To someone who doesn't know any better these pictures just look like the typical older sibling/baby pictures. Okay, well, maybe they are just that. BUT this moment is pretty monumental in our house. You see, Mack does NOT like to get close to Whitman, and until this moment, absolutely refused getting his picture taken with him. This, fingers crossed, is the turning point. 

 It's not that Mack hated Whitman, he actually was quite indifferent to the kid. I think it was a mixture of being a little skeptical of this new baby, mixed with his personal space issues (which he inherited from his mom) that made him go street rat crazy whenever we tried to attempt these pictures. So as you can see, this is clearly a big deal. 

 I love these boys. 

We moved last month and it has been a whirlwind of craziness.  I am so scatterbrained and I hate that feeling.  So in an attempt to sort through the last few months, here are some old pictures of our doings. 

 Mack mowing the lawn with Daddy. A weekly ritual. 

 Whitman growing cuter by the day, sitting in his favorite Monkey Chair. 

 This picture is from the 4th of July. This year our 4th was pretty low key. Very low key actually. My sister Deanna, brother in law Michael, and their two kids came over and had homemade pizza with us in the evening. When they left we all went for a dip in the pool, and then Mack and Cody sat on the roof and watch nearby fireworks. Mack was in heaven and kept telling Cody. "I love you Daddy. This is fun Daddy." over and over again. Very Cute. Me and Whit had patriotic pandora going (I bet you didn't even know that existed... but it definitely does, and it's amazing.. on the 4th anyway). Such a fun relaxing day. 

Like I said we all went for a dip. clothing optional. ... for Mack, not me and Cody, that would be strange. We are not a nudist family. 

Whitman just went to his 4 month appointment and I'm happy to report he is no longer a little ball. (at his 2 month appointment his height was 25% and his weight was 75%)

Now Whit has graduated to an oval. (Height 60% weight 75%) 

... still fat, just a little less fat. story of my life. 

Whit's head is still oddly shaped. It looks pretty strange. I was hoping that the doctor would want to put a helmet on him. I'm tired of worrying about manipulating his head placement so he is laying on the "right side." But she said she wanted to try physical therapy first. We'll see how that turns out. Whit is still a dream, but a little cranky these last couple days after his shots. What a drag.

Life with two kids isn't as hard as I had expected, partly because Whit is so good, but probably also because he is still in the easy phase. 

I was looking through mine and Cody's phones and there were a billion pictures on them, so I thought I would compile them for  a 'what we've been doing this month' post. 

Mack's summer Hair. Craaaazy

 Jaxon, my brother-in-law graduated from Mountain View.

 Cody and Whit at graduation. 

 ...and again.

 I started making my own baby food, thanks to my handy dandy vitamix. 

 Just lunching it up at Costco. 

 Having fancy dates with the most amazing man in the world. 

 Playing at my brother's new house. It is breathtaking! Great job Ken and Monica.

 Looking at this cute little face every day.

 Watching the solar eclipse through welding masks. 

 An Hallelujah shout out for maxi dresses and skirts.  

 I braided Reagan's hair (Mack's cousin) but he felt left out until.. 

 I'm sure no one reading this plays pinochle, other than my Dad, which is who we beat with a score of 1,200 to -1,500. Start learning how to cheat Dad, because that is the only way you have a chance. 

 Again with this face... it kills me. 

 Cody bought me a edible arrangements bouquet for our anniversary. I've never had one but I've always wanted one. And it didn't disappoint. 

 I tried to recreate it a few days later for Jaxon's graduation party. Mine didn't look nearly as good. 

 Homemade rolls are the best. The only downside is that I end up eating the entire pan

 THAT FACE!!! ...he loves his bath (when he gets one)

 Again with the model poses. He is the best looking boy in the entire world. I should get him into the modeling world. 

HAAAAA. I can't not laugh when I see this picture. 

So here is Whit as of late. Just hangin out. Still same old. You know, the perfect baby that every other mom should hate me for having. I. love. this. kid. and cute to boot.

 This is the typical baby comparison picture, but wait.. there is a twist, you see this isn't my husband, nor my oldest son. This is a picture of my brother-in-law Jaxon. 

What the, weird right?! 

The resemblance is creepy to me. Does anyone else see it?

 I feel like I'm taking crazy pills. 

It has been a long time since I have done an update on Mack, so here I go.

Where to even start with my little Mack buddy. 3 year olds are so much fun, and extremely exhausting.

::Quirks::

Mack has a lot of funny quirks, his newest obsessions are mannequins and American flags. I may hang my head in shame at the obsession of mannequins. He LOVES them. He asks to go to the mall every day so he can 'go see the mannequins!!' It's not like I am a frequent at the mall. - in fact I dislike the mall. Especially with small children! I avoid it. so his asking for mannequins is strange to say the least. When he gets around mannequins he gets super excited and jumps all around SCREAMING 'there it is! there is a mannequin! and ANOTHER one.. and ANOTHER one..as he sees the huge amounts of mannequins in the stores! .. the store workers think we are absolute freaks and I am totally embarrassed as they all die laughing. ugh, one more reason to avoid the malls.

American Flags - This one just makes me laugh, but is still annoying that he points out EVERY American flag he sees while we are driving. Cody got him to chant 'U.S.A. - U.S.A!' every time he sees one. and then it is followed up with him saying 'United States of America' 'Mack is an American, Mommy is an American'.. etc with every person he can think of' -and no, he never deviates from this order.

Mack is also terrified of toys or anything that makes noises on its own including, but not limited to, the buzzer on the drier, the ice machine when the ice falls, the air conditioning, and most of all CLOCKS! Heaven forbid your clock chimes because my son will freak out. He timidly walks through the Huffaker's front room because there is a grandfather clock in there. Even though they turned off the chimes weeks ago he is still terrified and has to remind himself that it is a "nice, happy, quiet clock." Once, I left a regular clock in his room (long story) and even though it didn't make any noise other than ticking once Mack realized it was in there he started WAILING "TAKE IT OUT!!"

::Mack and Whit::

I still haven't gotten a picture of these two together yet by themselves, simply because Mack refuses to be close to Whitman. It's not that he hates Whit, I think he is just scared of him. He will talk to Whit if he is on the other side of the room, but he just doesn't want him anywhere near him. ..I don't really mind, because I don't have to worry about Mack hitting or smothering Whit, so it's a win for me. 

Mack is still super smart. He is obsessed with planets and usually does a good job naming all of them. He is starting to read and we are putting words together to make sentences. He likes the idea of doing math and has mastered simple problems. 

Mack is also smart at manipulation. Once when I was extremely frustrated/mad at him and was guilting him to no end, he looked at me and said, "I am a child of God." 

Also, Winnie the Pooh has been a scapegoat for when something makes me mad. 

When Mack does something that he knows will make me mad he will look at me and say 'Good gravy child.' 

When we are in the car and I slam on the brakes for any reason he will shout 'Seriously!' 

Mack's favorite things to do are to do 'bonks with Daddy' (falling on the bed)

Look for Lennies (his name for Lizards) that are "nocturnal"  

Catching and Throwing anything

Looking for airplanes, Firetrucks, helicopters, police cars, and the stars at night

Watching Daddy do 'White Face' (shaving) 

Seeing ANY live animated character (Disney Cruise was Heaven on Earth)

Mack is still very much a literal kid. Not too much imagining. Whenever he imagines anything we strongly encourage it and celebrate because this kid needs it! Sleeping has gotten a little more rough now that he has figured out he can get out of his bed on his own (I don't know how we got away without him doing this for so long) but now he creeps out of his room every chance he gets. His usual time that he wakes up is between 5:45 and 6:00 no matter what time he goes to sleep for the night. Kill. Me. Now. ..we are working on that. 

I know this post has been long, but really I have so much to say about this kid. The funny stories and funny things he says are endless. I could fill a book. I love Mack so much and even though I am exhausted most of the time I absolutely LOVE this little boy. Stop growing Mack.. well, grow till you sleep in a little more, and THEN stop growing. 

The trifecta of Huffaker Men in my life. 

THAT blue dress

Lets Back Up..

Last year Cody told me about a law school banquet coming up that we "needed to go to." Oh yeah, and its "cocktail dress." 

This sprung instant fear into my unfashionable heart. I am the kind of girl who shouts out a hallelujah if my hair isn't in a pony tail, which, let's face it, it always is.

So, I called on my adorable and very fashionable mother-in-law to guide me through this dark situation. She was gracious enough to spend many painful hours (for her) trying to find something for me to wear that was appropriate and not hideous on me. (it's a task)

After a while we stumbled on this dress that I immediately fell in love with. It's cute right!? 

I also found some over the top, kill me now they are so adorable black super tall heals.

Then the night before the banquet I heard the news of, "I don't think I want to go anymore." Even though the kid did have some good reasons, I was sad to skip out on the night. AND I REFUSED (rightly so, I think) to take back the dress and heals.

The heals I wear all the time, because they are adorable. But how often have I needed a cocktail dress in the past year? Not even once. (not that I am surprised) I am not proud of the fact that I remind Cody about the 'blue dress incident' quite frequently. But come on guys... a blue fabulous cocktail dress sitting in my closet untouched. 

Then a miracle happened. Cody, being the wonderful husband that he is, informed me that he wanted to take me out on Saturday for Mother's Day, that his parents were already planning on watching the kids, and that I should wear 'the blue dress.'

I didn't know what he had planned, but was super stoked to not only go on a date with the most handsome man in the world, but also to be able to finally put my blue dress to use.

Last Saturday our date started in down town phoenix were Cody took me to see his office. (we were parked under his building since he gets free parking there, so it wasn't out of the way.) the building was beautiful and I loved seeing his office. It made the whole job thing official in my mind, which was great.

Then we walked a couple blocks to Symphony Hall and got to see Olga Kern play Rachmaninoff's 4th concerto. It was truly amazing. Even though it isn't my favorite of his concertos (I go back and forth between number 2 & 3) It was so incredibly beautiful. I love that even though we didn't NEED to wear such formal clothes (but I in no way felt out of place) Cody went through great lengths to make it special for me. Best. Husband. Ever.

Today we are celebrating our 6th year anniversary. I can truly say it has been the best 6 years of my life. I love being married to Cody simply because I get an excuse to be around him as much as possible. I love you Cody..

 I swore that I would take just as many pictures of my second child as I did my first, but let's face it, that just hasn't happened. I partly blame it on the fact that I lost my memory card, and have to greatly thank my father-in-law Darin for taking all these pictures for me. But I also blame it on the fact that Whitman is SO DANG GOOD!! Seriously, it's not that I forget about him chilling quietly in the corner, but.... I just forget about him chilling quietly in the corner. He is so low maintenance it's disturbing (and glorious). He is absolutely beautiful and will smile instantly, although I must admit that his frowny face it more rare, and therefor equally as endearing.  (he has inherited my over exaggerated frown, it is hysterical..and unfortunate for him) 

At Whit's 2 month apt it was revealed to me that he is short and fat

Height - 25%

Weight - 75%

This is so unlike Mack I don't know what to do with the kid. He has fat rolls!! They are glorious! Mack was very tall and very skinny and never had any extra fat on him (still doesn't) 

Whit is a champ at eating and is sleeping really great too. Last night he went to sleep around 9 and woke up at 6:45, although that is a little longer than usual, I am hoping it's a trend.  

Last week Whitman was blessed by his Daddy in church. It was a beautiful blessing. I am so proud of my two boys. (especially proud of Cody for being able to hold this chunky kid for the entire blessing). 

 The Fam.

 Mack is now loving to stick his fingers, and sometimes his entire hand in his mouth... don't get me started. And I am wearing the necklace my Nana gave me after she passed away. 

Miss you Nana. 

 Huffaker Grandparents 

 Theriot Grandparents.. I think me and my Dad are both grabbing Cody's butt in this picture.. I wonder  which one was more inappropriate. Like father like daughter eh Dad?

 Look how beautiful my brother and his family are! Seriously Monica, how is it that you are super pregnant and still allowed to be that gorgeous! 

The whole crew. Thanks to everyone for the great support you give us! 

Mack had a blast on the Disney Cruise and loved a lot of things.. ice cream, lemonade, the boat, the beach, and all his cousins... but his favorite thing BY FAR were all the characters! This little man was in Heaven! Believe it or not I didn't even include all the character pictures, only my favorite ones. (there are still a bajillion)

Do I even need to mention the fact that a Disneyland trip is already being planned for the fall.