My Gym

We recently had the chance to go to the cities to help one of my good college friends celebrate her little girl's second birthday. The party was at a great place called My Gym. We don't have anything like this in Mankato so it was so fun to take the boys to do something different.
It's a toddler play gym with all sorts of large muscle activities. Macalan was very shy and timid at first, but after a few minutes he jumped right in and had a blast.
Unfortunately, the batteries in my camera died so I didn't get very many good pictures.
Sutton had fun hanging out with my good friend Becky. Kyle was up north fishing so I am grateful she and her husband were there to help me chase Macalan around! The little guy in green on the train is her little man Titan. He's about a month younger than Sutton. I can't wait to watch our boys grow up and have fun together.
It was so fun spending the morning with good friends!

Holy 'Mole!

This post is long overdue!
A couple of weeks ago I was eating chips and guacamole when Macalan decided he needed to try some. It turns out he really loves it! It's really funny that he likes "guac" or "mole," as he calls it, because he has become a pretty picky eater lately. This is the last thing I would have thought he would like. I promise he's eating the mild store bought kind for those of you who were concerned he might burn his mouth! =)

Walter Linus Turns 4!

Walter, our yellow lab, turned 4 years old today. We celebrated by making him a peanut butter treat in his Kong and singing Happy Birthday. Of course Macalan started balling as soon as the song started! We can't figure out what the deal is with "Happy Birthday."
Kyle and I consider Walter our first baby. Even though he is the only dog I have ever had, he has definitely been the best dog! Aside from his crazy barking whenever he hears a car, a doorbell, a walnut hit the roof, someone come in the door, and I swear sometimes he must be barking at the voices in his head, he really is a great dog. Please bare with me as I reminisce about some of my favorite memories with him.
One of my favorite memories of him is when he was teeny tiny and could fit under our bed. He used to crawl underneath the bed and stick only his nose out from under the bedskirt. Another great memory is of teaching him tricks. He will give hugs on command (even if you ask someone else to give you a hug he'll be right there ready to cuddle), he shakes, gives 5, and gives eskimos, among many other random things. One of the funniest memories I have is when Kyle decided to take him outside without a leash for the first time. I came outside a short time later only to see Kyle running down the street frantically trying to chase Walter down! Needless to say, he did not come off the leash for a long time after that!
I get teary eyed thinking about how great he has been with our boys. He has never once tried to hurt them and has always been gentle where they are concerned. He has been a trooper lately while Macalan goes through his "pretend Walter is a horse" stage. Macalan has been sitting on his back and saying "I'm a cowboy with Walter!" Bringing Sutton home didn't even phase him. I'm sure he thought "oh great another one of these things that takes the attention away from me." I'm sure he'll be in heaven when he has two little boys to throw food on the floor floor for him!
He has been one of the best decisions we have made for our family. I can't imagine having to say goodbye to him someday. Until then we will focus on the fun we're having now and enjoy all the laughter and craziness he adds to our family.

Happy Birthday Macalan!

Macalan turned 2 today! I can't believe I already have a two year old! It's hard to imagine what life was like before having him. He and Sutton have the been the best gift we could ask for.
Mac's birthday celebration started early when Grandma Mary and cousin Allison came on Saturday afternoon. Macalan enjoyed going out for ice cream at Cold Stone Saturday night. Unfortunately I had to stay home with Sutton who has been feeling very sick the last few days. However, they did bring some home for me. =) This morning Kyle and I took Macalan out for birthday pancakes and then to the party store to buy balloons. The fun officially started when the rest of our guests arrived this afternoon. Grandma Dorothy, Grandpa Gene, Uncle Tony, and cousin Lauryn all came up from Yankton to help celebrate.
Grandma brought Macalan's birthday cake along, which was made by a lady who used to make my birthday cakes. She did such a great job! We had her make a Lightning McQueen cake since that was the theme for his party this year. It was amazing. Macalan loved it.
He not only loved his cake, but he loved all of his great presents too. One thing he did not like was us singing Happy Birthday to him. For some reason as soon as we started singing he started balling. =( I'm sure it had something to do with the fact that he didn't have a nap.
All in all it was a great day. I'm excited to see what the next year of his life has in store for us. He has learned so much already this past year I can't imagine what he'll do next. I'm so glad I have my buddy bear around to make me laugh and smile. I don't know what I'd do without him!

The Zoo!

This past weekend we took the boys up to the zoo. It was Sutton's first time experiencing it. He had no idea where he was and slept through a lot of it, but it was still fun to have another "first" with him. If you're wondering about his boxer look (the rag on his head) I forgot his hat so we had to improvise. =)
Macalan really liked the farm area. He enjoyed watching the horses get groomed and for some reason he LOVED the chickens. He could have probably stood near the chicken coop for hours watching them. He wanted nothing to do with cows. He kept saying "No like cows!"
We are looking forward to more trips to the zoo this summer. I can't wait for life to slow down a little bit so we all have more time together to enjoy fun things like this!

Easter

This post is long over due. We have been pretty preoccupied lately. This was the first real Easter we have celebrated with kids. Macalan had fun "helping" dye the eggs. The Easter Bunny tried to hide them in obvious places, but I pretty much had to point out where all of the eggs were. He and Sutton shared a basket this year because I thought Sutton wasn't really at an age that he would know the difference. Macalan was so excited to look at all the goodies. He was especially happy to get to add a new car to his growing collection of Cars characters.
I can hardly believe that Mac's second birthday is right around the corner. I've been trying to get things done for his party, but I just never have enough time! I'm sure it will all turn out just fine. A former co-worker of my mom's is making a McQueen cake for us. I'm very excited to see how it turns out. I will be sure to post pictures of the big day. I'm sure my next posting won't be until after his birthday anyway.

5 Months

Sutton is now five months old! I cannot believe it's been five months already. In some ways it seems like it has gone fast, but in others it's like he has been here all along. It's difficult to remember life without him. I am so blessed to have two healthy little boys!
On the second of every month I take Sutton's picture to use in his scrapbook, which I am soooo behind in working on. That was going to be one of my "to-dos" this week, but I have yet to get to it. Anyway, I can never get a picture of Sutton without Macalan jumping in, Mr. Photogenic! It's been so hard to capture Sutton's cute personality in pictures, but I swear he really does smile a ton!
Sorry for the weird angle on Sutton's picture! I forgot to rotate it.