He is two!

Mack you have been two for a month now and I have wanted to jot a few things down about who you are and what you like.

You have the deepest little laugh. Your big laugh has never match your tiny body. Every time you laugh we can't help but laugh along with you.

You run is to die for. When you run you pump your arms side to side as if it is what propels your legs.  It's too funny.

You have a mischievous grin and you LOVE getting into trouble. You adore your older sister. You don't quite know what to do with yourself when Milly is not around. In fact you wander around the house spouting, "Miyy-ee, Miyy-ee."

You are a daddy's boy. When dad is around you want nothing to do with me. If I'm being honest I'm kind of jealous. When dad is home you are right by his side or on his lap. You follow him as he mows the lawn. Whatever dad is doing you try your best to do it just life him. In the morning you want to get dressed right away in the hopes that you will be able to go with dad. It kind of breaks my heart.

You aren't scared of much. When we are at the park you will climb up anything and slide down the steepest slide you can find. You get frustrated when you are unable to do everything Milly does. I believe you think you are four not two.

You have more energy then we know what to do with. You love playing with older kids. Everything you touch you throw. You love playing at the park and riding around in your red car.

Mack you continue to be the most handsome little kid around. When I look at you I can't believe you are mine. How did I get such a cute, fun and rambunctious little guy? I'm so blessed to have you in my life! I will try my hardest to keep up with you.

Love,
Mama

The Flu of 2014

 I have to record our episode with the flu just so I remember that we actually survived it. A couple of weeks ago Milly came home with the flu. Puke, puke and more puke. Then she passed it onto Mack. Next it was me and lastly Mason. We were SO sick. I cannot remember a time when I have been subject to this kind of sickness. It was intense. Mason and I actually had a little trip planned that we had to delay. We had to call in help for our kids because we literally could not take care of them. We are better now. Thank goodness. The picture above displays just how worn out we were.

Here is Mack making us laugh and trying to keep things light. I love this little funny guy.

Baby Animal Days 2014

 I took the kids to Baby Animal Days. Milly got to go with her preschool class. I was so grateful for this opportunity because when it was open to the public I was too sick to take them. Milly continues to amaze me with her intelligence, exuberance and social skills. She loves people. She loves animals. She loves to be on the go. She really is such a fun kid.

 I took Mack along. I thought it would be seamless and easy since as you can see Mack believes he is the same age as Milly. There he is sitting with Milly's class. The only problem was Mack did not quite understand why he was not allowed to ride the animals. It was a bit of a wrestling match between Mom and Mack. Oh boy.

Skiing with Kids

Ski Day March 2014

I've always wanted to teach my kids to ski. Saturday we went up with both kids. Gulp.
Milly did wonderfully. After lunch she wanted to go back out. That's a victory in my mind.

As I sat there on the lift with daughter, just me and her. I was taking in the view of the snowy mountains while Milly was detailing all the shapes and colors on her skis. It was one of the most peaceful and satisfying moments I have spent with my daughter. I almost teared up right there on the lift thinking; I'm doing what I've always wanted to do. I'm Skiing with my kids. Furthermore my life is what I always wanted it to be. One of the things I love about being in the snow is how you get sun from the sky and the snow. It was a bright day in a myriad of ways. Milly I love being your mom.

A Day at the Park

Sometimes I'm a fun mom. On this particular day I was a fun mom for a whole hour and this is what we did. My kids love this park. I'm lucky to be their mom.

Happy St. Patrick's Day 2014

I had visions of being such a cute mom on this Green day. Maybe get my kids a little trinket, or play a fun game, perhaps make them a creative green meal. Instead I did laundry, bor-ring.

I did dress one of them in green though.
Here's to wishing you a very happy Irish holiday from a tiny man in festive pants.

Living in a Disaster

If I was a good mormon I would simply take out my cricket machine, paste vinyl letters on a cutely painted scrap of wood saying, "Bless this Mess." But I'd rather do the more productive thing and complain about it online.

Today everywhere I look I see a disaster. I see in the living room Mack must have learned how to open up the wipes and all these clean and usable wipes are draped across my living room floor. He has found the light switches and also knows how to scale up all the chairs to reach said light switches. Cooking dinner becomes a bit of a challenge when at one moment you can see what's sizzling in the pan and the next moment it's burnt.

While I was getting ready this morning he emptied Mason's drawer and then shoved himself inside the drawer. He proceeded to hit his head which then caused some tears. I never have cushions on my couch because little Mack gets right up there and pulls the cushions right to the floor so he can teeter along the backside of the couch so at any moment he could fall to his death.

The kids have book shelves in their rooms. As soon as he sees that I've put the books back on the shelf he destroys my cause and rips up any book he can find. I have some really nice books that have been ripped to pieces. We use to have a nice little magazine rack, not anymore. He ripped up all the magazines.

Every time I go into the kitchen all my kitchen towels are spread over my crumby, dirty floors. The tub toys are in the hallway instead of the bathroom and don't get me started on the toilet paper. I now have to put the TP on the towel rack to keep it out of reach. The problem is, it is so out of reach little Milly cannot grab it in her time of need.

The kid loves shoes. He drags Milly's shoes into the entry way. Mason has found a pair of his shoes in our hamper and mine have been placed in the living room right next to the wasted wipes.

I would like to add. We do have baby locks. I told Mason he could skip a drawer or two while he was installing them. The ones with clothes, or the one in the kitchen with just rags. I said casually, "We can't lock up everything." Now in my not so casual and laid back mode I'm going insane because I'm living in a constant disaster.

I'd really rather someone clean this mess than bless it.

This kid!

Keeping it Clean

Other mothers, wiser mothers always urge, write it down. When your kids do or say something cute you've got to write it down. You think you won't forget but you will.

Today I heed their advice to write about you Mack. You are too funny. Lately, you are into cleaning. Yes, cleaning. You know right where I keep all the rags. You go to the cupboard, carefully make your selection and then you go for it. You head to the entertainment center and wipe it down. Next you move to the coffee table and scrub away. You do so with real intention, you even let out a grunt sometimes. Maybe that's when you approach a stain or something.

If you get distracted enough you will let the rag go and move onto another chore. Such as laundry. When I do the laundry I line up the baskets and separate the loads by color. When all this dirty laundry is out, you snatch it up and start putting it away in the drawers. So yes, your help is keeping the clean clothes dirty. Thank you Mr. Helper.

Last night you took Milly's stick horse and instead of riding it you turned it upside down and used the horse head as a mop. It was hilarious.

I told your dad about your habits. I suggested perhaps he needs to hang out with someone else for awhile. Maybe, he should learn there is more to life than cleaning, cooking and laundry. However, your dad loves nothing more than cleanliness and organization. So, he's not going to help you out, son. Sorry.

If you walk into my house the word clean won't exactly spring up in your mind but in my defense he must have learned this somewhere. I do clean, it just doesn't exactly last.

Our Mile-A-Minute Mack

Dear Mack,
At 15 months you are doing so many cute crazy things I can't help but record them.
You are the fastest little walker we've seen. It's the cutest walk as well. You sort of pick up your feet, with a high kneed approach with every step, but it works for you.

Your smile is mischievous, in fact that is when you smile brightest. When you know you are up to no good, you give us a look over your shoulder and then grin right before you destroy something.

You LOVE your sister. Whenever she leaves you smash your face against the front door longing to go  wherever she goes.

You get so excited when she gives you a good night kiss. You do this little squeal scream thing and try to run off and make it a game.

You imitate everything I do. The other day I was in the basement trying to get some exercise, I was jump roping and just as I would swing the rope around you would move your arms around in the same manner. It was too cute. You also do a whole lot of housework. A few days ago you took out a dish towel and began wiping the floors. You move right along side of me as I put the laundry away, that may be why we found your dad's clothes in Milly's sock drawer. Thanks Mack, you're such a helper.

You like doing things on your own. You have fed yourself for a while now. You hate having anyone try to do it for you. You just started eating with a fork and spoon. You also try to put your shoes and socks on by yourself. You know exactly what to do, just not exactly how to do it.

You are the world's WORST napper, always have been. Maybe your busy agenda won't allow for long naps, I don't know.

You are into everything! You empty cupboards like a professional mover. If you hear the dishwasher open you are there as fast as one of those cartoons that just shows up magically. You are there to empty the dishwasher and also hang on it. In fact we can only load and unload the dishwasher while you are sleeping.

You have a ton of teeth and you love eating meat and hate drinking milk. Consequently you are the leanest baby ever! We're trying to fatten you up as best we can, but we're sort of at a loss.

And THAT HAIR. Really Mack you've had seven haircuts by now. We cannot keep up with your hair. Everywhere we go people look at you and exclaim, "That Hair!" It is the thickest, darkest best hair ever! You look like a handsome little man, nothing baby about you.

Everyone says you look just like your daddy. Oh Mack you lucky duck!

We love our wild crazy Mile-a minute Mack.

Love,
Mama

Dear Baby Boy,

Dear Mack,

I have written bits and pieces of this letter everyday in my head and I regret not taking the time to write it all down.

Mack, you are truly the most handsome boy I have ever seen. People comment, he has such striking features. You really do baby, your nose is perfect. Your eyes are big and brown and that smile of yours is infectious in every way.

You came into this world as kind of a fussy little thing. You seemed uncomfortable most of the time. When you were going through this rough patch I was constantly worried about you. I tried so many things to soothe you. I could hardly sleep because my mind yearned to find the answer. Finally, we got you on some medicine for reflux, even though you didn’t show the normal symptoms. I’m so glad we did because you seem to be feeling much better. You smile more and like I commented to your dad the other day, “He’s kind of turning into a dream baby.”

Mack, you are an intense little guy. You sit under your little toys and your legs move with such vigor, it has me thinking I’m going to be exhausted just trying to keep up with you when you can put those fierce legs into action.

Baby boy, the first time I held you right after you were born you seemed familiar. You looked almost exactly like your sister and I had the thought, yep, this boy is mine. As if there was no question. As I hold you and kiss you I find myself repeating this same sentiment, “This boy is mine.” Your father accuses me of kissing you too much, but Mack, I cannot help myself. I know there will be one day when you will not allow me to hug and kiss you and so I am taking full advantage before that day arrives.

Mack, you’ve got the cutest little laugh and find myself misshaping my face trying to get a little giggle from you, because your laugh brightens my day.

You still have a head full of dark hair and this seems to shock everyone who sees you.

My darling, I want you to know that your big sister absolutely LOVES you. She kisses you before she goes to bed every night. She rubs your forehead in an attempt to soothe you. She gets very concerned when you’re upset. Just the other day someone was looking at you and she put her arms around you and said, “My baby.” She was scared they would take you away from her.  

My darling boy, having you, being with you, kissing your sweet face has been one of my life’s greatest privileges. In even my shortest prayer I thank God for thinking enough of me to send me someone like you.

Love you with all of my heart,

Mama

A Cold Day and a Good Book

It's where you'll find them

Lately Milly seems to have taken a liking to this little brother of hers. She'll lay right by him and exclaim, "Two babies." She reads to him and rubs his forehead when he's crying in an attempt to calm him down. Mack loves when he can get attention from her. It kind of melts my heart. Milly you're a great big sister.

Just Because

Mack I had to post this. You got all dressed up for pictures and you looked too cute for me not share it.

Mack's Blessing

We blessed our little guy the second week of December which means I'm quite behind with posting this and also Mack looks completely different.
Mack, we blessed you on a cold snowy day and despite the weather you still had so many family members make the trek to Logan. It was a special day for our special guy. We love you handsome.

My Mack

Mack,
Took you to the Dr. today. At ten weeks you weigh 10 pounds 4 ounces. You are thin but healthy. You are 23 inches long, this puts you about average for height. Mack, for the record, average in our family is stellar. You are as handsome as they come my boy. We're so lucky to have you.

More Mack

 

A big thanks to Jada for capturing these shots. Mack, this is you at two weeks, and you remain to be the sweetest little thing.

Well, Hello Handsome

Dear Mack,
You are the cutest boy I've seen. I still can't believe you're ours. We LOVE you baby.

Happy Halloween

Mom thank you for the costume. Chelsi Mack's hat couldn't have been cuter. Jenn I'm cherishing these pictures. Thank you!

Trick or Treat

From Little Red Riding Hood and The Big Bad Wolf

Does the Wolf look more scared than Little Red Riding Hood? Hmm...

So this is how we're doing...

One kid has usually covered herself with marker while the other gets mauled to death.

Let's just say my respect for those of you handling two or more kids grows with every time-out.