ONE YEAR OLD!

It's hard to believe it's already been one year. It seems like just yesterday we were counting the minutes in anticipation of her arrival. In celebration of Lulu's first year, we had a Ladybug party for our little bug.  Mommy and Daddy spent many hours making red pom poms out of yarn to have flying ladybugs hanging from the ceiling.  (It's harder than it looks!)

Ladybugs were everywhere!  Marching up the walls, hanging from the ceiling, clinging to the fridge, and lounging on the furniture.  They even showed up on the cake!

Speaking of which, we really thought our ladybug would be more interested in her sweet treat than she was.  True she appreciated the artistry (and was attracted to the flame).

But soon she was swarmed with a bunch of crazed cake pushers!  Maybe this ladybug doesn't have such a sweet tooth.

At the end of the day it was a great start to this whole birthday thing.  She may have liked the paper and boxes more than the presents, but she definitely loved her guests (best buddy Julian, Henry, Faye, Scott, Aunt Becky) and of course, as always, her doting big brother.....

It's been an amazing year.  Looking forward to many more.

The Blair Lulu Project

School Daze.

First Day of School:

Second Day of School:

Playing hooky?  No, nothing like that.  The first day of school fell on a Wednesday and then Thursday and Friday were holidays.  What to do?  Escape to Southampton for a final hurrah, of course!  The weather was insanely beautiful.  Warm days and cool nights.  Happy kids, amazingly fresh seafood and another great time at our beloved beach.  Cavan found the most amazing treasure ever in the sand....a fully intact seahorse that has since been framed and placed in the kids room.  Good going Big Bro!!

A super cute and always silly little sister approves and can't wait to follow in her beach combing brother's footsteps.  She's getting there!

xx 

The Summer-is-Over-We're-Ready-for-Fall-McHales

Eating. It's a Messy Job but Someone's Got to Do It.

Oh, No. Here We Go!

The Peppermint Pipers Reunion Concert!

All dressed up for Jeanie's Peppermint Pipers concert!  Sitting in Daddy's lap waiting for the fun to begin.

 The show began and Little Lulu was entranced.  Music and singing and lots of energetic fun!

The Peppermint pipers rock!

Southampton, Part Deux.

We had such a wonderful time in June that when the opportunity presented itself we just had to get back to Southampton.  Unfortunately we were minus one teammate (Cavan is at Lake Ontario for Papa Papa's memorial) but a good time was had nonetheless.

We settled right back into our fantastic beach routine:  wake up with the sun (oh, wait, no that's wake up with the crowing of the Lulu).  Coffee for parents.  Breakfast for the little creatures.  Then load into the VW bus and head for the beach.  Dogs and kids play in the sand.  Peanut continues to impress with her sheer guts and athleticism.  She's an excellent surfer with razor sharp focus trained on a fuzzy green tennis ball.  Roxie prefers to relax in the sand and just do nothing.

After an hour or so we head back for Lulu's nap time.  Scrabble and lunch for mommy and daddy. Maybe even a nap for ourselves.

In the afternoon its to town for some lunch and window shopping or back to the beach (which we never, ever tire of).  After some sun and fun comes the arduous task of deciding on dinner.  With the resident chef on board one needs never to worry about going hungry (or hating the meal!).  A trip to our favorite purveyor of fresh seafood yields not only an amazing dinner but a true education on sea creatures you never dreamt of.  We love this place.  We love each other.  Rough life.

xx
The McHales

The Perfect End to a Perfect Vacation

What do you do when you're sun drenched, sleepy and far from your bed and favorite stuffed animal?  You siesta on the warm skin of your most awesome Daddy and dream of seashells with lullaby waves.  Heaven.

Beach House Amenities

So you rent a beach house in Southampton and you're going to expect a few things.  Fresh towels, a beach permit, a clean kitchen to cook your fresh seafood...stuff like that.  But how many families can say their house came with a first class Darth Vadar mask?

OK, OK....so we've been coming here for a few years now and the house (and mask) actually belong to our friend Michael.  But who are we to buck tradition?  It wouldn't be a party if someone didn't rock the Darth face.

Lulu, in true fashion, was curious but overall unfazed.

Simple Pleasures

Miles of unfettered, unpolluted and unpopulated sand.  A smashing new turquoise swimsuit and a happy, happy Mommy.

A beautiful Big Brother who learned to love Boogie Boarding and the genius of early morning, sunny, crisp surf.

And treasures more valuable than diamonds.

I Went to the Montauk Lighthouse and All I Got Was This Lousy Picture

So we decide to do something touristy for a change and go to the awesome, historic lighthouse on Montauk but do we snap a pic of the actual structure?  NO! Instead we take a photo of this beautiful weed in the mist.

Great Kids + Beautiful Beach = Blissful First Family Vacation

School ended for Big Brother Cavan Shane the last week of June and we hightailed it outta here for our first ever, solo family vacation to Southampton.  This picture pretty much sums it up.  

xx

-The Macs

Jailbreak!

Warden, warden....get me some milk!  6:30am wakeup calls in the "clink" are tough (on the parents). But this week I mastered standing up in this thing.  It won't be long before I make a clean getaway......

xx

-Lulu Mac

A Slice of Texas Heaven

So many new things to see at Grandma's house.  Famed Longhorn cows live next door. Butterflies flutter about (Hi GMB!).  And the back deck of Grandma's house is like a Balinese oasis (lovingly tended to by Grandpa).  You literally feel like you're sitting in a beautiful, lush tree house listening to a Lincoln Center-worthy symphony of cicadas, tree frogs and....other stuff (that howl when the sky goes dark and fills with Texas stars).

Plus, you have your own private bathing suite in Grandma's fresh, clean and yummy smelling laundry room.  LUXURY!

The Littlest McHale "luvs" her Grandma and Grandpa Owings AND her Texas heritage!

(We'll be back soon to enjoy the new boat on Lake Texoma....)

xx

Over the River and Through the Woods to Grandmother's House We Go...

The occasion was a visit to Grandma's house and a tribute to my beloved Grandma Billye.   It was Lulu's first time on an airplane.  Luckily she had her older, wiser Big Brother along to show her the ropes.  Between the two of them they managed to charm the entire crew thus making the whole affair infinitely less stressful on the 'rents.

The first of many journeys.....

xx
Mama Mac

Tinker Toys.

I left her to play with her keys and boxes while I went into the kitchen to fix her a bottle.  I heard some clatter around the corner and look what I found.  Miss Lu crawling over to dig into her tinker toys.  She loves using them as drum sticks.  We have a feeling this one is going to be into EVERYTHING.

It's official. She's mobile.

Now the dogs have something else to worry about.....being terrorized by a MOBILE 8-month-old.  We wish you the best, girls!

And.....back to the kids.

Dick Tracy?  Elwood Blues?  Wrong.  Michael Jackson.  Cavan and Mommy are working intently on the moves for Billie Jean.  No routine is complete without the proper attire.

Enough about the kids!

This is what WE get when the little ones go down.

That's a dollop of hot sauce in the mayo for the vat of crispy fries we share.

BBQ chicken with grilled corn hash and artichoke hearts.

Memorial Day Merry-Go-Round

Today commemorated many things for many people.  For the McHale Family it marked the first ever carousel ride for Miss Lulu (who was, perhaps, not as impressed as her mommy).  It was a gorgeous day in a brand new stretch of park along the Hudson River in Chelsea.  This morning we were sad to see Grandma leave after a wonderful Memorial Day weekend filled with hugs, love, laughter and some tears as we remembered Grandma Billye who "let go of the grass" one week ago.  But this afternoon we found plenty of reasons to smile and enjoy life.  What a wonderful end to a beautiful weekend with family.

-The Macs

The Devil In Miss Lulu

Lulu has always been a shameless flirt with Henry, but this is just too much.  We're locking her up!

-DaddyMac

Dining Al Fresco, Lulu Joins The Clean Plate Club

It's tough being this cool.

Easy Rider

So, today was Lulu's first day on a bike and love was in the air.

We packed up lunch and cruised down to Battery Park for a picnic, where Cavan got goofy.

And Daddy got to sit in pure adoration with his girls.

And with all of the days activity, Lulu was exhausted and slept the whole ride home.

WOW!

A pretty new dress and a two hour nap.  Life is good!

Dreaming of Martha Graham?

Last night Daddy went in to check on the baby and found our little sleeping beauty starring in her own sleeping ballet.  Nice form Lulu.

Ahhhh, Spring.

It's finally here.  Showers, warm sunshine, some green growing in the rooftop garden.  And New Yorkers already complaining about the heat.  Bring on the baby pool and burger parties!
xx
The Mac/Miller Family

Eating Up My Minutes

If this continues I'm definitely going to have to get a new Sprint plan.  Just think what will happen when she really figures out how to use this thing....
-MamaMac