"Mommy, I Cleaned Up the World!"

Ahhhh...the simple beauty and innocence of childhood. A couple of days ago, we had a beautiful, spring-like day here in Louisburg. Elijah had been playing outside, reveling in the gorgeous weather. After several minutes, he came inside and announced to me, "Mommy, I cleaned up the world!"
He had taken a little wagon and pulled it all over the yard, picking up stray toys, twigs, and trash. He had cleaned up the world, as he put it!!!
His comment reminded me that simple things, in the eyes of children, translate into BIG ideas.

Aedan's First Haircut

Last night, Aedan got his first haircut! Francie, our hairdresser, tried having him sit by himself on the chair, but he would not have that!!! He also would not allow her to place a hair-cutting cape around his cute little neck. The antidote to both issues? Mommy's lap!!! He passed with flying colors, leaving the salon looking like a star!!!
His birthday party is this Sunday, and he and his siblings are looking forward to it.

One of Those Days...

Help!! It's been one of those days...nobody listening, baby teething (I think!), eldest child not listening!!!!
At times like these, I have to remind myself to take a deep breath and chill out for a while. This, too, shall pass.
Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go find out what that noise just was and who made it!

Happy Birthday, Aedan!

Our "little man", aka. Aedan, turned ONE year old this past Friday, January 23, 2009. We cannot believe an entire year has passed since we welcomed him into the world. What a joy he is to all of us!
We kept with tradition, taking the day off of work, and spending our day celebrating the birthday. Although we normally take each child to Oak Park Mall for birthday number one to the Rainforest Cafe and Build-A-Bear, we were unable to do that this year. Apparently, the Rainforest Cafe has closed. We went to T-Rex Cafe in Kansas City, Kansas instead, and Aedan built his own T-Rex stuffed animal after the meal.
Aedan loved his birthday celebration, as did his big brother and sister who enjoyed helping him celebrate.
We love you, Aedan!
By the way, Aedan's first two little teeth finally popped through last Wednesday!!!

2008 Year in Review

Hello, family and friends!! We wanted to share a short year in review from our family to yours...

January 2008 - Aedan Tase McLain born on January 23. He weighed 7 lbs., 3 oz. and was 18 inches long!

February 2008 - Aedan shared a lot of "firsts" with us. Among them were his first Valentine's Day and lots of first meetings with relatives!!!

March 2008 - Callan turned 2 years old. Aedan took his first overnight trip to Mountain Home, Arkansas to meet his Great-Grandmother Naomi and Great-Grandfather Frank. He also celebrated his first Easter.

April 2008 - KU WON 2008 NCAA NATIONAL BASKETBALL TITLE!!!! Our sweet little god-daughter, Amelia, made her First Holy Communion.

May 2008 - Elijah turned 4 years old. We took our annual vacation with the Knauffs to gorgeous New Buffalo, Michigan.

June 2008 - The kids' cousin, Lola, spent two weeks at our house. We celebrated her first birthday and Aedan's Baptism on June 14. We also did many fun summer activities, like swimming, visiting the library, and celebrating Father's Day.

July 2008 - Jeremy's dear grandmother, Wilma, passed away on July 17. We attended the funeral in Ellsworth, Kansas.

August 2008 - We attended a very special Gearhart family in reunion in Atchison, Kansas. The Gearharts are from Mary's maternal grandmother, Mimi's, side of the family. We visited Mimi's grave while in Atchison.

September 2008 - Visited Deanna Rose Farmstead - a great farm, petting zoo, and park in Overland Park, Kansas!!

October 2008 - Lots of fun fall activities!!! We visited Crown Center and Louisburg pumpkin patches. Elijah, Callan, and Aedan had fun trick-or-treating in Louisburg. Also, both Elijah and Callan get stitches for the first time.

November 2008 - Jeremy's grandfather, John, passed away on November 6. We attended his funeral in Ellsworth, Kansas. Aedan celebrated his first Thanksgiving in Chicago!

December 2008 - Aedan's first Christmas!! We celebrated it with his Nana and Papa!

May 2009 be as happy and prosperous for everyone!!! Happy 2009!!