Harvest Festival 2012

Last weekend we headed to the Harvest Festival at Wildwood as part of LaLa's birthday celebration.  We had so much fun that I think this should become a yearly tradition.  First of all, Wildwood is a beautiful place.  There is a pretty lake complete with a cool stone gazebo and trails through the woods with plenty of troll bridges to traverse.  For the festival, they had several activities set up including pumpkin painting, scarecrow dressing, a hayride and a hay playground just to name a few. It's a big place so we weren't bumping into other people all day long.  Instead, we just strolled through the festival and enjoyed the activities.  The girls had lots of fun and I hope LaLa enjoyed her birthday at Wildwood!

I got my good camera out for the first time in a while.  I ended up with lots of great pics, only a few of which are below.  For more pictures, click here.  

Bad Habit and Other Thoughts

I must admit, I have started a bad habit with Annie already.  She is not the greatest napper in the world. She tends to go down easily, but rarely stays down too long.  When she does wake after only 30 minutes or so, I have two options: pat her little booty for a few minutes as she lays in her crib or get her out and hold her while she finishes her nap.  Well, she's just so darn sweet that I've recently gotten into the habit of just picking her up and holding her as she snoozes.  I know it's not the best nap plan, but it makes me happy and she still sleeps pretty well at night.

It's amazing to see how much different my two girls are already.  Unfortunately, McKenzie inherited my extreme lack of patience.  We work on this daily because I just hate to see that in her, mainly because it reminds me of my own shortcoming.  On the other hand, Annie inherited her father's endless patience.  It's amazing to see her fuss a little when she's hungry, and then wait patiently for me to fix her bottle or help McKenzie use the restroom or get McKenzie some milk or... you get the point.  She waits without fuss, trusting me to get to her as soon as I can.  Truly, I love that baby.

In the middle of my bad habit.

Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now

McKenzie has a... fascination with mannequins.  For that reason, Old Navy is a particularly dangerous place for us to go.  The ONLY reason we got away with taking pictures with just two of their mannequins is because I promised her she could use my phone in the car if we left.  I took these pictures not because I thought she was being cute, but because she demanded that I take them.  We say this a lot around here: she is a nut!

This little girl was her favorite.  Notice the hand holding.

I think she's digging the polka dots on Ginger.

Afterwards, she asked what happened to this lady's head. Ummm...

Speaking of demanding pictures, she made Brant take her picture while she sat on a rock outside of Buffalo Wild Wings.  She then took a picture of her cup, because why wouldn't you take a picture of your cup?  A rather artistic shot if you ask me.

This girl?

I like her a lot.

First Day of School!

Ok, I don't know that I really count K3 as McKenzie's first day of school.  Other than her adorable little uniform, it felt a lot like sending her to mother's day out.  In fact, she's only going one more morning a week for K3 than she did for MDO.  Still, I wanted to remember her first day and make sure we got a few pictures.  As it turns out, McKenzie wanted to make sure we got a few pictures as well.  After posing for some, she turned the camera on us.

Although there is still a lot of focus on play, K3 is a little more involved academically so I look forward to seeing how much she learns as the year goes on.  Her first week was pretty good.  On Tuesday, she got in Brant's car after school and announced, "I had a great day!" followed immediately by "Where's my milk??!!"  Geez Brant, get the girl some milk! On Wednesday, she told me she cried on the playground because she wanted me there.  I might have teared up.  But on Thursday, she only cried on the playground because she ran into a ladder with her face.  Progress.

Our First Day Pictures

Sweet little one.

Silly girl.

She took this!

Here's proof.

Another one from the miniature photographer.

Super Sister

McKenzie is a great  big sister.  I know I've mentioned it before on the blog, but I really can't overstate it and I want her to know just how great she was when she gets older and reads this for herself.  Also, Annie has yet to really get into McKenzie's toys, so this whole being a great big sister might not last too much longer.  For now though, it's heartwarming.  Just a few things that make me smile almost daily:

-McKenzie asking to hold Annie just about every morning.  She smiles and says "Good morning Annie Bean" in a sweet little voice once they are both awake.  She holds her and gives her a gentle squeeze.  And with the exception of the iPad picture, McKenzie asked me to take all of these pictures of her and Annie.  I think she's super proud!

-Annie lighting up when she watches McKenzie.  Annie isn't exactly stingy with her smiles.  Give her a few seconds and almost anyone can make her crack those chubby cheeks into that sweet smile.  But no one makes her smile bigger or longer than her sister.  Just the other day, McKenzie and I both walked into her room as Annie awoke from a nap.  She gave me a courtesy smile, but when she saw her sister, it was over.  She smiled as big as the sun and made some super excited little noises.

-McKenzie understanding Annie's needs.  No, they don't already have some crazy connection that makes McKenzie know exactly what Annie is crying for.  I'm sure that will come.  For now, it just amazes me that when I have to put play with McKenzie on hold to feed, change, rock or hold Annie, she just allows it.  Not once has she thrown a fit because I had to take a break from Cootie Game or come back inside to put Annie to bed.  It's been this way since the day we brought Annie home and I couldn't be more proud of McKenzie for understanding her baby sister's needs.

I am fully aware that this sister sweetness can only last so long.  Once Annie starts showing an inclination towards and the ability to obtain some of McKenzie's toys, I'm sure we will have more than a few fights.  Until then, I plan to enjoy these lovely interactions between the two of them.

A Not So Quick Cleaning

A few weeks ago McKenzie joined me for my biannual visit to the dentist.  I have been talking to my dental hygienist about bringing McKenzie for quite a while.  She recommended that I bring her to my usual cleaning, let her see what happens to me and then see how far we might get with her.  Well anyone that has a kid knows that something like a dentist visit is a total toss-up.  Despite how well you know your own child, you have NO IDEA how they might respond in a weird situation like this one.  Personally, I thought McKenzie might let the hygienist count her teeth.  Maybe.  As it turns out, I was dead wrong.  Once I finished with my cleaning and x-rays, McKenzie excitedly asked, "Is it my turn yet?"  The girl couldn't wait to get in that chair!

After settling in, she looked at all the dental tools, felt the little air and suction thingy on her hands and let the hygienist get to work.  She not only let her teeth get counted, but also brushed and flossed.  FLOSSED.  I was in disbelief.  She wasn't a huge fan of the water being sprayed in her mouth, once telling the hygienist that she didn't like it and finally saying outright, "I'm done with that one."  I mean, I'd hate for her to be completely compliant.  But overall, a hugely successful trip.

Starting things out...

Not even phased by this!

Smiling...ok, making a weird face... to show her clean teeth!

It's Official

McKenzie turned three last Thursday, and now that we've had her party, it's official.  She's a full blown three-year-old.  Her tantrums have given way to a sassy little attitude that is a little frustrating at times.  As much as I love her determination to do everything herself, sometimes it would be nice to just put her clothes on, pick out her shoes and pull her hair back with no fuss.  Yeah, that's not happening anytime soon.  As frustrating as it might be now, I know that independent spirit will serve her well in the future.  And I guess for now, it's funny to see her wear her dress backwards all day long and not give a care!

Her birthday celebration started a little early, as we enjoyed dinner and ice cream with Drew, Erin, Mere and Ben last Tuesday.  Then, it was breakfast at Shipley's on her actual birthday with Mommy, Daddy, Dandy and LaLa followed by a movie (Brave) with Carter and Granmom.  She claimed Harper's party as her own on Saturday (sorry Harper!) and then the weekend culminated with her painting party today.  Needless to say, she's felt pretty special all week long.

The paint party idea began with a suggestion from Kelly and it was a huge success.  As you can see from the pictures below (click here for even more), the kids had a great time even though it was 100+ outside!  A huge thanks to Jenny for capturing so many great moments!  And just so we don't forget, the morning started at 4:30am when our A/C went out.  Thankfully, we were able to get a temporary motor installed in time for the party.

Ready for the party to begin!

Water balloons, each one painstakingly filled by Carter.  Thanks DAD!!!

Love this picture!

Love my McKenzie!

Even Annie Bean got in on the tie-dye action.

All the kids!

Another favorite picture!

She had some seriously good reactions to presents this year.

So excited for these princesses!

Annie Update

There's not a whole lot to update on Annie, but she's got a few things going for her.  We just started doing food and she seems to enjoy a variety of fruits and veggies.  We are slowly but surely weaning her out of the swaddle blanket.  She has let out a few hearty giggles that really just melt my heart.  Other than that, we're just working our way through the summer.  

A little four month photo shoot.

Looking cute at the lake.

Princess Camp

I did it.  I signed my little girl up for Princess Camp.  How bad could it be, I thought?  There was not just dancing, but crafts and... well, that's it.  Dancing and crafts.  But also, four days of just getting to hang out with Annie from 9-12, since it was a drop off camp.  So, I bought the required ballet shoes, a couple of leotards and tutus and we were set.  I could not be more happy about doing it for McKenzie, because she LOVED it.  I walked her into the dance studio the first day and she didn't even look back to say goodbye.  On the last day, there was a cute little performance and after waiting through TWO other groups, McKenzie finally got her chance to shine!

A quick practice session before we leave.

Cutie!

Getting a hug from Daddy before the big show, barely avoiding a meltdown!

Being told it wasn't her turn yet.  She walked away crying.

Starting position.

Obvious talent, but I love Brant's huge smile in the background even more!

Concentrating.

The only person that could make me like dance!

Best First Friend

Last week, McKenzie's best friend moved to Michigan, taking her incredible family along with her.  Just typing that makes me sad.  I don't know if or when McKenzie will actually miss Brinley.  She doesn't really grasp the concept of moving.  Most certainly, I miss her enough for the both of us.  Though at times they fought like sisters, they had many great moments of playing, learning, talking, plotting, planning and sharing together.  Thankfully, we still have some great friends here, as well as a couple of great cousins, but Brinley will be missed.  Every day.

An all too infrequent night out for the parents!

Tutu Hugs!

Walking in for the last day of school.

School's out for summer!

Chatting over a popsicle.

Skip to my Lou!

Loving the water!

Another school day.