Acting her age....

So it was bound to happen sometime.It is the right of every two year old to act...two. And Mackenzie has, in fact, been two for 7 months. But the last few weeks she's definitely ACTED two. Sometimes I look at this tiny toddler dictator and feel like I'm talking to a teenager trapped in this sweet girl facade. None the less, I love her for it. It's good for her to test her limits and see that they are sturdy. It's good for her to have an opinion but also learn how to express it. It is a long process and there are, indeed, so many rules. We'll get through it ( even if it takes the next 16 years) and one day I'll look back and miss this sassy sprite of a girl. So I don't laugh ( or cry) alone at some of her recent spoutings, here a some examples of Mack's " two-ness". Keep in mind that I'm not new to the two year old game and her big talk doesn't ever get her very far. Doesn't keep her from trying, though.

" No, Mama, I won't eat my brestkist ( breakfast in Mackenzien) . This is MY life!"

" I can't believe this!"

" Don't love me!" ( Mike was trying to kiss her) ( This is also interchangeable with don't : see me, smell me, taste me, touch me, pet me)

Despite all of mood swings, tantrums, drama , and tears ( ohh so many tears!) that come along with those in the 2 year old age bracket, it is my very favorite age. For every sassy comment, there are 10 sweet or funny things said. To watch someone reach out and taste the world for the first time is a gift that I could never put a price tag on.Just last night ,as I kissed her good night, she whispered in the sweetest voice " I love you sweet girl Mommy".

"C" is for cookie!

We spent a day with Aunt Meg making Halloween sugar cookies. What a perfect day for it. After all the cookies were baked and dinner was had, we spent a few minutes at the park to use up some of that cookie energy!

Flour, though it looks like sugar, does not taste good plain. Now that it's in, what to do with it?:
Roll it on out, girls!
Cute aren't they? And they tasted even better ( the gluten free variety for me, of course)

Friendly days

Mack had a friend-filled week last week! Griffin, Olivia and Erin were here on Tuesday followed by Gage and Jillian Wednesday and Thursday. It's on those days that I can say with 100% confidence that I am glad we've decided to spread our kids out! Having three kids under the age of four in the house for three days in a row was a lot for this ex-preschool worker! But it was fun and , for the most part, the kids all played well together with out much direction from me.

We made a marching band. Mack and Jilly loved playing their recorders ( much to the dismay, I'm sure, of our neighbors). After this, we made "Halloween People" , a much quieter project.
Who doesn't love a tea party?

Surprise parade!

I can't imagine what it must be like to be Mackenzie. Yesterday she was sitting in Grammy's living room reading when suddenly she's told she gets to see Aunt Janet AND a parade all at once! She must think we throw parades just for her. In truth, this parade was to celebrate home coming.

The parade went right past Grammy's house. Mackenzie and Aunt Janet wanted to get the best seats:
It was a great day for a little parade. Far better than the last in which we got rained on!

See how she grows!

Ok, ok, we all know that kids grow at lightening speed. I have heard from countless people " Don't close your eyes, she'll be a teenager!" And I know it's true. It just never gets old for me ( and I hope not for you) to see the difference in Mackenzie in just under 365 days!

Oct 16th 2009

October 15, 2020
In just a year, Mack's gone from size 2T clothes to 4T, She's gained 4.5 inches ( but only about 2 lbs), her feet have grown three sizes and she's grown 4 teeth. She's out grown her crib and moved to a big girl bed, learned to dress herself and has been potty trained for more than 6 months among countless other things learned. This is all just amazing. I love watching it all from my front row seat!

Art Project

Just for you, Grammy ( with the photo version, you won't have to sweep up falling leaf crumbs hehe) :

The leaves are a souvenir from our nature walk last week. We did this same project last year and I love it because it uses hand tracings for the trees. This year Mackenzie was much more involved and she placed darn near every one of those leave crumbles. I love fall for lots of reasons, least of all it's easy projects!

Here's a quick pic of Mackenzie's rainbow and sunshine. She also loves to draw lady bugs and has started to draw people, too!

Fall 2010

If you ask Mackenzie if we took a walk yesterday she'll tell you " No. Not a walk. A NATURE walk." And she's right. We took time out as a family yesterday to walk the trail, taking in the sights of gorgeous fall day. We gathered leaves and acorns to use in art projects and for decorations around the house.

Start the day off right- a sugar pumpkin!


We're getting plenty of use out of our 99 cent bucket! We were really hunting for leaves and acorns but Mack wouldn't pass up a nice stick.

She and I ran home while Mike followed with the stroller. Mack yelled " I'm jogging! I'm jogging!" the whole way: