Look Alikes

When Mckay was born, everyone told me that he looked just like Chase, or his Grandpa England.  I still have, to this day, only had one person tell me that Mckay looks like me (that's you Rachel!)  This doesn't bother me because I agree with this statement.  I think Mckay definitely looks like Chase.  And then when Logan was born, in spite of his dark hair, the main comment is that he looks just like Mckay!   Judge for yourself by these pictures:

This is Mckay when he was about 3 weeks old . . .

And this is Logan.  I think they really do look a lot alike!  And while I'm on the subject of look-alikes, here is a picture of me when I was about three and here is a more recent photo of Mckay.  Take away the dark hair and the awesome '80's clothes, and don't you think that maybe Mckay got some of my genes after all?

  

Three Weeks

I love my boys

Logan Todd England

I have lots of Christmas things I am planning to blog about, but before I do that, I need to post about the newest member of our family!

Logan Todd England was born January 29, 2011 at about 12:30 p.m.  This labor and delivery, unlike Mckay's, was a planned induction.  It was nice to get a full night's sleep before, get dressed, showered, and ready, and then calmly drive to the hospital!  I was admitted and started on petosin at about 9:00 a.m.  For the first two and a half hours or so, things progressed normally.  The last hour I started to feel a little uncomfortable, and I noticed that my contractions were coming less than a minute apart.  However (and I will blame the drugs!) I didn't think anything of it until I suddenly realized that this baby was coming any minute!  So we quickly rounded up the nurses and doctor, and about 15 minutes later Logan was born!  At 6 lbs 1 oz. and 19 1/2 inches, he's just a little guy, but so cute!  So far he and I have both done very well, and he is a great eater.
We love having Logan in our family, and are proud to be the parents of two wonderful boys.

Me right before leaving for the hospital.

Our first really good shot of baby Logan.  Check out that dark hair!

I love my family!

Temple Square

So ever year my family goes to Temple Square in December to see the lights, hear one of my siblings perform with their high school choir in the tabernacle, and, at least this year, celebrate my Dad's birthday.  This year was especially fun for us, because we only live 10 minutes from downtown, making it fun AND an easy commute!
We started off the evening by going out to dinner as a family to celebrate my dad's birthday.  We found this nice little sandwich shop just south of Temple Square in the new City Creek shopping area.  Next, we wandered around Temple Square, got a few pictures, and then went to the old Tabernacle to hear Anne sing with her high school choir.  They sounded beautiful (from what I could hear, as Mckay was not the quietest of audience members).
We then headed back to our apartment for cake and ice cream.  I am proud to say that our little apartment building was able to fit 13 people inside of it (including two babies not yet born), with only one person who had to sit on the floor.  Not bad, University Village!  It was fun to visit with everyone.  I like traditions like these because our lives change so much from year to year that having these annual activities helps me to realize that though where we live and what we're doing may change, our love of family and the Christmas season stays the same.

Mckay

As I am slowly but deliberately checking of my lllooonnnngggg list of things to do this December, I feel like my mind and activities are centered on Christmas and baby #2 an awful lot.  Both are wonderful, exciting things, but sometimes I am afraid that in the midst of shopping, wrapping, cleaning, organizing, nesting, washing, writing, mailing, etc., that I am not really LOOKING at my little companion of all these activities.
Mckay is my little shadow and, with Chase, my best friend.  He loves to be with his mom, and I would not have it any other way.  So I decided to take a break in the midst of all the "stuff" that clutters up our lives, and talk about Mckay.

Mckay is a happy little boy.  I feel like his default setting is to be happy, busy, and extremely interested in everything.  Mckay loves to figure out how things work, and whether it's how to take a pen lid off and put it back on, or figuring out how the flashlight turns on, he keeps me on my toes with his constant "want to know" attitude.

Mckay's number one love right now is the "choo-choo train".  Because we live right near Trax, I rarely get in the car without hearing a very excited voice in the back of my car shout out "choo-choo train!  Choo-choo train!" at least once an outing.  He has become quite good at this.  He used to yell that whenever a bus, the garbage truck, or any other large vehicle came by, but now he knows exactly what is and is not a train.  He will spend ours playing with his little wooden train set, and I can find it in the bathroom, bedroom, or under the couch with regular frequency.

Mckay has discovered and loved the "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" show on Disney Junior.  I love that he loves this, because it comes on in the morning and gives me a chance to shower, dress, and do my hair with relatively little interruption.  Occasionally as I am fixing my hair, I will hear him get up and do the "hot-dog" dance with the characters at the end of the show.  I try not to let him watch too much TV, but this is a great break for both he and I.

Mckay has decided that he will no longer let ANYONE help him eat his food.  He is really pretty good about using a fork, but he still struggles a bit with a spoon.  I blame myself. . . for a long time I didn't let him use a spoon because I didn't want the big mess, but now I know for baby #2 that no matter when you let them use the spoon, they WILL make a mess, so I might as well get it over with before they figure out that throwing soup on the walls is funny . . .

Mckay loves to watch and play sports with Chase.  Chase taught him "down, set, HIKE!"  Mckay will assume the position, and then, at the right time, will run as fast as his little legs will carry him.  I think he has his dad's speed, because I have a hard time keeping up with him!  Maybe that will change when I am no longer pregnant, but boy that kid can move!

Mckay loves to pray.  No matter if he's throwing a temper tantrum, about to eat, or ready for bed, Mckay will always drop what he is doing and fold his arms.  I am proud of this little boy, because I really do think that even at this young age, he recognizes what is good and follows it.

We love you, Mckay!

Thanksgiving Week

I love Thanksgiving.  It's family time, food, and time off work and school.  What more could we want?  We started the traditions early this year.  The Saturday before Thanksgiving we went to what Chase affectionately calls "Eastern Nevada" (out past Eureka) to chop down a Christmas tree.  The trip was very fun, and made extra adventurous by being very muddy.  We literally slipped and slid around while driving to and from this activity, but the hot chocolate and doughnuts were yummy, the company great, and the Christmas trees beautiful!

 The Sainsbury women busy cheering their husbands/brothers while they loaded the Christmas trees in the trailer.

 I'm not sure who enjoyed snuggling more, Mckay or Grandma.  Either way, they kept each other warm:)

We continued the Thanksgiving traditions next Wednesday.  We headed down to St. George Wednesday night.  There, we spent Thanksgiving in Zion's Lodge, just feet from beautiful Zion National Park.  I loved spending Thanksgiving morning enjoying a beautiful hike down Riverside Walk.

 We ate our Thanksgiving Feast at a wonderful buffet.  It had all the traditional Thanksgiving foods and no dishes to do afterwards:)

Mckay had a blast with his grandparents, aunts, and uncles.  This was a fabulous day!  I am thankful for my family, the time they spend with us, and the love that we share for one another.

Has it really been 3 years?

Technically, it's not our anniversary until the 26th, but today we are celebrating it to avoid it overlapping with a wedding and Thanksgiving.  So, since it's the day we celebrate and give gifts, it will also be the day I reminisce about it. . .

 I can't believe it's been three years since we've been married. . . it's weird to think that less than 5 years ago I didn't even know who Chase was, because now I can't imagine life without him!

Love you, Chase.