Pete and Repeat

Oh, how the little one does everything the big one does (or at least she tries to!). Fortunately, most of the time the big one likes it. I caught them sitting like this watching one of their shows before ballet last week :) Had to capture it on film (or do we say on memory card these days?!?).

BYE!!!

One of Keelyn's favorite pastimes right now is to say 'BYE!' and when you say it back, she shuts a door and toddles off, only to return in a few seconds and repeat the same thing over and over again! It's pretty dang cute!

Beautiful

Raising girls in today's culture, I must admit is a scary thing to think about. There are just too many pressures about body image and what we should or should not look like. I've heard that now girls in early elementary school are 'dieting'. That is so sad that they already think they need to change themselves when they are still so young. One song that I love that speaks about this issue, is "More Beautiful You" by Jonny Diaz. The lyrics are great, and to generalize, they speak to the fact God made us with a purpose & there could never be a more beautiful version of us because he made us exactly as we are for that purpose. Every time I've heard this song the past couple years, I think of my daughter(s) and pray that they will not buy into what the world tells them about themselves, but they will know the truth that they are beautiful and made with a purpose.

Well, this past week or two, Mackenzie has started singing along with some of the radio songs on Christian radio that we listen to in the car. And this past week, this song came on & I could hear my little three year old singing,

"There could never be a more beautiful you
Don't buy the lies disguises and hoops they make you jump through
You were made to fill a purpose that only you could do
So there could never be a more beautiful you"

I know she messed up a fair share of the words, and it will be a long time before she understands those words she was singing, but I pray that the message she hears over time sinks in and that she knows she IS beautiful.

My Babies & Their Babies

Yesterday, Mackenzie fashioned one of my visors as a baby carrier. I thought it was too cute. Guess she saw a lot of her mommy carrying her baby in a carrier this past year! And that baby is now taking care of her own little babies (AKA stuffed animals!)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We didn't do anything special for St. Paddy's Day, and only one child would wear green. Our girly girl only wanted pink (like any other day!). But we did spend some more time outside playing :)

Mackenzie McKay pretending she has no Irish blood in all pink!

Keelyn McKay in green, doesn't get much more Irish than that :)

Just a Swangin'

Spring-like weather and longer days mean evening trips to the park may begin!

Gotta love that static!

What I get many days when I ask for a smile.....

I'll give you one guess as to who she is watching......

Not to Forget......

This week, when I went to pick Keelyn up after a MOPS meeting, I got the best welcome by my little peanut. She was busy playing and didn't see me, so I said her name a couple times til she heard me. At which time, she looked at me, smiled, and came running (well, her best attempt at a run) across the room yelling, "Mah-MEEE, Mah-MEEE, Mah-MEEEE!"until she got to me and gave me a big ol' bear hug around my legs. My heart just about melted.













Then, later that day, my three year old, was busy cooking in her kitchen while I cooked in mine. She brought me a plate-ful of play food and told me that she had made me 'slop'!! I asked if slop was good, and she very adamantly told me it is good. Well, glad to hear I wasn't being served slop for punishment or something! We've been watching Annie this week, so I guess that's where she learned about slop - but she doesn't realize yet that it is not a good food :)

Little Sister

Some days it's hard being the little sister.....the things you have to put up with!

Good Days

This is such a good season for me & my girls. Mackenzie is getting so mature, and days of irrational tantrums get closer and closer to being a thing of the past (enter a little sassy-ness....but focusing on the good stuff right now!). And Keelyn, what can I say.....seriously such a sweet fun age. I am reminded each day of why we decided to try for #2 when Mackenzie was this age - it's just such a good age. (This time I'm not fooled though into trying again, mind you!) And now, I get to enjoy this phase with a big sister to love it too! Thinking back to last year at this time, my life was just so much harder. They were so much more dependent on me, and it was quite exhausting. And though I'm saddened that the fact that we are having so much fun is largely due to their growing independence, I'm going to soak up these good days before they too, slip away from me......

Miss Aunt Natalie

A few fun photos from a recent visit with Aunt Natalie, who Mackenzie sometimes refers to as Miss Aunt Natalie. I think it's cute that she still adds the prefix, not realizing that the 'Aunt' is actually a prefix! As if both Aunt & Natalie are her name. 'Miss Auntnatalie'. Makes me smile.

Everyone smiling....wow! Too bad Mackenzie's is a little forced!

Smothering Miss Auntnatalie

Going for a little ride

Just for Her

As many of you enjoyed in a previous post, Keelyn is often heartbroken that she can't ride the big girl bike and trike when we're outside. (And mommy gets a little lazy when having to push her in our push toys.....). So, last week, I scored a little ride on princess toy at a consignment sale for $6. Well worth it! Keelyn knew it was for her right away, and it has helped because now she has a toy she can ride on and make move all by herself!

So pleased with her new wheels!

And a picture of the big girl on her ride -
demonstrating her 'circus girl' riding.....aka riding with no hands!

Grandparents Visit

My parents came this weekend and the girls had alot of fun (so much fun, in fact, that Keelyn took a 3 hour nap after they left.....and that almost NEVER happens!). This is such a fun age as Mackenzie gets SUPER excited about their visits & even Keelyn is getting the idea that this grandparent thing is a good thing :) Everyone is getting geared up for 'grandparent's camp' in a few weeks when the girls are going to both grandparents' houses over spring break. What is mommy going to do with herself that week??? A few pics....

Gmommy & Keelyn - I'm pretty sure this one takes after the Ramseys!

Gmommy at Mackenzie's Hair Salon (somewhere there are pictures of me & Natalie doing this to her years ago......)

Mackenzie sporting the new ballerina PJs that Gmommy bought her!

Zoo Trip with Friends

About a week ago, we went to the zoo with some friends, enjoying some of this beautiful, early spring weather. Thinkin' about getting a zoo pass this year.......

Mackenz and her buds

Keelyn still enjoys a good ride in the carrier

Keelyn thought she was big stuff riding this see-saw with the big girls!

Dining Out

Outside, that is :) Spring weather is just so glorious! We've done a couple picnics outside so far this year, and I think we will be doing a lot more! We were encouraged in a MOPS meeting yesterday with a speaker talking about nutrition to use non-food incentives for behavior, etc. She said we (adults) use food/treats a lot b/c that's what we're programmed to want as a reward, but kids love other things just as much. One example she gave was to say if "x" then we can eat outside today. I thought, what a great idea! Incentives work really well with Mackenzie, so the more non-food incentives I can give, the better! And it was also fun for mommy to soak up a little vitamin D :)

Introducing......

Princess Keelyn! She brought me one of big sissy's princess dresses recently wanting me to put it on her. And so it begins! It's a little big, but she'll grow into it far sooner than I want her to......sigh.

Our Budding Photographers

The other night, I let Mackenzie & Mady Kay use my little point and click camera (well, truth be told, they grabbed it out of my bag & started using it before I knew it, but I let it continue) while we were out to dinner. They had a lot of fun taking some 'real' photos of each other.

Diva Mady Kay posing for Mackenzie

Check out this pose Mackenz did for Mads!

One on One Time

Since Keelyn is going to MMO this year about once a week, it has been fun to occasionally take Mackenzie out on a little date if she doesn't have school on a day when I can take Keelyn to MMO. We did this a couple weeks ago for the consignment sale. Preschool was on winter break, but the MMO is almost always still open. So, I took Mackenzie with me shopping w/o Keelyn. Partially b/c having to deal with two and shop a consignment sale would not have been too productive & also I wanted to shop with Mackenzie so she could help pick her stuff out (so she might be more likely to wear it all season!). Then, we got to have a little lunch date at Chick-Fil-A. She is so much fun when it's just the two of us. She eats up getting to be the sole recipient of my attention. But, truth be told, she still misses her sissy. She asked me multiple times about when we were going to get Keelyn. Mommy's fun, but I guess something is just missing without our baby girl!

This is the best I got when I asked for her to smile for a picture!

One of the CFA workers stopped to chat with Mackenzie and she thought Mackenz was cute, so she went and got this little stuffed cow for Mackenz! Such a little charmer!

Sisters

Sometimes, sharing and playing with your sister is so hard to do. Other times, it comes so naturally!

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

A girl and her buds after dance class. So sweet to know that she'll remember these days with her little first friends. I still remember (sort of) taking dance around this age with my buds. So, I think she will always remember these days.

Three & a Half?

So, tomorrow, Mackenzie will be 3 1/2 years old. I can't believe it. I feel like she JUST turned three. And just that quickly she'll be four. I so, so, SO wish I could slow down the clock and keep her at this age. I remember when I first had her, and I started my MOPS group....I thought the 3 & 4 year olds were SO big, and now, here I am with my own......time has gone so fast.

This year has been a good year for me. I'd heard many folks say that 3 was harder than 2. Not for us. Maybe it has something to do with adding another sibling to our family when she was two. So, her three's have been much easier by comparison!

I just love watching her grow. Her friendships, which at one point were just MY friends kids, are definitely her own these days! They have little conversations, and they play pretend together. One of my friends said the other day that we have arrived - b/c when we got to their house, the two big girls went upstairs to the playroom and were having a little tea party - one was the mommy & one the daughter. When she checked on them, they were totally okay and playing together.

She's still strong-willed, but is learning how to obey and get along in our family. And our little chatterbox still prefers (strongly prefers) some company to play with, but she is learning to spend some time playing by herself as well. And when that doesn't work, her little sister is learning to be a playmate and that is so fun to see!

We're learning that she is a very cautious child. If you tell her something is dangerous, she seems to heed that warning. I enjoy it in the parking lot - that kid WANTS to hold your hand around cars :) But, we've had some trouble getting her to try new things. Swimming last summer was rough, so we've started lessons early this year to be ready for summer. She's doing SO well after 6 lessons (especially considering the entire first lesson was spent in tears!). And recently, she finally decided to make me take off the handle from her trike so she could do it herself.

She's such a girly girl. THis is so funny to me. I mean, I'm sort of girly I guess, but not totally that way. But this kid, she doesn't want to wear ANYTHING but dresses! And preferably pink, floral, or with ruffles! She loves hair accessories, shoes, jewelry, you name it! If it's girly, she likes it :) Can't wait to see if this is a phase or permanent. If it's not a phase, she might be our expensive child!

Mackenzie - we love you & can't wait to see how you continue to grow this year :) You are so much fun & I can't imagine my life without you!!!

Pure Cuteness

These pictures of Keelyn just make me smile......

Our little singer! I started her singing the ABC's to get her to smile atme, and she turned her head, but I love the live action singing shot!!!

Determination: carrying a box of chalk almost as big as you are!

It's Tough Being Younger

I swear, we have spent almost every day outside for the past week or so - it's amazing for February! It has been so fun watching the girls just play & play, this is really such a fun age when they can both play pretty well with mommy just watching - lovin' it! But every now and then, Keelyn gets frustrated. It's just so hard not being able to keep up with big sissy!

Trying so hard to get this thing to go! Little legs just don't reach the pedals yet :p

Little one wishing she could have a turn on the bike! Poor baby!!