Cute Pictures!

My mom and Mackenzy went to a birthday party at the Children's Museum about a month ago and I thought these pictures were to cute not to post!  Enjoy!



First Pre- School Pictures

Mackenzy's school had their pre-school pictures about a month ago.  We just got the proofs and since I wasn't able to purchase every pose, I thought I would scan them for our memory!  The 1st picture is the one that we purchased.  She looks so cute and grown up in the picture!



I had to keep a copy of this picture!  This is the typical "what on earth are you telling me to do" picture!



We thought this picture was cute too.  I really want to know how they got her to turn her head to the side!



And picture number 4...  There's not much to say about this picture.  She just looks lost!

Overall, I think they got some pretty good shots of her.  She's very photogenic, but very hard to catch sitting still and looking at the camera.

On a side note, Mackenzy loves pre-school.  Her teacher says that she is far more advanced than her peers, is the classroom helper, is very verbal for her age, and is doing a great job telling her teacher when she needs to go potty.  I'm glad she is able to spend a little time in a structured learning environment.  They do say the foundation for learning and education happens by age 6 right?

Skylar's Birthday Party on the Farm!

This weekend, Mackenzy and I attended Skylar's 4th birthday party on the farm!  The farm is located in Gibsonville, NC and had very cute farm related goodies to play on!  We went on a hay ride, played in a corn pit, crawled through tires, and rode the cow train.  We had a great time!

This is when she first spotted the cow train!



Finally riding the cow train after waiting 15 minutes in line.  She wasn't happy waiting but was ecstatic when we finally got to ride.  She didn't want to sit with me and wanted her own cow to ride in.  Such a big girl.

She was determined to grab the balloons.  I think the balloons won though!

Swinging on the big swings and ignoring the camera...

Finally got a good picture!  She was driving the tractor made of hay!

2 years old!

So I'm a little late, but....

Happy 2nd Birthday Mackenzy!

Last Monday, September 19th, Mackenzy turned 2 years old!  Instead of having a large party for her, we decided to have a family dinner with just the grandparents.  Mackenzy is a very loved child and all 6 grandparents (yes 6) came over to celebrate her birthday and I cooked for all of them!  We had a yummy dinner of BBQ seasoned chicken, 7 layer salad, sweet potato souffle, rolls, and cupcakes!  I only managed to burn one thing.... the rolls... Luckily Ray went and got some more for us and he toasted them since I apparently don't know how to work the oven broiler...

It was nice having our parents over and thank them for all they do to help us raise our little one!  Mackenzy loved all of the attention and was in awe that all of her grandparents were in one place at once!

Here is the birthday girl!  She messed up the outfit I had her in but outfit #2 was a success!  She woke up when the party started and I didn't have time to change her hairbows, so she didn't match as well as I wanted her too.



 A rare picture of Ray, his dad Frank (aka Pop Pop), and Mackenzy.  They were watching football... need I say more?

Mackenzy and Nana (Ray's mom) playing with her computer and dancing to the music!

Even my stepmom (aka Grandma) came down for the occasion!  My dad (aka Granddad) seemed to like my cooking!  I don't think he's ever tasted my food and he went back for seconds!

Nana and Pop Pop.  Say "cheese!"



Mackenzy isn't big on sweets so this year we just gave her a cupcake.  She blew out her own candle and instead of eating her cupcake, she proceeded to go around the room to make sure everyone got a taste...

That's my girl!  Always sharing!  The cupcakes were delicious french vanilla with cream cheese frosting!  I had to get them out of our house so my students and I celebrated her birthday on Monday at snack time!

Amongst all the presents, Ray and I got her a tricycle, a dog toy she can pull around the house, and a Dora suitecase!

She's all packed up and ready to go for a visit to her grandparents houses!

Lastly, I know my mom is going to hate this picture, but Mackenzy took it herself for I had to post it!  The only person who escaped my camera was Jarvis (aka J).  Don't worry, we'll catch him next time!

Smile Mimi!

Stat Update:

Mackenzy weighs a whopping 22lbs 15oz!  She crept up to the 10th percentile which we are super excited because she has been in the 3rd-5th percentile since 6 months old.  She is 34.5 inches tall, in the 70th percentile for height, and wears a size 7 shoe!  I wonder where she gets that from!  I guess i have a long future of sewing her clothes to make them fit because she is destined to be a tall and skinny child!

Pretty in Pink

I'm having some difficulty uploading my pictures to the blog so for now I'll leave you with this picture of Mackenzy taken last Sunday while Ray installed her new pink ceiling fan.  She had to wear her tutu swimsuit and sit on the ladder...  She looks old in thie picture but don't worry she didn't grow overnight!  I assure you that she is still almost 2!

We're still here!

Sorry for the lack of updates!  It's been very hectic around here since I went back to work and started school last week.  Every free moment I had over the last few weeks over summer break were spent cleaning out and preparing my classroom for my little darlings which left little time for blogging.  We are indeed doing well and I am currently working on my lesson plans for the week...

My first week as a classroom teacher went better than expected.  There are a few changes that need to be made and the lack of planning time makes making those changes very difficult.  My first week of classes went well and I'm very excited about this semester!

Mackenzy ended up with a viral infection and a 103 degree fever the day before I went back to work, but she is doing better now.

Here are a few pictures that were taken over the past month.  Enjoy!

She was getting out of her high chair and got stuck.  Of course I had to take a picture!

Only my child would attempt to wash her hands and her toys in the Le Bleu water dispenser and smile in the process!

 She loves warm towels and has to have one wrapped around her when they are fresh out of the drier!

 This was my attempt to take a picture of her that was suitable for her pre school teacher!  I think I did a pretty good job!  Pre school starts in about a week and she is very excited!

After reading and doing various assignments this week, I was exhausted.  I snuggled up with my stinky and we took a nap.  I love moments like this!

The End of Diapers!

I apologize for the lack of postings over the past few weeks.  In the midst of working summer camp, cleaning out the junk in my classroom, and attending a week long TEACCH Training, we decided to try potty training again... Yes I said again...

A few months ago, when Mackenzy was about 20 months old I decided to try potty training because she was showing all of the signs of readiness.  She was telling us when she was wet, willing to sit on the potty, requesting to change her diaper when it was dirty, and even saying she needed to go potty.  I thought it would be a piece of cake, but boy was I wrong.  Our sweet little girl became a stressed out toddler because she couldn't figure it out and I got discouraged because I  couldn't figure out why she wasn't getting it.  After about a week of no success, we put the training pants away and put her back in diapers and gave training a break.

After waiting a few months, reading a few more books, and waiting for the signs to reappear, I decided to give it another try.  I stocked the kitchen with plenty of drinks, toys, the computer, and her favorite DVDs and barricaded my bottomless child in the kitchen so I could clean up easier.  After a day of trying to "catch" her pee in the potty, she finally went potty right before bedtime!  She was so proud of herself and Ray and I happily did the potty dance!

2 weeks later, Mackenzy is telling us when she needs to go potty, wearing big girl panties, and will pee in everyone's toilet!  We did have a few setbacks on the way: (1) at first she would only use the potty when she was bottomless because the training pants and pull ups felt like diapers to her; (2) traveling long periods of time in the car makes it harder to stay on her potty schedule sowe have to stop more frequently; and (3)  she has had to learn to take little sips because she'll pee every 5 minutes if she drinks an entire cup of drink...

Overall, we are so proud of our Big (22 month) old Girl!  We realize that she's still learning and she may have some setbacks in the future, but we are well on the way to the end of diapers!!!