One Little Monkey

Cade has become quite the little monkey, climbing EVERYWHERE! Everywhere I look he's climbing something...the table, the furniture, the entertainment center, the bookshelf, the baby gate (that's now useless!), and just today he climbed into Myla's crib. I know this may sound like it's no big deal and it usually isn't, but today I had a huge scare. I had put the kids down for their naps. They usually talk and play for a little while before they fall asleep. About 30 minutes later I heard an unusual cry come from Myla, one I had never heard before. It wasn't loud so I was tempted to just leave her alone, but felt like I should go. I rushed downstairs and Cade was in her crib, laying on top of her and her little face was smushed into the mattress. He wasn't trying to hurt her, he thought he was playing. Boy was I frantic. I pulled Cade out of her crib and threw him into his own bed, all the while shouting (sorry Beka if I disturbed you guys!). Poor Myla was just sobbing. Cade was crying (I really scared him with the shouting--I try not to yell). It was quite the scene. Cade doesn't mean to hurt Myla. He is a sweet, sweet brother. He loves her...gives her kisses and hugs, takes care of her when she falls down, shares his toys (for the most part). So this kind of thing doesn't scare me in the "Cade wants to kill his sister" sense, but it does concern me in the "Cade has no idea how much is too much" sense. How do I teach him that? Oh why didn't these kids come with a manual?! So, all my blogging friends, any wisdom to share?

(These pics were taken last year at Kevin's brother's wedding. Kevin's mom got Cade and Aiden little tuxes. They were so cute in them. This is Cade playing outside the reception.)

She Walks!!

Today Myla was a brave little girl and ventured out on her own. This afternoon while we were playing on the floor Myla stood up all by herself and took 2 steps! So when Daddy came home this evening we did some walking. When she takes a few steps she gets such a proud look on her face...she smiles really big and giggles. She loves doing and practices all by herself. Maybe this is why it is so hard to get her to sleep lately...she just wants to be walking!

Superkids!

I just want to take a moment and bask in the adorableness of my husband and kids. I think the picture below portrays just how adorable they are.

Kevin wanted to find a Supergirl shirt for Myla, but wasn't happy with anything he found. So what does he do? He makes his own of course! He got a pink shirt and pink shorts from Old Navy, designed the logo he wanted in Photoshop, and did an iron-on type thing on it. It turned out so cute! Today while Kevin was dressing Myla in her Supergirl outfit Cade said he wanted a Superman shirt. So Kevin made one for Cade today. Cade was so excited. It's all he talked about. I wanted to get a picture of the two of them, but all they wanted to do was lay down and stare at me. You can't see it but Myla has the little pink supergirl symbol on her shorts too.
And then they just wanted to run away.
So Kevin grabbed them and they had a little Superkid wrestling match! It looks like Myla's holding her own. But Cade loves it...he's just excited she is getting old enough to play with him. I love my family.

A Day at the Zoo

A couple of weeks ago when it wasn't blistering hot outside we went on a day trip to the zoo with our friends Maren, James and Paige. We had a great time!

Isn't this the sweetest picture?! Cade has really taken to Paige and Paige is such a good big "sister" to Cade. Instead of being pulled in the wagon, they wanted to pull it.

Myla LOVES Maren. Loves her! When Maren is holding Myla, I don't exist. It's pretty cute.
James is such a sweet boy. He was more interested in playing with the cars in cool places than checking out the animals. But who can blame him? Cars are pretty cool.
My monkey boy!
At the zoo they have this fun tree house for the kids to play in. This is Paige on the top level of the house.
Maren took this cute picture of Myla in one of the little chairs in the tree house.

Now that the weather is hot, I don't think we'll be making it to the zoo anytime soon. Thanks for going with us Paige, James and Maren! (And thanks for the pics.)

Apron Nights

After two meetings of apron night I have finally finished my first apron! Yea! Don't look too closely, it's my first...which means it's far from perfect. Check out Jill's first apron...she did a great job!!

Shhhh Mommy!

Kevin is the master of sound effects, voices, and accents and the kids love it! (My personal favorite is the Scottish accent he does.) He can sound like gorillas, dinosaurs, even Gollum from Lord of the Rings. You name it, he'll probably be able to do it. Cade loves to imitate him. At the dinner table the other day Cade and Kevin were making animal noises, so I decided to join in on the fun. So I made a sound that I thought sounded like a dinosaur. Apparently I didn't because Kevin just laughed at me and Cade said, "Shhhhh Mommy!" I guess making sound effects is an exclusive two person club here at the McMillan house.

PS See the ugly cabinets behind Kevin and Cade in the picture? I want to paint them...soon. Any cute ideas on colors? Right now the walls in the kitchen are white, but I am totally up for painting those too.

Happy Father's Day!

I couldn't let today pass without paying tribute to the amazing fathers in my life...my husband and my dad.
If Kevin is in the room, Myla is in his arms...or trying to be. She is such a daddy's girl. It is quite sweet. She loves her daddy and he loves her. Kevin treats her like a little princess and loves to make her laugh and smile. He is very attentive to his children and helps out so much.
Daddy is Cade's best friend and playmate. Kevin and Cade will spend hours putting the train tracks together, protecting it from Myla, and reassembling it when she does manage to destroy it. Cade also loves it when Daddy flies him around like Superman and plays cars with him. Cade loves Kevin so much. We always have a mini-party when he comes home from work...everyone is so excited!
My Dad is quite possibly the best dad around (seen here with my nephew Connor). I am a Daddy's girl at heart. Growing up my dad knew me better than I knew myself. He always guided me and helped me. He let me make my own choices and supported me in all I did. He trusted me and loved me. He is such a hardworker and is such a great example to me. I love my dad and am so thankful for him.

Last Comic Standing?

Not this one. As we were watching Last Comic Standing tonight (it's much funnier this season...so far) Cade decided to put on a little comedy show of his own. We've decided he is more of a physical comedian. He kept "tripping" over his car, falling over, and then busting up in hysterical laughter. No matter how many times he did it, it never lost it's humor. It was pretty funny. So we got two shows tonight. Look for this kid in the comedy clubs in about 20 years.
And then he put on a face mask and became a "inja." We love it when he says ninja. He loves it that we love it...so he says it over and over again. This kid definitely responds to his audience!

Say What?

Cade's vocabulary has skyrocketed the past couple of weeks and the funniest things have come out of his mouth. Tonight he was reaching across the table for something and I said, "Cade, I see your tummy." He said, "Yeah, Superman in there" as he lifted up his shirt and pointed to his tummy. Kevin and I got a kick out of it and repeated the conversation several times throughout the night.

About an hour later Cade and Kevin were playing with the trainset on the floor and Cade gets a ball, walks next to Kevin, throws the ball and then says, "Go get it goggie (doggie)" to Kevin. We were rolling on the floor laughing.

To Cade, everything is a train track...the seam on his shorts, the black lines in the swimming pool, the median in the road. Every conversation we have with Cade somehow ends up back to train tracks.

Cade makes us laugh. He's so innocent, but so stinkin' funny. When he says something funny that we laugh at he'll say, "Cade's funny." He loves pointing out when things or people are funny. He is so cute!

This is Cade with his mouth full of "bapple" juice. I think he thinks it's his life force or something the way he guzzles it down.

1 + 50 = Birthdays!!

Myla turned one year old today. We just can't believe it's been a year. She is such a joy to be around and always has a ready smile and kiss. When she smiles her blue eyes just light up. Today she shared her birthday with Grandma Korrell, who turns 50! We had a little party in their honor.

The Birthday Girls The Clan
Myla blowing out her candle (with a little help from Daddy!)
She's thinking, "This is a trick! They aren't really going to let me have this whole cake...or are they?

Sweet One Year Old!!

It's Back!

This evening I was in a pretty foul mood as I began grocery shopping at 9:30pm...at Walmart, of all places. Every time I shop there I tell myself I'm never going to again, but for some reason I keep going back. Tonight, for example, a man looked me over and gave me a suggestive smile and wink everytime I passed him in the aisle, which coincidentally turned out to be almost every aisle. Weirdly, his two daughters and wife were shopping along with him. Then, in the check out line, a loud woman declared that she did not have more than 20 items and should be able to check out in the express lane. I, being curious and somewhat annoyed at the volume of her voice, glanced behind me to look at her cart. It was overflowing. So I turned around and she apparently did not like that I looked at her cart because for the next 15 minutes (that's how long it took the woman in front of me to price check her entire cart) she carried on in a very loud voice about the gringo woman who dissed her cart. I tell you this story because the entire trip to the grocery store would have been a disappointment had I not found this little treasure.

My heart did a little leap when I saw bottles of Vanilla Coke tucked snuggly on the shelf! I don't drink a lot pop, but I fell in love with this when it came out a few years ago and went into a period of serious mourning when Coke pulled it from the shelves and replaced it with a black cherry mocha grape caramel version. So I grabbed two bottles of it and just kept thinking, while the man made lewd gestures and the woman verbally assaulted me, about how in just a few minutes I would be sitting at home drinking my glass of Vanilla Coke. And that's what I'm doing right now.

Suggested Blog Reading

One of the blogs I frequently read is Daring Young Mom. I don't know her, but I think she is hilarious and honest. I really, really liked her latest post. Read it if you get a chance.

Whew!!

It has been one busy week! To sum up:

Cade started swimming lessons last week. We are taking the Sea Toddlers class (it is a Mommy & Me class). Notice that the picture below is of an empty pool? That is because HE WON'T STAY IN! We'll have been there 10 minutes and already he is screaming...literally screaming!...to go home. I feel bad for the other moms there. I'm sure they are so annoyed with my screaming child. After today I'm thinking of becoming a swim class drop-out. But we only have 2 days to go, so we'll muscle through.

Cade much prefers to just watch the water. He is much happier this way. Unfortunately, you don't learn to swim by just looking at the water. I seriously don't know why he is terrified of his swimming lessons. He loves the pool and he loves water. But the thought of going under is terrifying to him.
Saturday was a really busy day. The Webbs and the McMillans (us) decided to go to the Kids Faire at the Cardinals Stadium. It promised Barney, Princesses and indoor air conditioning. That was all we needed to sign up. So we trekked on out to Glendale and the line to get in was easily an hour long. And it was outside... in the sun...100 degrees...babies, toddlers, kids, grumpy parents (not a good mix). We stood in line for about 20 minutes then we decided to bag that idea and head for Amazing Jakes. We had a great time there!

Later on that night we went to a goodbye dinner for my cousin Crystal and her family (the Earls). Dan got a great job in Michigan. They left on Sunday. Good luck Earls!
Sunday we celebrated James's birthday. He is an 28 years old. My big little brother. Breck and Emma had to help him blow out his candles he had so many!!
Although life has been busy, we take time out for sweet kisses and hugs like the one I captured here. Myla was having a rough time and Cade gave her kisses to make it better. I love that my kids adore each other.