Bad Behind

Dear Mackenzie,

I don't know what you and Second GuhGaw were doing in the attic this morning but all I heard was you whining to him, "I'm trying to but your stinky butt is in my face!" Oh dear.

Love,

Mom

Happy Camper

Dear Mackenzie,

When I asked you if you wanted to go to camp last summer, you said no because you wanted to stay home with me. You and I then had a fun and relaxing few weeks together taking walks, reading, making crafts, baking and just hanging out. Your siblings love camp, though, and I wanted you to experience it, too, so I signed you up for camp this summer. When I told you, you cried because you didn't want to go. A few days before camp started last month, you told me you were nervous and scared. Fast forward to today, which is your last day of camp, and you are so sad that it's ending and already looking forward to returning next summer!

When you came home on the first day of camp, the first thing you chirped when you waked through the door was, "It was so fun!" You loved every minute of it and couldn't wait to tell me about swimming, cooking class (you made apple dumplings), arts and crafts, science and the friends you'd already made. You went to camp for four weeks and each day, you came home with the biggest smile on your face. You had a blast learning how to swim, making bracelets in arts and crafts, riding the go-karts, learning different styles of dance in drama and cooking things like monkey bread and latkes. You made friends with several girls in your group and really liked your counselors. By the end of the first week, you already asked if you could go back next summer!

Every Friday at camp, they celebrate counselors and campers who have exhibited generosity, empathy and kindness. On your first Friday, you were recognized for being a helpful camper. And then last Friday, your head counselor Leah actually called me to tell me how amazing you'd been at camp that day. There is an Adventure Park ropes course at camp (I've seen it and it's pretty high up!) and Leah said that you'd really stepped out of your comfort zone when you went on it. She said your feet were shaking on the bridges but you looked so determined and you completed the entire course! She said everyone was cheering you on and that they were all so proud of you! She also added that you are "an absolute joy to have in the group," that you are a "sweet, sweet girl" and that you are a "tough cookie." Daddy and I met Leah at Visiting Day yesterday and when we told her we are your parents, she said, "Mackenzie is amazing. Good job, Mom and Dad!" I am so proud of you, Kenziebear!

I am also proud of how much you learned in the pool these past few weeks! You started camp not knowing how to swim at all and when Daddy and I visited you yesterday, we watched in amazement as you effortlessly glided in the water and floated on your back. You looked to comfortable and confident in the water. You are a rock star!

I'm so happy that your first camp experience was such a positive one. I hope you have many more memorable camp summers!

Love,

Mom

A Flurry of Kisses

Dear Mackenzie,

You were waiting for the bus this morning when you suddenly pointed both of your hands in my direction and yelled, "Mama! I'm sending you one thousand kisses! Pshew! Pshew! Pshew!" I pretended to be hit and stumbled backward and you said, "Here come one thousand more!!" We continued this game for a few more minutes, even as people walked by our house and saw us, haha! You are so much fun!

Love,

Mom

Sweet and Salty

Dear Mackenzie,

As one of four kids, you are often competing with your siblings for my attention. You were trying to talk to me this morning but I was talking to Second GuhGaw. You cheerfully called out, "Mama! Mama!" But then you got impatient, your big smile changed into an angry frown and you growled, "Mama!" in a deep gravelly voice. Sheesh, Jekyll & Hyde much?

Love,

Mom

New Noona

Dear Mackenzie,

We went to my friends' barbeque over the weekend and there were a lot of kids there. The youngest was a little two-year-old boy named Ji Hu and you were instantly smitten. For a majority of the day, you followed him around, played with him and even got him cups of water so he wouldn't be thirsty. At dinner, you asked to sit next to him. You were so sweet and attentive! I think you really enjoyed taking care of him and by the end of the day, he was calling you Noona, which is Korean for older sister/older female friend. So cute!

Love,

Mom

The Tooth of the Matter

Dear Mackenzie,

You've never believed in the Tooth Fairy. Your friend, however, does think that the Tooth Fairy is real and when she saw you yesterday and noticed that you'd lost your front tooth, she asked you what the Tooth Fairy had brought you. When you didn't answer right away, your friend's nanny noticed and immediately said, "Because she is real." You caught on right away and fibbed, "She forgot to come to my house. She'll probably come tonight." I am proud of you for being so intuitive and protecting your friend's feelings. So mature!

Love,

Mom

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

Missing Mackenzie

Dear Mackenzie,

We are transferring you to a new school in the fall, which you have known about for awhile and are actually excited about because you already have several friends from nursery school and pre-k who already go there. You have broken the news to your friends at your current school and they are sad but I know their moms and can plan play dates with them. The person who took the news the hardest was Ms. Deep, the aide who loves playing with you every day and always gushes about you when she sees me. I told her today and this was her reaction: "What? Mackenzie is not coming back? No. You cannot take my Mackenzie. You can take another girl, you can even take Sawyer*, but you cannot take my Mackenzie." Hahaha!

Love,

Mom

*Yeah, let's not tell Second GuhGaw she said this, eep!

Sneaking Sweets

Dear Mackenzie,

Cute things you did recently:

-I got a matcha boba and asked if you wanted to try it. You took a sip, considered it and then smiled, nodded and gave me a thumbs up. So cute!

-There was whipped cream on the drink, which I didn't want. When I finished the drink, I asked you if you wanted one sip of the cream before I threw it out. You nodded, took the drink and then turned away from me to drink. You wanted to drink ALL the cream, not just a little. You sneaky little sweets fiend!

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 surprise 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

Talk Less, Smile More?

Dear Mackenzie,

Funny quotes from today:

Me: Alex, I need space in the fridge for your chocoflan [birthday cake] later.

You: You were supposed to surprise him!

Me: I can't surprise him. He's going to see me making it today.

You: You could have told him to go to work. You could have told him, "I need more money!"

You, after seeing Sawyer playing when I'd been telling him all day to study for his upcoming state exam: Mama, what's Sawyer meant to be doing? 

You: Mama, I don't like it when I have a sore throat. When I have a sore throat, it hurts when I talk, so I can't talk that much. And I really like to talk. (Haha, I know you do, sweetie!)

Love,

Mom

My Little Chatterbox

Dear Mackenzie,

We were eating breakfast the other day when you said to me, "I'm good at talking, drawing and then dancing. I'm really good at talking. You know how sometimes you tell me that I have to stop talking for a little bit? It's so hard!"

Hahaha, I am well aware!

Love,

Mom

Where Is the Underwear?

Dear Mackenzie,

I usually help you after your showers: I brush your hair, put lotion on you, help you put on your pants. You are old and capable enough to do all of that on your own, but I think we both like that I still help. Today, though, Daddy showered you while I was out and then left your room while you did your post-shower routine. Everything was all good until I took you to the bathroom after I came back home. You did your thing, got off the toilet and bent down to pull up your underwear--but you didn't have underwear! Surprised and confused, you asked me, "Mama, where is my underwear?" Also confused, I replied, "What do you mean, where is your underwear? Are they in your pants?" They were not because after your shower, you had forgotten to put on underwear before you put on your pants! Hahahahaha! I laughed a lot but you giggled SO much at your blunder and thought it was the funniest thing ever! After we got you some underwear, you couldn't wait to run off and tell Daddy and your siblings! Haha!

Love,

Mom

Counting On

Dear Mackenzie,

I asked you to spell the word count and you said, "c-u-n-t." And then you looked confused because you didn't understand why JieJie and I were clearly trying to stifle our laughter.

Love,

Mom

Bursting with Love

Dear Mackenzie,

When we finished brushing our teeth this morning, you said, "I love you so much, I just want to scream it!" You had the cutest smile on your face and bunched up your fists as if you really were about to burst. Then you ran to your room screaming, "I LOVE YOU!!!!!" Day made!! Also, can I just say how much I like it that when we brush our teeth together, you always hold my hand while we do so? It's so sweet!

In other cute news, you later showed me how to add two-digit numbers and kept saying "and so" while you explained to me, which I just thought was so adorable. You are and always will be my favorite little girl!

Love,

Mom