No Tears!

Today was "Flu Shot Day". This was the first time that I had to take MacKenzie for a shot without Chris. Surprisingly, it went very well! I started out at home by telling her that we were visiting the doctor and that she was getting a shot. When the nurse was getting her ready, I told her to remember that it was just a pinch, and then it felt better quickly. When the nurse stuck the needle in, NO TEARS!!!! She acknowledged that there was a pinch, but she didn't give the nurse the "you are so mean" look or anything! She got a cute sticker for being so good!

MacKenzie has started to repeat things we say. The other day, we were talking about Thanksgiving and feeling fat, and she said "FAT"! She now says Pop, dog, sock (although we don't encourage this one in public...sounds a little obscene, actually!), up, down, book (book sounds like "bap"), yeah, hi...and I am sure there are others that I am forgetting.

She signs a lot too. More, eat, banana, up, down, all done, cheese, dog, book. She will try all the signs you show her, but sometimes they look very similar!

She loves to walk to the post office in the hardware store across the alley from our house. And she loves her new mittens and scarf- it was so cold out today that she didn't even TRY to take them off!

My mom is having some work done at her house in the next couple of weeks, and we have been trying to get her ready for it. She can't live at her house while the work is being done, so she has moved in here temporarily. She and MacKenzie love this arrangement...they get to see each other every day now!

MacKenzie loves to read her books. She sits in her reading corner and pages through a book or two. Sometimes she is quiet, and other times she "reads" them out loud! Such a neat thing to see!

She is filled with love and hugs, and often comes over to give me a hug and a big "Hi!" while she is playing. Those unsolicited hugs and kisses are the best ones!

This picture is from her first birthday photo shoot at Sears. She has the same sweater on today, so I thought I would post this one.
We are hoping to get to Harper's Ferry, WV this weekend for a reenactment. We want MacKenzie to get her picture taken with the Civil War Santa there. It is always a great event.

MacKenzie did her first arts and crafts project earlier this week. I can't tell you what it is, because it's a surprise for someone who reads this blog... but I can tell you that it is CUTE! And the she did a great job with keeping still with messy paint on her fingers! I will post pics after Christmas.

Fast & Furious

Oh, boy, are the new things coming fast now! MacKenzie is really growing and learning at a good clip these days!

Vocabulary: Momma, Daddy, "Hi, Cat!", more, and bump.

She can put things "in" and take them "out" (out is definitely her favorite...her pajama drawer is particularly fun to empty!). She climbs on low things like the bottom shelf of her downstairs changing table. She takes things off the bottom of her toy shelf in the dining room and crawls up there. She even liked climbing on Capt. MacGregor's wooden box at the Cedar Creek Civil War reenactment this past weekend!

MacKenzie charmed her way around Cedar Creek. She had the musicians from the neighboring unit wrapped around her little finger! She looked so cute in her period correct Boone dress that we picked up in Gettysburg and the wool capelet that I made for her. She even had little moccasins on her feet! She sure did dance in those moccasins!

MacKenzie is really walking now! She is even trying to run a little. Whew, is it getting tiring chasing after her!

Nights have been a challenge this last week. MacKenzie is getting new teeth! Poor thing...four teeth are trying to push through, all at the same time. One has made it, so now she officially has five teeth. She's had a fever, is very cranky (wouldn't you be, if four pointy teeth were poking their way through your tender baby gums?), and has a stuffy nose.

Now that it gets dark earlier, MacKenzie has been going to bed a lot earlier. She used to stay up until 10pm or later. Now, I can barely get her to stay up until 8 or 8:30! Of course, that means she gets up earlier too...I liked it sooo much better the other way!

Tomorrow night is the second time we are leaving her with someone else for the evening. The first time, we went on a date while we were visiting family in Pensacola. She stayed with her Great-grandma Myra and her Aunt Kim & Aunt Chris. This time, we are going to see the Blue Man Group in Hershey. Nana & Pop got us tickets for my birthday. I am very anxious about leaving without her. I know she will be fine, but I am finding it very hard regardless. I hope that I will be able to have fun...

I will update with photos soon...I am technologically challenged with my new camera!

Mother Earth Harvest Fair

On Sunday we took MacKenzie to the Mother Earth Harvest Fair at Spoutwood Farm. I had the honor of portraying Mother Earth herself for the children's Passport Adventure activity, so Daddy had the baby most of the day. They had a lovely day visiting with friends, playing, enjoying the cool, crisp day, and having new adventures!

MacKenzie got to play with Elyse, who is just under a month younger than she is. What a treat! We don't get to see Elyse and her Mommy & Daddy as much as we would like to, because they live two hours away. It's nice that Spoutwood is a halfway point for us!


We also got to spend some time with our friends, the Hudgins'. Sydney and Katie played with MacKenzie a lot on Sunday...and MacKenzie loved every minute of it! They sure were a big help while we were out at dinner after the fair: keeping the baby occupied and making her laugh was greatly appreciated! For some reason, we never get a picture of Katie...she is very elusive, apparently! Here is a picture of Sydney & MacKenzie after their walk.


Daddy took MacKenzie on a ride on a miniature horse cart. It was very cute. I was working, so I didn't get to take a picture...you'll have to take my word on the cute part! It was a small cart, drawn by two miniature horses. Just perfect for little kids! At the end of the day, after all the patrons were gone, the woman who owned the miniature horses asked if we wanted to put the baby on one of the horses' backs...I ran for the camera, and Daddy hoisted her up! The horse was perfectly still, and so was MacKenzie! She just wasn't sure what to do about being up there!


I believe a fun day was had by all. Daddy had a good day hanging out with his Pumpkin, and MacKenzie ALWAYS has fun when she is with her Daddy!

Cognitive Thinking Is Fun!

This morning, MacKenzie was gleefully pointing at a sheep on my pajama top. I asked her if she could find another one, and she pointed to a second one! And so I asked her to point to another one, and she found a third one. We continued until all visible sheep were pointed at...and she never repeated until we were all done with round one! This is a very exciting time- she is now able to show us what she is learning.

Yesterday we had our first "Mommy & Me" sign language class. It was fun! Right before we were ready to leave, MacKenzie was in her high chair because she had just had her cereal. As I was just about to pick her up and head out the door, she signed "more" and then "milk"! The very first time she asked for milk, unsolicited! So I made her a little bottle and I was sure we would be late. Somehow, all of the traffic and stop lights were on our side, and we got there just in time. We weren't even the last ones to class!

Class was a lot like a play date, with instruction. MacKenzie was the oldest one in class! We sang songs and signed them, the kids played (and some cried...), and the Mommies chased the babies all over the classroom! All in all, it was wonderful. MacKenzie showed the class that she could ask for "more" when we were playing with bubbles! Was I ever proud! All the Moms oohed and aahed over it!

We spent the rest of the day on a Mommy/Daughter date. We went shopping and out for lunch. It was fun! She wore her pumpkin hat and got lots of comments on it!


Then we went home and made dinner for Daddy and we all ate together. MacKenzie used her toddler fork for the first time and she actually got some mashed potatoes in her mouth! She didn't get them ALL in...she rubbed quite a lot in her hair and on her face...so she had a bath before bedtime. Boy, does that cast iron tub get cold in the cooler weather!

Tinkerbell & Tinkles!

Today was a big day for MacKenzie! We rearranged the dining room to be a place where we can all eat dinner together, but is mostly a play room for the baby. Grammy & I had been to a consignment sale a few weeks ago and had gotten some large scale toys. We added a refrigerator & hutch for a play kitchen to her collection that already included a borrowed "stand up & dance" toy on loan from Christian, a dinosaur that sorts balls, plays music and says "rawr", and an art easel. Nana & Pop got MacKenzie an early birthday present- a cute little house that she can crawl through and do all sorts of fun stuff with. Chris thought it was time to take down the Pack & Play in the dining room, so I conceded. We all went to Toys 'R Us and Grammy got a groovy chair for MacKenzie to rest on in her new play area. I was worried that I wouldn't have anywhere to put her if she got sleepy. Not to worry...! We found a foam chair decorated with Disney Fairies. The seat and bottom fold out and it makes into a little bed!!! The bed part even has a sleeping bag attached! I can hardly stand the cute!!!! We got the room all done up, put up the baby gates and let her go. Boy, was she excited! She hardly slept at all during the day! We even let her run around naked for a little bit. While she was nekkid, I noticed she was holding herself and squatted down a little. I asked her if she had to go potty, and if she wanted to pee on the big girl potty. I took her in, sat her on her potty seat on our toilet, and SHE PEED ON THE POTTY! We were so proud of her!

Walking Is Very Close!

MacKenzie is getting stronger and stronger, every day! I have seen her take four steps in a row several times today. I think she'll be really walking very soon. I am excited about it for her, but scared that I won't be able to keep up with her! I made a wish out loud yesterday that I wanted her to be able to run around on the farm at the Mother Earth Harvest Festival, which is in a little under two weeks. Be careful what you wish for...I think I very possibly could get that wish!

MacKenzie also got the opportunity to chase Lucky, the cat, through Chris' "man room" tonight. It was her first official cat chase! I didn't want to laugh, but she was giddy and squealing with delight to be chasing him! Lucky was not nearly as pleased.


We had a little photo shoot in the back yard today so that I could have an image for the invitations for her 1st birthday party. She had fun exploring everywhere in her tutu, crown and carrying her magic wand! I made her tutu this morning just for the photos and the party!

Bath Time Bliss

MacKenzie has taken bath time and turned it into an art form! She has learned to make typhoon-sized waves and splashes. I think we will definitely need some sort of waterproofing for the carpet around the bathtub! I watched as she leaned over the side of the tub and stretched out to get her rinse cup. She captured it, and promptly sat down in the water and submerged the cup to fill it up, purposefully. She made it happen on purpose, as opposed to playing around and it happened by happy accident. I love watching her experience things, learn from them, and use them later to her advantage. The assimilation of knowledge is an amazing process, and I am honored to be witness to this miracle through MacKenzie.

*The bathtime picture above is not from today, but one afternoon that Grammy gave her an impromptu and very necessary bath in our kitchen sink! MacKenzie had fun looking out the window while getting all clean!

We had a fun weekend...we took time out from our housework weekend to play at Paulus' Farm Fun Fort on Saturday. MacKenzie got to play with other kids (she had her first run-in with a bigger kid who wasn't playing nice..he knocked over her chair...she was none too pleased with him) and crawl around in and around and on hay bales. She crawled in the grass and got her first grass stains on her jeans! She had so much fun with all of that freedom! She got to play in a hay bale (and plastic) tunnel. I wasn't sure we were ever going to get her out of it! She crawled from one end to the other over and over again. From Daddy's end to me was downhill, but to go back again was, of course, uphill. That was entirely too much fun to watch...MacKenzie would go a little bit and then slide back down just enough to send her into fits of giggles. And she would get to the end where we were waiting for her, and get just close enough that we could almost reach her to pull her out, and then turn around giggling and carrying on and would crawl back to the other side. We repeated that many times, until I finally caught her at the bottom end. Poor MacKenzie! Foiled again!

Sunday was a big day for our little girl too. We again took time out of housekeeping and errand-running to have a little dinner. We went to Italian Oven for a late lunch/early dinner. We ordered off the menu for MacKenzie for the first time! I normally just get something that the baby would enjoy eating and she shares with me, but we got her a plate of penne pasta with marinara sauce, a meatball and a glass of water. She ate off of a plate and everything! She was so proud of herself! (And we were too...!) We had the leftovers for lunch today. She has learned to share...she offers little bites of her food to you while she is eating. It is precious!

Now I am watching her sleep as I am writing this. My little darling is now able to embrace sleepy nap time, and decide to fall asleep on her own. Not so much at night, but definitely during the day. Her little blue and purple polka dot butt is sticking up in the air, and her thumb is in her mouth. She just couldn't be any cuter!

*And just one more note to mention...MacKenzie finally took two steps to Daddy last night! Yay! He's been waiting for that for quite some time now!

The Big Day!

Today is MacKenzie's big day! She took her first real steps! She was holding on to one of her walk-behind toys with one hand. She left go, looked at me and took one step! Then she looked down at her feet and back to me, and took another step, and then sat down. She was sooo proud of herself! (I was proud of her too...we clapped and laughed after she sat down.) A little while later, she took three steps from where she had been standing up along side of a big Rubbermaid container over to the glider in her nursery. No hands, no help...just boom, boom, boom...three steps right in a row, like it was second nature! Boy, are we in trouble! It's only a matter of time now before she is unstoppable and has bumps and bruises all over. Look out, toddler-times...here we come!

Bling Shoes Already?

So, MacKenzie and I went for some retail therapy last Friday. Don't you know, she picked out her first pair of shoes? She spied a sparkly pair of sneakers and reached out to touch them. I let her pick them up and she said "oooooh", and then smiled a big 4-toothed grin! Needless to say, after I told her grandmothers about it...we of course had to go back and get those sneakers!

We had a lovely day today, ending up with a visit to the pet store (MacKenzie is fascinated with all the fish tanks and the parakeets!) and then a stop at the corner of Market & Main in Mechanicsburg for the Concerts on the Corner series. Tonight it was contemporary Irish folk music. We almost lost a shoe...not one of the Bling Sneakers, thankfully! It was my first go-round with playing "where did Baby kick off the shoe?"! We found it right beside the car when we were done dancing. Thank heavens...they are new too...this was only the 2nd time she had worn them.

We've learned some new things, including Eskimo kisses! Her BFF, Ava showed us that last week, and now MacKenzie likes to do it. Ava is a year and a half old, and smart as anything! We are working on "in" and "out" and have been using some sign language for a while. Today at lunch, MacKenzie asked for "more" ice cream with sign language!!! I was sooo excited!

Play Date

Today was MacKenzie's first playdate with her friend Christian. He is 2 years old. He brought his 3 month old sister Kaylee along today! The kids played on the swings, drove trucks around in the grass, sat at a tiny picnic table, had Cheerios together, and fell down together several times! Christian was a perfect gentleman, playing so nicely and learning to share with MacKenzie! Oh, and bubbles! We had some bubbles to chase after!

Tonight we visited Nana & Pop, and played with them a bunch. MacKenzie got to see the koi pond again, and chase after two very big and fluffy Maine Coon cats. She worked so hard on playing today that she was in bed by 9:30pm!

Mommy is going to take advantage of this early night and go to bed too. Sleep tight!

And So The Blogging Begins...

Well, now it's official! I am blogging about my baby, MacKenzie! I had been keeping a journal of her "firsts" and then we cleaned and rearranged the bedroom, and I can't find it. So, after a couple of months of no journaling, I am feeling that I need to document her "firsts" again, both for my sake, and for posterity to pass on to her children, if she becomes a mommy some day.

Today was a banner day for MacKenzie! She is exactly 10 months old. She was born on Halloween in 2009. My little pumpkin! She's not so little any more. She is almost walking! She walks behind one of her toys and pushes it along without any help from us now. She did take one little step tonight, unassisted...what a big girl she is!

She also had her first snack that she could hold in her hand and take bites out of. Up until today, I have been giving her little bite sized pieces. I bought her some puffed snacks from Gerber that are kind of like cheese curls. She did great with them, taking little bites off the end of them, and when she got a bite that was too big, she scooped it out of her mouth with her fingers!

She emptied almost all of her books out of the book basket onto the floor. She did put one back in when Mommy asked her to, but just ONE! I showed her how to put the rest back in...we'll see if that really catches on or not!

She also broke her first "thing" today. And it begins. She dropped Victoria's phone on the floor. I didn't know she had it...Victoria had given it to her to play with...ahh, well, I am sure there will be more things to be broken in her/our future!

She was so tired after all of that work today. She had quite the temper tantrum when I had to go downstairs to fix her bedtime bottle! Mommy kept her cool, and when MacKenzie calmed down a bit, we went to the bathroom to wash her face and regroup. MacKenzie is NOT a big fan of the face-washing, but we washed it anyway. Then Mommy washed her face. MacKenzie thought it was interesting that Mommy WANTED her face washed. I offered to wash her face again, and she was happy and smiling and leaned in to get it done. It made her giggle, so we washed Mommy's face again...and she helped! Crisis averted!

She's having a rough time staying asleep now, however. She had a bottle and then fell asleep, but she is a little restless. This week, we found out that MacKenzie likes to listen to whale songs, so I put them on for her tonight. She responds so well to that! A few nights ago, she was teething. No new teeth popped out yet, but she had a little fever, was restless and her cheeks were rosy. And the DROOL!

Tomorrow is another big day...our first playdate with Christian and Kaylee! We are going over to our neighbors' house to play with their grandchildren. Kaylee is only 3 months old, and Christian is turning 2 this month. We are going to swing and play in the backyard.