Ride'em Cowboy

Mac just made is first trip to Louisiana to see some of our family. We had such a great time! We headed up there on Friday and to my surprise, Mac did really well on the drive up. We were about 10 minutes away from my Aunt's house and...
Flat tire....but it did give Mac the opportunity to show off his new jacket and shoes.
The next day we headed over to Athens so that Mac could see the animals and he loved it! My great-uncle Glawson has tons of different animals up there. We always loved visiting when we were little. I wasn't sure how Mac would react since he had a meltdown at the zoo, but he seemed to be amazed by everything around him. We went to go see the clydesdales and a mule first.
He always have some not so normal farm animals...this time, it was a few Watussi. Their horns are so thick. He said that they will try to use a few of them to ride in the rodeo (for bull riding).
We went over to the Ponderosa to see some horses too. They put a lead rope on one and brought him out for Mac to see. He was the sweetest horse. We stood there and petted him for a good 20 minutes, Mac sat on him, and then they saddled him so I could ride. I got up on the horse and decided to take a quick picture with Mac...and of course and that exact moment the horse decided it did not want to us up there. He started kicking and jerking back hard enough that I was afraid to be holding Mac up there. I don't think I have ever held onto him so tight. Luckily, Eric was able to grab him and I just held on for a few seconds until he calmed down. After that he was fine. I rode him around for about 15 minutes with no problem...it was a little scary though...
I was a little disappointed because I wanted to see them cut the horns on the cattle that morning, but we had to get new tires on the car and got a late start...but I got a souviner...now we actually have horns that have been "sawed off" for our Aggie household.
After lunch we went with my brother to ride on the 4 Wheeler. I forgot how much fun that is!
We went to see my great-Aunt Ruth at her camp house that night and Mac got to meet his cousin Paxton. Paxton is 9 months older than Mac, but they are about the same height. I'm not sure that either one of them really knew what to think about the other:
We got to eat up at my Aunt Ruth's resturant, Port-Au-Prince and he was definantly the hit of the night. I am so thankful to have such an easy and, for the most part, well behaved little boy...
We had a really great time and it was so great to see some of my cousins that I don't think I've seen in years. We are heading back up there in January for my little brother's birthday and I can't wait!

Here are a few random pictures from the weekend.

9 Month Check Up

I took Mac to the doctor on Monday for his 9 month check up and he is getting to be such a big boy! He is 21.2 lbs and 28 1/2 inches. When I took him in last month for his 2nd flu shot he weighed 20 lbs so he has put on a little over a pound in a month! Let's be honest, most of us can go up or down a pound from day to day, but for a baby it seems like a lot. As I was sitting in the exam room, I had Mac laying on his back on the table and noticed that he has a new tooth on the top that has now broken through. I am praying that this explains the screaming and overall unpleasantness that we have experienced over the past few day. He does have a runny nose and a cough which she thinks is just some viral thing that he will continue to have since he is around other kids, but other than that he's a happy healthy little man. His doctor asked me if he responds to his name, which he does, and also if he responds to "No." I told her that yes he does respond to "No" but he does so by laughing in your face. She asked me if I was saying it with a serious voice so I picked Mac up because I knew he would try and grab my necklace. When he did I put on my serious Mommy face and said "Mac, no." And as expected I got a head tilt followed by a big laugh...she said good luck =).

Mac always seems to have a blast at the doctor's office...I am really thinking about buying the kid a roll of doctor's office paper for Christmas. He rips it, throws it, wraps himself up in it, tosses it in the air...it's just a grand time for him. I'm sure the nurses just love that, but I clean up when we're done.

I am also excited to report that Mac has a "word" for me now. He calls me "Mmmmmm." He's trying. He will just be sitting there saying "Mmmmm" until I turn around and look at him. He has also started raising his hands in the air when he wants to be picked up. He just sits and waits for someone to come and get him...
I also wanted to give everyone an update about my friend Joe Houston who went missing 3 weeks ago today. They found Joe's body this morning in the cockpit of the plane. While I know that the best situation would have been for Joe to be rescued and have an amazing story to tell, I am just so thankful that he was found to provide closure for his friends and family. Please continue to keep his fiance, Jenn, and all involved in your prayers. Instead of planning her wedding, she will be attending his funeral. Jenn has been a pillar of strength throughout this whole ordeal, posting prayers and thoughts on facebook. Personally, she has been a true inspiration and an example of who God should be in all of our lives.

Today was also the 10 year anniversary of the day Bonfire fell at A&M. It is one of those moments in life that I will always remember. It was my freshman year at A&M and I lived in a dorm directly across from the fields where the stack went up. I still remember getting phone call after phone call and people running up the halls knocking on doors in the early hours of the morning. Standing out at that sight and seeing those massive logs, knowing that people were trapped beneath them was heartbreaking. 10 years ago today, the families and friends of 12 people were completely turned upside down. Remember those people today....

Crawling!

Today Mac is 9 months old...I just can't beleive it has gone so fast. And to make today special he decided that today would be the day that he crawled for the first time! He took 4 steps/strides (I dont' know what you call it). He is finally figuring out that he has to move his hands or he will end up on his face. That's about all I was able to get out of him, but I was so excited. He just looked up at me with this "What did I just do" look...priceless! So way to go buddy!

Good Mommy

I was reading an article the other day about "Good Parenting." For some reason that term really bothers me. I personally do not believe that you can put into words the definition of a good parent. Bad parenting is another story (aka "Balloon Boy), but that's a whole other discussion. In this article (which was aimed at people with children from birth to 1 year) it discussed that a "good parent" has a set bed time for their child every night. I do not for one second believe that I am not doing my job because I don't put my child in his crib at the same time every night...on the contrary...I think that we would be missing out on quality time together as a family if I forced Mac to go lay awake in his bed because of what the clock says. If I have learned anything from being a parent it is that you cannot tell somehow how to raise their child...what works for you may not work for someone else!

Moving on...

Last week my friend Amanda posted a little note to her daughter telling her all that she has done during this month of her life. Since Mac is nearing the end of his 8^th month I thought it was such a cute idea that I’m going to be a little copy cat and draft one as well.

Mac, at 8 months…

-You wake up with a big smile on your face every morning

-You love laying in bed with Mommy, Daddy and Heisman every morning so we can all play together before our day starts.

-You LOVE to be naked…it is getting harder and harder to hold you down and get a diaper on that cute little bottom

-Your favorite snacks are Mum Mums and Puffs (Mommy likes them too!)

-You love all of the fruits that you have been given, but veggies are not your favorite right now

-At school, the teachers say you like to pull people’s hair at snack time and that you love buggy rides

-You can now drink from a sippy cup if you are laying down…you need a little help if you are sitting up

-All of Mommy and Daddy’s friends love it when Baby Mac comes out to dinner

-Bath time is so much fun. You have learned how to splash the water all over the floor.

-You have also learned that bubbles do not go in your mouth!

-You can get anywhere you want to by rolling on the floor

-You have just learned how to sit up by yourself after playing on the floor

-You wear mostly 6-9 month clothes, but they are getting a little snug

-You weigh 20.5 pounds

-You are not the best napper, but you are a great cuddler

-Your beautiful blue eyes light up every time your puppy walks by

-You get very sad if your puppy gets in trouble

-You wake up around 7:30 am every morning

-You love to yell “Da Da” all the time now

-You think it is so funny when Mommy dances around and acts silly

-You adore your Daddy

-You are the greatest gift that your Daddy and I have ever received

That was a lot to read, so take a break and enjoy some pictures!

Praying for Joe and Jenn

I'm sure a lot of you have seen the posts I have had on Facebook since last Wednesday and I just want to continue to ask for prayer for the situation. If you have not heard, Joe, a guy I went to high school with, is a pilot in the Navy. He was doing a routine training mission this past Wednesday over Corpus when communication with the plane was lost. A search and rescue began and on Friday afternoon they found the body of his co-pilot. Joe is still missing. His fiance, who I also went to high school with, has been posting updates on Facebook about the search and asking for prayers for Joe. As of yesterday, they Navy has suspended the search and are only looking to retrieve what they are able to find. Everyone is holding out hope that Joe is still alive, but obviously with each passing day the likelihood of this becomes less and less. It is a truly sad and tragic thing. Please continue to pray not only for Jenn/Joe and their families, but also for the volunteers who are still out looking for him. What a miracle would it be if Joe was found and rescued!

I think the hardest thing would be not knowing. If Joe does not survive this I just pray that they are able to find him to be able to provide closure to everyone involved. Just keep them all in your prayers...

The Talking Monkey

Yesterday Mac celebrated his first Halloween as the cutest little monkey I have ever seen! We went to lunch with my Mom and step dad out in Pearland and I tried to pressure Eric to get into the spirit of things and to my delight he did. Eric decided to dress up as his favorite person....Mac! Now go ahead and try to tell me this is not the sweetest pictures you have ever seen...just try:
Mel took some pictures of Mac that turned out so well:
That afternoon we headed up to HFBC for the Fall Festival. I actually spent every Halloween night there growing up so it was fun to have Mac sped his first Halloween doing the same. I was pleasantly surprised that Mac let us keep the costume on him for about 15 minutes to get pictures. It felt great outside, but being in a lined, furry monkey suit with fuzzy feet and a wooly looking head was just too much for anyone to handle. Mac had some friends from his music class stop by to play and I was also excited to see old friends and meet their little ones for the first time.

Fellow blogger Amanda and her little girl Annabeth (who is about a week older than Mac):
Mac and Pop:
Noni, Grandmama, and Mac

Mac and his Great Grandparents:
My Dad, laying on the ground just to make the boy happy...makes me smile!
Bubbles!:
The 2 Eric's (actually I guess the 3) with Mac and Caleb:
Checking out the petting zoo:
It was a good day! Mac was quite cranky by the end, but that's a lot for a little boy to do in a day...

Mac has started something new..."talking"! He has started saying Dada incessantly since Friday. Eric of course loves it! I think that Eric and I are both being referred to as Dada, but I'll take what I can get!