Alex is Home!

Updates on Clifton -
He has always been a talker but lately he is seriously non stop talking.  It is cute to hear what he makes up, repeats from things he hears, and its fun to have a conversation with my little man.  However there are down falls, he says things that I have never said nor want to hear him say.  Nothing horrible but its sad that he picks those things up:(  He is also lost his volume control lately.  He is really loud! We are working on that but for now being soft is a struggle.

Updates on McKay -
I cut her bangs.  They were a little shorter than I wanted but they actually turned out cute.  She has cute hair, I got lucky.  It has a little curl and flips out all by itself.  Good thing it's cute by itself because I am not good with my own hair I am sure not good at her hair:)

Well Alex was gone for most of the week so we spent a lot of time face timing with him.

Face time helps keep us from missing Daddy too much.  Thank heaven for it!

We played a ton at home trying to keep busy and hoping the week flies by so we can be with Daddy again.

 She loves sitting here and playing.

 Much needed outside time.  Even though it did not last long, I am ready for summer!

 Cuddling!

Sticker time.  McKay really wanted to join in and she understood the concept.

Friday we went to Jump to celebrate a little friends birthday.

 

Clifton liked it as longs as I was going down with him.  It scared McKay a little.

This is what happened when he went down by himself, tears!  So we did not go down the slide once it got real busy.

 But then we found the jump house and he was happy as a clam.

 This looks means Clifton is having great fun:)

Peek a boo.  It was a fun morning with friends.

Then late that night Alex got home.  We were all so excited to see him and be able to hug and play with him.

 

The kids just wanted Daddy which was nice since I have had them all by myself for two weeks.

Saturday we got together went some friends and went ice blocking.

 I love my friends!  They are always willing to get together and do fun and crazy things.

 After many tears and a few tantrums Clifton finally tried going down and LOVED it.  And then he never wanted to stop.  Of course it took about twenty minutes for him to jump on board.  I guess it just had to be his idea.  Toddlers.  You got to love them:)  McKay did not really enjoy it but as long as I was holding her she was good.  Even though it was a rough start and we had grumpy kids we had a blast after a while.  

We did not really go down by ourselves but Alex did once and of course fell off and did a somersault.  And of course I got pictures so we can all laugh at him:)

Love that guy!

Sunday we went to Alex's parents house to celebrate December/January birthdays in the family.

So McKay got another little celebration for her birthday. 

Week One Without Alex

Updates on Clifton -
Clifton is completely done with diapers!  He keeps dry at night:)  He has been such a good boy and doing so well with going potty.  We are still working on going on a "big" (regular) toilet.  He has gone a few times on a big toilet but wants to stand up which is fine just messy!  The other day he even asked to go on the big boy toilet instead of his little toilet but will only pee not poop.  Because he likes to stand. Progress.
Clifton has always loves me to sing songs to him but he has never really sang.  But lately he will sing songs with me and it surprises me how much of the song he knows all by himself.  He can sing his ABC'S all by himself!

Updates on McKay -
She has two molars poking through (which makes me laugh because she still does have her other teeth).  So she was pretty grumpy and had a fever for most of the week.  I thought it was just a fever but it turned out that she had Roseola.  Poor girl!  But she is better now:)

Just the kids being cute!

I am still hesitant to get out with Clifton so new at potty training and it has been so cold and icy.  So we tried to have as much fun at home as possible.

Art.  Painting is always a hit with these boys!

 Games!

 And just being silly:)

Forts.

Then Friday I braved up and got out.  We went to visit a friend and some family on the other side of the water. We took the ferry over!

 Watching the boats go by.

 Snack time on the ferry.

The ferry ride was spent most of the time with the kids looking out the window watching boats, birds, and a seal!  I love living so close to the water and the ferries.  A simple but fun thing to do!  We had a lot of fun catching up and playing with friends and family.  It was a very long day for the kids but totally worth it.

Alex is in Georgia dying from the heat!  One week down, one more to go. We all miss him very very much:(

Hanging Around Home

Updates on Clifton -
He has entered the "why?" stage.  He asks why all day long.  I have to explain a lot:)  But I guess that is the way he learns the world around him.

Updates on McKay -
She had her one year check up and is doing great! 94% in height and 20 pounds (almost caught up with her brother)!
She loves to carry around her little blankets.  She is not attached to any particular one just as long as she has one.
She is starting to imitate our words all the time.  This me trying to get her to say "love you".  She does but of course has to make me work for it.

I am still a little scared to get out and do much with Clifton being so new at potty training and the fact that he will only use his toilet.  So we hung at home and played all week.

 McKay pushing her brother around, a common occurrence in our house.

 Tunnels are always fun!

 The boys playing with McKay's new toys.

We got our own Tom Cruise here... in his underwear and white church shirt busting out in song.  Love this kid!

Alex and I had a date night this week.  It was Alex's time to choose the activity.  And he choose ice blocking!  I must be rubbing off on him:)  It was super fun!

We spent most of our date looking for ice blocks.  We went to 4 stores and one gas station.  Of course the last store had like 50 of them:/  Now we know for next time!  I love date nights!

Alex left for business trip this week and will be gone for a couple weeks.  He will be greatly missed.

 This is McKay trying to sneak into his luggage.  We are all hoping the time passes quickly and we can have him home with us soon!

McKay's Birthday Party

Updates on Clifton -
He is officially potty trained!!!!!!  He has done so incredibly well in this process.  He holds it and will sometimes tell us when he needs to go.  He has not had an accident the whole week.  I now have a BIG BOY.  The next step is going potty on big toilets.  That might take a while:/

Updates on McKay -
She is super duper attached to me.  I cannot do anything and she will go to no one else without screaming.  We have a long road ahead of us, good thing she is cute. 

For the new year we went bowling with the kids and then out to dinner (thanks to my wonderful Olive Garden gift card).

 McKay enjoyed pushing the bowling ball.  She stayed interested longer then Clifton.

Then we played some games in the arcade.  A fun family activity.

Clifton and Daddy put together my Christmas gift this week.

Clifton is a good little helper.

Now they think it is a toy for them.  Good thing it fits under my bed!

We had McKay's birthday party this week.  McKay likes Mickey and Minnie so I thought it would be cute to do a Minnie Mouse party.

 The cake was an attempt at doing something similar to a cake on Pinterest.  However I did not want to use nor do I know how to use fondant.  It did not turn out as cute as I was hoping but I think it turned out okay.

 I love how the cupcakes turned out!

 The food table.

 Ears for the kids that come (and some adults too).

Tables for eating.

Clifton is such a goof!

 The kiddos ready to party!

 

Cake time!

 Clifton showing her how to do it (not that he ate his cake on his first birthday either).

 She got a little into it.  I guess I just dont make kids that want to smash and eat cake:(

 Grandma's!  It blew Clifton's mind that there were two Grandma's there.  He kept running around shouting "Look, two grandma's!"

 A lot of family came to celebrate.

And a lot of friends came to celebrate as well.  We are super blessed to have such great friends and family who want to celebrate our kids with us.  Thanks everyone who came and made the day special for Miss McKay!

McKay all partied out after her party!