Classic Mac

Mac went to his friend, Kaylee's, birthday party today. After I picked him up and we were in the car, he told me that Kaylee had received a lot of Barbie's for her birthday. I replied telling him that I had loved and played with Barbie dolls when I was a little girl. After thinking it over for a second he then asked me (very seriously), "But yours were wooden?" OK, so when did 30 become the new 90?
Mac asks great questions! His last one that I didn't immediately have an answer for was, "When God and Jesus created the world, how did they decide which side of the world got to have day first and which side had night first?" Even I had to consult with a couple people before I gave him an answer.
What a kid!

3 Years of Beckam

I can't believe that Beckam, with all of his sweetness and sassiness, turned three years old last Tuesday. It's been three years of pure joy watching Beck go from an peaceful and easy going baby, to a shy and reserved toddler, and now into a confident and full of personality little boy. We love everything about him from his light blue eyes to his freckly nose and from his arm-folded stubborness to his sweet "you my best friend" comments. Love you lots Beck Man -- we think you are wonderful in every way!


At three years Beckam weighs 31 1/2 lbs. (50th %) and is 38 in. tall (75th %).

They Definitely Don't Get It From Me!

When my boys are playing ball, I'm always reminded how glad I am that Nate's genes are half of what my kids are made up of. Don't get me wrong, I love a good competition, but let's be serious -- my arms just weren't made to swing a bat or shoot a three pointer. I was more of a leaper, a toe pointer, a high kicker, and dance-to-the-beat kind of girl. And it's not that I didn't try the sports thing -- I just always seemed to break something mid-season, whether it be an arm, a nose, a toe, or a finger. I tried softball and basketball as a youngster, and snowboarding and softball again after I was married, but the results were always the same. I loved the thought of being a "baller" and I loved looking the part, but I just couldn't bring much to the table, (other than a predictable line drive down the third base line every time I was up to bat). As I've grown older, I've learned to just stick with what comes natural and that's why every Saturday morning at 8:00am you can find me at Zumba class with a big smile on my face just dancing my heart out.
Here's a picture of me when I was 11. Please take note of the cast on my left arm (no, I wasn't joking about breaking a bone every season).

Mac has been looking forward to playing baseball for years and I think it was well worth his wait. He did an awesome job fielding (usually at first base) and batting seems to be his shining point. Each time he got up to bat the coach would yell out "big hitter" and then Mac would remind the coach that he liked the balls pitched overhand not underhand. Even though Mac loved his time on the baseball diamond, he's ready to hang up his bat and glove for a season to pick soccer back up in the Fall. The kid loves him some athletics!



Beckam's always been a natural athlete. He may not have walked until he was 17 months, but I think that whole time he was just observing how to do everything, because since then he's never stopped. He loves anything and everything to do with balls and is counting down until next Fall when he can join in on the team sport fun.

Jaxton had a great Spring soccer season. This was his first go at a team sport and he really loved every minute. Whenever he was on the field he'd run around with a big smile on his face and wave at us any chance he got. He's already looking foward to Fall soccer.

Because Who Can Get Tired Of Seeing Pictures of a Cute Face?

3 Quarters of a Year

Lil' Miss turned 9 months old last Sunday. I took her to the doctor this past week and it turns out that she's 18 lbs. 9 oz. (45th%) and 29 in. (90th%) of absolute perfection. She'll clap, babble, lunge forward, and on a good day she'll even wave "bye bye." Mac took her for "Show-and-Tell" on Friday (after a year of begging me) and his class thought she was SUPER cool, not to mention that Mac thought he was pretty hot stuff showing everyone how he could hold her. I can't imagine that the novelty of having her around is going to wear off any time soon.

Happy Brother's Day

When Mother's Day came and went and then as talk of Father's Day has come up, Mac asked us when "Brother's Day" was. When we told him there was no such thing, he insisted that it wasn't fair and suggested that we start one. So from now on, every third week of May, we will be honoring brothers. Here's how we celebrated this year.
Brother's Day opening ceremonies were held outside in the rain. The boys rolled around, wrestled, played in the mud, and stomped in every puddle around.

What better way to celebrate brother's than to go to a sporting event. We headed to a college baseball game and even though the family only lasted 4 innings, we had a great time.

We had a great manly dinner of ribs, corn on the cob, mashed potatoes, salad, and rolls.

We finished off Brother's Day by singing the "Happy Brother's Day" song, making wishes, blowing out candles, and eating our Nutty Buddy Bars.

Until next year . . .

P.S. You're welcome to join in the celebration next year!

Ramblings on my "Realization"

My best friend Risa and I used to have "realizations." They were things we always knew, but on random days at random times we'd have these "realizations" on a particular topic where everything else around us went a bit hazy and we just totally GOT IT! Crazy? Maybe. (In Nate's words) "Something I shouldn't admit out loud?" Very possibly. But in my defense, my mind has been enlightened and I've really understood a lot from these experiences.
I don't have nearly as many "realizations" anymore. Possbily because my mind never stays idle long enough to think beyond dinner, or potty training, or cleaning up and I'd have to say I miss those experiences. Lately I've been thinking a lot about being a mother and while the room didn't go hazy, I did have a "mini-realization." Let me share.
I think it's so wonderful that each mother believes that her own children are the cutest, the most clever, the sweetest, the smartest, the funniest, the greatest things ever. I'm no exception. According to me, my children are nothing short of brilliant, gorgeous, and totally sweet (most of the time), yet if you ask the very next mom, I'm sure she'd be equally in love with her own children. I can't imagine there are many mom's who think, "Oh, I wish I had so and so's children. They're much cuter than mine." I just think it's amazing that as parents we think our own offspring are the best. I guess we wouldn't want it any other way.
Here are a few examples of why I'm pretty much head-over-heels in love with my clan of four.




I had an interesting conversation a couple weeks ago with Mac where he asked me how he had any of his dad in him. My lame answer was "because he's your dad." Mac's reply was, "I KNOW he's my dad, but how do I have any of him in me. Like I get that I have some of you in me because I was inside your belly, but I don't get how any of dad got into me." I won't tell you how I answered, because I totally blew it and ended up laughing and embarrassed and told him he'd have to ask his dad. I knew eventually we'd have to cover "the birds and the bees," but I had no idea that it would be this early! Talk about UNPREPARED!






You've got to admit, they are pretty great, right?