The Double-Wide

What would we do without Costco?

How Well Do You Know Us?

I went to clear our plates from the couch one night after we both had some carrot cake while watching a TV show.
I wonder if our readers can guess which plate belonged to Stephen and which one belonged to me (Desirae)? I just had to laugh.

Egg Hunting

Thanks for the invite, Tiff! It was sugar-coated fun!

Wild Animal Park

One of the first things we saw at the Wild Animal Park were these pelican-type birds at feeding time.
Name the Disney movie with a similar scene and this dialogue from pelicans:

"Mine!"

"Mine!"

"Mine!"

"Mine!"

I couldn't help but wonder, were we watching him or was he watching us?

It was fun to see the animals at the park in more of their natural environment than at the zoo.
They even had a huge open area with lots of different animals all intermingled.
I love that this hollowed-out SUV was part of the display. Although you see the grassy hills where the herds of other animals intermingled behind them, the lions were definitely not a part of the free-range groupies.
A warthog.
I just thought this next animal was cool-looking. Don't ask me the name. Next time I'll do better!
Brooklyn tried out the life-sized bird nest.



On our way out, we stopped here to do this while Ian slept in the stroller.
It was my first time going to the Wild Animal Park. Even though it was even more walking than the zoo, the place was not a disappointment. Next time I will probably look more into taking one of the free bus tours though.

Hats

I guess it's cute when they're young, but I hope Ian doesn't copy his Sister's accessories and picture poses forever.

Picnic

We tried to stay creatively busy while Stephen was away in Chicago for a week. We missed him, but we had a lot of fun too.
This picnic turned into a mini photo session for Ian because I just loved the color combination he was wearing and how it contrasted nicely with the grass. And yes, the bib was part of the bright color combo, so it had to stay, along with the orange he stuck onto his finger.
Pouty lip
GQ

The drain dance.

The big sis. "Guess what's hiding in my mouth?" she asks me.
I don't remember exactly, but I'm pretty sure it was a huge piece of fruit.

Renaissance Man

He digs the beach.
He can charm women, young and old, with that dashing debonaire smile. (Is that a Badger bite I see?)
And though he pretends to be so innocent, sometimes he nonchalantly pulls some sneaky moves on us. One example is captured below. As I was taking a picture of Brooklyn's puzzles, he, oops! happens to grab and drop one little piece, then another, and soon puzzle parts are flying across the room. It's no wonder that Brooklyn takes discipline matters into her own hands behind my back!
Ian also might be into sports someday like his dad and uncles. One of his favorite few words is "ball." He usually carries one around. Whenever we visit a toystore, you can bet he'll find the balls and test them all out, sending me chasing them around in all directions. I guess I'm asking for it by allowing him to sample them all, right? Another favorite word of his is "throw!" as he tosses the ball ahead of him. It used to be that he'd usually drop it behind him somehow before it cleared his head in an overhand throw. Now the ball makes it past his head and into the air in front of him, but that's not enough. He has also learned how to make loud noises by throwing balls at things. His favorite target? The large sliding glass door in our living room.

His other talents include:

1. Singing and ballerina style dancing to Primary songs

2. Enforcing a schedule of outings with his mom and sister by demanding, "Let's go!" when he's ready to walk out the door and occasionally locating and placing my shoes on my feet for me

3. Properly welcoming and waving good-bye to friends, neighbors, and strangers

4. Doing some actions/sound effects to primary songs like the kiss at the end of "Daddy's Homecoming" and the loud jumping during "Jesus Wants me for a Sunbeam."

5. Cleaning his own hands at the end of meals by wiping them through the hair on top of his head.

6. Climbing into his high chair independently

7. Making huge splashes during bath time despite his mothers best efforts to mitigate this behavior. Once I took away the big rinsing cup from him after repeatedly telling him to not throw it around and make big splashes. The second I took it away, he proudly then used his leg to stomp into the water.

The Safety Hat

Ian had to try it on first and he had a total fit when we tried to give the rightful owner her turn.
I just couldn't stop laughing. For some reason this look on Ian totally tickled my funny bone. I was especially humored by how manly he was convinced that he looked in it. What woman doesn't love a man in a hard hat, right? Especially be it pastel and princess-themed.
I like this last one here. It tells a story on its own.
Yes, now that it is past her March birthday, we finally purchased a safety hat to go with Brooklyn's Christmas gift, the bike.

Baby Love

I think I need to save a copy of this picture for Brooklyn when she gets older. It is so heart-warming to see her role-play so sweetly with her dollies.
Ian soon joined in, no surprise there. He's Brooklyn's little shadow.
I always save some scrap fabric for Brooklyn's creative imagination when I'm working on a project. She "made" (I use the term loosely) her doll an apron, with a little help from me.
Naptime for the babies.
Parenthood isn't all that bad when you remember moments like these.

Fabric Store Finds

Ian found some strange-looking little people at a local fabric store. His reaction was just classic. I think he may have been waiting for them to chum around with him.

The Family Party

These two, I have discovered, cannot be trusted to make a Party City run alone. Those little rascals.
Burgers and hotdogs all around!
The kids table
Papa, Ian, and Uncle Calvin
Pip playing pin the flower on Dora. For some reason, we all were laughing so hard at this game. Maybe because of the eye mask of choice. It's something I bought for Stephen shortly after Ian was born. I also bought Stephen some ear plugs at that time. It was my effort to allow Stephen to sleep at night while Ian would cry for hours on end.
We all loved watching the blind-folded person get spun around a few times and then inch their way toward the plastic target. Simple pleasures. For some reason, people feel so uncertain and vulnerable when their vision is completely blocked. In a family of jokers and teasers, the uncertainty was not without cause.
Now, Dad's turn.
Another family member hanging onto his back belt loop just for precautionary measures.
Musical chairs. We also got a kick out of watching the children scramble for the chairs.
Everyone had their tactics.
No McKendrick family party would be complete without Button-Button. Thank you, Grandma Grace. Again, we all laughed at how the kids spoiled the outcome of each round of this game. For those who haven't played it, Button button goes like this: Whoever is "it" has a button between their hands. That person walks around the room and slides his/her hands between everyone else's hands, individually, pretending to deliver the button to everyone, but really only one person gets it. At the end of the delivery time, the question is asked, "Button, button, who has the button?" The "it" person then calls on one person at a time and each person will guess another player that they think has the button. Of course, if the button is given to a small child, they cannot keep the secret very long. Also, if a small child is "it," they mystery of the button keeper usually doesn't last long either.
We were all hysterical by the final round of it.
Ian approved of the cupcake dessert.