Early in October, Matt's parents came to visit, along with Matt's Grandma Fran and Uncle Dave. We were planning to go to Minnehaha's Homecoming festivities that Saturday and participate in the annual Redhawk Run 5K, but it ended up being cold and rainy that day, so we stayed home. Mckenna was also getting over a cold, so I didn't want to have her out in the yucky weather. We had a lot of fun hanging out with Matt's family, but for whatever reason, we didn't get many pictures that weekend. I need to get in the habit of taking more pictures of fun events like this!
The day they came into town, I had the day off at home with Mckenna, so we met everyone at The Original Pancake House in Edina for lunch (YUM!), and then went across the street to walk around the Galleria mall for a bit. The weather was overcast, cold, windy, and rainy all weekend, so it was nice to hang out inside and stay warm. Here is Grandpa Craig pushing Mckenna around in her stroller at the Galleria... I think she was getting a bit sleepy when this picture was taken. :)
And of course the proud grandparents had to bring birthday gifts for their sweet granddaughter! This was Mckenna's first official birthday gift, so we were curious to see how she would take to opening her gifts. She did a pretty good job! It was cute to see her rip the wrapping paper, open the box, take out the gifts in the box, etc.
There were a lot of great things in the box - a cool stainless steel sippy cup, some organic shampoo and lotion, an awesome full coverage, long-sleeved blue bib (she's wearing it in this picture - LOVE IT), some spaghetti and meatballs to go with the bib :), and perhaps the cutest item, a book called "Cute As Can Bee" with the star of the book as none other than... Mckenna! Each page is a different theme - bunnies, flowers, bears, and birds. There is a spot on the last page of the book to put a picture of your baby's face, and then it shows through on each page. So it shows Mckenna dressed up as a bunny, flower, baby bird, etc. It is so cute!
We had a great weekend - thanks to Craig, Karen, Fran, and Dave for the fun visit and great birthday gifts for Mckenna - we love you guys!
Moving on to birthday celebration #2 at Mckenna's daycare, one day before her actual birthday. I think all of the kids were really excited and felt special to help Mckenna celebrate her first birthday in a fun way. I also brought mini-cupcakes for their little party, so I think the kids really liked that too. :)
I love that Mckenna's daycare provider really does a lot of fun things with the kids, including celebrating birthdays, holidays, and more. We're so happy that Mckenna can be with other young kids that she enjoys and experience all kinds of fun things at daycare - it is so good for her.
Happy Birthday to you! Mckenna's first candle and first taste of cake and frosting... yummy!
I think she ate a little bit of the cupcake, but didn't really dig in too much, just kind of picked at it.
Mckenna even got a birthday gift from her daycare provider and her family - isn't that sweet? She LOVES this doll, and gets a big smile on her face every time she sees it and holds it - too cute! Also, notice Mckenna's birthday bib - they really celebrate in style and don't miss any details! :)
After daycare that same day we went over to Caribou Coffee to see Mckenna's Aunt Kristi at work. Mckenna has been standing steady now for many weeks (no steps yet at this point, just standing) - anywhere from several seconds to a couple minutes at a time. While at Caribou, Mckenna just stood in the front entry way "greeting" (smiling and waving) people as they walked in... she must have stood there for about 10 minutes straight. Too funny! I guess it was a good spot for her to stand and watch all the exciting coffee shop action.
Since this picture was taken, she has taken her first steps. It happened about a week and a half after her actual birthday, she took three steps in a row and then sat down. Since then, she has walked a couple more times, but never more than four steps in a row. We're guessing she will be taking off walking all over the place any day now... exciting and a bit scary! :)
After awhile of her standing there, I took off her little jacket - she seemed like she could stand there forever!
Happy Birthday, Mckenna! She got a birthday package in the mail that day from her Great Grandma Harriet and Great Grandpa John in Illinois. It was a cute pink fishing vest - I don't know who likes it more, Mckenna or Matt! Mckenna will definitely have a fun future in fishing because of her daddy's love of the sport. ;)
Napping after all of the birthday excitement... ahhh, the life of a one year old!
Kristi came over after her nap to spend time with the birthday girl. She gave her this fun igloo tent from Ikea, and she loves it. Gwen got this same tent last year for Christmas, and I remember how much she liked it too. In the few weeks since her birthday, this tent has gotten a lot of use.
Playing in her tent again before bedtime. :)
We just took it easy and hung out as a family on Mckenna's birthday weekend. But the next Saturday, October 24th, we had a small gathering of family and Mckenna's neighborhood friend Carter from across the street, with his dad, Tim. Carter's mom Nicole was out of town, but Tim and Carter were able to hang out for awhile, and then they had to go to another family function.
My cousin Ben and his wife Stacey recently moved back to Minnesota from Washington D.C., and they had their sweet little boy in April, Beckett. Here is Mckenna and Beckett meeting for the first time - they are second cousins!
The whole birthday party group walking to the park...
Birthday girl!
Cousin Ayla
Second cousin Beckett
The whole group. Carter is swinging on the left, with his daddy Tim in front of him. And do you see Nemo in the back? :)
Julie, Matt, and Mckenna
Dan, Abby, and Ayla
Ben, Stacey, and Beckett
Back home to play before gifts and cake...
I can definitely see the family resemblance in these three cuties!
Time for gifts, but first Mckenna wanted to dance! I guess you're allowed to put on a little show on your birthday, right? :)
This gift is from Ayla, Abby, and Dan. It is a cookie jar that has little shapes that you put into holes in the side of the cookie jar or into the top. It says the shapes, colors, and counts as you put them in, and sings fun songs. Definitely a big hit - thank you! She has played with this everyday since the party, she absolutely loves it.
I think Ayla is watching her cousin open gifts and daydreaming about her 1st birthday party - about 6 months from now! :)
Time for cake!
All cleaned up after cake, and HAPPY!
Proud grandparents with their little sweetie. You can't see it on her shirt very well, but it says "Fun to be One!" :)
Cousins Jacob, Thomas, Sarah, and Joel couldn't make it to Mckenna's party, so they came over the next day to hang out. Mckenna always loves being with her cousins, and she had a lot of fun having them over on her birthday party weekend.
More playing in the new igloo tent...
Mckenna and Sarah. I have a feeling that these two will be good friends growing up. Sarah loves Mckenna, and vice versa. :)
Daddy and daughter
Mckenna got a really fun piggy bank toy that teaches her colors and counting. You put the colored coins in the slot, and the piggy counts them, says the colors, and sings songs. Mckenna LOVES it - she has played with it every single day since she got it. Thank you, cousins!
We loves these guys!
Mckenna had an absolutely awesome birthday, filled with many family members and friends that love her so much. What a blessing to be surrounded by so much love! Thanks to everyone for making this such a wonderful and memorable time of celebration for Mckenna and for us, it was really very, very special! :)
