With winter comes sick kids. We are always pretty lucky and avoid most of the bugs that go around. When we do snag a bug, it typically runs its course pretty quickly and we're back to normal. Last Saturday Jeremy took the girls to see Wreck It Ralph while I stayed home and enjoyed some relaxation. When they came home I noticed that Cambrie was not acting herself and was surprised she went straight to bed. I didn't expect that reaction to a fun daddy-daughter outing. Sunday morning she had a fever and so she stayed home with Jeremy while McKenzie and I went to church. While we were gone, Jeremy kept her pretty occupied and happy with movies and Construx building. A life-sized robot greeted us upon our arrival. The neatest part of it all was that the head would pivot when you moved its arms. They definitely were creative!
Monday was Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Cambrie had the day off from school. She was acting better and it was a beautiful day so we went to the Denver Botanical Gardens. The only flower blooming was the orchid, and they were absolutely beautiful. The rest of the gardens were in hibernation, but we were there for the fresh air, not the blooms.
I took the wagon expecting a recovering Cambrie to lay in it while we walked around. About half way through Cambrie wanted to explore some trails with some friends and McKenzie stayed in the wagon. Moments later she had made herself a bed and had fallen asleep. Hmm..more unexpected behavior from my girls.
When we got home Cambrie was weary, but up and about, and McKenzie was napping soundly upstairs. While Cambrie was well enough to go to school the next day, McKenzie has spent the week sick at home in quarantine. She seems to be feeling better but has a nasty cough that simply sounds contagious. I don't want any moms blaming me. We are on the upswing now and hopefully we can avoid many future bugs this season.
When it came time to take down all of the Christmas decorations I just couldn't bring myself to destroy the fairy house. But my mid-January we had our fill of the Christmas season and I was tired of catching friends sucking on the lollipop forest. Jeremy had a marvelous idea to get rid of the gingerbread house. Instead of a secret mission that involved throwing it in the trash can while the girls were asleep, Jeremy gave each girl a hammer and told them to go at it. The girls took turns hitting it like a pinata and continued until there was nothing left of that house.
None of the girls could resist a quick snatch at some of the free candy, and they insisted it still tasted fresh....all right. It's a good thing I have a husband who is a heck of a lot more creative than me!
Cambrie has lost one of her dolls. In an attempt to find it again, she covered the house in missing dolly posters. I found them on the walls, thermostat, TV, drawers, pantry, bookshelf, doors, and multiple walls. If she offered a reward, I'm sure I would be extra motivated to find that doll.
McKenzie loves her play dates with her little friends while Cambrie is at school. Yesterday it was at my house and I decided to mix things up a bit by turning on some dancing music for them. I should have done this long ago, they loved it! They spent about 5% of the time dancing, and 95% of the time chasing each other. It kept them happy for a really long time!
McKenzie turned 3 today! I have wanted to call her 3-years-old for awhile now, but now it's official and I don't have a two-year-old anymore. She is absolutely in love with the color pink, so it was a very pink-filled day. She was greeted this morning by pink streamers all around the house. A pink princess balloon. And we even wrapped pink streamers around the Christmas tree to make it a birthday tree. For breakfast this sweetie was served Belgian waffles with strawberries, bananas, and whipped cream....yummy for all of us! She even got to use the special plate and goblet.
From there the day just kept going at full speed. We hopped in the car to the warmest place we could think of to have fun, Monkey Bizness. We spent two hours there jumping, sliding, laughing, swinging, crawling, painting, and simply playing. But the thought of her cake was never far from McKenzie's mind all day and we eventually had to go home so we could eat the yummy creation.
We started by opening her presents. McKenzie asked me to take a picture of her opening every present. She was well trained at Christmas. Cambrie gave her a stuffed unicorn that she made.
Grandma and Grandpa gave her a fairy story all about the fairy, McKenzie Rogers. And Nana and Papa gave her a princess playhouse.
Even though she wanted to play with the toys, that girl likes sugar more than anything and jumped at the chance to see her finished cake, a number 3 which was red Velvet on the inside, cream cheese frosting on the outside, and completely covered with pink-ish M&M's.
When I put the cake in front of her she immediately pointed out that she needed fire on her cake. Well, of course. What cake is complete without a little fire? I hadn't even blown out my match before she blew out her candles. I had to relight them with new instructions to wait until we had finished singing, "Happy Birthday" before she could blow them out again. She waited very patiently while we sang-even when Jeremy accidently sang "Happy birthday dear Cambrie-" then blew them out on cue. We have had family members calling all day wishing her a happy birthday. The sweet thing doesn't know the best response when they tell her "Happy birthday," so she simply says, "Happy birthday!" right back. So cute.
Just a few things about McKenzie right now:
-She loves, loves, loves dresses. She will wear approximately three or four different dresses every day and I typically take her to pick up Cambrie from school in a Cinderella dress.
-She is great at sharing. She will give you her last M&M if you ask it of her.
-She loves her sister so much. If Cambrie isn't still in bed when McKenzie opens her eyes she gets very nervous until she finds her.
-She is an incredibly picky eater. She survives on cereal, pancakes, and Macaroni & Cheese. I am lucky if she eats anything else for her meals than those three things. But don't worry, she is very good at finding and devouring any sugar in the house.
-Her speech isn't very clear, but my favorite phrase of hers is, "I wub you." Melts my heart every time.
-She is great at problem solving. She thinks outside the box and is determined enough to solve most of her problems without asking me for help at all. Sometimes this is a great trait, and sometimes it means I have a lot of toothpaste to clean up in the bathroom.
-She is very active and quite strong. When we are at the playground, I know that if she slips her strong little fingers will hold her in place until I get a chance to come rescue her. She has also mastered her little scooter and rides all the way to school and back during drop-off and pick-up.
-She is very social and loves play dates as much as her sister. I don't have a big enough pool of kids to keep her busy every afternoon, but I try.
-She is very loving and has a tender heart. When someone is sad she does whatever she can to make them feel better. For Cambrie she will find her Ducky. For me she will give me a great big hug. And for Jeremy she finds him the remote. Whatever it takes right?
-She still loves her blankies. They are her comfort item and there is typically one in every room of the house because she has carried them around.
All in all we are so blessed to have her in our lives. She has the sweetest smile and has a knack for making all of us a little happier. Happy birthday Munchkin!
