24oct2011 - fall...kind of

mackenzie had a nice nap after a 7.5 mile run and a swim class...then we enjoyed some finger (and, sure, why not, toes will work too) painting in the driveway armed only in a disposable diaper...she was quickly board with the paper and more interested in the lids i was using for the paint.

enjoying a rice cake and some yoga in the bebe pod after painting...then we're off to water the garden...look how big she looks in the sleepy wrap now!

we're amazed our fall aster bloomed so well given the severity of the drought!

always busy, mackenzie likes to fill the bucket with toys and then arrange them on the shelves she so effectively wipes clean!  she is now pulling to standing without hesitation on just about anything she can find and yesterday afternoon decided it's cool to pull the leg up and start climbing too...yikes!

lovely lentil leftovers...adam believes the simple fact that i took this photo is testament to my need for more sleep...but look at the serving sizes...it's a fun photo...isn't it?  very excited to have mackenzie starting to enjoy the same food as us...it will make life simpler for sure!

off to the pumpkin patch on sunday morning.

we're working on sunglasses - i think we're up to about 15 seconds before she takes them off. 

she was way more interested in throwing the dirt and hay over her shoulder than picking out a pumpkin. my absolute favorite baby picture is of noah playing with a pumpkin a few years ago...we still have it on our refrigerator and our neighbors wondered if it was mackenzie!

17oct2011 - 10 months old already!

mackenzie had a great swimming lessons, a couple of 5 second jumps and all kinds of water play! it will really take it out of a girl!

more diaper time...mackenzie loves to toddle around in nothing at all, but next best is diaper only...we're taking advantage of it before it starts to cool down

mackenzie is going to take after her papa with a air of flair...she's got the drama going on, can't just take a toy out, she needs to give it the full arm sweep!

what are they doing? 

they're having a good old game of peek-a-boon with papa in the laundry room...the baby gate is to keep mackenzie in her room and brody out at night

we're finally getting our game on baby proofing...still lots to do!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpTuOIFrqNw

espeically after mackenzie pulled herself up to full standing to get her shaky eggs from her bookshelf yesterday.

she caught me completely by surprise as she's been almost completely uninterested in standing since she start crawiling...but it was amazing!

10oct2011 - another week flies by



mackenzie and eema returning from an early morning run last monday when it was cool enough for the poncho grandma made with love!

we went and picked papa up at his office when he returned from san francisco...mackenzie had a good time crawling around, playing and NOT eating her dinner...who has time for that in a new environment!

saturday morning ready for a long run on the trail - we went 7.5 miles and mackenzie was great the whole way, only sleeping about 20 minutes...just kicking her legs and enjoying the fresh air...and i finally got a photo where you can see 5 of the 6 teeth (with a potential 7 & 8 on the way).

enjoying a cool drink of water at our weight watchers meeting after the run...note one leg warmer and one sock are missing.

we've been trying to catch mackenzie playing ball - she loves it and has a real knack for it and sounds like a future tennis player, grunting and closing her eyes with the effort of each throw!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4mgrYH9jA8

this kid definitely likes to experience her food!  this was an almost all finger food meal, so i take little responsibility in this mess!

if you're going to try something - go all out...here she is gnawing on a hunk of raw ginger!  papa had to have a photo!

we were all playing, but we lost the boys, cleaned up went downstairs for the camera and came back for a photo before they gained any awareness of a change in the room...they needed a nap!  papa's excuse is lots and lots of work, brody doesn't believe he needs and excuse or a reason to nap!  in fact, he will often nap right through a tower of blocks being toppled on his head.

papa on post nap baby duty...she's really determined to play with an electrical cord in that corner!

more family play time on sunday.  mackenzie is enjoying her new favorite game of sharing...she will open your hand and give you 'something'...we respond with an animated 'thank you', she giggles and we repeat the process over and over and over!  it turns out to be a great thing as today while she was home with me, i would ask her if i could have whatever morsel of dirt, food or nature she found before she put it in her mouth and she happily put it in my hand!

mackenzie enjoyed exploring the kitchen today and probably did 15 laps around the island...brody doesn't understand why she's allowed in that part of the kitchen and he's not

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQ2adNZ942s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ju5B-iWdHA

2oct2011 - mackenzie's weekend

more frequent updates for papa while he's out of town - we miss you papa!  we were looking at her picture book of our family and i said "where's papa?" and mackenzie craned her neck to look around for papa like she does when we play 'peek-a-boon'.

i'm not sure mackenzie really understands how ahead of the game she is with her 'reading in the bathroom', but there's nothing wrong with getting an early start!  she quickly transitions into another game that keeps me on my toes (and her fingers) - opening and closing doors.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3Te0SOapH4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suGqqAhEj2A

chilling (literally, only 57 this morning) in he stroller for an early walk.  when we got home, we had some fruit, hung diapers, had some milk, read a couple stories and mackenzie actually went down for 1 hour nap without protest!

after her nap, mackenzie changed into some summer duds, we played in the yard and in her room, skyped with grandma and gig dog for almost an hour.  she was hungry and ate a meal of mostly finger foods (note the tray and the face...this kiddo is not afraid to get dirty like her cousin ethan...she likes to experience food in all its glory...the more smear the better!).  she went big with beans, pasta, puffs, carrots and...as a final course, she just managed to stay awake for some papaya and plum (a new winning combination)...

...with a fresh diaper, a little milk and about 3 pages of a story, she went down for a 2nd nap without protest! unprecedented!

and after yet a third snoozer on a big evening walk with brody followed by a light dinner, she's ready for her bath, milk and dreamland!  what a day!

30sep2011 - cooler weather on the way!

it's still been over 100 a couple days in the past week, but the lows are getting near 70 (with low 60s on the way this weekend)...mackenzie is breaking out some pants, long sleeves and socks for our morning runs...but needs to change into summer clothes for the day!  this is how she spends much of our running time, the rest jabbering away!

last friday, we had a play date at the pool with carmen and clementine and kim and esme...they girls were really enjoying their tushy time after swimming in the now cold water.  they were sharing rice cakes, peas, and whatever else they could get their hands on.  i think you all know which one mackenzie is, whether you recognize her by the mullet or the beads or the the peanut stature or the just plain cuteness!

brody looking for a little love from papa however he can get it...poor papa has been working so hard, he just wants to relax when he gets home...but, alas, his girls and his pup meet him at the door all vying for snuggles 

mackenzie gets so tired but just won't nap, but she's so much happier and sleeps so much better when she does nap.  here she finally went to sleep and slept peacefully for over an hour and had a much better afternoon.  we've got night time back in almost tip top shape (going to bed is great, she's still getting up a little too early)...now we're working on naps at home (naps at school are not a problem...she'll log 2-3 hours during the day.

here is mackenzie tonight after her bath, playing her new game of plop...i think you might catch a glimpse of some teeth, so be ready with that pause button!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJCVWKkeMOE
this is our first weekend with papa away...we'll put some photos/videos out for him to check while he's off to barbershop competition in dallas and straight on to a work meeting in san franciso!  we love you papa!

21sep2011 - swings and puffs!

mackenzie is all over at day care - and playing so much...this is the typical pick-up greeting - arms flapping, big smiles and wet, juicy kisses

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWvdU9bo4Fk

an early morning visit to the swings on sunday...i think she's going to figure out how to pump before she can walk!  we're still trying to figure out how to hang her swing at home.

drop offs at day care have been going so smoothly since they started putting her at the table with some of her puffs while i'm still there.  she then gets her fruit.  kate is just a few days younger than mackenzie but about 6 pounds bigger...you can see she's pretty serious about her cheerios!  i usually only give mackenzie one or two puffs at a time, look how many she can get in her hand when they load her up at day care!  bottom line, i've taken 2nd fiddle to puffs in the morning!

15sep2011 - 9 months old!

mackenzie is a little dynamo and so fun! she plays so well and her little (or big) personality is really starting to show.  i don't think anyone will be surprised to hear she's a bit energetic! 

here she is crawling around at a weight watchers meeting after a nice run on saturday morning...then crashed out in her big girl car seat after swimming lessons with eema and papa.  a sneak peak based on weight watchers scales...i predict mackenzie will weigh in between 16 and 16 1/2 pounds on monday.

here she is playing on the kitchen floor while papa packs his lunch and i pack up her bottles.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy4Ye_WZlEc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2Nqp4uRYCY

and then having dinner later in the day...she has gotten 4 more teeth in the past two weeks, bringing the total to 6 to show the doc at her 9 month appointment on monday.  you can kind of see the two lowers and 3 of the uppers as well as her thoroughly enjoyed peaches and blueberries.  we may be done with purees already as she is clearly favoring finger foods (green beans, black beans, puffs, sweet potatoes, just about anything she can pick up!).  she loves the beans, which i prepared with garlic this time...starting to get fancy!  here are a couple of so-so videos of her eating.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ao76scwee1E

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xMrql0vjZk

and this evening, her new favorite game, taking everything off the shelves!  and, yes, that is a girly hair clip.  the only ones i've found so far covered in fabric so no metal or plastic is against her head.  her hair is in her eyes now.  unfortunately, she can't wear it at school.  i'm beginning to see where that silly little pony tail on the top of the head comes from!

a little evening time outside now that we're in a 'cold front' with highs in the low 90s, enjoying one of our last patches of green grass while i play fetch with brody.  she's thinking outside the box on the bebe pod...it's not just a chair, it's a toy as well and so intent on pulling every blade of grass out of the lawn!  i really must teach her to weed!

and this evening, playing her new favorite game...pulling everything off the shelves!  i keep moving things up, up, up!  and, yes, that is a girly hair clip.  they're the only fabric covered ones i've found so no metal or plastic are against her head to keep her hair out of her eyes.

3sep2011 - swimming saturday with papa - way cool!

papa took mackenzie to her 2nd swim lesson since i had lasik yesterday...they both had so much fun and i got to take lots of photos and movies to share

mackenzie has gotten to the point where she can actually propel the motorboat forward on her own!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBCbryTVpjM

mackenzie did her first wet jump with papa (that means her face went under water); she will go a little further and a little longer under every week or so throughout the class

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYJSP-pf_sA

funny, tonight she kept trying to put her face in the water in the bathtub - a quick study or a goofy girl?

it's so cool to watch her already kicking and moving her arms to try to move forward...look carefully in the video and you can see her legs going!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAHoOr9YnRA

they get to do the slide at the end of each class - mackenzie liked this even when we were in bathtub babies when she was 4 months old - we may have a thrill seeker/x-game girl on our hands...she loves to go high on the swings too!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fekMvJln43k

thanks for such a good time, papa!