A few things...

This is a panoramic of the view from the family lake house!

Breathtaking!

(Click on it to make it bigger.)

 

First, next week we are driving to Oregon for Memorial Day to spend it with our family. We will get to spend two days with my parents and then the holiday weekend at Hubs's family's lake house. We haven't been to the lake house in probably almost two years. It is one of our favorite places. On top of that, it is along the Oregon Coast, so I will get to see the ocean. Mac will also, hopefully get to meet his Great Grandparents. And just getting to spend time with family and having Mac spend time with family just means the world to me! Ahh, I am so excited!! However, I am not so excited about the 12+hours car ride with an infant who doesn't like to sleep anywhere but swaddled in his crib! But we will be able to add this to our life experience of parenthood!

 

Next, Mac turned 5 months old this week. My baby is growing up WAY too fast. He is probably about 17 lbs, he is getting really heavy. He has just about grown out of his car seat, we will need to buy a new one very soon! He is always reaching and grabbing EVERYTHING! I can't get my face too close to his, or he will grab my hair or face or what ever he can get his hands on. He is loving rice cereal and we can't get it into his mouth fast enough!

 

Also, we met with our Lawyer about finalizing Mac's adoption. So what we found out from him is that we can't put in our motion for finalization until the 6 month mark of the papers being signed, which is June 17th. After we put that in, the court will be able to give us a court date, which we hope will be with in few days of the motion. Thank heavens we live in a not-so-big town where there isn't much action, and adoptions take precedence over all criminal cases, unless the case is already in court. So we are really excited about that. As soon as we take care of that, we need to come up with a good weekend the end of August or beginning of September to go to the temple and also to give him a name and a blessing.

I WOULD DIE FOR THAT!!

I have seen this music video over and over on so many blogs. And each time I watch it, it makes me cry!

Daddy & Me!

 Daddy and Mac were playing on the floor Saturday and it was so darn cute! I love the picture above because they are both smiling at each other! It melts my heart to see them playing together!

Being a MOTHER...

I feel like my words will not express to you the true joy I felt today. And I can't even begin to tell you how much I love being a Mother. But the best part is I get to be Mac's Mother! I am a Mother because of the miracle of adoption. I am a Mother because of our sweet and beautiful C. I am a Mother because of the excruciating sacrifice she made. I am a Mother because of the life she wanted to give to Mac. Thank You C!

And thank you C for this beautiful gift! Every time I look at it, it brings me to tears. It is so thoughtful and heartfelt and truly shows what kind of person you are. This will always hang in Mac's room and will be one of our greatest treasures!

It has part of the words from "I am a Child of God". And the feet print are ones that the nurses made on an extra piece of paper, when Mac was born, that C got to take home with her.

shiny & new...

So my hair doesn't look that much different especially in the picture. C just trimmed my hair so that it didn't look like a grown out cut. And she only dyed it a little darker, but I love it. I wanted my hair color the same as when it is wet. And I really like the color of it.

And my new dress and sweater from Target. The dress is kinda like a gunny sack dress, it is so comfortable. I was upset when during sacrament meeting one of the buttons popped off of the sweater, but that is an easy fix.

Mother's Day...

So this past week, I have been having some bitter-sweet feelings about Mother's Day. I haven't been as excited about it as much as I should be with it being my very first official Mother's Day and all. But there is more than just me that this day affects and hurts to think about how hard this day will be for them.

First, I am not getting to spend this day with my Mother. I think that this is probably the first one I have not been able to spend with her in some form. My Mother is one of my best friends. I love getting to spend time with her and laughing with her. And I have really missed that since we have moved so far away! But I love you Mom and hope you still enjoy your day! Happy Mother's Day!

Second, I have been thinking about Mac's birthmother and wondering how she feels about this day. For the most part I think she is pretty OK with it, I know she is going home to spend it with her Mom and she even thought to give me a Mother's Day gift. She is such an upbeat person and she just loves life and all that it has to offer. But deep down, I don't really know what she is feeling. I just pray that what ever pain she may still be carrying may be eased. I know Heavenly Father has so much in store for her and I am always praying that he may shower all his blessing upon her. She deserves the world and more!

And lastly, I can't help but think about all those who will be struggling with this day because they aren't physically Mother's yet. I know how I felt for the last several Mother's Day's and that pain is still very raw for me. I have a hard time celebrating my own Motherhood when there are so many that I know that are dreading this day. And I know there is nothing anybody can do or say that will help ease the pain they are feeling. I want to still go and find a room during sacrament meeting and cry for them (or I can just cry for them now, because I am in tears as I write this). I am always praying that those women will find their baby and receive their miracle. And I know someday they will. I am so excited that this wonderful woman has finally got her miracle (or should I say miracles). But my heart aches for so many that haven't yet!

But, what I am excited about for Mother's Day, is to spend it with the cute little man that made me a Mommy! Eat breakfast in bed (that is all that I wanted for Mother's Day from Hubs). And to wear the cute new dress and sweater that Hubs let me buy today so that I don't have to go to church wearing the rags that I always wear. I will get to feel like a bright, shiny, new Mommy with my new dress and new hair! And also I get to go to Relief Society (while all the priesthood take over all the callings for the day) and eat the traditional, gourmet, made from scratch, not from the box cheese cake that one of the men from our Ward makes every year, YUM!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Sending my love to all the Mother's in my life!

*My Mom, Wilma

*My Mother-in-law, Cammy

*Grandma Gerry

*My sisters, Dana and Candis

*My sisters-in-law, Anna, Jem & Lyndsey

*Hubs's sisters, Shannon & Steph (also my SILs)

*All those who have been blessed with their miracle's of Adoption.

*And all those who are still waiting for theirs!

Guess what....?

This cute guy rolled over today for the very first time!

But of course he won't do it again!I laid him on his tummy for tummy time and walked away for a second to get him some toys and I turned around and he was up on his side then plopped on his back. He was a little taken back by my excitement. I was glad that I at least caught the last part of it. Yay for Mac!

Other Mac news...

When I took him to the doctor this week he weighed 16.5 lbs. BiG bOy! He is averaging about 1 lb every two weeks. At this rate we will have to be buying him a new car seat in two months or so.

 

We also had his hearing checked out this week, because I just hadn't gotten around to getting it rechecked after he failed at birth. I wasn't too worried because he has been responding just fine, but it is state mandatory and I was feeling really bad every time I saw the commercials on TV about getting your child hearing checked. Anyway he passed!

Hubs has been wanting to try to put Mac down unswaddled, I have been very sceptical of this, but we decided to try it tonight. He was exhausted and fussing so I laid him in his crib and he spent the next hour squealing, chuckling and talking to himself. So I decided to go ahead and swaddle him and he was out in seriously one minute. I guess we will try again next month.

We also had a wonderful visit with C (Mac's birth mother) today! It was great! I drove to Great Falls and met C at the Salon she works at. We brought her some flowers! And she got to show him off to all of her friends. They were excited because the last time they saw him was in the hospital when he was born. C didn't have any clients for awhile so she asked if she could trim my hair which I was in dire need of. Then she got doing that and asked if she could color it. Her favorite thing to do is color hair. So we decided to color my hair a little bit darker. I love it! It also covered up my massive grey hair. It was really fun to see her in action, she is so good at what she does. It was so great to visit with her, I really hope that we can always have such a wonderful friendship. I am so comfortable around her, which is very rare for me around most people. She is seriously the most amazing women, it blows me away! She is so sweet, she gave me a Mother's day gift, which I am saving to open when I am eating breakfast in bed Sunday morning.

A FIX...

For those who need a little fix of my adorable redheaded Mac!

just lately...

Well, I haven't posted in awhile. We haven't had anything blog worthy going on and I haven't been taking many pictures lately for some reason.

But there are a few funny things Mac has been doing that I wanted to make sure I got recorded.

The picture above shows one...he has been sucking on his bottom lip. It is so cute! Although if I catch him I usually try to get him to stop. I don't want his lip to get red and raw underneath it. He already has extremely sensitive skin, that looks red and rashy most of the time. Also when he is sucking on his lip and he smiles really big, he looks like an old man without his teeth, so funny!

When I am about to give him a bottle and pause for just a second he grabs the bottle with both hands and shoves it into his mouth. It is too funny!

He has been trying to grab his feet but his legs are just a little too chubby to get them close enough to his hands. I help him out by giving him a hand every once in awhile.

We gave him a new nickname..."Thumper". He likes to pick up both of his legs at the same time and then thump them to the ground. We know he his awake in his crib when we hear the thump. Also when he is laying on the ground and in the thumping mood he will do it so much that he will end up turning his body 180 degrees from where he started.
He stares at us when we are eating anything. He will look at us then the food and back and forth. I think he is really going to enjoy eating when it comes time. He has really started to enjoy rice cereal, as long as I mix it with formula.
He loves to be scared. Which I think is so strange for a baby. We can really get him giggling by scaring him with some fun "BOO" sounds. I actually have a video of it that I will try to post soon.
He thinks it is really funny when I try to get him to say "Mama". Every time I say "Can you say Mama?" He get the biggest grin on his face!
Well that is all I can think of at the moment.
I love staring at this cute boy and seeing what new funny things he does everyday. He just melts my heart!

today...

I am sure grateful for this cute boy and his sweet smiles to get me through the day!

4 Month Check-up!

Mac had his 4 month check-up on Wednesday!

(He had to get shots and had a fever all day on Thursday, but was such a good and happy baby still.)

He is getting so big...

15.5 lbs (75th percentile)

26 in "tall" (80th percentile)

I am having a hard time keeping this cute boy in clothes. He is growing out of them too quickly. He is wearing 6-9 month clothes right now, and most of those are even too small for him.

What he is doing...

~When you put a toy in front of him, he grabs it.

~He puts the toys he is playing with in his mouth.

~He helps hold his bottle.

~He is NOT rolling over yet.

~He loves to stand.

~We tried him on rice cereal for the first time, and he wasn't too much into it.

~When he talks he says "gaagaa" a lot. (we have been working on maamaa)

~He is still loving his fist.

~He is constantly drooling.

~He is sleeping 10-12 hours every night.

~He loves to kick his feet.

~He is very ticklish.

Baa Baa!

Thank You Grandma for my cute sheep!

Mac loves playing with his sheep, but mostly he loves to taste it!

We Dreamed Of You

We Dreamed Of You

We dreamed of you long before
You came into our world.
We dreamed about adotping
a little boy or little girl.
We didn't yet know when or where
or even if or how,
But we knew the child
we dreamed about
would come to us somehow.

The ocean of adoption has a
rough and tumble tide,
But we jumped into the water
knowing you were worth the ride.
And even though the journey
had some sad and stormy weather,
The prize was worth a million storms
when we were all together.

It's difficult to dare to dream of
becoming a father or mother,
When you can't control your destiny
and need the help of others.
That's why you're such a miracle-
you found us and we found you.

We dared to dream,
we dreamed of you.
We dreamed...
and YOU came true!

--Karen Burniston

I found this poem awhile ago and have been meaning to share it on here, I hope that you enjoyed it!

Aren't my boys the cutest!

Mac lately...

Mac is 4 months old today. I am going to try and take his 4 month pics tomorrow, or sometime this week.

These are just some pictures from the last couple of weeks.

That darn tummy time! Mac still doesn't like it much, but he can tolerate it for a few minutes. He is no where near rolling over, oh well!

The face he is making in this picture cracks me up!

Loving his camo pants! I will be really sad when he grows out of them.

Just a really cute face!





His hands are in his mouth all the time. I think it is so darn cute!

He fell asleep on our walk. He loves going on walks, he never makes a peep. He just loves staring at everything!


 

keeping busy...

 Daddy and Mac eating breakfast and reading an Accounting Magazine together.

We have been pretty busy that last couple of weeks, which has been why I have been mostly absent from blogging. So here is what we have been up to...

I prepared and taught a photography class for our Relief Society Birthday Enrichment night. It was a little overwhelming but it ended up being ok. I have been asked by a few people to post some photography tips, so I may use the material I have and do that every so often.

I have been having a lot of headaches and migraines, so those have put me out of commission for the last week or so. I even missed girls night out because of it!

Hubs and I went out to dinner and a movie for our 7th wedding anniversary, which is today. Mac had his first experience with babysitters, who were our friends from our ward. And we went out to Macaroni Grill and had some yummy food. The waitress asked us what we were celebrating and we told her and she came back a little while later with a chocolate dessert and two lit candles for us to blow out. And another waitress who sang us an Italian love song. It was a neat experience. We then went and saw Leatherheads, which we both really liked.

I was in charge of the combined YM YW mutual activity this last week. And it turned out pretty good. Just glad it isn't my turn for awhile.

I have been battling a really bad case of baby eczema all over Mac's chest and stomach. So far aquaphor has helped the most, and when I take Mac to his DR appt this week I am going to ask the doctor about Calendula cream. Anybody know anything about it??

Mac and I took the chance to get out of Helena and drove to Great Falls to go and visit C today. It is always so good to see her. Mac even put on a good show of all his wonderful moods, from happy, smiley, screaming to crying, and throwing a temper tantrum. Yes, my 4 month old throws temper tantrums and it is the cutest thing. I can't imagine what he will do when he is a toddler.

Today on Mac's 4 month birthday he laughed a lot when Hubs was tickling him under his arms. He has been doing some chuckling but nothing like this. We were so excited, and it was so darn cute.

It was beautiful weather all weekend and it got up in to the 80s, but it was so darn windy that you couldn't enjoy it at all. Which is a total bummer since their is 60 percent chance of snow tomorrow (Tuesday).

Hubs is really excited that he only has a month and a half left of seminary. He is getting really burnt out.

Hubs has also been running 3-4 times a week for the last couple of weeks. And he has been enjoying that although it has been having the opposite effect he wanted. He has been gaining weight instead of losing it. But it is making him more limber, he likes that he can actually touch his toes now.

Mac is an awesome sleeper, I am too spoiled! Last night he slept almost 12 hours. From 6:30 to 6:15. It takes everything in us to keep that boy up until 6:30 and then he is out for the night.

I have been trying to keep up with the many baby bottles and dishes. I want and need a dishwasher so badly.

The weather has been pretty decent so Mac and I have been taking walks when it isn't too windy.

One morning I got a knock at my door from a young lady about my age with two little girls and a plate of lemon bread. They just moved in across the street and she just was trying to meet neighbors. She stayed and talked for awhile, and it was really nice to know there was another young family nearby that we could get to know. Bummer part is that they were leaving out of town for a month. So hanging out with them will have to wait.

So that's the scoop on us. Not big, but a lot!

cuteness in action...

Mac splashing in the tub!

Mac eating his fist and talking.

Chicka Chicka BOOM BOOM!

This is a video of Hubs and Mylie from our Oregon visit. Hubs is reading her a book. Mylie is just too cute I had to share.

We miss her like crazy, especially after watching this video!

MY Hubs...

Since our anniversary is coming up, I thought that I would do this husband tag. So here goes...

What is his name? "Hubs".

How long have you been married? 7 years on April 14th

How long did you date? 1.5 months before we were engaged, then 5 months before we were married.

How old is he? Just turned 29 in January

Who eats more sweets? For sure me, but Hubs has his days.

Who said I love you first? I don't remember at all.

Who is taller? Hubs, I sometimes have to stand on my tippy toes to kiss him so my back won't hurt.

Who can sing better? Hubs, although neither of us would sound good in a solo.

Who is smarter? Hubs is very book smart and I have better common sense.

Who does the laundry? Me, Me and Me

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do.

Who mows the lawn? It would be Hubs if we had to mow the lawn, but our really nice landlord does it for us.

Who cooks dinner? Mostly me, but Hubs is always a good help.

Who drives? We argue about who has to drive because we both hate it.

Who is more stubborn? Hubs for sure, but I think I learned a little from him since we have been married.

Who kissed who first? I had to kiss Hubs first, because he was only off his mission for about 2 weeks and he was too chicken. And then he asked me if I was a player, I showed him.

Who asked who out first? Our first date kinda fell into both of our laps. We were going to go to a dance as a group and then everyone bailed on us, and we decided to still go.

Who proposed? When we were first engaged, it was a mutual agreement. But then a couple of months later when he went and picked up the ring I picked out he decided to do a little more formal proposal.

Who has more siblings? We both have 5 siblings.

Who wears the pants? Depends on the day and the subject. But I will say me!

Our March gas bill...

$60.61

Yep, that's right! We only spent $60.61 on gas in March, and that is for two cars.

If you want to lower your gas bill, live in Helena, Montana for the winter!

Mac's NEW tricks!

He likes to stand now. And holds his own weight pretty good.


Sitting up without the bobble-head! And look at that smile, yummy!


He can sit in the bumbo without the bobble-head too!

This one isn't a trick, he's just cute!

(Unless you want to call slobbering a trick)