Photo #54 "I got you, Daddy!"

Occasionally, Jason get's a little jealous of how much the kids cuddle with me.  I pointed out to him that, often times, cuddling is saved for Mommy and wrestling is saved for Daddy!  Today, Molly was a perfect example of that.  After spending some time curled up on Mommy's lap, she perked up and began climbing all over Daddy!  She just couldn't get enough of him! :)

Photo #53 7-10 Split? The Car Can Take Care of That.

I never quite know what to expect from Jackson.  The other day, he had gone through the house and found every bottled water, full or not, and brought it into the kitchen (I am ashamed to show you how many he found).  He proceeded to line them all up and do some bowling.  It was great!  It kept him occupied for what felt like an hour and even Molly was getting in on it.  Unfortunately for her, Jackson had a book's worth of rules as to how she could bowl and she eventually gave up on it.

Today, these same bottle were used it a different way.  This time, Jackson got out his R/C car and enjoy some crash time.  This time I got photos.

Bonus Post: While You Were (suppose to be) Sleeping...

Lately, I have been discovering various toys in bed with Jackson. Usually I find them when I go to take him to the bathroom in the middle of the night.  I wasn't too thrilled about the police car that makes noise and has no off switch.  Recently, the popular toy has been the digital camera he got for Christmas.

Well, today I finally decided to check out what was on the camera.  Some parents might get upset.  I am not one of those parents.  I was just happy to see he stayed in bed. :)

No, I did not post this photo upside-down.  This is how he took the photo. :)

Photo #52 Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

I LOVE MY BOY!!!  There seem to be so many moments where Jackson just makes my heart sing.  One of my absolute favorite things to do with him is cuddling.  There are many nights when I am laying him in bed and he says, "Don't you wanna cuddle me, Momma?"  Seriously?  How could anyone say "no" to that???  As rough and tumble as he is, he is still my sweetheart.

Also, I am so blessed to have a church with such a great children's program.  Almost every time you could ask Jackson "who made that?" and point to anything, he will say, "God made that."  He even had a moment of making my heart melt when he had gotten into trouble for something and then he said, "God forgives me."  I definitely don't remember what he had gotten into trouble for.  :)

Jackson and I have regularly have our photos taken in a photo booth.  It's so fun and I'm loving how my collection is growing.  Tonight, we had our own little photo booth at bed time.  These are the two of us cuddling and being goofy together!  Enjoy!

Photo #51 I Heart Ikea!!!

We got both kids new dressers!  Thank you Emily for helping me put them together.  Together, it took about 2 hours.  It would have taken me FOREVER without the help!


Both dressers go perfectly with the furniture the kids already have.  I will miss Ikea when we live in New Mexico, but I'm ready to be there!

Photo #50 You've got a little something right about there.

Tonight was spaghetti night.  Thankfully, it was also bath night! :)

Photo #49 Another Nutty Knit!

So, I have officially fallen in love with knitting hats for my kids.  I realize we are moving to New Mexico and they won't really need them as much, but it's just so fun!  Here is another hat I knit for Molly.  I was so into it and excited to share it that I stayed up until 1:30 am just so I could finish it in time to show to my friends at my morning Bible study!  I hope you like it, too!!!

Photo #48 In the Zone

A year ago, it was nearly impossible to get Jackson to actually watch an entire cartoon episode.  Silly me for thinking that was a bad thing.  As you can see by the following photos, that's not so true anymore.  These would be the kids in their "TV zone."

Photo #47 I don't wanna and you can't make me!!!

Molly is a sweetheart, but every kid has their moments.  Lately, she has been extremely clingy to me and it has driven me a little crazy.  I'm not really one to give in to her neediness.  This, of course, leads to the inevitable tantrum.  She is as stubborn as stubborn can be.  I have no idea where she could get that from.

Todays tantrum happened when it was time to go upstairs.  We still had an hour before bedtime but it was bath night.  I decided I would get the kids upstairs, let them play for a little bit, and then give them their bath right before bed.  Initially, Molly didn't want to go upstairs.  Then, when she decided she was okay with going (because Jack-Jack was up there), she wanted to be carried up the stairs.  I told her she could climb up the stairs herself and it began.  I'm pretty sure this one lasted about 30 minutes.  It may have been made worse when I decided to break out my camera and take photos of her, instead of carrying her up the stairs (the second photo would be the look I got when she first saw the camera).  Being that this isn't the first time she has tried this, I wasn't about to lose this battle.

And for those of you wondering why on earth I would even take photos like this, see Photo #43 blog.

Photo #46 Forever Friends

They may not get along every minute of every day, but, spend an hour with them and you'll see how much they love each other.  Molly cries any time she has to go into  her Sunday school class with out Jackson.  Jackson can hardly wait to get Molly up in the mornings or from her naps.  And every time they see each other after being apart, you would think is was Christmas morning.  They truly are two peas in a pod.

Photo #45 Could it be? I....I....I think it is!!!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the sun has decided to make an appearance!

Jackson had his gym class at the YMCA this morning, but we definitely took advantage of the sunshine this afternoon.  Molly wasn't nearly as keen on the snow this time, as she was last time.  I think that's because it was so incredibly wet and heavy.  I was having a hard time walking through it so, I can only imagine how hard it was for the kids.

I pulled them around in the sled for a bit, Jackson made a few snow angels, and then we broke out the shovels.  I figured I couldn't start training Jackson too early.  They both got a kick out of helping Mommy shovel.

For more photos of our family fun, please visit: www.picasaweb.google.com/themcginthys.

Photo #44 Getting Cozy

I've been having fun knitting coffee cozies lately.  They're small, so they're quick to make.  I've even started trying to make up my own patterns.  I'll let you know how that works out.

Meanwhile, I guess I didn't realize how much the coffee cozy idea had spread around the house.  Apparently, it's getting to be popular among the younger folks.

Below, you will find a photo of Molly's newest invention, the "sippy-cup cozy."

You just don't know what they'll pick up. :)

Photo #43 As She Is

Sometimes people wonder why I take some of the photos that I do.  Why take a picture of my child crying?  Why take a photo when they are sick?  To this I say, "I want photos of my children as they are."  Everyone knows that children are not always sitting nicely and smiling for the camera.  My children are certainly no exception and I don't want them to be.  My hope by taking all these photos, is to be able to look back at them fifteen or more years from now and be able to remember what their childhood was like.  Good and bad.  It is their little lives and I don't want to miss a moment.  I know I won't get everything on camera, but I can sure try!

Today was no exception to these rules.  I gave Molly some strawberry applesauce at lunchtime and boy did she have fun with it!  At one point, she would take her spoon, scoop out some applesauce, pour the sauce into her other hand, and then put it in her mouth.  She thought it was hilarious.  Next, she wanted to lick the applesauce off her own chin.  After that, she decided to play some peek-a-boo with her ooey-gooey hands. In the end, she used the mostly empty cup to pretend to make a sand castle on the table.

At the end of the day, she is still my beautiful little girl.  She brings joy to my life and I love every inch of her.

See more fun photos at www.picasaweb.google.com/themcginthys.

Photo #42 Bedtime? What Bedtime?

So, some people are impressed by my children's mad sleeping skills.  I do consider it a HUGE blessing.  On a normal day, they get up at 7:30am, take a nap from 12:00-3:00 and then go to bed at 7:00pm (sometimes earlier).  Today, however, they had to practice some flexibility.

This afternoon, we all went with some friends for a trip to Ikea.  We planned to let the kids have a little nap and then leave by 3:00pm.  Keep in mind, it is about a 45 minute drive to Ikea.

I didn't think Jackson would actually sleep.  Lately, he has just read books, talked to himself, or sung songs while laying in bed.  Of course, today he actually fell asleep.  And Molly woke up crying around 1:30 and then went back to sleep at 2:00.  This did not bode well for our afternoon.

3:00 came and off we went!  We turned on some 3-2-1 Penguins for the car ride.  The kids did great at Ikea.  Jackson got a little restless so I took him down to play in Smalland and got back to shopping.
At the end, some decisions were tough to come to and we didn't get done shopping until 6:30pm.
Now, remember how I said my kids go to bed at 7:00pm?  And remember how I said it was a 45 minute car ride?  Oh!  And have you seen me mention dinner yet?  Yeah.  That's because we didn't have dinner yet.

So, off we went to Red Robin.  I was so amazed at how well the kids did.  We really didn't have any meltdowns.  The kids ate fairly well and then we headed home.

The car ride home was pretty uneventful.  Again, the kids watched Penguins all the way home.
So, once we got home, it was bedtime.  Tell this to Jackson, however, and you would have thought his little world was coming to an end.  We ended up skipping story time, singing, and prayers and just went straight to bed.

And THIS is when they got to bed.