Macie's Announcement

Since my parents live out of town, this is the way we determined would be best to share some news with them. About a month later I figure it's probably time that everyone else know too.


Surprise! I'm 14 1/2 weeks along, due September 16th. The amazing thing this time around is how fast I started showing. If you saw me now you would know I was pregnant. The first few videos we took were great, but taken sideways and we couldn't figure out how to turn them. This was probably the 10th take, so Macie was pretty much ignoring me by this point.

This picture is my favorite. After 20 minutes of pictures and videos Macie ended up on the floor crying. 2-year-olds definitely have a short attention span! And best of all, she has no idea what being the big sister means; she is merely trained to say it. She does request to wear her big sister shirt on a regular basis now.

Happy Birthday Macie Lee!

I wanted to dedicate a quick post to my Macie girl on her special day. Macie is the best part of my day every day and I can't imagine life without her. We pretty much do everything together, and I am sad for her to grow up and need her mom's help less and less! I went through her pictures and found some that I wanted to share from the past 2 years.

What a gorgeous girl! She was just a few days old here and it's one of my favorite pictures.

This is the photo we used for her birth announcement. I think I caught her first smile on camera!

This girl loves her daddy. And I'm pretty sure she's got him wrapped around her finger too.

This is at 9 months old. I love that smile!

This was from her first birthday. Yes, she is holding a box of matches. No, she couldn't open it.

Looking back at these pictures makes me laugh because she really starts looking like a toddler, yet still has no hair.

Macie always gets a kick out of making us laugh.

Finally getting some hair and a little time behind the wheel.

Macie has to be one of the youngest recruits ever.

Too sassy to get in the car, so I got out my camera because it was too cute to pass up!

Rainy day in the neighborhood. Macie loves pockets by the way.

She was saying "cheese," can't you tell?

Family picture from Valentine's Day last month.

My cute 2-year-old at snack time. The band-aid explanation will have to come another day. We love our Macie Lee!

No Daddy

Macie and I are left home without a daddy and husband for a few days. Josh left yesterday afternoon for a business trip and won't be home until very late Thursday night. Usually Macie and I are the ones leaving him to go out of town, so this is quite the change. However, it is kind of difficult to notice his absence anytime except when I'm sleeping in bed by myself. How can that be, right? Well, there are 7 other adults all staying in the house this week, not including myself. My family is visiting from northern Nevada for 8 days. It has been non-stop craziness and fun as usual. Macie has been getting way too much attention, further indulging her silliness and show-off sides. Tomorrow my little ham will be turning two, but since her daddy won't be here we're having her party on Friday. She obviously won't know the difference. If you ask her, everyday is her birthday.

The Need for Speed

My daughter completely loves anything that can go fast. Even today as we walked out of Costco she yelled at me, "Push fast Mom!" So, I dashed across the parking lot as fast as I could with a large shopping cart. Her love for speed started very young and was instilled, of course, by her dad. She was exposed to 4-wheelers, boating, riding bikes (Josh would ride the bike pictured below with Macie on his hip and one arm steering...my neighbor told me about it), and motorcycles. No, she hasn't ridden on one, but she likes to sit on them and wishes she could go.

Since the weather has been so nice we've been getting a lot of use out of the bike trailer. Macie loves to go for rides in it. There's a green belt that goes right out our neighborhood to two parks. We've also ridden to cousin Luke's house and the leisure center (Macie's gymnastics class). Josh usually takes her for longer rides when he wants more of a workout. It's hard work pulling a trailer uphill, let me tell you!

Macie and Dad heading off for a morning ride.

We strapped in little Sadie girl and rode down to the park. She whined most of the way despite her happy face here.

She was probably asking me for a snack to take on her ride. That's what the pockets are for: drinks and snacks.

Come meet us at the park!

The Best of the Worst

My daughter has a definite mind of her own. She is particular about many things, especially when it comes to clothing. Although she has debuted many creative outifts recently, I chose some of my personal favorites to show off. So what do you think, is she a creative genius or what?

Ah, the beloved swimsuit look. Fortunately we reached an agreement that she can wear the swimsuit as long as she gets dressed first. This is a weekly choice.

I believe the pants and green shirt originally matched, until she insisted on wearing her army shirt. She loves it. What can I say, Macie loves Papi and supports our troops. If you're going to go for the military look you've got to wear boots right? What great vision.

I don't think further explanation is needed here.

Let's just call this "princess to the max." The sunglasses, purse and shoes revolve around the princess theme. The scarf wrapped around the pajamas was what I came up with when she held it up and asked me to put it on her. Um, how do you put that on? I guess it works...the necklace and backpack seem to round it out nicely.

This can defintiely be called the sporty look. My sister's shoes and Josh's hat. Simple yet straight to the point.

Seriously, where did this girl come from??? Let's take a vote. Which is your favorite?

The Wedding Planner

Ok folks, I'm soliciting for help. My sister Lisa is getting married in June and we're working on planning the wedding. I am probably more stressed than she is at this point. Do any of you Vegas people have someone you would recommend for flowers or invitations? We are at a loss there. Any other fabulous ideas please send my way. Thanks!

Bastaball and Sharts

I'm backtracking just a little to last Saturday. We had a great day out and about with our Macie girl. Our first stop was the Rebel game. I've really been wanting to take Macie, but the games usually start too late. Luckily Saturday was an afternoon game, so we packed her up and went to see the Rebels win! Macie had a great time, just as I suspected she would. She loved the cheering, clapping, little boys sitting behind us, popcorn, mascot, etc. I am so glad she went. The funnest part was getting her all pumped up in the car to go see "bastaball". It is seriously the funnest thing to get her excited about something. She claps and screams and talks non-stop about whatever it is, even if she has no clue. I'm pretty sure she assumes that if Mom thinks it's exciting, then it must be exciting.

After the game we decided to stop at Mandalay Bay to go to the Shark Reef. Macie loves fish and knows about sharks, but has never seen them. I knew she'd enjoy it. She was all over the place running right up to the glass pointing at the fish saying, "Ohhh, big one!" Occasionally there were small ones, but to her they were mostly big. She especially liked the "sharts," and I was surprised she wasn't scared of them. As you walk through tunnels they swim overhead and it looks like they're swimming right in front of you. Josh held her up and she would reach out and tell me "touch it Mom." Even when they swam right up along the glass she stood still watching it go by and tell me how big she thought it was. Here's a poor picture of her talking about the fish.

She also enjoyed the sting ray and wanted to touch it like Daddy, but her little arms were too short. She has no fear! The cutest part was when we stopped to see the jellyfish. Of course they don't look like fish at all, so Macie kept saying,"Where jellyfish Mom?" When I pointed and said they were right there she would repeat her same question. Oh well, she'll learn when she's older.

We ended the day meeting friends at IHOP for dinner. (I know, what a healthy choice.) Macie was SO excited for her funny face pancake that she could hardly contain herself. By the time we got home it made for a long day, but was well worth it. We are loving the stage Macie is in right now. She is so aware of everything around her and communicates really well. For me, there's nothing more enjoyable as a parent than watching your child discover, be happy, and have fun. And of course when your child is such a crack up it makes life entertaining as well.

Baby Vance is Here!

Vance Waldron was born on February 13th and weighed 8 lbs, 4 oz. He arrived 4 weeks early, so the little guy is toughing it out in the NICU getting his lungs nice and strong so he can then learn to eat on his own. He sure is a cutie! We are so excited that Macie's first cousin on the Waldron side of the family is finally here.

It breaks my heart seeing little babies with tubes going in and out. Hopefully he'll be going home in a week or so.

Macie brought flowers to Aunt Alli and baby Vance at the hospital.
And then she ate Alli's dinner. Really Alli didn't want it, so Chad offered her some. That girl never passes up food!

Crime

There's a high school just a few minutes away from my house. Yesterday a ninth grade student was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting on his way home from school. Sad to say, crime is definitely not a stranger to Las Vegas. However, I didn't think something like that would happen by my house. I guess it's kind of how no one thought all of the senseless school and university shootings across the country could happen.

When I was in 6th grade there was a drive-by shooting across the street of my school. I remember being on lock down that day. When we went home I was told to lay on the floor of the bus if bullets went flying.  It's not a fun feeling to be uncertain of your safety when you're a scared, 12 year-old kid.  Of course in my days at Booker, we were bused across town into the ghetto for school that year.  Fortunately, they don't do that anymore.

I am so concerned about how frequently school shootings are happening nowadays. Even in a quiet part of town on a street I drive by every day an innocent kid was randomly shot.  It leaves little comfort for a parent raising children in times of increasing violence. I guess that's why I feel that parenthood is such a great responsibility.  It's up to parents to teach children right from wrong in a world of so much confusion.  I recently read a quote from Pres. Hinckley that I found inspiring and true of teenagers today: “My heart reaches out to our youth, who in many cases must walk a very lonely road. … I hope they can share their burden with you, their fathers and mothers. I hope that you will listen, that you will be patient and understanding, that you will draw them to you and comfort and sustain them in their loneliness. Pray for direction. Pray for patience. Pray for the strength to love. … Pray for understanding and kindness and, above all, for wisdom and inspiration.” 

My Sous Chef

My little Macie...she is such a funny girl. She does something that makes me laugh everyday. Her personality is so distinct, and she hasn't even turned 2 yet! She is very particular (I wonder where she gets that) and kind of bossy (I have no idea where she gets that). I guess the apple doesn't fall from the tree!

Whenever I am in the kitchen it's not long until I hear the screeching of a kitchen chair across the tile floor. Macie pushes her chair up to where I'm working and announces "I tooking too." This has evolved into quite the process. First she wants not only to wear an apron herself, but to make sure I have one on too. She then likes to have utensils or measuring cups and spoons handy. He favorite thing to make is dough because she likes to "do rolling".

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As you can imagine, it now takes me a bit longer to cook than before so Macie can be involved. She likes to help pour, dump, scoop, stir, measure, etc. I have to try to get everything out on the island so I don't end up with multiple chairs at all the countertops, and of course I don't want to be near the stove. Now that she's getting to be quite the sous chef she's expanding out to wanting her own mixing bowl, stir herself, and clean the dishes. (Cleaning mostly consists of her putting spoonfuls of water into a bowl and continuing to stir it up.)

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She is quite darling about the whole thing and I love her desire to help. I really enjoy cooking myself and it's fun to do together eventhough it definitely makes more work for me. I am amazed at the attention span she has for it; that girl will be in the kitchen helping as long as it takes to get things prepared. It may just all be for her love of food because Macie is an excellent eater. She likes to try and sneak tastes as she goes. She's had some pretty nasty ones but it doesn't deter her much.