Staying Strong

Dear Mackenzie,

You could try to be cuter, but I don't think it's possible for you to be any cuter than you already are!

-The other night at bedtime, you stood up on your bed, stretched your arms out as much as you could and proclaimed, "Mama, I love you more than the sky! Because the sky is super big!"

-That same night, you also told me, "I love you. I'm so glad you're my mama."

-You pronounce the word pattern "patterin." 

-This morning, I was mad at myself because I ripped open your overnight diaper before realizing you hadn't peed in it, which I thought you had. I was annoyed because we could have used the diaper again and I'd wasted it. You calmly told me, "Mama, it's okay. Put your anger together in one spot. And what do you do with things you don't want? You throw them away." Mind. BLOWN. Such wise words from my 4-year-old! I was so impressed--until tonight, when I told JieJie and Second GuhGaw what you had said to me and they informed me that you had repeated it from an episode of "Bluey." Why oh why do I still not realize that most of the things you say are from an episode of "Bluey"??

-At dinner, I often ask you and your siblings to tell me the favorite part of your day. Tonight, you answered, "Hugging Mama! Hugging Mama is always my favorite part of every day!" <melt!>

-At bedtime tonight, you said, "I have to bring four books to bed. I used to not like to read but now I do. I like to look at the stories. Before I only liked to play. Well, I still like to play. I like to do both!" (I'm so glad you enjoy reading more now! And tonight's selection of books was The Very Hungry Caterpillar, If Not For You, The Earth Book and Fancy Nancy: Saturday Night Sleepover.) 

-Also at bedtime tonight, I asked you, "Do you want a stuffie? Do you want Bluey? Fluffy? Peppa**?" You replied, "No, and I don't have Peppa. I have Olivia. I don't want them. I only want to cuddle with you."

(**I don't know why but I constantly get mixed up and call Olivia Peppa.)

-You are still the most independent of my kids. One time, you asked me to tie your apron on but I was doing laundry and said I'd do it once I was done. After I finished putting the clothes in the washer and washed my hands, I went into your room and saw that you had woven the apron strings around the neck hole section of the apron in such a way that the apron was staying up and wrapped nicely around you. You couldn't tie the apron yourself but you found another way to do it. I am so impressed by your ingenuity and persistence!

This morning, I walked into your room and saw you struggling to put on your skort. I asked you why you hadn't asked me for help and you said you wanted to try and do it by yourself. When you needed to change your shirt, I said I'd get one for you after I finished cooking dinner. The next thing I know, you appeared in the kitchen with a new shirt you had fetched yourself out of your top drawer. And many times when I say I'll help you with something, you tell me, "I can do it. I'm strong!" Yes, you are, sweet girl!

Love,

Mom

Keeping the Peace

Dear Mackenzie,

Here are some recent happenings:

-You asked me the other day, "Can you have a baby named Rose?" I don't even know where you heard the name Rose and it's cute that you've already picked out a name for this nonexistent sister of yours but, um, hard no.

-I can't believe how big you already are. I had to pack away your size 4T and 5T clothes because you now fit into sizes 6 and 7. I asked you if you could stay this size forever, and you replied, "When I'm bigger, I can still be a good helper. I will still help you." And you really are an AMAZING helper! You are always so eager to help me carry the laundry, grab ingredients from the pantry, mix whatever I am cooking on the stove, shut off the lights in a room, etc. When I tell you to clean up your room, you do it and put all of your toys and books away. You are the best!

-You are also an amazing hugger! You hug me all of the time and sometimes you hug me so tightly, your whole body starts to quiver! You're always requesting, "One more hug!" And the other day, when I asked you why you seemed so excited, you said, "I'm so excited to hug Mama!"

-I always have music playing in the house and I think that's why you like listening to music so much. And I love hearing you sing along to your favorite pop songs. (You recently heard the song "Stay" by Zedd and Alessia Cara and ask for it all the time now. You also like "She's All I Wanna Be" and "Greedy" by Tate McRae.) You always sound so cute! You also love to dance and we have dance parties whenever we can!

-When you were in nursery school, you were all about playing with your Calico Critters and Bluey and Disney princess figurines. Lately, though, those toys have been collecting dust on your shelf as you have turned to all things Barbie. Aaaggghh, another sign that you are getting bigger!

-Your school is almost one mile away from our house and I used to use your stroller to bring you home, but over the past few months, you have often walked back the entire way. When we get to the "squiggly hill" near our house, you often smile and say, "I walked the whole way home!"

-You are a strong walker--and you are a strong runner, too! You can run really fast for a 4-year-old! And when you are on your scooter, I have to run really fast to keep up with you. You are getting so strong!

-The other day, JieJie and Second GuhGaw were fighting in the attic. He claimed that she hit him with a basketball on purpose, she claimed that he scratched her arm on purpose. Of course, they both claimed their misdeeds were accidents. They were snapping at each other and I heard you say in the most placating tone, "Okay guys, it wasn't on purpose, just say you're sorry." Look at you, mini peacekeeper!

Love,

Mom

Little Helper

Dear Mackenzie,

Weekday mornings can be chaotic but you made this morning decidedly less chaotic. I took a bowl of leftover dumplings out of the fridge to heat some up for your lunch and when I was done, you put the clingwrap back on the bowl and put the bowl back in the fridge for me. When you finished your breakfast, you turned off the iPad music and the dining room light before leaving the room. After I brushed your teeth, I told you to go to your room so that I could do your hair. When I got to your room a minute later, you were standing in your room with your hair untied, head down, brush in one hand, hair tie in another--you were in position and waiting for me to do your hair! Thank you for being so helpful and dutiful! You know what needs to be done and do it without me having to ask, which I appreciate so much!

Love,

Mom

Happy Greetings

Dear Mackenzie,

One of the best parts of having little kids is how genuinely happy they are to see you all of the time. Whenever I pick you up from school, I see your cute little face peeking out from behind your classmates and you always smile the biggest smile when you spot me. And I've heard you say it so many times but it always warms my heart when you chirp excitedly, "I see my mom!"

Today, your teacher arranged a very sweet Mother's Day breakfast at school and I arrived a little later than the other moms. You and your classmates were all sitting quietly on the rug and when you saw me walk into the classroom, you shouted, "My mom is here!" Then you jumped up, ran over to me and gave me the biggest hug! I love it so much! And I love you so much! I had the best time at breakfast with you this morning!

Love,

Mom

Wiggly Nose

Dear Mackenzie,

Recent cuteness:

-The way you say "girl" and "world" with an extra emphasis on the "rl" sounds

-The way you say "mooring" instead of "morning"

-When I'm watching TV but you want me to pay attention to you instead, you climb onto my lap, press your nose to mine, rub our noses together and say, "Wiggly nose!" If I try to pull away, you say, "No, don't look at the TV! Look at me! Wiggly nose!" Works every time, haha! 

-You saw the word "making" and initially thought it was your name: "Mama, it says 'Mackenzie!' M-A . . . wait, that's not my name." You are going to be an amazing reader soon!

-I stubbed my toe so badly this morning that by bedtime, it was super swollen and bruised. When you saw it, you immediately laid down on the floor and kissed my toe several times to make it feel better. Thank you so much, sweetie!

Recent cuteness-but-only-because-you're-still-little:

-I asked you to clean up your room. After several minutes, you declared, "I can't clean up my room. I decided that I'm tired."

-When you woke up this morning, you claimed that your stomach hurt. You clutched your belly, bent over, made a pained expression and coughed violently. I said you could stay home from school and proceeded to get your siblings ready. Over the next half hour, you seemed suspiciously fine: smiling, running around, playing. Whenever I asked you if you were okay enough to go to school, your demeanor immediately changed and you started acting sick and weary again. Hmmm. You stayed home from school but by early morning, it was clear that you were totally fine. Trickster! I wasn't that mad because you're only in pre-k, you're my youngest and I appreciate our "Mama-Mackenzie" time--but you better not fake being sick again!

Love,

Mom