Week 1.

& check out all that hair!

We're trying not to think about Happy Jo leaving in 4 days.

"Can I hold Baby Eliza?"

A tired Mama and her darling girls.

"My little sweetie"

The sisters have met! And they are quite in love with each other.

Is it just me or does Mckinlay seem like she's about 5 years older than she was when I left for the hospital!?

Because of the flues going around, the hospital was not allowing visitors under the age of 18, so Mckinlay didn't get to meet Eliza until Wednesday when we got home.

Mckinlay is so sweet {and "careful"} with her and wants to do everything for her. "I can change her!" "I can hold her all by myself." "I can get her blanket!" {Although she knows only mommy can feed her "from her milk cups" or her "milky moles".} And she is always stroking her head calling her "my little sweetie." It's just about the cutest thing.

She doesn't like it when Eliza cries, it kinda stresses her out and she always covers her ears. And Eliza's "owie" {umbilical chord} freaks her out every time she sees it. She is convinced she can't touch the baby until it's gone {or until she forgets about it -- about 2 mins after seeing it.}

We are loving our little chubby cheeked girl.

Eliza Mae Loveless

Eliza Mae is finally here....
Weighing in at 8 lbs 5 oz. and 21 inches long. The exact same as her older sister Mckinlay!! Looks like she's going to be a good sleeper too!

Funny Mckinlay.

A couple days ago while driving in the car:
Mckinlay: "Is your baby gonna be here soon Mama!?"

Me: "Yeah. She'll be here in a few days."

Mckinlay: "Oh fun!" Thinks for a sec... "Is she just gonna pop right out?"

Me: "Kind of."

Mckinlay: Thinks again... "Oh, is the Dr. gonna squeeze her and then she'll pop right out!?"

Me: "Ahhh yup. Just like that honey."

If only it were that simple.

She is super excited for Thanksgiving and Christmas. She has me tell her about what we do for the holidays and about the decorations and what we eat {a true Hallstrom or what?} all the time. Yesterday I explained to her about Santa Clause and how he comes down the chimney at night while we are sleeping and brings us presents. She was pretty thrilled about it.

This morning she woke up just as Ty was about to leave for work and you could hear him rattling around down stairs. She came bounding into my dark bedroom and said:

"Mommy! Santa Clause is here! I can Hear him!"

We sure love this gal and think she's gonna make a great big sister.

Fall cooking

I always love trying new recipes. I like finding new things that are yummy, but I LOVE when you stumble across something super-duper-yummy. I've made a few things lately that fall into that category, so I thought I'd share. Especially since this time of year seems to be the time to stay in your warm house and cook/bake.

Images and recipes via Little Mama and Co.:

Sugar Topped Banana Muffins

Chicken Fajita Tostadas
This is our new favorite dinner. Easy and delicious. I think we make it weekly.

Images and recipes via Picky Palate:

Chocolate Chip Cookie Stuffed Cupcakes

Pumpkin Spiced Cream Cheese Breakfast Rolls
Ty loves these and he claims to not like pumpkin things.
{Really, I just think he hasn't been exposed to really good pumpkin delights.}

And this morning I made these:

Image and recipe via Bumbleberry CakesPumpkin Muffins With Crumb Topping

I used my left over pumpkin from the pumpkin cream cheese rolls for this recipe. It wasn't an entire can, like the recipe calls for, but close, and they turned out fabulous.

Happy cooking...and eating!

It's almost time.

Remember this little project I've been working on?

Well, I'm almost there. Only 10 more days to go.

Actually, no more than 11 days.

I'm due Sunday the 15th, but if the little darling hasn't made her grand entrance, I'll be induce on Monday the 16th. Ty has a week off work, so I need to have this little one during that window. Happy Jo gets here on the 13th and my dad is actually stopping in for 2 days on his way home from a business trip. He'll be here from the 14th until noon on the 16th. Chances are he'll fly out in the middle of my labor, but I promised him I do my best to "hatch" {his words, not mine} the little girl while he's here.

I'm fully expecting her to be born on the 16th because I was induced with Mckinlay about a million {or 8} days late, but we'll see. The end is in sight!! And it's about time. I have approximately 2 things that fit, one of which is my green dress, affectionately referred to as the "green monsta", pictured above. It's the closest thing I have to the muu-muu I've wanted, and much to Ty's pleasure never ended up with, throughout this pregnancy. The other is my "Target employee outfit" {red sweatshirt and tan pants}. I guess it's a good thing though, then I'll be excited to fit back into my other maternity clothes after the baby is born. How's that for a silver lining?

------

P.S. OK, Since we're all friends here {right?}, I feel inclined to tell you I really can't see my feet. If you could see me taking that picture you'd see that my booty is sticking pretty far out so I could get a glimpse of those feet way down there.

You caught me.

All Hallows Eve - Eve

Ty's on call tomorrow, and being as it's Halloween, we're not expecting him to be around much. Doesn't Halloween seems like the prime night for dog bites, people getting jumped and other facial trauma issues he'll have to attend to?

So, we had our family Halloween party early.

We ate witch fingers, mummies, rotten apple teeth, {which resembled some of Ty's patients mouths}, and witches brew.

{Thank you Grandma for the cute plates, napkins and witches brew.}

And the little lady bug put on her costume so we could take some pictures.

I love all the leaves in our yard. Have I mentioned how beautiful the fall is here? It's seriously gorgeous.

This is one lady bug who is super excited to get her "trick-or-treaty" on.

Hope you all have a fun and safe Halloween. Although I know a great Dr. if you happen to encounter any Halloween facial trauma...

About to pop.

Mckinlay: "Come feel my baby kicking."

Dominoes anyone?

Last time I checked, normal people don't gut their bathrooms, especially the only bathroom with a shower in it, a few weeks before their baby is due. Right?

Well, I guess we're not normal, because that is just what we are doing.

We've had some tiles in our shower that we're starting to bulge a little and we knew we'd have to get it fixed eventually. We've just been keeping an eye on it, but it seem like over night it got bad. Really bad. Like some of the tiles have cracked and the wall is soggy enough behind them that you can push some of the tile in. Yuck. Pretty much, this needs to be taken care of yesterday, before the walls get even more wet and before the water leaks down into the kitchen any more than it already has (which thankfully is very little and can be fixed with a coat of paint).

In our short time living in this house, we've come to realize home repairs, especially in an old home, are like Dominoes. One thing goes wrong, and it starts a lovely chain of other repairs to follow.

Let me expound:

Our home was built in 1940. Therefore the tiles used on the walls can not be matched. So there goes the possibility of just replacing the bad areas. And lucky us, our entire bathroom is tiled, so that means we get to re-tile the whole room. The cast iron tub needs to be taken out to get to the potentially bad wood behind it and it only has a few years left before it is going to rust out anyway, so it needs to be replaced. While the tile is off the walls, naturally you replace the faucets and plumbing because they are the originals and could go at any time. If they break say in a year from now, there goes our new tile since we'd have to take it off to access the plumbing. Also they don't make tubs the same shape as they did in the good ol' 40's, so there is going to be a gap between the tub and the original 1940's mosaic tile floor, which unfortunately, can't be matched either. So add a new floor to the list...

See what I mean about dominoes? Did I mention we had to get a new roof last month? Ty says, "we're never buying a used home again." {I think by "used" he means more than 10-15 years old.} :) But that is the nature of living here in Cleveland. All the homes are old and it seams all home owners encounter these same problems. You should hear some of the stories our friends at church can tell. And I'm sure we'll have more to tell by the time we're through here.

On the bright side, we get a perdy new bathroom and we won't have to worry {fingers crossed} about it falling apart on us over the next 5 years.

Really, I'm not trying to complain here. I just want to log this experience, since this is basically my journal, and I think it is kinda funny. We really do love our house and are happy in it. We're warm, dry {now} and really comfy. Our house feels like home. We were just a little surprised with how quickly we have been initiated as full fledged home owners, repairs and all.

We're cutting it close. Heaven help us if this babe comes early {can you imagine coming home from the hospital to no shower!? Yuck.}! The timing is bad, but oh well. I'm excited for our sparkly new bathroom.

Wanna come see it when it's done? You're welcome to visit us any time. 'Cause Cleveland is awesome. Or at least we like to think we are.

It starts.

I've sported many a matching outfit in my day.

And I have many the pictures to prove it.

If you will:

The brother and sister match.

The sister {and coordinating brother} match.

The fam match.
{If only I had a picture of us in our Laura Ashley Glory!}

The traditional jammie match.

And lest we forget:

the cousin match.

{And man did I have a hard time choosing which picture to use here. I swear, there are millions, but this had all the right elements. Bangs. Shoulder pads. Perm. Glasses. Coolot onesie. Grandma's flocked tree.}

And look what I just did:

My first, of many, daughter match.

So excited for my girls to add their picture to the matching collection. 'Cause let's be honest, we really only do it for the picture, right?

"My girls."

That's fun to say.

"I see a fire truck -- a big red shiny fire truck..."

We went to the the fire station this morning with some friends from church. I knew Mckinlay would be super excited, so I didn't tell her we were going until this morning to save me from having to answer "Is it time to go to the fire station now!?" over and over again.

As it was, all morning I heard: "Do I get to go inside the fire station? Fun! With my friends? Fun! Do I get to go in the fire truck? And walk around? Fun! Is it time to go now!? Are you coming with me? Fun!"

Mckinlay was the first to volunteer for everything. She wasn't going to miss out on a thing. She pretty much thought it was the coolest place. Ever.

Afterwards we ran a few errands and everyone we saw got to hear about our trip to the fire station and how she got to look inside the ambulance and ride in the truck and wear the fireman's clothes and she got a fire hat to keep. Then she'd add that she is going to be a ladybug for Halloween.

I had a fun day too. Reminded me of when Pappio use to take us kids to the Manoa fire station. It's so fun that I get to do things like this now with my little gal pal.

Spoiled.

Ty started a new rotation at a VA hospital for the next three months. We L-O-V-E it because it means he has been around a lot. Last week we went to dinner as a family, to an afternoon movie and made halloween sugar cookies.

Since yesterday was Columbus Day, and he is at a State Run Hospital right now, he had the day off! Wahoo! The rain spoiled all our plans...so we decieded to give the fireplace a whirl.

If you'll notice the chocolate in Mckinlay's hand, you can understand why she is dancing. She wasn't about to wait for roasted mallows for s'mores. Ty and I were just lucky there was a little chocolate left by the time our mallows were done.

Today Mckinlay and I spent the morning in our sweats, dancing to this:

{"I want the puppet song again!"}

watching this cat chase 3 squirles up the tree and wait...

{poor squirles look so scared!}

and making {and eating}"One Bowl Apple Cake."

We like fall. And we like Daddy.

Did I mention this rotation lasts for 3 months!?

Yeah, we're feeling pretty spoiled.

Today in the shower I started singing:

"If you'll look in our windows then here's what you see:
Breezy going to gym at 3 (AM!)
Al with her new hair is sassy and cute,
Meghan's tromping around in real tall boots.
Annie's putting on her running shoes,
Katie says: "Which lipstick? I can never choose!"
Brea's telling us about our anatomy,
We're the 137 happy Family!"

{Sung to the tune of "Popcorn Popping" and this may, or may not, have been inspired by Ty's roomates who liked to look in our windows.}

Gotta love days when that pops into my head.

How I love ya gals!

Elder McKinlay

This guy heads to the MTC today.

Isn't he the cutest missionary? Ever?
{photo by the ever talented Emily}

We're so proud of you Tyler. We love you, are so "humbly proud", and are praying for you. Mckinlay already has an envelope of treasures to send you. We're just waiting on your address.

Here's hopin' the bathrooms in Louisiana are a little bigger than ours.

We like to call him Hagrid in this photo.

{Taken when he came to visit last month. He's on his knees shaving in our Mckinlay sized 1/2 bathroom.}

Imaginary Friends

Yesterday I asked Mckinlay is she wanted to go to the park. She was sitting on the stairs and she turned to her right and said:

"Do you want to go to the park?"

Then turned to me and said:

"No. My monster and I want to play here."

I asked her half and hour later if she wanted to go to the park and she said:

"No. I'm just snuggling on your bed with my monster."

About half and hour after that she said:

"Mommy, I'm ready to go to the park now."

Then, turning to her right:

"Monster and you ready to go to the park now too?"

So we went to the park.

Today she is playing with her "dinosaur"

{also named "Mckinlay"}.

She put make up on herself, her body {of course}, and her dinosaur who "looks so beautiful!"

They played and then she read her a story on the couch.

When she sat down with the other "Mckinlay" I said:

"Mckinlay did you leave enough room for your dinosaur?"

Then she asked, turning to her right:

"Do you have a small bum like I?"

Turning to me:

"Yeah."

While reading the story she turned to her right and said:

"Don't bug me!"

I'm still laughing about it.

I took a video of her talking to "Mckinlay", but she got a little embarrassed and started singing instead.

Heard some rustling in the kitchen...

and walked into find this little bum hanging out on the counter saying:

Me: Mckinlay, looks like you already got some.

Mckinlay: Oh.

I need a napkin.

Diapers, take II.

I've been thinking about diapers a lot lately.

Every time I go to Costco I think how it won't be long before I'll be picking up a box of them along with my other staples. After being diaper free for nearly a year now, that is not a very nice thought.

Poopy.

Stinky.

Expensive.

Argh.

To fix my diaper whoas, I made something to get me excited about the inevitable:

Ta-dah!

What better cure than a diaper/wipes case!?

And better still, I made it out of fabric scraps, courtesy of Happy Jo's left overs from #2's baby quilt {which I'm so excited to see!}.

I almost love it enough to want to go buy some diapers to fill it right now.

Almost.

McFam in Ohio part 2

{For some reason Blogger wouldn't let me do this all in one post...}

Cedar Point was followed by a celebration of Happy Jo's birthday. 55 and still mistaken for a nursing mother. I'd say that's pretty darn good!

Wanna make your own family Yahtzee? Click here. And the picture with Gollum--that was Tyler's birthday card to Mom. It gives me the creeps every time I look at it. In part because it's creepy, in part because that is my little girl he morphed in the picture, and probably also in part because of the lovely mustache Mom is sporting.

We also took a quick trip to B and Alli's for Eli's baby blessing. It was really neat that so many of us could be there for it and that Tyler was able to help now that he is an Elder -- who leaves in a month! So glad we got to spend time with him before he is off for 2 years.

All these thing and more made for a fabulous couple of weeks.

We love you family and we already miss you, but are looking forward to Happy Jo's return in just under 10 weeks for #2's arrival!

And lest you think the fun ended there, yesterday Ty had the day off and we spent the morning in Chagrin Falls. The weather was perfect for a picnic by the falls and then we got a little treat from the famous Popcorn Shop Factory.

It was a great way to end the weekend, especially because it started pouring rain on our drive home.

McFam in Ohio part 1

Our visitors are gone. Our house is empty. We miss them already.

We had too much fun to document it all, so here are some highlights:

Lots of playing/coloring/doing tricks/being "princess in the basement."

Lots of vinyl/sewing/decorating/home improvements. I'll do a separate post on all the fun things Happy Jo and I did around the house.

One trip to Amish Country where we ate way too much food {as you can tell by my very full belly}, loved seeing the "horsies and buggies" {which Mckinlay thought meant horses with giant bugs on them}, and lounged in "baby bear, mama bear and papa bear's rockers."

One visit to Cedar Point.

So. Much. Fun.

I can only imagine how much fun it'll be to go back not pregnant...not the the carousel and Snoopy train weren't awesome.

Been having too much fun to post...

but had to share this:

We can't stop laughing about it.

We've been busy sewing, decorating, eating and playing.

{& going to Target. Daily.}

Pictures to come soon.