Kissing Cousins

This summer on two different occasions, I had my nieces come spend the night with us. Avery came at the beginning of the summer and helped get us to swim lessons and Adalyn came at the end of the summer for one last slumber party before school. You would think I'm crazy having another one spend the night but they are so wonderful to have over. It's like having a nanny here with as much energy as they do to keep up with them and play with them. The boys love them and love all the attention and playtime they get when they're over. They are such sweet girls and it's hard to believe that Justin and I used to have slumber parties with them over when they were little and now they're helping us!

Adalyn and Campbell-they definitely got the Hispanic genes in the family. Look at those tans!

Given some lovin'

First haircut!

We took Campbell to get his first haircut. It was hard for me with his cute curls to go but he had hair covering his ears so we decided to trim it up. I made sure to tell her not to cut the curls. He was pretty good for a 12 month old (this was last month). He was squirmy but the lady said as long as he wasn't kicking and screaming she was good. Only thing was that I was so busy snapping pictures, that I didn't grab much hair from his first haircut. I grabbed some but it was pathetic. Maybe he won't know when he's older and I can just grab some hair from his second haircut to put in his baby book!

before picture

getting wet

Look at him flirting! Can't imagine why everyone stops to talk to him.

After picture...what a cutie!

Just when I think he couldn't have bigger, bluer eyes

Not much to say but seriously how cute is he?

Nap please

I do a take back for all those times as a child that I didn't nap. Right now, I could literally fall asleep standing up. Guess you can figure out that school's about to start. It's hard going from a fun summer of no schedules to go go go again but I cherish my time that I had with them this summer. I took the boys up to school with me to "work" in my classroom. I didn't get too much done that day but it was fun having them up there with me. Nolan absolutely loved it and thought that being at school was pretty cool. They even helped me move desks and chairs. It was so precious, Campbell was moving chairs in my room...talk about child labor! I stayed a little longer than I planned to and they were WORN out. When we got back they both took 3 hour naps and I finally had to wake them up because I was scared that they wouldn't go to sleep that night.

Obviously, they were out if they let me take this picture!

Cute Man Walking

He's actually been walking now for practically a month. He took his first steps (3 of them) right before we left for Colorado and then when we got back he took 8 (and sported a nice busted lip). Then finally at the beach where there was a lot of action was when he really took off. And the rest they say, is history! Now he's practically running. He's been "almost walking" since he was 9 months. I would have bet money he was walking by his first birthday but he was enjoying being carried around too much. I was so worried that I wasn't going to get to see his first steps and that he would start walking when school started. He's never one to disappoint. I feel really blessed that I was fortunate to see him hit this milestone.

The two cutest things about him walking is seeing him in his little tennis shoes. He hasn't worn shoes up until now and just looks like a little old man walking now and I can't help but just grin ear to ear when I see him. Second, he totally knows he's cute and when he's walking (especially at church when he has an audience) and he just stops, waves, and giggles like "Look at how cute I am!" Well, he's right!

Nolan Ryan

Well maybe that's not really his name but he's definitely taken to baseball. One day this summer my parents watched the boys. My parents are the equivalent to Netflix when it comes to their movie selection. We "rent" from them quite often. My mom bought this new movie called Everyone's Hero about baseball and now it's his newest obsession. To be honest, I'm ok with starting a new one. Cars was starting to get old after two years. Now he sleeps with his baseball, wears a baseball hat 24/7, and imitates the movie several times a day with conversations we have.

So we got out the t-ball set along with the bat and baseball and he's really good! He can make contact with the real bat when we pitch to him. My favorite was when he was up to bat and he suddenly spit on the ground. I was a little disturbed but he told me, "That's what they do in baseball." So funny! He likes to throw the ball and act like it's in slow motion like the movie too and his facial expressions are hysterical. He had a hard time remembering where to put his hands on the bat so I came up with a little reminder since he had a freckle on his left hand. I told him to put his freckle on the bottom. Now when he picks up the bat I can hear him whisper to himself, "Put your freckle on the bottom." He's really good at taking pointers and doing what we tell him. So now when I play with him he'll tell me, "Mommy, don't take your eyes off the ball!" Here's a few of my favorites!

Nolan's interpretation of Yankee Irving (below)...pretty good!

Charlie Brown

Nolan didn't ever really watch TV before he turned 2. He just really wasn't interested. Then, his first Christmas after he turned 2, he saw A Charlie Brown Christmas and loved it. I couldn't believe that he would love such a classic as his first movie. We watched it way into February that first year he saw it.

The other day I noticed that he kept wrapping his jammies around the legs of his art easel. I asked him why he did that and he answered back as if he saw it yesterday, "That's what they do to the Christmas tree in Charlie Brown." So there you have it, a tree skirt for his art easel in August! Merry Christmas!

Dinner dance

Just another ordinary dinner at the McDonald house. I love how Campbell gives a little "woo woo" at the end. These boys love to dance just like their mama.

Backyard blast

These pictures are long overdue but that's what happens when you have two trips back to back. We have this giant spray ball in the backyard. Nolan HATES (yes with all capitals) water being sprayed on his face. We filled up the ball and since we had left it outside for extended time the last time we used it, the bladder of the ball (as Justin refers to it) didn't cooperate. So Justin's solution? Take it out and wear it like a shower cap, of course. I was laughing so hard at the boys. Campbell was naked, Justin had on the shower cap, and Nolan was doing everything in his power not to get splashed by the giant spray ball. Of course, since Cam was naked and there was water flowing, he had the urge to go on Justin. We had so much fun! It seems like all those last minute things that happen in the spur of the moment are the best memories we have.

Being jolly at Folly

What a great way to end summer. We headed to Folly Beach, South Carolina with Justin's side of the fam two weeks ago. We all stayed in the same house right on the beach. Even with staying on the beach, it seemed to take us an hour just to get ready for the beach. Guess that's how it goes with little ones. Campbell was not a fan of the beach for the first couple of days, but after we taught him (and he mostly taught himself) the sand was not for eating, he seemed to like it better. Both boys came back with their hair even blonder. AND....Campbell got the Hispanic gene again from my mom. This boy is TAN!

I love that the boys got to spend some good quality time with their cousins, grandparents, and aunts and uncle. It was a week-long slumber party for Nolan. And I also loved how much they were exposed to with the ocean. We luckily saw dolphins, crabs, tons of starfish...not to mention everything we saw at the aquarium.

I think we just might make this a yearly tradition! Can't wait for next year! Maybe the beach won't be so much work next time when the boys are older!

Save the drama for your mama

Campbell is going to be an actor...I already know it. He seriously could win an Oscar at the ripe old age of 13 months. He knows exactly what face to make to make me die laughing, what cry to scream to make me feel incredibly guilty and even what face to make for him to get whatever he wants. Hey...as long as he takes me as his date to the Oscars, I'm ok with it.

I hate airplanes

I have so many stories of bad traveling incidents that I could seriously write a memoir. It's like someone has this voodoo doll and put a bad travel curse on me.

The grand prize winner:
Missing our flight at Christmas time by 3 minutes (after being there in plenty of time but waiting two hours in line) when Nolan was 15 months old and entertaining a toddler in the nasty dirty airport for 12 hours. I never want to ride an escalator 20 times in a row again. Lesson learned from the trip: always bring 5 extra diapers wherever you go so you don't have to be on the lookout for parents with the same size kids and beg for diapers from strangers.

I guess I can't complain too much because the rest of the trip was a lot of fun. We just got back from a week long trip with all of Justin's family at Folly Beach, South Carolina. I have lots of pictures to post but that will come as soon as I can get to unpacking and downloading pictures!

On the way there, we had the nicest guy sitting next to Justin and he held Campbell and entertained him...thank goodness for him. I felt like we needed to pay him for his babysitting services.
On the way back home, Gram and Pop helped with the boys at the airport and after we gave them hugs and kisses, Nolan said, "I had fun with Gram and Pop. I'm not going to cry." It was so precious, we had to call and tell them. Unfortunately, Gram wasn't so lucky to hold back the tears.

So we get the boys on the plane. This was a tiny airport so we had to go on the jetbridge, down the stairs, walk outside and back up the stairs to the plane....always so much fun with four bags, two kids, and a stroller. We get on the sauna...I mean plane (it was seriously 90 degrees on the plane) and get the kids settled. Nolan is already talking about how he's going to take a nap before he wants to watch a movie (what a great kid) and Campbell is passed out asleep in Justin's lap. His sweaty curls are already in full force and leaving a sweat ring on Justin's shirt. I'm fanning myself with the safety instructions. Nolan is coloring and Campbell's out...what a recipe for a great trip.

"Pardon the interruption ladies and gentlemen, but we seem to have some mechanical problems so we're going to turn around and go back to the gate. Since it's so hot we're going to have you wait back inside the airport where it's cooler." Turns out our flight got canceled. I already know that we're going to miss our connecting flight but still hold onto hope that we can get out later that day.

After Justin's waits and talks with the ticketing agent for two hours, we discover we can either fly to Boston where they're having a monsoon and get home after midnight (or get stuck there) or we can leave at 6 a.m. the next morning. Neither sound good but we decide that the 6 a.m. sounds the best. So the next morning we get up at 3:45 a.m, pack up the boys, and do it all over again. Justin and I didn't have seats together but we just begged people to change seats with us. I think they either felt sorry for us or they saw two kids, and wanted to get as far away from us as possible.

Justin somehow lucks out and get a first class seat and has a hard time giving that one up. So we make a deal, I'll take Nolan but he has to have Campbell with him in first class. He decides it's a good one and I'm thinking I just might have won the lottery. Nolan sleeps for an hour and then watches a movie. I'm feeling so guilty so I go up to first class the last 25 min and get Campbell. Justin said that he threw his paci somewhere and couldn't find it. Don't you know all those first class passengers were hating my baby!

Those last 25 minutes were ROUGH. I was by myself with both boys at the back of the plane with no paci and only a bag of goldfish. Campbell tore the Sky magazine to shreds, screamed, kicked (because he learned to walk this week and did NOT want to sit), and even the girl next to me offered her diet coke bottle for him to play with. She must have been thinking, "Here, shut that baby up!" I try to find something like my cell phone in my purse to entertain him. I stick my hand in my purse only to discover my lotion had exploded in my purse and I had it all over the place including my hand. Bath and Body Works Wild Honeysuckle aroma envelopes the plane within seconds. So now, I'm "that lady" that not only has the screaming baby but that is putting on overpowering aromas into the air. I couldn't get off the plane fast enough...hard to do when you're at the back of the plane.

Thankfully my parents were waiting for us and I did the pass off to them for a little mental time out before heading home. I think I've had my fill of airports and airplanes for awhile.