Happy birthday, Macy!

Our little Macy Sue is two today! I took her to the doctor's yesterday and being in the hospital was such a sweet reminder of the day she was born - I'm still in awe of just how amazing the experience was, but seriously, how could two years have gone by already?

Kennedy's been working with Macy on how old she'll be turning on her birthday. First it was, "Macy, how old will you be? T-O!" We helped her understand it's actually T-W-O. But, when you ask Macy how old she'll be, her answer is, "Ice Cream!" That's also the answer to, "Macy, what do you want for your birthday?"

Macy brings such joy to our lives. She's a little rascal sometimes but usually she's a delight to be around. I love her round little cheeks and how her blue eyes twinkle when she smiles. I love listening to her sing and watching her dance. I even love her continued devotion to all things princess. At two-years-old she's curious, precocious, smart, funny, observant and affectionate.

Kennedy clearly loves being her big sister and is always trying to include Macy in things and help her out (although occasionally it's more bossing her around). Just in the last few weeks, Macy has figured out how to say "Tenn-da-dee" instead of "Tenny" which makes her sister so proud. I'm hoping Tenny still sticks as a nickname.

I had a great idea for a special present Kennedy could give to Macy. Kennedy and I went to the party store on Friday night to get...Disney Princess Balloons! Kennedy picked out three huge balloons that we were barely able to fit in the car: a castle with all the princesses, Sleeping Beauty, and Tiana from Princess and the Frog. (I had a brief flashback to high school when Jake gave me a giant balloon bouquet for my 18th birthday and I got in my first car crash backing out of the parking space...this time, however, we got home safely.) Macy was so excited by the balloons (and so was Kennedy)! I don't think either girl has ever seen anything like them before.

To celebrate the big day we went over to my parents' house for brunch. Andrew was in town for the weekend and we spent the whole day hanging out, baking birthday cupcakes and...

making noodle nests

dying Easter eggs

playing Plants vs. Zombies on grammie's iPad and Andy's iPhone - perhaps it's a bit strange to hear two young children chanting "Get those zombies! Get those zombies!"? Or "som-ies" as Macy calls them.

The April birthday boy and girl opening presents at Grandpa Ray's

Then for dinner we all went out to Bonsai, a Japanese restaurant where they cook right on your table. Kennedy was very nervous when the grill was lit and spent part of the meal hiding from the fire. Macy loved it all, especially the ice cream at the end of the meal!

Easter was also part of the birthday celebration weekend. We had Grammie, Pamp, and Uncle Andy over for brunch. We played some games and showed off our vegetable garden. Later in the day, we went to Grandma Sue's for dinner and an egg hunt. The kids had fun searching for eggs in the yard!

Happy Birthday, Macy Girl. We love you very much!

What I'm missing

It's spring break for Kennedy, so she and Macy have been able to go on some fun adventures with her grandparents while I'm at work.

Monday the girls went to the aquarium with Grandma Sue, Aunt Beth, Eliza and Huck. Sue told me that after seeing all the exhibits, the kids wanted to go in the gift shop. Kennedy looked, but knew that she wouldn't be able to get anything. Her reasoning? "Because it's not my birthday!" She tried to tell her cousins that they couldn't have anything either because none of them were having a birthday. I don't think her logic worked with them.

Today grammie and pamp took them to This Is The Place to see the baby animal festival. I got this email while I was working:

Dear mom,

We saw some bunnies, and lots of baby chicks in two pens because there were lots and lots of baby chicks. And we got to pet them and we saw some baby ducks all curled up so they could stay warm under the lights. And there were two little wheels that went round and round in the little house. The small one made sparks. One was for sharpening and the other was for sharpening, too.

The pony that I rode on was named Princess and it was white, and the pony that Macy rode on was brown and her name was Banjo. The train went all the way around. We stayed on until we got back to the hotel.

Love, Kennedy

See you soon. Macy is taking a nap.

When she told Jake about the outing later that night, she said they went to "The Place" (but it sounded more like "Da Place") - I think she was a bit confused because the day before we'd been shopping at "The Store."

Spring football

Saturday we went to watch the Utes in their red and white game. It was a beautiful day to be outside watching football! That is, if you like watching football, which apparently the girls do not. They were ok during the first quarter, mostly because they had cheese bunnies to snack on. Unfortunately I only brought one juice box for them to share, and that caused some problems. Macy also didn't appreciate someone wanting to hold her hand while she walked back and forth on the benches. Kennedy was not interested in the game, but did a better job of sitting still. With about five minutes left in the half, Macy started saying, "I not want watch football! Go home now!" It's a good thing this game was free.

We had more fun at home playing in the backyard - watering the garden, kicking the balls around, driving in the jeep, and doing gymnastics. I discovered that I can do a pull over on the swing set, and the girls were very impressed. It's a trick Kennedy has been working on at the Little Gym.

That night we went for a walk after dinner. Halfway around the block we stopped to scratch a friendly cat. Then that cat, who looked a bit like Alley, started following us. Macy was very excited at first. "Alley is coming," she'd say when she looked behind us. But as she figured out we were trying to discourage the cat from walking with us, Macy started to say, "Alley, go home!" It didn't work. The cat followed us all the way home, and right into our backyard. It was a very nice cat, and it seemed quite interested in staying. Alley (the real one) and Loki came out to check out the neighbor, but once the hissing started it was time for the cat to go home. Jake made me promise that I wouldn't feed it. I guess he's remembering the cats that lived in our condo complex when we first got married. They'd come over to visit if we were out on the porch, and sometimes walk right in the front door over to the food bowl in the kitchen. I guess I didn't do much to discourage it.

Those funny girls

The other morning, Kennedy was helping get Macy ready to go. She had picked out a dress with Minnie Mouse, but Macy was insisting on wearing the princesses. Kennedy patiently explained that she needed to wear something else during the day and she can't wear the princesses all the time. Macy said, "Yes, yes, yes! I MUST wear them!"

Kennedy's dream of becoming an Irish dancer was short lived. She recently told me that now she just wants to be a mom. I tried to tell her that being a mom is the best job in the world, but that moms can do lots of other things, too. I often wish that being a mom was my full time job. But, I'm happy that I have a job I enjoy. The income I earn gives us the ability to provide wonderful opportunities for the girls. I hope both Kennedy and Macy are mothers someday - it's the most amazing experience! I can't think of a job out there that's more important than being a parent. I also hope that they pursue other dreams and interests, whether as a paid profession or on a volunteer basis. After all, wouldn't it be exciting to have an Irish dancer or a chef as a mom! Macy's interests at the moment are pointing to a career as a princess or a hair dresser - "Mama, where's the brush?" is usually the first thing she says to me when I pick her up after work. All she wants to do is brush my hair and make me "look so pretty."

Tangled has replaced Toy Story 3 as Macy's favorite movie. Every day she now asks, or demands depending on her mood, "Yes, let's watch 'Puntzel!" And instead of repeating Jessie's "Yodel-lay-he-hooooo!" we now hear Macy saying, "Puntzel, let down your haaa-iiir!"

I got some "new" pyjamas out of the box of Eliza's hand-me-downs for Kennedy over the weekend. She was really excited about how cute they all are. After putting them on, she came running in to my bedroom shouting, "Mom! There's a problem with these jammies!" What is it? "Don't worry, it's a good problem. They are too soft!"

Bowling

Friday night we took the girls bowling. I got to go bowling at work the week before with the Health Sciences Development Office, so I suggested it as a family activity. (Paul and I do research for Health Sciences, so we were invited to their staff party - we were awesome bowlers, taking #2 (Paul) and #3 (me with 151) in the tourney.)

Kennedy tried both the ball ramp and the chuck-it-down-the-lane methods, and she was having a great time until all she could think about was getting something to eat.

Macy had to take her shoes off when she saw us changing into bowling shoes, so she just ran around in her socks and princesses.

Kennedy was really nice and let Mace have some turns pushing the ball, which she seemed to appreciate. Macy also loved singing and dancing around in the open lane space. I think we were quite the sight. Sadly, I didn't bowl quite as well, but it was a fun night out.

Kennedy the weed

Last Thursday Kennedy's school put on a Spring performance and art showcase. The theme had something to do with growing.

The Purple Class did a cute song:

Planting seeds, one-by-one

Hope for rain, hope for sun

Our work is never done, no, our work is never done...

There was Kennedy, a weed, right in front singing along and remembering all the hand actions and dance steps. She was great, and I think her class had the best song by far. I asked her how she got to be a weed, and apparently it was her choice - she picked this over the flowers, birds and farmers.

Grammie, Pamp, Grandma Sue and Grandpa Brent all came to see her perform. It was fun to see the kids up on stage in their costumes, especially after all the hard work they'd put in to make this a success. Macy was slightly interested in the show, but she was having a better time running around the gym.

On our way home we stopped for ice cream to celebrate. Now if we could only have some nice Spring weather and get outside to work on our garden.

No foolin'

April Fools Day isn't a big holiday in our family. Pamp tried to tell Kennedy that the zoo was closed because the construction workers needed everyone to stay out for the day and the animals also wanted a break. She fell for it - I'm sure it sounds logical enough to a four-year-old. They did go to the zoo after all, and ran into Aunt McKenzie there!

Jake and I went out to dinner with the parents from the Purple Class and Kennedy and Macy got to have a fun evening at Paul and Sara's. How lucky are we that my boss (who also happens to be one of our very good friends) was willing to babysit!? The girls had dinner, searched for eggs hidden around the house, made bead necklaces and colored. They had a great night! As we visited with Paul and Sara when we picked them up, Kennedy fell asleep in Sara's lap, and Macy fell asleep in mine.

Saturday we didn't change out of our pj's all day, but we weren't taking it easy by any means. Since Macy can now climb out of her crib, it was about time to take it down. I had the brilliant idea to move the mattresses from our full bed in the guest room upstairs for the girls to share and turn the guest room (which really never gets used) into a play room. We took down Kennedy's toddler bed and the crib - they're both big girls now! - and set up their new sleeping space. Mace was happy to see the crib go, and amazingly I didn't feel sad about it either. Maybe it helped that we had heard some exciting news the night before - Kari and Rainier are going to have a baby!

It took some creative storage solutions to find a place for the toddler bed and the full bed frame, but I'm happy with the way it's turning out. We moved the play kitchen and lots of toys out of the bedroom and found a space for them downstairs. I have some decorating ideas in mind for both rooms, but it will have to wait for another weekend.

I remember when we moved Kennedy out of her crib. That was pretty much the end of nap time for her, and the first couple of weeks she frequently got out of bed. Getting her to go to sleep was a battle. Well, we put Macy down for a nap in her new, big bed yesterday and she had a great nap. Bedtime wasn't a problem either.

Both girls stayed in bed, sound asleep, all night. I heard Macy knocking on the door to come out at 6:30 this morning. Nap time today was also a success. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they can keep this up.