Breakfast with Santa

We went to the Breakfast with Santa at Arkansas Children's Hospital again this year and had a blast.  Aunt Erin helped to organize the event and Nan & Pops also came which made it even more special. 

Last year was fun and I was really excited about Mackenzie being able to participate this year, but I was also anxious to see how Mackenzie would do with Santa.  We have been reading a lot about Christmas and practicing saying "Santa Claus", so I was hoping that she would feel familiar enough to be comfortable sitting in his lap.  When we got there, I even took her up to where she could get a good look at him and say hello, which she did!  Seeing her wave and say "Hi Santa!!!" made me think that she would be just fine.

After our yummy breakfast (pancakes, eggs & sausage made by the wonderful firefighters!), we all got in line with Mackenzie to see Santa.  She showed no fear as we got closer and pretty soon we were next in line.  Pops was armed with the camera and Daddy was ready with the video camera when we finally reached the stage.

As I got closer to Santa's chair, I felt Mackenzie clinging to me and knew it probably wasn't going to go as well as I had hoped!  I tried to sit her down on his lap, but she was not having it.  I even tried to just sit her on the arm of the chair, but she wasn't having that either!  So, we ended up on the side of Santa's chair with him leaning in towards her and her leaning as far away from him as she could.  I think she even tried to push his face away, but thankfully they did not capture that part on camera!

When we stepped off the stage, I told Mackenzie, "say bye-bye to Santa" and she gladly yelled "BYE!!!" and waved frantically at him as if to make sure I knew she was okay with that.  :) 

The picture that Children's gave us actually turned out cute with Mackenzie and Santa leaning in towards each other.  You can't even tell that Mackenzie is crying!  I'm really hoping that she isn't scarred for life, but when we asked her if she wanted to go sit in Santa's lap again, she quickly said "No!".

Aunt Erin - thank you so much for inviting us again.  We had a wonderful time and are hoping to make it a yearly tradition (minus the not liking Santa part).  Nan & Pops - thank you for the BWS tickets and for coming out with us - it was so fun to have you both there!

Riding in Santa's sleigh

Loving on my Aunt E

Showing Pops my reindeer food

Dancing in the food line.  I'm really trying to get those dance classes!!!

Eating yummy pancakes & eggs

Getting in line to see Santa

Checking him out...

Enjoying the independence that comes with walking

After meeting Scout the dog!

"There's no way I'm sitting with him - I don't

care how loud he rings those bells!"

"What are you looking at?"

Dear Santa,

Since I didn't get a chance to tell you what I would like for Christmas this year, Mommy thought I should write you a letter.

I would like a baby doll, dance classes, books to read, a chair that's my size to read in, and Disney movies. Also - Mommy & Daddy say I can't have one until I'm potty-trained, but I'd really like a puppy if you can work that out!

Thanks,
Mackenzie

P.S. Sorry I screamed in your face and tried to push you away. See ya next year!

Leopard costume pictures

Last year, I put a LOT of thought into Mackenzie's Halloween costume. I wanted it to be perfect so I researched our options for months and ended up ordering the cutest Octopus costume a month before Halloween.

This year...not so much. A couple of weeks before Halloween I realized I hadn't thought about Mackenzie's costume. Luckily, Target saved the day and had a very cute Leopard costume on sale for $8 - SOLD!

Unfortunately, Mackenzie was not as excited as I was about this costume. Now, one of the reasons I chose this particular costume was because I thought it would be pretty close to feeling like she was wearing regular clothes. I almost got a puppy costume, but I just knew the hood would not work well for Mackenzie...she hates have anything on her head other than a bow!

Naturally, when the costume came in, I just HAD to try it on her and see what it looked like. Well, she screamed and cried and threw a huge fit. I couldn't understand what was wrong, but it was clear that she was not feeling it. She was pulling frantically at the tu-tu and saying "peas...peas!!!" - begging me to take it off. After about 20 minutes of "ooh" and "ahh" and "Mackenzie's so pretty!", she finally stopped crying and we removed the costume.

I wanted to get some cute pictures of her in the costume on Nan & Pops' front porch since they had all sorts of pumpkins and fun stuff out. This was the second time Mackenzie put on the costume and as soon as she saw me coming with it, she started the fit again. Another round of ooh-ing and ahh-ing bought me enough time to sit her on the front porch and snap a few shots. All of that work for these ADORABLE pictures...enjoy!

Trick or Treat 2009

This was our first year to trick or treat and we had lots of fun!

Our first stop was to see Aunt E and she had lots of goodies for Mackenzie. Candy galore (thanks Aunt E!) and books about Halloween, which Mackenzie immediately opened up to read. While we were there, Lauren & Sydney Walker stopped by. Sydney was dressed as Minnie Mouse and had the cutest little pig-tails I've ever seen. As we were leaving, Corbin & John Austin the fisherman came to trick-or-treat.

Next, we headed to Uncle Beau & Aunt Kelli's house. They gave Mackenzie a cute little "Boo!" bag full of goodies. Mackenzie really enjoyed running around their house and loving on their dogs, Tori & Lilly.

Last, we went to Red's house to see her, Aunt Lea-Lee, Aikman, Aunt JJ, and Ethan. Aikman was dressed as a beautiful fairy and Ethan was a cute chicken. This was the only stop where we got pictures! I wish I had a shot from last year for comparison, but alas - we did not trick-or-treat last year. It was lots of fun playing with cousins and eating candy and I really think Mackenzie enjoyed it.

Trip to the Zoo

Mackenzie,

I had so much fun with you this past weekend! We were able to get some girl time in since Daddy was at a furniture market and it was one of the best weekends ever!!

Friday night, after you went to bed, I stayed up packing a bag and getting things ready so that we could go to the zoo as soon as they opened the doors the next morning. I have been trying to plan your first trip to the zoo for some time now and I was determined to make it happen this weekend. I even checked the weather to make sure it wouldn't be too hot. (Obviously I didn't look closely enough, but I'll explain that later...)

Saturday morning you woke up a little after 7. I got you changed and we had a yummy breakfast - cheerios, a banana, oatmeal and milk. Right after breakfast I noticed that you were snuggling with your silkie which usually means one thing - you need a nap!

So, even though it wasn't according to plan (I was prepared for that to happen!), we went back to your room and rocked for a little while. You laid down for a nap around 9am and didn't wake up until 11!

By this time, I had the car loaded with your bag, stroller, camera and camcorder - we were ready to go. We got to the zoo around noon, which is where the part of me not paying attention to the weather comes in....it said that it would be 82 degrees which would have been fine - except that it also said that it would FEEL like 105 degrees - which of course, was NOT fine.

But I was determined to make this work, so we continued with our plan. As soon as we parked I got out to set up your stroller and pack everything in. We could already hear the monkeys (they were soooo loud!!) and I could see that you were looking for whatever was making that noise. I knew we were going to have so much fun!

It ended up being a VERY HOT DAY (102 degrees to be exact) and we were both burning up!  It was also MUCH harder to maneuver a 1 year old, stroller, camera, camcorder and diaper bag by myself than I thought, but you really enjoyed seeing all of the animals and had a lot of fun so it was totally worth it.  Next time - we'll bring Daddy too!

Your favorite animal was the lion and I'm pretty sure that's because you were able to stand just a few feet away while they napped.  You also liked the petting zoo area where you got to pet some miniature horses and goats.

You were such a big girl and I can't wait to go to the zoo again soon, but maybe when it's 70 degrees out insead of 100!  :)

Love you,

Mommy

Checking out the monkeys that were making all that noise!

So excited about the lions!!

"Wake up!"

Not really interested in the giraffe

But very interested in your sippy cup.

You did get a little bit of an attitude during lunch

Love this face!

You wanted to pet the Rhino - ha!

And the bear.

You loved the horses!!  Just like Mommy.  :)

"WOW" - those are big elephants!!

As we were leaving the zoo, we got all the way out to the car when I realized that I hadn't gotten a picture of us together.  So we walked back in and a very sweet lady took one for us.  You can tell that we had been at the zoo all morning in the hot weather, but I just had to have a picture of us from your first trip to the zoo.  I love you!

Happy Birthday Aunt E!!!

We went to a surprise birthday party for Erin, but I was not able to get any pictures.

Erin - we are so blessed to have you in our lives. You are such an amazing person and the world is a much better place because of you.

We love you!

Matt, Mel & Mackenzie