Saturday, August 15, 2009

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!

Thursday, August 6, 2009

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

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Happy Birthday Aunt JJ!!!

Mackenzie & the birthday girl
Sweet Aikman

Ashlea & Jami
Silly girl
Jami & "THE Aunt" Amy
Get it girl
Cousins: Aikman, Luke, Logan, Ethan, Mackenzie
Ethan, Mackenzie, Aikman
Kisses
HA!
Ethan still trying to give kisses

Friday, July 17, 2009

WALKING!!!

Mackenzie, you are finally walking on your own!!!! Mommy & Daddy were getting ready to go to Kelli & Beau's rehearsal dinner tonight and you were playing in the hall. I was out there with you and you stood up on your feet with your hands on the ground. You've done this a few times before, but this time you were able to stand up from that position and take a few steps. I was jumping up and down and clapping like crazy telling you what a great job you were doing which I'm pretty sure scared you because you plopped back down on your bottom. It didn't take you long - after the first few steps, you were all over the place.

We are really enjoying watching you take all of these steps and learning so much along the way.

We love you,
Mommy & Daddy

Monday, July 13, 2009

"No no!"

Mackenzie,

Daddy heard one of the funniest stories from one of your daycare teachers tonight! When he picked you up from daycare, Ms. Wanda shared this with us:

Ms. Wanda was holding you and you started squirming really hard trying to get out of her arms. When she put you down, you crawled quickly towards your crib. She looked up to see that another child had pulled your silkie out of your crib and was playing with it.

You took your silkie away, shook your hand at the child and said "no no!!"

This was the highlight of my day! You are so cute and it amazes me that you can communicate with other people! Now we just need to work on sharing...

We love you!
Mommy & Daddy