sleepyhead...

I got this picture of Mac sleeping the other night. Very rarely do Charlie and I dare to enter his room once he is out, but we couldn't help it...snuggled up next to little bear was a glimpse of peacefulness that we couldn't pass up.

"in"to everything..

Mac has been walking now for the past couple weeks and some days I find myself thinking that I absolutely can not say "no touch", "no, no that is malley's water", "please put that back"..or any of the other daily phrases one more time:) At this stage, like every other one that he has gone through before, some things get easier and some things get harder. The convenience of having him hold my hand when I have groceries, or telling him to go get a book is a plus...but forgetting to close the bathroom door while getting a drink of water and finding Charlie's keys in the toilet.... is a minus.

He has mastered getting in and out of things and these are just a few that I have caught on camera. He is understanding so much and "talking" up a storm these days too. Favorite words so far: bye-bye, nigh-nigh(he says this if he is ready to go to bed and puts his hand over his ear), mama, dada, mal-mal(malley), wa-wa(water), ba(balloon, ball..anything with a "b") cchh(cheerios), mo-mo(more)..he has picked up some new signs and has also some new animal sounds. I know this sounds like a bragging list..but it is not intended as that...just some cute vocabulary!

I am reading the book "It All Goes Back in the Box" and it has been a wonderful reminder of how many of the things that we treasure so much here on earth...are not going to be with us forever. It has helped me to be aware of the time that I have here with Mac and to enjoy every moment of it. At the end of one of the chapters it said "the days may go by slow, but the year's go by too fast..life has no rewind button." I look at Mac and know that I can't rewind all of those wonderful moments... and I don't think that I want to hit fast forward either..

like father like son....

This is how Charlie and Mac spent some of the time on our road trip...the car does magical things to both of them!!

We went to South Carolina to spend Thanksgiving with Charlie's family this past week. We had a great time and Mac got his share of attention...there were about 20+ Atkinson's that were all ready and willing to play with him. We are thankful that Mac was able to spend Thanksgiving with so many of Charlie's family. The only down side to the trip was that Charlie's sister, Mary Mac, and her family couldn't join us...we will get to see them shortly though and meet our precious new nephew!!

Mac was a bit worn out when we returned, but was excited to spend some quality time with my family too. We are thankful for both our families and the fact that we stuffed ourselves with yummy food!!

happy birthday baby mac!

Happy First Birthday Mac!

We are so thankful for you and we have cherished this past year with you. You have grown up so quickly and we are amazed by you everyday..thank you for making our lives feel so complete! We love you...

day of firsts...

first birthday...first cupcake...first allergic reaction to a cupcake...first afternoon of dealing with side effects of cupcake!!

needless to say, today was full of fun and surprises! mac had a great time at his birthday party...he especially enjoyed the cupcake. he pretty much ate the entire thing without any hesitation in less than 2 minutes! it was great to see him enjoy it so much...the hives that developed on his face didn't even stop him. we still haven't pinpointed what caused the reaction..but it's safe to say he won't be getting any more sweets for a little while...we were even surprised that he went down for an afternoon nap... let's just say that it was short lived! we had a great time and we know that mac enjoyed himself too!

black and white..

Last night we celebrated Halloween with a bunch of Mac's buddies. It was so fun to see all the little ones in their costumes..joining us were a monkey, ladybug, ballerina, cowboy, ninja, batman, a little pink bug, raggedy ann, and of course a skunk. The food was good, the company was great and the weather was perfect...I think Mac enjoyed his first taste of Halloween!

too big...

Recently, Charlie and I feel like we find ourselves telling each other that Mac is getting too big. We have been trying to teach Mac how to eat out of his snack trap and tonight he finally figured it out. He just sat right down on the floor with his snack trap and sippy cup and had himself a little snack. After I snapped a few pictures, Charlie and I just stood in the kitchen watching him and saying that he looked like such a big boy....how the time has flown by.

lions and pumpkins and fun, oh my!!!

This past weekend we took Mac to pick out our pumpkins. As some of you know I LOVE to pick out pumpkins and every year I drag Charlie with with me. I can spend hours looking at them all and picking out just the perfect ones. However, this year, I didn't have to beg Charlie too much....he was just as excited as I was to take Mac to one of my favorite traditions. We had a great time and Mac even picked out his own little pumpkin.

After the pumpkin outing, Mac had a Halloween playdate with his friends in the neighborhood. It took about 4 tries to get the facepaint to stay on Mac's face, but eventually we got it to work. He has two Halloween costumes to wear this year, so he wore the lion to this party and for Halloween he will be a skunk. After we got Mac dressed, Charlie and I just couldn't quit laughing...at one point Charlie asked Mac if he felt as ridiculous as he looked...it is sad what we do to our kids for a laugh:)

Update on Mac: trying his best to do "the indian"..putting his hand over his mouth and making a lot of noise (thanks to mimi for that one), saying "bye-bye" and waving to anyone that leaves, he is obsessed with being outside and especially with spiderman...he will continuously push spidey up and down the street until Charlie or I give out. As I mentioned before, he has also learned the sign "more" and he has taken it to a whole new level...signs it everytime he walks into the kitchen, whenever he is hungry, and you don't dare eat your food in front of him unless you are willing to share! What can I say...the boy loves his food!!

Strength Training?

This is a video of Mac pushing his friend Eli. We had several good laughs over it. I think Mac got his workout in for the day.

sand and sun...

Mac had his first trip to the beach...we went to Oak Island with my parents for a couple days. Mac had a great time and Charlie and I enjoyed ourselves too! It is not quite the same going to the beach with a little one..this was the first time that I didn't spend every waking moment out on the beach..but it was so worth it. Watching Mac play in the sand, wave at the birds, hang out in the sun and enjoy the laid-back atmosphere was exciting.... I think he learned 5 new tricks while he was down there! We had a great time and can't wait to go again next year!

A little summary of what Mac is up to these days: pushing his walking toy all over the house ( a video of that to come shortly), dancing in the car while looking at himself in the mirror, playing and riding his spiderman toy, saying "bye-bye" and "night-night" (more like "nigh-nigh"), signing "more" everytime he wants more food, pulling out his favorite books and insisting that you read them (I feel like I spend the whole day reading books:), and our personal favorite is asking "what does a piggy say?" and he scrunches up his nose and makes a pig sound...makes us laugh everytime! He is getting so big and we feel like everyday he is showing us something new. We can't believe that next month we will be celebrating his one year b-day...the time is flying by and there are times we wish that we could just hold on to this stage a little longer.

Dumptrucks and Little Bear....

Over the past few weeks Mac has taken a real interest in Little Bear...he wants to sleep, eat, play and ride in the car with him. It has been really sweet to watch how he loves on him...it is the first thing that he grabs when he wakes up in the mornings and after his naps. The best part is watching him give Little Bear squeeze-ums and kisses...so funny! Dumptrucks are another favorite right now...we had a playdate with some friends at the park this week and that was pretty much all he was interested in...between dumptrucks, legos and any kind of ball...he is all boy!!

Mac also had his first night out this past weekend!! Charlie and I celebrated our anniversary and Mac spent the night at Mimi and Pop Pop's house. I think they had just as much fun as Mac did!!! He did great and was worn out when we picked him up! We were thrilled that he did so well...now we know we can do it again!!!

jump...jump....

My mom got Mac this "bouncy" a little while ago in hopes that Mac would wear himself out and take longer naps:) thanks for the effort mom, but nothing seems to wear him out yet!! Usually he just wants to grab the seat and make the music play, but today he decided that he wanted to actually sit in the seat. He went on like this for about 10 minutes...there were a couple times when I thought he may break it!! Who knows....maybe it will wear him out eventually! *yes, in case you are wondering... this contraption is huge and Charlie has put my mom on toy restriction..

getting bigger...

Ready for bed...


Mac had his 9 month check up this week and the boy is definitely growing! He is now 21 lbs and 29 1/2 in...in case you didn't know, his weight gain is exciting! Our little boy was a little on the skinny side at his last visit. Our doc gave us the go ahead to be liberal with his food, and it worked b/c he has gained 4 lbs since his 6 month visit. He said he is right on track and looking great.

*Later that day Mac had a little run- in with the dvd player..note the small bruise under his eye. Not much of a war wound...but nontheless his first.

We had a fun playdate today with a group from the neighborhood. It was actually hosted by Fisher Price..the mommy who hosted it got 4 free new toys and all the kids got to check them out. There were about 10 babies (Mac's age and younger)...I think I was more overwhelmed than Mac. He did great...he found some bouncy balls and was set. Tomorrow Mac will get his first taste of his daddy's fantasy football obsession...I think Charlie has already made plans for them to watch the game and cookout!!! Hopefully Mac will love it as much as his daddy does!

Family and Fun..

On the move..
Waving to the doggie and everyone at the cookout..

Loving the swing!!

Mac enjoyed some family fun this past weekend: A trip to the farmer's market with Mimi and Pop Pop, a cookout with Charlie's extended family, fun in Chippy and EB's pool, a fun dinner with Uncle Benny and Aunt Cici and plenty of swinging in our new swing!! It was a busy, but fun-filled weekend.

Everyday Mac is doing something new that makes us smile...he is now waving bye-bye (opening and closing his hand..i personally think this is the cutest trick that he has learned), looking at our pictures hanging on the wall in our bedroom and actually saying "mama" and putting his hand on my pic, trying to say doggie (sounds more like "geegee"), telling him to go get his ball and he crawls right over to his toy bin and pulls it out, and if you hold him and say "mac give me squeeze-ums" he hugs you as hard as he can.....that one makes your heart melt. He is getting so big and more and more fun everyday.

9 months old....

It is hard to believe that Mac is already 9 months old. Some days it seems like we just brought him home from the hospital and other times we look at him and he is looking more like a little boy and less like a baby.

Up till now some of Mac's favorite things are: eating any kind of food (except watermelon), playing with Malley, going on runs with mommy, playing patty-cake, giving high-five, playing peek-a-boo in his bed, reading books (Brown Bear, Brown Bear being the favorite), giving kisses (mommy and daddy's favorite), crawling and pulling up on everything, bathtime, watering the plants with daddy, and getting plenty of attention!!

We felt like today deserved a few pics so here you go! It was also a special day b/c Mac's 7th tooth decided to make an appearance:) As soon as I can get him to open his mouth long enough for me to take a picture I will share it!!

Mac we love you and can't imagine what life would be like without you!!!! Happy 9 month Birthday!!

My little piggy...

This picture catches Mac so perfectly...good food in his tummy and staring at the camera. My Uncle Kerry and Aunt Joann (my mom's brother and wife) came to visit us from Ohio last week and they were able to meet Mr. Mac in person. UK was the one who captured this pic so perfectly:) We were out to eat and he couldn't resist taking some pics of Mac eating..so fun! UK and AJ were so great with him and Mac loved playing with them. I added some other pics that UK took why he was here visiting. We miss you guys and hope you visit again soon!!!

Mac and I were able to go to the park today with his little girlfriend's Anna Sasser and Grayson Smith. Yes....my boy had two ladies hanging out with him:) We all ate lunch and then went to swing for a little bit, which we have come to find out is one of Mac's favorite things to do. We are going to invest in a swing to hang in our front yard this weekend. It will be a great way to pass some time until daddy gets home from work! I would have taken some pics of the park playdate but our camera is still MIA..anybody know where it is????

Girls..thanks for the fun playdate today!

Keeping up..

with a blog is hard to do!! I vow to try and do better!

Ok...Mac had another appt for his "helmet head" this morning and it went well. He is making improvement but still needs to wear it. One day we won't have to worry about it anymore..we go back in 2 months for another check.

This pic cracks me up b/c he looks milk drunk and you notice the amount of drool that is on his shirt...i am always changing him! He is actually crawling now and pulling up on everything. His favorite is pulling up on Malley and then climbing over her and then doing it again and again. She is so patient. Pictures and video of that to come as soon as we find our camera!!! Latest update is Mac finally learned to play "patty cake!" It so so adorable to watch him just start clapping his hands and then look at me like "mommy did you see what i just did?" He is also learning to dance and I have to say that the boy has got some rhythm! I have to confess I have been working with him!! More updates later and I promise more pics soon!

Finally...

Charlie and I finally gave into the pressure and finally created a blog! We enjoy keeping up with all of our friends through their blogs..so we thought we would add to the fun!

Mac is now 7 months old and we can't believe it! At his last dr's appointment he was in 95% for height and 25% for weight..our little string bean! He is army crawling all over the place, squealing and laughing out loud, and LOVES his food. He actually gets mad when you don't feed him fast enough..Charlie and I feel like we are shoveling his food in. We always joke that what Mac lacks in naps he makes up for in feeding! His favorite so far is peas and sweet potatoes, but he has yet to turn down anything that we have given him. It has been so fun watching him lately..he is doing something new everyday and Charlie and I feel like we are always telling each other "come here and watch this!!" We can't remember what life was like before Mac!!