Conference Weekend

Since Kris found out that he could do an away rotation at the U of U, I wanted to spend conference weekend up at the cabin. We it is just right with the leaves changing colors and we had a fabulous time. This little row boat was at the cabin when we got there so we took Denzil for a little ride on the lake. Check out that sweet life jacket. That was what I used to wear! It's a pound puppies one in case you are wondering;)

Denzil loves the 4 wheeler. We spend another weekend in Moroni and I rode the 4 wheeler around the house countless times to try to charge the battery and also to take him for a ride.
This is what Saturday afternoon conference session looks like. I'm sure they were just resting their eyes and feeling the spirit and getting inspired to be better!

Remember the swing, well this year someone got the idea to make a kid swing. It was a hit for Denzil and Nicalee.
This is the sweet fort that Jack and his grandpa made last year or something. Denz was a little nervous the first time we went in but I think he got over it.
Then we stopped to give the horses a treat of some ears of corn on the way home. Denzil wasn't too thrilled but he was totally pooped. We had to wake him up when we got there and then he fell back asleep as soon as we put him back in the car.

Our September

In September Nana came to visit for a little bit and we decided to head to Dollywood for a weekend of fun. Denzil got to go on his first ferris wheel. I think he had fun. We rode the elephants several times. His arms weren't quite long enough to push the button to make them go up but he had a great time anyway. There were a couple other kid rides that he enjoyed too. We got to go on a couple of big kid rollercoasters too. They weren't nearly as cool as I thought they would be and I don't think I'll make a special trip there again but I'm glad I can say that I went to Dollywood. Now we just need to stay in Gatlinburg for a night and experience that place more than just driving through.
Yes my child is putting his head in a puddle of water in a parking lot. He just can't resist a body of water, large or small.
Kris blessed McKinley while Nana was here too. It sure it tough to get a good pic with little children involved;)
After Nana went home the Winston-Salem airshow happened. We made the mistake of going around noon and the traffic was terrible! It took us nearly an hour and a half to get there and it's only about 10 or so miles from our house. We could see some of the military planes doing their thing from the car so we thought we missed the really cool planes. But alas, we were still able to enjoy a few of the awesome planes and lots of the smaller trick planes. It was the 100 yr anniversary of the airshow so that is why they had the military planes. Denzil was so worn out because it was warm and nap time but he did get to see some of the planes. McKinley did pretty well but did cry a bit with the loud noises.
The Stealth Bomber
And finally, McKinley is 2 months! She is such a good baby! The first little bit of her life she would cry in the evenings for a bit but now she is smiling and getting past that.

Someone is 2

Denzil had a birthday, shout Hooray! We were going to try to get a few friends together for cake and ice cream but in the end it was just our family. It was great though. In the morning we had him open his present, CAT trucks and a Mater truck. He loves them and can name the CAT trucks correctly. We went to church and then after nap Kris made some cupcakes.

I have a video of Denzil singing happy birthday to himself but I haven't had much success with uploading videos on here so you'll just have to imagine what it was like. We had to light the candles and sing several times because Happy Birthday is one of his favorite songs. He was able to blow the candles out himself a couple of the times.
The first thing (and really the only thing) Denzil ate off of his cupcake was the chocolate chip eyes. We put eyes on Elmo several times because he didn't really want to eat the rest of the cupcake. Kris also made Cookie Monster cupcakes.
Happy Birthday to our sweet Denzil! We are so happy to have him and to watch him grow and learn everyday. At his 2 yr appt he was 27 lbs 2.5 oz (40 %), 34 inches tall (40%), and 19.5 inches head circumference (73%). He speaks very well and loves to sing songs and read books. His favorite toys right now are cars, trucks, planes, and trains. He has been lining them up when he plays with them and now takes them to bed with him sometimes because we got rid of the paci. No, it's not because he turned 2 but because he decided to play in his diaper during nap time and it was no longer sanitary. He's done pretty well without it but now we have a few minutes of crying sometimes when he is going to take a nap or go to bed. He still is taking pretty long naps usually, 3+ hrs, and bedtime is supposed to be at 8 but we haven't been so strict with the summer time. He loves nursery now and loves his friends. We love you Denzil and hope this next year brings great adventures and lots of learning!

1 month already?!!

My how time flies and more so with child #2. I guess it's because there is never a dull moment. McKinley has been doing pretty well. At her two week appt she was 7 lbs 14 oz and apparently she shrunk because they measured her at 20 inches. She has been eating every 2.5 to 3 hrs and at night I usually get one 4 hr stretch or so between feedings. One night she went 5.5 hrs but that hasn't happened since. She eats quick too so that is a bonus. Sometimes she likes to throw up what appears to be everything that she just consumed but it doesn't happen all the time. We have had a few smiles and her crying time in the evening is getting better (for the most part anyway). Her hair is still more brown but sometimes it looks like there is a little bit of red in it. Denzil loves her (sometimes a little too much) and we are excited to see her growing and being more alert. She is a joy to have in our family and we are looking forward to all the good times to come.

1st photo shoot

Just a sampling of the cute pictures our friend took of McKinley at about 2 weeks old. She has been a sweet baby and we are so happy to have her in our family.

Fun times with friends

After spending time at home post McKinley's birth Denzil was excited (and me too) to get together with some friends. Who wouldn't like someone riding on your back;)

Cute kiddos just lounging around.
Denzil loves swimming so this was a perfect way to spend the hot late morning. He just loves the Jackson's and their house.

I made a mistake and misread an invite to a party so we ended up at the park. Since we went to visit my sister in March Denzil has loved teeter totters and this one doesn't disappoint. He still loves swinging and his new favorite is the under dog!
Denzil ate his first real ice cream cone. He has eaten ice cream for a while but doesn't really love it but we got a soft serve cone at Chick fil-A a few weeks ago and he loved it! It was fun sharing with him and seeing him get excited for another lick.

Denzil loves the water and had so much fun in our friends backyard with this water toy. He had lots to drink too from the mini fountains.

And who doesn't love a little picnic with friends??! We have been having a great summer but are looking forward to some cooler weather.

McKinley's 1st few days home

When we left the hospital with McKinley the pediatrician said that we needed to see our doctor the next day to check her bilirubin levels because she was at around 11 so we made and appointment and enjoyed our first night home as a family. The doctor did a heel prick test to check the levels and then we went home. A couple hours later we got a call saying that McKinley needed to do the light treatments for jaundice because her bilirubin had jumped up to 21. They said a home health company would bring them by for us and that we needed to see the doctor each day until they said she was okay. Not too long after that we got another call saying that if the lights didn't arrive to our house by 9pm and no later then we were to take her straight to the ER at Baptist. So, we were a little bit nervous about that. The home health people said they'd be here about 9:20 so Kris and I decided to wait for them because by the time we got to the hospital and were all set up we figured it would be after 9:20. I'm glad we did because it wasn't so bad having a little glow worm of our own for a few days. She did great with being wrapped up in the light blankets and we didn't have to have our little one in the ER catching any sicknesses

Welcome McKinley Susan Foote!!

Tuesday July 19 we welcomed McKinley Susan to our family. The story goes like this. On Monday we went to the mall to play with friends in a cool environment and when everyone else left we got some lunch and then did a little shopping. I started to feel a few contractions while we were out. When we got home I started timing them and they were somewhere between 10-12 minutes apart. Kris had to work that evening so I told him to be prepared. I kept track and by the time he got home after 12 the contractions were about 8 minutes apart. I tried to go to sleep but I couldn't get comfortable so I watched TV and kept track with a little bit of sleep in between. By 6 am the contractions were about 6-7 minutes apart and getting stronger. By 7 I knew that Kris wasn't going to be able to go to work and we got things ready to go to the hospital. By the time we were in the car the contractions were pretty painful. We dropped off Denzil at our friends and headed in to the hospital. When I got there my water wasn't broken but I was dilated to about a 6.5 so we were admitted. Because I'm a carrier for group B strep, the doctor said they weren't going to break my water to speed things up. I have to have antibiotics and it is best if they are in my system for 8 hrs before the birth. So we got hooked up and I got my epidural and was able to get a little bit of rest. Just after 12 noon I felt queezy and threw up. I must have broken my water at that point. When the nurse checked me a while later she said I was to an 8 and that it was broken. By 2:45 I was getting ready to push to get the baby in the right spot and then after a few more pushes we had McKinley out in the world. Kris was able to catch her like he did with Denzil. It was pretty awesome! When the nurses were checking her out they said she sounded like she had some "grunting" noise with her cry so they called the NICU to check her out. They decided that it would be best to take her to the NICU to monitor her for a couple of hours. This is her in the NICU. She was looking pretty content just chillin under the warmer.

We are now a family of 4!
Yay! Let's go home!

Denzil's cute faces

We went to the Chick fil-A dress like a cow day and got a free meal. I pinned some spots to his clothes and put some ears on this hat. It didn't last long. He enjoyed his lunch and playing with friends in the play place.

He's been making this face quite a bit lately. I think I must look at him with that type of look often when he does something he isn't supposed to do!

4th of July

The 4th of July was a bit rainy for us here. We planned on watching the fireworks with our friends at the country club a couple miles away from us. This is the sight we saw when we got out of the car. The rain had stopped but it did it's damage...no fireworks because the equipment got wet.

But, don't worry. Denzil got to touch a snake, a horny dragon, ride a pony, hold a bunny and see several other animals that evaded his grab.




He was so excited about "making fireworks." Good thing he doesn't really know what they are so he was able to have a blast anyway!

NC Zoo with friends

This pic doesn't have anything to do with the zoo but this is Denzil's first time eating the corn on the cob. He loved it!

Denzil said that he wanted to go to the zoo one day to see the giraffes so we found some friends and headed out. Aren't these two just precious! Denzil loves Aiden and his parents.
It's a good thing that the zoo has statues and other things throughout that little kids can play on. They liked seeing the animals but these boys were quite entertained with everything else!
The real elephant is in the open area behind them but you can't pet him!
Denzil didn't want to come off of the tire.
We sat here for a bit because they could just sit and watch the seal swim by and we pregnant ladies could get some shade and rest.
The boys in a polar bear cave. The polar bear was sleeping. It was a pretty hot day.

Thanks Amy and Aiden for coming with us. Denzil wants to go again but I think we'll have to wait until it isn't quite so hot to do it again.

South Mountains State Park

About a month ago we drove a little over 1.5 hrs to check out a state park we hadn't been to yet. Kris wanted to do a 6 mile loop but I decided we should do half that. It was a nice hike with some pretty good stairs to keep us in shape. This waterfall was really pretty. There was a little pool at the bottom but you aren't supposed to get in it. We did put our feet in the creek after the hike was over though which was very nice. Who doesn't like cool water after exercise! The guy we asked to take this pic wasn't too excited about taking it. He didn't even get the waterfall in it! We went again with some friends a couple weeks later but I haven't uploaded their pics they took to our computer yet. Denzil loves hiking and asks about it often. Good thing!