The Macker

Sunday marked six years of wedded bliss for Mike and I. In all seriousness, it's been a wonderful ride and I can only image all of the great times our family will have in the future. Mike is a good person - he'll help out anyone without asking for anything in return. I love to watch how he operates. I've never seen him look uncomfortable in a social or work situation. His confidence is amazing and I hope our kids inherit that trait from him. He challenges me and doesn't just tell me what I want to hear. I feel like I'm always growing as a person because of him. Oh yeah, he can be pretty sweet, too.

We met at a 3-on-3 basketball tournament eight years ago, so I guess it's not too surprising that I spent our sixth anniversary watching him play in the Muncie Gus Macker. Just like the day I met him, his team won the top division. You have got to give these guys credit. Most of their competition is in their 20s. Mike is 37, Doc is 42, Greg is 38 and James is the "baby" at 31. These guys have been playing together for years (along with a few others) and really know the game. I love the frustrated, "WTF?" expressions their opponents have as they're getting their arses handed to them. The old days involved lots of late-night, pregame drinking and other debauchery. Now, they have 10 kids between them (8 of them girls). Yesterday, I overheard them talking about things like chiropracters, sports/muscle creams and kids. I spotted Greg sporting Taylor's pink sunglasses and Doc talking to her about Dora the Explorer. Too cute.

Congrats to the Bulldogs!

The game-winning play.

The kids were so good!

When your dad is a basketball player/coach, you get to snuggle up with Gatorade towels.

I want to share a couple of pictures from Saturday, too. The kids and I hung out with Grandma, went swimming, then went up with Grandpa for dinner. It was fun!

I was so proud of Taylor for swimming without holding onto an adult! She was like a little fish and even jumped off the side!

Taylor and Grandma at dinner.

Pops and I.

I love this picture.

This one too!

Michael showing off.

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Staying Busy

I've never been one to just sit around the house, especially when it's nice outside. A little TV is alright, but let's save that for those January days when it's 15 degrees and snowing outside. One of our summer adventures last week took us to the Clinton County fair.

I grew up about 10 minutes from downtown Cincinnati, so I've always loved going to "real" county fairs. What farm animals can you really have at the Hamilton County fair? All I remember about my childhood county fair was a rabbit exhibit, some scary rides and a bunch of rednecks. The Clinton County farm is a true testament to a way of life for many of our not-so-far-away neighbors. Taylor adores animals so she was excited to see the pigs (her favorite), cows, sheep, chickens, llamas, and, yes, rabbits, up close. Michael seemed vaguely interested. Here are some pictures from the fair and other recent cuteness.

Taylor favorite - a pink piggy!


Michael at the fair.

Yum - ice cream!


Taylor, ready for a walk around the neighborhood.



Yay - Michael can sit up in the pool by himself now!


Homemade snowcones!

Girl time

Until next time,




Mommy Kel

Wow, 7 Months!

I can hardly believe that my Michael Man is seven months old today! I look at the little guy sometimes and he doesn't even look much like a baby anymore. He so big and solid that it feels like you're holding a toddler when you give him hugs, kisses and squeezes. The Pear is great at sitting up now and will lunge forward onto his hands from a sitting position when he wants to grab something. He's still not a big fan of playing on his tummy, so I think this might be how he figures out how to crawl.

His strength amazes me sometimes. He's been able to stand up while holding onto to something for awhile now and can keep his balance while holding just one of my fingers. Someone joked yesterday that he's a future nose guard. The kid is solid - not really chubby, but big. I've pretty much retired the Bjorn because he kills my back now!

He's such a fun and happy baby a lot of the time. He gets so excited when Mike, Taylor or I walk into the room and he adores Champ. He's a good baby in so many ways **if** things are the way he likes them. Boy, does this child have a temper! If you force him to do something he doesn't want to do, like sit in the highchair or play in the floor while I use the bathroom, look out! He can scream like the best of them and it's usually a "mad" scream. He's strong willed, but I'm okay with that. I think it's a personality trait that will serve him well in the future. Like father, like son.

I love my little guy so much and I thank God for blessing us with him!

He looks so old here!

Standing like a big boy! Taylor sneaks into every picture of him.


A rare picture of just Michael.

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

The Birthday Extravaganza is Over

I feel like we've been celebrating Taylor's birthday for weeks now, but I think things were finally wrapped up on Sunday at her birthday party. Basketball tournaments, reunions and other conflicts kept us from having her party earlier, thus creating the Mardi Gras of birthdays (she loved stretching it out, by the way).



We were blessed with beautiful weather for the party. The forecast called for rain so I told Taylor to ask God for nice weather for her party. The Big Guy didn't let us down. We ended up with about six kids there, all of her grandmas and grandpas and lots of others people who love our little girl. I don't think there is anything better than seeing your children having fun. She told me it was her best birthday ever (all two weeks of it)!

Taylor opening gifts.

The kids gathering loot from the pinata.

Mommy and Taylor

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

My Little Comedian

Taylor is funny. Sometimes she tries to be funny, but most of the time, she makes me laugh without even trying.

I talked to her this morning (I'm at work - where I do 99% of my posting) and she and Mike are watching Revenge of the Sith. She told me that Anakin got "fired" and became Darth Vader. I cracked up.

The other day we were playing with her new Polly Pockets dolphin playset. She learned on Go Diego Go that dolphins eat crabs. She was pretending that one dolpin was eating, then had it "swim" over to its friend. I asked what she was doing. "Oh," she replied. "Pink dolphin just gave blue dolphin crabs." She couldn't figure out why I was laughing.

She loves to make up words. A screwdriver is a "screwer". "Daddy needs to get the screwer and fix my swingset." A gun is a "shooter thing". Something that happened in the past happened "lastertime". "I got candy out of the machine now, but lastertime it was empty."

The first line of the Ohio State fight song is "Drive, drive on down the field, men of the scarlet and gray." I hold her and we run through the house singing this. She refers to me as the driver and I'm pretty sure she thinks it has something to do with a car.

As she would say, she "cracks me out."

July 4th Weekend Part III: The Family Reunion

**Let me start by saying that I can be a neurotic freak sometimes, so you won't see any last names ever listed in my blog. We have a very uncommon last name and it's my way of keeping Internet wackos from ever finding us.**

The big family reunion was on Saturday - Mike's dad's side. I'm from a pretty small family, so I've always marveled at the number of aunts, uncles and cousins running around. The Ns are an awesome family and I love being around them. I've been looking forward to this reunion for awhile!

Taylor and Michael, all ready for the fun.

The kids - and my big kid, Mike - got a pretty good water battle going. He's tormented his younger cousins for years so he gets no help from me when they gang up on him. He kept the super soaker by his side most of the day "as protection". Taylor had a blast playing in the water, but she was paranoid that she was going to get wet. She spent her day running around with cousins and aunts, dancing and playing at the playground. Taylor was the youngest cousin before Michael came along, so everyone was happy to have a baby to pass around again. He did great with it and just went with the flow. I give props to Ginny for getting him to sleep at the end of the night. We have no problem getting the kid to sleep in his crib, but he does not like being rocked, held, soothed to sleep. I'm usually the only one that can get him down when we are out in public like that, but Ginny worked her magic on him.

Taylor at the playground.

Brittany, Gracie, Stephanie, Emily and Michael. The girls were so sweet to their newest little cousin. I enjoyed hanging out with them later on the hill!

Ginny and Michael. He fought the sleep here, but she worked her magic on him later.

Matt R., Cassidy, Matt N. and Taylor playing with water balloons.


Taylor and Daddy dancing.


Michael and I dancing. I think he's showing off the handful of hair he just ripped out of my head.


Michael, hanging out with Uncle Danny.


Taylor and Aunt Linda

There were games, of course, and games and the N family usually result in some good trash talking and competition. Defeat is not taken lightly (oddly enough, all of the N spouses seem to have this trait as well). We had a water balloon toss, egg toss, horseshoes and a game I'd never seen before - ladder golf, aka redneck golf. Here's a wikipedia entry about it. (I'd be remissed if I didn't point out the guy in the Ohio State jersey in the photo on the wiki page. I'm sure those Longhorns weren't so happy after we went down there and kicked their arses that year.)

Steve, Mike, Kayla and Matt. Steve was telling his opponent, "Nice throw." Yeah, right.


We lasted almost eight hours, pretty impressive when you consider we had the kiddos with us. I'm already looking forward to next year!

Michael getting some love from Daddy and Aunt Nancy.


Noreen, Taylor and Ellie


Michael getting some love from Aunt Amy, Aunt Diane and Stephanie.


Taylor and her awesome Aunt Katy.

Maureen, Ellie, Lauren and Emily

Rich and Bryony


Part of the gang.


Squeeze in a few more!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

July 4th Weekend Part II: Grandma N's House

I got really lucky in the in-laws department. I hear so many horror stories about controlling mother in laws, hags who criticize, judge and bully. My mother-in-law Marilyn is a lovely person, as sweet and supportive as they come. She's a free-spirited artist who accepts my anal-retentive, Type A personality for what it is. She and her husband, Rich, always make us feel welcome in her home.


I like the whole crew. Mike's dad is a good guy and his sisters and brother are great. I've always liked visiting Pittsburgh because they are all fun to be around. They've accepted me as one of their own from the get-go. You don't always see that nowadays.


We arrived at Grandma N's Friday afternoon and after a short nap for Michael, we headed out to D'Amico's for Taylor's birthday dinner. D'Amico's is a cool little Italian joint that we've gone to several times while in Pittsburgh. I like the ambience of the place and the food is good, too. Afterwards, we had cake and ice cream at Grandma's house and watched fireworks from the deck. It was a great end to a long day.


Taylor cheesing during the drive. The kid had it made - snacks, drinks and a DVD player.


Michael was great, especially considering the fact that he's getting his top two teeth and was forced to stare at the seat the entire drive. I'm looking forward to when we can turn the carseat around!

Ready to blow out her candle.

Taylor with Grandma N and Aunt Linnie.

The yummy cake. Rich's brother's birthday was two days earlier.

My pretty FOUR-YEAR-OLD!

Michael chilling with Grandpa N...

...and Sophia. Check out the flowin' river o' drool!

The flood has been plugged and the slobbery shirt removed.

Michael so wants to be able to walk. He easily takes steps while holding onto people's hands.

Baby blues x 2.

Watching fireworks in our jammies (Mike hadn't changed yet). My kids have some long legs!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel