Our mini M

Mike and I didn't know what to think- when we had an ultra sound for Mack at this age, she looked like a little jumping bean, hopping all over in her little home. This little one was still as can be, only moving it's arms and legs occasionally. The tech wasn't concerned about this and it was enough to convince Mike that it's a boy. Why you ask? He says boys are lazy. How amazing it is to see it's little heart beating away on the screen and to know that that little grape sized blob contains so much joy and love.
We have another ultra sound between 11 and 14 weeks and then the " big" one nearing the end of November or early December.

Way to go, mom!

My mom has been working extra hard to try and get a group of projects done for an arts and crafts fair she and her friend ,Kim joined. She got it all done and it turned out great...well everything except the crowd...which didn't really turn out at all! None the less, mom did make a sale and learned a lot from her first art fair. Look at all the things she made in only two weeks!
If you're interested, you can find her work at etsy.com or by clicking here

Congrats , Mark and Carley!

Mark and Carley tied the knot last week! We wish them many happy years together !

Celebrating fall!

It's officially fall . While the Michigan peeps are enjoying cider and a cool chill in the air, we celebrated like this:


Everyone had a great time, even Ellie who did her fair share of sprinkler running. Here she is shaking the extra water off. It's not a great picture, but you can see how Ellie's tail is bent in the shape of a 7! From what we can tell, she was part of a larger litter inside a smaller mommy. Her tail must have grown pressed against her leg . When she lays down, that indent fits perfectly against her leg. What and endearing quality!

So much for taking it slow

We went out for a family dinner at Noodles and Company ( Thanks, Aunt Meg!!!!) and somehow found ourselves in front of a crate-full of the sweetest puppies! But wait. There's that logical part of my brain again- we were gonna take it slow and really plan out what kind of dog would be best for our family. Isn't that the best way? After all, adding a dog to the family is just like adding any other member of the family. The decision needs to be handled with care...

But HOW can you say no to THIS:


You just CAN'T. Especially when you already have a pretty red collar ( that looks so good on black puppy dogs) and a fuzzy stuffed animal with no one to chew it.

So we eagerly went through the adoption process ( again), this time sure a puppy was the way to go. And since I am " frugal" and we already had a brand new, super fashionable collar tag that proudly proclaimed " Elliot Long", we recycled the name and welcomed " Ellie" ( again) into the family. She is a border collie/lab mix and she is just adorable.

Though I couldn't say " no" to Ellie that day, I have easily said it a million times since.

" NO! Peeing in the house!"

"No chewing!"

" No eating your own....'waste' " quickly followed by " NO licking my face!"

Mackenzie and Ellie have a love/hate relationship. Mack doesn't like chasing Ellie around trying to reclaim her toys and she doesn't like when Ellie plays to rough or tries to steal her snack. But she loves having a tireless puppy to chase around and play with .

The good news- Ellie is afraid of the cats. The cats like that. Things are well.
Ellie is doing great with potty training and is already trained to her crate during the night and while we're out. The stray toy kidnapping and cat food stealing....that's a work in progress.

5-4-3-2-1 Blast off!

Mike and Mackenzie did their first rocket launch last week. Mack was so excited and ,though she didn't expect such a load noise, she's ready to do it again!

Assembly:

The fun stuff! Blast off! :
Watch Daddy retrieve the rocket:
And totally unrelated...look what we have growing in our yard!

Back on track

I have continued to work with Mack using the preschool work books ( that I am obsessed with ) . She has learned so much from them and still asks to do them every day. She'll work on them as long as I let her!

Her favorite thing these days is to cute and sort. She's gotten quite good with the scissors!

Along with cutting, Mackenzie has learned early math, logical thinking, patterns, she's a pro at writing all letters ,even writing some basic words. She has also been reading simple words . She's really at sounding words out and has surprised me several times by reading things out of books that have no picture cues to give her hints. Seems like she's growing up so fast. Each time we pass the school she asks " Is that MY school?"

We're also back in the routine of doing near daily arts or craft projects. Pics of those will be on their way soon!