Sunday, June 21, 2026

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

Saturday, June 20, 2026

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

Saturday, June 6, 2026

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

Friday, June 5, 2026

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

Wednesday, May 13, 2026

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

Monday, May 4, 2026

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

Sunday, April 12, 2026

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