Time

Where does time go?  Those four words seem to come out of my mouth at least five times each day.  It seems like just yesterday that we were getting married, let alone bringing Conner home and welcoming Drew into the world.  Here are some pictures of how fast time is going at the McClellan house...

Each and every day, Conner becomes more and more like Jason...in every single way, as you can see!  What you can't see, is what you can hear...oh my gosh does he have the same southern accent as his Daddy!

Drew's first two teeth already popped through!  They were rough on him as well as the rest of us!  We can only hope that the other teeth will treat him better!  Once those two teeth came in, he went from looking like a little baby to looking more like a big boy. 

On September 1st, I turned 30!  I remember when my brother Patrick was born (I was 10) saying that one day when I was 30, he would be 20 and I remember thinking that 30 was so old!  See, mom was 30 when she had Patrick and I remember her at 30 (and I remember thinking that she was old!) !  It is crazy how fast life flies by!

Drew is busy eating us out of house and home!  I am anxious to see what the doctor has to say at his next appointment.  See he has been on a weight watch since he was about 2 months old because he kept gaining weight, but dropping in his percentile ranking.  I bet this time he will not drop and maybe even rise in his ranking.  He is eating cereal and fruits and vegetables, all of his toys and Conner's toys, blankets, furniture and his hands and feet!

Conner was able to visit all of his friends at the farm over the last few weeks!  He LOVED it even more this year than he did in the past!  Then, every night since, he has told us a story about farming and what he did at work...I love his stories and I hope that they never end!  I just hope I can always tell his true stories from his "make believe" stories!

We visited Daddy at work while he was working the races at ORP.  Conner loved all of the race cars and Drew loved listening to them!

  Drew also went fishing for the first time with all of us! As you can see, he also wanted to see what fish tasted like!

Last, but not least, we sold the truck.  I will tell you that I have never thought of myself as a sentimental person when it comes to material things - until I was driving to meet Jason after he traded the truck.  Again, I said to myself, where does time go?  I remembered the day Jason bought that truck - almost eight years ago and I couldn't help but think about how much our lives have changed since then.   See, this truck moved me in and out of Valpo;  I drove it to my interview at Ice; this truck carried the wood that was used to build our home; it was the truck that pulled the boat the day Jason bought it and the truck that pulled the boat we rode away in after we got married; it was the truck we used to bring home all of our Christmas presents each year; it was the truck Jason drove too fast the day that we found out that Stephen died; it was the truck that we loaded all of our baby stuff in; and it was the truck Jason drove when we brought both of our boys home from the hospital...so on this short trip to trade in a truck, all I thought about was time...and I wished it would slow down.  Now I see why Jason has always been so sentimental about his cars, boats and trucks (well, sort of!!!)

Fabulous Firsts!

Drew is growing more and more each day.  Within the past few months, he tried cereal for the first time, jumped in his jumperroo, tried many fruits and vegetables, rolled back to front and front to back, can grasp anything and everything (especially loves to pick up Conner's toys) and HE GOT HIS FIRST TWO TEETH last week!  He is such a great baby who loves nothing more than to make everyone smile!

I also wanted to post some pictures of our fish named Conner!  Conner was quite the little swimmer this year and we owe that to living out at a lake and mostly to Miss Bailey.  Here are some pictures of Conner jumping off of the diving board and picking up dive sticks from the bottom of the pool...if only the lake were clear as well!  I am still nervous to let him swim without his life jacket (and probably will be for awhile) but he is very good at swimming, jumping in and cannon balls!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Conner!

It is so hard to believe that Conner turned three!  It is absolutely amazing how much he has grown over the past year!  I am so proud of him!  We went to Chuck E. Cheese on his birthday and had tons of fun.  Then, we celebrated his birthday with his friends a couple weeks later.  It was a  beautiful day and we all had a great time.  Conner's favorite gifts were his "dirt bike" and his water slide!  I can't wait to see how much he is going to grow this year!

Conner 3 years and Drew 3 months!

We had the boys' pictures taken a few weeks ago...whew!  Let's just say having their pictures taken is a job in and of itself! 

See, Conner loves, loves, loves to talk and loves to tell stories even more!  His favorite stories are hunting stories about all of the elk, deer and coyotes' he and his buddies go hunting for.  After the hunt, he explains that he jumps on the animal's back to go through the drive-thru at Old McDonalds.  Conner can spell his name (first name he has down pat, last name; he makes up as he goes), he can say his ABC's, he can count to ten (if he wants to, he usually says 1, 2, 7 just to get a reaction), he knows all of his favorite peoples birthdays and he can't wait for August 4th when he turns three!  He loves to go swimming and is taking swim lessons this summer a few days a week.  He will jump in the water and put his head under with his eyes wide open!  I know, gross, right.  The lake isn't very clear so his eyes quickly turn from bright blue to red.  He also loves to sing and picks up songs on the radio very quickly.  His favorites at the moment are Big Green Tractor and Rain is a Good Thing.  Being almost three, he loves to push his limits with us.  He knows how to push our buttons perfectly.  Needless to say, most of the time we try our best not to laugh.  He whispers my all time most hated word (hill jack) to his dad all of the time.  They think it is hilarious.  I just roll my eyes!  He doesn't like to take the time to eat which is probably why he still doesn't weigh 30 pounds.  His favorite foods are ice cream and yogurt.  I just love him and all that he has grown to be.  I can't believe we are coming up on his third birthday.  I am anxious to see what the next year will bring out in him.  For starters, he will start school in the fall; so keep your fingers crossed!

Drew is growing so quickly.  It is amazing to watch him do new things each and every day.  Let me tell you first off though, that he loves, loves, loves his brother.  He watches Conner all of the time (sometimes a good thing and sometimes a bad thing).  If he is eating, he will turn his head to watch what Conner is doing.  When he is playing, no matter if Drew is on the floor, in his swing or in his bouncy he is always looking around for his brother and gets this huge grin on his face and starts "talking" when he sees him!  Drew is very involved in watching and grabbing toys these days.  Once he gets them he chews on them until his entire outfit is covered in drool.  Drew is adjusting well to going to MiMi's and gets excited when he sees her and Mackinley.  He takes great naps during the day (usually around 4 good naps) and he is sleeping well at night.  He still misses his mommy, so he likes to get up around three every morning to say hello and to get his belly full.  I love it when you walk in and he is all smiles.  He also has found his feet and always pulls them up towards his face.  I love it that his little body is always trying to get into a "C" position.  I know it won't last too much longer because he would much rather stand or sit than lie down these days.  However, he is doing well with lifting his head and he is starting to roll over (but right now, only when he wants a toy or to see Conner).  It amazes me how quick time is going by.  It is hard to believe that he is almost four months old!  His little personality is developing, so I can't wait to see who he becomes over the next few months!

C-R-A-Z-Y 3 month comparison

Jason in June of 1979

Conner in November of 2007

Drew in July of 2010

4th of July

Celebrating the 4th was so much fun with Conner this year.  He was SO excited for fireworks that he could barely stand it.  His favorite things to watch were the sparklers (of course because he could "hold fire") and the snakes!

What I really love about the 4th is that many of our family members and friends hang out for the entire weekend.  Not only do we have the best pitch-in around, but it is so nice for all of us to be together and for all of the kids to play together.

Drew also had a great 4th of July.  I thought for sure that he would be in bed by the time the fireworks started, but as you can see, he was bright eyed and ready to go!

Diaper bag to Briefcase

I can hardly believe that this time next week, Drew will be three months old.  Still yet, in just over a month, Conner will turn three years old!  Time flies by so quickly!  But with Drew turning three months old, comes the inevitable: tomorrow is my first day back to work after twelve weeks at home with my boys. My maternity leave has been amazing.  Not only have I got to watch a little boy come to life, but I got to have a two year old by my side to make it even more fun.  As we watched the seasons change and the world come to life, we also had tons of time together as a family.  Jason was off for four weeks (five if you include his surgery), we went on a wonderful vacation, we got to visit many family and friends and we truly just had a wonderful time.   I can truly say that this time I feel very different about going back to work.  See, some things (very important things) are a lot easier.  One is that Miranda is watching both of the boys, so that makes me happy.  She took such great care of Conner over the last three years that it is easy for me to introduce Drew to her family.  We have been taking the boys to her house, sometimes alone and sometimes together, for a couple hours a week over the past five weeks or so.  They both seem to be adjusting well!  Another thing that is easier this go round is that I am more comfortable with knowing that I can balance my work and my family.  I think the balance part will be more difficult with two children, but I know that I can do it.   Thirdly,  I am very happy with where I work and where I am at this point in my career.  However, there are also many things that are going to be a lot more difficult.  The most difficult will definitely be not having all of the time I had with my boys and with our family and friends.  I loved taking walks, going to visit people, playing at the park and stopping for ice-cream.  I loved reading books over and over all day long to Conner and laughing with him as we tried to teach Drew how to play "shooter guy".   I love going in to get Drew up from his naps and seeing that huge smile and hearing his snorty laughs.  I will miss doing this each and every time and each and every day.  Another thing that is more difficult this time around is that I know, because I have done it before, how much my heart is going to hurt because I am going to miss them so much during the day.   I remember going back to work with Conner and being in a meeting looking through my purse for my blackberry and pulling out pacifiers, burp cloths, wipes and desitin before I found the phone.  I remember the tears welling up because I thought that was a sign that I shouldn't be working. So here I go down this path again.  We will see where it takes us.  For now, I am etching every last moment in my mind to get me through the days that are longer than I would like.  As I watch Drew on the monitor sleeping and wait to hear Conner climb out of his bed, I am typing this with a smile on my face and a humongous lump in my throat.  I am so thankful for all that God has blessed us with.

We went on our first family four-wheeling adventure to check Jason's deer feeder. Do you see Jason's shadow right behind him?  I am sure he will have two shadows in the not too distant future!  Drew fell asleep to the sound of the engine!

So this picture is blurry and the only one I got; for good reason!  See, Conner went to Vacation Bible School for an entire week.  He went with his friends Stone and Makayla.  Well, they learned songs to preform and every night we would practice while Conner took his bath: and he did it: perfectly.  "this little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine"  I mean perfectly, motions and words...UNTIL...he got in front of people.  So , you can't see it here but Conner and Stone sat the entire time and didn't sing or do any of the motions.  Oh well, it will be something to tease him about later!

Drew is getting so big!  He is sitting up very well in his bumbo and would much rather sit and watch people than lie down on his playmat.  He also found his hands, which he LOVES to chew, chew, chew on.  I think he is teething already, but who knows.  He also is babbling up a storm and loves it when people talk to him and smile at him.  He is already a little flirt like his brother.   He also rolled over for the first time this week.  However, I do think it was on accident!  He is such a little bundle of joy and such a happy baby these days!It is so hard to believe that he struggled that first day of life.  As I look at the pictures below, I still can't believe how perfectly everything turned out!  We are so blessed!

God is good!

As we in Indiana all know, it has been raining WAY TOO MUCH this year!  However, this rainbow we saw made it all well worth it.  It was so funny trying to explain to Conner that leprechauns and gold were at the end of the rainbow.  Lets just say, he asked 'why' one hundred times and he is hoping to see another rainbow really soon!

Conner is a true water bug this summer.  He is doing an awesome job swimming and trying out all of the water sports.  And look at Drew, he is such a good sport...again, loves to sleep to the sound of the engine!

We have had so much fun recently!  I can't wait to show you what we do the rest of the summer!