First Family Road Trip: On Our Way to Pittsburgh

Well, we did it! We survived 28 hours (ish) in the car, traveling through 11 states from Texas to Pittsburgh to visit Keith, Kim, and Baby Brooke. It was tough at times, but all in all, the car trip wasn't nearly as bad as we thought it would be. Claire did great!

It's not to early to teach C how to drive, is it?

On the way there, we stopped to make sandwiches in Missouri and we even took a detour to see The World's Largest Rocking Chair. Good times!

Then we headed to St. Louis to see the Arch. Although it was ridiculously humid there, we had a great time!

What an amazing piece of architecture...

Up Next... Arriving in Pittsburgh!

9 Months Young

Well, I can't believe Claire is 9 Months old. Time just flies! She is so close to walking, it's not even funny. Since she's finally old enough, Mark put this toy together for her to play with and practice walking. She's having fun figuring it out!

This week, Claire has officially ended her relationship with bottles, and she is now fully on a sippy cup. She is starting to eat so many foods on her own, and she is really great about trying new things. This week we'll try chickpeas, spaghetti, and fish. She still has no teeth, although she is seriously drooling and chewing on everything.

We gave her a bite of a popsicle, which was a bad choice. The lime was too much acid for her, so her little mouth was red for a few days. Yikes!

This little girl is such a joy. Mark and I are daily blessed by her sweet giggles, curiosity, and just love of life. Happy 9 Months Button. We love you!

Apples to Apples

Well, I'm about 4 months ish preggo, so it's time for another update! Claire has been wanting to help understand things with the new baby, so we've decided to get her in on the updates. The baby is about the size of a small apple right now, and I am starting to feel that! I know Claire is going to be so helpful with new McBaby gets here. In just a few weeks, we'll now if C will have a baby brother or sister. So exciting! Mark and I (of course) are predicting boy (again), but of course we thought C was a boy. Boy- were we wrong. She is all girl!

Let me also add that this week Claire has learned how to pull off her bows. Don't worry, I just put them right back in and the battle continues. I will NOT give up! Those bows are too cute. She'll get the point, right?As if you haven't heard, Claire is also completely crawling everywhere, pulling up on everything, and has an attraction to all things that look remotely dangerous. (ie: outlets, cords, anything electronic, glass, etc...).

I've had to put her in her pack n play for the times when I can't chase after her. I bet you can guess what we are doing this weekend. Ha!

Have a great week!

Lake House Fun!

Last weekend, we spent some time with our dear friends, The Kolendos at their lake house.

Claire got to ride on a boat and swim in the lake for the first time.

Here are all the girls in the water!

The boys had fun with the kiddos on the boat.

Crystal and I are really excited that our 2nd babies will be close in age. She's due in September and we are due in January. Fun times ahead!

It was really relaxing for all of us...

including Myko!

We had a great time, and we look forward to more memories with friends!

Daddy's Girl

Well, I knew it was coming... Claire has said her first words. "Da-da." Well, technically, she's been saying da-da and ma-ma and other things for awhile, but yesterday Claire said "da-da" to Mark as soon as he got home from work and greeted her. Precious! I mean, she has a great daddy, so who can blame her. She is so lucky to have such a wonderful daddy, and she just loves being with him. So do I!

Blue Eyed Baby at 8 Months

I can't believe our sweet girl will be 9 months old in a week. Crazy! We went to the lake house with The Kolendos last weekend (more pics to come) and I captured some outdoor photos of Claire. She's the easiest baby to take pictures of because she has such a joy about her that will brighten your day. What a blessing this girl is to us! Love you button!

5 Year Anniversary

I can't believe it's been 5 years since Mark and I got married. Time really does fly! It's really neat to look back and think about some of the amazing things that we have experienced over the past 5 years. We feel so blessed that we have had this time together. We are looking forward to many more!

Here are some of my favorite moments in our 5 years of marriage...

Our wedding...

Our Honeymoon in Mexico...

Our first Thanksgiving... in London!

Our 1 Year Anniversary, eating the top of our wedding cake!

Our ...

Trip...

to Europe!

Buying our first home!

Bringing home the Myks. (I don't know if Mark would count his as a "favorite moment," but we were really excited!

Christmas in Chicago...

Our trip to Lake Tahoe

Finding out that we were going to have a girl!

Preparing for Baby Girl...

Claire's Arrival...

Our First Thanksgiving at home. With baby...

Watching the Lord heal our baby girl...

Special...

Moments...

With Claire!

Finding out about McBaby #2!

Excited about the road ahead. May we be blessed with 5 more years, plus 5 more, plus 5 more, etc...