Standing

In the last blog (Walking) I had written that McKaila hadn't figured out how to stand from a sitting position. About 2 hours later, while Courtney, McKaila, and I were outside on the porch, she decided to stand up all on her own. Very exciting!! We weren't the only ones excited, you could tell McKaila was very excited and proud of herself too.

She was a little excited about walking around, that she took some spills, but she always stood right back up and started walking again, with a smile on her face. I think she's happy that she is a little more mobile now.

 

She had this leaf in her hand the whole time

Walking

McKaila has been walking like crazy lately. She still needs to get herself up by lifting herself up on something, but once she's up, she goes. She tries to stand up from a sitting position, but hasn't mastered that yet. She took her first few steps on her own on Sept. 11, 2011 and on the 22nd she started walking all over the place. Now she's walking from room to room, turning around and going back to where she started. She really seems to love walking. She sometimes gets ahead of herself though, but is learning not to cry everytime she takes a spill. She knows to get right back up and go at it again. We love her and are so proud of her.

Playing around in her crib

She loves to sit in the dog bed

Love this face

Go Blue

Even though we don't get the channel that Michigan is playing on, McKaila is ready to cheer on the Wolverines!!

This is her first cheerleading outfit. I got teary eyed just putting it on her!! She's going to be just like her mommy and be a cheerleader some day!!!

In this picture, you can see most of her teeth!! She has 7 teeth right now!

**Also, today McKaila is 11 months old. I can't believe how fast time has gone by and in 1 short month she's going to be 1 year old. So crazy!!!**

Feeling Blessed

Every day when I wake up, I feel so incredibly blessed that I have McKaila and Courtney in my life. Some mornings, when I have a few moments to myself, I even find myself tearing up because I am so happy. I have an amazing husband that supports me and will do whatever he can to help me during the days before he heads to work. It sometimes is stressful not having him home much, but he understands that and is good at reminding me every day how much he loves me and McKaila.
And to have McKaila in our lives is just beyond amazing. I look at her every moment of the day and smile because she is such an amazing baby. She smiles at me when I'm feeling down and it just melts my heart. The only problem we have is when we say no, she gets this pouty look on her face. It's just so hard to say no to that sometimes. She is just too cute for words I tell you.

McKaila and Daddy **I love them so much**

McKaila and Mommy

Courtney and I on our 1 year Anniversary, at the moment of this picture, we didn't know we were pregnant, but we were!!!!!

Cars

One of Courtney's top movies that he could watch over and over again, would be Cars. So, it has been no big surprise that McKaila has become a fan of Cars also. Every time we are in the store and she sees Lightning McQueen she freaks out. She could care less about the dolls and what not, she just wants to see Lightning McQueen. We never have played the movie for her, so last week when it had gotten pretty chilly out, we decided to pop Cars in the PS3. She was in love. She was laughing and dancing to the music. It was so adorable. But, when she wasn't doing that, it was like don't get in the way of the TV. I tried to get her to give me a kiss while she was watching and I got pushed away. I believe we're going to have a lot of Cars stuff in this house.

Sipping on her juice in the morning in her Cars chair

Picture Perfect

Yesterday while at the Pentagon Memorial, McKaila was the center of attention. There were lots of people taking pictures of McKaila and commenting on how cute she is. One photographer even asked for our names; wrote them down and told us he is with Getty Images.
Last night I decided to google McKaila's name and found the picture he took of us. Very exciting!!

Never Forget

Since Courtney and I started dating, we have always kept the attacks of 9/11 close to our hearts. We didn't know any one in the buildings or the planes, but we have always reflected on that day. Leading up to each anniversary of 9/11, we watch many of the documentaries on t.v. and talk about what we were doing that day. Even though it has been 10 years, it's still very difficult for the both of us to watch those planes hit the towers, the Pentagon, and see the crash site in Pennsylvania. But we know it's a part of history and now know that while McKaila grows up she will hear our stories of what happened that day as she'll be reading it in her text books.

Today we wanted to show our respects to those lost in the Pentagon.We didn't get to go to the memorial, but we did stand below the path of the plane, just before it hit. People put out flags in the area where the planes has passed before hitting the Pentagon. Even though we weren't able to go to the memorial itself, it was very touching to see all the people there. You could feel the love and the sadness.
I hope everyone got the chance to reflect on today and what happened 10 years ago. We are still fighting a war and have many troops to be thinking of today too. So, if you haven't already done so, please stop and remember those who lost their lives and who are fighting for yours now.