Our Week

We had a wonderful last week, and here are three pictures for you. Above is our annual picture with Santa Claus at Fantasy of Trees. I think it turned out pretty cute. :) Both kids talked to Santa, and Josiah even hugged him at the end of the photo shoot. So super sweet.
Josiah's half birthday was on Thanksgiving Day this year. He is officially 5 1/2 years old. Granna and Z-pa bought him a turkey cake to celebrate. He told me today that his favorite part of Thanksgiving week was celebrating his half birthday.

To complete our week, last night Mackenzie's other top front tooth was so loose that I insisted on pulling it. On the third try, I got it! Here is her new smile. I believe she is adorable in this phase. She says she is embarrassed to be missing those two top front teeth. After assuring her that she is beautiful, both inside and out, I tucked her into bed. The tooth fairy came while she was sleeping. All is well in our world that seems so full of fun milestones these days!

Mackenzie's Five and a Half!

It is hard to believe that our Mackenzie is 5 1/2 years old today. Seriously, I don't know where the time has gone, but it has been an absolutely wonderful 5 1/2 years. We have a tradition of having half a cake for celebrating half birthdays. So that is exactly what we did as soon as we got home from school today!
The kids just could not wait! We put 5 and 1/2 candles on the cake. Mackenzie loved her heart shaped ice cream cake. Actually, we all did! :) (Josiah had a pajama day today, just in case you were wondering.)

On a separate note, my momma gave me a Bible of my very own, with my name on it, as soon as I learned to read well as a child. That happened to be when I was in first grade as a 6 year old. That has always meant so very much to me. It is a memory that stands out as I think back to learning to read and those early years. So, now that Mackenzie is reading well, I decided it was time to carry on the tradition! I picked out a purple Bible and had her name put on it in silver script. It is a complete NIV Bible in a small size, just right for her to carry. I wrote a note on the inside cover, which seemed to mean a lot to Mackenzie. David and I sat her down in the living room this afternoon to give it to her. I told her the story of my own childhood, too. She LOVED the Bible. She immediately opened it and searched for Psalms. Then she wanted to find the 23rd Psalm. She memorized the entire 23rd Psalm for school last semester. She received a 100% on that one, which impressed me! Anyways, it was precious to see her curled up on the couch with her new Bible in hand reading the 23rd Psalm!
I do pray that she will read it often and always seek answers within its pages.

Our Week

Our week began with the arrival of Granna and Z-Pa on Monday for Thanksgiving week. Uncle Zac joined us on Tuesday, and we've had a great week. Tuesday, November 24, was Josiah's half birthday. I cannot believe that he is already 3 1/2 years old, and yet in some ways he seems so much older than 3 1/2! He is counting and saying his ABC's all the time now. He loves to count to ten in Spanish. He is able to legibly write his name. He loves to play with gadgets and anything that transforms, like bakugans. He loves things that go, like cars and balls, and enjoys playing computer games and watching PBS Kids. He goes to sleep at 7:00pm, same as Mackenzie. He wakes up between 5:30 and 6:30am as he only requires 10 1/2 hrs of sleep per night! (Mackenzie still requires almost 12 hrs per night!) He loves school and all his friends at school. He can lay it on thick with his perfect manners, complete with yes ma'ams and no sirs and lots of hugs and kisses; he can also demonstrate a great lack of manners complete with a rude tone of voice. He certainly keeps us on our toes these days!!! He is an affectionate little boy, and we love him dearly. He weighs 34.5 lbs and is 39.5 inches tall.
He enjoyed his half birthday celebration with Granna and Z-Pa. He even got the chocolate dinosaur cake he requested! Thanks, Granna and Z-Pa, for making his half birthday a special one.

Here's the first ever chocolate pie that I made from scratch! I used my momma's crust recipe, and my Granny Long's chocolate pie filling recipe. I let everyone choose whipped cream or Redi Whip to top their piece of pie! I was kinda proud of how it turned out!

After enjoying a Thanksgiving meal (and that chocolate pie), we went to The Fantasy of Trees. I love this as it benefits Children's Hospital, which I'm kinda partial, too. ;) The kids sat in Santa's lap and I got our traditional picture. I'm so happy with how it turned out! The kids told Santa what they want for Christmas, and we enjoyed making our annual hand print potholders and thumbprint ornaments. (Josiah told Santa he wants a light saber and a toy motorcycle for Christmas, and Mackenzie told Santa she wants a swim suit, Barbie doll, and Dora Saves the Mermaid DVD and Dora Dance to the Rescue DVD.)

Both kids enjoyed the train and put put golf at The Fantasy of Trees, too. We've had a great week, full of activities. I have so much to be thankful for...that could be a whole other post! For now, I caught the blog up with some pics and our latest activities.

Also, Mackenzie is 38.5 lbs and 44.25 inches tall. She is now 5 years and 3 months old. As I tucked her in earlier this week, she began asking questions about Grannie Horn (her great, great, grandmother who died when I was 18 years old). I enjoyed telling her about my own Thanksgiving memories at Great Grannie Horn's house during my own childhood. She asked one question after another and we ended up having a terrific conversation about death, faith, and Heaven. Her questions struck me as deep from a five year old. One of her questions was, "Mom, since you and Dad are older than me, does that mean that you'll die before me?" Again, the answer was lengthy and in depth, but her response was, "I want you and me to die together, Momma, because I need to be able to see you, talk to you, and touch you at least once every day." She melted my heart. Such a sweetie. I pray that some of what we talked about regarding faith, death, Jesus, and Heaven sunk in!

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!!!

Happy 1/2 Birthday, Mackenzie

February 24, 2009 Mackenzie's half birthday was February 24. She is officially 4 1/2 years old. David and I enjoy celebrating half birthdays with a half of a cake...or a little cake. Mackenzie was delighted with this tiny Tinkerbell cake I found at Wal-Mart to surprise her after her school day on the day of her half birthday.
And she knows that while we don't do presents for her half birthday...Granna & Z-Pa do! She eagerly awaited their arrival...and the arrival of some presents, too. :)

Anytime the kids are expecting company, this is where you can find them...

...sitting together watching out the window. Just precious.

I love Mackenzie's sweet profile in this picture.

Josiah was entertaining for the camera!

Here are two pictures of the kids with Granna & Z-pa (David's parents) that I took tonight. Tonight was the official half birthday party!

Thanks, Granna & Z-Pa, for all the fun gifts and cake, too!

Here is the really yummy Bruster's cake that they brought!!!
Happy 4 1/2 years, Mackenzie Girl!

Half Birthday Update

My Baby Boy is 2 1/2 years old today. Where, oh where, has the time gone???

We are thankful to have David's parents here for Thanksgiving, and since they have a tradition of celebrating half birthdays...today was Josiah's special day! As a child, on his 1/2 birthday, David got to pick the place to eat. Now for the grand kids, David's parents go all out! They even brought presents to celebrate; I went and picked out half of a cake for the half birthday celebration. He, he.
I just love the look on Josiah's precious little face in the above picture. Mackenzie, along with the rest of us, was singing "Happy Half Birthday" to Josiah. He obviously knew it was his special day.
This picture just captured his pleased little expression so well.

Now this picture just cracks me up. As soon as we were finished singing, he dug right in to that cake! You can see the missing icing along the edge of the cake closest to him, as well as the clump in route to his mouth. :)

His special day was complete with gifts from Granna and Z-Pa! (Mackenzie received some gifts, too, of course!)

We had a fun day and made some neat memories. I still cannot believe my baby is two and a half! We measured him at home today; he is 36 inches tall and weighs 29.5 pounds already! I was surprised as Mackenzie did not weigh 29 pounds until she turned 3 1/2 years old-Ha. Josiah recognizes letters for over half of his alphabet now. He knows all his colors and shapes. He can almost spell his name by himself...still requires a little prompting, but correctly identifies his name when he sees it in print. Also knows all the letters in his name, just sometimes rearranges them still! He can sing the entire alphabet song. He enjoys singing lots of other songs, too. His favorite is "Jesus Loves Me." When he needs us in the night, he just gets up from his toddler bed and comes to our room to get us. He's up at 7am or slightly thereafter these days, and goes to bed between 7:30pm and 8pm. He loves his chocolate milk in a sippy cup. When Mackenzie wakes up, he loves to greet her with a morning hug and they share their "I love yous." It melts a Mommy's heart. He loves to draw. One of his favorite toys these days is anything on wheels, especially trains. Diego and Lightening McQueen are his favorite two characters, hands down. He is a good little helper, and he loves to entertain! I love his cuddles and his kisses. Today he informed us all that he is not 2 1/2 years old...he said, "I'm still just two!" I don't mind that one bit. You just stay little kiddo!

Happy 1/2 Birthday, Josiah! You are two and one half years old today. I will add to this post later...hopefully with some ball park measurement updates and some fun pictures from an upcoming half Birthday party from Granna & Z-Pa! :)

Happy Half Birthday!

Josiah and his new guitar. He is proud!
Learning from Z-pa (David's Dad). Yes, my boy is wearing pink shoes...he put Mackenzie's shoes on all by himself and was quite happy wearing them. Oh, well.
Mackenzie exuding excitement about her new princess stick-on earrings! "I just wanted these!" she exclaimed. "They are just like Laura's!"
Proudly displaying her new earrings.

So, David's parents (Granna & Z-pa) are here to visit during their Spring Break. We are delighted to have them and the kids are enjoying lots of extra attention. Today, after church, Granna and Z-pa brought several packages in for Mackenzie and Josiah. This was a celebration of Mackenzie's Half Birthday, which was within the last two weeks. She is 3 1/2 years old. Josiah is 21 months. Both kids were very excited about this party with lots of presents! They now have several new books, a new guitar, stick-on earrings, a princess dress up set, DVD, candy, and other things, too. Thanks, Granna & Z-pa!