Celebrations all around

When I was little, my mom always did these really creative and fun things like actually celebrating cinco de mayo and any and all other holidays (which may have prompted my youngest sister to one day ask my mom when she was very young why we never have any mint picnics?) So we did a cinco de mayo themed dinner (see pics below) and it was a lot of fun and really good! We also are blessed enough to have free babysitting as my sister Devin and her husband Leo live in town with us and love to watch Ada for us; so we went out last Tues to see X-Men Origins and we are hoping to see Star Trek this week (Josh is a trekie-whilst I have never gotten into it as I am a die hard Star Wars fan and the two are well known enemies even though we have managed to make it work). Mothers' Day was great as Josh kept alluding to the fact that he was getting me something really big when all I told him I wanted was flowers and a card! Apparently he couldn't wait and set up my present after he bought it when he came home from work, around 5 am and then proceeded to wake me up at 6 to see it. I was not expecting it, but he was so excited. He bought me/us/our family a Wii. It has been a lot of fun as I have long since told him that if we were to get a game system for our family, this would be it, as it encourages fine and gross motor skills plus ensures that you get up and move around. They even have games for kids as little as 3 yrs old! It will be so great when Ada can finally play with us. But Josh couldn't leave my present at just that as I didn't get it on Mothers' Day, so he also bought a huge and very loud (but sweet) singing card and a DVD on our list (yes, we have a list of DVD's we are trying to get). So enjoy the pics (and the new video of Ada brushing her teeth with a toothbrush!).

Ada and her Daddy
I found out a way to make Churros with crescent rolls!

Pretty cool right? I found non alcoholic sangrias!

And these I am very proud of...I found a way to make the taco bowls in the oven rather than deep frying them!

No more school and 10 mos

It feels so good to finally be finished with school (although I have one more test to take-which has to do with my teaching certificate and not my degree). I just want to say thank you to my husband, who 6 months into our marriage, was completely okay with me going back to school in a completely different field! It has been exactly 2 years since then, and now that I am finished, my hindsight is kicking in. Not to say that I am sorry for getting my M.S. but more that I can now more clearly look back and see the work and strain it has put on more than just myself (however, I may feel a little sorry when the student loans come due without a job, but Josh, who is more often than not a bit of a pessimist, states he will never be sorry I got my masters). To be finished, and to be able to be just a mom is great, albeit sometimes a little crazy just in that with this awful weather getting outside can prove highly difficult.

I was away with Ada in Philly when my degree was delivered, and Josh was great enough to call me just to say that it came and that he would get it in a suitable frame as soon as possible. He also thought it was a little disconcerting that I have my undergraduate and graduate degrees on the wall before he even has one (but to be fair, I got my undergraduate degree before I even met Josh). Someone during my student teaching said that maybe I would want to go for my doctorate, but to be emphatically frank, no thanks!! Maybe if I were planning to support the family with my career path, but as I am now turning over the reigns to my loving and much more hardworking husband, that would be a bit overboard.

Other than that, Ada and I are at home most of the day while I try to get her to eat new foods. She has eaten avocado, baby meatballs, chicken and plain organic yogurt (thanks mom). She is not too fond of the avocado, but in small pieces and followed quickly by cheese, I have managed to get her to eat it. The meatballs worked well at first, so I gave them to her alone (without her cheese chasers) but then she decided to spit them out or grind them in her fingers! It's hard not to laugh at some of the faces she makes, especially when she all of the sudden decides she doesn't want the item in her mouth anymore! She makes big messes sometimes, but it's always funny to turn around and see what she has managed to do in such a short period of time (you know, that I just turned my back for a second phrase?). So check out the few pictures and the video of her walking (she's really quick now so we had her walk the distance twice!).

walking around
wearing Daddys' new Red Sox hat

Easter, More Vacation, A Wedding and More!

So as you can tell, we have had a very interesting past few weeks. My sister got married, our Easter pics have never been posted and a lot of others haven't yet made their debut. So here's a chronicle of our past but recent adventures.

At the wedding
Out with Meemaw

Loving her new stroller (a Phil and Ted double non-tandem jogging stroller-I highly recommend this to anyone with children close in age-as we will soon have!)

Playing with her new friend Suzie

Pre-Easter picture pic

She loves her monkey we made for her at the Build-A-Bear factory!

Ah, us hours into our move and very exhausted

Ada taking out the items in her basket

I found one! Don't worry it was not filled with candy, she's a bit too young for that, so we filled them with Gerber Yogurt Melts and Puffs!

Finding more Easter eggs around the house

Also, check out our new videos (3 of them).

Vacation Thus Far

We have been in PA since April 8th and we have been having fun! Enjoy!

At the Philadelphia Zoo

On the carousel
Drivin' a tractor

Yes she is our little monkey

Really tired and sleeping on Meemaw

Petting a goat

We also took her to get Easter pix taken so expect those to be coming your way soon!

We just found out we will be having a boy and we are thinking of naming him Preston Jules McLaughlin so more on that too later...

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

A lot of changes in the McLaughlin household! We are all so excited for me to be finished with my student teaching and school in general. Can I tell you how weird it feels to not have to do any homework, study, take tests, or be anywhere for most of the day? I have been in school since kindergarten with only a year off since then. Now to be finished, well it seems surreal and unbeliveable. Good, but strange. I hope to get used to this fast though!
On another topic, we all need to sing a sad eulogy for Fred. For many of you who know us well, know that both Josh and I have always named our cars and called them by their respective names. Another odd idiosyncracy maybe, but it works for us and (even though Josh laughs quietly at me for this) makes them feel like part of the family in a very small way. I got Alfred, or Fred, right after I graduated from college. I had him to entire time Josh and I dated, he drove us around after we were married, he faithfully drove us across the country, brought our first child home from the hospital, and never had any problems. We always tried to take care of him, washing him often, cleaning out and polishing his interior, getting oil changes, and not letting people eat in him. People have called me a bit OCD with the car, but it helped when we traded him in for a slightly bigger car.
Josh was so excited and we were able to haggle our way into a really great deal. He loves driving the new car, which I have called Celia (which may need to change as Josh hates the name). She's a lot bigger than Fred, and when we were switching our stuff from Fred to Celia, I was really sad. He was sucha great car, and I just wish I could know he was going to go to someone who could take care of him...
Other than that, Ada has been doing well and really learning to walk just by holding on to something with one hand. She didn't like it at first as she was so wobbly and din't feel like she could move forward without falling, which let's be honest, happened often. But she's better at it now and has now moved to on to every once and a while letting go of things and walking a few steps towards it until she falls down. I also now have more time to realize I am pregnant as the baby kicks, or I notice the kicking, more. We will be preparing to move into a 3rd floor apt (yeah, 3rd floor with soon two small kids who can't tackle stairs). We move in on the 6th, which should prve fun as Mondays are so hard for Josh as he gets no sleep. Then on the 7th we find out what baby #2's gender is. and on the 8th Ada and I leave Josh to go home to Philly. It will be a great vacation and we are so excited (not so much to leave Josh or to have to leave at 3 am on the 8th) to visit my side of the family. So we have a lot going on, and I would really like to know I passed my PRAXIS II tests so I can get my teachers certificate, but it is really nice to just be at home being a mom.

Getting messy

Bath time with Dad


Saying our Goodbyes to Fred.

By the way, Celia is a Ford Expedition

St Patricks' Day

Out here you don't find too many Irish, and so I was explaining to my students about St. Patricks' Day and the food/celebrations etc, and they all stopped short when I said Irish potatoes. In potatoland, the word potato does not make anyone excited, so many people were curious why I was. I explained what they were, thinking that would make at least a few people say, "Oh yeah! I've had those before." But alas...nothing. So I had to make some for everyone. Most of the students liked them, if I could get to them to say to take small bites as many just shoved it all into their mouths and then were coughing up cinnamon that is. Other than that, we had a green feast of Salad, Martinellis' dyed green, green Jell-o with marshmallows and the leftover irish potato candy. I am nearing the last week of my placement and of course I will be so sad to go, but also leaping for joy next Friday. This semester has been hard on all of us; Josh has not been able to get the study time he needs (but not really wants when Ada is all smiles for her Daddy). Ada has taken a large step forward: She has learned to stand on her own. No, she has long ago surpassed the pulling herself up to stand alone phase; now she is fully in the realm of standing up from the floor to a standing position by herself. She now and again will let go of something and take a few hesitant steps forward...and then fall or lower herself to the ground (crawling being much faster). So take a look at what we have been up to and don't forget the new video of Ada (climbing up from the floor unaided to get to Daddy). Enjoy!

Look! No hands!
Our Green Feast. Can you tell why I love this holiday?

A Holiday Toast

A Bubble Tiara

Awwww, she just adores her Daddy!

Moving right along

Ada has really started taking off! She crawls so fast now and makes us feel like our house is always dirty as she will find the small pieces of whatever on the floor and eat it...
She now has two teeth which are completely in and has started letting go of things and trying to take steps. It usually doesn't end with her walking so she gets upset most of the time.
I am trying to finish all of my schoolwork so I can really study more for the (hopefully) last standardized test I will ever take. I hate taking tests, and I have not taken a paper based test in a long time (since HS!) as the GRE and Praxis I tests were all computer based tests. But BYU-I is not set up to have people take computer based tests yet so next Saturday I report to the BYU-I campus and take two 2 hr tests back to back...I am so looking forward to it. Otherwise student teaching is almost over, I am starting my 10th week out of 12...and it's down the stretch I come.
Josh and I will be so happy when it is over so we can both calm down a little and have at least some free time once in a while. My sisters wedding is coming up and Ada and I are really looking forward to a trip...but it's so sad to take one without Josh. But happiness and finality are on the horizon so just keep praying, thinking, and hopeing time goes by fast and everything turns out well!

Also, we have our next baby appt on Wednesday and we will be 18 weeks!

Daddys' favorite shirt of Adas'
Don't you just love this face?!

Eating cheese for the first time

Looking so comfortable and wrapped up

Eating some bread too