The McGinnis Family

Well, Santa officially visited the McGinnis household and rewarded CJ for being such a great kid in a tough year. CJ was delighted by his new kitchen and loved his Tonka dump truck. He has spent hours playing cars on his new full service car garage and ramp. He can already kick his new soccer ball like a champ! Overall, we'd say he had a wonderful Christmas. He wasn't much interested in Mama's spa present, but Daddy's new drum is really exciting. CJ made sure Santa had cookies and then strangely insisted we put them on a plate in the tree to make sure Santa didn't miss them. The picture shows CJ with his beloved sprinkles making the cookies Christmasy. He even managed to sing a rousing Jingle Bells for Mama as he worked. Right now we're at the hotel in Philly ready to get on the plane in the morning and fly to Kansas City. CJ is excited about the trip and can't wait to see his Pop Pop, Nana, Grandma, and all his aunts and uncles. Mama and Daddy are ready fo

Well, we survived. CJ survived. We made it. Casey finished his last final on Tuesday night in American History. I submitted my final paper on Wednesday! I think Casey is more excited than I am. He has been such an amazing support over the last four years as I struggled to get through. Speaking of support...we can't forget our number one trooper, CJ. Yesterday I was so tired I could barely see straight. CJ told me to go night night and kept saying shh...mama sleep. What a great kid. We're always amazed at how truly smart he is becoming. Casey was driving me to work on Tuesday and CJ says from the back seat, Hey, Mama. Today is Tuesday. Then yesterday after I finished at the law school, he sighed, laughed, and said Mama's last year of school! I definitely think he's a listener. The picture is from a few weeks ago when we had our first snow. That is one thing CJ loves! Snow and snowmen. He cannot wait until there is enough snow to build the best snowman ever. He immediatl

We just want to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers. We are holding up. We dn't really have words for you all right now, but we're going to be okay. This weekend we ran away to Lancaster to try to distract CJ. It must have worked a bit because he's still asking to go back to the hotel. This kid is such a traveler. We took him to the Strausberg Railroad to ride on an old steam engine train. He had a wonderful time. Here are a few pics of him in his conductor hat. He also has some very cute conductor overalls that we will feature in a photo later on.

Here is CJ at Halloween with his second cousins Dakota and Cheyenne. He had a great time trick-or-treating with them. He came home dumped out his candy and was ready for another round. He enjoyed his trip to Kansas City and loves his Superman outfit. He was supposed to be Curious George, but the store Mama ordered it from sent the wrong size so Grandma (Edie) and Daddy ran out to save the day.

We had a wonderful time in Chicago. We met up with Christy who showed us around the city. CJ was especially impressed with the Lincoln Park Zoo and Navy Pier. She was a great tour guide. We took a water taxi down to the Sear's Tower, but decided not to go up since CJ was passed out cold. He really loved looking at all the buildings and people. On Friday night when we were walking back from dinner, a very impressive looking Marine came over to us. He was young maybe early twenties, but extremely decorated. He asked us if he could give CJ his old Lieutenant bars. He pinned them on CJ and saluted him. It was a pretty neat moment. We thanked him and he said, "No, thank you for being the best parents you can be." What a neat experience. The pictures are of CJ at Navy Pier.

I can't believe its been a month since we updated. Well, actually I can. It's been a month full of adjustments between moving to Newark and Mama and Daddy both in school. We are a bit crazy. Mama has school Monday and Wednesday during the day and Tuesday and Thursday nights. Daddy has school Tuesday and Wednesday nights so needless to say it's a bit crazy. As most of you know, we are also very excited that CJ will be a big brother in May! It's amazing how fast time passes. We can't believe that our CJ baby is a big boy who will be a big brother soon. CJ seems very excited and loves to kiss Mama's belly and talk about the baby. Casey has taught him to refer to the baby as a brother so he's always saying baby brother. We've been in Chicago the last four days for a conference. Casey and CJ have roamed the whole city. The first picture is from Thursday night when CJ passed out at dinner before the food even arrived. He looked at me and blinked twice, laid hi

We have officially moved back to Newark! We have a lot of work to do before we can say we're moved in, but we're getting there. It was a long weekend of moving and cleaning and running after a filthy little boy. CJ started us off by packing one of his shoes in an unknown box that we have yet to find. He went around in his socks until Mama could go to buy him some new sneaks on the way to the new house. He loves the house and spends all day going HOUSE! HOUSE! For that I am grateful. He did cry when he had to leave his friend, Deandra, across the street. We vowed to keep in touch though and are planning on taking her with us to the zoo in a few weeks. As for the rest he has settled right in. We've enjoyed lunches together all week. Of course, he loves the backyard and the stream that runs along the edge (Did we mention that we have a little stream?). He has been investigating everything and is constantly covered in dirt. No longer is this kid afraid of the grass. Last night

Here is our Philly boy the night we took him to his concert. He was telling us all about the people walking by as we ate a quick snack at a local pub. He was being a bit bossy insistant that we soak up the sounds and people as quickly as he did. He was not impressed with our apathy and definitely reminded Mama to look around and enjoy the atmosphere. While I am certain he will enjoy the backyard, I think he too will receive quite a culture shock when we arrive in good old Newark later this month. Currently he is running through the house shouting box as the continue to pile up. It is amazing how much we have just donated though. We're ruthless and I think he is concerned that his toys will go out as he has been hiding a toy here and there as we pack. He just made a good friend across the street and I'm sure he'll miss hanging out with her, but I think he already met a new little girl whose father works at the University. Last night we went to Old City to grab a bite

This is CJ rolling his eyes at us. He is such a nut. We were on our way to the Jack Johnson concert. CJ loved his first official mainstream concert! He partied it up with the best of them. Dancing and singing along and of course bossing everyone around him to do the same. Finally, he passed out and slept through the last hour and all the way home. This week has been a big one for him. He's really getting his alphabet down and only misses a few letters here and there. Numbers seem to be more of his thing though and he has been counting like crazy. He can count all the way to 9 by himself (much to our suprise), but usally likes to stop around 5 or 6. I guess as first time parents we don't know what he's supposed to be doing, but that seems like a huge deal to us. He loves numbers and is counting everything. He is also growing much more comfortable chatting with us even though he gets quite frustrated that we don't always know what he wants. He has been call

Well, the Philly McGinnis family is moving back to Newark, DE. The price of gas coupled with a very active two-year-old has convinced us city lovers to move back to the suburbs (at least for awhile). We are very excited as a house has opened up at the University so we'll basically be living on campus. I'll be able to walk to work and go home for lunch. There will still be a park down the street and CJ will have a huge backyard to play in. It will be nice not to be commuting for two hours a day while I'm trying to finish up law school. Casey is going to be able to start back to school in the Fall as well so we're very excited about that. Overall, it is going to be a great move for us even though we'll miss the city streets. As you can see, the house is sweet and we'll have more space since it has a huge basement. I can't imagine getting more lucky right now.

So the picture was stolen off of Mike and Sarah's website because I'm at work and haven't unloaded the camera of pictures at home yet. The blog is very behind because Mama is behind. Between the trip, work, and finishing up my summer class I've been swamped. As I approach my final semester, the posts are likely to be sporadic unless Case can pick it up. The trip was fabulous. Thank you to everyone. Thank you notes are on the way (Sorry for being rude and waiting so long). We have a great time and CJ really enjoyed his birthday. It was fun to have such a big party and see everyone. CJ likes to go through and name everyone he can think of as if he's running through a grocery list. Things have been crazy here not that its not always crazy. Uncle Eric is here for a visit and for work so we're heading to DC and Annapolis this weekend. We'll get some great pics and update on Monday. CJ is just being CJ. Like his cousin Abby, he loves the park and wants to be outsi

We are getting ready to head back to Kansas City for the weekend. It should be a nice time. CJ is getting excited that his birthday is coming up. He keeps pointing out birthday cakes in his books and blowing out the candles. He has also memorized all the people in the photo album and points them out by name. (We'll see if he'll actually say the names when we get there though.) He is still shy about talking when others are around. This week he's taken to teaching Curious George his ABCs, which he sings over and over again- the tune and some of the letters are right. LMNOP is always in the right place. He's still the sweetest most sensitive soul and he really knows how to make people feel better already.

Hi again. Just wanted to let everyone know that invitations are in the mail for CJ's birthday. It will be from 1pm-4pm at my parent's house in Blue Springs on Saturday, July 5th. Casey will be grilling up some lunch so you know there will be lots of good food. The kids can play in the sprinkler and we'll have a little baby pool. It should be lots of fun.

CJ has grown so much lately. It shocks me to see that sweet baby face growing into a little boy. He continues to be hilarious and has his father's sense of humor. He's serious like his mother though and hasn't lost that sweet sensitivity he's always shown. He thinks he's a big boy now and likes the idea of it except when it comes to snuggling with Mama. I imagine he'll always be a snuggly boy. He's a climber and can scamper up the rock walls at the park faster than we can turn around. He also likes standing on his head or partially. He's always stretching out. Its funny to watch him. He seems to add new words everyday and every once in awhile he'll completely suprise us with a new phrase. At this point, his favorite phrase is "I want (insert newest noun here). Casey is ready to kill me because I kept calling one of the pictures of cookies in CJ's book a kumkwat because I didn't realize they were cookies. Now its one of CJ's favorite

We had a great time in Mystic, CT last weekend for Father's Day. We spent Saturday at the Mystic Seaport, a little reanactment community right on the water. We even got to see a replica of the Amistad (the original was either scrapped or sunk). That part was neat, but very sad to see the conditions those men endured. CJ loved the water and kept trying to walk onto all the boats he saw (even the yachts that had just docked for lunch). He really enjoyed driving the ship. We then had lunch at a great little inn right on the water- Seaman's Inn. It was wonderful. On Sunday we went to Mystic Aquarium. CJ really loved it. His favorite was the buluga whales as you can see from the picture. He laughed and oohed and ahhed. It was a great weekend. Now we are just gearing up for our trip to Kansas City and for his birthday in a few weeks. Daddy is going on a guy's camp weekend next weekend with Uncle Sami so CJ and I are planning a trip to the zoo. We'll put up more pics then.

Father's Day is just around the corner and CJ and I decided to get Case his gift a little early. So this morning the three of us set off in the jeep to the Dick's Sporting Goods where Daddy got to pick out his very own canoe. Yep, we city kids now have a huge canoe sitting in our living room. Case is out with some friends so he hasn't had a chance to put it away yet. CJ doesn't mind he's sitting in it watching Elmo. Both of them love the canoe and I think they will be very happy taking it out this week. I think we have another little camper on our hands too as he did not want to get out of the tent set up in the store when it was time to leave. He's ready to go for his first camping trip. He'll have to wait a bit though because our adventure for next week is to head to Mystic, CT. Pizza anyone? We're off to the aquarium, the seaport, and a beautiful park on the shore. We're quite excited and can't wait for this week to hurry up. We're espec

We will be having a birthday party for CJ on the afternoon of Saturday, July 5th in Blue Springs. I hope to get invitations out this weekend, but wanted to give folks a head's up. I certainly hope we see your smiling faces for the event.

Its been nearly a month and we're still doing fine. CJ continues to grow like a weed and develop into a very sweet young man. He is very good at his please and thank yous and surprises us with a your welcome every once in awhile too. He loves to look at photo albums and to randomly name off all the people that he knows. Its quite funny. He can count along with Mama and Daddy up to ten now. Its hard to believe . He has an amazing sense of humor and loves to laugh with all of his little teeth flashing. He thinks he's about 20, and some days its hard to tell the difference between CJ and my college students. He's very studious and takes reading very seriously. Unless you are reading to him, he prefers to be left alone while he is enjoying his story. Curious George is still his best friend and Elmo is constantly on his mind. He loves his Sesame Street. His other favorite is Wheel of Fortune. As I sit here writing, he's proudly shouting out letters to help the contestant

Okay...so I let the blogging slip a bit. Its been a long month. CJ is growing like a weed and just chats away with you like he's been talking his whole life. His favorite expressions are "Oh, no..." "Go...go...go", and "More peas (please)". He was really excited when Grandpa and Nana (my parents) came in town. He ordered them around for a full week and showed off his playground skills. Now he runs to the door when he's bored going Bompa and Nana. I guess Case and I aren't nearly as exciting. Many of you may know my Grandma passed away two weeks ago. It was sad for all of us even though we know she was ready to go. I had a tough time with it and am just now getting back on track to finish up my semester. Casey and CJ are enjoying their time together at home. Although yesterday CJ decided not to take a nap all day and was crazy. Poor Daddy. The pic is an old one but captures CJ's spirit yesterday pretty good. No new news on the job front for

Newest update. We're all upside. No, things are going okay. Casey and CJ seem to be doing well together. They are quite the little travelers and come out on the train twice a week to meet Mommy. CJ is missing his Grandma Dee and his Uncle Johnny though. When he gets in the care he often goes Dee...Dee...Dee... Hopefully, we'll head over there this weekend. The picture was taken by Laurie at Grandma Dee's house. He is doing great though. He's talking a lot more and he loves to dance. He's got some great moves too. I'll try to catch some thing weekend and post the pictures. He loves Sesame Street and will give you the evil eye if you interrupt him. What else? Mommy is madly trying to finish up her semester and is dreading summer classes. However, she is quite excited that she will be finished in December. CJ is too. He's taken to being really mad at Mommy being gone during the day. It seems like it made sense that both Mama and Daddy were gon

Whew! What a long week. CJ and Daddy spent the week playing and getting into a routine until CJ ended up sick again with brochilitis and an ear infection. Mama, Daddy, and CJ spent two hours at the doctor on Friday and poor CJ was stuck with breathing treatments every 3-4 hours all weekend. He definitely has asthma so we're hoping he will grow out of it quickly. Even still, he managed to have a great Easter and of course, was spoiled by everyone. His Grandpa McGinnis and Grandma Becky had the Easter Bunny send him a basket with lots of fun stuff. Aunt Cece sent a fun package with lots of CJ's favorites including a dollar which he promptly unfolded and slid under the stereo with the rest of his money. (We can't figure out why he likes to do this, but he's stored up over $10 so far. The weird thing is it's only bills that go under there; any coin change he finds goes into his pink sing along pig that is supposed to hold huge plastic coins). Of course the Easter Bunny

There seems to be lots to update you all on. CJ is doing great! He just loves to talk now and his vocabulary seems to be growing so quickly I can hardly keep up. More than that, he responds to questions now. That has been really exciting. He recently took his first trip to New York with Mama, Daddy, and Aunt CeCe. He seemed to really have a good time and was fascinated by the speed and all the lights. I'll post pictures and more updates about the trip soon. Today, we wanted to announce that CJ has a new cousin- Evan Michael. His cousin Abby is now a big sister! Evan and Sarah are doing fine. Evan was born on Sunday and weighed in at 9lbs 12oz. CJ can't wait to get back to Missouri and meet him! Here is a picture of Evan Michael. I'll post some new pics of CJ later this week. P.S. Casey is now a stay at home Dad- at least for a bit. I'm sure the two of them will be causing trouble all over South Philly now.

Hi all! Things here are going alright. I am on "Spring Break" this week (too bad I still have to work) and we are looking forward to not having to deal with classes for much longer. CJ got a big boy haircut from a professional finally. Sandy went to Grandma Dee's early on Tuesday to give him a big boy cut. She said he did very well and didn't cry too much. When I got there he ran right up and pulled on his hair! It was quite funny. He is still climbing all over things and is talking a lot more this week. He even chatted it up with Grandpa on the phone for several minutes. He got to run around today out in the grass and chase Casey so he was very happy. Next week he gets a day home with Daddy and gets to see Aunt Cece who will be here on Thursday. Here are some pictures of his new haircut. I had to include the one in which he is screaming because he wants the camera!!

Wow! Is Mama really managing to update this two weeks in a row? CJ is doing well. We're hoping we've reached the end of sick season--although I'm not holding my breath. He's a little rascal and is certain he is already grown. The picture shows how much he enjoys climibing into everything. He's like his Mama at that age and will climb to the top of whatever he can. He also has figured out the concept of stacking things so that he can climb higher. This week it seems his vocabulary is starting to really blossom. His current favorite words are hot, yellow, green, and baby. He is still an extremely sensitive little guy and loves to kiss his stuff animals, his family, and occasionally himself in the mirror. His newest thing is to take his babydoll for a diaper change and bring over the lotion and diapers for Mama to fix that babydoll up. Last night we introduced him to Annie the musical and he did not move except to dance until the very end. He also got quite upset when

Okay so I haven't been keeping up with this as well as I should. Hopefully, we can catch up. Things here are going ok. CJ had his 18 month check-up and passed with flying colors. He's 34 in. tall (90 percentile) and 24 lbs (20 percentile). He's actually moved up a weight class so that was really good. However, he's had two double ear infections and two rounds of brochilitis since we got home. His allergy test confirmed allergies to nuts, cats, dogs, and he's allergic to amoxicillian. The doctor thinks he probably has asthma too given the brochilitis and allergies. He now points at CHOP in the mornings when we drive by since we've been there so much!! He's taking it all in stride though. The picture is after a nap during his last ear infection last week. He's soo tall. I am back into the swing of the semester with a huge case of scenioritis. I'm actually taking 5 classes this semester, but some of them are pretty exciting. Casey is plugging away at Pi

Well, we made it back to Philly! Its been a crazy few weeks though. CJ came back with an ear infection and brocholitis. Then he and Mama ended up with the flu on top of that. Poor Casey had to take care of both of us. I started classes the Monday we got back and so we're back into the swing of a semester. Thank goodness I'm almost done- only one more semester after this one. We had a great time in Kansas City visiting with all of our friends aned family. CJ misses everyone and loves to look through the photo album and point out his family. He also misses his friends Ian and Eli who he absolutely loved to tag after when we visited The Menzies- Spangie, Drew, Sierra, Ian, and Eli. He had a great Christmas full of suprises and travels. He is definitely one spoiled little boy, but we don't mind. Thank you all so much. His favorite thing seems to be his quad bike that his Aunt Dawn and Uncle Eric gave him. He loves zipping around our living room with it. We are still waiting to