed with her lovey "baby." I've joked a time or two that I just pray she isn't walking down the aisle with it one day. The thing is DISGUSTING, but she won't part with it long enough to "give it a bath."
She is also stuck on Special Agent Oso right now. For awhile, it was Mickey, now we have moved on to Oso. Clayton and I can't stand Oso (sorry if that offends you), but we have to watch it on a regular basis because that is Kate's show of choice. I'm sure she will move on to something else soon.... (I hope).
In every class at school, she finds a teacher and latches on. In her first room, Ms. Odessa was her most favorite. When she moved up, I didn't know how it was going to go, but she quickly developed a friendship with Ms. Joie. It's safe to say that Ms. Joie was equally attached to Kate. We were told that if another kid was sitting with Ms. Joie, Kate would walk up to them and say, "My Joie," and demand the child to move. We have now moved up to another room and although we were devastated for a week not to be with Ms. Joie, I'm sensing a new "favorite" emerging...
She is equally obsessed with the dogs...Millie in particular. She loves making sure they are okay and feeding them with daddy. We have to make sure that we say goodbye to them every morning before school.... "Bye, girls."
She LOVES being outside. I wish I could elaborate on this more, but it is apparent in our guest blogs that we are not the only ones to notice this. She pitches a FIT when it's time to come inside... rain, freezing, storming... you name it - she doesn't care. She gets this from Clayton.... that boy would go crazy if he had to be inside all the time.
She is loving the color pink right now. When I asked her what type of birthday party she wanted, she quickly replied, "Pink party." Everything pink...pink cupcakes, pink juice - you name it!
As strange as they are, these little quirks/obsessions make up my precious child. I know she has her moments, as does any child, but she is mine and I love her to pieces. I praise the Lord daily for the little personality that is shining through.

Birthday Countdown - Day 7

2011-03-07T19:43:00.005-06:00

The next guest bloggers are Mimi and Papa.
Here is what they had to say about Kate ~

Special things that we love about Kate:
*the way her eyes light up when she says 'Mimi" and "Papa"
* the way she loves to sit in your lap and read a book
*the way she loves to be outside even if it is 100 degrees- just like her Daddy
*the way she will eat almost anything - even french onion soup
*the way she can "mother" her baby doll, but then go to the farm to look for big bucks and geese
*how happy she was on Christmas day wearing a hair bow, a diaper, and her pink boots while rocking her baby doll
*the way she lights up a room with her personality and laughter
*riding the sled with her in the snow at Christmas
*playing in the hay at the farm
*her helping Papa drive the big green tractor at the farm
*the way she loves her Mama and Daddy
* what's not to love
Thank you, Mimi and Papa! We are excited you are going to be here this weekend to celebrate Kate with us!

Birthday Countdown - Day 6

2011-03-06T19:49:00.005-06:00

For day 6.... I love that Kate is sensitive. She has such a sweet little heart and she wears her feelings on her sleeve. You only have to look at her the wrong way and that lip pokes out and takes your heart away.

I can tell her something a dozen times and then Clayton can say it one time in just the right tone of voice and her lip pokes out so far that she might trip on it. She will then run over to me and bury her head in my lap or my leg and the floodgates are let loose. She definitely hates to disappoint you and is so sad when you get on to her (I wonder where she gets that from).
The other side of her sensitivity is that she cares about other people (and dogs). If it is raining outside, she will go to out sliding glass door and say, "My Millie, Mommy." The other night when it started to storm she looked at me and asked me, "My Millie okay, Mommy?" Precious! She also doesn't like it if Clayton gives me a hug saying, "My Mommy, Daddy."
She has also become a cute little mama. She takes care of "Baby Parker", making sure she is well fed, well wrapped, and well rocked. Kate Kate, your heart amazes me everyday. I pray that the Lord will guard and protect it as you grow. I love how much you love everyone and everything around you. You have definitely captured my own heart. We love you so much!

Birthday Countdown - Day 5

2011-03-05T14:16:00.003-06:00

We are halfway there!!
For day 5... I absolutely love how incredibly funny Kate is. When she was younger, she would do a bunch of funny things, but now that she is talking - we never know what is going to come out of her mouth. Clayton and I find ourselves rolling daily at something. And the best part - she thinks she is funny, too. (Clayton tells me she gets that from me...thanks, buddy!) She is always trying to do something to get a laugh out of you (sounds like a Melton) and she won't stop until she does. Whether it's a funny face or a funny comment - she is a little ham.

Birthday Countdown - Day 4

2011-03-04T20:34:00.003-06:00

I've asked a few special people to be guest bloggers for our "countdown." These are some of Kate's most favorite people... people who love her as much as we do.
The first guest bloggers are Granny (Ninny) and Crawdaddy. They decided to do a top 10 list, too...

We LOVE:
1. the way she says "yes"---yap, and "yes maam" --- yap maum,
2. the look on her face whe she knows she is saying something silly,
3. the way she calls us --- "NinNE, Craw-w-wDADDY,
4. that she could stay outside all day "outside Ninne"
5. the way she runs and walks - Too adorable,
6. the way she can be such a girly girl but is so a tomboy,
7. Love, love that she is such a great eater!!!
8. the way she snuggles in and melts our hearts,
9. that she is such a HAPPY girl, and
10. that at age 2, she is smarter than Ninne and Crawdaddy.

WE SURE DO LOVE AND ADORE OUR SWEET BABY KATE!! Happy almost #2 to you.
Granny and Crawdaddy

Can you tell how much they love this sweet girl...pretty special :)

Birthday Countdown - Day 3

2011-03-03T20:39:00.003-06:00

I am so blessed to be able to say that Kate has always been a really good eater. Why do I love that about her?? Dinners are relatively easy (when it comes to choosing what we eat) and we don't get into a lot of battles about "making" her eat something. The child really will try anything and has always been like this...

Loving some spaghetti o's...trying to get that last bite. AND many months later - doing the same thing with "mac mac."

She's gotten a little bit better about making a mess... coordination is the key! Now, she hates for her hands and face to be dirty. We go through numerous paper towels and napkins. "Wipe my hands, Mommy."

She doesn't have that big of a sweet tooth (her daddy's child), but she loves icing and the occasional piece of chocolate. Oh - and ice cream with daddy, but I think that is more about hanging out with Clayton than anything else.

When I say she will try anything...I mean it. This was this summer... eating a rib. I know Crawdaddy can cook, but most 1 year olds won't ask for more.

Clayton is delighted over the fact that she will request deer (that's how we roll...live off the land!) in her "red mac mac." Red mac mac is simply spaghetti. There is also yellow mac mac (regular mac and cheese), white mac mac (alfredo sauce), and green mac mac (pesto pasta). If I had to pick, I'd say pasta and cheese are her favorite foods.
The child is also obsessed with mexican food. She LOVES Laredos and Moes. 9 times out of 10, she will ask for a "quesadida" for supper. Oh - once at Laredos, Kate got the bright idea to dip a lemon in salsa and then eat it. Don't worry, she liked it. She also loves sour cream. She told me the other night..."I like sour cream, Mommy." I bet you do, Kate.
Yeah, she's weird...but I love that about her! I'm waiting on the other shoe to drop, but until it does... I love that she is not picky and loves to eat!

Birthday Countdown - Day 2

2011-03-02T21:05:00.004-06:00

Another thing we love about Kate is the fact that she is perfectly girly AND a tomboy all in one. We joke around that she is going to be the "girl next door" and best friends with all the guys (Clayton shudders at that thought). When Kate was born, Ford had a hard time saying her name, calling her "Baby Cakes." We laughed visualizing her with deer heads hanging in her room with necklaces and boas hanging from the antlers. Even now, she will put on necklaces and rings and then want to go and ride around "on the farm" looking for deer and ducks. Her daddy doesn't love that at all (sarcasm).
Some of you might think this is foul, but she cracks up at "bathroom humor." She thinks it is hilarious when someone toots or burbs, saying, "Daddy, burb....Kate, toot," with a wide grin and a giggle right behind it.
On the flipside, she will also play with her baby, play in my makeup, and be a little mama...or play "tea party" with us. AND she wakes up in the morning and one of the first things she says is, "Fix hair, Mama...need bow - that bow."
She can also keep up with her cousins. Being the only girl with 3 boys right down the street at my sister's, she has to be tough. The other day in Hobby Lobby, I let her pick out a treat because she had been so great running all of our errands. What did she pick out??? A TRUCK!! And there were definitely bracelets right next to the trucks. Precious. Tomboy or Girly... we love her just the way she is.

Birthday Countdown - Day 1

2011-03-01T21:16:00.003-06:00

Since Kate's birthday is NEXT WEEK (in slight denial), I'm going to do a kind of "top 10" favorite things about Kate. With her birthday being on the 10th, it works perfect! So...
March 1 - #1
We love how silly she is. And how funny she thinks she is (we think she is hilarious, too - but that is another post).

She put Clayton's shoes on and shouted..."Look Mommy! Silly Kate, Daddy's shoes!"

She will ask Clayton to do "dizzy Kate" (spin her around) and then she will laugh like crazy and say, "Again, Daddy...do dizzy Kate."
She is always doing something that puts a smile on anyone's face. Her laugh is ridiculously infectious... it cracks me up all the time!
She is a little ham... if she knows she has your attention, she will definitely act on it. She makes the funniest little faces and noises. And then cracks up at herself before you even start laughing (I wonder where she got that from).
Basically - she is a mess. But we love our little mess!

Paul's Youngest Fan

2011-02-28T19:39:00.003-06:00

I know I've mentioned it on here before, but we are extremely excited about Paul McDonald making it to the top 24 on American Idol. Clayton has taken it as his personal responsibility to make sure Kate knows Paul's music... definitely making Kate his youngest fan.

We had a small jam session tonight at dinner (please notice the sour cream that my child is licking off her hand and the quesadilla she is devouring/playing with) to one of our favorites (Sing Out). Kate made us laugh by singing along...

Cupcakes

2011-02-24T15:39:00.005-06:00

Today is Ms. Meg's (one of Kate's teachers) birthday. To tell her happy birthday, we stopped by Gigi's Cupcakes yesterday to pick out a little happy. Of course, we took one home with us, too...

On the way there, Kate said she wanted a strawberry cupcake, but they didn't have one, so she picked out the Grasshopper cupcake -
(she might have had a little help from me on this one) We agreed that after dinner, we would eat our cupcake (Kate's cupcake, she said). A few tears in the car on the way back and the repeating of, "No dinner, Mommy...Kate's cupcake" over and over quickly vanished when we told her that if she didn't eat dinner, she couldn't have her cupcake. Parenting moment #568.

Kate was ecstatic when she was finally through with dinner. She even got to sit in "Mommy's chair" to eat it.
And like a child after my own heart, she wanted the icing only. That is after all, the best part.
And the other best part?? The part where Kate didn't eat it all, and I got to dig in myself. Of course, I split it with Clayton (but I definitely got the bigger half).

Silly

2011-02-22T20:31:00.003-06:00

We had a bit of a silly night last night. Kate was playing in her kitchen and fixing us "dinner." She loves it when we pretend to eat the food. Precious!And then 2 seconds later, she pitched a fit because she couldn't get the drawer on her kitchen closed.... 1 word - toddler. Just keeping it real :)

Get Me Up Please, Mommy

2011-02-20T07:55:00.003-06:00

We usually try to let Kate sleep-in on the weekends rather than wake her up like we do when we have to go to school. This morning, Clayton and I were hanging out on the couch in the living room when we heard a little voice. She started out talking to herself...her lovey, baby... and her blanket. Then we heard her add a little volume, asking for "Mommy and Daddy." We were enjoying listening to her when all of a sudden we heard... "Get me up please, mommy!" Clayton and I looked at each other and died out laughing. It was as clear as day. And she kept on..."Get me up please, Mommy! Daddy... get me up, please." Priceless! Needless to say, we went in and got her up.

We have been astounded at the things she has come up with lately. It is definitely something new everyday!

The Race

2011-02-15T19:57:00.002-06:00

Well, I did it. My first half marathon. It was awesome! My mom took pictures with my sister's camera, so as soon as I get them, I'll post 'em. Both of us beat the times we wanted to beat, so it was a definite success. AND we both agreed that we are so glad this was the first one we did. This marathon was a breast cancer research fundraiser. All of the proceeds go to breast cancer research. It was really neat seeing people running in honor or in memory of someone. It got pretty emotional throughout the run. I found myself tearing up a few times. There were also people along the route that had signs that said, "I'm a survivor...thank you for running." Pretty cool! Anyway - thank you for the encouraging messages! I'll be back :)

Sister Time

2011-02-11T09:55:00.003-06:00

I am so excited about this weekend. Want me to tell you why?? My sister and I are going to actually have some uninterrupted, QUALITY time together... no kids, no "responsibilities", just extreme togetherness. We are driving down to Jacksonville, FL tonight for a couple of reasons. My cousin, Will is marrying Katie in April and she has a bridal shower Saturday afternoon. AND we are going to run in a 1/2 marathon Sunday morning. That sounds like a pretty good weekend if you ask me. Family... doing "nothing"... running (I know - I'm weird). I can't wait. And if that isn't enough - my mom will be there, too. We haven't had a "girl's trip" in forever. So, that's where I will be this weekend. Clayton and Kate will be hanging out at home (don't worry about them - Mimi and Papa are coming) and spending some of their own quality time together.
I hope you all have a fabulous weekend, too!!

Fun in Thomasville

2011-02-07T23:14:00.005-06:00

We went to Thomasville this weekend to visit Clayton's grandparents (Mama Ann and Granddaddy Bubba). We had a fabulous time playing around on the farm (shocker) and hanging out with family. I took over 200 pictures, so I tried to put as many as possible in collage form...

Thank you Mama Ann and Granddaddy Bubba for letting us come hang out. And to Mimi and Papa for making the trip, too!

Smile

2011-02-03T17:22:00.002-06:00

Can I tell you how much my heart smiled when I saw this the other day? They were just hanging out on the couch...probably watching "Oso."
Pretty sweet.

Duck Season. A Recap (by Clayton)

2011-01-31T19:38:00.005-06:00

Yet another successful duck season is in the books. It was a tough season for both Millie and myself, but she's picked up more birds this season than she has in the past two years combined. I'm glad this one is over so I can start getting ready for the next one. It started with a pretty good trip to the Thomas Pond. We brought home 2 mallards, 2 gadwalls, 3 wood ducks, and a goose. (Sorry, those pictures are on my work computer). Then it was off to the much anticipated Arkansas trip. Millie did good even though she only got to pick up a couple of ducks and a few speckle bellies. It was her's and my first trip to Arkansas but we will be back for sure.

Millie and a few from Arkansas. She stayed tired on this trip!

Then it was back to the Thomas Pond for a few more January hunts. The birds finally showed up there and our group killed about 45 birds in two hunts there in January!

Millie and a strap of teal and wood ducks at the Thomas Pond.

One days bag from the Thomas Pond (Gadwalls, teal, woodies, and widgeon)

We hunted there again (pictures also at work) and picked up another 20 birds between our group. We closed out the season strong with 2 banded birds. Hopefully we'll hear back from the state in a few weeks where they were banded.

Overall it was an awesome season. I can't say enough about Millie. She definitely still needs some work, but she'll hunt and loves it. Sure she broke a few times and lost a cripple or two, but she played through ice and pain. Towards the end of the season she had a claw that had split down to the quick. We hunted anyway and I looked down at it and she must have hit it on a stump because it was pumping blood. She didn't seem to care as long as the ducks were falling!

Then last week I went on a little wild goose chase (no pun intended) to meet a guy about a duck boat. I was supposed to meet him in Childersburg and ended up in Cullman. It's a long story and I got home at 1AM only to have to get up to hunt at 3AM. All 7 hours in the car not once did Millie sleep! She stayed up with me the whole time I was driving and still hunted hard the next day! That's a good dog! We've got some work to do on the boat but hopefully it'll be ready to burn up some rivers by next season. And maybe we'll have a litter of puppies between now and then!

Kate and I test driving the new ride! She sometimes refers to it as "Kate's boat".

It's safe to say that my marital/hunting bank account was officially cashed out. I'd like to take this opportunity to put out a thank you to all the wives, and a special thanks to MY WIFE, for tolerating another hunting season! I love you Shealy!...When does turkey season start!?

A shout out to Matt Futrell...we've got our place in Alabama figured out - we'll trade you a hunt.

Stacy's shower

2011-01-29T14:21:00.003-06:00

Last Sunday, I had the pleasure of being a hostess for Stacy's "baby tea." Stacy has been on bed rest (you can catch up here)for the past couple of weeks. There were strict orders for her not to get up a lot, so we moved the shower to her house. It was so fun to be able to celebrate baby Will and spend time with Stacy.

Will was moving around.... I had forgotten how cool it is to feel a baby moving around. So fun. I can't wait for Will to make his debut. Stacy will be 36 weeks on Monday, so the doctors said he can come at anytime and be good!