The Story of a Life Vest

Robbie and I want to take McKinley out on the wave runners and on a canoe in the lake, so we decided she needed a life vest. I began searching for an infant life jacket that I liked. After looking for a while I found one that I liked. I brought it home and the next morning she tried it on. She was pretty happy wearing it and walked around for a few minutes. Then we zipped it up and clipped it shut. She became immediatly unhappy and laid of the floor.

I hope she likes it better when we put it on to go out on the water, wish us luck!

Just Walking Around

I realized I haven't posted anything about McKinley walking yet. She's been taking steps here and there for a little while, but now she travels a little further each day. I think pretty soon she's really going to have the hang of it! She's even figured out that it's easier to bring something with her if she walking (rather than crawling with it in one hand)! My little girl is growing up!

It's funny because when I watch her walk I flash back about 9 months and think about how unstable and slow I was when I got rid of the walker. I'm pretty sure if you took me 9 months ago and her now, she would beat me in a race! :) And yes, I am apparently one of those parents that says things in a weird voice to their child and lucky for you, you can hear it in the video, thank heaven for the mute button!

Camping

Ok, not really camping, but we bought a new tent this weekend. Our 2 man was just not big enough anymore and I'm willing to admit that our 9 man tent is overkill in most situations!
REI was having their garage sale, so we got this really awesome Marmot 3 man tent for a steal.
I was also at Joann's fabric store this week buying some fabric for curtains when I stumbled across the cutest little camping chair I've ever seen, and it was on sale, so I bought it for MK.
We're so excited to go camping this summer, but we're trying to wait until MK is proficient at walking so she isn't crawling on rocks. So, unable to hold out any longer, Sunday afternoon we set up "camp" in the living room.

Robbie and I even took a Sunday nap in the tent!

I can't wait until we get to take this crazy little girl camping, she's going to love it!

Tarps, Cars and Driving

Yesterday I was driving home from work. I was on Bangerter Highway when I came across a small tarp in the road. Traffic was pretty bad, so there was no way to go around, so with much anticipation I just drove over the tarp. I checked in the rear view mirror afterward and saw the tarp floating away, I was relieved. You may be wondering why I was a little nervous to drive over the tarp or when this actually becomes even slightly funny, well, let me tell you. It all started in the fall of 2002….
I was living in South Jordan and driving to the U for school almost every day. The route I found to be the quickest was to take I-15 North to the 215 belt and head East. One nice sunny morning I was headed to school, about to merge on the 215 belt, when I saw a tarp off the side of the road. I thought nothing of the big black construction tarp until I was about 5 feet from it. Just then a gust of wind picked up the tarp and it landed on my window and it covered the whole thing! I was going 65 down the freeway with no way to see. I panicked, it was probably the longest 5 seconds of my life…driving blind on the freeway in traffic, I was so scared. I decided to throw on my windshield wipers and see if that would move the tarp, luckily that did the trick, the tarp went flying.
So, I continued to the 20 minute drive to school without a care in the world, assuming everything was fine. Once I arrived, I parked, got out and noticed the big black tarp was STUCK to the bottom of my car! I was running late, so I had to get to class and figured I would pull it out later. After all my classes were over I headed back to my car, put down my bag and crouched down to pull the tarp out. As I gave it a tug, I realized it was stuck. The stupid tarp had melted to my car! I pulled harder and harder, I couldn’t believe how difficult it was to get off. Finally after several minutes of trying and pulling with everything I had, it came loose and I went flying backwards into the car next to me. I hit my head on the side view mirror of the truck fell on the ground laughing and rubbing my head. This kid came up to see if I was ok, noticed I was laughing and holding a huge, dirty black tarp and I’m sure he thought I was crazy.
And that’s why I’m a little nervous when I see a tarp on the road and check my rear view mirror to see it floating behind me as I drive by!

Robbie Thinks I'm Tough, Can You Believe It???

Frankly I was shocked and amazed as I never really thought of myself as physically tough and always thought Robbie was super tough. Our funny little conversation went something like this:

Lins: Robbie you should totally take the cycle class I take. You would love it and I think it would help you prepare for your triathlon.
Robbie: I can’t.
Lins: Why?
Robbie: Because it would kick my butt, I wouldn't make it through the class.
Lins: What? I can do it, you could do it no problem.
Robbie: You’re tougher than you think.

That’s right, I’m pretty sure for the first time in my life someone really thinks I’m tough and for some reason I’m totally proud that Robbie thinks I’m tough! For the record, Robbie could totally make it through cycle class.

One Year Statistics

McKinley went in yesterday for her one year check up. The doctor says she's looking great, of course she always shows off when we go see him! Here are her stats:

Height: 29.25 inches, 75% (she's usually in the high 90s, so she's slowing down a little)
Weight: 20 pounds, 50%
Head: 17.5 inches, 50%

I'm a little disappointed that her head is so small. You see, we want to take her out rock climbing with us to hang out (no, we don't expect her to climb unless it's with someone) and the problem is I can't find a helmet small enough for her head! So, if you know where to get a little helmet, let me know, I can't have her getting hit by falling rocks!

She loves books, her new farm, her "bike", balls, opening the DVD cupboard, hiding in the pantry, going on walks and bike rides, hugs, high fives, macaroni and cheese, mandarin oranges, milk (the real stuff) and taking Robbie's glasses off of his face.

Our Little One Turned 1!

It's true, McKinley turned one on Wednesday...I can't believe how fast it came. Robbie, McKinley and I celebrated on her birthday by giving her a "bike" and having brownies. She completely loves her bike. At this point, she can only figure out how to go backwards, but loves all of the noises it makes too.

I'm also pretty sure that we now have a choc-a-holic on our hands. She LOVED her brownie and the frosting.

When Saturday rolled around we had her birthday party with some family. It was a lot of fun, though for some reason she was very clingy to her Mom. We borrowed a bounce house from a friend of mine and the kids (and some of the adults) really enjoyed it.

She got some nice presents from everyone too. Here she is while still enjoying opening the presents:

Here are her cousins helping open presents when she wouldn't open anymore:

And here is the cute little cake covered face:

And here she is near the end of the party daring Robbie to take one more picture of her!

It's been a crazy year and we're happy this little girl is ours! Happy Birthday McKinley, we love you!