Super Saucy

Dear Mackenzie,

Second GuhGaw and I were talking about the show The Simpsons yesterday and he was surprised when I told him that Bart Simpson is actually voiced by a woman. He asked why that was and I explained that Bart is supposed to be 10 years old, so a grown woman sounds more like a little boy than a grown man. You chimed in, "Mama, you sound like you're in the middle. You're not like {switches to low, gruff voice}, 'Give me the sauce!" But you're not like {switches to high-pitched voice}, 'Give me the sauce! You're in the middle: {switches to a moderate tone} Give me the sauce!" Hahaha! Your explanation was funny enough but "give me the sauce"?! Why is that the phrase you went with??

Love,

Mom

Balloon Bygone

Dear Mackenzie,

Oh, my sweet girl. We went to your friend's birthday party yesterday and she gave you two of her helium balloons at the end of the party. We went shopping afterward and when Daddy opened the car door, one of the balloons floated out and away before any of us could grab it. I watched your face as you watched this all unfold and it went from confusion to shock to sheer sadness. When you realized it was too high to reach, you burst into tears and sobbed the biggest sobs (you still had one balloon but the one that floated away was the prettier one of the two because it had shiny confetti inside of it). I usually tell you kids that things like this feel big now but will eventually feel little and that you will move on, but your sobs were so heartbreaking that I hugged you tightly and said I'd buy you another balloon from the party store near our house. You cried for a little longer but when we went to the store later and you picked out a shiny purple balloon, you were smiling your signature dimpled smile again, whew! And funny enough, when we were walking back home, the wind was blowing in such a way that the balloon (which I was holding so tightly, haha) kept floating right over your head and tapping you on the head, as if it was playing with you!

Love,

Mom

Shirt Story

Dear Mackenzie,

Before we went out today, I asked you if you wanted to change out of your (old, slightly faded) t-shirt. You replied, "Why? What's wrong with my shirt? It's not like it says 'I love poop.'"

Fair. 

Love,

Mom

Pen Pal

Dear Mackenzie,

I can always count on you to retract the pens that I leave unretracted on my desk. Thank you for not letting my pens dry out!

Love,

Mom

Joking Around

Dear Mackenzie,

Our conversation this morning:

Me: Why didn't you brush your hair?

You: Because it didn't eat! [versus teeth, which need to be brushed after eating]

Me: [brief pause] Oh! Did you just make a dad joke?

You: No, I said it so I made a me joke! [boom!]

Hahaha! So you're funny now!

Love,

Mom

Closing Out

Dear Mackenzie,

Current interests: drawing and making art; listening to the Hamilton soundtrack; playing with dolls and stuffies; reading Babysitters' Club graphic novels; reading Anna Banana books with me at bedtime; eating chocolate in every possible shape and form; closing app windows.

Closing app windows? Yes, you read that correctly. One of your favorite things to do is swipe away all the open app windows on people's phones. Daddy doesn't close his app windows very often and you absolutely love taking your little finger and swiping them all off the phone screen. My friend Luna never closes her windows and when you looked at her phone a few weeks ago and saw that she had some 100 windows open--girl, your eyes lit up as if you'd hit the jackpot and you gleefully swiped them closed until I took the phone away from you (you could have sat there all day closing the windows but we had places to go!). You also genuinely enjoy x-ing out tabs in people's browsers. Haha, so random!

Love,

Mom

Staying on Schedule

Dear Mackenzie,

You came down with strep throat last week, so the doctor prescribed a 10-day regimen of a daily probiotic (which I have you take with your breakfast) and a daily antibiotic (which I give you with your dinner). Last night, I didn't eat dinner with you but you remembered to ask Daddy for your antibiotic. This morning, I told you to take your probiotic and you chirped, "I already did!" Thank you, sweet girl, for being so mindful and responsible!

Love,

Mom