Mackrory Family Fun

Monday, August 9, 2010

Building, building, building

We have some very good looking builders working on our house. Check them out...

Setting the wood in place

Placing the nail..."umm, right there. Yeah!"

Hammering,

Measuring,

Hammering.

Aaah. Such hard work.

But, check out their progress...

Day 6-The Foundation Walls

I didn't know we were building a pool!?!

Day 9 - Backfill completed

Day 13 - Framing underway

Standing on the "roof" (of the basement) and the "floor" for the very first time! (You can't tell from the picture that she had been begging to stand on it for 10 minutes before she actually got to do it.

"To your bedrooms everyone!"

Day 14

From the foyer

Check out the view from my great room and dining room windows!
So peaceful.

Day 18

The electrical walkthrough is this week.

What are the chances it will be completed before baby?!?

Not very high.

But I haven't given up hope.

Miracles happen.

Baby Sarah

Brielle has several dolls that she loves to play with, take care of ,and give us updates on. A small chunk of almost everyday is spent listening to Brielle tell us how Briellity loves her milk and how she has water every night before bed. Or how Beara loves to laugh at the funny things her Mom does. Or how Jimena is just learning to walk (we must, of course, come see and celebrate). She is a very doting mother and loves to tell us all about her children.

Though she loves all her children I think she holds a special place in her heart for Baby Sarah.

Sarah was born on Brielle's first birthday.

They dress the same (thanks to Grandma).

And Brielle is very concerned about Sarah and her needs. This concern prompted her to draw "hair" on her one day as she was worried that she didn't have any (I wonder if that really works. Maybe I should try it on this next one during those few months where he will be completely bald.) When asked several days later if she was still glad she had done it, she exclaimed "yes!" in an incredulous tone. How could we even ask?!?

Last Saturday the boys headed out for some male bonding time, so Brielle and I decided to make a quilt for her dear Baby Sarah since she didn't have one! Brielle helped me design the quilt: "I want squares and rectangles like you put on the quilt you made me when I was a baby." She chose the colors: "Pink and Purple" (Princess colors). And she selected the fabric: "Flowers, polka dots, stripes and the same fabric that you put on the back of my quilt!!" Amazingly enough, she stayed with me through the whole process: cutting, sewing, and quilting.

The final product was great!

And Baby Sarah loves it!

Nathan's Bug Birthday Party

I have tried to find an easier way to get a slideshow of Nathan's birthday party for you, but to no avail. So here are the many fun pictures:

Eggs n Toast for breakfast: Nathan's favorite. He asks for it almost daily.

The "birthday" is lit, the birthday song has been sung and we are "hip, hip, hooraying". Nathan's favorite part.

Blowin' out the candles

Helping Mom make his bug cupcakes.

Frosting it

The final products! Nathan made the colorful caterpillar all by himself after watching Mom make the green one. (Mom just helped with the pattern a little bit.)

An ant

A bee

Bugs!

Ready for the party

"Happy Birthday"

Simon Says

A bug hunt!

Audrey found a handful.

Nathan would have rather looked for real bugs.

Pin the bug on the leaf

Good job Nathan

Eating ants (chocolate sprinkles). You can't use your hands!

Decorating cupcakes

Kiersty did a great job

Everyone gets a candle in their pizza! Hip, hip, hooray!

Eating the cupcake he designed.

The cake for his family party.

A caterpillar for our bug lover. Here is my sister's description of Nathan's recent interaction with an inch worm: "While we were there (at a ranger station in Williamsburg Virginia for a family reunion), Nathan proudly presented his newly-found worm to William (the ranger) to show it off. William thought it was an intruder and "saved the day" by promptly snatching it from Nathan's arm and tossing it out the front door. He looked very satisfied with himself until he looked back at Nathan's forlorn face and realized that "intruder" had been Nathan's pet. " Nathan truly was crushed.

Opening the presents

A "happy birthday" phone call from extended family. He LOVED those.

Opening the telescope Brielle made for him.

Such fun

Candy from Grandma and Grandpa. They always know best.

Shooting off rockets from them.

"Happy Birthday to you!"

"Happy Birthday Dear Nathan"

The best part about just having family at your party is that you can eat the cake however you want. The hat and the letters were his favorite part. There wasn't any cake to get in the way of those 2 parts. :)

It was a fun celebration.

Friday, August 6, 2010

Nathan's Birthday, by kristen mackrory

I'd like to share my Snapfish photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.
Click here to view photos

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Happy Birthday, My Nathan

My Dear Nathan,

You are growing up. My little man is three years old! It is so much fun to watch you grow, learn, and love the world around you. When you were an infant, when you would smile your whole body would light up and move, as if you couldn't adequately express how happy you were. That is the type of joy I feel when I think about what a blessing you are in my life.

I love your tight morning loves and kisses.
I love your big brown eyes.
I love your sweet, mellow personality.
I love how you say "maybe next time" when we tell you no or when you realize you have done something wrong.
I love how you are thrilled when you see a "mixer mixer" or catch a bug.
I love how you love to help me in the kitchen.
I love how you announce at the end of each prayer if you were reverent or if you "eated," "made a brrr noise," stood on your head etc.
I love how you rename your world: "mixer, mixer (cement mixer)", "slapper, slapper (fly swatter)", "snapper, snapper (tongs)", lawner (lawn mower)
I love how you love to carry little "'ball'ies" or tiny rocks etc around as you do things.
I love that you are all boy; no matter how hard I try there is always some type of dirt on your face, shirt, hair etc.
I love how you and Brielle love to play together.
I love how you ask "will you be my friend" when you want me to lie next to you while you fall asleep or when you want me to come play with you.
I love how you say "cheeeeeeeese" and look anywhere but at the camera when we try to take a picture.
I love how concerned you get when someone is crying and how you do anything in your power to solve the problem.
I love how your tummy "talks" to you in a cute, fake voice and then you tell us in your normal voicce if you are hungry or not and if your tummy wants carrots, candy etc.
I love how you share...anything and everything, no matter how important it is to you.
I love how you love Brielle and your Dad.
I love the pit pat sound of your feet on our wood floor.
I love your laugh.
I love how you get back up and try again if something doesn't go right.
I love how you are obedient, even when it means putting the much desired candy away as tears roll down your cheek.
I love how you are a problem solver...even though that means that nothing in our house is high enough, hidden enough or safe from your getting it if you really want to.
I love how you come and get me when you know you have done something wrong.
I love that you are learning to love little babies and to treat them tenderly; hopefully then you will no longer think we should "throw [baby] in the trash."
I love that you occasionally "have a baby in [your] tummy" too.
I love that you say it like it is...even if it does refer to my vericose veins, pregnant tummy or Grandpa's hairy arms.
I love to see you smile.

I love you. Thank you for being a part of our family. Happy Birthday, my sweet boy.

Love,

Mom

"IT'S A CATAPILLAR!"

Yummy cupcake

"A birthday (candle)!!!" in your favorite "eggs 'n toast."

Helping Mom make you bug cupcakes. You were so good at putting the "dirt" on.

Quote of the Month

“’Whenever darkness fills our minds we may know that we are not possessed of the Spirit of God…When we are filled with the Spirit of God we are filled with joy, with peace, and with happiness, no matter what our circumstances maybe; for it is a spirit of cheerfulness and of happiness. The Lord has given unto us the gift of the Holy Ghost. It is our privilege to have that Holy Ghost reign within us so that from morning till night and from night till morning we shall have the joy, the light and the revelation thereof.” -President George Q. Cannon

Why you say that?

9/4/10 Nathan (looking at a picture of him and Dad fishing) in a very excited voice: "I went fishing with my Dad!!!...That made him happy."
Nathan's Prepositions:
"I'm hungry about oatmeal."
"I will share it to you."
8/26/10
Brielle: "Mom! I made some chocolate milk for you!"
Mom: "Yummm. What is in it?"
Brielle: "Grass, peanuts, dirt....um, I mean, spagetti, jelly beans and chocolate."
Brielle ("reading" Mom a story): "And then she went...long pause. Mom, do you know why I stopped reading?"
Mom: "No, why?"
Brielle: "Because I saw a word I knew! "in"!"
8/14/10 During family scripture study:
Brielle: "Who are the Lamanites again? Are they the ones who dress in army clothes and carry swords?"
Mom: "Yes, they like to fight."
Brielle: "They like to push and hit and kick and bite."
I'm okay with her thinking that that is the type of fighting they did. We are almost to the war chapters though, so her image of Book of Mormon fighting may change.
8/12/10
Background: Nathan woke up at 6:45 this morning and one of the first things he did was go to the sliding back door and open it to go out, despite the fact that there was a DOWNPOUR of rain, lightning and thunder...which is probably the reason he woke up so early. Jared jumped out of bed to stop him from going out into the storm.
Mom (later): "Nathan, why were you going outside in the rain?"
Nathan: "I was going to save the world. Dadda wouldn't let me."
8/9/10 Brielle: "Nathan, Jesus is the bestest man. He doesn't hit. He doesn't bite. He doesn't do anything that is wrong."
8/4/10 Brielle: "When I am 8 I want to get baptized on Tuesday because that is my favorite day."
Mom: "Why is that your favorite day?"
Brielle: "Because my brother was 2. Hmm. Now I am going to have to call it "threes"day."
Nathan: "I'n going to get baptized yesterday."

Nathan Updates

11/30/09
Nathan's verbal ability is improving by leaps and bounds. We got full sentences often. As I was blogging the reunion, he saw the picture of the gingerbread houses:
N: "Made ginger houses. Lisa help me a candy!"
11/23/09
During an FHE lesson about showing love to our family members from Elder Bednar's talk, Dad planned an activity where we practice showing each other that we love them. First Brielle showed Dad that she loved him by giving him a hug and a kiss and telling him that she loved him. Then Dad showed Nathan (who was seemingly completely oblivious to the lesson and the showing of love as he played with his plane in the corner). Then as Dad was trying to get Nathan to show Mom that he loved her and Nathan was completely ignoring him Brielle started to cry:
B: "Dad, you are supposed to show me that you love me!"
D: "Oh, yes, but for this activity we are going aroung in circles."
N (perking up in the corner): "CIRCLES?!?"
After a few seconds of somewhat confused silence:
B: "Okay! Let's go around in circles!!!" With that Brielle jumped up and began running around in circles in the living room (one of the kids favorite games to play is to chase each other in circles giggling the whole time).
Nathan has started calling his sister "brielley" like his Mom and Dad do. So, so cute.

Why you say that? (A common Brielle question. Here we ask her the same thing.) Archive

9/22/09 At preschool today:
Addie: "Can we have some more snack?"
Kristen: "No, because your moms will be here to pick you up any second."
Brielle: "Mom, can I have another snack because you aren't coming to pick me up. You are already here!"
8/17/09 During breakfast as we are talking about going for a walk:
Brielle: "Is it hot or cold outside today?"
Mom: "Right now it is medium. It isn't real hot and it isn't real cold."
About 15 minutes later while getting dressed:Mom, pointing to the corresponding drawers: "Here are your winter clothes and here are your summer clothes."
Brielle: "Mom, is fall medium?"
Eating frozen yogurt:
Brielle: "Is this a dairy product?" She's 3 for heavens sakes! What 3 year old cares, or even knows about, the food groups. Our budding doctor does. She is always asking if something is a grain, a fruit, a vegetable or a dairy. With almost every meal she asks if it is healthy for her body. And, being a child who has struggled with constipation, she LOVES anything with fiber. If you tell her it has fiber in it, she's in man! Blake and Shonna got her to eat a baby carrot and an orange slice after explaining fiber when they visited in WI. When I went to throw away the carrots (a vegetable that until then she has refused to even touch) as we were moving, she got very mad at me and made me take them out of the garbage because they were for her! Afterall, they have fiber AND help her see in the dark!
7/27/09 Nathan (holding mom's hand): "pocket. pocket. down."
Mom: "Okay, let's play 'Ring Around the Rosies.'"
Nathan (reaching out to Brielle with other hand): "No. Baa."
Mom: "Brielle, Nathan would like you to play with us."
Brielle: "Okay."
After playing 4 or 5 times:Brielle (looking sweetly at Nathan): "One more time okay? There is only one more 'Ring Around the Rosie' left."I wonder where she learned that one. :)7/23/09
Dad: "Brielle, sit at the table and eat your food or dad will sit on you (lightly, of course)."
Brielle: "No, those are not part of the options!"
7/16/09
Brielle's word of the day: "squeezy". Definition: adj meaning squishy or soft. For example, spagetti becomes squeezy when cooked and string cheese becomes squeezy when it has been out of the fridge for an hour or so in our picnic bag.

Brielle's accomplishment of the day: She ate the leaves off of the trees (broccoli).
7/13/09
Brielle: "I can't wait until I get big. Then I can reach the salt and pepper."

Eating a red and white sucker given to her by a friend:
Brielle: "Why did they make this sucker red and white?"
Mom: "I don't know. I guess they just wanted both colors in it."
Brielle: "Did they not have enough red?"

5/26/09
Mom: "Let's get the house all picked up. The person who cleans up the most gets a special prize."
Dad (a few minutes later in an effort to get things going a little quicker): "I'm picking up the most."
Brielle: "No, I'm picking up the most."
Dad: "I'm picking up the most, fastest."
Brielle: "No, I'm picking up the most, fastest."
Dad: "I'm picking up the most, fastest first."
Brielle: "No, I'm picking up the most, fastest first."
Dad: "I'm picking up the most, fastest first on one foot."
Brielle: "Why?"
3/24/09
Brielle is starting to think mathematically. She learned her letters so much more quickly than her numbers, but she has recently gotten her numbers through 9 down and she is putting her understanding of them to use.
For example:
Jared (holding 6 Smarties): How many do you get?
Brielle: 3
Jared: How many does Nathan get?
Brielle: 3

Mom: Go get 3 books to read
Brielle (holding her new favorite book): I already have this one. I just need to choose 2 other ones.
Mom (holding 4 M&M's; Nathan was sleeping): How many M&M's does Brielle get and how many does mom get?
Brielle (Pauses for a few seconds): I get 3.
Mom (acting a bit offended): Then how many would I get?Brielle: One...I get 3.That's just the way it is I guess.
3/3/09
Brielle: Mom, what are you doing?
Mom: Cutting onions
Brielle: I don't like onions.
Mom: Me neither. They stink!
Brielle: They stink?
Mom: Yes. They do!
Brielle: They need to go potty!
3/2/09Mom (Grabbing his hand as Nathan tries to hit her): Nathan we don't hit. Do you feel frustrated?Brielle: "Yes, he does."Mom: "Nathan, when you feel frustrated you can say 'grrrrr' and that will make you feel better."Brielle (in a consoling tone): "Good idea mommy"That was a rewarding moment for me! I try to reinforce her when she chooses good ways to solve her problems. It felt good to have her do it back to me!2/12/09Brielle: "When we sit down we have a lap. When we stand up we don't have a lap."
2/10/09 (Showing me her baby doll that she had been taking care of)Brielle: "I put these (barettes) in to keep the hair out of her face."Mom: "That is so nice of you."Brielle: "And I use the comb to get all of the nuts out. She put them in with her hands."Mom: "She put knots in her hair with her hands?"Brielle: "Yes. She put nuts in her hair with her hands during dinner."I guess I need to be more clear when, in answer to her questions, I explain what I am doing when I am combing the knots out of her hair each morning.
2/7/09 (Singing in her bedroom)Brielle: "Twinkle little star...like a dino in the sky..."
At breakfast - 1/25/09
Brielle(eating whole wheat toast) : "Please pass the bear jam (honey)."

Brielle's Personal Prayer - 1/24/09
Dad: "Please help my owie to get better." (She scraped her face badly about 30 minutes before)
Brielle repeats
Brielle (At the end of the prayer): "Dad, it's not gone. It's still there!"
Dad: "What?"
Brielle: "My owie isn't gone after the prayer."

About one week ago Brielle came to me randomly and said:
Brielle: "I have three houses."
Mom: "You do? Where are they?"
Brielle: "My Idaho house, my Utah house, and my Wisconsin house."
Yipee! If she is already thinking about her WI house, maybe this next move won't be so hard on her!

Nightly Family Prayer - Brielle's turn 1/22/09
Dad: "Please help us to sleep well now."
Brielle (kind-of) repeats: "Please help us to sleep not yet."

Brielle's pronuciations:
zebra - "eezbra"
vegetable - "jetable"
carpet - "crap it"
milkshake - "milkshade"

Looking at a book:
Brielle: "Mom, what are these?"
Mom: "Those are insects."
Brielle: "I love sex!"
Mom: "Hmmm...maybe we should call them bugs."
2/3/09S marty pants!!! Brielle's favorite library book is "Franklin Goes to the Hospital." We have checked it out 2 or 3 times. I sat down to read it to her and got part way through the sentence and stopped.
Mom: "Franklin had gone to the doctor..."
Brielle: "for regular check-ups."
Mom: "Franklin had had..."
Brielle: "colds and tummyaches."
Mom: "Franklin had gotten..."
Brielle: "cuts and bruises."
Mom: "And one time..."
Brielle: "the doctor had even come to Franklin's house."
Mom: "But until now...."
Brielle: "Franklin had never been to the hospital."
The whole book went on like that with Brielle finishing sentences about sleep medicine, x-rays, surgeries, and being brave. We had read it to her maybe 7 or 8 times with a couple of weeks since the last time we checked it out. It makes me wonder...what else is stored inside that little brain?

Nathan Updates Archives

7/23/09 New favorite words: "DO IT!!" (meaning, "I do it.")Looking at a picture of me and my sisters:
Mom: "Nathan, who is that?"
Nathan: "Shon. Mommy. Shell."
Who knew that he knew that? Not me.
7/14/09 He was playing with Baby Sara (the doll), comforting her when she cried and doing pat a cake with her feet (I do that with him when I change his diaper). Then he said "Stinky!" and began to change her diaper. He took the mock diaper of and said "whoo wee! Stinky!" while waving his hand in front of his nose. I found it humorous and I love that he is learning to pretend. He has a great role model of that in his older sister.
3/24/09 I can't keep up with all the words he is learning lately. Everyday several new ones pop out. SO FUN! He LOVES outside, trains, cars, food, and books. He also notices every little noise and tells me what makes it. Smartie pants.
3/13/09 Recent words:
"My tun" - My turn (Hmm. I wonder where he learned that one)
"Chicken"
"Nana" - banana
"Some""
Nandy" - candy
"Tick" - Stick
"Foo" - Food
"Shower"
"Owieee"
"Yummy"
"Fishy"
"Tak you" - Thank you
Nods his head a lot in answer to questions
3/3/09'He said "I love you" today! :)
3/2/09 His vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds! Recent additions:"tissue"-he walks around saying this as his nose is running constantly. He doesn't fight me wiping it anymore."train, choo choo"- everytime he hears the train pass our house he calls this out and runs to the window."vvvrrrooooom"-whenever he sees a car"stinky" - you can guess when he uses this :)"welcome"-we recently realized that this is what he is saying instead of thank you to our "what do you say Nathan?" prompt. He has been saying it for months and we recently mused that he should be able to say "thank you" more clearly since he is talking so much better now. We then realized he is saying "welcome" because we always say "you're welcome after he responds to that verbal prompt.Morning Welcome
2/7/09 I got up this morning at 6:45 to go and play raquetball and heard Nathan calling "mama, mama". It was all I could do to not go in and give him a great big love, but I had to leave to pick up Candida to play ball. When I got home I saw Brielle coming down the stairs, so I said "HI!!" Then I hear "HHHHIIIII! HHHHHIIIIII! HHHHHIIIII!," as Nathan scoots down the stairs as fast as possible (and he is amazingly fast as many of you can attest). He came running over to me and gave me a big, heart-melting hug. Brielle plopped down on the stairs and started giving me a report on the morning as Jared and I do when one or the other of us gets home. "Nathan wake up. I say it is morning...mumble, mumble, mumble." Then Nathan was off to the kitchen making his uh-uh noise which means he wants me to follow. Then he gets in there and I hear "PEEESE. PEEESE. PEEESE. (Please)". I go in to find him standing beneath where the cookies are on the counter reaching as high as he can. "PEESE." In an effort to give him something healthy instead, I went over and opened the fridge to get him some milk. Nathan bee-lined over there, saw a sippy cup of Kool-aid and let out a squeal of glee! He did a little happy dance as he grabbed it and started drinking. How can I say "no" to that? I couldn't.
2/4/09 We went for a walk and Nathan talked up a storm:
"side" (let's go out side)
"ca - vroooom" (There is a car. Vroooom)
"do - ruff, ruff" (There is a dog. Ruff. Ruff)
"nt some" (I'm hungry. I want some)