Deskunking Nolie by John Lee

Nolie was sprayed by a skunk. She was stinky! Mama tried bathing her in vinegar, but she was still stinky – and unhappy, having to stay outside all the time and it is finally getting cold! The groomer told Mama to use baking soda, peroxide and dish soap for deskunking. You shampoo them up with the mixture and let it soak about 10 minutes. Mama put the baby gate on the shower to keep Nolie contained for 10 whole minutes.

Of course, Bubba knocked the gate over on her, then I knocked the gate over on her – that scared me enough that I decided I would check on her, but not actually go back in the bathroom until she was rinsed off. It did the trick – Nolie smells like regular old dog again! 

Halloween Preparations by Denny Lynn

I am so ready for Halloween! I have had my costume ready for ages, but now there are all these other things to do! We made treats for my friends at Ms. Darcy’s. John is taking everyone these fun Jack-o-Lantern bottles – they can odd the orange drink mix to make it look like a pumpkin.

I am taking Frankenstein pudding cups. We decorated the baby food jars to with faces and put black tape on the lids for his hair. Now all we have to do is add the “green” pudding before the party.

The fun-est thing so far was decorating my Treat bucket. McDonald’s gave us these great buckets with potato heads on them. There are even stickers to pick from to make your potato heads look like they are trick or treating!

I really like the stickers. I am getting very excited for Halloween!

My First Haircut by John Lee

I am such a big boy! I thought it was a big deal to get my first tooth in (one on the bottom right in front). I was thrilled to start walking. But the excitement of my first haircut will never be forgotten. Denny went first – here he is showing his haircut.

Since we are brothers, I figured I could just go to the same guy. Matt was great – he has a son about my age.  

The only drawback to having this great hair is it takes a while to cut. I began to lose patience. I still did very well for my first time, especially considering we found out that afternoon I had a double ear infection!

I look pretty great with my new haircut, but it comes to mind that Denny got a sucker and I didn’t – I will have to remind Matt of that next time!

Fall Decorating by John Lee

So when activities are going on that you are too small to participate in, you usually get corralled in some way – walked, bouncy chair, high chair. This time it was the booster chair while Mama and Denny carved the pumpkin and decorated the porch. At least I got my own “scoop” even though I didn’t scoop anything.

You know, the saving grace to being too little is there is usually a cookie involved extra cookies if you cry – I wasn’t as hungry as I should have been since eating the potting soil at Ms. Darcy’s, but I never pass up a cookie.

Fall Decorating by Denny Lynn

I have been so excited to get out our scarecrow and decorate! We actually found two scarecrows in our decorations. Mama let me choose one of the pumpkins to carve. I picked a good one! I decided I wanted it to have a face to match the scarecrow, so we set up the scarecrow and got to work. First you cut around the top and open the pumpkin. (Just a note from Mama – all of this will sound really easy and fun, but she says overall it was time consuming, hard work – I think it was a breeze!)

 Anyway – next comes cleaning out the pumpkin. I used my “scoop” to get the seeds. It took a while to convince me that I should use my hands – but I finally tried – although I still thought it was “icky”.

Once he was cleaned out it was time for carving. Mama did a good job – even if I thought she was a little slow doing the “cutting” and kept telling her “Cut it Mama.” Finally he had a face.

 Mama put a candle in and we put him out on our porch.

Then we put out the scarecrows and some fall flowers and leaves. It looks great. I said Night Night to the pumpkin before bed and made sure Mama said Bye to the scarecrows this morning. I am very glad it is fall and we are getting ready for Halloween!

Attention All Toddlers by John Lee

Attention all toddlers - walking, yes walking may be hazardous to your health! Beware – things jump out in front of you!! Just this week the wagon wheel on brother’s bed made contact with my forehead. Luckily it was on the opposite side from where I connected with the coffee table.

 This made a match set of bumps that look remarkably like horns – although the Wagon Wheel horn is decidedly larger. No trips to the Emergency Room yet, but I had my first experience with an ice pack!

I'm a Walker!! by John Lee

It is official! I am a walker. I can take steps without holding on to anything and last night I walked all the way across the kitchen. I will probably be running tomorrow - I need to keep up with my big brother you know! Mama wasn't fast enough with the camera, but you get the gist.

This walking thing is hardwork!

Waiting for Santa by Denny Lynn

I know what you are thinking - it seems a little early, but my Mama will tell you - desperate times call for desperate measures. I have been having trouble lateley transitioning from one activity to another - going to Ms. Darcy's, levaing Ms. Darcy's, getting in the bath, getting out of the bath, going to bed - you know, two year old things. Mama talked to Santa about it. I busted her on the computer with him. I wanted to talk to Santa, too, so Mama said we could make him a picture. Mama helped me and this is what we came up with. I insisted my Santa be blue, because I like blue. We hung it on the wall be the door so Santa could come get it.

 Mama told me I probably wouldn't see Santa - he is sneaky and doesn't like to be seen, but I was pretty sure he would come and I could set on his lap. I waited on the porch for a while just so I wouldn't miss him. Every car that went by I was sure was Santa. We Daddy came in, I thought it was Santa (but I was still glad to see Daddy).

I took my bath and got ready for bed - then I heard a knock on the door - I knew it was Santa, but I wasn't fast enough! He took the picture I made him and in it's place left a letter for me. He told me I am a good boy, just having a rough time. He gave me a new timer to help me be ready to change gears when needed. And reminded me not to have any fits.

He also brought kites for all my friends at Ms. Darcy's and asked me to deliver them. There was one for everybody - even John! There was also a puppy flashlight for John because he is a good brother.

The best thing of all was a train just for me. It was blue like Thomas and Santa said it could remind me to not have fits and be nice to Mama and Daddy so he could bring me more trains at Christmas. I love Santa and I am going to try to be the best little boy - but I am still a two year old.



Cowboyin’ by Denny Lynn

We got to go to Ruidoso and stay in Grandma and Grandpa’s “cabinet” – aka cabin. I waited all evening – through dinner and playtime – to see a deer! She finally came! We used Uncle Rex’s big flashlight to see her having a snack in the yard. It was pretty cool. I got to sleep in my sleeping bag on the floor in Grandma and Grandpa’s room.

On Saturday we went to the Cowboy Symposium. We saw Rex and Lynette. I even sang a song for Uncle Rex to start off the morning. I love the Symposium! 

There are fun things to see and do and lots of music. I checked out the mules with Daddy and learned all about pack saddles. I got to make my own stamped leather keychain – I put a deer on it in honor of the one we saw.  

We looked at the chuck wagons where they were cooking lunch – I like the fires and I was amazed by all the things they were cooking. I checked out the lean-to and teepees. I wanted to get in the lean-to for a nap, but Grandma wouldn’t let me take my boots off!  

I took a short break with Grandpa to prepare for the rodeo – those folding chairs are not my idea of comfy! 

Finally, it was time for the kids rodeo! This is the first year I was big enough to do it. I was in the 3-5 year old group, because I am almost 3. They had us line up on a rope – I knew how to do that and got right in and stayed with my group. My first event was stick horse barrels. I talked to the announcer and ran really fast around the barrels! You can see some really great pictures Ms. Tammy got of me on her blog – click on McVaugh Moments on the right. Cady was in the same group as me and she won!! I still got a ribbon to take home, so it was ok that I didn’t win. My final event was musical hay bales – this was not my game, but I tried.

After all that rodeoin’ I had to get my boots cleaned by this nice lady. It was a good day, even though I was worn out at the end.

Cowboyin’ by John Lee

This past weekend we met Grandma and Grandpa in Ruidoso for the Cowboy Symposium. It is lots of fun! We stay in a cabin in the mountains and there are new things to do – I especially liked the stairs – up & down is pretty cool. Uncle Rex and Aunt Lynette were there, too and came to our cabin for dinner. We ate yummy BBQ. Mama strapped my chair to the ice chest so I could join the party. 

 Grandma got us these fun clappers – I can even make mine clap!

When we went to the Symposium I kicked back in my stroller and took it all in! Whenever someone would rescue me I took full advantage – I practiced walking and climbed up in the stands.

I was so inspired by the cowboys that I did a little trick riding of my own when I got home.