21 months of McCoob

Tomorrow marks McCabe's 21 month birthday. I would say that I can't believe it except for how BUSY his little body has been of late. This boy is all go go GO! We adore him....when we're not trying to go shopping...or visit the library....or enjoy church....or when we are trying to get him to sleep in his big-boy bunk bed. Aside from that, he is a joy! An absolute riot, but a joy all the same.

18 months of McCabe!

Sunday marked McCabe's 18-month birthday! This little man is such a hoot and I can't imagine our home without this fun fellow in it. This boy is loves a good laugh, enjoys pushing around toy trucks, has a sweet tooth that can't be beat, and is ALWAYS on the move! Needless to say, we adore everything about him (except for his poor sleeping habits at bedtime- he is motoring around on the couch behind me while I type and it is after 10pm). I used to think that he had a peacemaker personality but now that I know how much he gets a kick out of pestering, I think it is more that he is just so darn like-able that we get distracted by his charm. In fact, even Char can't stay mad for long when McCabe's around. Maybe he just makes us all feel cool by association?.... Yeah, probably that. Because Cabe knows cool.

 I will miss these pudgy little hands

I could look at these two pictures all day. How did I get so lucky?

McCabe in toyland

 Now that McCabey is safe on stairs, his favorite thing to do is scoot his cute little hiney down them to his toy lair below. It's nothing fancy (I never got around to decorating it) but it is full of all sorts of toys for little boys and McCabe can't seem to get enough! I'm glad that someone plays with toys down there since his brothers aren't too into the mounds of toys that we have collected over the last five years. They would rather be playing some oddball animal game. However, McCabe is another story all together. This little man LOVES toys! Any type will do, but if it has wheels or plays music, he is an instant fan! After church on Mothers day, I followed him downstairs with my camera and got such a kick out of watching him play. What would we do without this quirky and content little man in our life. We sure do love him!

I got this little phone at a garage sale for fifty cents when Mason was a baby and it is by far the most played with toy that we have owned. It makes animal sounds and plays such fun music that McCabe cannot resist dancing along after pressing each button.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

"Hey! Save me a piece of that corn! Save me a piece of that corn for later!"

-Nacho Libre

Corn on a stick seemed like the most natural side for our enchilada dinner. Next year we'll add a wrestling match to the festivities as well.

Me time

McCabe got this little stuffed hedgehog (that James and I spotted in the pet section of Walmart) in his Easter basket and he loves it to pieces. He likes that it is soft and makes squeaks (perks of it being made for a dog). I like how he snuggles it up under his chin.

 Last night I was a single mother of one while James took our two oldest sons camping with the scouts. Before he left he asked me if I would do okay without my two older sons to keep me company. After I realized he wasn't joking I assured him that I would be just fine! While they were gone (and McCabe slept), I sewed two bow ties, fixed the nose on McCabe's little stuffed hedgie (they just don't make dog toys the way they used to), vacuumed, disassembled a hedgehog costume (I'm making PDF patterns), and watched the entire first season of Downton Abby! As much as I adore being surrounded by men, sometimes a little alone time is good for the soul!

 McCabe found an old framed picture of me and Lindsay pulling off a prank in college. Linds, if this isn't proof that your godson loves you than I don't know what is?

Fishing in the snow

Yesterday evening James took us to our nearby pond for a quick fishing session before dinner. It was FREEZING outside but the boys were excited to get out anyway. That is, until our hands and feet began to burn with cold.

But even though we never caught any fish, we did snap some pictures of Baby Cabe looking cute as a button in his snow gear!

I love snow boots on babies!

Our boys at this age

Things I'll miss most about Mason at this age:

-How much he still loves to snuggle.

-How proud he is of his gymnastics and rollerblading skills.

-What a sweet big brother he is.

-How he is CONSTANTLY trying to joke in a weirdo voice for McCabe and how often his jokes fall flat. "Um......I don't know if you know this..........but................................um..............................................................................................

...............................you have........ a.......stinky bum-bum." As someone who appreciates a good joke going bad, I find his attempts at humor hilarious. Or at least for the first dozen or so in a row. That boy doesn't know how to jump ship.

-How much he loves doing crafts.

-Playing board games with him.

-How much he loves to learn.

Things I don't think I'll miss:

-His nightmares and how often he wakes up in the night.

-How stinky his "B" is.

Things I will miss about Char at this age:

-How he says, "Me-me" for excuse me.

-His little guteral Frenchman laugh when he is tickled pink

-How he clings to me like a Kuala when I hold him. (He would prefer this to be all the time).

-How he adores his brothers.

-How he jokingly says, "Goodbye cow pooh-pooh!" every time he flushes the toilet.

-How he breaks up his run with a jaunty skip every so often.

-How he thinks every superhero is Batman no matter how hard Mason tries to educate him otherwise and how he sings "Batman, batman, batman!" whenever he encounters them.

-How much he loves to sing and dance.

-How he loves to run wherever he goes.

-How soft and supple his little cheeks are and how cute they frame his little mouth.

-How round and cute his little ca-bootom is while he plays around the house naked all day.

What I don't think I'll miss:

-His tantrums that come whenever he doesn't get his way.

-How hard it is to get his haircut right!

-Taking him shopping at Joann's. 

What I'll miss about McCabey:

-His little ape walk.

-How he tucks his arms down by his belly when you hold and hug him.

-How bashful and sweet he is.

-How cute it is to look back and see him sitting proudly in a big-boy car seat by his brothers.

-Watching him drive every little car or car shaped thing around the floor.

-His dimply hands.

-His feather hair.

-How he follows us around the house all day and keeps us company.
-How funny he thinks (knows) I am.

What I don't think I'll miss:

-How scared he gets of loud things.

-How hard it is to ween him off of his bottle.

McCabe's birthday rundown

On Saturday, our sweet little McCabey Baby turned ONE! How in the world is my youngest out of his infancy? We love our little Mr. and are so glad that he has made our Christmas seasons even brighter! With every child, I long to pull off a 1st birthday celebration that even Martha Stewart would be wowed by, but every year things get busy and we basically end up doing nothing much at all. This year was no different and I was so let down. But thanks to our little man's cheery little personality, the day was a success in the end. Since it was his big day, we tried our best to do things that he likes to do, like...

Play with pom poms:

We spent the day moseying around the house:

Check out that fancy footwork! For the most part McCabe sticks to his speedy crawl, but more and more often he thrilles us with as many as six steps in a row now. 

We showered him with love and affection:

...which wasn't always as appreciated...

When the evening came we got the real party started! 

After our ho-hum dinner (I can't remember what we ate for the life of me so I know it wasn't anything fancy) we opened presents. McCabe is proud to report that he opened each gift by himself and didn't need any help from his very willing brothers. :) Not only was he interested enough to unwrap his presents, he seemed to be truly excited for every one! 

His Grandma Sieg wowed him with a little blanket of his dreams that had FIVE pompoms attached! Sticking with that theme, he also got a new Christmas hat with a pompom on top as well. What can I say, this boy likes a good pom pom. :) And while we're on the topic of gifts, I must say that I LOVE having a son born in December so that I can not feel as dumpy wrapping them in Christmas wrapping paper! Let's be honest, every birthday in the Sieg home is celebrated with some form of Christmas wrapping paper. D'oh!

As annoying as this little dog friend is, our boy's think that he's grand! All day long we hear it say things like, "hug me!" in a really creepy voice. I don't mind it so much in the day, but when I hear it go off at night when I am the only one around it really reminds me of Talking Tina (from the Twilight Zone). Yikes!

Pops wowed us by a fancy looking cake....

...and McCabe was pleased as punch!

Ziggy-piggy!

I know this is a little fuzzy, but it is one of my favorites just the same.

Last but not least, we had pinata time! Since it was icy and cold outside, we opted to beat our little Christmas elf pinata indoors. McCabe gave the elf a mighty-good wallop, and with the help of two burly brothers (and Poppy who had to eventually help out a little) we hit the jack-pot.

Mason and Char coached him from the sidelines

Here's to another happy year, McCabe! Thanks for joining our family.