Christmas Fun!

The big gift that Mackenzie got this year was a play kitchen. Christmas was a lot of fun this year with her. Take a look at these pictures from Christmas morning! She was very adamant about Santa bringing her a doll for Christmas. She definitely did well in that department.

I hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas

Daddy's Helper

Mackenzie likes to be a big helper with mommy and daddy. Today, she was helping daddy tighten the bolts on the table. Such a big helper! This was before the haircut. Yup, Mackenzie got another haircut today. So cute!

Funny Faces

We have a little ham. Her name is Mackenzie. We were eating dinner and she decided to put on a show. It was hilarious! She couldn't keep a sad/serious face for long though because she got all giggly.

Take a look at these 3 videos:




As you can tell, we had a pretty entertaining meal!




Don't stop laughing yet-there's one more!

Hope you enjoyed the entertainment as much as we did!

Hope everyone is staying warm!

Where's Mackenzie?

Yes, that is the question we were asking each other when we walked into her room at naptime. It was quite comical. We have moved Mackenzie into a BIG bed: A daybed. She has TONS of room for all her stuffed animal friends. She still has the Ladybug theme in her bedroom and I do plan to keep that. :-) In the future, I will show you the Ladybug quilt that I am planning on purchasing.
You have to look hard coming into her room, as she buried herself using the pillow as a blanket. Too cute!




4 Days 'til Christmas! We have a very excited toddler! Have a sensational Sunday!

Christmas at the Library

Our library had a Christmas Celebration today. I took Mackenzie and we had LOTS of fun! We sang songs, made a craft, had a snack, wrote a letter to Santa, and, of course, listened to some stories. So much to do! They had the junior department set up with stations that the kids could go to. Here are some pictures to capture the event:

Writing the letter to Santa was the first stop. What fun!

Every time we ask her what she wants Santa to bring her, she says a "doll" so that was number 1 on the list.

She could choose between an angel and wreath craft. As you can see she chose the angel.

A nice, healthy snack. Mama opted not give her the cookies and sweets. I did want her to take a nap later. :-)

Singing songs. This was a lot of fun too! The kids got to play instruments as you will see in the next couple of pictures. This was also the time when Mackenzie decided to bring over Elmo and Winnie the Pooh.

Playing the bells.

Playing sticks to the beat of one of the songs.

Enjoy! Check back soon!

Our Family Christmas Card

We want to wish you and your family a very merry Holiday season! May this next year be a bright one.

Merry Christmas!

Love,

Jim, Allie and Mackenzie

Going to see Santa

We took Mackenzie to the State Museum over the weekend to see Santa. There was a train there that she went on 3 time while waiting in the LONG line for Santa. She loves trains so this was very exciting for her!
Here's a picture of her riding the train. She was all smiles and couldn't get enough of it. The train made a loop and at the back were Santa's helpers.

A family picture after getting off the train.



Me and my little Chicklet.

Getting to see Santa! It's a little different seeing him in person than it is in pictures or on TV.

Here is a video of riding the train:

As you can tell, it was a very fun train ride! Mackenzie would have done it over and over again, but we thought three times was enough.

Stay tuned for the next post: Our family Christmas card!

WOW!! Only 10 days 'til Christmas!

Passing time until Christmas

Well, we have had a lot of energy from Mackenzie at our house. This is typical, of course. Sometimes, with the holidays, it seems as if there is even more energy. So we have to be creative, as we are stuck inside.

Dressing up Rody, one of last year's Christmas gifts. Bouncing on this also lets out some energy.

Our beautiful Christmas tree! Every once in awhile I catch little hands taking off an ornament. She is in charge of turning the lights on and off. Looking at Christmas lights is also a fun thing to do that she really enjoys.


We put her to work. I can assure everyone that the iron was not on or plugged in!


"I'm all done ironing guys, now what?"

So we get some more energy out by saying "Go!" and she runs through the house and chases her ball or runs into our bedroom window.

Take a look at this video:




As you can see, this is a fun evening activity. Many nights are spent tossing the ball as she runs to catch it. Very entertaining and lots of giggles and laughs.

Here is another quick video of Mackenzie watching football before bedtime. She loves to cheer for any team, especially Purdue! I'm not sure who was playing this night, but they had a good cheerleader! In the video, she is sitting in her rocking chair. Many times, at the correct time, she will say "uh-oh, down" or "Go!". She really gets excited about it and it is very fun to watch her!



We have been busy at our house waiting for Santa to come. Mackenzie has now seen "Ho Ho Ho" twice. I have lots of pictures and some video from our outing to see Santa over the weekend. Stay tuned!

P.S. I will also post our family Christmas picture in the next blog. Lots of things coming up this week--I will be sure to get lots of pics to share! Only 11 day left 'til Christmas!

Enjoy!

A fun Field Trip

Daddy, along with grandma and grandpa, took Mackenzie to the Christmas tree farm in Zionsville. They didn't get a Christmas tree. They went to see the big trains! Mackenzie really likes trains and they had a big room of all trains. They also had some deer outside the facility that Mackenzie got to feed. She had a great time and really enjoyed it! Take a look!

As you can tell, in the first three pictures, Mackenzie enjoyed walking around the train and seeing all the decorations.











Feeding the reindeer. They ate the food right from her hand.



"Dada, this is so cool. I can't wait to tell Mama all about it when she gets home." (Mama was subbing at one of the school libraries)

23 days til Christmas!

The countdown has begun and we have a very excited toddler at our house. Ho Ho Ho! Anything and everything that has to do with Christmas is Ho Ho Ho. The snow is also very exciting! That was a quick word learned! Mackenzie even has a little Christmas tree in her room. Here are some cute pictures of her at the Christmas tree with her new Santa shirt. She even has some Santa light up socks. She loves to touch the ornaments. I'll try to get some more pics up as we go through the month of her with Christmas items. Happy Holidays!

The big cheese with her Santa pillow. You couldn't wipe that grin off her face.

This is my favorite. It just captures the magic of Christmas.

Mackenzie and her beloved bunny.

Enjoy your Tuesday!

What are you thankful for?

I am thankful for many things. I am thankful for every one of my family members, immediate and extended.

Dear Jim,

This Thanksgiving and holiday season, I am thankful for you and what you mean to Mackenzie and I. You are the reason I get to be a stay at home mommy and raise our daughter. For that, I am thankful. I cherish the support you give me so that I can do that. I am grateful for everything that you do. We have accomplished a lot together and I know that we will continue to do so. We have a beautiful little girl who we adore and loves us back just as much. We are both very lucky. I couldn't ask for a better man. You would do anything for us and I am proud to call you my husband and best friend.

Love,

Allie

Dear Mackenzie,

I am very thankful for you this Thanksgiving. You are a wonderful, smart, intuitive little girl. You have learned so much and continue to do so each and every day. I love all the activities that we get to do together. There is no relationship like a mommy/daughter relationship. Mommy and Daddy love you both very much. We love watching you learn, read your books, play with your toys, and whatever else the day brings. You are so curious about the world around you. Your smile just melts my heart. Your hugs and kisses make every day that much better. We love you!

Love,

Mama and Daddy

Happy Thanksgiving week, Everyone!

What are you thankful for?

An Artist at work

All I have to say is: It's a masterpiece!








Yes, she is really into "drawing" on the pantry door now. :-) We are getting to a very creative age.

Kindermusik

We have enrolled Mackenzie in the Kindermusik program (http://www.ntckindermusik.com/). It is a wonderful program and she is in the 18 month-3 year age group. She really enjoys it. She gets to meet new friends and socialize, learn new concepts through music, listen to stories, and play new instruments. Check out the website above! I have included some pictures of just a few of the activities that we do in class. Of course, we do lots of different things every week and Mackenzie is VERY proud to show daddy the stamps on her hands when he gets home.
We used the scarves for a song on long and short sounds.

Egg shakers! This is one of her favorite activities.

I'm a little teapot. We just started this last week with the kids.

Sandblocks.

Stamps! This week the kids got Indian stamps.

As you can tell, we do many activities each week. I only included pictures of some of them. We start class off with a hello song and end with a good-bye song. Mackenzie gets a big grin on her face every time we start the hello song and loves listening to it in the car. She has learned a lot so far from class and I can only imagine what more is to come!

Happy Veteran's Day!

Thanks to all of those who served our country. For this special day, our local library had a special program last week with songs and fingerplays. At the end, the kids got to make our ornaments for the "Honor our Heroes" tree. Mackenzie made one with a picture of Papa (grandpa), as he is a veteran of the US Army. Here are a few pictures of Papa helping her put the ornament on the tree.

Try walking in someone else's shoes

Mackenzie chose to walk in Daddy's shoes this morning. Literally. She loves getting a pair of our shoes, whether it's mommy's clodhoppers or daddy's nice work shoes or a pair of tennis shoes. Well, we're off to get ready for Kindermusik. Have a magnificent Monday! Why don't you try walking in someone else's shoes sometime?

FALL-ing for Mackenzie

What beautiful fall weather we have had lately! Mackenzie enjoyed jumping in the leaves today while she was enjoying some of the last warm weather we will have for awhile. Lots of fun! As you can tell, she had a blast!
There's that beautiful smile from our little princess.

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's Mackenzie in the leaves!

Ahh, let's rest for awhile!

Happy Halloween!

For those of you who guessed Mackenzie was a cow for Halloween, Congratulations! A very cute cow! "Moo"! :-) It was a beautiful night so we ventured out and trick-or-treated at many houses in the neighborhood. She did great going up to the doors--her thing was that she wanted to pick out her own candy instead of having people give it to her. She also enjoyed seeing all of the other kids out in their costumes. Enjoy the pictures and hope everyone had a safe and fun Halloween!

Ready to head out and get some good candy.

On our way to the next house.

Mama and Kenzie getting ready to cross the street.
Kenzie asking Daddy when we are going to go the other way.

Grazing on some goldfish she got trick or treating. Couldn't wait til we got home.

Have a moovalous day!!!