In Their Memory

We decided that this weekends adventure would be to the Willamette National Cemetery to honor the men and women who have lost their lives in service to our country. They had a great service and there were a lot of people there. The most moving moment for me was the cannon salute, followed by the playing of taps. And the bag pipes. I love the bag pipes.

We hope it will be something that we can continue to do as a family for years to come. We want to teach McKinley to appreciate the freedoms she has, and to appreciate even more those who fight to defend it... whether on this soil or somewhere else.

We were pleased to have the Rohrback family along with us. It made it feel more like a holiday to spend some time with family!

And finally, not that any one of them will ever read this blog, I want to send out my personal "Thanks" to the men and women, past, present and future, who serve in our military branches. Whether active, reserve, or retired... Thank You. Thank you for making this country free. Thank you for sacrificing your lives, your time with your families, your shot at the "normal" lives that the rest of us live in oblivion.

Thank you and God Bless You.

I almost forgot!

I almost forgot one of the best parts of our adventure last weekend... After our trip to Multnomah Falls, we adventured downtown for a few hours. We stopped and had a Philly cheese steak at one of the best cart vendors downtown... something I had been craving since I was pregnant! It was delicious... no, no... it was scrumptious! McKinley even enjoyed a few bites!

Adventure!

Last weekend, Jeff and I spontaneously decided to hike Multnomah Falls. What is that you say? But it was pouring down rain? Yep... it sure was! We had some nice sun breaks in there too, occasionally.

Some neighbors had given us this nice backpack for McKinley and it worked out great. She seemed to enjoy riding on her daddy's back!

We stopped, just a few times, on the mile and a half trip up. Mommy needed some breaks... man. That is one steep hike!

We had a wonderful time and McKinley did great! She was enthralled by everything we passed... she seems to really love trees. She points with her chubby little fingers and "oohs" at every single one. It was pretty cute. We actually made it to the top where we enjoyed a quick picnic lunch and the view over the top of the falls. We praised God for the beauty of his creation! On the way down, McKinley fell asleep in the pack. Guess the fresh air wore her out! We will definitely be going on more adventures this summer. We had a lot of fun! Good idea Jeff!

McKinley is 10 months

McKinley, you are 10 (and a half) months old! You continue to amaze us every day... you have such a great personality! You smile and laugh a lot, you scrunch up your nose at us... you squeal with delight when you see yourself in the mirror... you are the sweetest daughter we could ever ask for!

You weigh over 16 lbs
You are crawling everywhere (army style)
You can sit up on your own
You eat everything
You especially want what mommy or daddy are eating
You take a bath in the big bath now
You still love to splash
You are pulling up on things, but mostly to your knees
You are starting to be mischievous
We have struggled with sleep, but are starting to improve
You are transitioning to 2 naps a day (yay!!!!)
You are sleeping from 6pm to 6am most nights just waking once or twice to eat
You love to have books read to you, you turn the pages yourself!
You are still in a size three diaper
You are still in a size one shoe
You are wearing some 12 month clothes, but you can still fit some 3/6 month stuff too
You are going to be a year old in 6 weeks!

We love you sweet daughter! You are the light of our lives!!

Mothers Day

I had a wonderful first Mothers Day! At church that morning, we had the annual baby dedication, where they dedicate all the babies born since the prior Mothers Day. It was a moment I have looked forward to for a lot of years... long before I got married and had a child. I was so proud to be a mommy finally... to stand up there with the other new mommys and commit to raising McKinley to believe in and follow God, and to thank Him for blessing us with her!

The rest of the day was just as wonderful. It was gorgeous outside and we had a nice meal with the Hamm/Rohrback clan. Just wish it could have lasted longer! Thanks Jeff for making me feel like such a special mommy!

Oh and BTW... we all have matching outfits on. How do you like them apples? Ha!

Before and After

So you may remember this post from a few weeks ago. On my birthday I got my hair cut. We'll two short weeks later, I got it cut again. And now this is what I look like:

As someone so kindly stated, it's my new "mommy hair". Not sure if that was a kind comment or not... but the reality is, it is true. This style takes me no more than 5 minutes to style and that includes blow drying! So it is a lot easier for me to look like I've "cleaned up" for the day than it used to be... and that was my whole goal.
I don't know that this will be a permanent change. But through the summer for sure!