Shooting For the Moon

Dear Mackenzie,

You are at that stage where anything you say is just so darn cute! I mean, you just have to look up at me with your big brown eyes and say, "Hi, Mama!" and I will seriously melt into a puddle of mush! Here is some recent cuteness:

-I told you that if you go outside without a jacket, you will get cold. You replied matter-of-factly, "That is true."

-JieJie offered you a toy you didn't want, so you wrinkled your nose and said, "No thank you."

-We play a game where you go to the other end of the room or hallway I'm standing in and I crouch down and say, "Three, two, one, HUGGIE!" Then you run toward me and I catch you in my arms and give you a big hug. The other day, I was in my room when you went to the end of the upstairs hallway and called out, "Mama! Come in the hallway! I want to run to you!"

-When I do something you like, such as play the aforementioned huggie game or spray your face with water during your shower, and you want me to repeat it, you say with the biggest smile on your face, "Again! Again!"

-Second GuhGaw wasn't sharing his toys so you came to me, put your hands on your hips and said, "Thoyer being mean." Then you waved your pointer finger up and down in the air and said, "He not being nice."

-We put up our Christmas decorations over the weekend and when we were done, you exclaimed, "Guys! Look at our living room! Look at our dining room! It so byoo-full!" 

-This morning, you were looking at the Christmas tree when you smiled a big sweet smile and said, "I so thited [excited] for Kiss-mas!"

-When we went to school today, your school had put up a giant 12-foot Christmas tree and when you walked into the room and saw it, your eyes lit up, your jaw dropped and you said, "Whoooooa." I mean, come on! Kids at Christmastime is the best! The joy and wonderment is sooooo heartwarming!

-Your current favorite book is Olivia and we read it every day at naptime and bedtime (you also always go to bed with your Olivia stuffie). We have read it so much that you can recite most of the pages. My favorite is when you say, "Sometimes she likes to bask in the sun." It just sounds so funny when you say it out loud for some reason. On the last page, Olivia's mom tells her, "You really wear me out but I love you anyway." Olivia responds, "I love you anyway, too." So now when you and I cuddle in bed, you say to me, "I love you anyway, too."

-By the way, you are finally sleeping in your own bed for the entire night! You slept with Daddy and me for the longest time, way longer than any of your siblings did, and while I loved the nighttime snuggles, I did not enjoy being jolted awake because you had headbutted me or jabbed my eye in your sleep. I also didn't like the fact that you always rotated your body until your head was against me and your feet were against Daddy, making us form a perfect H where you had all the space in our king-size bed while Daddy and I were pushed to the edges! You have slept in your room all night for five nights and so far, it's been good! You've woken up crying a few times but when I come in and comfort you, you usually go back to sleep. Wooo! I also got you a llama nightlight that changes colors and that seems to comfort you, too. When it arrived and I showed it to you, you were coming out of Daddy's office. Your face lit up and you ran back into Daddy's office and told him, "Daddy! Mama got me a--" Then there was a long pause and you ran back and looked at me because you didn't know the word "llama." You do now! And you actually like to carry your new nightlight all around the house with you during the day.

-As I was typing this post tonight, you were in my room looking out the window. You could see the moon clearly and started talking so cutely that I transcribed your words as you spoke them: "How you touch the moon? You need a very very very tall ladder? I can use my chair. It's a rocket ship. We can use it to touch the moon. It will work. [sticks thumb up] We will get that very very high moon." Is that just not the more adorable thing? And the part with you sticking your thumb up as confirmation. Where did you learn to do that? You are such a cutie!!

Love,

Mom

You Are Three Years Old!

Dear Mackenzie,

Last night, I asked you, "What is tomorrow?" You smiled a big cheeky grin and whispered with a twinkle in your eye, "Cake." You had spent the day watching me bake your birthday cake and asking me if you could have some. I kept saying no, but today you finally get to eat a piece of cake because IT IS YOUR BIRTHDAY! Happy birthday, Kenziebear! 

You are the cutest, sweetest, funniest 3-year-old and I absolutely love watching you grow up! First of all, you are the youngest kid in our family but by far the most independent, always wanting to do things on your own. Whether it's getting dressed or turning off the light, you often insist that you do it without anyone's help (strangely, you never insist on, ahem, cleaning up your toys by yourself!). Second of all, you are the smallest kid but definitely the loudest! You don't let your bigger siblings push you around at all and will yell at them if you believe they are being unfair or mean. I love that you stand up for yourself and that you aren't shy or timid. And you are quite the social butterfly! If we see one of your classmates on the way to school, you will scream his or her name as loud as you can. When your siblings have play dates, you tend to commandeer them and claim that the friend who is over is your friend and wants to play with you. Their friends don't mind this because they think you are so cute but as you can imagine, your siblings are not as thrilled with this!

You still love school and always walk in so happily and eagerly when your teachers open the doors. There were a couple days when you couldn't go to school because you were sick and you were so upset! You actually cried and said, "I want to go to 'cool! I not sick!" Your teacher told me that at school, you are super helpful and always want to assist with projects she's putting together. You also help your classmates, whether it's getting them a cup of water or leading them over to the rug for circle time. That is so sweet but, of course, I'm not at all surprised by that because you are super helpful at home, too! You constantly ask me if you can help me hang up the laundry, put away the folded clothes and mix whatever I'm cooking on the stove. You always rush to get my phone if I ask for it, to turn the TV on and off for me or to turn the faucet on and off when I wash my face. Sometimes when I have washed my hands and turn around to get the towel, you are holding it out for me! I often put on lotion after I finish cooking dinner because my hands are dry from being washed several times and now you bring my lotion to the dinner table before I even ask for it. You are so thoughtful and good at anticipating what others need!

You are the sweetest and you also have the biggest sweet tooth! You LOVE chocolate and ask for it constantly, sometimes first thing in the morning before you've even eaten breakfast! I have a sweet tooth, too, so there are always mint chocolate candies in the fridge or a bag of chocolates in the snack drawer and when I do say that you can have one, you run so eagerly to get it, unwrap it and pop it in your mouth! In addition to chocolate, you also love watching "Turning Red" and episodes of Peppa Pig and reading books together (current favorite titles are Olivia, Yummy Yucky, Tubby, I Like Fruit and your DC Super Hero Girls books). You love to dance and your current favorite songs to dance to are "Bad Decisions" by BTS, "Breakaway" by Kelly Clarkson, "You Drive Me Crazy" by Britney Spears and "Larger Than Life" by Backstreet Boys.

Like your mama and your older sister, you are a girly girl who enjoys playing with Barbies and baby dolls. You love dressing up with hats, scarves, sunglasses and other accessories and carrying bags stuffed with toys from room to room. You can tell which of your clothes are hand-me-downs from your brothers and when I try to dress you in them, you protest and say, "But I want to be a girl!" We have had many talks about how there are no boy clothes or girl clothes but just clothes. You don't seem convinced.

Other things about Mackenzie, age 3: 

-You know all of our routines for getting up in the morning, getting ready for school, going to bed, etc. and go along with them with minimal fuss. When I say it's time to brush, you brush. When I ask you to sit on the bottom of the stairs and wait for me to put your jacket on, you do it. 

-You make the CUTEST facial expressions! You are always so animated and adorable!

-You really like going shopping with me and have a bad habit of just pulling whatever catches your fancy off the shelf and plopping it into our basket without asking me first. Ahem.

-In your timeline, everything is either "now or tomorrow." If I say we're going to the zoo, you ask, "Now or tomorrow?"

-I am still impressed with how quickly you mastered potty training this past summer. Once I switched you into underwear, you had very few accidents. You wear underwear to school and you haven't had an accident yet (knock on wood). 

-You speak in such long sentences now. A recent example: "Let's go play in the attic after you finish the laundry."

-Sometimes, it can be a little frustrating talking to you because you'll be eating soup and I'll ask you how the soup is and you'll go, "What soup?" Or if you're playing with a teddy bear and I ask you what your teddy bear's name is, you ask, "What teddy bear?" Um, what?

-You are also in the "why" stage and asking why everything is the way it is. I am super excited to be going through this stage for the fourth time in my life.

I love everything about you, Kenziebear, and I ADORE being your mama. Happy birthday, sweetheart!

Love,

Mom