Corn Dawgs Pumpkin Patch

We took Mac to a place in Loganville called Corn Dawgs. We only went to the pumpkin patch, but they have lots of different activities for older kids and adults. Mac did not have a very good nap before we went and finally fell asleep in the car as we pulled into the parking lot. Needless to say, he did not wake up happy and enjoy his 1st pumpkin patch experience...

A little mad about having to sit with pumpkins:

Now he feels better!

I had to join him in an attempt to get some pictures.

Finally a good picture!

I hope that next year he has a better experience!

Mac's First Haircut

For those of you that have seen Mac recently you all know that he has quite a combover on the top of his head. He lost the hair on the side and back of his head, but never lost the hair on top. Since I can't put any clips in his hair I was constantly having to push it "over" to keep it out of his eyes. When it was really windy outside we would laugh because it would just blow in the breeze! Mom and I took him to see Lydia and the combover is no longer :-( He did great sitting in my lap and stayed much more still than I expected. I did bring a container of his favorite cereal puffs that kept him occupied!

The before picture:

Enjoying a puff:

After with Lydia. He looks a little unsure...

Another Trip out West

Back in September Mom, Mac and I headed out west to visit her family. Our first stop was Las Vegas to meet my new little cousin Kinley! We stayed with my aunt and Kinley for several days while my uncle was on a golf trip. We thought Dani might need our help, but she had everything under control. Kinley is so cute and super sweet! Once her and Mac get a little older I think they will have lots of fun together on our family trips!

Here is Kinley in her favorite sleeping position:

We left Vegas and headed to California for a week. We started of the week staying with my mom's girlfriend Stella. Mac and I played with Stella during the day while my mom went with my aunt Mo to her doctors appointments in the city.

Here is Mac in his new travel highchair. It was a great purchase and fits over the back of any chair!

We ended our trip in Pasadena at my Uncle Pat and Aunt Joan's house. My Uncle Brian, Aunt Dani and Kinley drove over from Vegas and stayed with us also. It was a fun filled family weekend! Patrick and Joan hosted a cookout on Saturday. Here is a picture of my mom with all of her siblings: After a week and a half of traveling we finally headed home. Mac was worn out and fell asleep right before we were supposed to board the plane. Once on the plane he stayed awake for our entire trip home! I love going to California. Growing up I spent 4-5 weeks out there every summer, so going back feels like going home. This was Mac's first trip to Cali, but he slept better there than he does at home! He slept 12 hours at night and took at least 1.5 hours naps too! I think he really likes visiting too. We can't wait to see everyone again!

Mac's Baptism

I am obviously a little behind on our posts, so my goal is to try and get caught up in the next couple of weeks!

Mac was Baptized on September 5th at St. Lawrence Catholic Church here in Lawrenceville. Mac had a great support system at church with him. All of his grandparents, two of his great grandparents, two of his great aunts, one of his great uncles, his uncle Joseph and soon to be aunt Heidi, and our family friends the Toneys were all there with us. Our church does one service for all of the kids getting Baptized, so it was nice to not be stressed about Mac making too much noise during church! Here is how he stayed occupied during the service:

Chewing his frog chew toy:

Eating cereal puffs:

Chewing on his spoon:

Finally it was his turn and he did great. He had a really funny look on his face, but never cried!

Our little family:

Mac with his godparents, Joseph and Heidi:

Baby Food

Before Mac was born I decided that I wanted to make all of his baby food myself. My cousin, Erin, told me about a couple of great cookbooks. The Petit Appetit by Lisa Barnes and Top 100 Baby Purees by Annabel Karmel have been my favorite so far. Annabel Karmel actually has a pretty large selection of different cookbooks. Not only do the cookbooks contain great recipes, they also teach you a lot about the nutrition in babies. Lisa Barnes really taught me a great deal about the importance of organic food (although my husband would argue with you about it all day long).

Since I also want to go the organic route with Mac mom and I headed to Whole Foods. After our trip to Whole Foods I went on a baby food making spree! I wanted to make sure that I used everything I bought before it spoiled. After about two weeks of making food in the morning, letting it freeze, transferring it to Ziplocs and then doing it again after Mac went to bed, this is what my freezer looked like:

Sorry, the first one is a little dark, but you get the idea!

Needless to say any food that Ron and I want to freeze for ourselves has now been moved to a freezer in our garage. I have really enjoyed making his food and it actually tastes really good! I have found an organic brand of pre made baby food that I have used when we went on our trips to Vegas and Ireland. When we drive to our vacation destination I just pack a cooler of Mac food!

Of course he eats the basics like apples, pears, carrots, sweet potatoes, etc... But he also enjoys yummy combinations such as Chicken with sweet potatoes, leeks, and carrots; Spinach with carrots and peas; Apple and mango; Potato, carrots, and corn; and Strawberries, peaches, and pears. So far the only food that he does not like is cantaloupe and ground turkey. He will eat the cantaloupe if I mix it with mango and plain yogurt! I definitely have a little Marchant eater! Now I just need to start cooking for Ron and I!

Ireland

For my mom's 50th birthday she wanted us to celebrate with her by traveling to Ireland.

We flew over with my parents and Great Uncle. Thanks to a generous Christmas gift from my parents we were able to enjoy first class. I've never flown first class on an international flight and now I don't think I will ever be able to fly coach again. We put Mac's folding travel bed (that he just barely still fits in) on the floor and he slept much better than if I had attempted to hold him! Mac's bed was loved by the flight attendants and they referred to him as the "baby in a box" for the entire flight. One of our flight attendants was also on our returning flight and remembered us because of his little box. I was so nervous about Mac waking up and me not hearing him that I was able to get caught up on free movies!

Once in Ireland we met up with 9 more of our family and friends (including my brother and his fiance Heidi). We rented Lisheen Castle as our home base for the week and tried to squeeze in as many activities as we could.

On our first full day in Ireland we visited Holycross Abbey.

My dad and Ron loved that you could just turn on a spigot and have holy water:

On Monday Mac took us on a tour of Roscrea Castle:

Here is the view from the gardens: My cute parents in the gardens at Roscrea: Here we are with my brother and Heidi, at Bunratty Castle.

On Wednesday we went with my parents and uncle to Rock of Cashel:

We ended the day hosting the Irish McLoughlins for dinner at our castle. My mom is a McLaughlin and her grandfather was the only one from his family to immigrate to the United States from Ireland. It was very exciting to meet my 2nd and 3rd cousins!

Here is our little family before they arrived:

This is a picture of the American and Irish McLo(a)ughlins:

My parents kept Mac for us on Thursday so we went with my uncle, cousins, brother and Heidi to Blarney Castle, the city of Cork, the town of Kinsale, and then finished the day checking out the cliffs at Old Head of Kinsale.

Us on top of Blarney Castle

Us at Old Head of Kinsale

On our last full day in Ireland we visited Kilkenny Castle: Mac thought the castle was so exciting that he took a short nap... Just some cute photos of Mac that Ron took our last night at the castle:

Happy 50th mom!!!

We've been a little busy!

Now that I am officially a stay at home mom I am hoping that I might possibly find time to update our blog. Here is a brief summary of what we have been up to since my last post:

Mac (Ronald Fred IV) was born on December 10th at 1:00am. He weighed 7lbs 4oz and was 21 and 3/4 inches long:

A week after Mac was born (on Dec. 19th) I was a bridemaid in my bestie Katie's wedding:

Mac's newborn photos at 2 weeks old:

Mac's first Christmas:

My brother got engaged on New Year's Day:

In May we took our camper to Gatlinburg for a long weekend. Mac had so much fun hiking that he fell asleep!

Mac slept in a tent on one of the beds in the camper.

On Father's Day we spent the day playing in my parents' pool. Needless to say I don't think the sun touched Mac:

(6 months)

In June we went Vegas for my Aunt Dani's baby shower and Mac's first trip on an airplane (Of course we were in first class):

(The nicest flight attendant ever!)

(Mac with my aunt at her baby shower)

We were literally home for 5 days in the month of July. First we went to Keaton Beach for the 4th and Mac took his first boat ride:

Then we came home for a couple of days before heading to Amelia Island for a Banking Conference. Mac loved being out on the beach!

(7 months)

From Amelia Island we were home for 2 days and then headed to Ireland to celebrate my mom's 50th birthday. I'll do a separate post for the Ireland trip.

Lisheen Castle (Where we stayed)

Life has been super busy for us, but we have enjoyed every minute! Here are some more pictures of Mac at each month:

Month 1:

Month 2:

Month 3:

Month 4:

Month 5 (Easter):

Here are a couple of pictures that we had taken right when he turned 7 months at the Picture People at the Mall: