Belly Laugh

For those days that I think my son is unhappy with us as parents, I take a look at this video and begin to believe otherwise! If you don't know my son, you are missing out on a sheer joy in life. And because of that, I share this with you! Enjoy!

Wow, What a Year!!

I can't believe it has already been a year since McKinley Edward Krasnow was born. And what a year it has been! I'm not sure I can put it in words, but what I can say is that McKinley has been a true blessing in my life! His smile warms my heart, his laugh is a ray of sunshine and his personality is incredibly infectious! While pregnant with him, as I didn't know what we were having, I secretly thought I wanted a girl. You know, being a girl, what was I going to do with a baby boy.... Boy, was I wrong! This little guy, outside of my husband, has completely changed my life and is truly the love of my life. (Again, outside of husband!) McKinley will never know how much his mother loves him, although I tell him multiple times a day!

Recent Highlights:

1) He finally started say Mama and he knows who I am!! And, he doesn't just say it when he's mad or tired.

2)  He can sing the "E I " part of Old McDonald but no "O" yet. It's simply "e i e i e i". So sweet!

3) We finally found a sippy cup that works and he loves drinking water out of a Starbucks cup with a straw! Sippy cup is a straw as well. Like mother like son!

4)  He walks with the support of one index finger, but when you let that finger go, he sits down and crawls off.

5) He can tell you that a car goes "vroom", that a dog says "bow wow" and he can show with his index finger that he's one. He's a sheer genius!!

I can't imagine what the next year will bring as this year has been one of complete and utter joy. But, if this next year is anything like the first, my heart will be full and my life complete! I love you my sweet, baby boy! 

My Bad

I told myself that 2012 would bring more to And McKinley Makes Three and well, this is the first post since then! My bad! McKinley has entered his tenth month and so much has happened! I asked him on this ten month birthday what we could expect. I asked, will we see more teeth? Would he learn to walk? Would he ever crawl? Well, he has started cutting two more teeth (four total at the moment), cruises the coffee table at warp speed (nothing on his own) and he finally started the army crawl. I keep telling him he would get places faster if he actually tried crawling on his knees, not slithering the floor on his tummy. Just like any child, he refuses to listen to his mother!

Nine Months

Ten Months

Our first real snow fall came on my mom's birthday and I was so lucky to have the day off to spend with both her and McKinley. We only got a couple of inches, but McKinley was amazed. When I put his little hand in the snow, he gripped it and immediately pulled away looking at me as if I had done something horribly wrong. Priceless indeed! We waited until Daddy got home to put on our snowsuit and if he wasn't the cutest thing I've ever seen! If you don't believe me, just look at him!

First Snow

The following day was his first Valentine's Day and his little onesie says it all! Granddaddy took him to The Guitar Center to pick out his own "guitar" and he loves it! He is a musical child prodigy in the making! Apparently, he entered the store, spotted all the guitars and immediately began to sing. I should probably have professed this by saying he has a music lesson with my dad every morning. My dad plays guitar and they sing. Recently, he started letting McKinley strum hence McKinley's own guitar for Valentine's Day. I love that we might have a musical child in the making. Up next, sports for a very well-roundedness (my own word)!

First Valentine's Day

First "Guitar"

And boy does he love to play!!! We created a little play area for him in our den and he knows it's his little space to sprawl out and make his own! His favorite thing to do is to get all his toys off of the shelves whether he plays with any of them or not! And, he loves pulling himself up on the second shelf and just stand! We call him "standing man"! If he were a super hero, that would be his skill! STANDING! Kid cracks me up!

Finally, he loves water! Little "waterbug" as we call him. He has these squitters that float around in the tub with him, but he favors the swan. They're little animals, a set of 10, that fill up with water and then you squirt the water out of their mouths. We actually have more fun with them than he does! I would post pics of him in the tube, but I don't want to be brought up for child porn! Just trust me, he loves bath time!

Again, I am going to make a concerted effort to blog more about our adventures. So far, 2012 has been amazing! What I can't believe is that I'm starting to think about his first birthday! I have exactly seven weeks from tomorrow! EEKK!!!! We have a theme in mind, and if the day is pretty, we plan to hit the zoo. We love the zoo! Here's hoping....and planning....

A New Year

It's a new year for the Krasnow's, and as I think back over 2011, I can't help being sad to see it end. We have so many amazing things ahead of us this year, but 2011 is year that can never be matched. And for one simple reason really, the birth of our son McKinley Edward. McKinley has brought unbelievable joy to my life, a constant smile to my face and a love to my heart that I have never known. I feel so honored to be his mother and so blessed that he picked me to be his mommy. 

As we enter 2012, McKinley will turn nine months old six days in. I can't believe how the time has flown! He's growing like a weed, learning something new everyday and all the while keeping us constantly entertained. He is an amazing traveler. He barely batted an eye on a five hour rode trip, his first, and took it all in stride when traveling cross country later that summer. He thrives on a changing environment and grows weary when he's been in the same place to long. A little man after my own heart! Joel and I are thinking of vacation destinations for later this year and I believe one or two may involve flight. I know McKinley will be up for the challenge.

Not wanting to rush things, but we will soon have a mobile baby on our hands. Watch out world! He's currently crawling backwards, but I'm sure the fast forward button is on the horizon. He's also a foodie. So far he's enjoyed homemade apple butter, chocolate cake, lemon bar filling, gravy and biscuits and cheeseburgers. Not too shabby for an eight month palette. I can't wait to see what's on the menu over the next few months. Those taste buds are constantly evolving!

The biggest thing I look forward to in the coming months, those leading up to his first birthday, is the ever growing bond between us. I often ask McKinley if he loves me as much as I love him and he responds by patting me, pulling my hair or touching my face. In my world that means yes and I will take it every time! He may not say "mama" all the time, but those small gestures mean more than words ever could. In 2011, he is the best thing I could have ever done!