McClane's First Snow!

How beautiful!!  Just in time for Christmas!  I always love the first big snow of the season - everything turns white and I feel like I live in a postcard.  We bundled up McClane and took him out to show him the snow.  At first he was real happy and excited.  He faded fast though - it really was cold and by the time we went back inside all he wanted to do was snuggle up and go to sleep.  We got some great pictures though!  Enjoy!

6 Month Pictures

We had McClane's six month pictures made recently and they turned out great!  I can't believe how fast time has flown...I know people always say that children grow up too quickly but I don't think I was quite prepared for just how fast!  He is such a joy and we feel so blessed to be McClane's parents.  2009 has been a wonderful year and we can't wait to see what 2010 will bring!

Here is a link to McClane's 6 month slideshow:

http://kristinayoungphoto.com/darkroom/share/?n=Norman

McClane Meets Santa!

Last weekend we decided to take McClane to visit Santa.  We thought we would beat the long lines if we went before Thanksgiving and we did pretty good.  We waited in line maybe 30 minutes so it wasn't bad at all.  We went to the Natick Mall which is the nicest mall around Boston in hopes that they would have the best looking Santa.  When we got there, I was pleasantly surprised at Jolly Old St. Nick - he looked pretty good to me!  However, I became a little nervous as I watched all of the children cry, no scream, the moment they were placed in Santa's lap.  Grant and I just kind of looked at each other, and thought maybe this wasn't the greatest idea.  We both really thought McClane would do okay though because he doesn't have stranger anxiety yet so we proceeded through the line.  When it was our turn, I gingerly placed McClane on Santa's knee and waited to see what would happen.  McClane was MESMERIZED by Santa.  He couldn't take his eyes off of him.  He just laid back on Santa's chest and stared.  We were ringing bells and squeezing toys and calling his name but he just wasn't interested in us at all - he was too busy trying to figure out what was going on with Santa.  It was pretty funny.  He'd look at us for a second and then turn right back around and look at Santa.  The first round of pictures didn't turn out b/c there wasn't one of him looking at the camera.  The second round, Santa decided to kind of prop McClane on his knee so that he couldn't turn around as easily and it worked!  We finally got the pose!  As we were ordering the pictures, the lady manning the counter said that we "sounded" like Santa.  Guess where Santa was from...the North Pole of course!! But he has a home base in Conyers Georgia!  We went back to talk to him for a minute and he said this is the fifth year that he has come all the way to Boston just to be the Santa at the Natick Mall.  While we were standing in line, Grant had commented that Santa sounded like he had a southern accent and he was right!  Here's the picture!

More Soon!

Grant, Lacey, & McClane

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!! We have so much to be thankful for this year!! We have a sweet healthy baby boy and wonderful friends and family! 2009 has been GREAT! I can't believe it's almost over though. It seems like once Thanksgiving gets here, the rest of the year just flies by. It will be Christmas in no time!

McClane turned 6 months a couple of weeks ago. I swear he just woke up one morning so much bigger and grew up overnight! We had a great 6 months doctor's visit (except for the shots which seem to make me cry more than McClane - I can't help it - I just hate it when they stick him!) and he is doing fantastic. He is 28 inches long and in the 93rd percentile for length (here's hoping he got the Starr gene for height!) and weighed 16.4 pounds which was in the 31st percentile for weight. We have started him on solids and so far he loves everything we give him. He will eat anything I throw at him and cries when it's all gone. I think he's going to be a very good eater!

Here are some pictures from this week. He had to sport all of his Thanksgiving outfits to school this week! We are going to a friend's house for a Thanksgiving feast in a couple of hours so we'll try to take some good pictures and post them later. Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

Love,

Grant, Lacey, and McClane

Catching Up

Okay - so I know I am WAAAAAAYYYYY behind on keeping this blog up to date. Since starting back to work in September, I haven't found the time to do much besides go to work, come home, spend time with my hubby and sweet baby, and go to bed. It has been an adjustment to say the least. But we are doing just that...adjusting, and hopefully I can start blogging more often because it is important for us to keep a record of this special time and to have a way for our family and friends to know what's going on in our lives.

McClane will be 6 months old next week!!! I can hardly believe it. He is such an amazing baby. He is pure joy - the happiest little thing around and his smile melts our hearts. He is learning new things every day and it has been so wonderful watching him grow and develop. He is rolling all over the place (this just happened in the past few days) and we are working on getting him to sit up. He is also teething right now - he will chew on anything he can get in his mouth. He is a sweet sweet baby and he has totally spoiled us. I told Grant that I hope the rest of our children are as good as McClane because if they are, I will just keep having them!

Last week, our good friends Adam, Brooke, and their adorable son Brody came to visit us. We had such a good time visiting with them and I was so excited to have a friend for McClane to go trick-or-treating with on his first Halloween. Brody was a blue monster and McClane was a monkey.

The daycare McClane goes to had a Halloween parade. This is a picture from the parade. One of the parents also took a very cute video. Here's the link:

http://duffys.smugmug.com/Children/Spooky-Da/10131432_ntWwC.

The password is Spooky Day and you have to capitalize the S and D and put a space between the two words. McClane is the second baby you see. He looks absolutely thrilled :)

This is at the Belkin Lookout Farm in Natick. We picked apples and pears and the farm had tons of fun stuff for kids - a petting zoo, playground, Mike the Music Man playing songs. We had a great day!

Saturday night, we went trick-or-treating in the North End, the Italian district in Boston. We had dinner first at my favorite restaurant in Boston - Dolce Vita - and then dressed the babies up and took them out on Hanover Street where all of the businesses passed out candy (and in some cases, Italian pastries!) to the kids. We even happened upon a Halloween party at the Paul Revere Park, behind the Old North Church, where there were tons of kids running around and playing in their costumes. It was a lot of fun. Here's some trick-or-treating pics.

Our Lil' Monkey!

Brody loved playing with the "bebe" - he always wanted to know where McClane was. Brody will be a big brother in March so it was fun watching him practice on McClane. He'll be a great big brother!!

Trick-or-treating really wore McClane out. He passed out on the way home! We had too much fun!

Until next time,

Grant, Lacey and McClane

McClane's First Georgia Game!

Daddy and McClane were very excited about the first Georgia game today! McClane got decked out in all of his Georgia gear - my parents gave him the hat and bib and Mr. Knox and Mrs. Janelle Childers gave him the cute Georgia socks. He wore this little hat home from the hospital and his head sure has grown since then - haha! Enjoy the pics! Don't forget you can click on the pictures to make them bigger.

Whale Watch and Mansions

Two of my best friends, Michael and Saralyn, came to visit us this past weekend and we had such a great time! Having them here gave us an excuse to get out and do some fun things that we have been wanting to do for a long time. Michael and Saralyn brought the warm weather with them and we had a perfect weekend although I thought Michael was going to die from a heat stroke he was so hot :).

On Sunday, we went on a whale watch. Grant and I have talked about going on one numerous times and they gave us the perfect reason to go! We got some really cool pictures which you can see below.

Monday, I took Michael and Saralyn to Newport where we went and toured two of the mansions there. We went to the Breakers first and it was just unbelievable. It was originally a summer "cottage" for the Vanderbilts. It was so ornate and grand. It's hard to believe that it was just a summer home. The backyard view of the ocean was incredible. The second house we went to was called Rosecliff and it was where The Great Gatsby was filmed as well as scenes from True Lies and 27 Dresses. It was also absolutely breathtaking. It was air-conditioned (the only mansion in Newport with air-conditioning) and it is rented out for functions and weddings. I can't imagine what a wedding would cost at this place but it sure would be beautiful. McClane did great the whole day - barely made a whimper. I carried him in my Baby Bjorn and he rode facing out for the first time so he got to enjoy the tour along with us. I can't believe how big he's getting!! I turned him around for the second home tour because he was getting sleepy.

Here are some pictures from the weekend. The majority of them were taken by Michael with his great photography skills. Thank you guys so much for coming to visit us!! We miss you already! Come back soon!!!

This is McClane's pre-whale watch outfit that Grant bought him. He didn't wear this to the whale watch but we had to get a picture - he looked so cute!!

This was the only picture we got with two tails at the same time. Grant took this one.

Great picture of the tail.

Michael got this great shot of the head.

This shot looks like some weird sea creature.

Grant and McClane with his whale outfit on the ferry.

We had a change of clothes on the way back due to a diaper change incident (haha).

On the way to see the mansions in Newport.

Saralyn and me walking up to the Breakers.

Backyard at the Breakers.

I so wanted to run around barefoot in this grass. It was so lush and green and soft!

This is Rosecliff.

Rosecliff

McClane was getting sleepy when we got to Rosecliff.

He was asleep in no time.

Having something to eat before heading back to Boston.

Here's a link to all of our pictures from the weekend: Whales and Mansions

Enjoy!

Grant, Lacey & McClane

Back in Boston

Well, we made it back to Boston. We had such a wonderful time down South. McClane was very popular in Blakely - we had a revolving door the entire time we were down there. I think everyone in town met him. He loved all of the attention. After being in Blakely for two weeks, Grant came down and the three of us went to St. Simons for the week to see his dad and Pam. Unfortunately the weather wasn't that great for us, but we enjoyed the relaxed island time just the same. Pam really took to McClane and he REALLY took to her too - they had a big time bonding and she was so great to watch McClane for us so that Grant and I could have some alone time. We went out to eat at restaurants and spent a couple hours at the pool one afternoon. She really spoiled us - I told her she needed to come back to Boston with us! She and Bob were great with McClane - we hope to see them again soon!

On our way back to Boston, we were fortunate enough to meet up with our good friends Adam and Brooke and their sweet baby Brody for lunch in Tallahassee before going to the airport. Brody is one beautiful little boy - he and McClane are exactly one year apart. McClane's birthday is May 11 and Brody's in May 12. It was fun imagining what McClane will be like this time next year. They are planning a trip up here in the fall and we can't wait to see them again!

McClane had his two-month old checkup and shots this week. He weighs 11 pounds, 9 oz. and measures 23.75 inches long. The doctor said he is doing great. He is sleeping pretty much through the night now too which is wonderful! He slept 8 hours straight last night and then ate and slept for 3 more!

Here are some pictures from the last couple of weeks.

McClane is smiling all of the time now - it's hard to capture it with a camera though because he does it so quickly! It took my cousin Megan about 10 minutes to get this shot. It was worth it though.

We decided that McClane needed to try on Grandpa's John Deere cap - it won't be long before he has one of his own!

This is from the 4th of July - he looked like an All-American baby for sure!

My aunt Karen and cousin Megan gave him this cute bib.

Outside of Brogen's in St. Simons.

Pam getting some sweet snuggles from McClane.

Getting some attention from Pam and his grand-dad.

Meeting up with Adam, Brooke, and Brody in Tallahassee.

Until next time,

Grant, Lacey & McClane

McClane Visits Georgia

McClane has had a very exciting few days. On Thursday, my mom, McClane and I flew down to Georgia to see my family. McClane hit four states in one day - we went from Boston to Charlotte, NC and then to Tallahassee, FL and then drove to Blakely. He is officially a little cross-country traveler. He did amazing on the trip - he didn't hardly make a peep the whole trip. He is so easy to travel with right now. I'm sure that will change as he gets more mobile, but he was so good. My dad picked us up from the airport and since we've arrived in Blakely, we've been going non-stop. We were greeted by so many family and friends when we got here - McClane didn't know what to think with so many people giving him attention. We stayed up late Thursday night visiting with everyone and McClane was so exhausted, he slept 6 hours straight! On Friday, my friends Kristen and Christy came by to see McClane. I haven't seen either one of them in so long!! It was great catching up with them. Friday night we drove to Cairo, GA to go to my cousin's rehearsal dinner - it was a Hawaiian Luau theme and we got some fun pictures with McClane. Saturday we drove back to Cairo for the wedding - the ceremony and reception were outside and it was a balmy 104 degrees with a heat index of 110. Needless to say, we didn't stay outside too long. The wedding was beautiful but it was a scorcher!

For those of you who don't know, I come from a very musical family. My dad taught himself to play the guitar when he was a kid and then with the musical influence of Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, realized his love of the dobro and bluegrass music which he really is a master at. My brother was also gifted in music and could pretty much play anything he picked up. My cousins Kyle and Adam were also given this gift and Kyle has even moved to Nashville where he has become very well known as an up and coming steel guitar player. I am so proud of the musical talent in my family and wish that I had some! Now that McClane is here, he is already being primed to love and play music. My dad sent McClane his first guitar and dobro picks right after he was born and when we arrived in Blakely, he surprised us with a gold-plated dobro for McClane. It is absolutely beautiful and Grandpa can't wait to teach McClane to play. McClane was born exactly 30 years after Lester Flatt died (May 11, 1979) and my dad is ready to turn McClane into the new generation of bluegrass music players.

We have had such a wonderful time since we've been here - it's been so nice to introduce McClane to my family - he is very popular around here and we've enjoyed all of the attention. I've attached a lot of pictures from the past several days so enjoy!

This is the first picture of McClane with his grandpa.

McClane with his Aunt Karen.


McClane with his Great-Grandmother. McClane is her 5th great-grandchild.


Our sweet neighbor "Miss" Frances - McClane took to her right away and smiled and grinned at her.


"Miss" Frances made this beautiful stocking for McClane - now Santa will be able to find him this year!

My friend Kristen with McClane

My friend Christy with McClane

Hawaiian Luau - McClane needed a little accessorizing.

McClane with my dad and cousins - Adam (the groom) and Kyle

Kyle and Me

My cousin Ashley at the wedding holding McClane

My dad presenting McClane with his first dobro

Adam's groom cake was a replica of my dad's dobro that Adam plays. It was so beautiful and detailed.

Kyle holding McClane for the first time.

Kyle thought McClane needed to try on his guitar and dobro picks - he's wearing his thumb pick in this one.

Guitar pick

Finger picks for the dobro - we all decided his long skinny fingers will make him a good musician!

First visit to church this morning with my dad and preacher.

I will be posting more soon! Happy Father's Day to all you dads - most especially to Grant who has been such an amazing dad to McClane. We are very lucky to have him!!

Love,

Lacey, Grant and McClane