School's Out

For the summer!

Today is the first day of my summer break...and I am so happy.   I have huge plans for this summer, which include

• Going to the pool
• Going to Kansas
• Reading
• Prepping the house to put on the market
• Painting my toenails
• Teaching Mac to walk
• Getting rid of Mac's pacifier
• Shopping
• Potty training Mac 
• Riding my bike and pulling Maclin in his trailer
• Going on some weekend trips with David and Mac

As you can tell, some of these things (hello, potty-training) are complete pipe dreams.  Mostly I want to enjoy my summer and time with the big baby.

Who wants to hang out with me?

Gross, but kind of cute

He eats so fast...I think he forgets to breathe.

Strawberry Pickin'

On Sunday last, we went to Eckert's in Belleville to do some Strawberry picking.  It was the last day of the season and I bamboozled David into going with me.  And my bamboozled, I suggested he go golfing in IL with a friend and then another car would meet him at Eckert's later.

I'm genius.  Plus, due to this arrangement I got to eat custard for lunch.

And pick strawberries.

Win, win, win.

Despite his dislike of strawberries, David had a good time.

Mac was largely indifferent, chilling in his stroller for the duration.

 I can't wait to do things like this when Mac can participate more.  I want him to discover how awesome just-picked strawberries are--warm from the sun.  That's one of the best flavors on earth.

I know this is WAY dated (especially in the blog world), but I had the best first mother's day.

My parents, brothers, and their wives came into town Friday night.  We pretty much went straight to bed, but Saturday morning I scored some babysitting while Cher and I did a nice 10 mile run.  The weather was perfect for that!

Then we went out to Eureka and watched Grant compete in a mountain bike race--which was actually pretty cool to watch.   That evening, we went to a Cardinal's game, which was actually Mac's first game ever.  He did amazingly well, staying alert and pleasant  the entire time.  I think juice might have been a big helping factor, but I also like to think that I have a naturally well-behaved kid.  A girl can dream, right?

 The next morning, we took Mac over to Mom & Dad's hotel to let Mac go swimming for the first time.

And, yes, those are officially licensed Mizzou swim trunks. 
Nothing but the best.

Mac was cautiously optimistic about whole swimming thing.  He didn't seem to mind the water, but he wasn't trying to escape me to go swimming.  I guess that's good, right?

After swimming, we had a nice brunch at our house (eggs, bacon, muffins, fruit, little smokies in biscuits, yum, yum, yum) and then headed over to Grant's Farm.  Despite living about a mile from the farm for almost three years, this was the first time we've been.

It was REALLY cool--we saw all kinds of animals and had a free adult beverage.  Mac seemed content and slightly interested in looking around.  That's about all you can ask of a 10 month old.

After the family left, David and I went grocery shopping (my choice) and bought paint for our kitchen.  All-in-all, it was a perfect day.

Sheesh

I haven't blogged for a while... no excuses, just laziness. 

Yesterday, Mac turned 10 months old.  I attempted to take our monthly owl-sticker picture, but it's significantly more difficult now that he's DONE just chilling on his back. 

 We got the picture, but it was after he took off for the living room.

 And discovered how hilarious it is for Mom and Dad to pin him down with their feet.

 I have a feeling that Mac is going to get more and more ornery as his independence increases.

This month, Mac mastered pulling up (on EVERYTHING) and crusing. 

His FAVORITE place to pull up is on the storm door-- he loves, loves, loves staring out of that door!

He can also now eat anything (except honey and peanut butter), so we experience some spaghetti the other day.

The aftermath was pretty messy.

Love you, Big Mac!

HFM

We've had a pretty gross few days at the Brady Household.  On Thursday night, Mac started running a fever and threw up for the first time.  I'm not talking typical baby spit-up, which I'm relatively immune to.  Nope, I'm talking real, grown-up level vomit.  All over me.  Poor kid--he just wanted to go to sleep and not deal with being cleaned up.

Friday, David stayed home with Mac and took him to the doctor.  I REALLY wanted to be the one home with him, but I was at a conference that day that cost $600.  It would have looked really bad for me not to show up, even though I REALLY wanted to stay home.

The doctor diagnosed Mac with Hand Foot Mouth Disease.  Apparently, he had a "classic" case where he was covered with blisters on his hands, feet, and mouth. 

They look awful, but Mac doesn't act like they bother him at all.  It's really weird to see your sore-covered child crawling around laughing.  I think we're lucky that he didn't get sores inside his mouth, because coworkers have told me that those can be the painful ones.