Workin' girl

Mackenzie has an official job- she puts away the clean ( non-pointy) silverware out of the dishwasher. For now, she LOVES her new job.

Shift work....

Mike has been working some pretty insane hours that last few weeks in efforts to store up some money for our Colorado trip in Sept. So this is how I've been seeing him a lot more lately- sleepy ( but still handsome!)!
Mack had some big shoes to fill:


And boy have we missed him!

Hiking

We've been spending lots of time exploring the local metro parks. Mackenzie loves to listen for different bird noises and she is always the first one to spot a wild turkey or a frog. Here are a few pictures of our hiking adventures:

Tossing pebbles into the water is always a big hit. It wasn't as much fun when she started throwing lily pads and giant rocks in:
Mackenzie hiking in:
Mackenzie hiking out:
She's not picky about who she hikes on- daddy or mommy:
And a ride on the swings before we go home!

More letters!

Mackenzie has now mastered writing the letter " M" and the letter " A". If you think I'm proud of her, you should see how proud she is of herself, exclaiming " I MADE AN "A"!" nearly every time she does it. Now, instead of tiny circles and lines and scribbles, Mackenzie's coloring pages are full of " M's" and "A's" and rainbows ( her third favorite thing to draw).


And now we are working on how to write the letters next to each other. That may prove to be more difficult than writing them letters themselves.

Mack-ism

I love how Mackenzie says " Rubby duck" instead of rubber duck.

Oh, and a special thanks to Mike for teaching Mack " John Jacob Jingle Heimer Schmidt" ( Sarcasm noted?)

A-A-APPLE!

Mack has nearly mastered letter sounds! She knows 19 out of 26 letter sounds. She loves to walk around saying " B says b-b-b-balloon!" " K-k-k KEY!" I'm working on a video and hope to post it soon. I am just so proud of her! Perhaps it won't be long before she's reading to ME before bed instead of the other way around. Way to go, Macky!

Tractors, trucks, bull dozers! Oh my!

They are completely tearing out the street in front of our house to widen it. While it's not so much fun having to go out of our way on the detour, it has provided entertainment for Mackenzie and for us ( as we watch people get ticketed for breaking the barriers on a one way street).

Mack watching the " ENORMOUS!" dump trucks being filled during breakfast. Those workers start early and quitting time isn't until 6:30!


Here's a quick clip of Mack talking about the tractors:

Indulging those senses

Here's Mack having some sensory play with shaving cream:
What a funny feeling!


She had fun making a "Ch-ch-ch- CHEERIO" necklace after breakfast. It was later her snack:



Doesn't this picture just embody the innocence and freedom of childhood?

Father's day

Mike was actually off on a " holiday'! So we made the most of a special day. Mike works so hard for our family, providing for us so that I can be home with Mackenzie. Even after working 60 and 70 hour weeks between two jobs, he still finds time to make my life easier and makes time every day to play with , read to , chase and snuggle our little girl. I sure do love you, Mike!

Opening his " Brew master of my own universe" T-shirt( Those dimples!!!) :
Daddy feeling the love:
Mack and Mike playing with the ceramic drum Mary gave Mike:
Mary, Aunt Meg and Mack playing Hi Ho Cherry-O before dinner. They , too, felt the sting of losing to Hi Ho Cherry-o queen, Mackenzie!

Mack-isms

Here are a few recent proclamations from Mackenzie:

" My buns are sooooo healthy!"

" My curls sure are beautiful."

" I love _____ ( insert random item) Today she LOOOOVED blue pelicans!

" It's just the dryer, Sydney" ( Mackenzie is not very fond of the dryer buzzer)

" You can't see me. I'm ( whispers) camouflaged."

In other news, we are definitely hearing hints of Michigan accent in Mackenzie these days. While many inhabitants of the Mitten state don't believe they have an accent, I can hear that long " A" sound when Mackenzie says certain words. Pretty cute!

Amazing Grace

Treasure box

Grams has been busy! A large, heavy box showed up on our doorstep today and it was jam packed with fun things for each of us. The treasures and trinkets were like getting a piece of home delivered to our door making Colorado not seem so far away. Mom took such care to find things to fit each of our personalities and it was so appreciated. Thanks, Mom!

It didn't take us long to tear into the box!:
For Macky, the box held Hawaiian leis, sweet treats , lady bug wings, sun glasses, water toys and the list goes on! Here she is trying on some of her new fashion must haves:
Though you won't hear her say it out load, my mom is a very talented artist. She likes all things crafty. For Mike, she engraved this box with the logo of Mike's favorite beer. She filled it with a few of Mike's sweet treat cravings. She also sent along grilling essentials and spices:
For Mack and me, she made matching aprons ( which I adore). They are reversible and one of a kind- she made her own pattern!
Here is my special box filled with things to pamper myself with including one of those nifty Ped Egg contraptions! Soon my feet will be so smooth, Mike won't be able to make fun of me for my "cactus feet" any more. There was also a sweet love note which made me cry from the very first line.
Beautifully hand decorated with my favorite flower!
This is how Mack ended up at the end of the box. She wore this get- up until dinner time when I had to physically remove it piece by piece ( notice the sunflower sticker just for you, Grams!)!
I can't wait to see you, Mom and share Mackenzie with you. Just 6 more weeks!

Matthaei Botanical Gardens

Aunt Meg attended a plant sale at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens ( a part of The U of M) a few weeks back and thought Mackenzie would enjoy their children garden. Boy was she right! Mackenzie could probably have stayed the whole day with out being bored. Here are pictures of our morning:

Look at this little guy we found hanging out "poolside". He could be the official greeter:
Mack had lots of things to sniff. She did very well and didn't even pick any flowers!
A little bit of Colorado in Michigan- a Columbine
The children's garden was a huge success. Mackenzie could roam where ever she wanted with out any redirecting- something every toddler needs. This is the entryway to the children's
section. I bet it's stunning once all of those vines make their way up the trellis ( Mack took full advantage of the ability to roam free. She's the pink dot at the end of the tunnel).
If you ask Mack, the best part was making stone soup. She played there for a good chunk of time, mixing and pouring and, against our warning, tasting her own soup. While she played there, Aunt Meg and I tried to figure out all the different smells at the " Please touch" section.
Bells!
My little monkey atop the big turtle:
Look who we found wandering the garden!
After smelling irises and poppies, controlling our urge to graze in the strawberry patch, scoping out Koi and crayfish in the fountains and waving good-bye to our toad friend, we headed into Ann Arbor for a quick bite to eat before we pointed our car for home where Mack retreated peacefully to her crib for a nap. She woke up hungry for more stone soup! We can't wait to head back to the garden when my mom comes for a visit!

May....

May seemed to skitter by with out much notice! It seems like I just flipped the calendar page from April to May and now from May to June!

It's been a fairly quiet month here. We've been busy with play dates and making new friends. We met up with our newer friends from church at the park and it was then that I learned Mackenzie has mastered nearly every part of the play ground ( having an older friend to show her the ropes was definitely helpful). It's neat to watch her play with out me but, to be honest, I really liked playing with her! So while I try to give her space, I'm there in a flash when she asks me to come play!

It's been fun to watch Mackenzie with other kids. She's always very eager to just jump right in with a group of kids whether she knows them or not. Since I was a shy girl growing up, I hope this side of her doesn't change.

Here are some pictures to get us up to date:

The zoo was truly a zoo the day we visited. There were swarms of school groups all hurrying to get in one last field trip before school let out. Mike fearlessly lead us to the back of the zoo where we wandered through the gardens and enjoyed the quiet!
Mack has been watching the older kids playing with these hanging masks for months. Finally, she can reach them!

Wee!



Janet's retiring! So Mary threw her a surprise retirement party. She convinced Janet that the party was just a family gathering for Mary's birthday. The look on Janet's face was priceless! I hope she realizes how important she is to us!
Mackenzie and Mary's neighbor, Ben, helped Janet open her box from Mary. It was full of all things blueberry- Janet's favorite.
Mack and Ben took a dip in the pool after dinner:
Mike and me watching the action:

Mary needed a few things from Bronner's and Mx3 was eager to join her on an semi-impromptu trip to Frankenmuth. Everyone was pretty drained from Janet's surprise retirement party the day before but we all had a good time: ( note: Mike's beardless face. He trimmed his beard to short and decided to start fresh.He hated it immediately, Mack didn't recognize him and to me, he looked like a middle schooler. He has since named that episode " The Great Beard Debacle.Memorial Day 2010. Needless to say, he's in the process of growing it back)

We attended the Memorial Day Parade which Mack loved. Then again, what toddler DOESN'T love a parade? Especially when, in their mind, the parade was just for them! Here's a flashback from last years parade:

And one from this year:
Later , the Wilsons came over for a BBQ. After dinner, Mike challenged Will to a game of "Dog fight" ( an airplane game) on the Wii. The girls are clapping and cheering the guys on:
Grammy gave Mack a bath for me while I cut the lawn. Mary put Mack in one of her T-shirts to wear home:
Mike's good friend Andy was home for a few weeks before his next deployment. He brought his new fiancee ( also Andie) with him. We met up for dinner to celebrate the occasion: