TEE Time and TEA Time

This is basically the summary of the last month at our house. Mckenzie got a couple birthday gifts from grandparents a month ago....

The first- a little golf set with balls and clubs. (princess pink of course).
The second--a tea set (Disney princess yet again)

She really LOVES to play with both of them! Its cute how serious she takes the advice that Russ gives her. She often corrects me when I'm not holding the club right, or if I don't swing well. Eye-hand coordination has been a little slow coming for this little one--so its fun to watch her actually enjoy something that requires it .



And we've had SO many tea parties over the last few weeks. Most of them have taken place in her "backyard" since water usually gets dumped everywhere at some point. But she has really enjoyed this little game of poring the water into each cup, drinking it all, and starting all over again. And that's where I come in. She knows she can't drink as many cups of water as she likes to poor, so she needs me to help her gulp it down.

A few days ago she was invited to a little Tea Party with a couple of her little girlfriends and she was SO excited. We let them wear their little dress up clothes and shoes, and I have to be honest- they were pretty cute. They got to poor their own water and eat PBJ's and grapes and cookies. It really doesn't get any better does it? It was a lot of fun! Thanks for the good time girls!

SHAMPOO

We took our first trip ever to Sea World last weekend. (well, I guess Russ had been before as a kid) but for Mckenz and I--it was a true first! It was such a good time! We had to drive down to Austin anyway Friday to meet with a chiropractor about an office, and since Russ has been so busy the last couple weeks with Boards-we decided (or I decided) that we were in need of a little fun family together time. Russ's brother, Bryan and wife Laurie and family were thinking of Sea World as well--so Saturday we all went!

So Sea World is FABULOUS! I highly recommend it to anyone, even if you are 8 months pregnant. (more than I can say for Six Flags which only has rides-which are GREAT if you're not prego). Mckenzie was so happy all day! We loved all the shows, and feeding the sea lions, exhibits, and the little park for kids to play on. Its got a little something for everyone I think. We probably didn't even see half of it. BUT its the same price to buy a season pass as a one day ticket--so we can't wait to go back!!

The Shamu show that we saw at the end of the day was probably our favorite. Mckenzie was exhausted and I could see how heavy her eyes were getting...but she was trying SO hard to not blink so she didn't miss anything. AND Mckenzie INSISTS that Shamu is really called Shampoo. No matter how much we try to tell her, "No, it really is Shamu", we always get a firm, "NO, SHAMPOO!" She won't give in. So SHAMPOO it is- for now...Until we feel like arguing with the 3 year old again.

Feeding the sea lions some tasty little fish.




This is the only family we shot we got. Not the most flattering for me-but hey...not many pictures are at this point in the game.


"Shampoo"

Kenzie on the pirate ship. Really its a dream come true to a 3 year old.

So Happy Together!

Mckenzie has really "grown up" it seems these last couple months! Its been fun to watch her change and turn into this little girl.
One thing that has certainly changed is her attitude towards her Daddy. Don't get me wrong--we know the girl has always loved her dad-but she has just realized recently that its ok to show it. Rather than running FROM him when he got home and screaming "Mommy, Mommy!" , she now squeals with excitement and runs TO him and yells, "DADDY!" . (Something that I at one time never thought I would see.) It really is so fun to watch them together now! You can see the adoration in her eyes everytime she looks at him and I love the conversations we have during the day of "When's dad coming home?" and "Why does dad like to go to school every day?" Its so cute--I love how much she loves him.



I also love to see the things she notices and her interpretation of the things she notices from our everyday lives. For instance:

Daddy grew so big and tall because he eats the fastest.
Her favorite trees are the "popcorn trees" and the purple trees, but Daddy's favorite trees are the green ones, or "broccoli trees", as she calls them because daddy's favorite vegetable is broccoli. (he always makes a big deal of how much he loves broccoli when we have it so she'll eat it too.)
She's become quite fond of the ponytail, so her hair can be just like mom's. (This one was a little enlightening--I guess I need to actually DO my hair more.)
She is very proud of her "backyard", aka the 4 X 8 pad of cement with jail bars surrounding it. Nonetheless, she asks everyone that walks through our door if they want to see it. :) (so sad)



She is a cheeseball. But I love her.

A Bubblicious Birthday!

I can't believe Mckenzie is now 3! We had a great time celebrating her this weekend! The last 2 weeks she's been a little down with a cold and her first ever ear infection, but luckily we got it cleared up just in time. It was great to see her having fun again and so happy to celebrate her special day! We went with a bubble gum theme for her party since she hasn't been able to have gum till she turned 3. She's been so excited for gum that we invited her little friends to join in our gum chewing bliss. :) And to put the icing on the cake --grandma and grandpa Jepson were able to be here one last time before their mission to join in on the fun too! Then later that day after that party, Jared's family was able to come up and we celebrated one more time! Its great to have family around to celebrate these special days with!

The kids had a good time wacking the Dubble Bubble pinata, although they were a little unsuccessful at getting anything out, but finally did with a little help. :)

I made a big gumball machine out of felt so the kids could play "Pin the Gumball on the Gumball Machine" . :)

Grandma J and Kenzie


Kenz was soo excited to get this fancy new tutu and fairy wings on that her pants came down in the middle of present opening, and we couldn't go on till we got her appropriately dressed again. :) She sure has nice friends! Thanks everyone for making her birthday so special!


It really has been so fun watching her grow up this last year and I wanted to write some things about her so I don't forget.

Your Favorite Things: Going to the park, playing with your cousins Jacob and Caleb, playing with your friends, being a princess and playing dress-up, cooking us food with your kitchen, laughing, reading books (currently your favorite books are Pinkalicious and Purplicious, and The Three Pigs), taking your omegas and vitamins (strange but true), singing, dancing, being tickled by dad, Little Einsteins, Curious George, Cinderella, going to the Library, playing at the mall, your new carseat (a much bigger deal to you than I ever anticipated), riding the carousel at the mall, your "flowers blanket", balloons, friday night movie nights with mom, riding (more like sitting) on the elephant at Walmart, nursery, playing hungry hippos and candyland, the fact that you are going to be a big sister, going to dad's games, finding money, eating yogurt, pbj's, suckers (or any treat/snack for that matter), and bubblegum!

Your Least Favorite Things: Yucky medicine, getting in shopping carts, when mom leaves you at home, going to Walmart, when we count to three and the result is time out, waking up from naps (there's always many tears), your tears (they always make you more upset when you notice them), being told what to do (its always better if its your own idea), sharing, not getting your way!

Happy Birthday Mckenzie! We feel so blessed to have you with all of your sweetness and kindness, share in your happiness and laughter, and your tears and drama, and to learn from you every day!! You really do brighten our days and can't imagine life without you. We can't wait to see what the next year brings!

Exhausted by "WHY?"

This week I am feeling a little exhausted. No, not by the mega posting I've been doing, but by my daughter's simple curiosity. She wants to know WHY everything happens. I'm sure many other parents can relate to this as well. Shows and movies are usually a given 20 questions. (we just had to give up on Alice and Wonderland and put that one away for a while--WAY to many questions) :) And when we go anywhere in the car, the questions are innumerable. Its a good thing I think, I am glad that she is curious about the world around her...but man...sometimes its tough to come up with answers to all the questions! Here is a typical conversation...one that we had last night as we were driving to Russ's basketball game at his school.

Kenzie: Mom, why are all these cars going to dad's basketball game?
Me: They're not, they're actually all going different places.
Kenzie: Why are they all driving the same way like us?
Me: Maybe this is the way they go to get home, or maybe this is the way they have to drive to the store.
Kenzie: Ya..they're going to the store. Not dad's game. Why are they going to the store?
Me: uh...I don't know. Maybe they need milk.
Kenzie: And then they are going home? Not to dad's game. But why? Don't they need bread too?
Me: ummmm...I really don't know what they need. Maybe bread too.
Kenzie: Do they want to watch dad play basketball too?
Me: probably not. They don't really know dad.
Kenzie: Why?
Me: Uhhhhhh....because we don't know everyone.
Kenzie: Why?
Me: Because there are lots of people in the world, but we don't know everyone. We just know our friends. Do you like your friends? (looking for a subject change)
Kenzie: Ya -Are my friends coming to dads game?
Me: no
Kenzie: Why?

As you can see the questions go on and on and on. Like I said I am glad to know that she's curious and thinking about the things around her, but at times I just want to say SHHHH....no more talking. (as if that would even be possible for her..she's very verbal).
So if any of you have any tips on getting through the "why's" let me know. The best thing I have found so far is to sing a song instead since her next favorite thing is singing. But then that goes on forever too.....and the volume usually elevates. :) I'm not sure which is better.

The New Years Party

Just thought I would put a few pictures of New Years on here as well. It definitely was a rockin New Years party at Jon's this year! Actually-- we let the kids party until about 9 pm when we let them blow the horns and do their little poppers. Then we put them to bed and played some games and hung out the rest of the night.

On to Christmas!

The holidays were so much fun. It was actually really nice to have the party come to us for both Thanksgiving and Christmas this year! All the Schaacks came into town for Christmas this year and it was a ton of fun! Its been a while since our whole family has been together and been able to just hang out. The last couple times we've all gotten together its been for weddings so there hasn't been time to relax and enjoy each other until after the wedding and then the couple is gone. So it was really fun to hang out with and really get to know my two newest sister-in-laws that I got a year or more ago! And of course it was great to hang out with the rest of my family as well! Before Christmas we were able to go to a Mavs game with my brother Steve and his family, and also Jon's family which is always a good time! :) The kids I think were only interested in the snacks we brought--but I guess you can't really expect much less. :)
I always tend to look forward to Christmas eve more than actual Christmas day, I think mostly because that's when my family usually does all of our Christmas activities. This year was no different. My parents and Lindsey flew in at about 3 pm that day and then we had a really yummy ham dinner with all the good stuff to go with it. After dinner we put on a little nativity act which was a first for most of us Schaacks I think. It was fun though-Mckenzie and Jacob made a pretty cute Mary and Joseph and the rest of us filled in as angels and wisemen and donkeys...:) It was actually a little bit funny. Then the kids got to open their Christmas pajamas. Then we had a big slumber party at Jon and Lisa's that night. We all lined up on air mattresses in their front room, and of course my brothers couldn't hold back on dumb jokes, songs, and sounds to keep us laughing for a little while. It was a good time.
It was fun to watch all the kids on Christmas morning. Although they all seemed to want what the other one had. :) Then we had a yummy breakfast, lots of good food. Lisa outdid herself with Santa pancakes for the kids. They were so cute but all the kids were so sidetracked with all their new stuff they didn't hardly even touch them. :) After that we went to the church for a little family basketball game, and then later that night Robbie and Jess flew in!
After Christmas and when everyone else arrived (on Christmas eve and Christmas night) we were able to do a few more cool things. We all were able to go to the Dallas Temple here (thanks to Lindsey for babysitting!). We had planned on doing a session, but traffic was HORRIBLE on the way so we ended up missing the session and opted to do sealings instead which turned out to be really neat and one of the coolest temple trips I've ever had. We were able to see a lady be sealed to her deceased husband and then also we all got to sit and be sealed for another large family. It was really cool!! It just all worked out so well. It was a really good trip.
Also, Steve and Alli were able to bless their sweet baby girl, Cami, while they were here with everyone. It was fun to be able to see that as well. And then of course we all got to pose for a big family picture. :) always a good time. :)