McKenna's First Birthday

McKenna turned 1 on August 26th. I can't believe how fast this past year went. Having two kids makes time go much more quickly. Also, not to mention that McKenna was born in Alaska, then we moved to Utah when she was 5 months, and then moved to Vegas when she was 9 months. Wow!!!

When we gave McKenna her cake she just lended over and locked onto the frosting.

She loved the frosting and making a mess.

We helped her to the good stuff and she couldn't get enough!

It was fun to see her open presents. She only needed a little bit of assistance from Mom and her big Sis.

The girls had a lot of fun playing with all of the presents. Thanks for your gifts and thoughtfulness!

Enjoying Las Vegas

We have finally been able to go out and enjoy Las Vegas a little bit more lately. We found a great babysitter in our ward, so Shannon and I have had a few fun date nights. Last weekend we went and saw the Frank Caliendo show at the Monte Carlo. It was pretty funny. Frank is the comedian that does a lot of impersonations. He does Charles Barkley, George Bush, John Madden, Terry Bradshaw, Barrack Obama and more. A few weeks ago we went on the rides on top of the Stratosphere. It was really fun. We went on the blast off ride that shoots you up a few hundred feet. It really gets your attention because you are already a few thousand feet up on top of the Stratosphere. Not to mention that we rode it at night.


McKenna has three teeth that have come half-way in on the botton and three starting to come in on the top. She routinely stands up while holding onto something and also says Ma Ma, Da Da, Hello and E-I,E-I,O (Old McDonald).

Jaycie has really enjoyed the many parks that we have around our neighborhood, especially the ones with water. She will be starting neighborhood pre-school in a few weeks. She is excited.

McKenna's new favorite spot.

Cooler Temps

We decided to get out of the 105 degree temps and head up to the mountains. Mount Charleston is only 45 minutes away from Las Vegas. Believe it or not it was about 70 degrees up there. It was a well-needed refuge from the heat. There is even a ski resort up there.


We enjoyed a leisurely hike and had a picnic in the forest. It was nice.

The trail was great for little feet.

McKenna enjoyed being taxied around by Daddy.

One Exciting Day

Well July 4th was a double wammy for the Moon family. It is a day to both celebrate Jaycie's Birthday and Independence Day. Shannnon's family came down to visit us and join in on the celebration.

Jaycie and her Tinkerbell cake. Shannon asked her what kind of cake she wanted for her birthday. She replied, "blueberry." Thank goodness Smith's bakery has cakes that can be layered with bluberry filling.

Opening one of the many gifts. Thank you eveyone for you gifts! Jaycie, of course, was in 7th heaven with her newly aquired toys, books and clothes.

...lots and lots of presents

After naps the fireworks celeration began. First on the list, snakes and smokebombs in the daylight hours.

...and fireworks in the dark. We all had a great day.

Settling into our New Home

Well, we are finally down in Las Vegas getting settled in. We really like our new house and love the neighborhood we moved into. Everyone that asks us where we moved into agrees that it is a very nice area. I have really enjoyed my new job at Spring Valley Hospital. The leadership team here is very supportive of Associate Administrators and are really great to work with.

Here are a few pictures of the kids enjoying the new house.


McKenna has begun crawling. She goes everywhere. She especially loves the kitchen. We gave her the wooden spoon to play with and she totes it around and likes to hit things with it.

Jaycie and McKenna like playing together. However, McKenna wants to play with everything that Jaycie does, which causes some scuffles.

When it isn't over 100 degrees, we really love going out in the backyard. We have grass both in the front yard and the back (which is a bit of a rareity in Las Vegas). We have several lizards that live in our yard and are fun to see.

Christmas Time

Christmas treated us well, especially the little ones. We got about two feet of fresh snow a week before Christmas, so we had a very white Christmas and I had snow shoveling caluses to boot. Here are a few pictures of the festivities...

McKenna's impression of Randy on the Christmas Story.

Mommy, Jaycie and McKenna with the snowman we made. It is a small one because the snow was very powdery - didn't stick well. Daddy gave it his best shot.

McKenna during her first Santa encounter. Jaycie was a little overwhelmed and wouldn't go near the big guy.

Jaycie showing her excitement Christmas morning.

Jaycie's first gingerbread house. She enjoyed decorating and eating the candy. I think about two pieces of candy were eaten for every one piece that made it on the house.

A Perfect Winter Day

Jaycie and Ryan enjoyed the snow the day after Thanksgiving. Jaycie loves to walk through the snow and be pulled by Daddy on her sled. In the top picture you can see the snowman that they built. Jaycie picked out the branches and rocks from our backyard and I supplied the carrot from the fridge. I have to say that is one cute snowman.

McKenna 3 Months Old

McKenna turned 3 months on Thanksgiving. This year we had two other families in our Ward over to our house. We had a great time. Ryan cooked a turkey for the first time and it turned out absolutely delicious!
McKenna is now 12 lbs and is 23 1/2 inches long. She can sit up well when being supported. She loves to get your attention by making cooing sounds and smiling. Then she will have a little conversation with you in her own little language. She still hasn't slept through the night yet. She gets up 1 to 2 times but at least she goes right back to sleep. She enjoys kicking the blinds. I can set her down there and get some things done around the house. She is such a happy baby!

Cute Pics

What cute matching outifts....thanks Grandma Sue!

McKenna found her hand.......

and really likes it.

This picture just makes me laugh.

Halloween

This year we went to our ward "Trunk or Treat" and after we went around to some houses in our neighborhood. Jaycie loved seeing the other kids in their costumes and most of all getting candy.

Jaycie checking out her "haul".

Showing off her tiger costume.

What a sweet ladybug.

Jaycie's First Pumpkin

Jaycie was so excited to carve her first pumpkin.

Daddy started by cleaning it out.

Then Daddy gave Jaycie some pictures of eyes, noses, and mouths. She picked her favorite and while Daddy was carving she gave me a preview.

Here it is.....what a proud little girl.

McKenna 2 Months Old

I can't believe that McKenna is already 2 months old. At her 2 month doctor appointment she was 10 lbs 15.5 ozs. She is in the 50th% for height and weight. She has not slept through the night yet. The longest strech between feedings has been 6 hours (a few times). I'm up with her 1-2 times a night. She sleeps pretty good in her crib at night, but doesn't like her crib during the day. She just takes cat naps in her bouncy seat or swing. She loves to always be held just like Jaycie did. I have a hard time getting things done. Jaycie let me set her down a little around 3 months when she discovered Baby Einstien. McKenna has watched a little Baby Einstien and enjoys it for a short period of time. She holds her head up well and loves to interact with us through smiles and sounds.

Smiles

How Did We Get So Lucky?

Jaycie loves to hold her baby sister.

Jaycie always says, "McKenna is so cute." Jaycie enjoys to look at her and just giggle.

Jaycie loves her sister so much!

Jaycie always trys to comfort McKenna when she is crying by hugging her, giving McKenna her binky, or bringing her toys.