Thursday, June 25, 2009

Christmas in June

We live on a quiet street here in Kentucky. It it reminds me of my childhood home, with neighbors standing outside talking as they tend to their yards while their kids ride bikes and scooters up and down the street. We usually head out each evening to give McKay a breath of fresh air and a chance to pick the leaves off our trees, which he does with gleeful and reckless abandon. While we're out, we do a little weeding, chat with the neighbors, water the garden, etc. It's all pretty normal, suburbia stuff, with one slight exception.

Christmas music. Most evenings, mingled with the sound of children playing and lawns being mowed, are the strains of "Deck the Halls" and "We wish you a Merry Christmas" booming through the neighborhood. As you might imagine, my first impression was less than favorable. I thought our neighbor was totally nuts. I mean, who booms (and I do mean BOOMS) Christmas music from their front porch, especially in June? Turns out, it's actually very sweet.

Allow me to explain. Our neighbor across the street, Jim, has a grandson named Zachery. Zachery is 8 years old and has Down's syndrome. He spends most of his time at his grandpa's house and in his shadow. During the days they work together in the yard and run errands, and then, each evening, they sit on the porch. Apparently Zachery loves to dance and Christmas music is his favorite genre, so, after some length of porch-sitting (a popular pastime here in KY) on goes the music, full blast, and Zachery starts dancing. He leaps and jigs to while Grandpa Jim claps along to the beat and cheers him on.

I was outside again tonight playing with McKay to a peppy chorus of "O Come All Ye Faithful". I had to smile as I thought about Zachery, Jim, and our neighborhood's celebration of Christmas in June.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

More Birthday Pictures

Grandma Robertson's Birthday Cake Creation

It's a way of life.

Dino! Love at first sight...

Hmm... which project should I tackle first...

Birthday Party!

On Saturday we had a little party for McKay's first birthday. It was a small event, just a few of his little playmates but we all had a lot of fun, especially McKay. I'm sure he had no idea what was going on but he was all smiles--the perfect reward for our efforts.
McKay's favorite things are bubbles, balls, and balloons, so that was our theme. We filled an inflatable swimming pool with balloons and plopped all the kids inside it. They had a ball, literally.
We also had a little bubble time outside. Admittedly not the biggest hit of the day, but still fun. Only 2 out of the 3 kids cried to go inside, anyway.
It turns out that McKay has his mother's taste in food. While BJ has a major sweet tooth, I prefer salt to sweets. Apparently so does McKay. He poked at his birthday cake and eventually tried to take a bite but really wasn't interested. However, later in the day we gave him rice and beans and he gobbled them down. Funny little boy!
Anyway, the party was a lot of fun for us all. Happy Birthday McKay!

Fun in the balloon pit!

Wasn't quite sure about crawling on his knees on the concrete... can't say I blame him...

Bubbles!

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Happy Birthday McKay

So, McKay has survived his first year in the Cox household (proof that miracles do still happen). Yesterday, he had his first ever birthday party! On Friday, Rachel and Theresa spent hours planning and getting things ready while David and I spend the day riding roller coasters at King's Island.

The party was a complete success. The main attraction was the Balloon Pit -- a blow-up pool filled with balloons and balls. Long after the party was over, McKay was still having a blast in the pit. Here's a little clip of him just before bedtime last night.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009