Exciting updates!

Well, I can safely say, that I now have a TODDLER!! Heath has been walking, and doing so well! At first, he would stand on his own without realizing that he wasn't holding onto anything, and when he realized nobody was holding him, he would sit down quick! He got good at leaning on the couch, and would push off the couch and walk to you. And now, he will stand all by himself and balance with his toes, and when you hold your arms out to him, he will lean forward and walk all the way across the room to you! Yay Heath!

I can't believe he is FINALLY walking. I know all kids are different, and develop at their own pace, but I am so glad that he is walking, and he is so excited to! He get a huge grin on his face, and thinks its great fun! And its not a fluke either, he has consistently gotten better at balancing. Sometimes he gets too excited and will almost run, and then he falls down on his face, but I help him get right back up, and we keep practicing! He took his first steps while we were in San Diego for vacation, and that was so fun. As soon as I figure out how to get video on here I will put it up.

Speaking of San Diego, I realize I didn't put anything up about our fun vacation! Paul had a business trip in Texas, and was going to have to go to San Diego for a conference after Texas, so he asked his boss Dave if we could come along, and he said yes! Paul drove from Texas to San Diego, and Heath and I flew. That was quite an adventure! I had no idea how he was going to do on the plane, and I was a little nervous that we would be that "mom with a screaming baby" on the plane. But luckily, he did so great! We got to the airport, and going through security was interesting. I had my bag that I checked, and a backpack as my carry-on, plus Heath in the stroller. I didn't realize that baby food and diaper rash cream was a liquid that had to be taken out and checked, so I had to fold up the stroller and put it through the X-ray machine, then take both of our shoes off and they went in, and then my bag went through and they saw I had food in there, so they took everything out, checked it with their little drug-sniffing machines, and put it all back in. Then shoes went back on, and we got through security. PHEW! I kept thinking "I'm gonna kill Paul for making me do this by myself" but we ended up being just fine. Little did I know that security would only be the first of many adventures.

We got to the gate, and only had to wait a few minutes before we boarded. They took the stroller and stored it underneath and I figured I would get it back after the first flight....oh yeah, we had to change planes in Vegas...woohoo. He did really well on the first flight. I apologized to everyone ahead of time, saying I had no idea what to expect, and everyone around us was really nice and forgiving. He was a little wiggly, and didn't like to be stuck on my lap the whole time, but I kept him busy with snacks, and singing and toys, and he did great! When we landed in Vegas, he was excited to get out and crawl around, except we only had 40 minutes to get to our next plane.

Now, if you have ever been to the Vegas airport, you will know what I mean when I say we had to BOOK it to the other terminal. For those of you who have never been there, all the terminal gates are in different buildings! Like Terminal A in one building, Terminal B is another, and Terminal C is another. So we had 40 minutes to get from the end of one building, to the opposite end of the other! And they had already taken my stroller to the other plane, so I had to carry Heath all the way! I had my backpack, which was basically full of my purse stuff and his diaper bag stuff, and Heath was on my shoulders, and I was literally running to the other building! We barely made it, they were boarding as we got there. But we did make it, and on that flight, he fell asleep on my shoulder! He had missed his morning nap due to the first plane, and was totally exhausted! When we finally got to San Diego, Paul picked us up, and we headed to our apartment! Paul had rented an apartment in downtown San Diego, and it was so fun!

Paul's mom was able to come with us, and she was there the next day. Paul only had to do 2 days of conference stuff, and Pat, Heath and I just walked around and saw little shops and just had a fun time. We all went to the beach one day, and Heath got to play in the ocean for the first time, which he loved! It was warm, but pretty windy, and we watched kite surfers on the water, which was so neat! And we collected sea shells, that was fun to watch Heath pick them up, and just had a really great time! We really enjoyed the 80-degree weather and sunshine.

And then, sadly, it was time to go home. Pat left the day before we did, and she had quite the adventure trying to get home! They had grounded all the flights going out because the wind was blowing too hard. We left the next day, around 6:30 AM, because my sister was doing the last night of her play that she had been working on for 4 months, and she was really sad that we weren't going to be there. We left really early to try and be there, because it was a 12 hour drive and her play started at 7, and I really wanted to surprise her and be there. We did make it, and Heath only slept for 2 of the 12 hours! He was kinda grumpy at being in his carseat for that long, but he eventually gave up and did really well! Lena's play was great, and she was so excited that I had made it in time!

So we had an awesome time, and I really want to go back! It was nice to have some down time, and be able to enjoy nice weather!

Paul is away again this week, in Casper WY, working on another job. He left last Monday, and will hopefully be back Thursday night, or Friday. But the plant they are working on keeps wanting them to do more things, and adding to the contract. So he will be home for a couple days, and then leave again for another week and a half. Its hard to have him gone, but he makes really good money when he is away. Paul will be getting a good bonus, because he has been the one running this job, and has been doing a great job! We are almost out of debt, which is an AMAZING feeling! Medical bills almost all paid, credit cards paid, and my car almost paid off! We are selling my car, and hopefully be able to put a nice down payment on a small crossover SUV, like a Honda CR-V, or a Saturn Vue. I love both those cars, and we are keeping our fingers crossed! So we will see.

Well, that's the update for the McMillan family, more later....