Movie Time

I snapped this picture last Saturday afternoon.  I guess McKenzie was more into "Despicable Me" than her Daddy!

Big Sister in Training

What's going on in this picture, you might wonder.  Well, I took McKenzie's dirty diaper off, but she would not let me put a fresh one on her.  Instead, we had to put one on Monkey first.  She spent at least ten minutes trying to put the "biper" on Monkey before letting me do it for her.  Finally, she allowed me to put one on her.  Diaper changing is tough these days!  I really want to start potty training, but I just don't think she's ready for it yet and I don't want to push her.  It is nice to see her want to help me do things, even if it's just with the Monkey for now.

Just like Mommy

If McKenzie is in the closet when I'm getting ready for the day, she generally comes out like this...

She wanted a "bar" and my shoes.

Then she walked towards me making this weird face.  Do I make faces like that?!

Out of My Kitchen!

Getting out her secret ingredients.

She kicked me and my camera out.

I caught McKenzie wearing her adorable apron from Jenny and wanted to snap a few pictures.  I got a grand total of one picture before she figured out what I was doing.  As you can see from the pictures, she did not want me in her kitchen!  Guess she was whipping up some secret recipe.

Two Years Old

As of yesterday, McKenzie is officially two years old.  I almost can't believe it.  Two has come with so many challenges, but just as many reasons for joy.  About a month ago, we took McKenzie's pacifiers away.  That has been quite a challenge.  She has only asked for it a few times since then and never really cried about it.  However, she is having to re-learn how to soothe herself when it's time for bed.  Slowly but surely, the time it takes her to fall asleep is getting shorter but we have a way to go still.  I'll be quite happy to report to the doctor that the pacifier is gone at her next appointment.

Another challenge is that instead of meeting a baby's needs, we now have to get along with a little person that has their own personality, own wants and own ways of doing things.  There is such a fine line between meeting every need and raising a child who understands that they can't always get exactly what they want every minute of the day.  I think this, above all, is what exhausts me each day.  Usually, it's easiest to just give in, but I know to be a good mother, I can't always give in.  Luckily, I see McKenzie's maturing in this area every day.  As long as she's not super tired, I can normally explain to her why I'm not allowing something and she goes along with it.  This is especially helpful in Wal-Mart when she wants to ride the little airplane a dozen times.  I explain to her that we can ride it again next time and she hops off and heads to the car with me.  Note to everyone: take 50 cents if you plan to enter Wal-Mart with this child.

Other challenges we have are like so many others out there: getting her to eat healthy food, having her take a good nap so mommy can rest, teaching her to share, changing her diaper (she hates us doing this now!), getting her to change into pajamas or into new clothes for the day, etc.  Most of the challenges are approached with a healthy amount of bargaining and usually we get the job done.

Amidst the challenges, there are most certainly joys.  McKenzie is a huge talker and it's amazing to hear her pickup and use new words that are now turning into sentences.  I love the random moments in the car when she asks me to tell her stories about Kelly, Brinley and Brady.  Just when I'm in the middle of a great story, she usually changes things up by saying "hippo," at which point I have to work a hippo into my store about dragons and fairies.  It's just fun to communicate with her when you know that she understands what you are saying.

Another joy is watching her interests grow.  Anyone that is around her knows that music and dancing are probably her first love.  She will break it down anywhere: car, restaurant, church, anywhere she hears music playing.  Coming from a mom who was only ever interested in sports, I'm a little nervous about the possibility of raising a daughter who wants to take dance.  But then again, she shows a lot of interest in Daddy's softball games and she loves the trains that she got for her birthday so much that she takes them to bed with her.  So, there's hope yet!

All in all, two is tough.  But just when I'm close to putting her in timeout for using the dog's brush to brush the walls in the house, she grins, gives me a look and says, "where Bailey Boo?"  You can't put a child in timeout when you're laughing.  At just two years old, I think she already knows that truth.

Happy Birthday, Baby!

Freezing Motion

I'm learning how to change my shutter speed in order to freeze motion and still get a great exposure.  Here are my most recent photos taken for class.  I'm fairly certain I would have never been able to get a clear shot mid-swing if I hadn't taken this class!

Social Bug

These past few weeks have been so fun to watch as McKenzie has turned into a super social little girl.  Just a few instances:
-She kept walking up and saying hi to a little girl in Wal-Mart.
-She sat in my neighbors lap in our driveway.  We talk to this neighbor every now and then, but I was completely surprised when McKenzie walked over and just plopped down in her lap.
-She runs up, hugs and screams "Telly!" whenever my friend Kelly comes around.  This isn't too surprising because we are with Kelly a lot, but it is a valid example.
-She walked over and sat in my friend Jennifer's lap last week at the park and was content to just be held by someone other than me.
-She had to go to a new room with new caregivers at church last Sunday and she didn't blink an eye.
-The last two weeks that I kept Lucy, she ran up and wanted Jill to pick her up when she came in to get Lucy.
-She wanted to hold Lucy and give her a bottle!
-She actually played with a few kids in her tumble class.
-And just this morning, she said hi and by to almost everyone that walked in the door at Shipley's.

I don't know why but it's just really fun to watch her interact with people without me pushing her into it. As a shy person myself, it's cool to see her reach out and say hello to random people with no hesitation.  But it's also interesting to see how she is like me in certain instances.  When there is a larger crowd, she tends to hang back and see how things are going before jumping in and socializing.  She's becoming her own little person and that's just neat to watch.