Tummy TV Time

So does tummy time "count" if it's done while watching TV?

So many rules to follow, so little time!

Friends

Quade told me the other day, "I have lots of friends!" what a wonderful feeling that is!

Where's Jesus?

A couple of weeks ago we took Quade to something called "Journey to Bethlehem" at my sister's church in Grapevine (Church at the Cross). It was AWESOME! We did have to wait awhile to get in but they had a puppet show and singing, etc. while you were waiting. Then a group of 30 of us started the journey. They had church members dressed in biblical times clothing. We were supposed to be a jewish family traveling back to bethlehem for the census. It was incredible. It started inside and then went in through the woods. They had roman centurions on real horses, live animals and camels. Here's quade with the sheep:

This picture is dark but it's of our "guide" knocking on the inn door and us discovering there is no room in the inn. Quade decided to join him on stage.

My sister andrea played one of the villagers (they had an amazing village set up).

At the end they have the stable with mary, joseph and baby jesus. quade loved the whole thing. Even though he didn't get to bed until 10:45!!

So the week before christmas i decided to take the boys to see santa. It was a great tradition in my family...get all dressed up, go downtown, eat at the "tearoom", ride a train, and then go see santa.

We got to northpark to get a ticket to see santa. When we got there it was all set up for santa (like a comfy home with fireplace and tree). Quade looks at me and says "Where's Jesus?"


HA! what a sweet boy! I told him this story was about a nice man named "Saint Nicholas" and he was known for giving toys to children. He was good with that.

Fortunately Price did not have any comments or questions. =)


Here is the pic from the event:

Price's Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Celebrity Collage - Family history

MacFadyen Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity - Collage - Morph

Need gift ideas?

Well i know that i always struggle to think of what to ask for for Christmas. Any other time of year i can think of a million things i "need". =) But then when someone asks i just go blank. So i started keeping a folder of "wish list" items, basically pages i pull out of catalogs. It has helped a lot but i also like to get ideas from other moms and friends!


This year we celebrated Christmas on the Friday after Thanksgiving with my family. So the boys received half of their presents early. I thought i would let other mommies know about a couple of "winners" in case you are in need of ideas as well.


Price got a "Fisher Price Sing-a-long Stage". I figured he would like the lights now and it would be something he would continue to enjoy over this year. Well, i didn't realize how much Quade would like it as well. So far it has been the favorite toy of Christmas. Here are some pics of the boys playing with it. It's $34.97 at Walmart with 97 cent shipping: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5716943

It has a mirror in the middle, which Quade loves to make faces in. When you shake the rattle the music starts. It has 2 modes, songs you sing with and then music you create when you hit each of the instruments.

Yes, Quade is sitting on his "potty" while Price is in the Bumbo. =)

One of Quade's other favorite presents this Christmas was a "learning tower" from my parents. He can climb up onto it and then help me in the kitchen. He thinks it's great. He has helped me make cookies, wash dishes, put together salads, etc. It's a bigger ticket item and takes up a a lot of kitchen space, but if you have a grandparent that wants to get you something and you need ideas. Here you go:

Sweet Christmas Spirit

Well since 2 weeks ago when i made the decision to enjoy my boys i have some very sweet and memorable moments. Most of them are related to the Christmas season.

This is the first year Quade is getting really into Christmas and he is adorable. Here are a few of my favorite memories so far for Christmas 2007:

1. Putting up the Christmas tree while drinking wassel (warm apple cider)...Quade and I danced hand in hand to christmas music. (i wish i could freeze that moment in time!).

Picture mommy looks good in

Picture quade looks cute in (mommy has crazy eyes!)

2. Driving down our street at night, when we saw our first decorated house and I pointed out the lights to quade..."wow"... then we immediately get on the on ramp to interstate 75 and in true Dallas fashion there is traffic in both directions. I hear Quade's sweet voice from the back seat: "Look mommy more Christmas lights!"...sure changes your perspective on traffic!

3. Reading portions of scripture for advent each night after dinner and one night quade says, "Jesus in the christmas tree after nap?" (um, what?) "Quade, Jesus is in heaven, but he can also be in your heart". Quade responds with "Jesus in my tummy. Jesus with daddy at work. Baby Jesus in my crib"...precious!!

4. Driving to the grocery and i say "Uh oh it's starting to rain". Quade responds with "Jesus made the rain. Jesus made the grass. Jesus made raisins!" Thank you quade for making me appreciate God's creation.

5. Quade using keys to assist Josh Kruse in singing christmas carols with our friendship partners from china.







6. My most favorite memory was sitting on the couch with quade and price by the lit christmas tree and Quade makes price laugh his biggest laugh so far, which makes quade laugh and then price laugh again. God is so good!

The best news is that it is only December 9th! so many more memories are yet to come!

Found: joy

Last week I rediscovered joy.

I made the conscious choice to enjoy motherhood. That may sound silly. But other mothers can agree that motherhood can be draining and the joy can be diminished by the mundane duties of dishes, laundry and diapers.

I had a "come to Jesus" moment last Monday and Bruce made a simple yet profound statement..."it's most important to me that you enjoy our two boys". WOW! I was so caught up in grocery runs, picking up toys, discipline, cooking dinner, paying bills, and returning emails that i was missing the joy of my boys!

(tilt your head to the left while watching...sorry, it's so hard to find a good camera-lady these days)

*and yes you did hear Bruce in the background discussing his bodily functions with Quade.

THE first thanksgiving

Yes, you read that correctly I am writing about the original thanksgiving. Not b/c i have a problem with us celebrating a holiday in which several indians were slaughtered. No, i am writing about the first thanksgiving b/c this past summer we discovered that Bruce is actually related to William Brewster. For those of you who didn't major in US History, William Brewster was one of the pilgrims who came over on the Mayflower. We gave Price the middle name of "Winslow" b/c the last name "winslow" is in the lineage that connects bruce to william brewster. Actually there were several "Winslow" family members on the mayflower as well.

ANYWAY, I thought it was notable that Bruce's relatives were at the first thanksgiving AND this year it was Price WINSLOW's first thanksgiving. =)

Here are pics of the event:

Cowboy Jesus

Last Friday morning Bruce got Quade out of his crib (he seems to be funniest first thing in the morning)...He had the following comments:

"I got Bible...I got Jesus!"
"Where Jesus go?" (as he flips through his toddler Bible)
"Look Baby Price there's Jesus!"
"Jesus ride a donkey. Yee Haw!" =)

Heart Support

I wanted to let ya'll know about a project Bruce's cousin, Jon Bell, has recently launched.

Its a website: http://www.heartsupport.com/
Here is how Jon describes it:
"Heart Support is community based online help for those suffering from depression, addiction, eating disorders, self injury, and suicidal thoughts. "

Its an excellent resource if you know anyone who needs some counseling or support for any of these issues, but is resistant to seek face-to-face help.
Check it out!

Price's turn

It's about time we show off the newest communicator of the mac clan!

Our Halloween

Clean Gene: Part 2

Fashion commentary

This morning after Quade woke up he and Bruce came in our bedroom and Quade walked up to me in our closet. I had just gotten dressed and was wearing one of those very fashionable puffy vests... Quade says "hi mommy. going on a boat?". I guess 2 year olds can speak honestly about the silly things we wear.

Game On!!

On Saturday we got together with LOTs of our friends from church so that the guys could play some basketball, the ladies could talk and the kiddos could play at the park. It was a gorgeous morning and a very memorable time!

How did they know i live in Dallas?

Saw this quiz on Christy's blog...funny that spent 25 years in the midwest and 4 in Dallas and it says my accent could mean i'm from dallas!

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The West Your accent is the lowest common denominator of American speech. Unless you're a SoCal surfer, no one thinks you have an accent. And really, you may not even be from the West at all, you could easily be from Florida or one of those big Southern cities like Dallas or Atlanta.
The Midland
Boston
North Central
The South
The Inland North
Philadelphia
The Northeast
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Fun Family weekend filled with friends, food, fall and the fair

Well, last Thursday I had a rough mommy day (as several of you witnessed...since I cried at playgroup AND bible study). I contributed my tears to sleep deprivation, hormones, and toddler woes!
ANYWAY...I appreciate all your support and prayers b/c we had an absolutely wonderful family weekend.

Friday:

Friday started with a visit from a friend from Callier, Delva Culp. She and I shared a closet at work and are fellow alums! She was so sweet to drive down from Denton (waiting in traffic for 1 1/2 hours!) to bring the boys gifts (including the adorable knit hat that SHE MADE!) and to bring us food. Thanks Delva! Oh, she also gave me great advice for how to help with Quade!

That evening the sweet Adkison family brought us dinner and we invited them to stay and eat with us. Did I mention that Andrew made us a two-layer cake? Impressive...

Saturday:

This day started off with me having slept from 10 pm to 3:30 am! I felt great! We went out for our normal breakfast at Cafe Brazil. Then we headed out to the fair! Bruce grew up in Texas and has lived in Dallas for almost 6 years and he had NEVER been to the fair. So it was super fun to take him. It was beautiful outside. Cool and sunny...yea fall is here!

If you can't read the sign, "Fried marshmallows, Fried Snickers, Fried Pralines, Fried Oreos"! Um, Yeah...unfortunately it was still a bit early in the morning for me to try any of these forbidden treats. However, an hour later I got myself a Jumbo turkey leg (see below).

So sweet! Quade's line "Big cowboy, hat, talking"

Saturday night our friend Holly offered to come and watch the boys so we could go out on a little date. Needless to say we took her up on it! We went to a place we would highly recommend: Times Ten Cellar wine bar (http://www.timestencellar.com/). We sat outside on their patio sipped wine and had a flourless chocolate cake...yummy!

Sunday:

After church we went to the park for lunch with our friends the Kruses and their 3 boys. It was an absolutely beautiful day.

That afternoon I took a nice nap and then Bruce watched the boys while I went out to dinner with some of the girls from our small group. We went to Sangria (a tapas restaurant). We sat out on the patio, had great food and fabulous conversation.

So a wonderful weekend all in all and to top it off...

Monday: Quade was good at school!! yea Quade!

AND...Monday night Price slept from 11 to 5!!! YEA PRICE!!

Quadeisms

There are a few phrases that Quade uses frequently to express himself. I thought I would document the ones I find most amusing for future reference. (thanks Erin and Jina for the idea).

"So happy now!"

The phrase "So happy now" is used for the obvious contexts. He particularly likes to use it when he has asked us for something and we say 'yes'. (e.g., Q: lollipop? H:okay Q: so happy now)

"No like this one!"

"No like this..." is used frequently throughout the day to express general dislike. I have heard the following hilarious variations: "No like this, dudes." and when listening to the radio "No like this song!"

"Firetruck. No push me. Time out! 2 minutes all done"

Lately Quade has been disciplining his toys when they misbehave. The good news is our home is no longer full of ill-mannered playthings.

Mom's favorite: "Two guys"

Whenever I am holding both quade and price, Quade will say "two guys" and lean in for a hug. It's precious!

Man Tag (aka hubby survey)

MAN TAG:

1. Who is your man? Bruce the goose

2. How long have you been married? 8 years (it will be 9 years on March 6th).

3. How long dated? 3 years exactly!

4. How old is your man? 34

5. Who eats more? Hmmm...it may be a tie. I AM a breastfeeding mom!

6. Who said “I love you” first? Bruce, on a dock at the lake my parents live on.

7. Who is taller? Bruce, 6'3''

8. Who sings better? probably me, but we're neither very good. Bruce is funny b/c he always makes up his own lyrics (some worship songs can become almost heretical when bruce sings them)

9. Who is smarter? Bruce (but he would probably say me). We have different intelligences which helps us function as the perfect team!

10. Whose temper is worse? mine, he stuffs things and then gets upset about smaller things

11. Who does the laundry? Me, but he helps fold

12. Who takes out the garbage? Bruce, without being asked he takes it out several times a week (i know ya'll are jealous)

13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? If you're laying in the bed, Bruce sleeps on the right side. If you're facing the bed and standing at the foot of it i sleep on the right side. =)

14. Who pays the bills? Me...i LOVE online bill pay!

15. Who is better with the computer? Bruce. He always does fancy things on the keyboard and doesn't have to use the mouse to navigate.

16. Who mows the lawn? Federico...we love you federico!

17. Who cooks dinner? Me and super suppers (and since the baby our friends have been super helpful bringing meals 3x a week!)

18. Who drives when you are together? When we're on a date he drives. When we are in the suburban I tend to drive b/c of the baby car seat behind the driver's side seat you have to sit close to the steering wheel, which is hard for him with his long legs.

19. Who pays when you go out? Depends on who is taking charge of the kiddos and who can grab their credit card fast enough...usually Bruce pays

20. Who is most stubborn? we're equally stubborn...hmm maybe that's why quade is so "spirited"

21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Usually me.

22. Whose parents do you see the most? In the past year we've seen my parents more. But they both live out of town so it depends on who is most available to fly here to see us.

23. Who kissed who first? it was mutual...walking across campus from one of his late night intramural basketball games. it was magical!

24. Who asked who out? I asked him to go the symphony with me (my parents had season tickets they weren't going to use) I drove us down to Indy. It was wonderful. Afterward we went to the airport to pick up his little sister who was visiting.

25. Who proposed? Bruce, at Taylor University under the famous bell tower on my golden birthday.

26. Who is more sensitive? I'm sensitive in the crying sort of way. But we are both really sensitive to criticism.

27. Who has more friends? oooo, i think that's hard. We are both very friendly people and having lived in so many cities we have friends scattered across the grand US of A

28. Who has more siblings? we both have 3 (i have 2 bros and a sis; he has 3 sisters)

29. Who wears the pants in the family? Since bruce is 4 years older than me I tend to let him lead. I think since we've had kids i've gotten more bossy regarding their care.

I tag: Alice, Erin M., Erin D., Janel, Jamie M, and Carrie C.

Survey: Toddler vs. Newborn

You would think i would write a post about Price turning one month...instead i have had this topic on my brain.

Who do you think is easier to manage: a toddler or a newborn?

Things to keep in mind:
-there is a difference btwn individual newborns...case in point, quade was a lot more difficult as a newborn than price as been, so far (same goes for toddlers).
-things that are easy to manage with toddlers are harder with newborns (sleep) and vice versa (independence).
-newborn phase really only lasts about 3 months, toddlerhood lasts about a year/year and a half.
-toddlers can verbally communicate their wants (although it may not be what YOU want), whereas newborns use crying as their primary method of communicating (eventhough it seems toddlers only have tantrums and whining as their means to communicate).

Cousins, cute and crazy!

This post is LONG overdue! A couple of weeks ago Bruce's mom stayed with us to help out with Quade, cook us meals (i miss having breakfast, lunch and dinner prepared for me!), and just have fun. Thanks Grandma MacFadyen!!

The week ended with a visit from Bruce's oldest sister Sherri and her two kiddos, Vischer (3 years old) and Willem (1 year old). That Saturday we celebrated Bruce's little sister's daughter, Makenna's 1 year birthday. It was quite the celebration! We managed to get a great professional pic of the 5 cousins. This Christmas is going to be crazy with 5 kids ages 3 1/2 and under!! Here are the pics:

Amazing! They are all in the same area, looking at the camera and smiling!

Vischer and Quade...best buddies in their matching crocs!

Group bathtime!
I'd say these grandparents have their hands full! 4 grandsons and 1 granddaughter!

Newborn pics

We decided that we wanted to do something special for price's birth that we didn't do for Quade's. When I was pregnant with Quade we did the 3D/4D pictures/video. For price we decided to have formal newborn/family pics taken. (thanks Emily for the referral!). It was a great experience and VERY reasonably priced. If you would like the name of the photographer let me know and i'll get it to you.

Here is the link to a video montage he made of the pics. I think it's only available online for the next 2 weeks:

http://www.poeticexposure.com/price/

1 week old!

Price turned officially one week today (Saturday, September 15th). We took him out for our traditional saturday morning breakfast (all of us, except price, wore baseball hats to breakfast)and then we went to the park. We ended the day with a trip to Wild about Harry's (our favorite frozen custard place). Delicious! ...from the pics it appears that price spent the entire day in his car seat...i promise we took him out a few times that day. =)