Favorites Day 8 - Mackayla

Mackayla
Of course my kids are at the top of my favorites! The 'favorites' are in no particular order, as I pointed out to my husband who thought he should have been first:) So, youngest first in this case.

Angel Mackayla, That's what I used to call her as a newborn.

She really is so sweet.

Don't get me wrong, she has a side that is a force to be reckoned with.

She's pretty dang tough physically, but emotionally so sensitive.

She has a special bond, like all our kids, with her daddy. I love watching them together.

But lately if Ben says "I love you Mackayla" while I'm around

She looks at him firmly and says "I Lub Mom" without batting an eye. We think it's funny.

She and her dad share a common love of animals.

Her favorite, if you ask her, are horses.

But her real favorites are dogs, or "GOGS."

If we pass one by without asking to pet it she will have a full scale melt down. This is not an exaggeration.

After every single ride at Disneyland she will say "Let's go see more animals."

Somehow she learned all her colors at a very young age. Wasn't me. Must have to do with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and older siblings.

She repeats everything Macey says.

They are the best of friends and the worst enemies.

We hung out with a new friend the other day and she was asking if they got along. Just as I looked over to answer they were playing in the sand and hugging. "Yes" I said. Then I thought about it. "It depends on the moment." Five minutes later they were in a fight.

One time I came in at bath time to break up a fight just in time to see Mackayla jump and do a full body dive onto Macey and start trying to bite her. It's seriously hard not to laugh and be an effective parent at the same time.

I used to be of the mindset that your kids will eat what you give them. That's why I have the kids I have I suppose (it reteaches me to never say never!). I do refuse to make separate meals for my kids. Mackayla is our picky eater. She won't touch meat of any kind with a ten foot pole. I still give it to her, but she's also WAY funny about food being on her plate. The floor seemed like a good option at first until we let her know it wasn't. Now someone else's plate or at least arms distance is good enough for offensive food:).

So now, I give her food, and casually encourage her to eat it. She'll decide what she's going to eat and then nonchalantly moves the rest. I try not to make a big deal of it because I'm going to keep giving her food to try until she decides she can at least taste it again. But she will choose starving over eating things she doesn't like. I'm sure she'll get better as she gets older...

The perfect food I decided for her is vanilla yogurt, strawberries, blueberries and granola. All her favorites. A fruit parfait!

Yesterday she started crying saying "It's Stuck" pointing to her nose. I had her blow her nose and thought that was that. But then she said "No. Lego." This happened to Cody a couple of years ago - sticking something in his nose. Macey never did it because she watched the Cody ordeal:) So I ran and got what I used for him: the vacuum and some random tweezer things. But I stayed calm and happy and told her to blow. After a few minutes it came right out.

So much less stress than with Cody. It's funny how doing something the second time is so much less of a production. Those poor first children. Everything seems so much harder the first time!

Currently, she has six blankets, five dolls, books, and countless stuffed animals in her crib.

She has almost stopped taking naps. 

I go back and forth on this one. I know if I keep consistently laying her down she will sleep but then she goes to bed so late. She needs it, but I Hate naps as much as she does. I love the freedom of no nappers! Sometimes just putting her down earlier at night is totally worth it. Last night at about 7 she told me she was ready for bed.

We kept going back and forth. Me: "Okay let's go to bed."

Mackayla: "No. Go to crib."

Me: "Right. You can lay in your crib." Two seconds later, forgetting. "Let's go to bed!"

Mackayla, "No. Go to crib."

Right...

Her stats from her two year check up, which was in November...and was three months late...and I'm just getting this in. sigh. You do get worse at recording this stuff even when it's as easy as blogging.
Weight: 28 lbs.  65%
Height: 34 1/2 in.  45%

Names are very important to her and she is very good at remembering them. If we are reading a book she will ask ten or eleven times what the names are on each page, then remember them for next time.

Other favorites for you include drawing, reading, and playing with your brother and sister.

We love you.