Treats!

We invited Erin, Olivia and Griffin over for a rice crispy decorating party. I originally wanted to make egg shaped crispies but after the attempt failed miserably,we gave up and just let the girls decorate their square as they wanted. Mackenzie wasn't interested in the sprinkles. She just wanted to eat her treat. Olivia methodically covered her square with three different kinds of colored sugar and two different types of sprinkles. Erin and I watched her, praying she would go easy and not eat the entire thing, visions of sugar highs dancing in our heads! We breathed a sigh of relief as she left the table with only a few bites eaten.

Our sigh or relief came too soon. A few minutes later, this is the scene we saw at the kitchen counter:


Yep. They ate the whole thing! Thankfully neither girl reacted extremely to the sugar. In fact, after Olivia left, Mackenzie sat on the couch staring blankly out the window! Apologies were in order for Will, who was going to be flying solo that evening while Erin finished up some Easter shopping.

Help!

After a few of the conversations I've had with Mackenzie lately, I am worried there will soon be a role reversal and she'll be teaching ME! The mind of a two year old is insatiable and she just drinks in every bit of information she gets. Whether it's something she's picked up from Sesame Street, the kids edition of National Geographic, our conversations as we go through our days or who knows where, I am constantly amazed at what she can not only remember but actually learn .

We had been reading in Kids National Geographic about how tigers have stripes that help them to hide, or camouflage, themselves in the grass. A few days later, Mack found a caterpillar on the ground. After several attempts to kiss it , I rescued him by putting him in the dirt. Mackenzie, peering through the grass at him, excitedly shouted " He's camouflaged!" She later pointed to a picture on Grammy's wall of a butterfly on a flower and told her that the butterfly was pollinating!

Spring in our step!

I should just hang up trying to come up with cute names for our blogs! I digress...spring is in full blossom in Michigan. It truly feels as thought we are emerging from the cocoon of winter, bursting into the sunshiney days of spring. Sporting our day-glow skin, and shielding our eyes from the long lost friend, the sun, we are soaking it up!

With the warmer days, Mack can wear regular jammies again. I love this picture. She doesn't look 2 to me in this picture:
We had a cold day last week but that didn't stop Mike and Mack from heading to the park to feed the ducks. Here's a picture of Mackenzie in her " happy place". That girl sure loves to swing:

Mackenzie is trying to lure Sydney into the sun beam on the livingroom floor. Can you see that she's wearing her sunglasses?

My handy man

I was thinking of letting Mike write this post but he wouldn't give himself enough credit. Over the last few days, he has rid our home of the horrible carpet that was here when we moved in and replaced it with brand new Washington Cherry laminate flooring. He'd try to tell you that it's easy, but with all the cutting and measuring and engineering he did, I don't think most people would have had the patience or skill to pull it off.

Here's the room before:
Here's how it looked after the carpet was removed:
Here's my handy man working:

While Mike gets most of the credit, he did have two lovely assistants!
As Mack would say " TAAAA DAAAA"
The hallway was the hardest because it required Mike to customize so many of the planks. He did a great job!
Mike and Mack enjoying a dance on the new floor:
Mike worked tirelessly to get this floor done quickly to appease his overly anxious and slightly compulsive when it comes to cleanliness wife and I really love it! But not nearly as much as I love him!

Marching through March!

I find it hard to believe that we have nearly made it through March! Between Mack's birthday, Mike's birthday and home improvement projects, it seems to have snuck by. Here's what we've been up to!

Check out Mack drinking her milk with her winter gloves on ( it was about 60 degrees that day):


Last weekend we took a break from DIY home updating to attend the church talent auction. In short, it's a long standing tradition where those who are willing donate their time and talents and an then fellow church members bid on them in an auction. Mary donated lots of things like cakes, bread pudding ( a hot ticket item!) and a baby layette. Aunt Meg donated her highly sought after mittens. The proceeds are used for mission work. It was so much fun and we can hardly wait to go again!

This years theme was "Tail gating" so everyone wore their favorite team gear. Here's Mack in her U of M gear. She loved the auction because of the applause after each item was won. Notice her kitty shoes. She hardly goes anywhere with out them:


Mack enjoying the festivities:

The next morning was "New member Sunday". I've been attending South Lyon First United Methodist for a few years now but finally took the leap and joined the rest of my family as a member. Here I am after the service wearing my "new member" corsage, name tag and United Methodist pin:
Later that day, Mary treated us to Thai food at our favorite restaurant to celebrate Mike's birthday and my joining the church.
Mack loved the noodles!

This and that

Here are a few odd pics I couldn't pass up.

Our little Irish girl loves to eat potatoes RAW! If a bag of potatoes gets left with in her range, she tears into it and helps herself to a snack. Here's what I found after putting her down for a nap. Can you see the little bite marks?
During craft time, Mack and I were working on marshmallow clouds. Mack has gotten really good at applying the glue but is still a bit clumsy with it. In this picture, she's frustrated because the marshmallow is glued to her hand.

An outfit for every occasion!

Here's a quick glimpse of Mack's budding fashion sense:

8 am Up and at 'em! Toddler on the Go:
There's no time too early for rain boots! ( By the way, that's amoxicillin on her onesie. We were just about to change her when I snapped this picture)

11 am Always ready for fun in overalls!
2 pm Stomping puddles and looking great!