my little cowboy

a few weeks ago we were at my parents for sunday dinner when aunt cami pulled out a little stick horse. it was instant love for max. everyone got a turn bouncing with max while he held on for dear life to the horsie's reigns. i must admit, he makes a pretty cute cowboy. who knows?? living in nephi may be the perfect fit for him!

{sorry it's sideways...i'm feeling lazy today!}

bumbo

isn't he just a day brightener?? he sure has been good at that lately. especially when he has some of the things he loves most: a container of ice breakers, ellie's pink cup + bumbo seat

no more monkeys...

...jumping on the bed!

watch this video.

i can almost guarantee that you will laugh at some point.

belly mamas

check out my post here to see cute pictures of newborn baby max and read all about post-labor.

meet dobie

this is dobie. dobie the duck:

as of two weeks ago, he has become max's new-instant-BFF. he's been sitting patiently on the edge of the bath tub for months now, but it wasn't until recently that max even noticed he was there.

now, there is no turning back. dobie goes everywhere with max. the second max lays eyes on him he starts jumping, kicking, squealing, and smiling sooo big.

{it's actually pretty cute...even though i do feel slightly replaced...}

mr. and mrs. bartholomew

on april 30 i got to attend the sealing of one of my bff's {and room mate from byu-i.} kierstin and kent were sealed in the draper, utah temple and it was absolutely beautiful. they were both beaming...marriage is awesome.

i had jannette, one of my other room mates, watch max while i went to the sealing. things went pretty well until after the sealing, a sweet temple worker came up to me and asked if i was sister mckinley. "your son...needs you," she said. as soon as i was out in the lobby i could hear him screeeeeaming from the waiting room. the second he was back in my arms he stopped. we really are going to need to work on that whole separation anxiety thing!

it was a great day though, and the reception was beautiful. kierstin you are an amazing girl!! and i am so excited for you and kent. congrats.

blur

wow. the past few weeks have been a blurrrrrrrrr.

seriously, life has been so crazy. with danny commuting to nephi on a daily basis, and me taking classes every day {have i mentioned that i've been taking classes--with NO break--since fall 2008????} i have had absolutely no time to give this blog a little tlc.

but i've resolved to do better. partly because i count this as my journal, and partly because i'm sure you are all dying to know what has been going on under our roof. huh?? :)

anyways. yesterday i had an assignment due for my home & family living class. we had to create a family mission statement. and since i'm so pleased with how it turned out...i thought i'd let you all take a look-see. {almost all credit goes to the amazing alma loveland} however, i did put a lot of my own thought into it as well.

enjoy!

and get excited for many more catch-up posts to come.

an official coug

it's official. daniel scott is now a graduate of byu. wait, let me back up a bit. he was a graduate in december but as of a few weeks ago he is an official i-sat-through-three-hours-of-commencement-graduate. apparently his specific college is one of the largest that byu has. so...it was a looooooong ceremony. but it was worth it {i think he would agree with me}. i know i'm glad he walked, because now i don't have too!

it really was nice though. danny's parents + my parents were able to come support danny and max did great {even if we did have to feed him two jars of baby food during the ceremony!}

danny was the third to the last to walk, and we all decided it would be best to take off before closing remarks. by the three hour mark we had all had enough. we took some pictures in his graduation gown and then went up to salt lake with danny's family to celebrate at tepanyaki. oh.my.goodness. i love that place. the food was delicious and our chef was hilarious.

here are some pics from the big day:

we couldn't have done it without them:

or them:

our soon to be college grad:

{he was excited to see dad finish up too!}

and me. the even sooner to be college grad! six classes to go, to be exact!

yay for school! thanks again to all of you who have helped us through. college can be tough, but so SO worth it. {can you tell i'm trying to convince myself?!} hah. but really though, thanks again! we love you. {you know who you are.}