Full, long weekend

Thursday at 1:00 was Marleigh's 18 month check up. It is hard to believe we have been blessed with this little girl for that long! Dr. Williams thinks she is doing awesome! 23.5 lbs and 31.5 inches long. Both of those are between the 25-50th percentile and we are happy with that. He was impressed with her verbal and happy that she is walking some.

After Marleigh's check up, Marc and I headed for Wichita. Marc suprised me with an overnight trip. We had delicious filets at Scotch and Sirloin, then went to the Rascal Flatts concert, then stayed at the Hyatt on the river. I have ALWAYS told Marc that I wanted to see Rascal Flatts. They did not disappoint! Their concert was incredible. They put on an outstanding show. Not only wasn it entertaining, but they sounded great, too. Marc always stays at the Hyatt for his business trips when he is in Wichita. A few months ago, I commented that someday I'd like to stay there. For once (ha ha) he was listening to me. I was thrilled with the whole trip. It was very thoughtful of Marc. I truly am lucky to have such a great husband and Marleigh a great father.

As soon as we got back from Wichita, we unpacked and repacked and headed to the lake. Marleigh was already up there with Papa and Gigi. We had been planning a weekend at the lake with Jaeson & Lindsey and Josh & Myra. It worked out perfectly, because Papa and Gigi were able to go as well as my sister and her family. Luke and Marleigh played and swam. It was a little windy on Saturday, but Sunday was GORGEOUS! We floated, tubed, and had tons of fun! We got back just in time Sunday night for Jaeson, Lindsey, Myra and I to play Coed softball. And, I am very proud to say won both of our games last night! I don't think we could have packed more into 4 days than we did, and it rocked.... although our house is a disaster area right now. That's what the weekdays are for right...... recovering from your weekend!

Leaving for the concert.

View from our room

All tuckered out from playing at the lake.

(Don't ask why it is in the middle of concert pics)


LOVED this background.

Kellie Pickler was the second act. She was okay, but not as good as Chris Young or Rascal Flatts.

Chris Young only sang 4-5 songs, but was a great entertainer.

T-Roy Rod Run

Saturday we loaded up and headed to Florence for the 13th annual T-Roy Rod Run in memory of Marc's cousin, Troy. It was H-O-T! We had a great time seeing most of the family. Marleigh and Brinley had fun playing together. The girls were even sharing! Marleigh would feed Brinley some cracker, then Brin would feed Marleigh. It was adorable! Marc's Uncle Jerry had tons of good pictures. Maybe I can convince him to let me steal some for the blog! I managed to take just a few.

Brin talking on the phone.

Aunt Mae with Marleigh

Dancing with Daddy

Marleigh and Grandpa Johnson

Marleigh and Brinley

Thought I'd give you a vocabulary update. Words Marleigh said this weekend: Dada, Papa, Gigi, DJ, Mama, tree (teeeeee), grass (gaaaaass), outside (ousiiiii), hi, kitty, bye, shoe. I think that's about it!

More lake fun!

Last weekend, we headed back up to the lake. Marleigh is a true lake bum. She fell asleep on the boat, and while I was rocking her in the water. She loves it so much.

We're headed to Florence this weekend for a Rod Run in memory of Marc's cousin, Troy. It will be good to see some of the family!

Next weekend we head back to the lake with some friends. The weekend after that, we will be in Colby for Marc's family reunion. That will be 5 weekends in a row that we won't be home. I love being home, but we've been having so much fun this summer! After NEVER being able to go anywhere last summer, it is a nice change of pace. It is awesome just to be able to take Marleigh outside and play in the yard.

We actually counted the other night. Between our traveling and work, Marc is going to be gone overnight for 35 nights in the next 4 months! That's a lot of hotel time! :(

Marleigh is changing so fast. She has been swimming about every afternoon in her pool. I love watching her as she gets more brave in the water. She stands in her pool and jumps. Then she'll fall and laugh at herself. Marleigh is now learning how to share. I'll ask her for her bink, and she'll take it out of her mouth and hand it to me. She also loves to feed her mama. Anytime we're snacking on cheerios or crackers, she wants to share with me. She'll put one in her mouth, then one in mine. Her newest obsession is her shoes. If she sees them, then she HAS to wear them. She toddles around in them all day if we let her. She still is only taking a few steps on her own, but she's started just standing up in the middle of living room (and expecting everyone to applaud). She's saying more words and understanding even more. Over the last week, Marleigh has started calling my mom "Gigi". Of course she still says "papa" and "dada" all the time. One of her other words is "DJ". Marleigh loves Jenni's boys so much and DJ's name is probably the easiest for her to say. As soon as he walks in a room, she says, "DJ" in her cute little munchkin voice. Oh, I could go on and on and on and on..... but you get the idea! :)

Fun 4th of July weekend

What a full weekend! Saturday night, our friend Josh smoked some ribs and brought them over. Myra brought over corn, potatoes, and the rest of the fixings. Jaeson, Lindsey, and Gunnar came over and we had dinner, then shot off some fireworks in our backyard. It was a blast. Thanks again, Josh & Myra. It was delicious!!! And thanks to Jaeson and Lindsey for the fireworks!

Sunday morning we got up and headed to the lake (despite all the rain). My parents, as well as Shannon and Luke were already up there. My Uncle Bryan and Aunt Karen were up there with their family. My Uncle Wayne and Aunt Ann from Florida were here for a visit as well. They had their granddaughters with them, Amber and Allison. Marleigh absolutely adored Amber and Allison. I wish they lived closer, they would be the perfect babysitters! It was raining for most of the weekend, but we did get a little time to get Marleigh in the water.

She LOVED walking in the water.

Look at those chubby legs! A far cry from the 2lbs 1oz she started out at!

Chilling with mama on the boat.

Marleigh playing with Grandma.

"Daddy, I'm so tired!"

Splashing around!

Luke, Allison, Amber, and Marleigh

Amber and Marleigh

Marleigh and Allison

Probably my favorite picture of the weekend.

Hanging out with Papa.

Beautiful Post

When we were first at Ronald McDonald, you might remember we told you about a couple that lost their beautiful daughter, Cora, to cancer. Cora's mom, Jess, has a blog that I read. She is an extraordinary writer. She has a true talent for putting her feelings to words. I am not so talented with words (guess that's why I work with numbers! ha ha!!). I've sat down many times to try to put to words how I feel. Jess has done an incredible job of it in a recent post. Please take a couple of minutes and read it. I promise it is well worth it.

http://themcclenahans.blogspot.com/2010/06/reminders.html

Some days are harder than others. The last few days have been tough for me. With Marleigh just starting to walk, it is hard not to think, "I wonder what Natalie would be doing now?" With every milestone that Marleigh achieves, we are completely thrilled. We are totally amazed at how much God has blessed us with this perfect little girl, but still reminded of the loss of our sweet Natalie.

Chocolate

This was a picture I was sent yesterday on my phone.

Jenni said that Mason had a chocolate donut yesterday morning. He had finished and left his plate on the little table. Jenni had to go to the other room for a phone call, and when she returned, this is what she saw. Marleigh had found what was left of the donut and was going to town. Jenni said as soon as Marleigh realized she was watching her, she kicked it into high gear! Kind of like Marleigh was thinking, "ruh roh... I better hurry up before she takes it away!"

She is just SOOOOO much fun! :)