Christmas Traditions at Home

A couple of our Christmas Traditions with Mac from last year:

The MacDaddy reading How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Suess

Mac and the MacMommy with Mac's first Christmas tree

And while we're at it, Mac with all his wonderful gifts last year:

He was so grateful! And did you notice that a majority of the gifts were books? Surprise, surprise!

A Weekend Getaway

Last weekend, we celebrated the MacDaddy's birthday with a weekend in Tucson at our favorite resort. I'm always happy to give the MacDaddy a weekend at the resort as a birthday gift because it means I'm getting a massage. It was fabulous, but there was more fun to be had! 

We hadn't been to the resort since Mac was about 7 weeks old. This time he was about 7 months old. Wow, what a difference! Last time, he pretty much slept. This time, the trip was all about him. It was also kind of learning experience for the MacDaddy and me. We're taking him to the Bay Area in a few weeks and this was a good opportunity to figure out the do's and don't's of travel with Mac.

He enjoyed playing on the patio and trying all the tasty food. Yep, we shared our room service meals with him. He liked the chicken from the nachos!

 

Most exciting for Mac, though, was the pool! It was really fun watching the MacDaddy swim, and then Mac got to try it himself!

 He thought swimming was fine, but I think he preferred lounging by the pool.

 And, of course, he always enjoys just hangin' out and bein' cute and stuff.

We also got all dressed up to go to the MacDaddy's favorite restaurant. We got tableside guacamole, and Mac ate about half of the bowl himself. He didn't like cornbread, but that's probably just because we didn't let him have butter.

The trip was a success! Everyone came home relaxed and ready to go back to work travel again soon!  Oh, and I almost forgot to show you my all-time favorite photo.
 

My two favorite guys in the whole wide world.

 

 

(Don't worry, Pappy. You're a very close third!)

Happy Easter!

 Well, you know me. It just wouldn't be right if I got this posted on or before Easter Sunday! Just be happy you got to see some Easter pics!

Mac had fun with Easter Eggs

Can you tell he hasn't had a nap today?

Don't interrupt the Mac Man while he's trying to crawl!

I hope Hayden enjoyed his last Easter with no competition for the eggs!*

What's Easter Dinner without ham? Mac loved it!*

Still sucking on that ham!*

Finally, asleep.*

*Photos courtesy of Aunt Audra!

Mac & MacMommy

Finally, I got to be in some photos! I've gotta be honest: I'm sure the MacDaddy would oblige if I'd ever asked. But I'm a little vain and I don't like to pose for pictures if I'm not all made up. Last weekend, I had my hair done and I looked good enough for pictures!

Friday Family Fotos

Christmas Recap Part 2: Family and Friends!

While we were in Houston, Mac was very social. He got to see Gigi and Pappy again, which made him very happy. He also got to meet his cousins Karli and Kai, whom he loves very much!  I think they are two of his favorite people in the whole world! I think they had fun with Mac-a-doodle, too, even though he was much smaller than they were expecting. But they would sing his name to him, and he would laugh and laugh and laugh! He thought they were hilarious!

On Christmas Eve, Mac met Grandma, one of his two great-grandmothers. (What a lucky boy to have TWO great-grandmothers!) He also met his Great Aunt Dana and Corey. Oh, and Poquito, who is much smaller than the Doggie-wog at home!

Mac also got to meet, well, everyone else! He was very charming on Christmas day, despite the fact that he had caught his first cold on Christmas Eve.

In fact, he and Nana (his other great-grandmother) really hit it off. She pretty much held him most of the day. She almost didn't eat because she wanted to keep holding him. And she opened her presents while holding him -- until someone convinced her he might drown in all the wrapping paper.

Mac also got to meet Brian, who was Mark's best man in our wedding. As you can see, he's pretty much got the whole "Introduction" thing down.

 Being a social butterfly is so exhausting!

We're Still Here!

Yes, we're still here. Yes, everyone is doing very well. Well, everyone except me. And even I'm doing okay. Basically, we came back from visiting Houston, I was sick, I went back to work full time (and I don't really have any sick days to spare), and we have a three-and-a-half-month-old baby. So not much time left to blog, really. Honestly, we only took down the tree last night. That's right. Our tree was up until January 11th. Aaaah, the joys of being a working mom.

Speaking of the joys of being a working mom, yesterday I came home from work and got the happiest, cutest, biggest smile from the Mac Man. It totally made my day.

And I was very selfish and didn't take any pictures-I just wanted to enjoy it all by myself and remember it in my heart forever.

And then he was awake for about ten more minutes for the rest of the night. It totally made me cry. Seriously, I cried last night because I only saw Mac awake for maybe twenty minutes the whole day. At least he was smiling for about 18 of them...

Anyway, now that we have finally taken down the tree, and now that we have a three-day weekend coming up, I hope to be able to post a little more regularly. After all, I've been taking a gazillion photos, and he's doing some really neat stuff lately. (I'll save that for his upcoming four-month update... Cliffhanger!)

In the mean time, how about some gratuitous cuteness?

Christmas Night: Can you believe this sleeper is already getting small on him?

Karli holding her cousin, "Mac-a-doodle," whom she loves very much, even if he is a boy.

Cousins

Most of you probably know that Mac has four cousins, but one is very special. His cousin Avery was born one week after him. We are all excited to watch them grow up together. It will be such a unique experience for them to have a cousin so close in age!

At a Christmas Party on Saturday, they got to spend some time together. They are just starting to enjoy staring at other babies, so that was plenty of fun for them. We also sat them together to take a cute picture!

Unfortunately for Avery, we didn't take her bib off. But I think they're both pretty adorable.

I'm looking forward to many years of photos of these two together!

Thanksgiving Photos

Mac enjoying his Thanksgiving Dinner -- He ate 6 ounces for the first time!

Our Thanksgiving Family Photo -- Mac didn't want to stop eating for the picture.

Both Mac and the MacDaddy enjoying the traditional Thanksgiving food coma.

The Wanderer

Given how much Mac traveled in the womb, no one should be surprised that Mac started traveling before he was 7 weeks old. Yesterday we got back from Mac's first road trip! We headed to Tucson for a relaxing stay at our favorite resort. (I think it was more relaxing for Mac than it was for the MacMommy and the MacDaddy.)

Usually, the MacDaddy and I pack one duffel bag (for him) a tiny overnight roller bag (for me) and the MacDaddy's backpack. Sometimes we also bring the small camera case.  This time, here was our trunk:

In the back seat, we also had Mac's diaper bag, the MacDaddy's backpack, and the big camera case (a backpack with the camera equipment).  Mac, of course, had plenty of room to stretch out in the car and sleep the whole way there:

After we got there, Mac really enjoyed it. He liked getting dressed up for dinner:

He also enjoyed relaxing in the room and took full advantage of the room service:

[He thought the room service at the resort was every bit as efficient and pleasant as the room service at home.]


We also took a nice walk to see a waterfall:

And he learned that at the end of a trip, there's nothing like sleeping in your own bed:

All in all, the trip was a success. Although his schedule was disrupted by the travel, he got right back in sync as soon as we got home. Last night he slept from 11:30 pm to 5:00 am. The MacDaddy and I learned a few things about travel with Mac, but we did pretty well this trip.

Mac's next trip will be even bigger: He'll be flying to Houston for Christmas.  Let's hope that trip goes as smoothly as this one did.

Happy Trails!

Odds and Ends ... or: You Wanna See Some Photos?

I just have so many things to share, and so many photos I know you'd love to see.

Here are some of the things Mac has been doing lately:

• He's awake for several hours a day now. This is a huge change from the first few weeks, when he slept at least 20 hours a day, and barely managed to stay awake for 20 minutes of each feeding.(I know, I know, he's asleep in all the photos below. I guess when he's awake, I like to play with him, so I miss the opportunity to take photos.)
• He's sleeping so well at night!  I feed him around 11 pm, whether he asks for it or not, and he sleeps until about 4:30 in the morning!  This has happened for the last 5 nights in a row!
• He's continuing to roll over (tummy to back).  He usually does it two or three times during every tummy time. 
• He's starting to smile responsively when I talk to him in the mornings. He's been doing that the last few days, but it's only in the late mornings and it's only for me. The selfish part of me appreciates that this is a sign of our special relationship (Momma's Boy!), but I really want Mac to at least smile at the MacDaddy so that the two of us can enjoy it together. The MacDaddy has taken the week off of work for quality time with Mac, so I'm hoping he'll see a smile by the end of the week...
• Mac also went to go vote for the first time yesterday. Actually, he went with the MacDaddy and me.

Mac carried the MacMommy's ballot for her.

Mac also got to see democracy at its best. Sort of.

• Mac is also starting to grow out of a few outfits and grow into more of his clothes. This is very exciting for me. Because everyone was expecting a big baby (i.e., >10 lbs.), I have lots of clothes that will fit him as he starts to grow, but not too many for a 7-pounder. 

Cutie-patootie outfit from Pappy & Gigi:
It fits!

Finally, Gratuitous Cuteness for ya!

The MacFamily, One Week Old

Enter the Mac Man!

It has been just over 24 hours since the MacDaddy and I got to meet the Mac Man. Alexander McKay surprised us at 4:57 a.m. on September 18, 2010.  He measured 20 inches and weighed in at 6 pounds, 4 ounces.

I just don't even have the words right now, so I'll leave you with a few pictures. I promise to post some stories over the coming days.

In the mean time . . .  Enjoy!

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