Girls Night Out

Just Mackenzie and Me! I have spent a lot of one-on-one time with Josiah lately. I have time with just Josiah in the mornings as Mackenzie does not wake up as early as he does, and time with Josiah while Mackenzie's in "school" from 9-2 twice a week. I am enjoying my one-on-one time with Josiah, but was missing my time with Mackenzie. So. To solve this dilemma, David and Josiah had a "boy's night out" and spent some time at Sprout and Chuck E. Cheese, while Mackenzie and I had a "girl's night out," just the two of us. We opted for an adventure together, to places we've never been... We started at the Knoxville Museum of Art (free admission!) and explored the children's area and the gardens. Let's just say that I'm VERY glad it was free-Ha. If you're looking for a garden area, UT Gardens has this beat by a long shot; if you're looking for interactive children's areas, well, just about anywhere has this beat! :) That said, we enjoyed seeing it for about 15 minutes max, then left for a new adventure! We ended up across the street from the Art Museum at a park called Fort Kid. Excellent place! We both had fun climbing around a fortress-like park. Notice the Sun Sphere in the background--cool place!
I loved the sunlight on Mackenzie's hair!
Couldn't decide if I liked it better in color or black and white.
Then we got hungry...next stop Market Square! I had actually never been there before, so we enjoyed it. Mackenzie was thrilled with getting to pick the restaurant; she chose one with outdoor seating and umbrellas overhead! Then she insisted on a table for two (rather than four), since it was girl's night out. After our lo mien noodles and fried rice dishes, we began our journey back to the car.
Mackenzie was delighted with getting to play in the splash pad/ fountain area at Market Square. She did a great job of staying dry, which was nice as I had no extra clothes in tow.

By the time we all four met up at home, we were tired but had made some fun memories to treasure.

(Random Side Note: As Mackenzie and I began our first journey from the car to the museum, she held my hand and asked me to skip down the sidewalk with her. I know we were a sight to see! I had to look funny skipping down the sidewalk. But as I did so, tears came to my eyes as the precious time with my children seems so very fleeting. They are growing and changing every day, which is a blessing, but makes me sad, too! I just want to treasure every "skipping down the sidewalk" moment that we are granted.)

Check-Up

Today was Mackenzie's four year old routine well child check up. We arrived. We sat down. Mackenzie had to go to the bathroom while we were still in the waiting room. No problem. I asked the nurse for a cup (knowing they would want a urine sample) and the three of us (Mackenzie, Josiah, and myself) headed into the bathroom. We were barely in that bathroom door when Josiah announced that he wanted to use the potty. Rather than wait for my assistance, my two year old boy pulled his LOADED diaper and shorts down to his ankles. Yes, folks, it was loaded with poop. Nice. He had the poop smeared clear from his bottom down to his ankles in no time flat. Great. I sat him on the toilet seat in hopes of containing the mess. By the time I had him in a fresh diaper, we had cleaned the entire lower half of his body, as well as the parts of the bathroom including the floor and toilet seat. Somehow we managed to keep his clothing clean, which is a blessing as I did not have a back-up outfit with me! After all that...Mackenzie no longer needed to go at all. That "urge" had passed. Therefore, we still needed a urine on her! Ha.

At this point we were pulled from the bathroom (we were in there awhile, you realize) directly into the exam room. I was already exhausted by this point, and the check-up had not even started yet. The rest of the trip was fairly uneventful in comparison, though Josiah was a bit wired.

Mackenzie passed the hearing and vision tests with flying colors (and had fun doing them as this was the first time!) and her urine tested normal. She weighs 31 and 1/2 lbs which puts her in the 25 % for weight. She is 40.25 inches tall, which places her in the 50 % for height. She received four shots today: Polio, MMR, Varicella, DTaP. That catches her up on immunizations until she is twelve years old! (Except for annual flu shots, of course.) She screamed as I held her down while the shots were given. She calmed down immediately once they were over. I tried to explain how terrible the diseases are in comparison to the shots. Yeah, that's the nurse in me. I did give her some sympathy, too, though! :)

We did it! We survived! That's how I felt by the time we were done. Other than Josiah's diaper incident, all went well. Ha.

Chocolate Covered Kenzie

After a day exploring the Norris area (hiking, playgrounds, driving), we all four enjoyed some ice cream from Bruster's on Labor Day! You might think Josiah would have been the messiest, but he ate his too fast to be messy. Mackenzie, well, the pictures truly are worth a thousand words! :)

I Love You

As I tucked Josiah into his toddler bed tonight...
he said, "Night, night."

Me: "I love you, Josiah."

Josiah: "I love the chairs." (giggle)

Me: "Silly boy! Whatever happened to, 'I love you, Momma?'"

Josiah: Smiling, "I love the chairs!"

Weird conversation. So it goes at 2 years old! :) Josiah keeps us on our toes. He has been a Momma's boy lately, and I love all the extra cuddles and those precious hugs!

Who Will I Marry

As I tucked Mackenzie into bed tonight, she asked me, "Mom, will I sleep in my twin bed when I grow up or will I have to get a bigger one?"

Me: "Well, I don't know. You can sleep in your twin bed when you grow up, but if you get married I think you'll need a bigger bed."

Mackenzie: "Oh. Will I marry Josiah when I grow up?"

Me: "No, you won't marry Josiah when you grow up because he's your brother. You can't marry someone you're related to, and besides, he already has a special role; he's your brother."

Mackenzie: "Oh. Then who will I marry?"

Me: "I don't know. Only God knows who you'll marry, if you choose to marry. But I do know that it will be to a someone you like a lot, someone you like so much that you love."

Mackenzie: "Oh! I'm going to marry Laura!"

Me: Laughing, "No, you won't marry Laura! She is someone that you love, but she's a girl. Girls only marry boys, and boys only marry girls."

Mackenzie: Smiling, "Why?"

Me: "Because God is very clear about that. That is the way he made it."

Pause.

Mackenzie: "I know. I can marry my daddy!"

Me: "That's really sweet, but I'm already married to your daddy!"

Mackenzie: "So who will I marry?"

Me: "Only God knows the answer to that question."

Sigh. Precious thoughts and ideas. We had a long conversation that was a lot of fun! I had to post it. I don't want to forget these moments.

Our Week

"Back-Pack, Back-Pack," for you Dora the Explorer fans out there, that tune will ring a bell! David and the kids found these at the mall. Being the huge Dora and Diego fans that they are, David and the kids couldn't resist!
Mackenzie and Josiah proudly wore their new backpacks around the mall the rest of the evening!
Laundry, anyone?
Silly, Girl!
Messy, Boy!
(Now you see why we only use finger paints just before bath time at our house! Perhaps it should be called "body paint" instead of finger paint. Ha.)

The kids and I spent the morning at the zoo while David was at work. Sure made the day go by fast and it was fun, too!
A fun week, and a fun weekend ahead! (Umm, I don't really know what we're doing this weekend, but I'm sure it will be a good one since it is a three day weekend for David!)

Have a blessed Labor Day Weekend, Everyone!!!

August 24, 2004

After a 16 1/2 hr labor, including 1 hour of pushing, and a couple different types of vacuums...Mackenzie Kristen Watson arrived into our lives. In spite of her difficult journey out, which included meconium staining and shoulder dystocia, she is just fine. The extensive suctioning and some oxygen certainly helped my purple baby turn pink! I cannot whisper up enough prayers of thanksgiving that she was okay after her traumatic arrival into the world. And I will never forget just how long it seemed to take before we heard any sound at all coming from that child. Silence in the delivery room after the birth of your child is not something you want to hear. Finally, finally, she cried a weak cry...which grew stronger...and we cried, too!
Check out that "cone head," thanks to my pelvic outlet size!
Proud parents holding Mackenzie!
Mackenzie weighed in at 7 lbs 0 oz. She was 20.25 in long, and arrived at 2:29pm on August 24, 2004.

I did not get a chance to add her birth story/birth pictures yesterday...so here they are today!