Talk about missin' her daddy!!!

After 2 weeks of being in Utah, we flew back to San Jose where dad was still busy working. I seriously have the best husband- he works hard all summer long and let's me play and go on vacations- I owe him BIG BIG time!

When Mckell woke up the next morning she was nothing but huge smiles all day. She would not let Courtland put her down and insisted on being with him no matter what!

Out on a saturday afternoon jog- we jogged a couple miles to some fountains close by. Mckell loved splashing in the water- she's definitely a water baby.

Jake & Jill in Utah

After Lake Powell it was a little craziness! Blake & Taryn packed up and drove cross-country with my dad to move to Tennessee for Blake's school. Jake and Jill came to stay at my parent's for the rest of their time in Utah. And my mom was staying with my grandma Critchlow who just had knee replacement surgery! Through all the craziness we had lots of fun still!

Nolan and Luke playing with the cars.

Jake set up the slip n' slide one day- the boys loved it!

Mckell in action- and only at 10 months old!

so far, not sure what she thinks

and maybe didn't love it quite as much as the boys!

Mckell pulls her self up to anything she can now. She is getting busier and busier finding all sorts of new things she can do. My current favorite thing is clicking her tongue- she thinks it's the coolest thing. Oh and guess what her third word was 'PAPA!' My dad was beyond excited when her taught her to say papa- so dang cute! But for the record- her first word was 'moma' FOLLOWED by 'dada' that's right, to all you out there that say they say dada first because it's easier... well we all know the truth!

The place I call home, welcome to my paradise!

I LOVE LAKE POWELL!!!!! enough said...

Last year I wasn't able to go to Lake Powell, even though I begged- literally, because I was like 38 weeks prego. Well this year there was absolutely NO WAY I was missing out again! And who would? I flew in from San Jose to go. It is so gorgeous, peaceful (besides the fact that now everyone has cell service there now, don't like that! I say no phones allowed on the lake!!), and relaxing. I am dead serious when I say, I really would rather go to lake powell than any other destination on earth- name one! Sorry but I choose lake powell.

Anyway, this year we had a fun crowd. Thanks to my mom and dad who put it all together and make it happen, Jake/Jill/Eric, Blake/Taryn, Doug/Jerry/Erin all came.

The ducks we fed everyday

Blake & Taryn

Jill, Eric (Jill's brother), & Jake

Me & Erin

The whole crew on Malan's boat

I was the motor, ha! I had to pump the oil every 15 or so seconds to keep it working- always something every trip. Before we even got to the lake we had a trailer flat and battery die.

Thank you thank you mom and dad!

And a BIG thanks to Courtland's family for watching Mckell for me. You guys sure showed her a good time and she just loves spending time with you!

San Francisco for the 4th of July!!!

For the 4th of July we went up to San Francisco to celebrate. We had such a fun time driving around the city and seeing all the sights. We drove through union square, chinatown, and finally found somewhere to park by Fisherman's Wharf and pier 39. It was crazy busy because fireworks in all the surrounding cities had been canceled so EVERYONE was in San Francisco it seemed. Funny thing is, when I picture going to fireworks, I picture it being hot. So Mckell and I dressed cool for the occasion against Courtland's warning and had to end up finding warmer clothing. It was pretty cold and kind of a funny sight I thought seeing people dressed in boots, scarves, gloves, coats, all wrapped in blankets to watch the fireworks.

We went on a boat ride- Mckell was clapping, she thought it was pretty fun.

San Francisco in the background

Snuggling with daddy, getting a bit chilli

Going under the golden gate bridge

We went around the famous alcatraz jail

At the beach- funny thing about California, everyone always talks about the beach life... but the water is freezing! So when CAN you go to the beach and swim??? It's July?

Of course we had to go to Ghirardelli Square- delicious!

Out on pier 39, sea-lions

Snuggling in the cold, waiting for the fireworks to begin

Mckell loved the fireworks- she was mesmerized the entire time and would clap every once in a while- so cute!

Still can't really see a distinct color to Mckell's eyes?

Mckell turned 9 months... a bit ago

Mckell turned 9 months old June 15th and here are her stats from the doctors:

weight 16.7lbs 9.69%

lenght 27.75" 53.26%

head 16.53" 34.96%

The doctor said she was doing great and right on track!

I really can't believe how fast time flies by with this little one. She's already changed and grown so much. I can see her fun personality coming out more and more everyday and I just love it. As far as babies go, I truly have been blessed with this angel, literally! She is just about the easiest baby- as I am told often. She's been sleeping through the night since she was a couple weeks old, never spits up (can count on one hand how many times), self entertained herself while Courtland and I had a really hard semester, hardly cries or fusses, has only had one set of ear infections and pink eye (probably due to travel), and is just a happy girl.

She started army crawling at about 7 months old and now speed army crawls. She can get up on all four, but I'm thinking she's going to skip the whole crawling thing because she's content army crawling. She's pulling herself up to things and is getting pretty stable on her little legs. She's definitely in the busy stage and is into EVERYTHING so I have to keep a close eye on her. Just the other day I found the remnants of a ladybug in her mouth, YUM! She's been such a little trooper this summer, us dragging her all over the place. We just love our baby girl so much and can't get enough of her!

trying to get into the cookies

I love this face she does- she gets it from me! haha

Swimming at grandma Critchlows

crawling and climbing onto everything

grandpa Rabe stepping on her making her giggle

Mckell's first word was mamma- of course! ha I've been coaching her since she was born practically! She still isn't quite saying dada but I think it will be soon. She loves clapping her little hands and is starting to give high fives. She has had one bottom tooth for a couple weeks now, but it is only half way out with no signs of any other teeth. She LOVES when you read her stories and she insists on turning the pages. She has also just started waving to people and is very friendly if you smile at her. Mckell HATES mean tones or if you raise your voice around her, so when watching exciting sports games, we have to keep the excitement down! ha

Strangers always comment about how happy she is and ask if she's always that good- answer YES. They always comment about her eyebrows and eyes (I've never noticed a baby's eyebrows but apparently a lot of people look at them and Mckell has good ones?). I'm still not positive what color to call her eyes, they are just super dark. Most days they look really dark brown with a dark blue ring around the outside. And another thing people say is how expressive she is, I don't have anything else to compare to so it's fun to hear what other people think and notice about your child.

Anyway, sorry for the Mckell overload info- just jotting down my thoughts for the books!

what happens when grandpa 'papa' Rabe watches Mckell...

He gives her whatever she wants, lets her make messes, and waits for mama to come clean up afterwords...

My dad gave Mckell some licorice and she went to town with it as you can see!

Thanks Dad! Mckell definitely needed a tub after. (oh and love my mom in the background just laughing it up!) We all had a good laugh.