sutton archives

First day of 3 year old pre-school

2009-09-11T09:37:00.004-05:00

Well, it's hard to believe but McKenna had her first day of pre-school today. She had her WonderPets backpack all packed up and was ready for school! Adeline and I dropped her off this morning. There was a good handful of kids crying and having a hard time, and McKenna walked right in before I could even get her checked in at the desk. Can't wait to hear about the stories from her this afternoon.

Johnny Jumper

2009-07-23T15:10:00.002-05:00

Cat Nappin'

2009-07-20T16:22:00.001-05:00

Zaleka's trick

2009-06-24T21:26:00.002-05:00

Just a clip of crazy Zaleka

New Cat, First Haircut, First cereal,....and some updates

2009-06-16T19:53:00.010-05:00

Well, we officially have 2 cats, 2 dogs, and 2 kids in the Sutton household. Zaleka arrived from Texas this past Sunday. She is a Bengal cat that I guess you can say is big and beautiful! Aunt Carol and Uncle Doug drove her up from Texas during their summer vacation. I guess you can say we adopted her while we were there for Spring break this past March. I just like to say that we picked the wrong table at the family reunion dinner. We happened to pick the table that was talking about a bengal cat that needed a new home because the owners were allergic. All of our pets were adopted/given up, so I guess you can say we're big suckers for animals.

McKenna had her first haircut this past Sunday. She enjoyed it, and was such a good girl the whole time.

Adeline is just beginning solid foods and just turned 5 months.

She is very long and weighs at least 15 lbs.

She is very sweet, and is great with McKenna. She already carries her around like she does with Roscoe.

The end result of the first haircut!

She was so good the whole time.

Adeline has decided to take matters into her own hands.

She loves to eat!

The girls

At the Tiger Trot 5k run at Matt's school

Just a short video

2009-05-29T20:59:00.004-05:00

Just a 35 second video of me being a goof making Adeline laugh. Didn't get the full out laughing like she'll do, but cute enough to post

First Animal Sighting of the Year

2009-04-30T21:33:00.007-05:00

As many of you know, we have many creatures that visit us throughout the year in our backyard. Usually every spring we have large turtles that come from the lake behind us to lay eggs in our backyard. We never thought they actually would hatch (due to the dogs usually finding them first). This past weekend, Matt found a baby turtle in the back yard. It's so small you're going to have to look very closely at Matt holding it in his hand.

So I had to put at least one updated picture of Adeline. She holds her head up so well now!

The baby turtle Matt found

Matt showing McKenna the little guy.

Look closely you'll see the little turtle. Roscoe finally made the blog too! McKenna carries him around now, it's pretty funny.

Lots of Texas Photos

2009-04-12T12:54:00.021-05:00

Below are some pictures from our recent Spring break trip to visit family in Texas. Both girls were great the whole trip, even on the plane rides! Everyone got to meet Adeline for the first time and they also got to see how fast McKenna is growing up. It was fun to have all four cousins together, especially when we all stayed at Carol and Doug's house. We owe them a huge thank you for giving up their house for four nights, so the kids could take over!

It was just a fun week of visiting and hanging out with family.

We also added to our growing Sutton family again while in Texas. Matt overheard a conversation at the family reunion dinner about a family having to give up their bengal cat because of allergies. He has always wanted a bengal cat, so of course we went and saw it and fell in love. She's gorgeous, and her name is Zaleka (not sure if the name is going to stay or not). There is a picture of her down below. Since we couldn't fly her back, Carol offered to keep her and drive her up in June when they are coming to IL. I'm sure we'll post some more pics/stories of introducing her to our 2 dogs, cat, and 2 kids!...stay tuned.

Last goodbye before we left for Chicago.

The four cousins bathing after a trip to the beach. I'm sure they'll love this picture when they're older

McKenna at the Houston Zoo on her favorite ride......the merry go round.

McKenna and Marshall at the zoo.

Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Johnson with all four kids.

The new Sutton member...Zaleka. She weighs about 15 pounds.......yikes!

Miss Smiley Adeline

Matt and McKenna on Carol's horse Piper.

The family in front of Ronald and Patsy's gate in Woodsboro, TX.

Grandpa Tommy and Grandma Pal with all four of their grandkids.

McKenna and her hay.

She's a Texan.

Matt and McKenna having fun.

Great Grandma Lee with McKenna and Adeline.

Look how big Adeline is getting!

Adeline Rolls Over!

2009-03-25T16:32:00.008-05:00

This morning during tummy time, I got a very big surprise. Adeline pushed her head up and her arms and rolled over! I thought maybe it was just a one time thing, but I was wrong. She does it over and over. Her neck strength is amazing! I took this video later in the day while McKenna was taking a nap. During the day today McKenna was her biggest cheerleader telling her to roll over Addie!"

Enjoying the couple days of nice weather

2009-03-21T19:21:00.009-05:00

This past week we had a couple beautiful days, including one in the 70's! Below are some pictures of the girls hanging outside. McKenna loves sidewalk chalk (and told me to go get the camera because she was posing....so funny). We can't wait to hopefully be in some nice weather next week in Texas!

Miss Adeline

She found her right hand, and this is now her best friend. Notice Radar's nose waiting for the inevitable spit up.

McKenna posing for her picture....must have learned this from Matt! She looks so old to me.

Showing off her beautiful drawing

Enjoying the outdoors

Our smiley little one

Early St. Patrick's Day and two month photos of Adeline

2009-03-15T21:05:00.011-05:00

It's hard to believe that Adeline is already two months old. Today it was so nice outside that the whole family (including Adeline, who had no choice because she was attached to me in the carrier) worked out in the yard. We got lots accomplished, thanks mostly to Matt's hard work. McKenna was so excited to finally use her playground in the backyard (that she has been looking at through windows all winter). At the end of the day we went to my Mom's house to celebrate St. Patrick's day a couple days early. We had my Mom's great traditional meal of corned beef and cabbage.

McKenna doing a toast with green river soda.

The Sutton gang.

My Mom, Adeline and McKenna.

Carter was not as big of a fan of the glasses as Radar was. See how nice his leg is healing!

Our little cowgirl Adeline.

I walked in the room and they both looked like this!

Adeline at Two Months.

Adeline helping Mom in the kitchen.

One Month Old & ACL Surgery for the Dog

2009-02-16T21:21:00.006-06:00

Adeline is just over a month now which means McKenna is allowed to pick her up and carry her around the house. No, it just means lots of awkward pictures of the girls and they never smile at the same time. All is well with them. McKenna LOVES being a big sister and says they are "best friends".

Also (in the picture above) Carter just had his ACL repaired. It was completely torn so last Tuesday (2/10) he had the surgery. Luckily, they were able to do it arthroscopically (two small incisions) in stead of the BIG scar that I had. He has to wear that cast for another week and then he can get it removed. He must be leash walked whenever he goes outside for anything (bathroom, exercise) for the next 6 weeks. He is doing well and continues to be just as annoying as ever, surgery didn't stop his uncontrollable wagging tail. Radar took it the hardest, because she had never been away from him for more than a couple of hours and he was gone for two days. Overall it was an eventful week because half of the family and grandparents were sick too. But we all made it through.

Valentine's Day

Chillin' in the swing.

Preparing to spit up on McKenna.

One of the photos from the birth announcement. Jodie and I took these at home in front of the fridge. We hung a blanket and started snapping some pictures. The whole thing took about 7 minutes and we then edited the photos on our Mac (product placement).

Adeline's First Week Home

2009-01-21T13:52:00.014-06:00

Well, tomorrow Adeline will be two weeks old. It goes by so fast, and they change so quickly. She is a great baby, and McKenna is a great big sister. McKenna is so gentle with her, and constantly wants to hand her toys to play with. Sorry if the pics are a little out of order. You can click on the pictures to enlarge them.

Picture from Today.

Just home from the hospital.

First Day Home:

McKenna holding her little sister for the first time.

Adeline after her first bath.
The two sisters

McKenna and her Wonder Pet shirt and cape......and her favorite dogs Radar and Carter.

Sisters

2009-01-10T11:53:00.005-06:00

Wonderful new video of the girls from this morning. McKenna can't decide wether she wants to look at herself in the camera or feed Adeline. Enjoy!

Definitely Related

2009-01-09T15:59:00.004-06:00

Here is a little side-by-side comparison from their birth days. That is Adeline on the left (from yesterday) and McKenna on the right (2.5 years ago). Pretty similar. Click on the picture for a larger version. Enjoy!

Adeline Johnson Sutton: Part II

2009-01-08T20:20:00.003-06:00

Adeline Johnson Sutton

2009-01-08T17:12:00.006-06:00

Adeline Johnson Sutton was born at 8:02 am this January 8th.

She weighed 8lbs. & 12oz and is 20 inches long.

Everything went well and both mom and daughter are doing great.

Best Dog Ever!

2008-12-23T15:48:00.002-06:00

McKenna & Radar...a match made in heaven.

McKie Christmas Gallery

2008-12-23T13:40:00.006-06:00

Here are photos from the McKie Christmas celebrated this past Saturday at Grandma Debbie and Grandpa Jerry's home. Not everyone was able to attend due to the extreme weather that has been bearing down on us, but it was still great to see everyone.

Happy Holidays

2008-12-18T19:20:00.003-06:00

Here's a video of McKenna opening up her first Christmas Present. Sorry Uncle Mike and Aunt Cathie, it was too tempting not to let her open it!

It is never too early to open up presents.

We'll update more when we've got some time off for the holidays. By the way, she loves the bear!

Happy Halloween!!

2008-11-03T20:08:00.012-06:00

It's hard to believe , but this was McKenna's 3rd Halloween. She's gone from being a cow, kangaroo, to this year being both a tiger and a giraffe. McKenna wanted to be a giraffe since September, and Mom couldn't pass up a deal on a tiger outfit.

We spent the afternoon at Matt's school walking in the costume parade, and watching him dance to Michael Jackson's "Beat it" at the school's fall festival assembly. For this portion of the day, she was a giraffe and daddy was a cowboy!

After the school's activities we went to Grandma Debbie's house in the tiger costume. She filled us up with some goodies and then it was off to Grandma Pal and Grandpa Tommy's house. The little tiger fell asleep in the 5 minute car ride. After her quick "cat" nap we went trick or treating with cousin Joaquin, who was the cutest little parrot that you'll ever see. McKenna was a pro at trick or treating by the second house. She's a big fan, and is now a candy addict!

Trick or Treating at Grandma Pal and Grandpa Tommy's house

Mommy and Daddy with their little giraffe.

Uncle Douglas, Aunt Erica, and Joaquin.

Trick or Treating at Grandma Debbie's House.

Her quick "Cat" nap.

The little tiger 'roared' out load!

Matt dancing at the school assembly.

McKenna in Daddy's room at school on his computer.

McKenna and Daddy walking in the costume parade at his school.

Photo Update

2008-10-13T10:10:00.002-05:00

No News whatsoever. Just some pictures from around the house and with all of her pumpkins (which she thoroughly enjoys).

Pumpkin Perusing

2008-09-27T09:48:00.006-05:00

Earlier in the week McKenna and Marshall visited Sonny Acres (a jack-of-all-seasons) park/store. There were tons of pumpkins, a petting zoo, and lots of places for pictures.

Tiger Scare

2008-08-19T19:15:00.003-05:00

Here is a short little clip of a tiger trying to attack Brad at the Victoria State Zoo. The tiger's roar was quite impressive and is quite fleet of foot (errrr...paw). Check out Brad's reaction (jumping back), if you can see through the grainy footage.

Rock & Drool All Nite!

2008-07-31T19:25:00.006-05:00

We were told that they grew up fast, but we had no idea McKenna would become a Guitar Hero so soon. She likes to do the "rock and roll thing", dance all around the house, and now she'll be headlining at Lollapolooza. Thanks to her father she'll be well versed in Metallica, GNR, and SRV.

McKenna continues to pick up on everything she sees and hears...which can be good and bad. Thank goodness her parents are perfect role models (cough, cough).

Who knows what she gonna do next, but there will probably be a camera nearby to catch the action. Enjoy the pictures and the collage at the bottom (she's her own 4-man band).

This is the final product of McKenna rockin' out!

WHY SO SERIOUS?

2008-07-29T17:50:00.006-05:00

In honor of the new Batman film The Dark Knight, Jodie and I were able to capture a little Joker inside of McKenna. Don't be disturbed, it is only our daughter.

This weekend McKenna was eating a strawberry popsicle and making quite a mess when Jodie and I both noticed that she looked like The Joker from the new film. We ran inside, grabbed the camera, and started clicking away. We asked McKenna to make a "sad face" but she kept on smiling and laughing...but we were able to get one shot where she looked directly at the camera without smiling.

This is on the one where she was not smiling and we felt it would be the best one to create her “joker-look”. I then did a little photoshopping and below is the finished product of McKenna as the Joker.

It is kind of creepy and really funny.

Visiting Family In Texas

2008-07-23T10:11:00.010-05:00

Well, we've had a couple of days to decompress from our trip to Texas. It was a lot of fun and

great to see everyone, but it was extremely hot and our flight home was long and delayed. During the trip we visited relative from both sides of the family, went a zoo, state aquarium, ate some average BBQ, and saw McKenna become one with Water.

Up until this point McKenna has enjoyed water but did not appreciate it. She took swim lessons earlier this summer and screamed through them, then suddenly last Thursday she decided she wanted to be in the water.

McKenna Turns Two

2008-07-06T17:01:00.006-05:00

Not to be outdone by the 4th of July, McKenna celebrated her second year of existence with an Abby Cadabby-style birthday party. Abby is a newer Sesame Street character that McKenna has become quite attached to.

The party was small but the weather was great, and it was nice that relatives and friends were able to attend. The birthday girl received plenty of books, clothes, and Abby dolls. Grandma Sutton made the wonderful birthday cake and everyone enjoyed it.

Below are a some of the pictures from the party.

Long, But Not Forgotten

2008-06-30T13:53:00.003-05:00

It's been a while since our last post, so bear with us. It's hard to believe next week McKenna will already be two years old. As if that wasn't enough we will be expecting our second child early into the new year. Things have been pretty exciting around here and we're looking forward to the future.Below are a couple of photos of McKenna.

Her yellow shirt is how she broke the news to her grandparents. The last one was taken with all three cousins on Father's Day.

Next week I will post pictures of her birthday party.

First Trip to Florida

2008-04-08T18:32:00.014-05:00

Well, we figured two months is long enough to not update our blog. Go figure...

Anyway, Spring Break just ended and we had a wonderful time in the Sunshine state. We visited the beaches, ate lots of seafood, rode camels, watched a couple of sunsets, and even fed giraffes. Overall it was a very pleasurable experience. Below you will find a litany of pictures from the trip.

Her first day in Florida and walking down the causeway.

Feeding the bird outside of the townhouse.

At Lowry Zoo in Tampa, FL.

Riding a camel at the Tampa Zoo.

Feeding the Giraffes.

Brushing the Goats

Leaving the zoo with a nice little stuffed animal.

McKenna and Grandma having having breakfast at the beach!

Feeding the seagulls on the beach and then chasing after them. This was one of her favorite activities.

Resting after a long day at the beach.

Hanging out with dad in the water. It was crystal clear and fairly warm for being so early in the year.

That is it for now. Hopefully it won't take another two months for a new post.

Alumni Basketball Game

2008-02-16T16:28:00.011-06:00

I promised the girls that I would post a couple of pictures from the Alumni Basketball game (which was over two weeks ago). It's weird to think we've been out of college for 5 1/2 years. Judson has an alumni basketball game every year, where alumni play alumni. McKenna was able to watch the game this year and to point and say "mamma" when I was running (ok jogging) down the court. It's always fun to get together with old teammates and reminisce about the past. I'll have to admit, every muscle in me was sore for the next two days!

Matt took a great picture of Rachael and Leah on the floor after a loose ball, just like old times!

Congrats to Sheryl, who had her baby three days after this picture was taken! She had a healthy baby boy they named Leo.

McKenna & Marshall

2008-02-16T15:27:00.006-06:00

Well, it has been almost a month since our last post. Truly nothing has been happening except for children getting older and smarter. This past week McKenna has been enduring a mix of cold & flu symptons. We decided not to post any of those lovely pictures, so we took a couple of shots of her and Marshall today since she seems to be feeling better.

Besides that, not much is happening in the Cold Midwest.
Below are a couple of photos of Lisa, Marshall, and McKenna.
Enjoy!

Also, if you click on a picture I want you to know that the resolution/size of the picture will be HUGE...we're talking 4X's as big as your screen. The reason for this is we didn't want to distort the quality of the photo in case anyone wanted to copy the pictures onto their computer. This is the first post we have done like so.

One other thing...if you would like to save these pictures and you don't know how...1) Click on the photo, so it opens up full size. 2) With your mouse, right-click on the photo and click "Save Picture As" 3) Pick where you would like to save it (which folder) and you're done.

Gettin' the Band Back Together...

2008-01-21T13:18:00.000-06:00

This past Saturday night Marshall made his way home where he was greeted by McKenna and Joaquin. The temperature was a chilly -4 degrees outside, but that didn't stop any of the enjoyment. Below are a few more photos of the the newbies.

McKenna was very quick to give Marshall lots of kisses...

...and the. quickly moved to placing stickers all over his head and body.

Lastly, she took Fado and Daisy over to her parents house to runn around a bit.

Newest Family Member

2008-01-18T16:21:00.000-06:00

David and Lisa celebrated the arrival of Marshall James last week. Included are a few pictures taken the day of his birth.

He's a big guy and they think he's going to go directly to eating solids.

More Photos, No News

2008-01-10T19:51:00.000-06:00

Over Christmas break Jodie's side of the family always bakes cookies and this year McKenna really got to join in on the action. She even had her own outfit.

A couple of months ago we purchased a new camera, (Nikon D40)(Uncle Brad's photography seems to be rubbing off on us) so we end up taking a lot of random photos. I just bought a new flash for it and was trying it out when McKenna started running along like a crazed animal. It made for a great photo, but because she has no fat- she looks malnourished when she runs around

McKenna has taken to riding the dogs like a horse. This is a pretty frequent occurrence, but normally they jump up before she can get on completely. The only thing keeping him on that floor was the bone.

Another favorite activity is scrounging around in the cabinet. It is a fun game we play every weekend. By "we" I mean, she takes it all out and we (mom & dad) put it away.

Dressed to Thrill

2008-01-07T19:06:00.000-06:00

This past Halloween McKenna was dressed up as a kangaroo, She had her own pouch and even a joey to go with it. By the end of the day she had replaced her joey with Fruit Loops and happily ate them out of her pouch for the rest of the day. It was a busy day for her, she visited all the grandparents, went to school to walk in the parade, and trick 'r treated in the neighborhood. When she arrived at Sutton's (grandparents) house she decided take all the candy.

Visiting some of our neighbors.

Making the long treck to Grandma & Grandpa.

McKenna's Christmas Break Schedule

2008-01-06T19:09:00.000-06:00

The Sutton household has had a fairly fun last couple of weeks, but now everything will be back to normal with school starting again. Jodie has been taking days off mixed in with all holidays, so it has been a good time to regroup, relax, and hang out with the family. In fact, it was so relaxing the weather took a day off today... it was almost 60 degrees, so outside Christmas decorations even came down (while I wore shorts and short sleeves) . Sixty may not seem like much, but four days ago we were in negative numbers.

Anyway, on to some pictures...

Playing outside in the snow, it was her first time walking in the snow without crying.

Grandpa & Joaquin hang out while opening presents on Christmas.

The wonderful time of Bath Night.

Waking up after a great nap.

This is how McKenna lounges on her Rocking Duck.

Initial Post

2008-01-05T23:22:00.000-06:00

In order to stay in touch, make ourselves more accessible, and keep family informed we are creating a sutton-blog to keep everyone a little more informed. (It is not that we think we are important, just that we live a thousand miles away from the rest of the family) So hopefully in coming days, weeks, and month we'll be able to keep everyone updated with life in the great Midwest and the always important McKenna Lynn.

We will probably be doing some backtracking of pasting older pictures of McKenna that many people have not seen, and if anyone would like copies just let us know and Jodie or I can make it happen. There is also a good possibilty we'll have some videos too, but that may take a little time.

Photo was taken Christmas morning in her new recliner.