Key Lime Cupcakes (and apron giveaway!)

Mmmmm...look good to you? That is a Graham cupcake, with Key Lime curd filling and lime whipped cream cheese frosting. It is delightful! Go to The Secret Stitch Club blog where I posted the recipe. I had fun making them, and more fun eating them. :) You can also enter to win this Key Lime apron! Perfect for baking (and eating) Key Lime cupcakes in. Hurry! Go enter! (I really hope one of you wins.)

Happy Father's Day!

I think the kids are more excited for Father's Day than Kevin is. It's because we took these great pictures (idea from Brassy Apple) to give as gifts to Dad and Grandpa the other day. They are so excited to give them to them.

DAD
Daddy's Shoes

We "Heart" Grandpa

Happy Father's Day to the wonderful fathers in my life! I am most grateful.

Our Sweet Girl

One of the great things about having two of my kids' birthdays within 5 days of each other is that I get to reflect on how wonderful and unique each of my children are. Myla turns 3 today! She has been eagerly anticipating this day for awhile. We have been counting down the days.

Myla. Where do I even begin with this girl? More than any of my children, she brings out the extreme emotions in me. One minute we'll be butting heads with her screaming her head off (and me wanting to pull my hair out) and the next we'll be cuddling on the couch with Myla giving me lovies and telling me she "lubs" me (and me wondering what I did to deserve her). That is Myla. What she does she does with her whole heart. And she inspires me to do the same. I know that stubborness and tenacity that she has will work for her good someday.

Myla and Cade are the best of friends. They share a room and many times, when they should be sleeping, I'll peek in and find them playing some imaginary game and giggling like crazy. As stubborn as Myla may be with me and Kevin, she is usually very giving and patient with Cade. Even though she may be younger than him, she still nurtures him and tries to make him happy. She does the same with Gavin. I love that sibling bond they have.

Sweet. Sassy. Smart. That's my girl.

Happy birthday Myla!

My Duty

So the kids are on a new movie kick: Mulan 2. They saw it on The Disney Channel one day and Myla talked about it non-stop. I got it from Netflix and we've had it about a month. We've watched it probably 40 times. You think I'm kidding.


Well, I've started realizing that we've watched a movie way too much when the kids start quoting the movie in their every day conversation. The basic message of the film is: My duty is to my heart. Basically Mulan and company have a mission to fulfill: to deliver the princesses to be married to men they don't know in another country in order to align the countries. Well, Mulan doesn't like it...or her heart doesn't like it. She (and the princesses) say several times throughout the movie that their duty is to their heart. It's a message that, while it sounds pretty, also presents problems. And this is one way how:

Yesterday Cade kept asking to go outside and play. It's a rule in our house that we don't play outside on Sundays and Kevin explained to Cade that Sunday is our reverent day. We can play outside every other day of the week. Cade responds, "Dad, my duty is to my heart and my heart tells me it's okay to play outside. I have to follow my heart." When Kevin told me this we busted up laughing. It was cute, and pretty clever.

After today I've decided it's not so cute anymore. Now everytime we ask him to do something he doesn't want to do (ie. pick up toys, take his plate to the sink, have quiet time) he says that his duty is to his heart and his heart tells him no. I did not see this one coming.

So I've decided that my duty is to send Mulan 2 back to Netflix and put some stricter limits on TV time. And my heart is okay with that.

Birthday Boys

Gavin shares his birthday with his Uncle James, my younger brother. James turned the big 3-0 (ouch!) and Gavin turned the big 1! So we combined birthday parties and had a great time. I have to share these sweet pictures of the birthday boys together.

One Year Ago Today...

Gavin Webb McMillan was born. Where does the time go?? I just want to shout, "Stop! Wait! Slow down!" When I was a new mom I'd hear all the time, "Enjoy this time. It goes so fast." After awhile I started getting a little annoyed. The endless sleeplessness contributed to that. But I think I am finally now beginning to understand why the little old ladies say it every time I run into them in the produce section. It really does go so fast. I feel like this picture was taken just last week and I was holding a little 8 pound baby, struggling to nurse, battling two toddlers wanting to sit on my c-section incision while poking their little fingers into Gav's eyes, waking up every 3-4 hours a night to feed (wait, I still do that!: :)), nuzzling little tiny feet and kissing the sweet wrinkles on his forehead when he looked up at me (that is my most favorite newborn feature--those forehead wrinkles).


A year later I am struggling to hold his little body still while I change his diaper, battling two preschoolers who want to keep him out of their newly built train track, nuzzling a little pot belly and kissing his sweet, chubby cheeks. He is an extremely determined child. Just last week he wanted into the bath tub with Cade and Myla and so he tried to climb in. He kept at it for quite some time, and before I knew it he was in head first, sputtering up water, but with a huge grin on his face because he did it! He is walking now, although he doesn't like to walk to us. He'll stand up and when he thinks we aren't looking he'll practice taking steps. Last night he took 5 steps! He'll be walking in no time. I can already tell that Gavin will be one of those people who just doesn't quit.



Gavin is a picky eater. I feel like he's not getting enough nutrition because he won't eat anything! He reminds me of Cade too, eating on the run. He'll only eat a couple of bites at a time and then wants to move on. But he does love potatoes...that's how I know he's mine. Well, and I gave birth to him. :) He'll eat mashed potatoes, hash browns, baked potatoes...he loves them. He also loves music and he loves to roll the ball around the house. A ball will keep him occupied for a good half hour. He'll bat at it, chase it down, and bat at it again. He's gotten pretty fast.


Gavin has brought such joy into our home. His smile is contagious. Cade and Myla continue to dote over him. Cade has taken to carrying him around the house with him now. As long as Gavin stays out of his train tracks, Cade loves to play with him and wants him with him. Myla is a little mommy to him. She's always trying to feed him a bottle and tells me when he needs a diaper change. She talks to him in this high, squeaky baby voice. She loves her little brother. Gavin is becoming a little Daddy's boy. The second Kevin walks in the door, Gavin books it as fast as his little knees can carry him over to Kevin. And if Kevin doesn't pick him up right away he squawks until he does. We are grateful to have Gav in our family. We love him so much. I am continually striving to enjoy each day. It does go so fast. Happy birthday little man!!