Happy Birthday to Me!

Yes, it is officially the most important day of the year, my birthday. 27 years ago, I, Rachel McKenna, was brought into this world and thus made the world a better place. Those that I am close to would agree that I am much more subdued about my birthday now-a-days. In the past, I not only had a birthDAY but a birthMONTH. And I would blatantly ask anyone for presents. The birth month is no longer, but the asking of presents may still happen. I will admit to shaking the card to see if money falls out.

This year's birthday was pretty much a regular day. The kiddos at school brought me presents. I received a lot of hand made cards and a lot of hugs. I brought them cupcakes and forced them to sing happy birthday at the end of the day. My boys gave me a wonderful present: cake decorating classes! I do love my reality tv shows, and I really love cake shows. I mentioned a few times that I wanted to take classes so that I can start my own business. That part probably won't happen, seeing as I don't really know how to bake a cake, but I am crafty and want to be crafty with cake. Plus, I'll save money on buying cakes for L man if I can get this skill going!

After presents we went out to dinner and then sat on our butts at home while we watched tv. My kind of night. Currently the little man is sleeping and the big man is playing video games on the computer. I will soon be kicking his butt at a game of Skip Bo. Oh yeah, we're adventurous. For all of you that may not have known it was my birthday, or perhaps the thought just slipped your mind, I am still accepting presents.

World Traveler

As mentioned in an earlier post, I made my way to Vermont this past weekend. Although it was the first weekend away from Logan, it was FABULOUS! My friend Leslie became a Mrs. over the weekend and I was so excited to be there to share in the happiness. I've been bummed over the number of weddings I've had to miss in the last year just because we live in the disgustingly hot desert. However, I have known Leslie since I was in kindergarten and was not going to miss her big day. I mean, this is the same girl that I said the girl scout chat with, as well as attended numerous N*SYNC concerts with. We're bonded for life. So, my friend Amanda and I (also a fellow girlscout and N*SYNC lover) traveled the many miles to Burlington, VT. Here's a sampling of us gorgeous girls hanging out:

Sorry, had to put in the mandatory big face picture.

While we were in Vermont we had to visit the most amazing place on the face of the earth....BEN & JERRY'S FACTORY! I love ice cream. Especially chunky monkey ice cream from Ben & Jerry's. Leslie lives a mere 30 minutes from the factory, of course I was making my way there.

My free sample at the factory
Chunky monkey, the best flavor EVER!

They sold ice cream out of this very van!
We ended at the flavor graveyard

When I came home, I was greeted by this little monster:

Oh, and by the way, the fall coat was not needed. It was SO warm there! But, the changing leaves did make me think of football weather and Michigan :(

So frustrating

Apparently buying a nice lightweight jacket in Arizona is impossible. It can't be done. Come Thursday night, I'm on my way to Vermont. It's fall there. I do not own a fall type jacket. So, as any other normal person would do, I made my way to the store. First Old Navy, then Target, Walmart, and finally...the mall. You can find EVERYTHING at the mall. Except a nice lightweight fall type jacket. I actually found a couple that I liked. However, they were too small. I must remember, although I have lost a bit of weight, I'm still not down to the skinny minny sizes of stores such as Charlotte Russe or Aeropostale. JC Penney had cute coats, for about $100. I've settled on wearing a coat that is about 2 sizes too big for me and also bringing a zip up hoodie. I'll survive. ::sigh::

It's starting to grow...

A tooth that is. While feeding Logan today, Andy noticed a little white spot on his bottom gum. Yes ladies and gentlemen, we have a tooth pushing its way through. It hasn't reached the surface yet, but it will. And then my little man won't be so little anymore. He won't have a gummy smile. Instead, he'll have a toothy smile. Toddlers have teeth. Not itty bitty babies. Conclusion: Logan is getting too big. I LOVE him at this age. I wish I could just push pause for a little while longer.

We had an inkling that this was on its way. There were a couple of random diarrhea dipes this week. No fever, no cranky Logan? Most likely teething. I'm hoping that this tooth breaks the surface soon and we don't have to deal with a very cranky little man. My hopes are up, but I am aware that my expectations may not be met. So, we'll see how it goes. So far he hasn't been cranky, just normal L man. Soon to be normal L man with a tooth :(

7 Months!

We have passed the halfway point. Logan is officially 7 months old. When did he get this big? He's getting to be a little independent guy now. No longer is he lying on his back underneath his play gym. Instead, he chooses to sit on his bottom and play with the toys that surround him. No longer do we hear the crying wails of a newborn. It's now "Dadadada", "Mamamama", and "Babababa". And crawling, it's getting close too. We have a little man that can turn 360 degrees on his tummy and is soooo close to crawling to get his favorite toy. He's a little man ::wipes tear from eye::. Perhaps I shouldn't say little, I mean, he does weigh around 18 pounds people! Please witness the cuteness, you know you love him!

Children's Museum Shenanigans

Have I mentioned that I love museums, especially Children's Museums? I love anything that has hands-on fun that will allow both parents and children to play. Our meetup group scheduled a playdate this last Friday at the Phoenix Children's Museum. The museum offers free admittance every 1st Friday of the month. I'm cheap, so I'm all up for free visits! There were only a few of us meeting up, but we had so much fun! Although Logan couldn't really partake in many of the activities, such as the enormous indoor playground, we made sure to find activities for him. One thing I love about the museum is that there is a room that is specifically for children ages 3 and under. Logan loved playing with the sensory wall (which he gets from his dad) and trying to eat all of the squishy toys. My favorite part of the museum: The hanging noodle forest! We walked through a forest of hanging pool noodles. Logan was entertained, I was entertained. Totally worth the wait in line outside. The highlight of the night was hanging out with our new friends from the meetup group, especially a couple that lives around the corner from us. They came over to our house on Sunday and we have some more play dates in the works. Yes, I'm turning into one of those parents.