Showers of Love and the Zoo too!

This weekend was packed with fun for the Hinton family. First of all we had Grandma B and Grandpa D staying with us, so that always makes for a great time for everyone. But the main event of the weekend was my baby shower for Kyan. We feel so blessed that my wonderful sisters and mom put together an amazing day for us and we got some great stuff for Kyan! We had lots of family and friends over to our house for games, food, cake, and good company (and of course lots of baby goodies too!). As the houser of the baby being showered I was not behind my camera, and thus I do not have any photos to show, but hopefully I can snag some from family so that I can share with everyone. It was a beautiful, sunny Saturday though and it was perfect in every way to celebrate the upcoming arrival of this little boy! :) Thanks to everyone who was able to make it and a BIG special thanks to my sisters Crista and Gina and my mom for making it all happen!



The remainder of our weekend was just as nice as Saturday as well. On Sunday (another gorgeous winter day) we took Mckinley to the zoo! If you can believe it, it was her very FIRST time to the zoo. I know, crazy huh? All summer I begged Kevin every beautiful weekend day to go but we always seemed to have something going on. So when Grandma B mentioned a trip the zoo I jumped on it and wouldn't let Kevin find a reason why it wouldn't work! It was a great day! The crowds were perfect, the weather was perfect, and Mckinley loved it! :) What else could you hope for in your first trip to the zoo?

This little guy was in the parking lot....Mckinley was in love!

Mckinley called these guys (red foxes) "bood boy"--her name for Max! :) They do look a lot alike.

Mckinley was NOT impressed with these guys at all, but I thought it was a neat picture anyway.

The highlight of the zoo trip was by far the polar bears though....



She was in awe..."bear!!"



Another first at our trip to the zoo was a ride on the carousel! She thought it was pretty neat...a little apprehensive, but she still thought it was fun getting to ride on a "horse"!

Our first trip to the zoo was a huge success and we plan on making the trip again MANY more times!

We ended our day with a fun lunch on the water, and then Kevin and Grandpa D got a lot of "to-do" projects done around the house---which really helped with my need for things to be ready when this baby gets here! :)

What a great weekend spent with a lot of wonderful people!

The Amazing Growing Girl

Today we had Mckinley's 19 month appointment and the results are in...Mckinley is still a giant! :) She actually has had a crazy growth spurt in height (she is well above the 95% at 34.5") and is still chugging along in the 95% for weight (29.5lbs)--at least she is proportional! All those green beans and peas are doing her little body good I guess.

Apparently all her books are doing her good too because she is already hitting the 2 year milestones for her verbal communication---that list of words Kevin made a while back in response to my "bragging" post has more than doubled! :) She is still holding out on saying love though---how difficult can that be? You can say purple but not love? I don't believe it!

Now we just need to work on the playing nice (something we manage half the time) and the dreadful potty training--which I am terrified of. I don't think she is quite ready to start with the whole no diaper/toilette thing but it isn't too far off either. I'm holding off as long as I can! At the same time though, potty training is not really something I want to be in the thick of when we have newborn either.

So the appointment was a success (less one shot!) and the doc confirmed it--Mckinley is perfect in every way. Just as we thought!

Last Minute Trip to Oregon Coast

Last Thursday evening Kevin and I made a last minute decision to head down to the Oregon coast to visit Grandma B and Grandpa D. So I spent all Friday morning packing us up and we started the trip just after lunch. As always, Mckinley was a great little traveller, but we all were really glad to arrive late Friday night.

We all had a great time--Mckinley especially enjoyed getting to visit with her Grandma and Grandpa (and their dog Murphy too!). It is fun that Mckinley is getting to an age where she remembers her grandparents even after weeks of seeing them. She had a blast playing all day and getting out to see the sights on a beautiful coastal weekend.

On the way home it hit me that this would be our last trip down there just the three of us (plus Max). As I looked at our incredibly packed car I thought, "where are we going to fit another baby?". I guess I will just have to come up with some creative packing techniques! :) It seems lately like we are coming across a lot of "lasts" as a family of three. Obviously we are so excited for Kyan to get here, but at the same time we are trying to make these last couple of months with just us and Mckinley special. Soon we will have to divide up our time between the two so I really want her to get special attention now. I think this trip was a good representation of that effort. While it wasn't anything but a relaxing weekend with the grandparents, it was making memories with her at a point in time before she had siblings.

Here are some pictures of our trip:

                                                     Practicing pushing a stroller already!

Mckinley loved the crown grandma made for her!

                                              We were testing out the new double stroller that the grandparents got for us! :)

                                                                                 Yum!