First Day/Last Day

Today was the last day of Preschool for Mackenzie. She was excited. Although I think a good majority of the excitement was for the party at a classmate's house after.

You can see that on the first day she had a fresh hair cut, it was nicely brushed and she let me put in a bow. Today, we barely got it brushed - too many tangles, the girl has crazy bed-head - and she finally consented to a barrette. She was not in the mood for pictures either. The sun was too bright and she didn't want to smile for too many photos. I'm lucky I got this one. But I did get it. Her last day of preschool. One year under her belt. Next year she'll got 3 days a week, with extended day on Monday. Then Kindergarten will be here before I know it. 

She made cards for her teachers. We got them gift cards to Dairy Queen (I managed to forget about the need for teacher gifts until last night, so ice cream it is.) and she drew ice cream cones in the one card, then moved on to triangles for the second. Cones without the ice cream?

You might notice the scribbles. While we were upstairs brushing out the tangles in Mackenzie's hair, Ryan was very quiet. Very, very quiet. When I called out and he didn't answer I knew he was up to no good. And he wasn't. He climbed in the chair, grabbed the markers and started coloring on the cards. I didn't have the heart to tell her because I knew she'd be upset and we didn't have time to re-do them. And I really didn't want to start off her last day with a meltdown. We have enough of them as is. So I hid the cards.

And then promptly forgot them. Thankfully she didn't notice and I brought them to pick-up. 

She had a good last day though. For show-and-tell she took three mini markers. She said she told them she likes to color with them. I asked if she told them she gets in trouble for leaving the caps off. She just looked at me. Then said yes, although I'm guessing she didn't really. 

This year has been good for her, although at times a struggle. She does very well at writing; she's been really in to writing all our names, other words and can write all our letters. She's a smart 4 1/2 year old. But  she's not a morning person and mornings could be rough. One thing could go wrong and a meltdown would ensue. She had plenty of days where she cried at drop-off (whether the morning at home went well or not) and I had to wriggle out of her grasp and leave. Of course, she stopped crying within a few minutes and went on to have a great day. She just had a hard time separating from me. She had to work on sharing and playing nice and giving up control but she needed that. Her teachers were so wonderful and patient with her and she's really improved and grown. She had so much fun learning and doing all the crafts and of course loved snack time. And she likes the new friends she has made. And this is new to her, to have friends that are separate from Emma.

Today she brought home her name magnet, hang tag for her coat and her get-to-know-me photo apple. And with that her school year is over.  

Friday Five

So....I kind of skipped over all of May. Not June though. So far this week:

1. Summer haircuts. Emma's been asking for a while to get her hair cut. Mackenzie chimed in today that she'd like hers cut too. So this afternoon we went to Snippets where the girls walked in like this,


And out like this.



Emma wanted it to her shoulders, that's what she kept saying over and over. Mackenzie just wanted it short. And then shorter. I asked her at least 10 times, are you sure? I kept explaining that once she cut it this short there would be no more ponytails or braids (which she's been very in to lately) but she said she knew. In fact, her words were, "it's okay Mommy. I don't need a pony." She handled it much better than I did. I went between the two stations with my heart pounding and my hands shaking. Mackenzie's only had her hair trimmed three times and Emma's hasn't been this short since, well, ever. We've, or I rather, have always just let it grow. But it's their hair. It's summer. Time to try it and go short. And they love it. Emma's will be easier to brush and Mackenzie's will make for much easier mornings since she won't be crying every time I brush/style it. Plus, it's really, really cute.

2. Today was Mackenzie's Little Gym program.


3. And Emma's Safety Town graduation.


4. And this guy, well he needs a whole post to himself with all he's been up to lately.


5. Wednesday was Emma's Little Gym program.


and a Tball game.

There was also two trips to the pool, playtime outside and with friends, an evening at the outlets, eating on the deck, mornings at the fitness center/kid park, errands, summer Bible study began, family here for programs and to visit, and more. It was a fun and busy week. Which is just a preview of the summer to come, I'm sure!

Random, again.

Today I saw this and it made me smile.


He likes to eat his feet.


Michael had a basketball game at Shelly's high school last night. I texted her, "I'm at your school. No reason to tell you that. Just felt like it," while we were in the commons having a snack during halftime. I'm taking pictures of the girls and the next thing I know, there she is! She had conferences. Totally did not expect to see her, it caught me off guard, oh but what a fun surprise! Also, I'm glad I sent her such a random text.


The girls have been putting together quite the outfits when dressing themselves. These were Mondays' looks. I meant to take a picture of today's as they were equally colorful.

Swim lessons ended Monday. Emma can move up to what is essentially the same class, just for older kids. But really, we just need to work with her on her strokes, holding her breath and her confidence. She can swim, she just thinks she can only go so far and then stops. She could go so much further in the pool if she'd just keep going.

This one was promoted from beginner to advanced. On one hand, not surprised since the beginner class is just to get them acquainted with the water and that's no issue for her. She loves it and is not at all afraid. On the other, it makes me laugh because whenever Taylor had her on her back and Mac was supposed to be kicking, she'd instead just let Taylor pull her through the water. I'm thinking she's going to have to work a bit harder in the next class.

This is how we entertain ourselves. Michael comes up with random stuff for the girls to do. In this case, it was practicing both their long jumps as well as high jumps. Emma was so into it. She's competitive. Very.

Ryan in the exersaucer at the gym's Kid Park. I think he likes it. (Of course it could be that he was happy to see me. Just sayin'.) Bonus, extra time working on his trunk/head strength. No worries, though, he gets plenty of time being held by the wonderful women who work there. He's quite the ladies man already.

Photo 365: 1/24/11 - 1/30/11

1/24: The deer in the woods behind our house. Took this from my kitchen window with my new zoom lens. Loving the new lens.


1/25: Mackenzie's snowman. She, Emma and Olivia were drawing during the basketball game. I love seeing her learn to draw things now, as opposed to just scribbling. Although she does a lot of that still, too. But I think that's a mighty fine snowman.


1/26: Playdate with Olivia. Lots of silliness going on while having a snack.


1/27: oops, missed a day.

1/28: Mackenzie was here.


1/29: We went to see Tangled. It was wonderful. Emma now loves Rapunzel and all things Tangled. She was so into the movie, just transfixed by it. This was the best shot I could get of Emma when the movie was over. She dressed herself: Steelers jersey, cardigan, flower headband, and jeans. She's definitely got her own sense of style.


1/30: This was a busy day. Church, then Caroline's bowling birthday party, then preschool open house for Mackenzie. She's all signed up for next year. She's so looking forward to school and was excited to be able to go and play for a while rather than be rushed out the door during drop-off.

Photo 365: 1/17/11 - 1/23/11

1/17: Sledding at Kelly's after boot camp. That's Sam in between Mackenzie and Emma. The best part of sledding was Mackenzie going downhill with her eyes closed. She told me it was so the snow didn't get in her eyes, and she seemed very proud of that solution to her problem.


1/18: A sweet sleeping baby.


1/19: Land's End box shoved in my mailbox. Attn mailman - it doesn't fit.


1/20: An awake and happy baby.

1/21: Saying goodbye to Grandma McIntyre.

1/22: Family Play Day at our Church. Well, not actually at the church itself, but at it's warehouse/Loft space. It's a potluck/playtime for the kids on bounce houses.

1/23: My boot camp workout for the next day. It's my turn to lead and of course I waited until 11pm the night before to type it all up.

Photo 365: 1/10/11 - 1/16/11

1/10: Mackenzie's first swim lesson. She loved it. She was so excited to finally be big enough to take lessons. The girls lessons are back to back, so we're there from 7 - 8:30 by the time we shower them and get them in their PJs.


1/11: Playing the Cat in the Hat game Emma got for Christmas. I put my camera on the floor and set the timer.


1/12: I knew when I left this morning without snowblowing I was going to get stuck in the driveway. And I did. So I had to snowblow around my car, move it in to the garage, then finish the driveway.


1/13: We met my mom at the mall so the girls could use their Disney Store gift cards she gave them for Christmas. It was so fun watching them check everything out. Emma kept asking, "can I get this?" and if I said she could but only that and then there'd be nothing left, she'd put the item back. She wanted to be sure she could get two things. Their final purchases were exactly the same, of course - princess art kits in a zip around case and stickers. They were so excited.

1/14: Poor Ryan, already being dressed up in tutu skirts. And he's already perfected the, "Are you serious?" look.

1/15: Date night. We went out to dinner with my workout girls and spouses. Twenty-two of us in all, which meant we needed a room to ourselves. It was fun to hang out, chat, eat and then play a few games before heading home.

1/16: Shelby and Angie stayed the night after babysitting for us, so we took them to lunch after church. Not that we need an excuse to go to Bob Evans, we go so often after church that the girls expect us to go to "the pancake place" every Sunday.

Ten on Tuesday

1. We have snow. Lots of snow. I took these this morning, and we got plenty more afterwards. Lots of snow means snow days though, which Michael and Emma had on Monday.



2. Emma had her Christmas concert/Happy Birthday Baby Jesus program tonight. It was unbelievably cute. I didn't get any good pictures from where I was sitting, but you can see her in this one.


3. Purple Heart picked up two bags of donated clothes today while I was out snowblowing. I was just cleaning out the laundry room and now have four more bags for them. Wish I would've done this last night.

4. While I haven't started putting together my Dec. Daily yet, I am up-to-date on the journaling and tonight downloaded Ali Edwards' 6x8 overlays. I'm getting there.

5. Ryan is still cute. Starting to grow out of his 0-3 month sleepers.

6. Mackenzie is still a stinker. Oh my is this going to an interesting winter. I'm praying for patience daily. Really. I am.

7. Emma still talks a lot. And questions everything. We'll be lucky if she still believes in Santa next year. She's already wondering why there are so many Santas and if they're the real Santa or not.

8. We cut down our tree Saturday (pictures to come) and afterwards you can go in their barn and get hot chocolate, make s'mores, roast hot dogs. It's the best hot chocolate ever. And the woman who owns the farm was nice enough to share the recipe with me. It makes a lot. I mean a lot of hot chocolate mix, you only need 1/3 cup per serving.



9. Have you checked out Write.Click.Scrapbook. lately? December brings WCS for the Holidays, a month of holiday-related posts, projects, layouts, mini-albums and more. I have two new mini-albums that will be posted later this month.

10. I'm almost done with my Christmas shopping. Thursday I'm going to the mall with my mom (first trip with all three kiddos) and will finish my sister and mom that day. I'll then just need to get my brother-in-law's present, some stocking stuffers and I'll be done. Very excited by this.

Ten on Tuesday

1. Tonight I was watching CMT's countdown of the top 40 country songs of the decade. I was doing this while rocking Ryan. Watching country music videos while holding your still-new baby boy means there will be tears. Just saying.


2. Have I mentioned I think he's cute? I do.


3. The above picture was taken on Thanksgiving at my in-laws. We were out in my father-in-law's workshop watching the trains. The kids love it. They all got to pick out a train car from Grandpa's collection to take home. Which means the train around our tree will be three cars longer. And since our track isn't that big, there's a good chance the first car will be meeting up with the last.

4. Impressed the girls are looking without making faces and Ryan's awake.


5. Mackenzie's really into reading. And reading to Ryan.


6. All the Sweeney grandkids.


7. Sigh. I love him.


8. I mentioned the love of reading. I have a love of seeing them read books.


9. Also, I love hearing her read aloud.


10. Funny Ryan sleeping pictures.

The End.