Classic Santa Picture

We're all feeling better now. Even me! I know my last post was a little Scrooge McDuck but you must understand, last week was just one of those weeks I don't want to relive. Having a sick kid for 8 days straight would wear Mary Poppins out! Not to mention, the stress of the holidays was catching up with me. But my tree is up, I have much more shopping done now, and I received an email that my Christmas cards were shipped yesterday, so hopefully those will be out by the end of this week. Plus I got to spend some time with two of my favorite people today, and that helped tremendously!

Since I'm smiling again, I had to share some of the BEST pictures from our Disney vaca. We squeezed in a visit with Santa, and the pictures are awesome. Now keep in mind as you look at these, L was not at all scared of Santa. He simply did not want to be held. Right before this, he and brother were walking around, climbing up and down on the nutcracker and curbs, having a fine time. As soon as I picked him up, here's what happened...

Presenting the "official" McD Boys Santa Picture for 2009 -


And here are some that were snapped by either mom or dad as we posed for the professional photographer. Enjoy!




Isn't that last one funny? J is huggin' Santa for all he's worth, while L looks like we've been pulling his toenails off! Santa was super nice (wasn't he mom? LOL!), but we just couldn't capture that magical moment here. Not to worry, we did get an AMAZING picture of J with Santa that I included on our Christmas card. It was too sweet to not share. Maybe I'll have one with both boys next year. ;)

An unwanted souvenir...

We had an amazing time as WDW with the boys. Both J & L were in awe of the mouse, the four parks, and all of the rides. It was the PERFECT trip - no tantrums, minimal crying on L's part, and fun with family.

Then we came home.

L actually started running fever and vomited for the very first time in his life on our last night at WDW at MIDNIGHT. Fabulous. The next morning, he still had fever, but no more vomit. YAY! We were scheduled to fly home at 6 p.m. that night and it appeared he could make the flight.

Then our flight was cancelled.

Which, we all decided, was actually a blessing. We'd been going hard all week, and could use a relaxing evening. We didn't even leave the airport - staying at the very nice hotel attached there (thanks again Mom & Dad). The boys were in bed at a normal time, L was still running some fever, but acting pretty normal.

We got home Saturday evening, all seemed o.k., and even our one lost bag was returned to house that night. L's fever was gone. YAY!

Then the vomit started.

L threw up ALL day Sunday. And when I say threw up, I mean bad. And when I say all day, I mean every hour or so. We went to the doc that morning, got instructions, he got way worse and we were back that night for a magic pill. It stopped the vomit, we gave thanks we didn't end up in the hospital and we all got a "little" sleep that night. Well, until Midnight.

Because then J woke up with a fever.

And since that fever started at Midnight on Sunday, he has been sick this ENTIRE week. He didn't stop running fever until yesterday. He has had fever, sore throat (including blisters/ulcers in his mouth and throat) and no energy. Nasty, vicious virus. It shouldn't be so surprising that the boys picked up two separate bugs while at a theme park or on an airplane, but that doesn't mean it's fair either.

Did I mention I had nothing done for Christmas yet? I literally had only bought 2-3 presents before WDW. Bought a few more there, but still had MAJOR shopping, decorating, etc., to do when we got home. That's what I get for thinking I would have PLENTY of time the week after the trip! This week, for the first time, I have actually uttered the words, "Bah Humbug." More than once. This is a first for me.

The good news? The boys are both on the mend. I finally ordered our Christmas cards on Thursday, we finally got the tree up last night, and I found "the" present J wanted for his birthday one night this week after escaping from the house of sickness.

The best news? We really did have a great time at the most magical place on earth. I haven't had to time to sit down and even process our trip, let alone really look at our pictures (just enough to order our card!) But I'll post some soon. Plus, I am reminded daily (by a friend and others who have extremely sick children) that one week of sickness is survivable and it could be much worse. It just happened at a really bad time of year!!!

Here is one cool photo from Epcot. Warning - all of the pictures of the four of us from the trip except for TWO are pretty much like this...

L just can't sit still for pictures. At all. Sigh. Such a fun age. ;)

Happy Thanksgiving!

We are so thankful for our precious sons, our parents, grandmothers, sisters (& their hubbies), nieces, nephews and all the rest of our family & dear friends. We are blessed to be surrounded by such amazing people. We pray the Lord will bless each and every one of you, always.

Here's hoping you all get your fill of turkey, dressing, pumpkin pie (yum) and most of all, love! Not to mention, an Aggie spoiler - BTHOtu! WHOOP! ;)

We Are, We Are Thankful

Friday was J's Thanksgiving Program & Feast at preschool. The program was short, but sweet. The 4/5's recited "Five Fat Turkeys" and sang two Thanksgiving songs. J knew every word and sang his little heart out.

This is the entire 4&5 year old group (J is on the top row, 6th from left).All of these kids will be heading to kinder next year!

Post-show, L headed straight for the steps. He must climb everything!

This is our new "normal". Gone are the days of getting both boys to look at the camera and smile. Really, that only lasted as long as L was a small baby, and didn't know that looking away while mommy is yelling, "L, look over here. Where's Mommy? LJM!!!!" could be so much fun. :P

At least J can pose with someone who WILL look at the camera. This little girl goes to both preschool and church with J, so they are pretty good friends.

While J was feasting, L was trying to make a getaway. This little one takes a WHOLE lot of energy, but he sure is fun!

I still need to download baby shower pictures, and realized, I made it through ACA with not one picture. I guess I needed a break from the boys AND the camera! LOL! I am kinda sad, because the decorations were gorgeous this year.

So behind...

Last week is kind of a blur. With J's last week of preschool before the Thanksgiving break & a Thanksgiving program on Friday, our annual ACA fundraiser for the JLA (both working it and shopping/GNO), and helping host a baby shower for one of my best friends on Saturday, the week just got away from me. I have lots of new pictures to share, mostly from J's program. I WILL get them up in the next day or two. Promise.

I am thankful this week will be much less stressful, because I have exactly seven days to get us ready and packed for WDW!!!! Actually, only six days since we will be in San Marcos on Thursday for Thanksgiving. It sounds like a lot of time, but now that I say it, I better get started! All you mom's out there know that I'll be packing for all three of my boys essentially...even the hubby. lol

Big Boy Walking

We had to share this special video with you. Even though L has been taking steps on his own for a couple of months now (well, about three to be exact!), he hasn't done much walking on his own. We weren't too worried at 15 months, then he hit 16 months last week, and to be honest, we started to get a teeny bit nervous. Apparently, he was just taking his time. ;) Just since Sunday, it's as if a light went on in his cute little noggin, and well, we have a walker!

Did you hear his proud Daddy in the background? LOL! He was on the phone with Nana and was giving her a play by play. Too cute! Sorry for the shaky video, I kept backing up so he couldn't reach me!

Have I mentioned lately how much I love my boys. They are so incredible in so many ways. We are so blessed and I thank God every day for their sweet spirits. And I try to remind myself to enjoy every minute with them...especially as we tour potential kinder programs for next fall! sniff, sniff.

Halloween 2009 - A Night of Super Heroes

We had a great Halloween!!! The boys were our little superheroes - J now has a strong opinion on what he wants to "be" for halloween, and I must admit, he was a super cute Batman. I refused to dress L as Robin...what child really WANTS to be Robin? Daddy and Papa D actually found the Spidey costume and it fit him perfectly!

We had an awesome time Trick or Treating with the Bird & Ferguson families. L didn't mind being in his costume, as long as he didn't have to wear the hat or mask. LOL! He was a little cranky, but Aunt C caught that sweet smile in one photo. Once we got going, he settled in and enjoyed the ride. Other than getting attacked by a tree, Batman had a blast, and he and his race car driving partner in crime, EK, were so cute together. What a blessing to have our best buddies so close...in more ways than one!

Oh, and how funny is/was my pirate hubby??? J picked out our costumes for us - and JMcD jumped at the chance to pull those boots on again. Relieving those Corps days for a brief moment...ha!

First Haircut

We finally did it. We made a trip down to my hometown for L's first haircut. The same sweet, wonderful person that cut my hair (and still cuts my mom's, dad's, sister's and niece's hair) was able to get L in on Saturday morning for a haircut. We were so worried about it. One, he hates to sit still. I knew it would be a challenge. Two, I am in LOVE with his sweet curls. I didn't want them to disappear, I just wanted them to be a bit more "tame."

Wetting his curls, before the first snip...

...and VIOLA! Still curly, but not lookin' like a baby mad scientist!


But it was NOT as easy as these two pictures make it look. We tried to get started, he cried, threw his head back, arched his back. So out came the cheerios. Hubby and I got a system down, and as long as he had a constant supply of cheerios to grab out of daddy's hand, he was calm.

Here are some more shots -

The long hair on top of his head that has been there since birth. Yes, I saved lots of locks! ;)

The first snip. He's reaching down for more cheerios. Carmen is a SAINT. She was awesome with L, just like she was for his big brother's first haircut...which was almost exactly 4 years ago.


Are my ears still there???


AAAAAAAALLLLLLLL DONE!

Long Fun Weekend Part 3 - An Epic Concert

JMcD and I have another Top 5 checked off our lists. We were lucky enough to see U2 in concert this month in Dallas. It was amazing. Awesome. Brilliant. And SO much fun! We definitely do not regret spending the money on our tickets...especially when we got there and realized we had amazing seats. Of course, the best "seats" are down where those fools are standing around the stage, but I'm no longer in that demographic and don't stand at concerts. The people closest to the stage looked like little sardines. No thank you!

Some of our best buds. We have now seen three amazing concerts with these soon-to-be parents. I think their concert going will slow down a bit after Baby H gets here in January, but I expect this will NOT be our last concert with the Flores family.

The band sang both new and old songs. We ALL heard our favorites songs - which is quite amazing since their playlist is so long they literally could play for a whole day.

So awesome. We got some amazing video clips too, but the files are huge and would take FOREVER to load. But at least we can be dorks and go back and listen to and watch them whenever we want to!

Meanwhile, the boys had a great time with Nana (she was so sweet to babysit while we were at the concert, and said the boys were great for her. Isn't that always the case for grandparents? They are so good for them, but as soon as mommy & daddy get home, forget it!) J loved the color tabs for the bath, and took more baths than he needed just to use them again!

And L scored a new raincoat and boots (dinosaurs)! He wasn't sure about it at first...

...but then decided it was cool!

Long Fun Weekend Part 2 - State Fair

I cannot keep up with this blog! We have since had ANOTHER long fun weekend, but I need to finish the posts from our weekend in Dallas first. We took J and L to the State Fair for the first time. They both loved it - especially J! And of course, we had to take a family photo in front of Big Tex.

The boys waiting in line to get in. It was a little chilly, but it did not rain one drop until we were heading for the car. PERFECT weather! I'd much rather have on a hoodie than be sweating any day!

Daddy and J about to ride a rollercoaster. It was pretty big, so we were surprised J wanted to ride it.

Before take-off. The after pictures weren't as pretty. :) I wish I had taken a picture of the full ride...there was one pretty sizeable drop for a 4 yr old. After getting off, he told me, "Mommy, that scared the chickens out of me!"

A slower paced ride.

Fighting fires - neat idea for little kids.

One of our favs. Daddy didn't hesitate to crash into us every chance he got. FUN!

All those rides made us hungry. Nothing else but a Fletcher's Corny Dog of course. J said it was the best corn dog he ever ate!

Apparently, this fair and corny dogs are SO good, even Oprah came to check it out. See her eating her corny dog?

And causing a traffic jam? We were in the right place at the right time. They literally pulled the barricade right next to our legs, so I got this excellent picture. BTW - my hubby told me this morning that the State Fair episode airs TODAY! I hope I'm not on it!!! LOL!

L was a trooper. Here he is playing with Nana. We think he liked just watching all the "interesting" people!!

One of the boys (all THREE) favorite places was the Ford pavilion. Hubby made an argument that this car goes well with his eyes! Goober.

J's favorite place - sitting in Bumblebee!!! That's right, he got to sit in a Transformer car! Uncle T - warning - he might ask you if you know Bumblebee now...(or if you can get him one, HA!)

He also enjoyed playing games with daddy.

And sweet big brother even shared his winnings with his baby brother. Awwww! What a great time we had. Thanks again Nana & Papa D!!! I have a feeling J will to go now every year!!!!

Long Fun Weekend Part 1 - Aggie Game

The annual McD family trip to B/CS for an Aggie game. It sure was a PERFECT day for football. Chilly, but not too cold. Windy, but not too blustery - no rain, no direct sunshine. Awesome. Too bad we were outscored by 5 points (but hey, that was way better than the last game, huh?)

Poor L. We think he was fussier than normal due to the three shots he had the 2-3 days leading up to gameday, PLUS the fact that we wouldn't let him climb up and down the bleachers. Here is one picture where he isn't screaming. Luckily, no one really could hear b/c everyone was busy cheering (remember, we DID score 31 points at this game...so it was fun!)

J had a blast. Then got bored until the band started playing. Then had some more fun watching football. Then got bored and started playing games on my phone. So is the attention span of a 4-almost-5-year-old.

Kyle Field. Love it. Even when we aren't having the best season, it is still a wonderful place to be. Our home away from home. ;)

Love my Aggie boys.

NOW we're talkin'! L loved, loved, loved being on the field. Good thing we got him off before he got hit with a football. Some older kids were throwing footballs around, and one nailed hubby right in the side of his beautiful, bald head. Hard. So thankful it didn't knock him out. No way I couldn't gotten him off that field! lol!

Go boys! Maybe you could help our team this year!!! L has some size on him and J has a great arm. Sign 'em up coach!!!!

More pictures to come from the state fair and U2 concert in Dallas. It was a full, wonderful weekend at Nana and Papa D's!