LOVE this Layout

Isn't it just beautiful? Inspiration courtesy of Prima Matketing, Inc. You can find their blog here. I'll post a picture when I make my rendition of this, probably at a much later date. I'm such a lazy scrapper. But I love it!

McCord's take on his recent vacation...

Well, we just rolled back into Moscow last night. We had a good ride. While we were gone a lot happened. I helped my dad work on his shop. (The wood and the steel for the shop are all from salvage jobs. Some of the wood came from the old Overland School. Some of the wood came from a potato cellar tear-down. The steel beam for the overhead door header is from the old Murtagh bridge. It is probably over 80 years old. No, my dad is not green, but the cost on all this stuff was low, it has cost him less than $600 for the wood and steel, for a shop that is 30x40' with 12.5' tall.) I also worked at Burley Refrigeration. That was fun. Sometimes I miss fixing things, but I always remember why I left that field.
I also got Forest started roping. It was not without events... He bucked with Annabelle (my niece) and she stuck it to him like a pro, for ten seconds. Then she made a hasty exit. We put her back on and she was shaking so bad, that Forest bucked again, harder. She really stayed in the middle, but came of when he went vertical. What an experience... I got on him and worked him over. I started roping on him the next night. I roped about 50 head on him while we were home. I would have taken him to the Big Dog, but two nights before the roping Forest went vertical on me and I thought it would be better to take a horse that was really broke. So I borrowed one from Mikey, a cute little paint mare. She was really fun. I made it to the short go with my cousin, Brandon. Had I caught 6 feet instead of 3, we would have won some cash. As it was, my buddy John ended up winning a little. It was great to see that happen.
There is more to this vacation, and I am sure Olivia and I will update this soon.

Harrison Update and Pictures

So, it's been awhile... McCord finished his summer classes, and I'm finally feeling normal. Harrison is getting so big!

And he's Strong! He's already tying to pull himself to a sitting position while holding him, or whenever seated and he needs very little or no head support. Most recently, he has started to fight the car seat straps while he's buckled in. Every once and a while, while he's on his stomach, he'll kick so hard that it flips him onto his back! and I usually find him on his side after a nap (he sleeps on his tummy. I know, I know. they say he should sleep on his back, but he just does better on his tummy). His two month checkup was a couple of weeks ago, stats are as follows:

Head Circumference: 15 1/2" - 50th percentile
Length: 23 1/4" - 75th percentile
Weight: 13 lbs. 4 oz. - 90th percentile

Yup. He's a big boy! And I'm sure he's put on at least another 6 oz. since then, if not a pound. He also had his shots :( but he did very well; little fevering and he hardly bruised, which was great because most of the recovery time was spent in the car.

We left for Burley right after his appointment. By the time we got to Missoula, all three of us we're exhausted. We set up camp in Dillon around 1 am. In the morning all the bikers (they were Canadian!) just loved to hold Harrison. One guy was holding a Mike's Hard Lemonade and the rest of them looked like they needed one. They were nice people and quite chatty. It was so fun to listen to their accents! So then we were on our way to St. Anthony, ID to visit the Garrett's. Mac went on a crazy ride with Tyson and AJ in demolition derby car through a gravel pit. They thought they were going to die! And I watched Twilight for the first time. It was pretty good, I think I'll have to read the books. We really miss them, Mac and Ty have been friends since they were in diapers. Mac's mom and Tyson's dad were born on the same day, in the same hospital, so they have known each other forever. It was so good to see them again!

Back to Harrison... He smiles and coos all the time, we even have little "conversations". I just love it! Motherhood is finally starting to feel like more than just being a milk cow. Harrison recently decided that he doesn't care much for naps, so now he takes a solid 1-2 hour nap in the morning, and the occasional 1 hour in the afternoon. Yay for me.

I think traveling has something to do with it. Last weekend my sister-in-law's husband competed in the Spudman Triathalon. He is a Physician's Assistant in the Air Force, and will be deploying for Afghanistan in December after a month of weapons training in November. Now, everybody in the military has weapons training, but he has to learn a few new ones because he will be with a Special Forces unit, which means he will be traveling and working through combat zones instead of in a hospital. Scary. So this was one last thing to do before leaving. They live in Clovis, New Mexico, so it became a family event. Mac's brothers family's came down from the Boise area, and let me tell ya, it was one mad house. There were 10 children, 10 adults, and one infant in a 4 bedroom house. Utter chaos. But it was so great to have them around.

Harrison was blessed on Saturday the 25th of July, and it was such a beautiful blessing. I am so grateful to have a husband who honors and is worthy to hold the priesthood. It was so nice to have family here!

So to finish this unorganized and choppy post, here are some of Harrison's likes/dislikes:

- he loves to be snuggled, which I love

- he likes taking showers, and baths are growing on him

- he still doesn't care much for a pacifier :(

- he doesn't like the drive from Missoula, MT to Dillon, MT, or any other travel for that matter

- he may or may not like his car seat

- he loves to coo and smile, especially when mom is around

- he likes whipped cream and jello (in very, very small amounts)

- he doesn't like to be on his back for very long

- he likes rodeo's and fireworks

- he loves to be rocked to sleep by his daddy

I cannot believe how big he is getting! My love for him grows everyday, and I am so elated that I have been blessed by such a beautiful boy! He really is a good baby.

AND NOW A WORD FROM McCord:

Ditto to what Olivia says about our beautiful son. I love that little buckaroo. It really is great to have him as part of our family. It is great to know that I have such a wonderful wife and fantastic son.

I really do not want to return to Moscow. It has nothing to do with school or the stresses that are coming in the next year, but it is more that I will be leaving the land that I really love. I will miss roping and watching Forest progress (I might take him to a ropin' before we head back to Moscow). If I didn't know that this was what the Lord had in the cards for my little family, and without the support of my wife and the rest of our family and friends, I don't think I could do it. Thanks to all ya'll. Pictures of Forest and some of the other events are forthcoming...

His cute, chubby legs during a nap.

Our first family photo :)

Eight Years Ago...

Oh Lord it's hard to be humble
when you're perfect in every way.
I can't wait to look in the mirror
cause I get better loking each day.
To know me is to love me
I must be a hell of a man.
Oh Lord it's hard to be humble
but I'm doing the best that I can.
I used to have a girlfriend
but she just couldn't compete
with all of these love starved women
who keep clamoring at my feet.
Well I prob'ly could find me another
but I guess they're all in awe of me.
Who cares, I never get lonesome
cause I treasure my own company.
Oh Lord it's hard to be humble
when you're perfect in every way,
I can't wait to look in the mirror
cause I get better looking each day
To know me is to love me
I must be a hell of a man.
Oh Lord it's hard to be humble
but I'm doing the best that I can.
I guess you could say I'm a loner,
a cowboy outlaw tough and proud.
I could have lots of friends if I want to
but then I wouldn't stand out from the crowd.
Some folks say that I'm egotistical.
Hell, I don't even know what that means.
I guess it has something to do with the way that I
fill out my skin tight blue jeans.
Oh Lord it's hard to be humble
when you're perfect in every way,
I can't wait to look in the mirror
cause I get better looking each day
To know me is to love me
I must be a hell of a man.
Oh Lord it's hard to be humble
but I'm doing the best that I can.
We're doing the best that we can.
-Oh, Lord, Its Hard to be Humble. Mac Davis

I used to sing this song, with a good friend, at the top of our lungs while warming up our horses before rodeos. I miss that friend, but i am thankful for his friendship, example and his great sense of humor. I live in the present, but it is necessary to sometimes look back on the past. Just remember that most of the important things come out in the wash, and that one of the best things in the world is a good laugh. Take care Mr. Perkins.

By the way...

Olivia and I have been married for 27 months! It is our 27th monthaversary. I have a habit of celebrating every month how long we have been married, usually by taking her out to dinner. Today's celebration might just be going to Church.

Wally is growing, he is an eating machine! Consequently, he has made some awesome poops. I will be posting pictures soon that show some of our most recent baby purchases, including a baby wrap carrier, one size fits all and it has sequins!

Well, off to get ready for Church!

Settling in...

We are starting to get in a routine with Harrison. He is eating more and Olivia is doing quite well. Right now both are asleep. I am not tired (crud, it is only 9pm). I thought I would give a quick update on things.

Today we took Harrison to his first doctor's appointment. He passed with flying colors. He turned bright red when the nurse took off his diaper to weigh him. He weighed 7 lbs. 12 oz. He left the hospital at 7 lbs 6 oz. so we are gaining. You should have seen him yell, though. The color of his skin was red enough that I would have thought we dressed him in a WSU outfit, seriously, he was mad.

Last night we (Harrison and I) stayed in the new glider-rocker (thanks Grandma Holly and Grandpa Brent) until midnight. This is one nice chair, pictures will be forthcoming. Anyhow, we rocked for about two hours while Olivia took a much needed nap. Then we all laid down for sleep and Harrison woke up. Apparently he woke up every hour until 5am. I slept through all of those except the 5am call. Olivia handled it like a trooper, the only time she needed my help was with the 5am problem. Harrison slept better today and we even watched a movie tonight: Benny & Joon. That is a classic, Depp did a great job in that film.

Things are going good and we are slowly getting adapted and learning lots each day. This may sound corny, but this is one of the neatest things I have done. I hope all is well for all of you who are far from us, we miss all our friends that just left Moscow, as well as all our friends whom we have not seen for a long time, that goes ditto for all our family.

This weekend is Yard Day at Grandma Marj's. I wish I could be there, it really is one of my favorite traditions. There is nothing like getting together as a family and working. It is quite enjoyable.

Hiccups?

So it was 4 in the morning and Olivia was feeding Wally, however, he just wouldn't latch on. So I took him and started tapping the air out of him. He promptly began hiccuping. This is probably the cutest set of hiccups I have ever heard. Sorry I didn't get audio, but next time, maybe.

We will be checking out of the hospital today and going home. Sorry about not being very contactable, we have been trying to feed/rest the last 24 hrs. and it has been a trip. I promise we will catch up with all our voice mails.

Olivia is sore and stiff, but otherwise pretty good. Wally is getting this eating thing figured out. Risa has been a huge help. Nothing like experience to help see when a baby is full of air/won't eat, what a good grandma!

Thanks for all the support, verbal and otherwise. Thanks for your continued prayers. We hope Wally's cousin, Austin, gets feeling better. We love all ya'll!