It's been awhile...

I realized a few days ago that it's been a bit since I through a new post up.  I was sick for about 6 days straight, first with the flu and then right as that was fading away I got mastitis (for my third time while nursing Kellen). So needless to say I was quite miserable for the last week. I felt like a terrible wife and mother...my husband had a messy house and no dinner on the table and my kids looked bored out of their minds. But thankfully I had good help from my hubby who was off for a long weekend anyway. And I am loaded with antibiotics now and feeling great once again. So I made it a priority to take some pictures the last few days to share. 

Daddy and Kellen playing. Kellen loves to stand and does it quite well these days with just a little help up.

My goofy little man.

Look at me Mama!

I am such a sucker for this boy's smile. He is such a happy little boy. I love having my little boy to love on me all day...he works me over already.

Almost every day when we are out running errands we see the Trolley go by. And lately Makenna has gotten really excited about it when we see it. So I thought it would be fun if we took a Trolley ride, just for the heck of it. We needed to go to the store so we jumped on the Trolley, took it to the next stop, got off, shopped, got some Jamba Juice and then jumped back on. It was so much fun. Makenna had a blast. It was so cute to see how excited she was getting the ticket and riding backwards. She kept saying "Hold on tight mama, we going really, super fast!" It was a fun experience to have. It's great to see the small things that bring such a big smile and excitement to your childs face. I can't wait til she sees Disneyland when we go this summer for her birthday!

She looks weird here, but she was just too excited to take a good picture.

Kellen got excited too, can't you tell? :)

My little love bugs!

Kenna has been wanting to take pictures by herself lately, so we have been sharing taking pictures with the camera. She really is pretty good, when she can keep her fingers off the lens.

I know I have said it before, but she really melts my heart.

This is how we do it

It's been heating up in San Diego and us McKamey's are loving it! We have been having a lot of fun these days and staying busy. I wish it was always summer.

Makenna loves to climb in Kellen's crib with him whenever he wakes up from a nap. It's cute bonding time for the two of them. Kellen loves it too, you can tell.

POOL TIME!

Kellen boy getting ready to get in on the action. I know what you are thinking ladies, and back off :0)

I would love to have Makenna swimming floaty free by the end of this summer

Gotta protect that bald little head.

He had so much fun splashing in the water, he was getting his face soaked.

A trip to one of Makenna's happiest places on earth...Chuck E Cheese! Mommy likes it too cause it is cheap, easy and fun entertainment! (Yes, she is still obsessed with her mittens. I have to wash them several times a day because she insists upon wearing them almost everywhere!)

Even Kellen could feel the excitement in the air and got into the Chuck E Cheese experience.

Decide for Yourself

I always like it when Todd and I both have baby pictures at about the same age and we can compare them to Kellen. It's just fun to look and see. Plus, people are Always asking me who he looks like more, so now you can decide on your own.

A Holy Place

I had the amazing opportunity last night to go through to temple for the first time. Suffice it to say that it was one of the most wonderful, spiritual, humbling experience I have had. I felt so close to the Lord being there and that closeness has not seemed to fade upon returning back to life outside the temple. For that I am so very grateful. I love the Lord and his gospel with all my might, mind and strength and pray I can live worthy to receive all these amazing blessings.
The San Diego Temple will always hold a special place in my heart. It was the first temple I was ever in when I went through for the dedication. It is where I was sealed to my mother and father as a child...something I still remember! It is where my husband took me and my daughter and got down on his knee requesting that I be his wife. It was the temple I was able to attend yesterday. And very soon (hopefully the end of June/beginning of July) it will be the place I will go with my Husband, Daughter and Son to be sealed together as a family for all eternity!

It feels good...

to know that I am doing something right in the way I am raising my daughter.

I was standing in the kitchen steaming some veggies for Kellen and listening to Makenna play outside in Bella's water bowls. Makenna is Always singing something, and I am so used to hearing it now that often times I am not even aware of it. 

But suddenly her song caught my attention...she was singing out loud, word for word perfectly, I Am A Child of God. It brought tears to eyes. It was the first time I have heard her sing it alone. And it touched my spirit to know that my little girl, in her free time while running around and playing, had those beautiful words going through her head. That her thoughts, even at this young age, are turned to her Father in Heaven, if only for a few moments during play. It made me feel like perhaps I am doing a good job at building a foundation for my daughter that our Heavenly Father would be proud of.

The words to the song always seemed 'cute' to me as child. But now I can barely keep a dry eye through the song when thinking about it from the perspective of a mother.

"Lead me, guide me, walk beside me, help me find the way

   Teach me all that I must do, to live with him some day."

What a humbling responsibility!

Without You....

On mother's day everyone always takes the time to thank their mothers, to tell them how wonderful they are, do nice things for them and give them a day to rest and relax and put their feet up. And by all means, keep it up! :)  But I just wanted to take the time to say thank you to the people in my life that help make me the mother that I am. 

My darling Makenna and Kellen. 

Thank you for all the love and the joy that you bring into my life...for showing me a love that I never even knew was possible. 

Thank you for teaching me to be selfless...to put the needs of the ones I love before my own.

Thank you for teaching me patience and understanding, and more patience. To stop and slow down and not always have to be in a hurry and that life is better enjoyed when you're not.

Thank you for reminding me what life is like through the eyes of a child and to appreciate the little things that, in reality, are So Big!

Thank you for laughing with me and playing with me and showing me how to leave the dishes in the sink and the laundry to be done later and enjoy the moments that will come but once. The chores will always be there....your children won't.

Thank you for showing me my faults and weaknesses and for being patient with me while I learn to be better, and for loving me despite all of my shortcomings.

Thank you for your smiles, your hugs, your kisses (slobbery as they can be at times).

Thank you for choosing me....for giving me the opportunity, the responsibility, the honor of being your Mama. I feel unworthy, but will do my best every day to be the mother that you deserve. I love you both so much more than you will ever know. You are my world, my life, my heart.

Makenna Mae 8/18/06

Kellen Edward Walter 10/4/08

Kenna

Kellen

Kenna-1 week old

Kellen-1 week old

And to my mother, my best friend. My first love. My rock. My hero. 

You have always been there for me and always will....the peace and comfort that brings to my life means more than words can express. You are a mother unlike anything anyone could ask for. You are the most loving, kind, patient, selfless, spiritual, thoughtful person I know. You set an example as a mother that I aspire to be every day. You have done so much for me and continue to do so much for me. Your sacrifice and your time does not go unnoticed. Thank you for all you have been and continue to be to me. Thank you for being so strong, for always being there when I needed you and even when I thought I didn't need you. Thank you for being my shelter, my home, my rock that I can always return to. I love you more than you know and pray every day that I can be the kind of mother you are to me and make you proud. I pray that I can have the sort of relationship with my children that I have with you. I will never be too old to need my mommy. I love you and will always be your baby girl. 

Always.

Grammy and Makenna

Grammy and Kellen

We Miss You Daddy

Todd has been gone this week since Sunday morning and will be home later tonight. But the kids and I just wanted to let him know that we have missed him while he has been gone. His presence has been missed very much. Every night after Makenna's bath she has run around the house looking for Daddy and I have had to remind her that he is "bye bye for work". Tonight when she got out of the bath and I was getting Kellen's pajamas on I heard her walking through the different rooms of the house saying "Daddy not in here....Daddy not in here..." and then she came back into the room and said "Mama, Daddy bye bye for work....I miss him." It was very cute and it touched my heart.

We would be lost without you Daddy. We love you!

Mama's Boy

On Monday my little man hit a big milestone. He started saying his first word...."mama", which of course just melts his mama's heart. I know that babies babble a lot and he has been babbling for awhile now. He will say "ba ba ba" all the time and other silly babblings. But this has been different.

On Monday I notice that whenever I would walk out of the room and it would upset him (he has a bit of separation anxiety) he would start saying "ma ma ma" and as soon as I came back in the room or went to him he would stop. And for the rest of the day any time he got sad or needed a toy or to be sat up or started to cry he would start saying "ma ma ma", as if he was calling for me. And once again, as soon as I got to him he would be fine and stop saying it. So to me it does seem as if he knows that I am mama. It is very cute to hear. So of course I have a sampling to share with you. I am sure I look mean for filming him when he is upset. But like I said, that is really the only time he says it.

My baby boy is growing up :(

Hazard to Herself

Is it all toddlers or is it just my kid who is always covered in "boo boos"? I know that I was a clumsy and fearless child and always had skinned knees and elbows as a result of my adventures. And my daughter is exactly the same. He knees are almost always damaged, her legs are usually sporting a bruise or two, and you can usually find a few other battle wounds on her somewhere. The poor child is just a hazard to herself. But I guess it is just evidence of her outgoing, crazy personality. I just feel bad for her. My crazy little moose.

Here are a few pics showing off her current owies and a few more from the last week or so.

Notice the scratches on her chest. There were more under her neck and on the inside of her arm. There was an accidental collision with the dog which resulted in these particular 'boo boos'

At least one knee is always skinned....she's clumsy, just like her mama.

I see no future in make-up artistry here.

Botox anyone?

My little dancing queen striking a pose. She was dancing non-stop at the ward party...certainly not the shy child.

This is the first time Makenna has ever passed out watching a movie. She was exhausted and had refused her nap....should have listened to mama. But it was really cute to see her passed out like this.

Miss Independent now likes taking showers by herself in the morning after mommy has taken hers. I find this independence pretty darn cute.

Bustin' Out!

In the beginning Kellen was such a laid back, quiet, easy going little guy. He seemed to be content doing anything or nothing, just going with the flow and sort of liked to observe life around him. 

Well, a lot of that has changed. He still is fairly easy going. In a lot of ways he is so much easier than Makenna was at his age. But in other ways he is a SPAZ! He is truly the LOUDEST 7 month old I have ever known. He yells! All the time! When me makes noise it almost always comes out with a lot of force. It is happy yelling most of the time. But yelling none the less. And he does know how to use that yell as a demand as well. He is quite content 90% of the time, but if has an opinion he will not hesitate to let you know. He is always moving, especially his arms. I believe he has great aspirations of becoming a bird some day because he always flapping his little arms around. It's quite cute. He's babbling so much all of the sudden (a lot of 'ba ba ba' and some 'ma ma ma" here and there). He is starting to try really hard to scoot around, so it won't be long before he is on the move. It is just so funny to see more and more of this little guy's personality come out every day. He cracks me up....I love his craziness!

Anyway, happy 7 months old in a couple of days Kellen Boy!

Kellen with his blanky. I used to sleep with this over my face at night, but he has stolen it.I have gotten over it and now think it is cute.

CHEESE. Such a big boy with his big boy teeth. 

This is Kellen's new thing....he holds his arms up in the air and tilts his head to the side. Honestly, he looks quite ridiculous while he is doing it, but it's funny to watch. SUPERMAN!

Arms up lettin it All hang out!

Here's a bit of Kellen babbling.