Words!

A few month back, Mack surprised me by showing me she could write not only her name, but mine ( mom). Today, she did it again, this time writing the word " Box" all on her own!
Mack invented a new game. It doesn't have a name yet but it's a fun one: Mack shouts out a letter and I write it ( both the capital and the lower case " If you know it" as Mack said). Then it's Mack's turn. It was pretty fun and Mack's letter's are becoming more and more legible every day! I, on the other hand, was writing upside down so it's only slightly easier to read mine.

The three year old's guide to spaghetti

Start off slowly with just a small taste. Being a lady is important but....

Slurping is allowed.....

And it's FUN!

Use your fingers when absolutely needed for the little pieces.

Take an occasional break to decide if you're full.

Don't forget to clean up when you're all done.

Cleaning your plate , while helpful, is not necessary.

Scenes from the home front

My mom is coming to visit for our birthdays( her 50th and my 30th) ! We needed a reason to " count down!" Check out Mack's letter work on ours:
Mack is just too adorable in this jacket!
Mike had our cat, Sydney, all mellowed out. Wanted to try my new camera with her pretty eyes:
I found this super neat puzzle at Borders at Christmas time and tucked it away for a rainy day. It's a regular puzzle of a house scene on one side ( complete with reusable clingy stickers) and a wipe -away colorable on the reverse. Great find in the bargain section!
Angie, the girls and I hung out in Ann Arbor last Sunday. We had lunch together and cruised around Kerrytown. Of course we did a good job of trying out every toy we came across.
Mack found these bracelets and wanted to entertain Mia. Mia seems mildly interested in tasting them.
Mack and Hannah LOVED these little bug scooters. They could have taken the place by storm if their mommies weren't there!

Birds Galore!

Each month, I pick a theme, or something to "study" with Mack. Last month was hearts and "doctor" type stuff ( since she had her well child exam coming up). This month was " Birds" Here are a few quick snaps of bird month:

Hand print bird:
Home made nest ( from one flamboyant bird!)
Feather bird:
Robin:
We visited the aviary:
Mack got up close and personal with this finch:
Stay tuned to find out what we learn about bugs in April!

One tantrum, comin' right up!

It's not the most polite thing to take pictures of someone who is in the middle of a tantrum but she was putting on such a good show, I couldn't help it.

What started out like this:
Ended up like this:

Our little preschooler

I contemplated the idea of sending Mack to preschool for MONTHS before I finally made a decision to registrar her for fall 2011. My decision wasn't based on the academics of preschool, rather the social aspect of being in a classroom. Not only that, the kid gets nothing but " the mommy channel" 24 hours a day 7 days a week. There is nothing wrong with that, we all love it, but she craves time with other kids. So, the day finally came- preschool open house. She was so excited to check it all out though slightly disappointed when she found out there would be no school bus riding involved with preschool.
She explored every inch of the place,

introduced herself to her teacher and even spruced up a bit:
The three year program is play/center based learning which is perfect for us since we enjoy doing lots of the more academic stuff at home in the form of games and projects. The teacher , Ms. Barb, is wonderfully enthusiastic about her job and the program seems to be a good extension of what we do at home. Do we have to wait for fall to start?

Happy Birthday, Mike!

Mike celebrated his 32nd birthday this week. To start his day right, Mack and I made him breakfast. Check out that bed-head!

Then, he spent the day following his whims, something he doesn't get to do very often. He had lunch at his favorite place in Ann Arbor, took his time wandering through Best Buy and getting the tattoo he's been wanting for a long time.
We ended the day with dinner at Famous Dave's and cupcakes at home:

She's a daddy's girl

I love the relationship that Mike and Mack have. They are such good friends and Mackenzie loves to tag along with Mike on whatever excursion he may be going on. Since Mike works nights, Mack's favorite thing is to wake Mike up every afternoon. Recently, she found an abandoned kitty whisker that she used to tickle daddy back to life:

See the whisker in her hand?
I love when Mack is in the mood to hold hands:
Here's the obvious punchline: " We all know who wears the pants in this house!"

At least she's honest!

Mack: Mommy, I can't find my game. I looked and looked and can't find it.
Mommy: Mack, remember how I said toys that don't get put away could get lost? I picked it up and put it in my pocket because I was worried you wouldn't have it to play with if we left it lying around. What would happen if you didn't have your toys to play with?
Mack: I'd " frow"( throw) a tantrum!

Patterns

Mack has mastered " Patter-ins" ( the Mackenzien word for patterns) and since then, everything must be made into a pattern. I've found everything from food to socks and shoes to hair accessories stretched out in perfect patterns. A few days ago , she told me her dream
"patter-in" would be " Pigeon. Penguin. Rooster. Pigeon. Penguin. Rooster." I think she's got it!

She's a big kid now!

Wow! Three,even in it's short duration thus far, sure has brought on lots of big kid things!

Angie and the girls gave Mack a pair of roller skates for her birthday! Kenzie wasted no time trying ( trying is the operative word here) to get those suckers on! With a little help, she was vertical and ready to go...with help of course:
Uncle Andy and Daddy were on hand to see Mack peddling down the side walk! Her helmet from last year is severly small so she's sticking to the " Mom by my side, sidewalk only" rule until we find a helmet we like.
I was so impressed by this meticulous project painted by Mack. She wanted to test out what would happen to the color purple when you add other colors to it. Each time I'd add a new color to the paper, she'd smear them together in it's assigned spot and move on for another color! I love it and am now trying to figure out how I can use it:

" Up! Up ! UP!"

With temps on their way up ( at least for a few days), I laced up my running shoes and hit the trails. It was great to be able to stretch my legs and , even better, to realize that I haven't lost much of last years training. While I've only been running shorter distances, I was able to get my 5k speed under 30 minutes ( even if just by a minute!) . With Mike now working nights, I am able to get a run in just about every day. Some days I'm too antsy to wait for him to wake up ( and be with Mackenzie) so I take her with me! She's a tough trainer but a good cheer leader. My least favorite parts are the hills, but now for the reason you're thinking. Mack starts shouting " Up! Up! Up!" as soon as we start at the bottom of those hills and gets higher with each proclamation. I run faster just to save my ears from that ear splitting " UP!" at the top of her range. Running, for me, is a challenge, a de-stress, a time to be " quiet" and I sure have missed it!

Here's a pic of "Coach". Look how she's out growing our well loved, well beaten down stroller:
And here's one just to make you smile:

Jump for joy!

Spring seems to have finally made an appearance here! We are more than ready to take full advantage of it but before we do, here are a few pics I couldn't pass up:

Kenzie heard a noise in the bathroom and wanted to investigate. She asked Mike to help her out by covering her ears? Who knows what that's about but Mike obliged and they found the culprit- Duncan playing in the empty bath tub!
Remember these?
My Little Ponies ( the REAL version), a true icon from my generation! None of the Rose girls MLP's were in any shape to be passed down but I found these gems at a garage sale two years ago for a quarter each! They are Mack's new bath buddies! That catches us up and now we're all set to soak up some mildly warm temps and hunt some worms- something Mack's been asking to do since we did it, last year!

Full of fashion

I know I've probably posted 6 or more posts about Mack's wacky outfits but she just is so cute, I can't pass up the chance to grab a picture.

She wore last year's bike helmet all morning:
If anyone can pull of the unmatched shoe look, it's Mack:
Check out those socks- lady bugs on one, hearts on the other:

My kid, the cat.

Mack's imagination is quite active. These days, you never know who you're talking to or where she is. Some days she's a puppy (and you know this because she comes to you with a ball in her mouth for fetching). Some days she and Duncan are catching rays at the beach. Some days she's flying on a rocket with friends we've never heard of. To be sure, every day is an adventure in her mind. Yesterday she was "Duncan" all afternoon. She didn't speak , only purred and meowed. Is it strange that she's slightly better behaved in " cat mode"?

Playing with her ball:
Waiting for a back scratch:
Bath, kitty style:
Kitties do lots of napping:

A makeshift kitty bed:

" May I have some privacy?"