July 24th

Josh went off to Belguim this week for work so we have been spending our time up at my parents house. We came up on the 23rd, and on the 24th (pioneer day) I woke up early and went to get a spot for the parade in Spanish Fork. 

The parade was super long, but we had a good time and were thankful for some nice cloud cover that made it a little cooler. The best part was the 2,000 stripling warriors that passed by singing "We have been born as Nephi of old..." and all stomping their sticks down in unison. It was quite the sight to see.

That night my Mom and I took Lyla back to the carnival and rode some rides and watched the fireworks. One of the rides was called the Scrambler and was super fast and nauseating, but Lyla laughed and screamed her head off the whole ride. She can be so daring sometimes, I love it. We had a lot of fun together. We also got an amazing spot to see the fireworks and enjoyed waiting for them by eating cotton candy and then loved the actual show also.  

Additional cute moments while staying at my parents house:

I can't get this picture to turn for some reason, but Lyla loves to sit with her Papa in the recliner every night and usually requests popcorn. Tonight she requested to have "meat" with her popcorn, which is beef jerky. We thought it was hilarious that she was so excited for such a weird combo of "meat" and popcorn. 

 Lyla got to have a little bit of ice cream and Mac just sat there patiently waiting for a bite. It was so funny watching him get as close to Lyla and the bowl but not grabbing the spoon or anything, just watching her every move. They can be so cute together sometimes. She did end up giving him several bites. She hardly ever shares toys willingly, but for some reason she will share any type of food, even if its something she loves. 

McKay at 18 Months

Weight: 25.1 Pounds: About 45th%

Height: 33.6 Inches: 80th %

Loves babies. Will touch them real soft and kiss them or laugh
Begs for food no matter when he last ate. If someone is eating he goes right up as close as possible and gives the most adorable puppy dog eyes you just can't resist. Even does this to random strangers and kids at the park who are eating lunch, haha
Is a lot more cautious than Lyla was. Just got over needing to hold my hand to go down the stairs.
Hair is getting really blonde, eyes are still speckled, mostly hazel/light brown
Follows Lyla and does everything she does. Even when she mauls him he goes back 2 minutes later and wants to be playing with her again
Total boy. Loves trucks (aways makes a truck noise when driving his cars), outside, sand, dirt and balls
Every once in awhile he gets in little fits and throws a tantrum, its still at the cute stage and we laugh
Started nursery, doesnt even look back when he goes in
Such a sweet snuggly little boy
Very social, gets right in the middle of kids playing no matter how old they are
Laughs and smiles with pure joy when dogs or basically all animals are around
Blows Kisses
Loves to wave at people
Claps
High Five and Fist Bumps
18 Month Clothes
Size 4 Diaper
Loves to swim
Sleeps about 7:30/8pm to 8/8:30pm with usually one 3 hour nap, every once in awhile will take 2 naps
Getting better at drinking out of a cup without spilling
Uses a fork and spoon pretty well, but still working on it. Thicker things like oatmeal he's really good at using his spoon
LOVES to wrestle

Picking up new words almost daily and when you ask him to say a word he will usually try and say it. His words as of now are:
Ni-Night
Hot
Bonk
By-Bye
Hi
Mama
Da-da (Daddy)
Lyla
Cheese
Papa
Thank you
Side (outside)

He can also ride a scooter. I didn't know it was possible for an 18 month old to ride a scooter but he is a little champ at it! The differences between child 1 & 2! He definitely watched Lyla ride around on it and has picked it up quickly from her. 

His cute little belly laugh

28th Birthday

Am I really only 2 years away from 30?! Wow, that just seems crazy. I am not feeling old yet, so that's good at least. Although when I see pictures of kids I babysat on Facebook who are going on missions it really reminds me that I'm not 18 anymore and it really has been 10 years since I graduated from high school.

I always tease Josh about celebrating my "Birthday Week" and wanting to get or do things all week. Well, this year he really went all out and we did something/he gave me a gift EVERY day from July 1st to the 8th.

The 8 things were:
Day 1: Flowers
Day 2: See's Candy (Josh hand picked each of my favorite chocolates)
Day 3: Silverware- which I have been wanting for a long time now, ha
Day 4: Stadium of Fire for the 4th of July
Day 5: Breakfast together at my favorite place, the Original Pancake House
Day 6: Visa Gift Card to buy whatever I wanted
Day 7: Surprise dinner and cake at my parents house. Wally's fam and Cindy also came
Day 8: Went to a restaurant, my pick, which was Archibald's, mmmm....

Whew! Can you believe how spoiled I was ALL week?! It was pretty awesome, I loved that he really took it to heart and celebrated me all week. I am so lucky to have a husband who treats me like a queen and always makes holidays and birthdays a big deal (which I love). Happy Birthday to me!

Birthday dinner at my parents house

Here we are as a family on my actual birthday at Archibald's

4th of July

Super lame, I have not one picture from the 4th of July, but we had a most excellent day. We started off by going to the Murray parade with the Days. Then swimming at the pool with Grandpa Green (they are in town this week just for fun). The night was finished off with going to the Stadium of Fire. Josh and I went together and the kids went off to Kurts house with Grandma and Grandpa. They did fireworks there together and sounded like they had a blast. 

Mac "Jumping"

Mac is learning how to jump. He never quite gets both feet off the ground, but is so cute while he's trying. 

Parade with Grandma

 The weekend before the 4th of July they have a festival in Elk Ridge. Since watching the parade last year my Mom knew she wanted to drive their golf cart with the Grandkids in it this year. She decorated the cart, bought some candy to throw, and loaded the kids in together to be in the parade.

 T

The parade "theme" was military so this golf cart was made into a tank. Love it

Only Elk Ridge would have llamas in the parade...

 The next morning we went to the city's pancake breakfast and the carnival. It had games, booths, jump houses and other fun stuff to do. Lyla really wanted her face painted and chose this design out. She talked about it all day and loved it. 

Here they are driving by. It was so cute to see them all waving and excited to be in the parade.

Swimming

This Saturday we went swimming at the Lehi pool. Its one of my favorite pools in Utah. Its far away, but worth the drive. 

These swings are really for smaller babies, but they sure looked cute in them.

 Lyla loving the slide. She is such a water child, and always has been. She jumps off the side with no fear, loves to be in any water, and even when she is shivering and has purple lips she wants to just "keep swimming"

Mac's favorite part was this little fountain off to the side of the pool. He played over here forever and just laughed and laughed when it would spray up in his face

Canyon BBQ

We went with Mary Nelson and the kids up to the canyon to roast some hot dogs and mallows. Its our favorite part of camping anyway (eating) so we decided to spend the evening together and enjoy the cool mountain air. 

 Hey, can I have some of that?!

Throwing rocks into the river

 Josh getting the BIG rocks to make a huge splash in the river. We did this for probably an hour after dinner. The kids loved it. 

Everyday Life

 Just a few pictures of everyday things going on at the house. I usually just post events or things we do but I had a few pictures of things the kids are doing too. 

Mac LOVES to push Lyla's baby stroller, most times its empty but I thought it was cute that he put his car in it the other day. It made it a little more "manly" I guess, haha

Playdoh. You know your baby is growing up when you play for over a half hour with playdoh and he doesn't eat any of it. We usually do playdoh when Mac is sleeping for that reason, but we tried it out today and he didn't even take one bite, I was happy, but also a little sad he's getting so big.

 Love this little concentration face

 We dance a lot in our kitchen/dining area. Its a perfect open space for dancing. I've posted several pictures of this very thing before, but today I was loving Lyla's choice of dress-ups. Rapunzel dress, fairy wings, and a headband from when she was a baby. 

We love having a yard. Its our first place since being married that we've had a yard all to ourselves. Its perfect for days like today, when a little boy just wants to do some digging. He knows right where the shovels are in the garage, and can reach them, so he just wanders around the garage, gets a shovel, and goes right for the dirt. 

He decided to wave to me as I was taking his picture. He always puts his hand straight up like this when he waves. It melts my heart