Happy Birthday to the Mac-ster!

Last weekend was a pretty big one in my family.  I had a cousin's wedding, a niece's baby blessing, and a brother's priesthood ordination.  Since so much was happening, we decided to make the trip out to Utah to be there for the big events.   But don't tell McKay that--he was convinced we were making the trip strictly so that he could celebrate his birthday with his Grammie and Tooge, Grandma and Grandpa, and cousins.  And really, I think the kid is on to something--two sets of grandparents, two birthday cakes, and two mountains of presents!  Smart boy!

We celebrated McKay's birthday on Sunday since Monday, his actual birthday, we would be in the car all day driving back to Colorado.  

First up, the party with my family.

Funny story:  in the days and weeks preceding his birthday, whenever we asked McKay what he wanted, his response was usually, "A belt."  And every Sunday when Ty donned his belt to wear to church, McKay would say, "Maybe I can have a belt for my birthday, or something like that."  His Aunt Ash was so happy to oblige him!

After party #1, we headed up to Salt Lake to have another party with the Marchants.

McKay and his cousin, Benjamin, who were born less than 24 hours apart.

Let me tell you how McKay's actual birthday began on Monday morning.  We were getting ready to head home, and I was getting myself ready for the day in my parent's upstairs bathroom.  The boys were playing a game on the floor outside the bathroom.  My parents have a two-story foyer and family room, with a balcony upstairs that overlooks it.  Well, as I was applying make-up, my cell phone rang downstairs, so I ran to get it.  It was my dad, who was calling with a small favor.  I was on the phone with him for not more than three or four minutes.  After I hung up, I heard McKay saying, "Mom save me.  Mom save me."  His voice didn't sound panicky or urgent in the least.  I went into the family room and looked up to see my little boy perched precariously on the OUTSIDE of the railing of the second-story balcony!  He was blissfully unaware of the serious danger he was in, and the unforgivingly hard tile waiting for him should he let go.  I had one of those heart-in-your-throat moments, and started running upstairs to reach him.  Then, I thought better of my decision, and ran to stand under him to "spot" him, because I felt like he would fall before I could get to him.  I yelled to Adam, who was still sleeping upstairs, and I am sure my voice sounded both urgent and panicky, because he was there amazingly fast.  He grabbed McKay and pulled him to safety before any harm was done.  It took me a good half hour to calm down after the incident and get my heart beating at a normal pace again.

And that's McKay for you.  He keeps me on my toes All. The. Time.  I'm never quite sure what stunt he will pull next.  At the same time, he has an incredibly sweet side that I adore.  He loves to snuggle with me, and he is still my right-hand man.  There is seldom a night that goes by that he doesn't have a chair pushed up to the counter so that he can help me prepare dinner.  And I seriously adore that about him.  So, I will certainly get a few prematurely gray hairs at the hand of this guy, but I absolutely love him and his fun personality!