Mr. and Mrs. Smith

Oklahoma Christmas

2012-01-07T22:02:00.001-07:00

My little sister Mary and my niece Maya.

Mary and my other niece Rowan.

McKenna and her Nanny

My cousin's daughter Abigail and another cousin's son Kyden

Food thief

Love these girls

My cousin Amy and her daughters Abigail and Emma

Me and my baby.

My sister Kat and her hubby DJ

My lover

The wagon was popular

Gay...aka my two brothers Charlie and Nick

better

Mary and I made gingerbread men and I decorated this one...let's see if you can guess who my inspiration was.

My dad...the inspiration.

Learned this game from my Latina friends...roll the dice and when you get a 6 you try to open a present with gloves, scarf and hat on. But not just any gift...$60 triple wrapped with packing tape and many other difficult layers. So fun as you will see.

My cousin Lance

My dad

Cousin Kristen

Cam

My cousin Amy

Charlie

My sister-in law Melissa...grossed out by the slobber on the present.

My aunt Karaleen

My sisters

Mary, Kat, me, Liz, Christina

All of my siblings...minus Chev

My Aunt Janice and her daughter Amy, her two girls and My cousin Nick's son Reese

Singing Christmas carols

My aunt Karaleen and her family

My sister Elizabeth and her family

My nephew Jack

dumb and dumber =)

The great grand kids

The whole crew

Matt was home visiting from his deployment

Anna and Maya

My sister Christina and Rowan her daughter

Bro Charlie, Melissa and Maya

My lovely family

Bro Nick and his new wife Micah

My dad's progeny

Chas and Maya

Gobble Gobble

2011-12-02T13:08:00.000-07:00

Sadly we weren't able to spend Thanksgiving with our families this year but THANKFULLY our wonderful friends the Briese's hosted Thanksgiving at their home this year.

Lesley asked me to make a Thanksgiving tree with leaves for everyone to write what they are thankful for this year and this is what I came up with. Looks awfully similar to my Christmas tree! =)

Jessica is from Monterey Mexico and has only celebrated Thanksgiving once before and she came up with this darling appetizer.

She made this one too. See the turkey?

My contribution to the festivities was a salad, an apple pie, green bean casserole and pictures!

The Woodbury squirrels are so spoiled. Everyone at Woodbury leaves nuts and grapes and raisins out on their steps for the squirrels so that they come right on up now and give all of the kids a fun show!

He's awful fat.

See how much they enjoy it!

Gotta love the dollar bin at Target. I found these great turkey sticker kits for the kids to assemble.

Bobby is Lesley's husband and a great cook. Caught him digging in the cabinets just like the kids like to do.

Turkey coma

Have you ever had a grilled turkey? It looks AMAZING doesn't it? Well it tasted even better

It's Chrsitmas time!!

2011-12-02T12:50:00.000-07:00

Christmas is finally here and that means I can finally put up all of the Pinterest projects I've been working on for the last month! Here are some of my favorites.

This was a really easy ornament project. I made two with a bag of white buttons I picked up from JoAnn. McKenna enjoyed helping me string the buttons onto the wire too.

I didn't see this on Pinterest but I'm sure I've seen it somewhere. M and I foraged around Woodbury for some sticks and with a little spray paint and some pretty ornaments voila you have a fancy table top Christmas tree.

I saw that a lot of people were filling the containers they already have with holiday items like ornaments, candy canes, bows, pine cones etc so I did the same all around my house. The mason cars blurred out in the background have epsom salt and ornaments inside.

I saw these puffs on Pinterest. I made some large ones for McKenna's birthday party but saw these small puffs made of napkins that I could use for Christmas. And they are just resting on some pretty candle sticks.

These hurricane jars were a splurge at $40 for all 3 but they turned out so pretty that I thought it was totally worth it.

I saw these trees on Pinterest too and they were so cheap and easy to make that I had to do them. The hardest part of this project was making the cones and making them different sizes.

This is probably my favorite Pinterest project. My burlap wreath. It isn't quite finished yet. I still have to add some ornaments and greenery.

I am a "real" tree person and I always will be. Nothing beats the smell when you walk into your home of a fresh cut Christmas tree and fresh garlands. We went to a nursery near us to buy a tree. They had some gorgeous, gorgeous trees but they were WAY out of our price range SO we had to concede to shopping at The Home Depot for this beauty. It is a fraiser fur and although it is pretty, it just doesn't compare to the beauties we saw at the nursery. SOMEDAY!!! SOMEDAY!!

This is the MOST important decoration we put up every year and this was made possible by my mother. Each year for my birthday and Christmas she would gift me a piece to this manger set. All I am missing now is the ox and goat. =) McKenna loves to play with the animals and it is a great conversation starter for her and for guests during the holidays. Thanks mom. I love you.

Another shot of the huricanes and another fun project just to the left of them. I saved old spaghetti jars, olive jars, etc to make luminaries. I spread glue all over the jars and then rolled them in epsom salt. They are just beautiful at night when I light the candle inside. They look like glowing now balls. I found this idea on Pinterest as well. Also I can't forget to display our book Reflections of Christ by Mark Mabry. It has amazing photography of the life and teachings of our Savior to remind us all why we celebrate Christmas.

Deck the Halls with boughs of Cedar, fa la la la la, la la la la!

This is a new and favorite ornament this year! Love teal blue

We bought this stain glass ornament in Frankenmuth last weekend.

Happy Birthday McKenna!

2011-10-23T23:40:00.000-06:00

I can't believe McKenna is already 2! It seems like only yesterday she arrived in our lives. We celebrated her birthday at home with all of her wonderful friends. This is M tackling Ava in the ball pit which was a huge success.

Elmo was the theme of her party. We had Elmo decorations, a cake, and ELMO tv!

Lesley even bought M an Elmo shirt for her big day.

And this is the beginning of the party. Only 4 families have arrived at this point and our place is already maxed out.

Sweet Jimena and McKenna.

Kroger was having a special on balloons so we ordered 20 and I made all of these tissue balls that look like clown wigs hanging from the ceiling.

I could have made this cake myself but was having so many issues getting the red dark enough that I finally caved and ordered this from Walmart. They spelled her name mekenna. ugh.

Julie and Aloise donated the juice for the party. It was a hit and so were the hats that Lesley had left over from Ava's 2nd birthday party.

We ordered pizza, had salad and lots of snacks for the kids too.

um ummm pizza is one of her favorites.

I think everyone had arrived by this point. Claudia, Sophia, Theresa, Bobby and Adrian.

This is the Warner family.

Julie and Aloise.

Javier

More tackling in the ball pit.

FUN!

Theresa and Claudia.

This is Joni's son Henry. One of the youngest in attendance.

Elena

Chillin

Lesley and Joni.

Really like these pictures. What you don't see is all of the "other" toddlers trying to blow out the candle. I had to light is at least 5 times.

Opening presents from all of her wonderful friends. We love our friends so much.

holding Maggie.

E L M O rules.

We showed M her present from us after everyone left. She loved it.

Getting tired.

Videos from Beijing, Hong Kong and Taiwan

2011-09-11T22:37:00.000-06:00

The only way to travel

Cam discovered that M LOVED to ride around the airport like this and since we spent so much time in different airports M rode around like this a lot.

Our trip to the river town outside of Shanghai

Cam exercising in Taiwan.

Just to give you an idea of how busy and crazy crowded it is in China. This is Taiwan but just multiply this craziness by 2 and you've got Shanghai, multiply by 4 and you've got Beijing.

Thanks to Ayi M picked up a bit of Chinese. And Cam and I are helping her show off a bit.

Our arrival in HK before I realized I didn't have my camera with me. =)

Hong Kong

2011-09-11T22:20:00.000-06:00

Amazing, beautiful, somewhat westernized Hong Kong! It was a somewhat rocky road getting to Hong Kong. It all started the night before we were supposed to catch our flight when Cam realized that he forgot to book our flights. Thankfully we still found flight that got is into HK by early afternoon. Unfortunately once we landed and started loading our luggage into the taxi I realized that I forgot my camera on the plane. We spent the next hour at the airport hunting it down while the Hagens went ahead of us to the hostel. Luckily we found my camera but unluckily the hostel couldn't fin the Hagens reservation! By the time both of our families got settled the day was over. Thankfully we had another day in HK and we made the most of it.

Hong Kong is seriously cool because it is a series of little islands all connected by these amazing bridges and boats always cruising between the islands.

We had to take a ferry from Kawloon where we were staying the next morning to Hong Kong Island where the Hagens found a place to stay.

It was a gorgeous morning on the harbor.

The name of our ferry.

Once we landed on the HK side of the harbor we caught a high speed ferry to an outlying island called Cheung Chau.

Cheung Chau is a tiny little island...about a 30 min walk long and 10 min walk across. There were hundreds of fishing boats moored in the harbor because the island has been severely over fished and the industry is dying out.

Jing Cha

This is the main street of the island.

No cars allowed on Cheung Chau. Grab a bike and hold on.

Island life

sweet little old lady.

need a boat?

This is right outside of a Buddhist temple on the island.

Cam and I found these great little bike carts and talked the Hagens into getting one of their own and Katie and I and all of the babies took a leisurely tour around the island while Brad and Cam sweated it out. =)

Brad takes the lead while Katie holds a twin in each arm.

This is the beach on the opposite side of the island.

Cam and M were the only ones brave enough to get into the water. M didn't really like it. Too cold I think.

Lifeguard on duty. No worries.

After picking up Cha Shao which is bbq pork and some steamed leaks we hopped on another ferry and headed back to HK.

I just loved this colorful island.

The view of HK island from our return ferry.

Our baby was all tuckered out.

After a short ferry ride back to our hostel we put M down for a short nap before heading to the "stairs" and "escalators" that take you up the levels of Hong Kong island. When Cam was a kid he lived on mid-levels and I've heard his mom tell stories about dragging her 5 kids up and down these stairs before the installation of escalators.

We were all shopped out from Beijing and Shanghai but made time to peruse the alleys of Hong Kong on our way to the Peak.

On our way to the to of the island we stumbled across the Botanical Gardens. They were breathtaking with amazing views.

So after the gardens the plan was to take the tram up to the peak but given the 1.5 hour wait we opted for a quick taxi ride to the top of the island.

And this was the view that welcomed us upon our arrival. Just as the sun was setting I snapped this picture of the bay.

We decided to grab a quick dinner while we waited for night to fall and then we went back up to check out the view.

A breathtaking view of the city. So much energy.

Zhu Jia Jiao

2011-09-05T12:08:00.000-06:00

Bright and early the on our 2nd day in Shanghai we decided to visit a small river town about 30 minutes outside of Shanghai called Zhu Jia Jiao. We had to take a 30 minute subway right to the far West side of town and then our friends the Coffin's let us borrow their driver for the day to take us the remaining 30 minutes out of town. I forgot my professional camera so I had to make due with my point and shoot for this trip. =(

Luckily we remembered to bring M's baby carrier so she was tucked away while we explored the pretty water ways of Zhu Jia Jiao.

For some reason Cam and Katie had a craving for chocolate ice cream Magnum bars at 9:30am

They had a bunch of fun hats so of course we had to try them on.

I actually really liked these hats.

not this one! =)

If it wasn't so hard to pack this I probably would have bought it.

We bought this little owl hat for McKenna. She wore it for about 30 minutes and then wouldn't let us put it back on her head for anything in the world.

Not really sure what these things are. I know they are some kind of meat and they looked like cow hearts or something.

And here is our water taxi!

Before we got on our boat this little old lady talked Cam into buying these fish to throw into the water. It was supposed to bring us good luck.

M had a pretty rough day. Crying off and on most of the time.

Since M refused to wear her hat Cam and I took turns sporting it.

I bet this place is amazing at night with all of the lanterns lit up.

This was a really cool temple right behind us.

Not sure if you can tell from the pictures but all along the canals there were steps from the sidewalk down to the water for the locals to wash food, clothing, fish, etc. And there were bridges everywhere too to connect the entire town.

Will you please wear your cute hat for momma to take a picture? Nope!

The Hagens

Isn't it picturesque?

Shanghai Nights

2011-09-05T11:47:00.000-06:00

So after napping on day 2 in Beijing we headed out to Yashow, Beijing's huge clothing market. We went the afternoon of the day before as well and had such a good time picking up fake purses, shoes, shirts and jeans that we decided to visit again. That evening we had the Ayi of a friend of Cam's come to watch M while Cam and I went out for a fun date in Beijing. We found this really cool neighborhood about 15 min from our hotel with live music, awesome food and cheap massages. We enjoyed an amazing couples massage and then picked up yummy churros smothered in ice cream and chocolate syrup before heading back to our sleeping baby. Unfortunately we don't have any pictures from our fun evening.

The next day we had to catch our bullet train back to Shanghai. We fed M a yummy mango for breakfast and bought some milk for her on the train...and about 30 minutes later while watching Elmo on Cam's lap with his computer she got sick....in a panic to save his computer he turns McKenna to the side (facing me) and she gets sick again and again...all over me and our backpack. Poor little thing started crying and saying "I made a mess!" "I made a mess." Thankfully we had our luggage and a clean change of clothes handy and we were clean and puke free in no time.

That night in Shanghai we took the Hagen's to the fabric market so that Brad could order a custom suit and over coat and we explored the little neighborhoods we love so much behind it. It was one of the hottest days of the summer so we headed for the Bund to catch our ferry across the river.

When we first walked onto the wharf we thought we were taking this cool Chinese style boat behind us...but we ended up with the plain jane white one you see beside us. =)

The evening was much cooler out on the water and the lights and skyline were beautiful.

This is the famous Pudong skyline. The plan was to take the "ferry" across the river and go to the top of the odd looking tower but it turns out we took the sightseeing boat instead of the ferry so we ended up taking a taxi back to Pudong for dinner.

This is a small section of the Bund which was primarily built during the French Concession. This was a time period of about 100 years when the governor of Shanghai conceded some of Shanghai's territories to the French for development. It is a popular tourist destination today.

The Forbidden City

2011-09-04T22:10:00.000-06:00

Our hotel was literally a 10 min walk to the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. When we first walked up I saw this little Chinese man grooming the grounds. It seemed truly magical like Alice in Wonderland or something.

These guys made this whole trip happen. They met 10 years ago on their mission and have been best friends ever since.

And the crowds begin to gather...around the white tourists. =)

General Mao Zedong

It was sooo crowded in Beijing. It was much, much worse than Shanghai. The subways were more congested, the streets were more crowded and the Forbidden City was just ridiculous.

Thankfully we had another rainy/overcast day that I think kept the crowds at bay somewhat. I can't imagine what it's like here when the weather is pretty.

M was such a good sport. We decided to go through the entire city while the Hagens went back to the hotel to explore a bit and get some lunch.

The architecture was amazing.

The "city" is sort of divided into the left, center and middle buildings. We stayed to the right where it was a little less crowded. The buildings weren't as big as the center row buildings but as you can see they were still monumental.

The rain helped us get this great picture with no locals in the shot.

This is called the emperor's road. It was a path that only the emperor was allowed to walk on. Pretty cool.

This old tree is in the sacred gardens at the back of the Forbidden City. It is really, really, really old so I thought it deserved a picture!

The sacred garden in the Forbidden City was said to be "Heaven on Earth." I can see why.

More old trees

Do you see the Emperor's road there in the middle? It goes through the entire city.

The Chinese carry umbrellas come rain or shine so they are always prepared!

Hot, thirsty and HUNGRY we decided to explore the old neighborhoods around the city.

We found this dingy Moroccan/Chinese restaurant on a tiny street a few blocks away. We had a young boy serving us and cooking our food. This is a little shot of the place. It didn't look pretty but the food was great.

She was so hungry she was eating the chop sticks.

Farewell Shanghai...Hello Beijing

2011-09-04T21:32:00.001-06:00

It has been awhile since I've had a chance to blog about our adventures in China. The last few weeks have been a whirlwind as we prepared to leave China to come back home to Michigan. But while we were on the other side of the world we decided to explore some of the wonders of China!

Our high speed train from Shanghai to Beijing

Enjoying the view!

Our first stop Beijing and the Great Wall of China...man that's one great wall!

We woke up really, really early so that we could arrive at the wall before the crowds did. M is sporting her traditional Chinese outfit for the day!

Souvenirs anyone?

This little hat shop was right at the entrance of the Great Wall.

Here we go...we decided to go ahead and start climbing our way to the top of the Great Wall instead of waiting for the cable car to open at 8am. It was hot and we had some heavy loads.

Cam was amazing. He carried our backpack and M almost the entire way up to the wall.

Our big girl wanted to climb some of the steps herself.

Finally on the Great Wall and M was so happy to get to run around. There was no one in sight. We had the place all to ourselves. It was awesome.

It was really cloudy the day we came here but I think it actually worked to our advantage. The clouds formed this beautiful mist and we didn't have to labor in the hot sun.

This was one of my favorite experiences from China. This is truly one of the wonders of the world.

Of course we had to get a shot with all of the kiddos. Sometimes I forget that she is such a big little girl until she is sitting next to "real" babies.

Pretty smile sweet girl!

We crack her up!

This family LOVES China. We were really, really happy here.

Enjoying the view. We were pretty high up.

My little wiggle worm wouldn't hold still for this awesome shot.

This was the best I could get.

Just in case you're wondering...YES we did climb up all of those stairs with our 28 lb. toddler.

The tourists are starting to pour in. Notice the staring?

Eating and climbing the Great Wall of China at the same time isn't easy!

Forget that...I need a snack break.

Learning how to talk and some random stuff

2011-07-31T05:45:00.001-06:00

McKenna is working on her names to prepare for our visits to AZ and OK at the end of the summer!

This is how McKenna learned to say I love you.

A little light reading.

Cam hates it when I take pictures like this. Can you tell?

This week I went to the Science and Technology Museum for playgroup. It was a really cool place with so many fun spaces for McKenna to play in and explore. The place was just huge and I only had my point and shoot so I couldn't really capture all of the great things we saw. I think I'm going to plan another trip there this week so stay tuned.

I'm not really sure what this huge thing with balls in it is for but I do know that none of the other kids were attempting to crawl underneath the railing to get into it. As I was taking this pic a worker cam over to get onto me and McKenna! =)

This is rainbow land. Within this section of the museum there are at least a dozen sub sections for younger kids to explore like the light, mirror and prism room, the animal discovery station, the ball area you see above and lots of others that we didn't have time to see.

I saw these sausages at Carrefour down the street and I took a picture for my dad to see. My dad makes the most amazing homemade sausage called Klobase from an old family recipe.

M will hold still for me to braid her hair IF I let her watch Elmo or Pippy.

Here are a couple of random shots from behind the fabric market near The Bund. We come here about once a week and always stop to try all of the amazing street food. This lady is making noodles.

The fruit markets are everywhere and they always have so many exotic fruits so it seems like I'm trying some weird new fruit variety every week.

These guys grill up different kinds of meat, fish, veggies, tofu etc on these coals. They are so yummy.

And last but not least one of our favorite things that we see all of the time in Shanghai, Recycling!!

Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street?

2011-07-31T01:29:00.001-06:00

Oh that's easy...you just have to go to China! Shanghai to be specific. We surprised McKenna by taking a trip to "Elmo's House" last night. The pictures just don't do justice to how excited she was to see ELMO so we uploaded a few videos too.

Waiting for the taxi to take us to Elmo's place. You can see M's new Thomas backpack that rolls. We have to take it everywhere with us.

I don't have many good pictures with my sweet little McKenna. I love this one!

Muah!

She knew we were at Elmo's house and she was starting to freak out!

So glad Cam could come with us.

And finally she got to meet the man of the hour! She was so excited but she wasn't quite sure she wanted his huge red hands to touch her.

She couldn't smile for the camera with his hand on her! =)

Elmo really wanted to pick her up...hey wait a second, that sounds like something a random Chinese person would do. I think Elmo might be an imposter.

Getting ready for the show to start.

Here we go!

M watching the show

Totally enthralled.

We left during intermission because it was 8:15 or so and way past Cindrella's bedtime.

Elmo finally achieved his goal to pick up the cute little white kid. I couldn't see her face but Cam reported that she looked pretty terrified.

Playing is what I do best!

2011-07-20T09:13:00.003-06:00

So this is the routine....M wakes up around 8:30 or 9am....walks to her high chair and says "sit, sit" so that she can eat some grub...then says "bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye" until I can't stand it anymore and I take her outside. Here are some things we do on our morning outings...take dolly for a ride, go to the swing, explore Yanlord, go swimming, go get a snack at the clubhouse, go play at Lollipops, go play at the indoor play area at the clubhouse, go swimming at the kiddie pool, pet dogs, chase cats, go grocery shopping, play in the fountains, bum snack from random Ayis around the complex, and play in the sand. WHEW! I'm pooped.

McKenna discovered some of Ollie's backpacks and is obsessed with wearing them when we go out. She just looked so grown up here with her "pepkeck" as she calls it and her baby doll.

Did I mention that she LOVES Thomas? She isn't crazy about the show but she likes the toys and all of his paraphernalia.

She likes to play the faces game. This is her getting ready face. =)

"sad face"

"Surprised" face is her favorite though and most of the time she can't stop doing this face to do the other faces she knows.

She is such an affectionate child. She is constantly giving hugs and kisses to me and Cam and Ayi and her baby doll, stuffed animals, etc.

Here we are playing in the Yanlord fountains which is strictly prohibited! Shhhh! don't tell.

She loves to laugh in the face of rules.

baby goes everywhere and does everything. "baby pee pee, baby poo poo, baby bye bye."

This is the window in our bedroom. She was giving me so many cute smiles this particular day.

Some funny stuff you've gotta see!

2011-07-07T10:39:00.001-06:00

These little kiddie rides only cost 1 yuan or about 14 cents so we let M ride them whenever we come across them. It was soooo hot on this particular Saturday. We were all melting but still having a great time.

I stumbled across this fun little place in Yanlord a few weeks ago.

This is our new Ayi. Her name is Ayi or at least that is what she wants us to call her. I've asked Cam a dozen times what her real name is but she won't tell us. I am "tai tai" and Cam is "xian sheng" and that is all there is to it. She is amazing though. She has cooked lunch and dinner everyday this week except one and it is delicious. She is also so good with McKenna. She normally takes care of Ollie so she knows how to handle little toddler monsters. =)

On this particular night Ayi made us chicken curry. It was so good. And today for lunch she made us a veggie noodle dish and homemade Chinese meatballs. Yumo

After dinner we decided to have bit of fun. I get soo tickled by M's little squeals of excitement. She has such a bubbly personality.

I just can't believe how much she is talking now. Most people probably can't understand her so I am always translating. =)

After all of that squealing and running around M had a diaper malfunction.

Today Cam and I were able to spend some time out and about without McKenna for a change and we had a great time exploring the fabric market and the fake market without having to chase our toddler around! =) This is just a quick shot of us on the street.

Shortly after taking the above picture we wandered over to this little fish market and ...I freak out.

And last but not least a video of Miss M looking super cool in her sunglasses and kicking it on her wiggle scooter!

Videos from around China

2011-06-29T06:18:00.000-06:00

It's finally HOT out so we are hitting the pools!

2011-06-29T01:35:00.001-06:00

This is the kiddie pool...the deepest part of it is still below my knee so it is perfect for someone McKenna's size. I still worry about her though. If there are a lot of kids in the pool she can easily get knocked over and then doesn't quite know how to put her feet down to stand back up. There is also a little slide at this pool that is perfect for McKenna.

It is extremely humid in Shanghai so the pools have been such a blessing. Most places don't have outdoor pools like we do here in Yanlord so we are soaking it up!

We spend a lot of time running around outside of the pool. M likes the water but prefers to just play with it from the side of the pool.

This is Oliver and Marney. Olie is 2 1/2 so he really loves the pool and is showing off his latest skill, jumping into the pool with his mom.

M is in the foreground of this pic watching Olie make this funny face as he jumps into the pool.

Still just watching the fun from the sidelines.

Someone popped M's ball but it didn't detract from its funNess to her.

She must be on a business call. She looks pretty serious.

Nah...just kidding mom! I'm just pretending. =)

McKenna and Olie sitting in a tree K I S S I N G!

Olie has the biggest blue eyes. I think it is funny how M and Olie always recognize each other when they meet up at the park or at the mall or something. And then they kind of stick together too. Like they know they look different than all of the other kids and they talk different so they should stick together and back each other up! =)

Lunch, Rain and the Aquarium

2011-06-23T23:31:00.001-06:00

After leaving the Jing An Temple we went to the fabric market in Puxi and we ordered Cam a custom suit. It only cost $70! We are going again this Saturday to order him 2 more suits and lots of dress shirts. I may get a cute Dolce and Gabbana skirt knock off made too! =) Anyway, right down the street from the fabric market is this great outdoor market with restaurants, fruit stands, and little hovels where locals are selling some fabric too. This is the place we stopped to eat. This little family owned it and the little kids loved McKenna. They gave her these gourd toys that they had. They were great. M would drop it onto the floor from her stroller and one of the little kids would ALWAYS come and pick it up for her. Even after 20 times! I felt bad though so I finally took it away from her so the little kids could rest.

After lunch we decided to wander around through the alleys a bit on our way back to the subway. We saw this guy selling these turtles. He said that the ones with the read on their heads were from Brazil and that they will bite and bite hard.

It was raining but we didn't really care. At least it wasn't hot.

McKenna is talking with a local here. =)

The alley or street we were exploring.

Finally I get out from behind the camera for a pic with my baby!

Close up!

An even smaller alley that we didn't have time to explore.

This is Oliver. His mom and dad were the ones who helped us find sublets in Yanlord where they live. We are moving into their place July 1st when they leave for the States. Anyway, I took M's shirt off for dinner and so he wanted his shirt off for dinner. After dinner, her pants were covered in food so I took them off, so Olie wanted his pants off too. And finally, he said he wanted a bow just like McKenna too so we gave the boy what he wanted. Aren't they cute?

We've had a lot of rain which has been nice I think. It has kept the hot summer at bay and I don't really mind being out in it unless it is just pouring down. Everything is so lush and green here.

More rain.

So, we do get tired of being in the rain all of the time so I decided to take M to the aquarium last Saturday. Cam was supposed to come but had to stay home last minute to catch up on some work. So I bravely set out alone on a rainy Saturday. Mistake??? Well, not completely. She really enjoyed it. She would squeal and run away from the tanks when fish would swim towards her. I guess she thought they could get her.

This was called a "hairy rock" and it was hairy. Fun to look at.

She wasn't as scared of the little fish. She liked crawling along this ledge. She was being photographed by the locals as much as the fish were. By the end of our visit I was a little fed up with stopping every 5 ft. for someone to take a picture of her. Most of the time at the aquarium was spent chasing McKenna all around, taking a couple of pictures of her running away from me and spending time in the gift shops which she loved. Fish weren't the star of the show to McKenna.

These fish caught her eye.

The little ones aren't so scary

crawling on the ledge again.

Yanlord at night.

Pot stickers and Chinese Temples

2011-06-23T23:30:00.000-06:00

This is Wei Ping our Ayi for those who don't remember. She is a great cook and one of our favorite things she makes are her dumplings or pot stickers. McKenna LOVES these too. She can put them away!

She made enough for me, Cam, McKenna and our friend Clarke to eat and we had left overs for 2 days and some in our freezer!

On Saturdays we usually try to do some sight seeing as a family. Cam is super, super busy with school stuff, job stuff, etc. so he is so good to put aside his time for us. We love him! This is the Jing An Temple. Right in the thick of the city. It was a kind of rainy day as you can see but it was fun despite the poor weather.

This is the ticket window. I walked straight into the temple not realizing that you have to pay to visit it. I guess I thought it was like city park or like a church that you could visit for free. ANYway...this window was tiny. No wonder I didn't notice it.

This is a pic of a monk talking on his cell phone. We had a better shot but I couldn't get my camera out in time.

This is a charcoal burner where worshipers lay incense to burn. I didn't get details on why this is done. I was too busy chasing my toddler. =)

Lots of steps to tire her out.

Pretty altar. There is food at the feet of the statue. I really wish I had asked some questions while we were here. Well, not that it would have done any good...no one speaks English here.

We haven't had a family picture in FOREVER. The lady taking the picture could speak English!

I liked this shot. Such a neat juxtaposition. The old world with old traditions plopped right in the middle of a busy city.

This is the "big Buddha" in the largest building we saw. Don't know his story though.

Just taking a little breather.

Starting to think of escape already.

People were trying to throw coins into this thing. I think it brings you good luck if your coin goes in.

This was McKenna's favorite part of the day. Stepping up and down from this platform. Weird.

This was in the rear of the temple where the monks live. It was gorgeous.

Home Alone.

2011-06-07T09:22:00.001-06:00

Just a few randoms from my week in China alone with M. Cam was on a business trip to Beijing.

I just thought this was funny. I found M trying to sit in something much too small for her once again (one of her favorite past times) but she started to get out of the baby stroller before I could get a good shot.

I guess I am a messy cook.

A shot of Monday night dinner. Chicken Fettuchine with broccoli. Yumo

A shot of Yanlord from our balcony.

Pocky was a great discovery. It is like chocolate covered pretzels in stick form. Genius!

Cereal here is approx 60-70 yuan or $10+ So we (especially Cam) have been in a cereal crisis. Luckily there are a few brands that hover around the 20-30 yuan price range and this is what you get. They taste a bit different from the Cheerios that we are used to in the states...a bit crunchier and the honey tastes slightly off but at least we have options.

These little packets are saving my life. I don't know how to cook Chinese food so I brought these with me. I already made the General Tsaos Chicken and tonight I made the Fried Rice. They were pretty good but I think we will stick to Wei Ping's cooking if we can.

Mexican night anyone? I also brought like 5 packages of tortillas with me from home.

And if we start to feel a little home sick we can also pick from one of these delightful choices.

Bath time at the Smith home is always a blast.

Check out that mess of hair.

Yeah! I love bath time!

Say "cheese!"

This is what M's hair looks like without a clip. Who does she remind you of? Cousin It?

She can't see where she is going so she just watches her feet for objects that might trip her.

ahhh that's better.

We visited a branch members home this afternoon. Her name was Tracy, she has 6 kids, all grade school age and she has a great yard right in the middle of Shanghai. Amazing.

The dress was getting in her way so we decided to ditch it.

This is yet another playground in Yanlord. This swing looked like a lot of fun and it didn't disappoint.

Pure joy.

The rest of the playground is a bit advanced for McKenna but you can't lose with the swing.

I got these pics with my point and shoot so they are a bit out of focus.

A picture from our balcony of Yanlord Town, our apartment complex.

Another reason to love China??? Babysitters only cost $3/hr. Date Night Here I Come!

2011-06-07T08:39:00.000-06:00

So we asked our AYI (Wei Ping) to watch M for us on Friday afternoon/evening so that we could explore our new home a bit. Cam was adamant that we fly by the seat of our pants and explore without a plan or a care in the world...so that is exactly what we did.

Whenever I am with Cam he makes me practice my Chinese which is pathetic. So I said "di tie zhan" and this is where the taxi took us. Our closest subway stop. Isn't it pretty?

Our subway stop is the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum. Just below here is Shanghai's second largest clothing market where you can have virtually any piece of clothing i.e. dress, suit, jeans, shoes, etc. made for you for rock bottom prices. There are also a million little shops selling knock off sunglasses, purses, leather coats, shoes, luggage, watches, jewelry, etc. You name it, they have it here. Recently M decided she would like to play with my only pair of sunglasses and subsequently popped one of the lenses out so I suggested that our first stop be to the market to buy me a new pair of sunglasses.

Cam and I both found sunglasses we liked and then the "game" began. The merchant asked for $600+ yuan for this pair of Chloe knock offs and a pair of fake Aviators that Cam liked! So that is approx $100 USD but of course that is a total rip off so we said no...You are supposed to low ball them next so we did. We said $20 Yuan (which is really what they are probably worth here) He said no...and the game continued. To make a long story short, we were about to cave and pay 60 yuan for each pair (approx $10 USD) when we ran into someone Cam knew and he said not to pay more than 20 yuan for BOTH. So we walked away and then came back later and offered him 20 yuan for 1 pair and we got them!

This building is at the subway stop. I took this picture because I found it so strange to see a flag other than the American flag flying.

So 1 pair of sunglasses later we found ourselves on the subway to Puxi with a TON of Chinese peeps. This picture just doesn't do justice to the mobs and mobs of people in Shanghai. The trains are so full. New York City has nothing on China!

This is our stop in Puxi. We were looking for a massage place that Cam heard about from some colleagues. We saw this guy drive by on his bike with this mountain of styro foam and luckily had our camera ready.

This picture doesn't really do this street justice. It was like walking into a dark, lush green tunnel from the bright garish sun of Shanghai. It was such a quaint neighborhood.

We had almost given up hope of finding our "cheap" massage place when we luckily stumbled across as we were hunting up a good place to eat. We were able to get an hour long massage for 67 yuan or $10 each!! It was amazing.

After our massages we stopped to have a cheap dinner and take dorky pictures of each other. =)

My drink of choice is "Ka Ko Ka La" as they say it in China.

I ordered a cashew chicken dish that was delicious and....

Cam ordered the standard fried rice.

You gotta work hard to eat in China. Chopsticks are no joke!

And this is our bill...A great dinner for 2 for less than $10. Gosh I love China!

Lollipops

2011-06-02T03:13:00.000-06:00

Today was really smoggy in Shanghai so I joined a group of mom's from church who also live in Yanlord or nearby to Lollipops. We had no problem blowing 2 hours here and McKenna would have LOVED to stay a few hours more. I have never seen a play place like this in the U.S. I will try to point out all of the fun stuff they had for the kids to do.

Not sure you can tell by the pictures but EVERYTHING is padded so that the kids can't hurt themselves unless they run into one another or something. This is a little merry-go-round. This toy was closest to the door so it was the first thing McKenna was drawn to. She loved it.

All smiles!

This is Kayley. Not sure if that is how she spells her name but she really, really liked McKenna and would push her all around in these cars and hold her hand and help her on and off of the merry-go-round and up the stairs, etc.

M loved to go under the tunnel that you see just to the left of her in her car.

I was going to erase this picture but it was TOO funny! hee hee...This is the trampoline. It is padded all around the springs and off the edge too. M would try to walk off of the trampoline like it was just a normal step and fall all the way to the ground. But she never hurt herself.

Sometimes she would walk just on the padded part of the trampoline...going round and around and around.

Back to the cars again. This one was too tall to go through the tunnels but M liked the little door she had to open and close to get in and out.

Beep Beep...vrooom

There were 4 big slides that dumped out into a huge ball pit. This was a huge favorite! Although it took a little coaxing to get her down the slide, her reaction on the way down and once she hit the balls was priceless. I have a video that I posted at the end of this

M's head band is too big so she looks like a biker chick with a dew rag on her head.

These are the little steps out of the ball pit to go back up the slide.

One of the many times M wiped out trying to jump with the older kids. Kayley would tell all of the kids "Stop jumping while the baby is on here!" But M would usually fall anyway. =)

M didn't really get this "ride" but she liked it because the big kids were on it.

I had to show her this one. It is a giant keyboard like the one on "Big" and you have to listen pretty close to hear the notes. But once M figured it out she had a ball.

This was funny. Kayley was sitting on the edge of the trampoline while M was jumping and then out of no where M decides to just sit on her lap. She does this at home with me all the time to read books or watch "Melmo."

Here is the shot of part of the play area. To the right is the tunnel the cars go under and behind that is an area where the kids load balls into a machine that sucks them up into a huge bucket and then when the bucket is full the kids push a button and the huge bucket dumps all of the balls out onto the kids. There are also little air guns that shoot the balls in there and lots of tunnels for the kids to crawl through.

Kayley being the attentive babysitter.

On the Octopus again.

This is another shot of the play area. You can barely see the slides to the left but this is the ball pit in front and some of the tunnels on the right.

Pudong Playgroup and Wei Ping

2011-05-31T02:17:00.000-06:00

McKenna has had a brutal cold the last few days and after being cooped up all morning, she was antsy to get out for a walk around the neighborhood by the afternoon. On our way to the grocery store we saw this man selling bunnies, baby chicks, baby turtles and exotic looking birds. I was surprised to see how much business he had from the locals. I think the parents in China tend to indulge their kids with whatever they want.

I was sad to see these animals all caged up. I can't imagine that they will have a good life cooped up in an apartment complex their whole lives.

McKenna was fascinated to look at the animals though. This turtle tried to make a run for it when the guy let him out of his cage and one of the bunnies hid under our stroller. So sad! =(

A closer look

Today McKenna and I went to the Pudong Branch "Morning Out" for moms at church to get out with their kids. We stayed in Yinlord but went to a playground I had never been to before. It was really fun and M had a ball playing in the sand and on the slides.

M looks so pensive in all of these pictures. She didn't like the sand on her bare feet. She has sensitive feet like her daddy.

Even though it was cloudy or polluted (I can't tell the difference here) it was really humid and muggy. I really wished this little playground would get sprinkled with water every 2 minutes or something. By the time we left there was a little cloud of fine sand all over the playground from the kids running around and digging in the dirt. We found a water spout to rinse our feet off afterwards which was M's favorite part!

The parks here are really cool.

M is playing with Oliver here. He was nice enough to let her play with his sand toys.

M is playing peek a boo with me...She says, "bye bye" and she tries to hide then she says "boo!" and peeks her face out at me. =) Olie is playing along.

Boo!

This is our Ayi Wei Ping. I think I called her Mae Ping in one of my older posts but that was when I was a Shanghai novice. I am practically a Vet now! ha ha...M is helping her cook.

This is the face M makes when she says "CHEESE!"

Missing China Videos FOUND!

2011-05-26T07:09:00.002-06:00

So this was the first video we took on our 12 hour flight to Shanghai. It will help you understand how full our flight was and how squished we were the whole time!

I mentioned the Chinese Yo Yo's in a previous post but haven't been able to upload the video until today. They are really fun to watch and make a loud buzzing noise. There were a ton of these in the Park but I even see people playing with these at our apartment complex.

This was the hotel we stayed at for almost a week while we were looking for apartments in Puxi. We ended up moving to Pudong on the other side of the river but this placed treated us well!

I love Pudong...but where did China go???

2011-05-26T06:57:00.002-06:00

Finally getting settled into our apartment in Pudong. McKenna and I took a walk together to show you what it is like to live in China...not so bad.

I can see this park out of the kitchen window at the apartment we are subleasing. The complex is called Yanlord Town and it is on the East side of the river in Shanghai in an area called Pudong. It is a really nice, upscale neighborhood where a lot of expats live with their families. We are subleasing an apartment from a family that go to our church over here. The wife's name is Jen and her husband is Taylor. They are in the states to have baby #2 but will be home in July. After that we are just moving to another apartment in this huge complex.

This is still part of the park above. It is a zip line for the older kids.

The walks here are beautiful. This is still inside of our complex. At night it is gorgeous with lights twinkling from the apartments all around.

From the windows facing the opposite direction in our apartment you see this open area where I see people playing badminton with their kids, riding bikes, strolling with their babies and gathering in little groups to talk.

I don't think I am supposed to let M splash in the water like this but she was having such a great time I didn't have the heart to make her stop.

This is called the train park.

woo woo!

The baby swing was occupied so M took a turn on the big girl swing! She loved it!

A different shot of the train park.

Slide

Pretty walk through our complex

This is the basement level of our clubhouse. There is a dry cleaners down here, a convenience store, this little sitting area with the fountains, and just inside of here is an indoor play area for the kids.

This is just inside. Little table and chairs for the little people in our lives. =)

Fun little caterpillar.

M is in heaven with these balls.

She is mid scream here! Having a ball.

Just finishing up her "I'm so excited" scream.

Just across this river is another phase of Yanlord. There are some other pools and playgrounds over there. We will probably check those out another day.

The fountains come on late in the afternoon when everyone is coming home from work to enjoy their evening walks outside.

I just thought this was a funny picture. She put that floatie on all by herself and she is eating some chocolate chips I gave her before dinner! gasp! I'm such a bad mother.

A few comforts from home...I brought some muffin mix with me and as you can tell, me and my family loved them! Plus it was cheap!

This is the rest of the food I brought with us from home. All junk food which is either expensive, hard to find or not here at all.

I made brownies for dessert last night. They were yumo! (also brought from home)

Oh and I think I mentioned in my last post how hard it was to find ice around here...well I found some ice trays at the bottom of a drawer in the kitchen. And after waiting patiently all night for them to form ice, I was able to enjoy a delicious ice cold beverage! =)

Eating in China

2011-05-26T06:53:00.002-06:00

Nothing is easy in China. My world has been completely turned upside town starting right here with my wallet. This is a receipt which I can't read and money that I am still learning how to use. You have to divide the cost of something by 6.5 to see what it costs in Yuan or Chinese bills. So when my bill at the store comes to $170 kuai I kind of freak out. Cam reminded me when I got home that it was only $26. The largest bills they have her are 100 yuan or $15! So you have to carry around A LOT of cash to buy anything.

We are finally getting settled into our new place. We are subletting from some people we met through church. They are in the U.S. having baby #2 and won't be back until July 10th so we are lucky enough to get to stay in their sweet apartment until then. This is the kitchen. Unlike most kitchens in China, this one has an oven (although it is in centigrade so I have to look up the conversion on my computer) so I can actually bake! There is even a dishwasher...although you can't see it. Her name is Mei Ping. She is the Price's Ayi and we get to borrow her while we are staying here. She does a lot...like the laundry, dishes, cooking, making our bed (which I never do unless company is coming over), tidying up after M, sweeping and mopping and she will even watch M if I need to run out to the market. I can't communicate with her at all so I have Google Translate open at all times so I can type in what I need and ask her to read it! =) I'm going to start grocery shopping with her during the afternoon I think so that I won't get ripped off as much. The merchants here see the blonde hair coming and they think "oooh, I can make some dough off of this chick....she probably doesn't even know how much money she has...and I'm sure she is just made of it!" Arg...

These were some of my first purchases. I bought these from a supermarket where the prices are clearly marked. So I don't think I had to pay a 15% surcharge for this. Can you guess what everything is? Answers at the bottom of my post. =)

The fruit here is AMAZING and CHEAP if Cam can help me buy it or my Ayi is with me. It is still pretty cheap even if it is just me which is really saying something.

Everyone drinks distilled water. I guess the water will make you sick or something.

I think we are pretty lucky to have this huge fridge too. All of the apartments in Puxi had appliances half this size. I'm not sure they even had freezers.

And just for fun...some pics of my baby girl.

She let me braid her hair while she was watching Sesame Street.

She likes to sit in things even it they are WAY too small for her. Is it wrong that I had to get my camera and take a picture before rescuing her? She likes to sit in her baby's stroller too and small boxes and tiny pans etc. =)

Breaking through the great firewall of China

2011-05-25T04:12:00.000-06:00

Well we've been in China for almost a week and this is my first post because we've encountered a number of issues with the internet and ALL of the social networking websites we use in the states. China blocks facebook, blogspot, google voice, etc so it has been really hard to stay connected. Thankfully, some friends here in Shanghai told us how to get VPN access so that we can connect to a network in the states which allows us to enjoy all of our favorite websites! I've been communicating with my family through email this week though so I thought I would post some excerpts from those in addition to some pics and videos we've taken.

The flight over here was brutal. The plane was entirely full. But the flight attendants always tell you that and then you can usually find 1 or 2 extra seats right??? WRONG! This flight was so crowded it was insane. Cam said it was the smallest plane he had ever been on for an international flight. It had two seats on each side of the plane and 3 seats down the center. There were LOTS of other lap children with their parents so I didn't feel too bad letting McKenna run up and down the aisles with her little Chinese friend Ka Ka who was about her same age. Plus, the plane was primarily filled with Chinese people and they loved to play with, touch, and hold McKenna.

Cam had the foresight to download a few Sesame Street videos from You Tube for the flight over which was a big hit with McKenna. Eventually she fell asleep and we laid some airplane blankets down at our feet and placed our two pillows on those to lay McKenna on. She slept like a rock until we had to pick her up for the landing.

This was our first day in Shanghai and this Pizza Hut was right next to our friend's apartment complex. We had a very unusual breakfast at our hotel (the Holiday Inn) that consisted of fried rice, lo mein noodles, hot dog franks, boiled eggs, orange drink, room temperature milk, salad with all of the fixings, toast and some orange slices. Needless to say we were in the mood for something good and familiar by lunch time.

M was having a good time in the Pizza Hut.

All of the magazines are in Chinese but they look just like ours back home.

Pizza Hut

The Chinese think that drinking cold drinks and ice will make you sick. But I'm not into the whole hot soda thing so I endure the weird looks the best I can. This salad is the perfect example of false advertising. The picture showed a large salad and this salad was the size of a apple sauce cup! The only type of salad dressing we've seen so far in China is thousand island?!?!

Still in Pizza Hut

I was trying to get a picture of this man biking around with this mountain of cardboard on his bike. We heard from a friend that China has one of the best recycling programs because they offer rebates for items like plastic bottles, milk jugs, glass, aluminium, etc and the poor people in China dig through the trash and collect their money.

We were up early our second morning in town (5am) because of the jet lag. We went to Zhongshang Park and it was filled with people everywhere doing Tai Chi.

I guess this is an advanced Tai Chi move =)

Exercise in China is hilarious. People rub their hands together and clap and swing their arms back and forth, bump their backs against trees, and bend over and slap the backs of their legs like Cam in demonstrating. They do a lot of other crazy exercises. I'll have to keep my camera on stand by to document.

You can't really tell from this picture but M was trying to do Tai Chi with this group of Chinese people.

M is a celebrity everywhere she goes. People want to touch her hair, hold her hands, pick her up, play with her, etc. And she is a pretty good sport about the whole thing.

More Tai Chi in the park.

Where's Waldo (I mean McKenna?)

The gardens were stunning.

This lady wanted me to take a picture of M with her "look alike" baby doll. Everyone calls McKenna a baby doll because of the blonde hair.

Just some random people who wanted to see McKenna. The lady on the end just snatched her up inter her arms. Cam thought M looked a little scared but from where I stood she just looked curious.

See what I mean about the celebrity thing? Even the cops want to hold her. =)

China here we come (but PHX and LA first)

2011-05-13T22:07:00.010-06:00

Everything we need for the summer is contained in these 4 large suitcases and 3 carry ons. We packed everything from clothes, diapers, medicine to sippy cups, plastic plates, spoons, and tortillas, apple sauce, gold fish, etc.

M loves anything that moves...even the transport carts at the airport. The security guard was wrapped around her little finger though.

Grandma bought M a whole bucket full of pool toys for her visit.

M is saying, "ball...ball...ball"

Aunt Allyson is so nice to go swimming with M

This was at the train park. M is saying "whoo, whoo" like the train =)

This was at the train park too. Her favorite part about this ride was waving at Grandma and Daddy!

Tonight we went to a little Mexican restaurant. Anyone who knows me can tell you how much I love Mexican food...I ate it nearly every day I was pregnant with M and We still have Mexican meals several nights a week. Needless to say, M is a Mexican food addict as well.

M inherited her Papa's taste for spicy salsa!

I should have know Grandma and Aunt Allyson would want to buy M a new wardrobe while we are here and packed half as many clothes for her. This is one of the adorable outfits Grandma got M.

M is crazy about the pool. Good thing all of the pools in AZ are surrounded by fences like this.

This is an M sized lawn chair. She likes to carry it all around the yard and house with her.

For Mother's Day Christine treat me, Rebecca, Allyson and McKenna to pedicures. Well M just got her toes painted because she didn't want to hold still.

Our humble abode

2010-09-05T19:58:00.000-06:00

Well we are pretty much all moved in and I know my friends and family all over the country are probably interested to see how we have settled in. Cam's mom Christine drove across the country with Cam to keep him company while McKenna and I flew to our new home. Thanks to Christine, Cam and I were able to dedicate nearly a whole week to working on the house while McKenna had a blast with her grandma. We really love Ann Arbor and all of the people we've met here so far. I have been busy nearly every single day and I know Cam is excited to start school next week.

Our living room.

A different view

We painted our walls sea glass green, khaki and aquamarine.

I used some red throughout for pop

Our entryway

A close up of our chairs that we recovered.

I collected these books from Goodwill. They go great with the room.

Our dining room.

2010-08-12T14:17:00.000-06:00

Click here to see my latest pics!

I've pretty much stopped blogging with this url since I started getting so busy with my photography. Please check out my new blog and save it!

Brittny

Hide and Seek

2010-05-09T00:14:00.002-06:00

This was my Mother's Day present from Cam...Our TV has been sitting on an old coffee table Cam picked up from an estate sale since before we were married and I've been waiting and waiting to get something to replace it. We were at IKEA the other day and happened to stumble across this beauty. It was only $99 and look how perfectly it holds all of our DVD boxes and our stereo. Check out the pic below and see if you can FIND our DVD player and our Wii.
Most of the knick knacks on the shelf are place holder...things I found around the house to fill it for now until I find some new vases and baskets that will match our new apartment in Ann Arbor. Anyway...I feel like one lucky lady today! Not only did I get this great piece of furniture but Cam and McKenna also surprised me with flowers and dinner at Olive Garden (my fav). I sure do love being a mom and wife to these two special people.

Happy half birthday McKenna!

2010-04-28T23:21:00.004-06:00

So here's the story...I fed McKenna lunch today and gave her some stale bread to gum on. When I think she's done I clean her off and resume my normal daily routine with her...well after about 30 minutes I caught a glimpse of this....
Eeek...that's soggy bread stuck to the roof of her mouth. The bread that she enjoyed eating so much wasn't really eaten...more like stored for later. =)
So I had to fish this little guy out of her mouth and take a picture to gross everyone out.
I'm not sure I could ever take her out in public with this huge flower on her head but it makes for cute pictures...her Aunt Chevlyn got this for her.
Oh my pretty, pretty girl.
I babysat Taya 2 days this week to earn a little extra money for summer trips and purchases.
Taya had fun rolling McKenna around her room...literally. I'll post a video on Facebook.
M is captivated by EVERYTHING these days.

I really love these little sandals. I especially love the chubby feet in them.
Hello Taya!
Look she is sitting by herself. You rock McKenna.
I really like this picture of the two of us.

Look mom...two teeth

2010-04-06T07:25:00.007-06:00

This is M's first experience with rice cereal and breast milk...most of the cereal didn't go down...poor thing was so confused.
This is foreshadowing of the messy baby to come.
Always the model subject for her momma.
Nice pose!
Just hanging out with mom and dad.
See my new teeth?
What are you guys looking at in there?
Hey mom...don't we need to fill out this census thing?
Man...I really want to eat this.
Such a satisfying snack.
For nearly 6 months now these blinds have been one of McKenna's favorite toys.
So pretty

Sun bathing baby
She is seriously contemplating a nap.
We were living on the edge...swimming WITHOUT a swimming diaper.

Picturesque Photography now seeking clients!

2010-03-28T23:16:00.007-06:00

Now seeking clients! Yes that's right...I know that I'm super new in this business but I've been practicing for a few months now and I think I'm ready to take on a few clients! For the next few months I am WAIVING the sitting fee and I'll edit and burn a disc of your favorite 50 shots to keep! And here's the best part...this will only cost you $100! Now that's a steal! Here are a few of my favorite shots from the past few months.

Pretty bows

2010-03-25T00:48:00.002-06:00

I go through phases with my bow making...I found this ribbon on sale at Walmart and decided to make a unique bow. What do you think? McKenna is so indifferent.

My sweet McKenna...oh how I adore you!

2010-03-21T22:25:00.003-06:00

McKenna, my dear, sweet daughter, how was I to know how much I would come to love you?You are 5 months old tomorrow and I am savoring every moment of this time in your life. Let me tell you how wonderful it feels to be your favorite person on this earth. To see you light up when I walk into the room is the biggest confidence booster I've ever known. When you prefer my company to that of your bear Bobo and your reflection in the mirror, when you tire of all of your toys but never of my face you melt my heart.

You are changing so quickly, developing so perfectly...you coo to me and your daddy in that sweet angelic voice, you grin from ear to ear, with your whole mouth, tongue and all, you suck on your thumb, you cuddle underneath your blankets, you sleep so peacefully...

Sometimes it seems like you are singing to me when we cuddle together under the covers of our bed and you've begun to razz your lips together and screech when you have played by yourself for long enough. I've noticed little piles of your baby hair on your bed sheet as it is being replaced by your big girl hair. You've outgrown your baby tub and all of your 6 month clothes.
Your chubby legs are the envy of every baby on the block and I take every opportunity to show them off! There are at least 2 rolls that aren't visible in this particular shot!
You get very anxious when your dad and I leave you alone with others...I suppose because we both stay at home with you everyday. You are always willing and ready to pose for the camera which I take advantage of often. You are characterized by others as a smiley baby...you laugh and smile when we tickle your ribs, play peek a boo with you, sing horsey, horsey to you, put Bobo in your arms and when we clap our hands and dance for you.
Your dad and I have started to treat you less delicately...we sometimes pick you up by your ankles and dangle you between our legs, we pick you up by your arms and throw you up in the air...all of which you adore. You've started to reach out to me when you want to be picked up and you are showing more and more curiosity for the world around you.

You have brought such joy into our lives...we give thanks everyday that the Lord sent you to us and because you are such a wonderful baby we can't wait to have little brothers and sisters for you. We love you so sweet baby girl!

My two favorite peeps

2010-03-11T21:52:00.002-07:00

Don't these two look amazing? They volunteered to pose for a few shots to help me prepare for my photo shoot with a family Cameron's mom nanny's for. The Bopps have two fraternal twin boys named Oscar and Calvin that are about 9 months old although they are around 5 months old developmentally since they were born premature. I haven't finished editing the Bopps portraits yet but when I do I'll make sure to post them.

This is McKenna's biggest smile. Wouldn't it be weird if everyone smiled this big!

Sleep walking and talking

2010-03-03T13:54:00.002-07:00

I had two funny sleep walking/talking episodes this past week which has prompted me to write this blog entry.

Early last week I was awakened suddenly by some thrashing coming from Cameron's side of the bed. As I peeked out of the corner of my eye I found Cam pumping his arms back and forth as if he were running in place really fast...then he stopped and began to punch the air with both fists vigorously. I started to chuckle and sat up to calm Cameron down. The next morning I recounted the episode to Cam and he told me he had dreams about playing Wii all night long. =)

Later last week it was my turn to make a fool of myself. But first I should give everyone out there some background info. I've always been a serious sleep walker and talker. In college I slept on the top bunk in sundeck, a dormitory in my sorority house that slept 6 girls. It was the night before classes were starting up again for the Fall semester of my Junior year...Apparently I was dreaming about something that required me to get out of bed and so I did...but being that I was asleep I forgot that I was on the top bunk and fell flat on my face with a loud thud. I woke up all of my friends and myself in the process of landing on the hardwood floors.

Then there was the time that I lived on the 2nd floor of the ZTA house in a 4 girl room...I was discovered down the hall in a 2 girl room rummaging through their t-shirt drawer, unfolding and refolding all of the contents until I was put back to bed...of course I don't remember this at all but the girls in the house made sure to tell me all about it the next morning at breakfast.

Then there was the time that Shirley the house cook found me fast asleep on the couch of the formal living room EARLY one morning. I remember going to sleep in my bed and the next thing I know Shirley is standing over me with a spatula in her hand asking if I'm ok.

Well I took a little hiatus from all of the late night shenanigans for awhile until I had McKenna. I guess I really freaked my sub conscience out with all of that pre-baby reading because I had the same dream every night...and sometimes several times per night. In the dream I would pick up M and nurse her in our bed (although I never did this)...then I would fall asleep with her in my arms and lose her beneath the covers. Still dreaming I would frantically dig in the covers looking for her. I would wake Cam up, throw the covers back, talking frantically the entire time. Sometimes I would wake Cam up and he would try to wake me up and tell me I was having a bad dream but other times I would continue to dig for her in the covers until I slept walked over the her bassinet to touch M and make sure she was safe and sound, which she always was.

When we moved her from our room to her crib the sleep walking got even worse. I left her bassinet up out of laziness and used it to drape all of my clothes on instead of hanging them up. One night I went through the usually sleep walking motions of digging through the covers of our bed and then slept walked to M's bassinet and continued digging there (found my clothes flung all over my room the next day) and slept walked into M's room when I finally woke up to see her fast asleep.

This continued almost every night for at least 1.5 months. I was exhausted and frustrated with my crazy habit. Now that M is 4 months old, my sleep walking has subsided to my knowledge. I haven't woken Cam up or woken up out of bed in a few months until the other night last week.

Cam said he was rolling over when I suddenly shot out of bed and threw my arm over his body to save him from rolling off of the bed. I was dreaming that M was sleeping in the bed with me and was about to roll off.

I guess if it isn't her suffocating in our covers it is her rolling off of the bed or drowning in the tub. When will these nightmares ever cease?