August in Texas! It's hot!

We've decided that unless we're playing in water it's too hot to be outside - so we're getting creative! Luckily there are pools, splash pads, water walls, and sprinklers to enjoy! Popsicles and milkshakes help too!

Thanks to our neighbors, we had a chance to take McKinzie to Minute Maid Park for an Astros game! We knew she would love climbing all of the stairs and people watching, but it was so great to see how much she loved the excitement of the crowd cheering! She clapped as hard as she could and yelled yeah at every chance! We hoped she thought the cheering was for her - wouldn't that make your day to have a packed stadium cheering just for you? I would love to give M and her dad a standing ovation for all that they've done for me. This was maybe the closest thing - it was a blast.

McKinzie's playhouse! Andy has added more gadgets since this picture was taken - lights to turn off and on, a steering wheel to turn (while she says whee!),and a doorbell (M says beep beep instead of ding dong - too cute!).

McKinzie had a blast helping her dad work on this project! Our new favorite family outing is now the local home improvement store. McKinzie loved playing with all of the hardware, opening and closing doors, windows, hinges, climbing ladders, flipping light switches, putting her fingers in the display outlets and saying ow-wee ... what else can a toddler get into? She also loved helping her dad push the big blue cart!

Staying Cool

McKinzie had fun playing in the fire hydrant the other day!

Field Trip!

hind sight?

We're told this has happened to more than just our child - McKinzie swallowed her barrette while in the car with mom! We were given doctor's orders to do xrays (Andy got a kick out of seeing the barrette in her stomach, multiple views!) and fortunately McKinzie didn't have to have any other procedures (just mom on diaper patrol!) and everything has come out ok! Other parents wanted to shamelessly share with us horror stories that they'd heard about kids swallowing objects - we're thankful our story has a happy ending! One that we can tell to all of McKinzie's boyfriends.

Our favorite time - grandparent visits!

We had a great time with Grandpa and Grandma Whiteman! Of course the time passed so quickly, but we packed in the fun with finger painting, bike riding, sprinklers and bounce house jumping!

McKinzie was so pumped after getting to spend time jumping around in the preschool blow up playground that she visited with Grandpa and Grandma W! She practiced her jumping in the mirror that evening!

Fetch!

McKinzie and KC have a new bond. Normally KC loves to play ball, but sometimes McK catches her in the middle of a nap! The dogs have been so great with McKinzie, and McK is now big enough that their tails don't knock her over anymore! Our neighborhood pool is now open for swimming, so we've been having a good time in the water. McKinzie seems to have a great time wherever we go, so it has been a blast getting to take her out and about - although Andy has been taking care of both McKinzie and Beth as they caught a nasty cold last week!