Musician in the Making

Cade got a suprise in the mail today!

A late birthday present from his uncle Brad.

What is more fitting from a musician than a piano! It is so awesome and just the prefect size for a toddler, complete with a bench and sheet music stand!

His favorite songs to "play"/sing so far are "TwinkleLlittle Star" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider"

(Movie to follow)

:)

A Season of Change

Out with Summer and in with Fall/Winter!

I always love this change in the seasons and I know I have blogged about how much I love fall, so I won't bore you with it again.

We have had a lot of exciting changes in our household!
-We now have a 2 year old. Cades birthday party was so much fun. It was a blast to watch his anticipation as he understood what was going on. His excitement over a "choo choo party" was so fun and the look on his face when he saw the decorations was priceless! He had lots of friends and family join him as he turned 2.

- Cade has graduated to a twin bed! He loves it and calls it his "big boy bed". We were nervous about the transition since he would be able to get in and out as he pleases and the fact that he still wakes up at least once during the night. He suprised us and actually stays in it! He is still waking up his usual 1-2 times but he doesn't get out, just cries until Tyler or I comes in and layes him back down. (we have tried letting him cry it out but 1-2 hrs later her is still crying. Much eaiser to just lay him back down. Pick your battles right?!)

- Potty training is in full effect! Cade is doing great! No accidents the past 2 days and he even kept his pull up dry the entire drive home from Portland. He is finally telling us when he has to go which is much eaiser than taking him every 20-30 min. This week we are going with just underwear and no pull up during the day, wish us luck!

- I have taken on teaching art and technology to pre schoolers at The School of Enrichement. I started this in Sept and it is working out great. It's only Thur & Fri morning and Cade gets to go with me and participate in the pre school program which he LOVES!

- Tyler's job is going great! He is so good at what he does and passionate about getting to know and helping his clients. He is all settled into his own office. It is probably the best looking Edward Jones office there is! Tylers mom blessed him with 5 paintings to hang. 3 of them were done custom for the office and the other 2 were ones she had already done and let him display.

I am so proud of you Tyler!

- Well saving the best for last!! Our family is going to be getting bigger come April! We are SO excited to share that baby #2 is on the way. I am currently 11 weeks and finally feeling good! The first 10 weeks I was feeling pretty sick and just super tired. But I think I have turned the corner and things are much better! Our 10 week doctors appointment went great! All 3 of us went and got to hear the heart beat as well as see the little peanut on an ultrasound. Cade thought it was the greatest thing ever and still asks if we can go back to hear "baby heart beat woosh woosh!" He is going to make an AMAZING big brother! I absolutly can't wait to see him with a sybling.

Summer time

Wow is it seriously the end of August already?! If feels like the summer just got started and we are already going to be saying hello to fall! CRAZY

Well we have had a blast this summer. As you can see I have been the biggest blog slacker ever. So to not bore you by going back through the summer and detailing everything we did I will just pick a few highlights and post pictures of them.


SUMMER 1010
Mackeson Family together for Tyler & Brad's birthdaysHappy Birthday daddy!!

Floating the Deschutes River

Fun @ the Children's Festival

Swimming at Juniper

Together with my sis & bro

Riding the Carousel at Salem Waterfront
He LOVED it and rode about 5 times in a row :)

My sister & her boys came to spend 3 days with us!
So much fun!

Outside listening to the thunder storm

Wow is it seriously the end of August already?! If feels like the summer just got started and we are already going to be saying hello to fall! CRAZY

Well we have had a blast this summer. As you can see if I been the biggest blog slacker ever. So to bore you from going back through the summer and detailing everything we did I will just pick a few to highlight and post pictures of.

Little Drummer Boy

One of Cade's favorite things is music. He tries to sing along to every song and actually has a few down pretty good. He also loves to walk around and beat on his drums. Yesterday he played them pretty much ALL day. While he was drumming away he was making up songs and it sounded like he was singing them in Chinese! It was so cute to watch!

Here he is drummin away!

A Mother is Always Praying

These 7 verses were shared at my cousins baby shower this weekend. As moms we never stop worrying about our kids no matter how old they are. Instead of worrying I am challenged to pray these prayers over Cade throughout the day or when I feel myself consumed with worry over him. Ultimately Cade is the Lords and He has given him to Tyler and I to raise and care for. It is my job to pray for him and give him back up to the Lord daily.

1. When they wake up: "Let the morning bring (child's name) word of your unfailing love, for she has put her trust in You. Show (her/him) the way (she/he) should go, for to you (he/she) lifts up her soul." (Adapted from Psalm 143:8)

2. When they are getting dressed: "Therefore, as God's chosen child, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Lord, help (him/her) bear with others and forgive whatever grievances (he/she) has against others. Help (him/her) forgive as the Lord forgave (him/her). And over all these virtues, help (him/her) put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." (Adapted from Colossians 3:12-14)

3. While they are eating: "Teach (child's name) the secret of being content in any and every situation whether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. Teach (him/her) that (he/she) can do everything through him who gives (him/her) strength." (Adapted from Philippians 4:12-13)

4. When they go out of the house: "(Name of child), do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-His good, pleasing and perfect will." (Adapted from Romans 12:2)

5. While they are taking a bath: Lord, give (name of child) clean hands and a pure heart, and let (him/her) not lift (his/her) soul to an idol or swear by what is false. Let (him/her) receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God (his/her) Savior. Let (him/her) be part of the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob. (Adapted from Psalm 24:4-6)

6. When they are going to bed: "The Lord Your God is with you; he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, be will rejoice over you with singing." (Zephaniah 3:17)

7. While they are sleeping: "I pray that (name of child) will do everything without complaining or arguing, so that he/she may become blameless and pure, a child of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which he/she shines like a star in the universe as he/she holds out the word of life-in order that he/she may boast on the day of Christ that he/she did not run or labor for nothing." (Adapted from Philippians 2:14-16)

A fun day

One thing I love about being a mom is that I get to make up the rules!

I am usually very picky about what Cade eats and I try to make sure he gets all of
the food groups in, but some days you just need to throw all of it out the window!
That is exactly what we did today! As we were out getting a few things for dinner
I thought it would be fun to get an ice cream cone to share with Cade. It was about 5
o'clock and we would be having dinner in about an hour, but I didn't care! We pulled into McDonalds and got a big cone to share. At first Cade was freaking out because it was too cold, but once I shoved it in his face he got over it and then refused to share it with me! Little stinker!
Here are some fun picts of Cade and his cone.

Easter Egg Extravaganza

This year for Easter we are staying in Bend and celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus with friends. So since it's just our little family we did some fun "spring" activities today. Today we spent the morning dying eggs with Cade. It was a fun little family project and even more fun because Cade loved it so much! He was so excited to pull the eggs out and see what they looked like, he then proceeded to tell us what color each one was! (smarty pants)

After coloring eggs we went to an egg hunt that our friends organized at the park. It defiantly did not feel like Spring with the snow flurrying. We were so freezing that it didn't last long, I think we were only there hiding/looking for eggs for about 25 min! The cold weather didn't phase Cade he wanted to keep hunting and was super sad when we loaded him back up in the car.

These activities are a lot of fun but have nothing to do with the true meaning of Easter. It has been such a great week digging in the word and reading day by day what Jesus went through to complete his mission here on earth. I am so grateful for the sacrifice the Lord made on my behalf and I can't wait to attend an amazing Church tomorrow to celebrate the Resurrection and hear the Word taught. I also feel so blessed that even though we are 3 hours away from our families and won't be together with them, we have such amazing friends here in Bend and I can't wait to spend the afternoon fellowshiping with them!

HE IS RISEN!

Eatable Birds Nests

Cade digging into his nestMessy boy!

Today we had some friends over to do a little Spring project.

I had seen this recipe on another blog and thought it looked super simple and adorable, so we tried it out.
Here is the recipe if you want to try your hand at it:

• 1 cup shredded coconut
• shredded wheat (six large "loaves")
• 2 cups milk chocolate chips
  
• cooking spray
• mini eggs
  
• muffin tin
• Recipe yields 12-15 mini nests

Step 1: Put six "loaves" of shredded wheat into a large bowl and have your child crunch them up into little tiny pieces.
Step 2: Add 1 cup of coconut to the shredded wheat, toss until mixed well.
Step 3: prep your muffin tin by spraying it with cooking spray.
Step 4: Use a double boiler (or a heat-safe bowl set over pot of bowling water) to melt 2 cups of chocolate chips.
Step 5: Pour melted chocolate over wheat mixture and mix up until the chocolate evenly coats.
Step 6: Form the nests, either in the muffin tins or on the tray. Make sure to make a little center for your eggs.
Step 7: Put in your eggs and put in the fridge to harden.

Cade at 1.5 yrs

Hi my name is Cade.

I am 1.5 yrs old.
Here is a few things about me.

I have discovered picking my nose.
I love balls.
I can identify the colors blue, green, yellow, purple & red.
I can fill in the blank for "P" & "W" when my mom sings the ABC'S.
I love being outside.
I insist on sitting in a big chair at the table during meals, no booster seat for me.
I love markers.
I have already started the "why?" stage
My favorite foods are peas, peanut butter & honey sandwiches, saltine crackers & fruit snacks.
I am putting together 2-3 word sentences. My most used phrases are "no way", "that one", "where's daddy" & "I did it"

Introducing Artists Jaxon, Jace & Cade

Snow Day

My sister and her family came to stay with us last weekend. One of the things on our agenda was to take the boys sledding. It sounded like a great idea but we were wrong... well partially wrong. Her boys Jaxon & Jace absolutly hated it while Cade loved it!! It was short lasted for there family but Tyler, Cade and I were able to stay out a little longer and let Cade sled his little heart out. Luckily Amy and Jay were able to take a few good FAST (hence Amy smacking into the snow bank) runs before there boys completely lost it.

Back in the day

So Tyler was looking through his email a few days ago and came across this gem!! It was taken while we were dating and living in Corvallis. I love 3 things about this pict:
1. You can tell how in love we are
2. We look so young!
3. It brings back memories of living in Corvallis in the Forest Green apartments with Jenna!

This picture is going to be printed out and framed somewhere in my house!!
I LOVE IT!

Yummy Potatoes

Parmesan Potato Wedges

6 med baking potatoes or red potatoes
1/3 C. butter, melted
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 C. grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning, crushed

Cut each potato lengthwise into eight wedges. In a large zip lock bag or bowl stir together butter, garlic, Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper. Add potato wedges and shake/stir to thoroughly coat. Place wedges in a baking pan lined with parchment paper or foil.

Bake uncovered in a 425 degree oven about 35 min.

Enjoy
So Yummy and easy!

My life as a stay at home mom

When I first wrote the title to this post I started listing all the "mommy duties" in my head; dirty diapers, cleaning up messes, meals, human jungle gym, play buddy, ouchy kisser.. the list could go on and on. But the real reason I write this post is to release my recent feelings for my life as a stay at home mom.
To sum it all up I would use the words blessed and satisfied. I am at a spot in life where daily I am so full of joy and content doing the things God has called me to do. In my last post I was super excited to share with everyone that I would be opening up a shop on etsy but the Lord has changed my heart about this. Over the weekend I was praying about everything while I scurrying around finishing up necklaces, trying to get pictures taken of everything, and finalizing a license for my digital projects and I was just feeling so overwhelmed and burdened by it all. My photos weren't turning out like I had hoped and the license process wasn't going smoothly and more than anything I was not enjoying it. I felt like the doors were slowly being closed and I am ok with that. Today I felt the need to put everything away and when I did I felt such a relief and a peace that my job in this season of life is to be a wife to Tyler and a mommy to Cade. I'm still going to enjoy being creative and making earrings, necklaces, scarves and scrapbooking, but I don't need the burden of keeping things in stock to sell. If those blog readers of mine out there want me to make you something I would still LOVE to do it just like I always have, but for now you won't find my stuff on etsy.

With that said I can now brag on my son! It seems like in the last month he has just taken off in all areas of his development. Because of this if feels like our lives have become much more relaxed. Some of Cade's accomplishes:
For a long time Cade wouldn't go down the stairs in our house by himself because they are abnormally steep, we have recently taught him how to go down them by himself and we no longer have to use the gate. It is so nice to have him be able to roam up and down as he pleases without Tyler or I needing to be upstairs when he is up or down when he is down.
Another accomplishment is getting rid of his paci. Thursday was the official night of taking it away. I had read the book The Sleepeasy Solution and was all prepared for the steps to take, but I stressed and worried about it all week and when Thursday finally came around I was dreading bed time. But Cade proved to us it was time to give it up, he only cried for 30 min before he soothed himself to sleep. The next day for his nap he only cried for about 5 min and ever since then he has just laid down and been totally fine without it! All my worrying for nothing!
Cade's vocabulary has just taken off as well. He is starting to put words together like "over here" he uses this a lot. The other day I had him in his chair for lunch and kept saying down, down. So I took him out of his chair and he immediately ran over to the living room coffee table and said "over here" and pointed to the table so to see if he really knew what he wanted to put his plate on the coffee table and he eat every last bit of his lunch! Little smarty pants! Some other phrases he is saying are "wheres daddy" and "where's mama".
We are now working on colors. The past 2 days we have been focusing on blue and green and so far he is doing amazing. He has over sized keys that are blue, green and orange and he I can ask him which one is blue or which one is green and he will point to the right one!
Having a toddler is so much fun, I just get overwhelmed by how fast he is growing and I don't want to miss a second of it!

Coming soon...

As you are all probably aware, I have another blog where I post all of my creations; http://dezignsbymeg.blogspot.com/, well coming soon I will be selling my creations on etsy. I am in the process of gathering everything up and loading it to my shop. I will keep you posted on the progress and when my shop is up and running.

Mackeson's 09

Merry Christmas everyone! Tyler and I are so excited to have Christmas morning at our own home, just our little family of 3. Cade can definitely tell that something is different this morning because he woke up in a crazy goofy mood! It has been so fun to watch him try to figure out what a tree is doing in our living room and why there are so many lights. He has been amazing at not touching the tree or the presents. I worried so much about that for nothing!
Tyler and I are both big on traditions, we had a few already started but are starting some new ones with Cade this year. 1 tradition we are keeping with is going into the woods and chopping down our tree and a couple new ones we are starting are, opening 1 present after church on Christmas Eve and having home made cinnamon rolls while we open presents Christmas morning. I am excited to make our Christmas meal for this afternoon. We will be feasting on ham, potatoes, asparagus, rolls, and for dessert Tiramisu cake!

This last year has been a crazy whirl wind of change. Tyler is no longer working in the construction industry for Hendrickson Homes, he has totally taken a career change and is now a financial adviser with Edward Jones. He is doing an amazing job so far and is really liking the professionalism that comes with the career change. No more jeans and t-shirts at work for him, he has upgraded to a suite and tie! The beginning of this change when Tyler was studying for his exams from home was very difficult especially with a infant in the home. But that is far behind us and Tyler passed his tests with flying colors (of course). He is currently working in the office of another financial adviser, but the beginning stages of getting his own office leased have begun. If everything goes smoothly he should have his own office in March! The funny thing about it all is, the office he is looking to lease is the same office he worked out of when working for Hendrickson Homes. Crazy how some things work.

I have been very busy this Holiday season with my little Designs By Meg side business. I was able to design Christmas cards for 4 different people as well as 2 birthday invitations, a baby shower invite as well as 3 bib necklaces. I was asked to donate a few of my things to an auction that a local school will be having in Feb so I have also been working on items for that. My goal after the holidays is to start my own little shop on at Etsy.com, I will keep you posted on when that is up and running.

Cade obviously also keeps me very busy. He is walking everywhere and talking so much. He is defiantly no longer a baby but a full blown little boy. We are currently in a rough season with him. He is very clingy and won't really play or entertain himself and is also getting a few more teeth. Teething has been an ongoing issue with Cade pretty much for a year now. We will all be thankful when all his teeth are in. Only 4 more to go!! When Cade is awake I am usually constantly engaging with him by reading stories, building with blocks, wrestling with him or tickling him, 2 of his FAVORITE things! I am so amazed at how much he knows and what all he can do. The other day he was drinking out of his sippy cup and there was another cup sitting next to him. He took his sippy cup and pretended to pour some of his milk into the other cup and give it to me to drink! I was amazed that he for 1 had the coordination to do that but that he was able to pretend already! He is so much fun and seriously one of the silliest and most goofy kids ever!

Well that is life with the Mackesons, this little post is my version of a Christmas letter :)
I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas.
God Bless!

He may be sick...

But he is still a barrel of laughs!

Cade and I have been fighting the dreaded cold for about a week, and on Sunday it finally took it's toll on us both. It's one thing to have just 1 person in the family sick, but to be the mom who is sick and have a child who is sick is NOT FUN! Needless to say Cade and I have been doing a lot of laying around, watching TV, reading books and sleeping! Even though Cade has been under the weather he still knows how to make us laugh and smile. It totally makes the days bearable and helps me over look the times when he is whining or throwing a tantrum.

So excited about his 1st taste of fruit snacks, he LOVED
them hence the drewel on his chin :)
Just being his silly self! He was copying me peaking my
head from around the camera to get him to smile.
"You lookin at me"
My little movie star

Interpreter

I have always been very good at interpreting what Cade is saying, or I should actually say Cade is just very good at communicating and using his words. However lately he has been saying 1 thing over and over and over and over and I can not for the life of me figure out what he is saying. Is sounds something like this "Mika, mika, ma". I think today alone he said it about 30 times! I have tried saying different things that sound like what he is trying to say such as "mickey, mickey mouse" or "milk, milk mama" but nothing is correct. When I repeat "mika, mika, ma" back to him, exactly as he is saying it to me he always says "YA" right back, like "ya mom that's what I'm saying!" Maybe he is just babbling and I need to give up trying to interpret, but it is so frustrating especially when I have always been able to understand his language.
He is such a crazy silly kid!!

Speaking of Interpreting here is a list of some of the new words Cade is saying:
moon
star
home
oatmeal
burr (every time we go outside! it's so funny!)
diaper
poop (he now tells us when he is poopy, potty training time!)
potty
tree
bug
Amy
box
thank you
bunny

Freezing Tree Hunt

This weekend we knew we want to go out and get our tree, however we were a little reluctant when we saw that the forecast was below freezing temperatures all weekend. We decided to just buck up and do it on Sunday after church. It was a "perfect" winter day to go tromping through the snow covered forest. It didn't take too long (PTL) for us to find our perfect tree!
Cade enjoyed the first little bit, but when we took him out of the backpack and tried to get some pictures he became a not so happy camper! (Check out the last picture it a perfect picture describing his mood)I don't blame him though 16 degrees makes me cranky too!