9 MONTHS OLD!

Handsome Boy Look I'm Standing!

Giving Kisses to mommy!

We love Smooches!

Slobbery, WET!

Swim Lessons With Jennifer!

He loves the water!

Splashes, Splashes!

Learning to float on his back!

McCrea is on a roll! He is learning so many new things. He is crawling all over the place and has started to stand and cruise around the furniture. It is crazy how fast your babies grow up. He is such a happy baby and is so easily entertained. Lorelei has taken him to new heights. She plays with him like a rag doll. She spins him around, jumps on the bed with him, and makes him do flips. As a mother I do not know why I allow this, but when I see that McCrea for the most part is enjoying himself (with the occasional outbursts of protesting) I am delighted to let Lorelei experiment with him. He lights up as soon as Lorelei walks in the room. He just loves his big sister. They are great friends. McCrea allows Lorelei to dress him up, tickle him to death, and tease him. I can only imagine what McCrea will do to Lorelei when he is older and wiser. Of course, I know there will be payback in the near future. I am certainly amazed with every month of growth. McCrea is now 19lbs 9ozs and 29 inches long. He is still on the very expensive Neocate formula and we have slowly started him on some solid foods. He has now eating, sweet potatoes, rice cereal, apples, and bananas. He has had some bad reactions to peas and pears. I'm just too scared to feed him. I always worry about what he can and can't handle. There is also wanting to sleep at night. If he eats something that doesn't work with his body, he's up during the night with gas pains and crying. It is so sad. I just hope he outgrows his allergies. McCrea started swimming lessons this month. The first week he didn't like being on his back or going under the water, he would cry and cry and now he doesn't even whine about it. He has learned to go under water and flip up on his back to float. He also learned when he falls in the pool to reach up and grab the side and do monkey walks around the pool. It is amazing how quickly he learned. McCrea makes up his own games. He loves to throw a toy and he goes and gets it, picks it up, and throws it again. I do have to watch him, especially his glass bottle. After he is done eating he scoots over to the tile and starts throwing his glass bottle on the ground. I'm afraid he's going to break it. Anyway, McCrea is such a sweet boy, he is so cuddly and likes to give hugs and kisses. He's has a smile that melts your heart. I just love my little handsome, man.

T-BALL!

T-Ball Time
Ready, Set, Swing!

Run, Run, Run!

I made it to first base!

McCrea cheering his sister on!

Lorelei started T-Ball this year. Of course, this was more of Chad's dream to have Lorelei play T-ball, but we signed her up and she went. Her team was the Rock Hounds. She played across the street at the park, so it was conveniently located for games and practice. Lorelei had one other girl on the team which she was excited about. She had a great time playing. She complained about having to go every week, but once she was there, she had a a lot of fun. The coach really took to her and practiced with her each week. She also got lots of practice with daddy. Chad really wanted her to be the best on the team. She did better than most of the boys. She really excelled and they even pitched to her without the tee and she hit the ball almost everytime. She was a good little player. She got a pink helmet and a pink ball to make it a little more girly. She looked so cute out there. I was very impressed that she did so well. She is our little athlete. Unfortunately, she doesn't want to play next year. Chad was very sad. Maybe McCrea will be more willing to play. McCrea was Lorelei's biggest fan. We went to watch her play and he would sit in his stroller and watch his sister. It was super cute! We just love our little T-ball Player. Way to go!

STUFFINGTON BEAR FACTORY!

Stuffington Bear Factory Stuffing Lorelei's owl!

Stuffing McCrea's Bunny!

Sewing up the animals!

Grooming!

Giving it a Bath!

"Mom, Can I get this bear?"

Playing with all the stuffed animals!

McCrea is scared of the big bear!

We can all fit on this big bear!
Mariyah, Lorelei, McCrea and Brooklyn with their cute stuffed animals!

We went to tour the oldest bear factory in the U.S. We learned the history of the teddy bear and how the teddy bear came to be. The Stuffington Bear Factory has been opened since 1959. We walked through the factory and saw the steps they take to create and make a teddy bear or any stuffed animal.

On November 14, 1902, then-President Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt went to Mississippi to settle a border dispute between Mississippi and Louisiana. While there, he went on a hunting trip. The other members of the hunting party tied a black bear cub to a tree for President Roosevelt to shoot, but Roosevelt refused to harm the defenseless bear. The next day, political cartoonist Clifford Berryman, drew a cartoon

showing President Roosevelt refusing to hurt the helpless bear. This cartoon sparked the imagination of the country and of a shopkeeper in Brooklyn, New York. The shopkeeper, Morris Michtom, asked his wife, Rose, to make two plush stuffed bears for display in his shop's window. The popularity of the plush bears stuffed with excelsior and adorned with black shoe buttons for eyes quickly captivated the nation. They charged $3.00 a bear. This is how the name "Teddy Bear," was created. After the tour Lorelei got to pick out an animal to stuff and pamper. She chose an owl and named it, "Flappy." McCrea got a cute little bunny and Lorelei named it for him, "Hoppy." So now we are proud owners of a new stuffed animal from the oldest Bear Factory in the nation. We went with our friends Mariyah and Brooklyn. It was fun and very fascinating to learn all about the "Teddy" Bear.

SPRING BREAK 2009!

We were so thrilled when my sister Heidi and her daughter Tia came down for spring break to celebrate with us. We have been looking forward to their visit and had our week planned out from the beginning. Unfortunately, McCrea and I were sick and miserable. I felt so bad because I had been looking forward to their visit for sometime now. Anyway we still had a great time, although some days I had to stay home, while they went out and had fun without me.

Sisters are the Best!

Heidi and Tia come to visit!

We started our spring break with a trip to Desert Breeze Park. We rode a cute little train around the park, rode the carousel and played on the playground. Lorelei and Tia are just a few years apart but were like two peas in a pod. They were so excited to be together and were glued at the hip, ready to play.

Monday the 16th we went to the Phoenix Zoo, we enjoyed all the animals, the petting zoo, the playgrounds, the splash park and Sting Ray Bay where they got to pet the Sting Rays. It was a great day. That night Heidi and I went and got pedicures and had a little girls night out.

Tuesday the 17th was St. Patricks Day! We all dressed up in green and looked like clowns but we had fun doing it. We took the girls to Freestone Rec Center and spent hours climbing the large rock climbing wall. This was Lorelei's first real rock climbing experience. She loved it and they spent hours there. After they were worn out they went to the dollar flicks and watched two movies, "The Tale of Despereaux and Bolt."

Kiss me, I'm Irish!
Paddy's Day fun!
I don't want to get pinched today!

Wednesday the 18th the spent the day at Hamilton Pool where they swam for over 4 hours, went down water slides, vortex pool and lazy river. They had tea parties underwater and jumped off the diving board. Unfortunately they were a little burned. After 4 hours of swimming they went back to the rock climbing wall to climb some more. It makes me exhausted just thinking about it all.

Thursday the 19th we went to Arizona's only amusement park. It only has about 10 rides total. It's totally ghetto, but the girls still loved it. We went on ride after ride and even played some miniature golf at the end. It was a lot of fun.

Lorelei taking McCrea on one of the kiddie rides.

Bumper boats!

Race Cars! We came in first place!

Miniature Golfing!
Tia hitting her ball in! Way to go!
We thought this sign was hilarious!
I have a big head!

Friday the 20th Heidi and I did a little shopping, the girls played at the park and we went to Makuto's Island. It is a huge tree house, with ropes, slides, a huge indoor playground. They spent a few hours climbing around and having fun. We then rented some movies and had a movie night.

Playing at Makuto's Island!

Such a cute sister and niece!

Best Cousins!McCrea enjoying the mirrors and climbing around!

Saturday the 21st, we went out to breakfast at T.C. Eggington's and they did a quick hike up to the Hole in the Rock. We then said our good-byes at the airport and our fun week of spring break was officially over. It was sad to see them go. I just love my sister and niece. We had a great time despite my sickness.

Hole in the Rock!

Saying Good-bye at the airport!
See you next time!

8 MONTHS OLD!

The things McCrea loves to do at 8 months!Sleep! Sweet Dreams!Eating! Holding his own bottle!

Crawl!

Watching himself in the mirror!

Pulling himself up on things!

Swinging!

Going, Going, Gone! McCrea is on the move! He doesn't want to be confined to anything or anybody anymore. In only two weeks he has become an expert at crawling. McCrea has gone from crawling to pulling himself up on everything. He even can stand without help for a few seconds and then he plops down on his butt and tries it again. He also started climbing stairs. We took him to a little play area that had three steps and off he went right for the stairs and up he went. He felt very triumphant as he made it to the top. He is very active and is willing to try new things. He is so funny. McCrea has been sick with a fever and cold this month. After taking him to the doctor for a check up he is now weighing in at 19lbs 4ozs. After a couple weeks of being sick he is now feeling better and up to his usual shenanigans.

McCrea loves to be in front of the mirrors. He stands up and gives himself slobbery kisses all over. There is lots of slobber and smear streaks all over. He also likes to stare at himself for hours. Hopefully, he won't be too vain when he's older. McCrea also likes to throw his toys and he then crawls over to it, picks it up and throws it again. This is a fun little game that he has created for himself. It entertains him for awhile. It's so fun to watch. McCrea is a fan of paper. He loves it and wants to eat it at every opportunity. Lorelei seems to leave many art projects out on the table and the first thing he is after is the paper on the table. We will have to watch him so he doesn't swallow and choke on anything. It's time to childproof the house!