Thanksgiving Weekend Recap

Last Weeks Activities

Hey guys! I am so sorry it has been over a week since my last post. I had every intention of doing it several times this week and ended up just going to bed instead. Let me fill you in on whats being happening in the McLaughlin household.

Last week, Delainey had her Thanksgiving show and feast at school. She was a pilgrim and did a great job singing all of the songs. After the performance we went to the gym for a Thanksgiving feast. It was yummy! Both Grandmas got to attend this year too so that was nice. We even brought Georgia along.

 Saturday, Delainey and I did some shopping and then went to her friend Daltyn's birthday party. It was at a Cupcake store and she got to decorate her own cupcakes. Talk about a sugar high.

Then that evening we dropped the girls off for a sleepover with Gammoe and Dave & I had a date night down in St. Augustine. We ate dinner at the Tasting Room and then had drinks at the Floridian which were delish!

 Sunday we had family pictures at the park in the back of an old pick up truck. Stay tuned for a post on those in a few weeks!

 And lastly, we helped serve a thanksgiving meal to the Veterans on Tuesday at our church. They had way too many volunteers so we ended up just sitting down with a family and eating dinner and talking with them. It was cool to meet some new people and hear about his war stories.

I'll be back with a post about our Thanksgiving weekend on Sunday since I took barely any pictures yesterday. :( I hope you all had a great thanksgiving! I know I have LOTS to be thankful for! :) 

House Update...We have a patio!

Things are moving along! They told us we would be in the house 100% by Christmas... I don't believe it. I feel like there is just so much left to do still and they are not working very quickly. It's like 3 steps forward and 1 step back because something wasn't done properly. I'm hoping it will happen, but I am surely not holding my breath. 

All cabinets are in and I am obsessed with my custom hood I had them design! Still waiting on the glass and hardware in the kitchen cabinets. Hopefully counters will be here soon too! 

 The master bath tile has been completed, a few of the bathrooms have some tiling that still needs to be complete. The electrical is done and my pendants have been hung.

 Dave and I had to go over this past week to mount the TV mount on the fireplace. Just in time for the stone to be put on the fireplace. I really like how the stone turned out. The mantel still needs to be stained dark, but hopefully they will do that sooner than later.

 The exterior stone is done, but we need the house color to be repainted bc that is the wrong color.

Our patio pavers are in and I love it! It ended up being such a large patio area. Plenty of room for the kids to run and play.

 So thats where we stand. A lot of good things and I am really enjoying seeing all our choices come together. I just hate how inefficient things are. I think I have found a new job when I want to go back to work. Scheduling and overseeing the building of homes! Until then though, it will continue on slow as molasses! :)

Fly High Sweet Rylan

Well the hits keep coming friends. Just when you think you have gotten over the hump and things are starting to look up another tragedy strikes our group of friends. As some of you may know, and some may not, my friend Stephanie from supper club had a baby girl born 5 months ago with some serious heart issues. She was in the hospital for majority of the first 4 months of her life and underwent 2 open heart surgeries. The second one seemed to be a success so Rylan was sent home to finally allow the Delmundos to live like a normal family. About 3 1/2 weeks later, the unimaginable happened and Rylan passed away to be with the Lord. I know that God's plan is greater and that sweet little girl is free from pain and suffering and is safe in Heaven. But my heart just breaks for Steph and her husband Jonar. I cannot imagine losing a child. I cannot imagine walking into her nursery, talking about her with her big brother, packing away all the baby stuff... It is going to be a very long and hard road for that poor family. But on a good note, they have the largest support system I have ever witnessed and they know God so I am hoping they draw near to him and his peace fills them in the days to come.
We attended Rylan's funeral and burial on Friday and it was a rough day. Lots of tears were shed and lots of prayers were said. As much as I think the worst for my self, I am definitely a glass half full girl. So in every situation, including the bad, I try to change my perspective to see the good. If nothing else, Rylan will be free from pain, and she touched more lives in just 5 short months than most people do in a lifetime. Maybe her passing was the wake up call someone needed to seek God, maybe it was the reminder tomorrow isn't promised so they will fix that broken relationship. I can only hope that of the 500 people there Friday and few of them have seen the light through it all. And what a blessing to have those few weeks at home to be a family of 4. Thankful to God it wasn't in the hospital where she would have never gotten to have family pictures done or spent time with her brother. It's all in our perspective friends and God just wanted his child back a little sooner than most. Your prayers for this family would be much appreciated as they mend their hearts in the days to come and pray they draw near to God and not away.

On a lighter note, that same day, Erica (also in Supper Club) gave birth to her baby girl Lula Grace. This is Erica's 2nd child and she of course had another "Hollywood birth" as I like to call it. It was planned, she felt nothing, and out she popped in 7 minutes. Erica had her hair and make up done and the pictures are just sickening how perfect she looked afterwards! :) Lula is such a little cutie and I am so excited for more girls in the group! 

Speaking of more girls, my friend Tracie (also from supper club LOL) is hopefully having her daughter this week so I will be back with a post on that!
We were joking yesterday at dinner that we need to stop being friends because our supper club of 14 girls has had some serious hits over the past year. Atleast we are lucky enough to have each other to help get through the trials. :) I hope you all had a great weekend and we are hopefully on to a happier week ahead!

Blakely's 19 Month Update

Height: about 33 inches
Weight: about 25 lbs
Head Circumference: about 19 inches
Vision: We are good in this department. Nothing to report
Movement: You can jump off of both feet and your speed is definitely increasing. Your walk is now turning into a run and it is so cute to watch you pump your arms as you run. It is usually to run away from me though since you are doing something wrong so I'm not a fan of the run LOL. You are climbing ladders really well and can go up and down stairs perfectly fine on your stomach.
Eating Habits/New Foods: You still drink 2 -3 milks a day. Occasionally mom gives you juice but most of the day your drinking water. As far as food goes, Breaskfast usually consists of granola bars, yogurt, sausage, and fruit. Lunch is cheese, smoothies, salami, cucumbers, tomatoes, crackers, pirates booty, chips, applesauce, pouches, raisins, chicken nuggets. Dinner is usually what we eat, but you especially love noodles, hot dogs, pizza, peas, chicken, corn, edamame, and green beans.
Sleeping Patterns: You are sleeping through the night. You are starting to test your limits on the crib and raise a leg to get out. Luckily you are a little more cautious then big sis. So instead of jumping our you stand there and yell "Mama, hold you!" Haha. Still 1 nap a day and you sleep for about 2 hours. You wake up at 7:30ish and go to bed between 7:30 and 8.
Sounds/Words: You are communicating so well. You are starting to learn some songs and you can finally say "I love you," It sounds just like Delainey when you say it. You are learning words all day long. People probably think your mom is nuts, because we have full conversations even though I can't understand a lot of what you say. :)
New discoveries/accomplishments:
-You can jump now off both feet.
-You are starting to tell me when you need to go poop and will run into the bathroom. Potty training soon?
-You can say I love you!
-You went trick or treating and loved it!
-You have become a feisty little lady! You say no, hit others, run when I say stop, just testing the limits of Mom basically. We spend quite a good bit of time in timeout. I think you are going to be terrible 1 1/2- 2 1/2s like your sis.
-You went on a huge slide with Mom at the carnival
-You will finally do a slide by yourself.
-You had your first ever babysitter. (that wasn't family)
Places you went/Adventures: Our adventures this month consisted of lots of soccer, the San Juan del Rio carnival, Living Waters fall festival, Gammoe's church fall festival, trick or treating, Ivy's 1st birthday party, and about 29 trips to our new house to check on progress. Haha. I can't wait till we are in and get all the rooms set up.
Clothes: You are in 18-24 month clothes in all brands now. I am moving up to size 2T for leggings to keep them nice and long. You are still in a size 5 diaper. Size 6 shoe
Sister updates: You are still copying everything sis does, but now you are really starting to fight back. You hit Delainey when you want something she has. Luckily Delainey is very patient and doesn't fight back. She usually ignores it or just tells me. D has had a few moments where she said I wish I wasn't the oldest because we use the excuse that you are a baby and don't know any better yet. We usually give her a special privilege after and emphasis how lucky she is to be the oldest and do things sissy can't do. Still loving each other, but things have kicked up a notch. :)

Delainey's Corn Maze Field Trip

Monday, Delainey had a field trip to the Amazing Grace Corn Maze. She learned about Agriculture and farming, rode on a hayride, ran through a corn maze, jumped on a jump pad, and played in a corn box (her fave). I am totally going to do a corn box a my new house instead of a sand box. I hate sand! I'll have to do some sort of cover though or we will have 1,000 deer in our back yard. Anyways we had lots of fun and will definitely be going here again next year on our own accord.