Ryan, Sarah, Duggle, & Dot

Learning to Play Together

2012-01-19T12:06:00.000-08:00

Douglas has never been especially social, so his recent desire to play one on one with Dottie has been really pleasing to watch. Considering how much he did not like her when she came home from the hospital, I wasn't sure this day would ever come!

Some recent activities:

Making faces in the bathroom mirror

Opening and shutting windows

Drum circle in the living room. Notice the haircut? Douglas got that immediately after I saw that funky chunk of bangs in the picture above. He wears a hat 90% of the time, so I hadn't realized how funny it was growing in before.

Sharing snacks

Not pictured: Flashlight party, chasing the dogs, randomly running around wildly, playing cars when Dot is in the mood (this was the first time Douglas got really interested in playing with her,) and occasionally trying to out-tantrum each other.

In case you don't believe me that he didn't used to like her.

Christmas Eve/Day 2011

2011-12-28T18:11:00.000-08:00

On Christmas Eve we spent time with the Brian and Kendra McMullin and the Tom and Kellie Bogardus families. The food, mediterranean cuisine, was fantastic, and the kids had such a blast. For the live nativity, Douglas was a shepherd and Dottie was the angel.

Little Shepherd Boy

Angel with a Plug

Missing from this scene is the cat, Cooper, as baby Jesus.

The shepherd spent a lot of time putting Linus into an SUV.

The grumpy angel wasn't too interested.

Christmas morning was a funny affair because Douglas was NOT excited to be woken up early without the benefit of pancakes. Eventually he sort of got excited but not really. The big Santa present we opened before church was a play kitchen Ryan and I built for the kids. (Read: Ryan built, Sarah painted.)

As the grown-ups disappeared to get dressed for church, we realized it got awfully quiet in the living room and assumed the kids were digging into presents. Nope! They were taking ornaments and candy canes off the tree, which they realized was finally free of its gate.

Timer family pictures are epic.

After church we came home and opened more gifts, which Douglas was much more happy to do on a full stomach and mostly awake.

He liked Dot's new dolly and kept saying, "Baby!" while he "helped" her open it.

His favorite present of the morning, a model Mustang from Santa.

Ryan showing off one of his new flags for his classroom.

There are a lot more pictures of presents being opened and played with, but you get the idea. We spent the afternoon with our friends the Harrisons eating WAY too much junk food while the kids showed off new toys. The evening was full of phone calls and Skypes to friends and family far away. Duggle opened his next favorite present, a new hat from Beck and Leo that he hasn't taken off since.

It was a fun fun weekend!

Hat + Car = HAPPY

Hope everyone had as wonderful a Christmas as we did!

I Love These Kids!

2011-12-21T17:37:00.001-08:00

I cannot wait for Christmas morning with my two little munchkins. Douglas gets a little more about what's going on, though not entirely, and Dot loves to rip wrapping paper to tiny pieces. It's going to be so much fun!!

Last year we had a teeny, tiny, micro-Dot who just slept on our laps while Douglas obsessively played as long as he could with every single toy. Isn't it amazing how much little kids and babies change in a year??

We love you, Santa! Or maybe not.

2011-12-11T10:54:00.001-08:00

Not fans of Santa this year. Dottie had no interest whatsoever. Douglas tried really REALLY hard to be brave, "Anta? Ho ho?" but he only lasted about 15 seconds, which is how long it took to get a candy cane and run away.

Trimming the Tree

2011-12-10T08:32:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving weekend we got our tree up and decorated for the holidays.

Dot was much more interested in the ornaments off the tree.

But she still managed to pose for a few pictures.

Douglas was quite helpful this year for the first time... until he started removing all the ornaments again.

Like last year, our tree is surrounded by a Superyard to help minimize Naughty Spot time for Douglas as he pulls off the ornaments and opens the gifts. He is much better about it now, but the first few days had a number of casualties, even though 95% of the ornaments are plastic.

Settling down for bed in the glow of the tree.

How Daddy settles the kids down.

Apparently we started an unintentional tradition of taking pictures of the kid(s) decorating the tree, and I think we'll keep that up because... well, why not? We don't have too many traditions so far, and this one is easy! This was Dot's first year since we decorated just a few days before her birth last season. Here's our collection from the previous two years:

Douglas's first Christmas, 2009

2010

I can't believe how BIG he is now!

Dottie's Party!

2011-11-27T16:17:00.001-08:00

It's true, this little girl is ONE!

We had a little party at our friend Moriah's house, and had so much fun. Here are a boat load of pictures, whether you want to see them or not.

A room full of balls and toddler toys.

Issac! Dot LOVES to give him kisses.

Jodie & Tina + sons

She fell off this chair immediately after the picture and had a nasty purple bruise just under her hairline that you can see in the rest of the pics.

Shad and Douglas convinced lots of kids that throwing dirt in the fire pit was cool.

He CRACKED up when we handed Dorothy the cake, like, "You're giving a cake to a baby?? You're crazy."

Mr. Shad

Bella and a Balloon

Celeste noticing how cute she is.

With my birthday girl.

We went straight through nap time for the party, and she didn't make it through the end of her bottle when we got home.

Happy Birthday, sweet little Dorothy Jane! I'll be taking one year portraits when she can gives me a bruise-free window. The one on her forehead is gone as of this morning, and literally 10 minutes after I noticed she bumped into the kitchen table and got a new one. That's what she gets for walking 50% of the time!

A few McMoments

2011-11-19T17:59:00.001-08:00

Douglas has developed a deep obsession with shoes. All shoes, slippers, and boots, to be clear. His current favorites are Ryan's athletic shoes and my cutest pair of heels. (I haven't taken pictures in the running shoes because it's not nearly as funny.)

Here's Douglas (in boots, of course) enjoying one of his last moments with the windows open. Last week during "Quiet Time," I ran to answer the repeated pounding on my door to find my neighbor, telling me Douglas had escaped as was wandering around the neighborhood!!! WORST. FEELING. EVER. Quiet Time was apparently a little TOO quiet without me noticing. His window was unlatched, so he opened it and kicked out the screen. The windows have all remained latched since then.

Dot is ALL OVER THE PLACE lately. She still doesn't walk full time, but she is a major climber. If the kitchen chairs aren't pushed in, she can pull herself onto the kitchen table in 3 seconds flat (and probably fall faster.) She has recently sprouted all this extra hair which occasionally transitions into feathered wings.

And she turns 1 on Tuesday! Pictures to follow.

Halloween Post

2011-11-07T13:52:00.000-08:00

I suppose this is more like an October post since not all the pictures are from Halloween. First, a few shots of pumpkin painting. Douglas LOVED loved loved painting his pumpkin. He took it VERY seriously, refused to mix paint colors on the brush, and would not let me help at ALL.

Dottie smeared some paint on her pumpkin in what looks like a hug but is really her attempt to throw her pumpkin on the ground. Which she did. Lots of times. She was not in love with the pumpkin painting project.

For Trunk or Treat, Douglas dressed up as a 50's jock with letterman sweater, cuffed Levi's, and Converse. He wouldn't stand still for a picture. Shocker.

For her first Halloween, Dottie was a ballerina, and loved all the attention she got being dressed up. I think her costume looked cuter than in the pictures but as with Douglas, I didn't really stress about getting perfect shots. It was hard enough to get her to hold still to tie the ribbons up her calves.

Douglas loved the Trunk or Treat, no surprise since his most favorite thing right now is climbing in the trunk of the car when I'm loading groceries in or out. If we're in a hurry and I put him right in his carseat without letting him climb in the trunk and pretend to shut it, it's an instant meltdown. Several cars that night had a rogue two year old climb in and take a seat.

After about an hour and a half straight of running as fast as he could, he found a toy car and collapsed on the sidewalk to quietly play for a half hour before it got too cold to keep his face on the concrete.

His best buddy dressed up as Dash from the Incredibles, and that was a HUGE hit with Douglas. He kept giggling and poking Shad in the "i" logo on his chest.

Douglas had less than zero interest in trick or treating, he's not super in love with candy because he must not be related to Ryan or me, so we skipped going house to house on Halloween Monday in favor of staying in to pass out candy to our neighborhood kids. All in all, it was a really successful holiday. As for our lacking candy from Duggle's disinterest in FREE CANDY (crazy child,) don't worry, Ryan got plenty of sugar from his high school students who showed up with pillow cases full of the stuff the next day.

Winners!

2011-10-30T21:33:00.000-07:00

The winner of the First Annual Hunter Family Super Punkin is...

Donna Hunter

with

Ham the Pumpkin (Entry #2)

Most Original: Natalie, Gumball Machine
Best Traditional: Emma, Garfield
Most Spoooooooky: Katie, Spooky Scene

Kid Winners:
Most Creative Use of Paint: Max (Kid #3)
Best Animal: Reese, Spooky Cat (Kid #2)
Most Original Kids: Hunter, Grim Reaper (Kid #6)
Best Cyclops: Douglas (Kid #5)
Best Rockin: Ellie, Witch (Kid #4)
Most Colorful: Dot, (Kid #1)

Other Pumpkin Creators (Shall we say honorable mentions?)
#1 - Cayle
#4 - Jared
#7 - Ryan
#8 - Sam
#9 - Sarah
#10 - Alex
#11 - Cal (but Donna is still claiming credit)
#12 - Hillary and Jason

I think it was a great showing for the first year of the contest. Can't wait for next year!

Super Punkin Entries, 2011

2011-10-30T17:04:00.000-07:00

The First Annual Hunter Family SUPER PUNKIN contest entries.

ADULT ENTRIES: 13 and Over

Entry #1

Entry #2

Entry #3

Garfield Vampire

Entry #4

Entry #5

Spooky Scene

Entry #6

Gumball Machine

Entry #7

Entry #8

Entry #9

Frankenpumpkin

Entry #10

Angry Birds Pumpkin

Entry #11

A Pumpkin's Nightmare

Entry #12

KID ENTRIES: 12 and Under

Entry #1

Entry #2

Entry #3

Entry #4

Entry #5

Entry #6

Wobbly Walker

2011-10-27T13:44:00.001-07:00

While Dottie and I were waiting for Douglas today at the speech therapy office, she let go of the chair she was holding onto and took five steps toward the toys. I was blown away since she hasn't shown any real interest before now. Of course we had to work on it when we got home, so I set up a camera to share this new development.

More Naps Ruined

2011-10-17T19:03:00.000-07:00

Sometimes Douglas can't help himself and has to wake Dottie up from her afternoon nap. He's given up napping entirely now, so he gets sort of bored if she's not back in action by about 4pm. She was giggling before I got the camera out, and stopped thinking the game was funny when she saw Mom. She's saying, "Shad, Shad, Shad," which is Duggle's best buddy's name (and Dottie's future husband if Shad has a say in it.) We taught her how to say it a few days ago, and it's her new go-to babble word.

Park Pics

2011-09-27T13:19:00.000-07:00

Duggle's nursery buddy Celeste had her 2nd birthday this week, and I brought the camera along so I could update the blog with recent pictures of the kiddos.

Playing with the birthday girl

So proud of himself for figuring out how to get the swing to move (a little) with no help

This girl was ALL OVER THE PLACE. She figured out how to climb up these blue stairs and how to get all the way down the slide on the other side. I was exhausted by the time we left.

He did his own hair, which is a MUST if he's in the mood. He slicks it all forward then very very carefully spikes some of it in front. What a funny dude.

So glad the weather is slowly calming down so we can have fun playdates like this.

My Son, Flynn Rider

2011-09-22T16:35:00.000-07:00

What movie time looks like when your two year old is obsessed with Tangled.

He's Got a Dream

2011-09-17T14:29:00.001-07:00

He was being a little shy with the camera on, so he usually says about twice this many words, but here is Douglas enjoying his favorite scene from his current favorite movie: "I've Got a Dream" from Tangled.

Vintage Dot

2011-08-31T07:48:00.000-07:00

I did similar pictures like these for Douglas, and I've been wanting to repeat the idea for Dot. I finally got around to it this morning.

I wish I would have gotten around to it sooner, because photographing a crawling baby with no other adults to pin her down was hard!! I have a lot of pictures like this. (When I did them for Douglas, he wasn't quite crawling yet.)

Here's Duggle for comparison. I think he was around 7 1/2 months, and Dot is 9 months in hers. I tried to get her to replicate this shot, but she was NOT interested in the teddy bear (he flew across the room repeatedly.) Also, I can't believe what a chub he was! Both adorable.

Which is your favorite?

Ryan's First Day

2011-08-28T15:42:00.000-07:00

Señor McMullin, all ready for his first day.

They Say That Wakin Up is Hard to Do

2011-08-22T07:00:00.000-07:00

Waking Douglas From a Nap: A Series

Yes, that's a tuna can next to him. He loves playing with them. No, I don't know why.

Getting Ready for Nap Time

2011-08-13T18:59:00.000-07:00

Sometimes these kids are just TOO cute.

Every day before nap, Douglas watches "In the Night Garden" on the iPod. He LOVES loves loves the beginning when the Ninky Nonk bursts through the hedges. Here he is enjoying it.

Before nap time a few days ago, Dottie had the giggles. Love.

Fundraiser for Señor M's Classroom

2011-08-06T16:36:00.000-07:00

I don't know if I've mentioned it on the blog, but Ryan will begin his career as a high school Spanish teacher in just a few days. His school is considered "high poverty," and as a result the technology in the room is basically non-existent. We've put together a fundraiser through Donors Choose to purchase a digital projector for the room and would love for you to consider making a donation. If that's not in the budget right now (which I completely understand,) please take a moment to post the link to the fundraiser on your blog or Facebook or Twitter. Or stand in front of your local grocery store with an empty coffee can. It's up to you.

The room, in all it's bare-boned glory. In the front right you can see his old-school transparency projector. Classy.

Any amount helps, and we are so thankful to those of you who have already contributed! Donations can be as small as a dollar, are tax-deductible, and can be made via credit card, Paypal, or even Amazon payments.

Follow the link below to donate or copy and paste this to the social medium of your choice.

http://www.donorschoose.org/donors/proposal.html?id=605008

Thank You!

So Much Development, So Little Time

2011-08-01T08:14:00.000-07:00

It seems like Dot has been on the fast forward track for the last month, breezing through developmental milestones at breakneck pace. In a 3 week time period she added crawling, pulling to a stand, basic cruising, self-feeding with pincer grasp, and trying to break through two new teeth to her repertoire. If anyone is familiar with the concept of Wonder Weeks, you can guess that she hasn't been sleeping well AT ALL during this time.

A few pictures to illustrate:

She started with this standing business within 3 days of learning to crawl. She has no interest in the horizontal world. Crawling is a means to an end, the end being climbing up on Mom's calves when she's trying to get ready for the day.

Unsurprisingly, it makes naptimes a lot trickier.

Snacking on some delicious puffs and melts. You can see her first hardcore cruising bruise on her forehead, healed to a lovely shade of chartreuse.

The best part of the rapid development is how much more fun Douglas has with her. He still isn't wildly interested in her whining and clinginess, but sometimes he can't help but love her. Just a few days ago he ran up to her and gave her a hug and kiss for no reason. MELT.

Watching In The Night Garden on the iPod before bed.

Bathtime!

Beach Birthday

2011-07-26T12:45:00.000-07:00

For my 29th birthday, Ryan planned a little excursion to the beach. We had our favorite sandwiches, cupcakes with candles, and lots of playing in the water. Both kids LOVED it. I wish Duggle would have been more scared of the water, but he's a daredevil through and through, giggling hysterically when the waves would knock him over.

Thanks for the great day, Ryan!

Sorry for the shortness of words! Typing one handed with a sick, CLINGY baby attached to my left arm.

Surprise, California!

2011-07-23T07:15:00.000-07:00

For the 4th of July, Dot and I made a surprise trip to NorCal! I've been slacking about posting pics about it because I put a whole album on Facebook, but I need to post a few here as well since this is for... posterity?

Emma made a fabulous video of her (also surprise) trip home. Fortunately, Hillary was recording the group gathered at Meredith's house when I pulled up in my rental car, so the surprise was caught on film! Or an SD card or whatever. The whole video is great, but if you want to skip straight to the scene, it starts at 1:13.

I wish people greeted me like that every time I arrived somewhere!

The 4th of July was amazing, as always, with a day full of Whiskey Creek at Whiskeytown, fireworks, and LOTS OF FOOD.

The rest of the week I got to deal with a slightly sick baby who was NOT loving sleeping away from home. Fortunately there were lots of grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends MORE than willing to help take care of my little girl.

We also visited friends, went to church, took the previously posted sister pics, and spent lots of time lounging around with family. Thanks for the amazing trip, everyone! Let's do it again soon.

Sisters... Sisters...

2011-07-14T19:48:00.000-07:00

There were never such devoted sisters...

Dot and I took a quick trip to California, and while we were there my sisters and I painted our faces for a quick photo shoot of the six of us. Ain't this a pretty group of ladies?

We also like to have lots of fun together....

We Love Dad!

2011-06-22T18:50:00.000-07:00

We had a lovely Father's Day here in the McHousehold (excluding the fact that both kids were sick and therefore stayed home from church with a somewhat bored mom.) While Daddy was gone playing the piano for the primary we put together the "We <3 Dad" pennant banner in the picture below. You can see how well the "let's take a picture with you in front of it holding both kids!" idea turned out.

Let me say, our kids adore their daddy. He is funny, cool, and plays all the scary kid-throwing games Mom shies away from. He regularly gets up in the middle of the night to help, makes meals, does his fair share of chores, and is still the head bath time honcho. Even more importantly, he sets a great example for all of us and has always been loving, compassionate, and able to see the good in everyone he meets. We couldn't have asked for more.

We love you, Daddy!

Timer Pictures Don't Work With Kids

2011-06-12T21:41:00.000-07:00

Saturday night after some yardwork and JUST before bedtime (if you can't tell by Duggle's zoned expression.) The kids were sucked into some Baby Einstein, so we turned the timer on the camera and hopped our dirty selves into the frame. Classic.

All cleaned up and pretty much ready for church the next morning. This is the best we could do without someone waving an Elmo next to the camera!

I loved all of the timer pictures because they really capture what life in our house looks like at any given moment. 98% chaos.

Here is my new favorite picture of Douglas. Trying to get him to not make his "Stop pointing that THING at me" sneer has made capturing his handsome face a bit of a challenge. This is a cheater pic because Ryan was standing next to the camera saying the alphabet, and while he looks like he's smiling, Douglas is actually saying the letter E.

His "Leave me alone" face, for reference.

Dot is 6 Months!

2011-05-30T14:29:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pics of my pretty girl. We took lots more, but she was NOT in the mood, and I can't photoshop out crying!

Don't have her stats yet as she hasn't had her 6 month check, but I'll post those when I get them.

Favorite food: Nursing! Also likes pears, sweet potatoes, apples, and most other baby foods... except green beans.

Recent milestones: Sits well on her own now. Really wants to crawl but isn't very close to figuring it out yet. Talks and talks and talks all day. Can hold a bottle all by herself.

Other likes: Anything Douglas does. Being tossed around by Daddy. Still loves her pacifier but mostly only takes it to sleep now.

The Bed Never Stays Made

2011-05-25T19:31:00.000-07:00

I wonder why?

Side note, Duggle's haircut is SO CUTE right now. For the first time in about a year and a half he held still while I worked. My baby boy is growing up.

Dot Starts Solids

2011-05-23T20:39:00.000-07:00

A little behind on this milestone, but I can't forget to mention that Dot started solids a few weeks ago. She had NO IDEA how to handle it at first and would scream hysterically every time the spoon would a) run out of food or b) be taken from her mouth for a refill... so basically she screamed the whole time unless she had a fresh bite in her mouth. Good news is she has totally figured it out now and is a solids pro!

And yep, she's still bald! Who knew?

Little Buddies

2011-05-15T16:40:00.000-07:00

Douglas like Dot more and more every day, ESPECIALLY when she laughs at him.

A few notes about this video:

1) Douglas' bruise looks just as bad as it really is. He faceplanted HARD on his cheek on the kitchen floor a few days ago.
2) This is filmed with my webcam, so they can see themselves.
3) Five minutes after this, Dot had the worst diaper blowout of ALL TIME. I had to clean off her SHOULDERS. ... shudder...

Egg Winners

2011-05-09T19:15:00.000-07:00

Sorry this has taken so long to post, but I still don't have the official list of winners! Probably because it wasn't on a single list but rather separate sealed envelopes. This is SERIOUS BUSINESS. I don't have any of the winners for the Under 12 category and I can't remember all of the runners up, so sorry about that. Without further ado:

Disney:
Mad Hatter (Hillary)
Honorable Mention - Tangled (Donna) Minion (Donna)

Nickelodeon:
Snick (Hillary)
Hillary forfeited and the winner was then Plankton (Hunter)

Animals:
Jeffrey the Dog (Natalie)

Nature:
Camo Egg (Sarah)
Honorable Mention - Flower Egg (Jason)

Headline News:
Happy Easter Love Maumar Gaddafi (Hillary)

Food:
Planet Jellybean (Sarah)
Honorable Mention - M&M Man (Emma)

Family Reunion Logo:
Ladybug in Flight (Ellie)

Mixed Media:
The Egg-Dicator (Alex)

Popular Mechanics:
Steampunk (Sarah)

Peeps:
The Biggest Loser (Donna)
Honorable Mention - Phantom of the Peepra (Emma)

The winner of the 2001 Cadburys and owner of this major award...

MAD HATTER BY HILLARY ROGERSON!

Seriously the best egg I have ever seen. The runner up went to Donna with The Biggest Loser. If for any reason the winner is unable to perform her duties...

The Cadburys, 2011

2011-04-23T19:36:00.000-07:00

Disney Characters

"Tangled"

"Minion"

"Be Our Guest'

"Gaston"

"Lumiere and Cogsworth - If it's not Baroque, Don't Fix It"

"Buzz Lightyear"

"Megamind"

"Modern Mouseketeer"

"Mad Hatter"

"Phineas and Ferb"

"Mr. Potato Head"

Nickelodeon

"Snick"

"You Can't Do That on Television or Nickelodeon Green Slime"

"Tommy Pickles"

"Plankton"

"Skeeter Valentine's Shirt"

"Salute Your Shorts"

"I Don't Know, You Can't Do That on Television"

Animals

"Jeffrey the Dog"

"Puppy Egg"

"I Will Eat You"

Nature

"Flower Egg"

"Camo Egg"

"Flower Garden"

"Conception"

Headline News

"Royal Wedding: Catherine Middleton's Ring"

"Libyan Flag"

"Happy Easter, Love Maumar Gaddafi"

"Charlie Sheen: I Have Tiger's Blood"

"Japanese Flag with a Band-aid"

"NFL Lockout"

"Balanced Budget"

"In Loving Memory: Phillip the Goldfish"

"Women's Rights in Afghanistan"

"Japan 11 <3"

"Japan: Karate Headband"

"Giants"

"A's"

"Vans"

"Libyan Air Raid"

Food

"In-N-Out"

"The Sweet Life"

"E is for Egg"

"M&M Man"

"Original Flavor"

"Planet Jellybean"

"S'More"

"The Apple that Rocks"

"Yvonne's Bunny Cake"

"Not an Egg"

Hunter Family Reunion Logo

"Ladybug in Flight"

"Camping is Fun"

Mixed Media

"Santa Hiding in His Beard"

"Cotton Ball"

"The Egg-Dicator"

"It's All About the Sparkle"

"Dot"

"Glitter"

Popular Mechanics

"Weapon of Choice"

"Angry Birds"

"Ford"

"Steampunk"

"Windows 7"

"Chevron"

Peeps

"Biggest Loser"

"Harry Peeper"

"Phantom of the Peepra"

"Peep: A Still Life"

Kids Under 10

"Hands of the Future"

"Butterfly Nature"

"Pup Pup"

"Monkeys Love Bananas"

"Weird Guy"

"The Annoying Orange"

"Humpty Dumpty"

"Tsunami Disaster"

"Mummy"

"Baseball Egg"

"Jekyl & Hyde"

"Basketball Court"

"Ladybug"

"Irony"

Big Boy Bed!

2011-04-11T18:50:00.001-07:00

Douglas' big present for his birthday was a new big boy bed, and we decided to make it ourselves! Ryan did nearly all the construction, I did most of the finishing and made the bedding.

We got the plans here: http://ana-white.com/2010/01/plans-how-to-modify-farmhouse-bed-to.html Seriously, I LOVE THIS WEBSITE. I want to build everything on it. This was our first project, but I don't think it will be our last.

Douglas loved helping Daddy do the building. He has a plastic tool belt and tools and thought it was pretty amazing that he matched his dad and could use his tools on the scraps.

It took us a one Saturday afternoon and two Friday nights to finish, but I'm sure we could have gone faster if we didn't have a toddler and an infant to care for or had a need to get it moved in quickly. The plans are really simple and easy, as are nearly all of the plans on the site. (Seriously, go browse and I bet you will have a list of projects to build after a few minutes.) After putting on the final coat of stain Saturday morning, we moved in the bed that afternoon. Douglas cried as if he had just seen a kitten hit by a car when Ryan took the bed apart in the garage, but he was VERY very happy when it came in the house. Even more happy when he got to climb on it.

My big construction contribution was this little step stool which we attached to the side rail. I love how it turned out, and I just sort of tossed it together out of scraps! Amazing what a little stain will do.

His new room is space themed, and since we couldn't find any bedding we liked, I made this quilt. I just finished this evening and took this picture in the dark living room, so the flash is hiding a lot of the details, but it has constellations quilted throughout. It's gray on the back (same as the fitted sheet on the mattress,) navy on front, and the stars/constellations/pillow case are Buzz Lightyear green.

And here's the final product!

Actually since this picture we put a little upholstered cover on the toddler rail since he kept smacking against it and waking up, but you get the idea. Douglas is in love with it and will occasionally go in during the day and make his toys climb the stairs to his bed. We'll get around to painting and decorating another day.

All in all, we're really happy with the final product. All the materials for the bed and bedding were around $150. What I don't like about it is how much it makes my baby boy look like a grown kid!

Love is in the Shirt

2011-04-07T03:26:00.000-07:00

Vote for my sister's shirt on Threadless! She's been working hard lately on some fun new shirt designs, and after winning approval on Threadless.com, she's hoping this will be printed.

Click HERE to vote.

Appointments and Shots

2011-04-05T12:46:00.002-07:00

Last week we did a double doctor's appointment for Bugs' 2 year and Dot's 4 month check ups. It was a loooong time in the office to get everyone weighed, measured and vaccinated, but the kids behaved remarkably well.

Here's my 2 year old, flipping through a Nemo book in one of his rare pauses from tearing the office to bits. He loves new places where he can open drawers and discover the contents. He also tried scaling the windows repeatedly, with more success than I would have thought possible.

2 Year Stats:

Weight - 33.8 lbs

Height - 36.1 in

He's still quite large for his age, though he trimmed up a little when we switched him off whole milk and onto 1 or 2%. If multiplying his height at age two is really an accurate predictor of future height, he's on track to be almost exactly Ryan's height at 6 ft. (But my boy will never be six feet. He will always be a baby. Right?!)

Dot was adorable with the doctors and nurses, flashing that cute smile and sparkly blue eyes and anyone who so much as looked at her. Shots weren't so great, and she was in quite a bit of pain that afternoon with really sensitive legs. I know it's for the best, but that doesn't make it any easier to watch!

4 Month Stats:

Weight - 14 lbs 9 oz

Height - 25 in

She's right in the middle of the charts for weight, slightly above average on height, and well above average for her head size. Wouldn't be her father's daughter otherwise! Looking back and Douglas' 4 month check , Bugs was a tiny bit longer but FIVE POUNDS heavier. That kid was (is) so thick!

As always, we are very grateful to have two very healthy, happy, ADORABLE children.

Bugs Turns 2!

2011-04-01T14:12:00.000-07:00

Our handsome little boy turned two on Monday, and I'm pretty sure he had the best day of his life. He was a ball of excited energy from the moment he woke up to the time he finally passed out that night. He didn't totally know what was going on, but he realized he was getting special treatment, treats, and gifts, so it had to be good.

For the sake of nostalgia, one week old.

Beyond excited to see The Birthday Burro as well as a few streamers and decorations he pulled down joyfully.

Watching Sesame Street with his favorite inflatable donkey.

We had a little play date at the park with some of his friends. He had so much fun! Here they are running around after bubbles, Ryan wearing Dot in the foreground.

Lesi! I love this little girl.

Drinking Capri Sun with Zack, Becca, and Shad.

Confusion about the birthday cupcake.

Confusion resolved.

HE IS SO HANDSOME!

With his birthday balloon from Shad. Very popular still.

Just before he took a giant bite out of the candle. You can sort of tell he's saying, "Two!"

There's some video as well I'll try to remember to post when I get around to uploading it.

A few facts about our 2 year old:

Favorite Food: Pancakes

Favorite Letter: Z

Favorite Number: 2

Favorite Word: Shoes

Favorite Store: Lowes

Favorite Show: Word World

Favorite Movie: Toy Story or Cars

Favorite Music: Anything by Bob Marley (I know, right?)

Favorite Toy: Tricycle

Favorite Item: His sandals

Favorite Person: MOM

Happy Birthday, Douglas! We love you.

Nap Time Variation

2011-03-27T11:46:00.000-07:00

Sometimes NEXT to the bed is the best option.

Chatterbox Dorothy

2011-03-07T14:23:00.000-08:00

Dot has recently discovered how much she LOVES the sound of her own voice.

Dottie's Blessing

2011-02-03T12:53:00.000-08:00

In January we were able to introduce Dottie to both sets of grandparents and many of her aunts/uncles/cousins. It was great! Here are a few pictures of our adventures. (These and more on are on my Facebook.)

When did everyone get so grown?

Cars with Grandpa Hunter

The two Dougs on the riding mower

Sisters dinner at Guadalajara

Dot in her blessing dress

You'd never guess from this picture that she screamed hysterically during the whole blessing! Ryan was a champ and kept his composure spectacularly.

Each of the kids got held by a massive number of folk. Here with Uncle Sam.

Happy Family

One of the best parts of the trip was seeing Douglas take to Max (and vice versa.) Hearing Max run around yelling, "Duggis, Duggis, Duggis!" was so so cute.

Crazy Cute

2011-01-17T10:58:00.000-08:00

I think Dorothy just might be the cutest baby I have ever seen. She might just be the cutest thing I've ever seen, puppies and kittens included.

Want to meet her? Come to Redding 1st ward at 12:30pm Sunday the 23rd. Blessing day.

Merry Christmas!

2011-01-08T07:19:00.000-08:00

We stayed in Houston for Christmas this year and had a great time with our little family of four... plus two dogs. (Ralph is behind me trying to sneak in some sniffs of the baby.)

Douglas and Dot were both sick, and by Christmas Day night he was exhausted. But still cute.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-07T20:14:00.001-08:00

Kids were sick, so we had NYE happily at home this year. Here are a few snapshots of what we looked like back in 2010 during our wild and crazy party.

Videos from Hillary

2010-12-17T15:05:00.000-08:00

My sister Hillary was out for a visit and posted these short videos from her trip on YouTube to share.

Santa... Me No Likey

2010-12-11T20:06:00.000-08:00

Last year's Santa visit...

... went slightly better than this year!

Dottie's Tummy Time

2010-12-05T14:04:00.001-08:00

Sleeping Babies

2010-12-03T15:13:00.000-08:00

Douglas and Dorothy, a comparison.

O, Christmas Tree

2010-12-02T18:58:00.001-08:00

I was supposed to post this last week, but Dottie showed up and got me all distracted! We decided to put up our tree a few days before Thanksgiving this year since we were expecting the baby any second, and we let Douglas help decorate it. We started a little late in the evening, so he only got to put on candy canes, but as you can see he didn't mind one bit. He took nearly the entire box and put them all in one spot.

When we turned the house lights off and the tree lights on, he was blown away and didn't want to leave the tree... ever. We had family song and prayers by the tree that night.

Now the tree is surrounded by a baby fence and mostly safe from toddler hands. Okay, it's still been tipped three times (how I'm not entirely sure.) Most of the ornaments are plastic, so no worries.

Here's what our little helper looked like last year.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

It's a Girl!

2010-11-24T16:13:00.000-08:00

Dorothy Jane McMullin

11-22-2010

10:43pm

7 lbs 13 oz

20.5 in

Balloon Joy

2010-11-06T18:16:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned, bringing home the balloons for the Up! costume and car was pretty much the best day of Douglas' life. Here's proof.

Baby Pool!

2010-11-05T16:41:00.000-07:00

In celebration of making it to 37 weeks, it's time to start the baby pool!

Duggle Bug's Birth Stats:
9 lbs 0.5oz.
20.5 in.
Born on his due date, no induction

Baby #2 is due November 26th, and if he/she is late we'll induce no later than the 30th.

Feel free to ask any questions that you think might influence your guess!

Click here to join the fun.

http://www.expectnet.com/games/BabyMcMullin_2

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T16:00:00.000-07:00

For Halloween Douglas dressed as Russell from Up! I thought he'd be a nightmare with a bandana, sash, hat, balloons on his back, AND a dog next to him, but the only thing he didn't like was the hat. He got quite a kick out of dragging the balloons around, as did his little friend from church, Celeste, who followed him around the parking lot at the Trunk or Treat trying to grab them.

I think this is the closest we got to a picture of the costume 100% together. The beginning of the night was inside the cultural hall so he didn't have the balloons on or the dog, then he ditched the hat.

Here's our car set-up with Ellie on her way to Paradise falls. The laptop playing the movie was like flypaper to all kids aged 1-10 and a few others as well. Leonard was remarkably well-behaved and made lots and lots of new friends.

They combined 2 wards this year, and the turnout was WAY bigger than I expected. Trying to get from car to car while dragging the balloons and a dog proved to be a an unanticipated challenge through the throngs. Douglas loved all the craziness at first, but by the end of the night he happily settled into watch his movie until it was time to go.

Picking up the balloons and having them in the house was pretty much the best thing that ever happened to Douglas. I'll post a video of his excessive glee soon, but right now the video camera is all the way in the living room and my giant, 9 month pregnant body has zero interest in getting off the loveseat.

Douglas made sure the balloons were safely in his room before bed.

Baby Skeleton Face

2010-10-27T14:45:00.000-07:00

The baby had a growth scan today at 35 weeks 5 days, and I got to spend a little time looking at the squishiest, cutest round face in fuzzy black and white. Of course when they print the pictures the baby always ends up looking a bit like a Halloween mask.

Chubby cheeks!

A little mohawk of hair!

This is the same as the second picture but with labels so Julia can tell what she's looking at.

We can't WAIT to meet this little face in a few weeks.

A Few Cell Pics at 18 Months

2010-10-13T20:48:00.000-07:00

Of course they are of Douglas. Are you surprised? So I was flipping through my cell phone pictures and thought they represented a good synopsis of what Douglas has been up to.

Eating like a big boy. One day I gave him lunch in a regular chair instead of his high chair or booster, now he eats there all the time. He thinks he's PRETTY cool, and oddly it has made him a much less messy eater.

Tantrums. Yay! Though to be fair the tantrum was very justified in this case, having woken from his nap early with a bug bite you can see on his thigh and a nasty diaper rash. Frequently the tantrums are over things like the dishwasher being shut, not being allowed to chase cars in the parking lot of Target, or being denied any form of food. A few days ago I put away the container of butter and he had a meltdown because I didn't give it to him to eat. Trust me, kid, I'm doing you a favor.

Watching Leo's YouTube videos. His Australian buddy Leo speaks quite a bit more than Douglas, and Beck has been kind enough to film it and put it on YouTube for Douglas to obsess over while giggling hysterically. And isn't he so handsome here?? They are his favorite thing to watch currently.
Other random 18 month old updates:

- This kid has gotten SO TALL! I'm sure we'll only think it even more once the new baby joins the clan, but I am constantly surprised to look over and see how much bigger he is in relation to his surroundings.

- He's starting to communicate a lot more, though his vocabulary is still pretty limited for his age. I think he says more words than we recognize in the babble. He does the baby sign for "more" whenever he wants something, whether it's actually more of something or that he wants to get out of his crib. Might be properly interpreted as saying "I want." When he's particularly vehement it changes from touching his hands together to a semi-violent two-handed belly slap with a foot stop and grunt.

- He's in nursery now, and I am LOVING getting to enjoy church again! He deeply deeply loves going to nursery, though he has no idea why the other kids do things like sit in chairs for music time. And he steals snacks.

- His mouth has 16 teeth now after plateauing at 8 for what felt like forever. He got the next 8 nearly all at once, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be. Now we're just waiting on 2 year old molars.

I can't believe this guy is going to be a big brother in 6ish weeks!

32 Weeks

2010-09-30T18:20:00.000-07:00

And counting...

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

2010-09-19T19:38:00.000-07:00

Ryan and Douglas had a boys night with the Chandler boys, going to an Astros game. I was nervous, but Douglas loved it!

He loved one on one time with Daddy:

He enjoyed watching the game itself:

When he got bored he watched videos on the Touch:

And he finally got worn out of all the excitement and slept through the end:

Sorry for the indoor cell phone quality pics. Ryan was thoughtful enough to take them throughout the evening and keep me updated while I had some girl time. I love these boys!

San Antonio

2010-09-10T04:23:00.000-07:00

Here's a video of our Labor Day road trip to San Antonio. We were feeling a bit of cabin fever and loved the change of scenery as well as the chance to spend a few days with just the 3 of us. Douglas loved having Daddy around 24/7.

Sorry for all the videos lately! They are quick and easy, and with Douglas talking so much I feel like you can see his personality so much more. I'll stick a few real pictures in here, mostly from our impromptu family portraits. (These are at the end of the video as well.)

Working on Spoons

2010-09-02T12:21:00.000-07:00

Trying with mashed potatoes:

A bit more success with pudding:

And a video of him talking to himself before bed, just for good measure:

Friday Lunch with Dad

2010-08-27T12:46:00.000-07:00

Every Friday Douglas and Mommy go meet Daddy for lunch, usually at this cute little park about 2 minutes from his work. Today I brought my camera, and I'm glad I did since Douglas all of a sudden got incredibly brave and just decided to go for it on the slides, big and little. I swear, this kid has no fear.

This is how he spends most of our lunches. Running, running, running.

Look at the joy on his face!! He was seriously in heaven.

Hmmm... Can I really do that?

Yes I can!

Somebody is proud of himself.

Over and over and over and over and over...

Playing that hard would tire anyone out!

Doctor's Visit

2010-08-24T20:34:00.000-07:00

Douglas is a little behind schedule on his regular doctor's visits, so we had a make-up today! He ran THE. ENTIRE. TIME. we were there, which was about an hour and a half. Ran himself sick, actually, and puked all over the place while the doctor was looking in his ears.

Despite the look of this picture, he wasn't trying to escape. He found an abandoned matchbox car in the lobby and was trying to shove it under the door while we waited. He LOVED that exam room and all the new things to touch and climb on. Well, he loved it until they "boy parts" check and shots. After those he was very ready to go home.

Our beefy boy is still tipping the scales and stretching the measuring tapes:

Weight - 31.5 lbs (97th percentile)

Height - 33.5 in (75th percentile)

Head - 20.5 in (Well off the chart)

I can't believe how big this kid is getting, both physically and developmentally. Remember when he was nothing but this cute, chubby lump of adorableness??

Now he's this cute, chubby toddler's-worth of adorableness.

Don't Look Away!

2010-08-14T09:35:00.000-07:00

If you realize you've let Douglas get out of your sight, he might be up to any number of adventures, including:

Trying on Mom's clothes

Reorganizing Dad's wallet
Soaking himself with a hose and climbing on the lawn mower like it's a ride-on

Other activities may include but aren't limited to:

Pulling down every item he can reach in the pantry when you've forgotten to shut the door

Reprogramming contacts in Daddy's phone

Dumping out the contents of the baskets under his changing table

Climbing on Mom and Dad's bed so he can throw off the pillows and pull off the bedding

Attempting to ride Leonard like a pony

Ripping the pages out of magazines and books

Running to the garage door begging "car, car, car!"

Combining the dog's food and water into a sort of cereal

Finding hidden sippy cups and drinking the contents :shudder:

Rolling anything with wheels on any surface

Pulling freshly hung laundry off the hangers

Dragging Mom's laptop onto the floor

Dancing Dancing Dancing!

Taking the bottom rack out of the dishwasher and driving it like a vehicle

Lying under the coffee table and trying to flip it with his legs

Diving on Mom or Dad for hugs and kisses

Etc. Etc. Etc.

In short, this kid is a massive bundle of energy and mischief. We LOVE having him around, making our lives nothing if not interesting and varied. He seems to learn something new almost every second. The new knowledge is generally accompanied by a new mess, but we don't mind... yet. :-)

1:40 of Duggle

2010-07-29T16:19:00.000-07:00

I like this short video of Douglas because it accurately represents what life with him is like:

Lots of climbing on Mom

Downward dog, we call it his "safe place"

Dancing on top of his toys

Saying "Car" (sounds more like Cah,) which is his first official word

Trying to steal the camera

Being CUTE

More climbing on Mom

The only difference is that he's always in pants at home because Ryan finds pantsless Douglas "creepy."

Anatomy Scan

2010-07-21T19:25:00.000-07:00

Had our mid-pregnancy anatomy scan today, and everything looked GREAT! Such a huge relief as anyone who has had one can tell you. The baby had those legs firmly closed, so no worries about accidentally getting a peek at the gender. Baby was measuring right in the middle of the charts for weight and head circumference. Wouldn't that be lovely if it stayed that way?

Here are the profile pictures we came home with. Might be hard to see, but the baby was sitting with one hand under the chin, so there little bump sticking out under the chin area is actually a set of 5 teeny tiny fingers.

Such an amazing experience to see all the parts, inside and out, of that thing that wriggles around and keeps me up at night.

Birthday and Belly

2010-07-16T15:16:00.000-07:00

Turning 28 was a very lovely occasion, if I may say. Ryan made sure to stretch the celebration out over the weekend, so it was like 3 birthdays in one. Here are a few pics of us enjoying Smashburger on the day of. Douglas and I both LOVE meeting Ryan for lunch. It's such a nice break for everyone, and my birthday was no exception.

And here's a little belly shot for those of you asking. 21 weeks, meaning we're more than halfway there already! Where is the time going?

Don't Fall Down!

2010-07-09T18:42:00.000-07:00

One of Douglas' favorite games is being told "Don't Fall Down!" and then falling down. This evening he playing the game in socks on the kitchen floor and later "bungee jumping" from Daddy's arms. Although Douglas takes a lot of energy to keep up with nowadays, he is SO much fun to play and interact with.

Happy 4th of July!

2010-07-06T08:01:00.000-07:00

Just a few snapshots of us on the 4th. Douglas didn't have much interest (obviously,) but he's still awfully cute. On the 3rd we had a fabulous BBQ with all the McMullins who live in Houston (which now includes Brian and Kendra!) and on the 4th saw a big contingent of the Lees family for the blessing of Dan and Sheena's youngest (gorgeous) baby. In true American spirit we had chili dogs for dinner then opened the curtains in the computer room to watch just about everyone in our neighborhood set off fireworks. Although we had a lovely, long weekend we missed being home in Redding!

Duggle's New Best Friend

2010-06-04T11:22:00.000-07:00

My best friend Beck came out to visit for a week, and we were thrilled to discover that our boys (just 2 weeks apart in age) LOVED each other. I foresee exchanges to and from Australia in our future...

(Looking cute when Douglas was really working on pulling Leo off the bench)

This is the first day they met when they invented this dangerous game in the curtains that resulted in several black eyes over the next few days.

Just Playing Around

2010-05-23T14:27:00.001-07:00

In Case You Missed

2010-05-21T15:50:00.001-07:00

If you didn't notice the ticker in the corner or catch the announcement on Facebook...

We're expecting Baby #2! To answer your questions in advance:

1) Yes, it was on purpose

2) They will be 20 months apart

3) We are not finding out the gender

4) Official due date is November 26th, Black Friday

Feel free to ask any others I forgot to mention.

We Made It!

2010-05-18T19:20:00.001-07:00

It has happened! A little less than 3 years ago we moved to Houston having never seen the apartment we were going to rent or the campus we'd be attending. It seems like forever ago when I think back on those kids making the HORRIBLE drive from Provo to Houston. (Seriously, never ever do it if you can avoid it.)

This last weekend we both graduated the University of Houston, Ryan with a BA in Spanish with a minor in Mexican American Studies and me with a Juris Doctorate (if you ever wondered what JD stands for.) Both sets of parents were able to make the trip out as well as Meredith and Anna from the SFam. Add us and Emma, and it was a pretty sizable group capable of a decent graduation cheer. Ryan's ceremony was on Friday too early in the morning, and mine was Sunday with a lovely reception after.

Below are some of my favorite pictures of the weekend:

With Grandpa Hunter

Doug and Douglas

With Grandma Sheri

Here's my ceremony, I'm in the 2nd Row on the close side. We were privileged to hear Mayor Rudy Giuliani give the commencement address. (Ryan had some dude from the Houston rodeo. Yay?)

With my parents.

Happy family! Though you can tell Douglas was not sure who I was in the regalia.

I know people like to give me a lot of credit for getting through law school with a baby, but I want to take a second to give Ryan the praise he deserves. He has always been more than supportive of my goals in life and was willing to drop everything and ship off to Texas when I told him I felt inspired to go to law school and wasn't sure why. He moved from Redding to Utah when I told him I really wanted to finish my degree at BYU rather than a California school. He has worked full time supporting us both most of his school career, these last four semesters working 60 hours a week and going straight to classes in the evening. Law school with a kid in tow was nothing compared to the super heroics of my unwavering husband. It may have taken him a little longer than most, and maybe 5 undergrad institutions is above average, but he stuck to it and got the work done, even when it seemed impossible. Thank you for everything, Ryan. We both couldn't have done it without you.

Sunglasses at Night

2010-05-03T20:23:00.001-07:00

Douglas figured out the concept of sunglasses today and wanted nothing more than to wear mommy's pair.

You will also likely notice the MASSIVE mess Douglas always leaves in his wake.

Bedroom Before and After

2010-04-26T17:47:00.000-07:00

I forgot to post this ages ago when we did the project, but we finally did some work on the master bedroom. We bought ourselves a new mattress for Christmas and didn't have any bedding to fit, so I figured we would just do the whole room when we got new bedding. Right now the other 3 walls are blank (though painted over the cheap, grayish white that came with the house with a much warmer white,) but we have plans to embellish a little.

Before:

After.

Happy Easter!

2010-04-05T21:07:00.000-07:00

Last year we had this little 2 week old boy who didn't have any idea it was Easter.

This year we had a one year old boy who still didn't know it was Easter but was very happy to get a basket full of stuff.

The Cadburys were a massive success this year, the first time the contest has been attempted internationally and with a live awards show. Next year I'm getting my hair done and a spray tan. We had over 50 entries, and some of them were AMAZING. Here are just a few of the winners:

Red Queen

VW Bug

Mexican Flag

Einstein

Avatar

Here's Emma's video she made of the Douglas' second Easter.

A few pictures from the egg hunt/desserts at the Carlsons.

Samari teaching Douglas how to hunt for eggs.

Ummm... like this?

Happy Easter, 2010!

One Year Portraits

2010-04-05T13:39:00.000-07:00

Finally got around to taking one year portraits of our little teddy bear. Here are some of my favorites.

Duggle's Birthday Video

2010-03-29T09:41:00.000-07:00

Thanks, Emma!

Our Baby is One!

2010-03-28T20:10:00.000-07:00

Wasn't this just yesterday??

Now our giant infant has turned into a full-fledged toddler, walking all over the place and looking like such a big kid. Today was his first birthday!

We had a little get together with some friends from church, and Douglas LOVED having kids running around and all the attention. Thanks everyone for coming! Sorry I forgot to get out the ice cream. Here are a few pics of his bash.

Cupcakes!

Best buddy Shad.

James

Alesy

Samari

Had to include a shot of Corey's rocking stache.

A series of pictures of DEVOURING his cake.

Emma has video of the kid inhaling his cake which I will post at a later date (if you remind me.) Douglas, it has been an amazing year with you in our lives. WE LOVE YOU!

Best Dad Ever

2010-03-18T07:59:00.000-07:00

Have I mentioned Douglas' absurd love of all things related to automobiles, ESPECIALLY the movie Cars? He cannot get enough of that movie, particularly Lightning McQueen. Ryan, being the amazing daddy he is, took a few minutes at work yesterday to print out big color pictures of McQueen and Mater and laminated them to bring home for his boy. How sweet is that? Douglas LOVES them. The first thing he did this morning was crawl to go find them so he could tell them all about his day.

Thanks for being the best dad ever, Ryan!