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It has been quite sometime since our last update, and we didn't even upload all of the photos (so stay tuned... more to come). Summer has come to a quick close for us with the start of school. Mackenzie, unlike most children, was elated that the first day of school was finally here! She was so excited to start the K4 preschool class at the new school I teach at. She absolutely adores her teacher Mrs. Theaker, and often speaks highly of her class. The boy to girl ratio is a little lacking in this year's class though as Mackenzie is one of only two girls in the class. She spends her day surrounded by boys - 9 of them to be exact. Daddy is not quite sure how he feels about this yet :) Mackenzie is always saying, "Me and Ellie (the other little girl in her class) have to stay together, because girls stick together!" Adding to the excitement of starting a new school year, was also all of the cute new clothes and super cool new Tinkerbell backback. She was picking out her outfit for the first day of school days before it arrived! What a total girl! She's off to a good start, and we are looking forward to see how she will progress academically throughout this year!!
On July 11 we packed our bags and headed for Illinois to attend the Cole family reunion. The week leading up to the trip we kept asking Mackenzie if she was excited about going - However, in the moment she only seemed to care that we were going to stay at a a hotel! If anyone asked her where she was going she would get very excited and say, "A hotel!!!" We were barely 30 minutes from home before she asked, "Are we almost to the hotel?" Four hours later we finally arrived at the family reunion where we were able to enjoy visiting with the rest of the Cole clan all day. It was great for Mackenzie to get to see Granny and the rest of the family. She had a blast swimming, playing volleyball (or should I say chasing the ball for everyone), swinging, jumping on the trampoline, and playing baseball with Aunt Julie. By the end of the day she was exhausted. We were all taking bets on how long it would take her to fall asleep in the car - 5 minutes was the winning guess - and she was out!
On Sunday morning we got up, made a trip to IHOP and then we were off for a day in the windy city. Mackenzie got to spend several hours at the Lincoln Park Zoo and had so much fun. She claims, "My favorite parts were the carousel, and the train... oh... and picking out my jewelry souvenirs in the zoo store!" (check em out in the photos) She had her eye on a stuffed kangaroo, but in true girl fashion when she discovered that jewelry was an option, she went for the bling!
After an afternoon at the zoo, we opted to spend the evening at Navy Pier. The big event at Navy Pier was getting to ride the ginormous ferris wheel. I was a little apprehensive about riding the ferris wheel, but Mackenzie comforted me by telling me, "It's no big deal cause it goes slow Mommy." It was a great view of the city, and Mackenzie had absolutely no fright from the ride! We finished out the evening walking around the pier, enjoying the sights and the beautiful weather.
Of course we were hungry after our long day... and of course where else would we go besides Giordano's for dinner. So hungry that after waiting the eternal hour and a half to sit down we practically inhaled our dinner. It was so good! While we were waiting for our check, Mackenzie climbed onto my lap and in about a minutes time was out like a rock. We had to carry her two city blocks back to the car and she remained fast asleep almost all the way back to Indy! We had such a great trip, and Mackenzie is already asking when we can go again!
Comments Sounds like you ALL had a blast! So glad you got a break (and a little vacation!) Miss you! - Auntie Sara
Mackenzie just participated in her very first ballet recital. She had been looking forward to the day for months and was so excited it was finally here. We had to wake up extra early to go to a dress rehearsal on Saturday morning and after it was all over she couldn't quite figure out where Aunt Karen, Grammy, and everyone else was. I had to explain to her..."Oh no Mackenzie... this was just a practice. We have to do it all over again tomorrow." She literally rolled her eyes and said, "Dancing is hard work!" If you were to ask her what her favorite part of the recital was, 9 times out of 10 she'll tell you it was "getting to wear red lipstick."
She did such a good job during the recital. It was so cute to watch her and the rest of her class hopping across the stage getting all clustered up and then hopping back across the stage to their spots. Mackenzie was quite the little leader. At one point she even tapped a little girl on the shoulder and waved her on to move. When exiting the stage, she turned to the audience of several hundred and waved. She definitely is not afraid of the stage.
After having the opportunity to see lots of other dancers at the recital she informed me that she has decided she wants to be a "ballerina tap dancer." We are signing up to take ballet again, and tap this fall!
Comments I knew she would be fabulous on stage -- only wish I was there to cheer her on! :) LOVE the pics! Adorable! MISS YOU KENZIE! - Auntie Sara (fa fa away!) :(
Mackenzie recently started taking ballet - and absolutely loves it! She kept telling us that she wanted to be a ballerina when she grows up, and we were constantly catching her twirling around the house. She likes to do some grand gesture or move and then declare... "That... was a ballerina move." She is so cute and having such a good time. Her favorite books right now are "Belinda Begins Ballet," and all of her "Angelina Ballerina" books if you can imagin that.
She is developing into quite the little lady these days too. It's so funny to see all of her new facial expressions - especially since they look like the expressions of a 12 year old in a 4 year old's body. A girly girl to the core - so much so that she won't hardly leave the house without her Little Mermaid purse. The other day we were at the store and the cashier asked her, "What kind of stuff do you carry in your cool purse?" Mackenzie replied, "Just the essentials!" She then proceeded to take every item out of her purse and set it on the counter - "here's my lip-gloss, my cel phone, my pretend make-up, my pink sunglasses, etc..." It was too cute! She grows up a little more everyday!
Mackenzie just celebrated her 4th birthday. She had a fabulous time and was so excited about her princess party. The days leading up to her birthday she kept asking, "Is today my party?" In true pricness fashion, Mackenzie dressed the party in a glittery pink princess ball gown, and pink ballet slippers. It was quite the royal celebration. The whole family came over to help her celebrate, and as each guest entered the door she would curtsie and say, "Welcome to my celebration!" It couldn't have been a true priness party either without a cake shaped like a princess castle. Mommy Zoie baked the cake, and Grammy helped put it together. When Mackenzie saw it for the first time she sqealed and said, "Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you... it's so beautiful!" It was a hit! She got a bunch of great presents, and was so happy after the party was over that we were sorry it had to end. As we were getting ready for bed after the party she wrapped her arms around Mommy Zoie's neck, kissed her, and said, "Mommy, that was the best, best, best, best, best birthday I ever had!" We are so glad Mackenzie had a wonderful fourth birthday. She's already planning for next year!
Comments So glad I was able to be there! She did look JUST like a princess! can't wait to visit this summer/fall! Miss Kenzie already! - Auntie Sara!
Thanks for inviting me to share your birthday! I had so much fun, Mackenzie!! I'm glad you had a good time too!! - Aunt Karen
Mackenzie you don\'t remember me but you were at my house a few years ago. You went swimming in my pool. I don\'t think you were to crazy about it though. If I remember right it was pretty cold. Well, I\'m glad you had a good birthday and I\'ll bet you looked just like the princess that you are. Love Aunt Julie -
Yesterday, Mackenzie had her first ever slumber party at Mabrie's house. She and Mabrie were so excited all day! They got to sleep in their new pink owl sleeping bags that Aunt Jody got them for Christmas. Yesterday afternoon we went to Greensburg to visit Granny Great and Poppop - Mackenzie and Mabrie were inseperable. They played with Mackenzie's princess dress-up accessories all day as they walked around the house together singing the little mermaid song. When we finally got to Mabrie's house last night, they went straight to Mabrie's room without hesitation and starting playing dress-up. It was precious. They were reluctant to go to bed because they were having so much fun, until they saw that they got to sleep together in Mabrie's bed in their cool new sleeping bags. After we put them down for bed, we kept hearing them talking and carrying on. Faith shouted in to Mabrie, "Mabrie, mommy wants you to lay down and go to sleep." Mabrie so inocently responded just like a 12 year old with..."But we're having a slumber party!" It was so cute! Mackenzie had such a great time. After church today, she told me that she wanted to go back and do that again next week.
Mackenzie was so excited about Christmas this year! The days leading up to Christmas, Mackenzie would wake up in the morning and tell us that she had a dream about Santa, and that he brought her a pink kitchen! Mike spent a couple of hours putting that kitchen together - it came in about a hundred pieces. She had built up that kitchen so much, we just had to get right! On Christmas eve, Mackenzie and Mommy Zoie made cookies for Santa because Mackenzie insisted that chocolate chip cookies were his favorite. She was bouncing off the walls with great anticipation for Christmas morning. We were just sure that she was going to go crazy when she walked out and saw that "pink kitchen" she had fantasized so much about. We... we're wrong. She didn't even glance at the tree! She was more concerned about whether or not Santa actually ate the cookies! When she saw all that Santa had left, she looked a little overwhelmed until she realized that the kitchen she had seen so many times at Target was now sitting in her living room! She was so excited to see Minnie Mouse too! She had a fantastic Christmas - Now we just have to make room for all those new toys to be put away! I do think her favorite toy of the day was the Little Mermaid barbie doll with all the fancy outfits to change her into. She also spent a lot of time running her new pink and purple shopping cart back and forth to her room wheeling around all of her new things! There was nothing greater for Christmas this year than to see the joy on Mackenzie's face!
Mackenzie learns something new every day. Today she learned that the letter "J" sounds like juice, jaguar, Jody, and jelly bean -as she told me after school today. She is becoming quite proficient at counting to 30 too. She counts 1, 2, 3... all the way up to 20, then 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27... 13!!! Besides being obsessed with going to pre-school (she even wants to go on Saturdays!), she is also quite taken with the "Little Mermaid" and "Tinkerbell." If you ask her what she is thinking about, more often than not she will respond..."Little Mermaid, or Tinkerbell!" If you ask her what she wants to do, she'll say, "I think I could watch Little Mermaid, or Tinkerbell, or something..." She was so excited to get her Little Mermaid dress up accessories. (you can see those in the pics!) She said, "The earings are my favorite part! They're so beautiful!"
When she is not thinking about school, The Little Mermaid, or Tinkerbell - she is busy compiling her list for Santa. It keeps growing, growing, and growing. Her top requests are: A pink kitchen, a cradle, a book, little mermaid stuff, a baby doll, and a baby sister. Ha! She is very much looking forward to Christmas... and so are we! We can't wait to see her face light up after Santa visits! So stay tuned for Christmas pictures soon!
Comments Kenzers! Loved to see you at the Pickworth Christmas! Your singing was wonderful & made everyone smile. Love you much - 'Aunt' Stephanie
Mackenzie carved her first pumpkin ever today, at least that she remembers. She handled it all like a true girl. She kept saying, "Mommy Zoie, this is yucky." I finally got her to touch the pumpkin slime, and she squealed and said, "Ewe gross!" However, she was very adamant that the pumpkin should have a round nose, and only two teeth. She was very excited to show her pumpkin off and kept asking, "when's Daddy gonna be home so we can show him?" She had a blast, and you should have seen her face light up, when we finally lit up the pumpkin's face! Priceless!
Mackenzie is in full swing at school, and she absolutely loves it! She comes home practically everyday telling us about something new she learned. She is constantly singing as well. Right now she loves to sing the song, "Five Green and Speckled Frogs," that goes along with a story book she has, as well as all of the Veggie Tales tunes that she is working on for her music program at school. She's getting smarter, and bigger everyday!
Mackenzie had such a busy, busy summer. One of the big events of the summer was being a flower-girl in Daddy and Mommy Zoie's wedding. She did such a good job, and took her job very seriously - leading Mabrie along by the hand, mothering her, and making sure she got her down the aisle. It was so cute and she looked like a princess in her beautiful pink dress. She often likes to wear the pink shoes that went with it, and every time she puts them on she asks, "Are we going to the wedding today?" Recently Mackenzie also started preschool at the school where Mommy Zoie teaches. She absolutely loves going to school. She even wants to go to school on Saturdays. When she wakes up on the weekends she asks in a high, excited voice, "Do I get to go to school today?" She has already greatly improved at coloring in the lines - something she struggled with before. She tells us that her teacher, Mrs. Owensby tells her to color slowly. It's so cute to watch her concentrating on her coloring. She also thinks that everyone that goes to school is as she puts it, "My best friends!" It's great to see that she loves pre-school so much. She is turning into such a big girl right before our eyes. We enjoy every minute!!
Mackenzie is growing up to be such a sweet little girl. Everyday we get to spend with her is a joy. She makes us smile and laugh by all of the things she does and says. It's so fun to see her growing and changing into a little lady. She talks about everything and anything and it's amazing to see just how much her vocabulary and uderstanding of things has changed just since her second birthday over a year ago. As of most recent she loves to talk about her new puppy, Chloe, that lives at Mommy's house. She's also becoming very independent these days- insisting on going potty by herself, reminding us that she needs to make her bed in the morning, picking up her toys by herself - she's definitely growing up fast. Seems like just yesterday she started potty training and sleeping in her toddler bed. Now, she's sleeping in a "big girl" bed in her very own room which she is extremely proud of. We are proud of her growth and her sweet spirit.
Mackenzie has offically moved into her new room at Daddy's new house! The first time she saw it she was very excited... we could tell by the squeals and running around like a crazy woman. I think she was also pretty happy to see all of her toys. She must have thought they went missing and that she was never going to see them again. She hugged her ladybug backpack when she saw it! She really likes her new "pink and purple" room (that's what she calls it). Her first night in her room went remarkably well, she only got out of bed about 4 times before finally running out of excuses to get up and soon she was off to dreamland in her new bed!
Mackenzie made out like a bandit this Easter! She got an Easter basket from Aunt Karen, Daddy and Zoie, and from Grandma and Grandpa Bill. She was definitely a fan of the chocolate bunny this year, and was very excited to get the "puppy movie" (101 Dalmations) in her Easter Basket from Daddy and Zoie. She got to visit with Mabrie and Riano and help celebrate their 2nd birthdays and have an Easter egg hunt! She dominated in the Easter egg hunt, and we had to remind her to leave a few eggs for Mabrie and Riano to find too! She had a very "Hoppy" Easter!
Mackenize is enjoying everyday life as a three-year old. She just recently had her pictures taken for the first time ever, and loved every minute in front of the camera... posing like a little model with each flash of the camera. It's a good thing she didn't decide to cut her own hair until after her pictures! She's also nearly mastered using the "big-girl potty" and is very proud to annouce when she has done so! Other things she loves right now are... her blankie (that's a given), veggie tales, her Hi-ho Cherrio game, and reading books galore. She's growing like a weed, as is her vocabulary. Some of her new favorite words are: nifty, actually, delicious.. and the list goes on. She'is such a joy!
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