Such a good helper

Could we possibly be raising a future plumber????? The presence of both the plunger & butt crack would lead me to believe maybe so....... There was no reason for the toilet to be plunged....I don't even think she has seen a plunger being used, but after going potty - she had to plunge.

Tickle This!!

Our resident Elmo lover proudly shows off one of her beloved Elmo shirts - you won't believe how excited she is to have Elmo on her shirt!! While driving in the car the other day - I asked "do you love Mommy?", then followed by "do you love Elmo?". I am sad to report that Elmo received a much more emphatic "YEAH" then I did. :( Since she is young, I will not take it personally. I know she will say much worse and hurtful things in the years to come.

Whatever am I thinking???

I just love this pic, as she looks so cute and mischievous (her standard self). For a while this summer, every day - she would come into the office or bring me the camera and say "cheese" - so we had to oblige and take her daily picture. This picture is a result of one of those sessions.

Junior Bix

I realize these pics are a bit delayed (like almost a month over-due) - but they are still cute. And with the start of school, I am impressed I am blogging at all. Especially since blogger is now blocked at school - not like I did it there anyway, but it is still annoying!

Unfortunatly, pics of Mackenzie and Daddy running were hard to get b/c it was crowded and she was moving all over the place b/c she was so excited!! And boy - was she ever proud of her medal too.....she insisted on wearing it for many days afterwards.

Charming

There was a special "venom" themed attraction at the River museum, which provided this photo opp for the family.

Uncle Jon tries his charms on Aunt Karree. The tongue is a nice touch!

Daddy charms Mommy. (in theory, at least!)

Our little charming snake shows off her fangs.

Grandpa Dan charms both Mackenzie & Grandma Sharon! What a guy!

Grandma's girl always.....Grandma Sharon charms her cute snake.

Jamey's Fave Photo's

Jamey's two favorite non-wildlife photos from our Chicago trip last weekend.....



And sneak peek - we made a day trip to the River Museum in DBQ on Sunday with Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Jon & Aunt Karree.....many cute pictures to share as well.

I'm a LEASH kid now.

Much to Mackenzie's initial dismay and dislike....we have opted to try/use a harness/leash system with her after much protesting about the stroller and her tendency to run away. The trip to the River Museum in Dubuque was the trial run on the whole thing. It probably helped to have Grandma, Grandpa, Jon & Karree along to help and distract her, as she was most displeased when we initally put it on. Gives a whole new meaning to "the monkey on your back" too!! On Facebook - I was sent a piece of flair "free the Leash kids" - so that is all I can think about, as well.

And if you look closely - you will see that Grandpa is standing on the leash to keep her close for the picture. He remarked afterwards "she will probably need therapy b/c Grandpa stands on my leash". :)

Iowa Corn Girl

Mackenzie enjoys some good ol' Iowa home-grown corn on the cob.

And it is with a heavy heart that I write tommorrow - I will be returning the work force full time yet again. :) Considering that Jamey is out of town basically for the next two weeks, I do not know how much blogging is going to get done - so please hang in there with me! I can report that Mackenzie started her pre-preschool day care this past week and LOVED IT!! She especially likes all the arts and crafts projects - having made a gingerbread man and string painting last week.

Like Father, Like Daughter....fishy flashbacks

Poor Mackenzie didn't get to practice swaying like an anomea, as she was too tempermental about the in & out of the stroller, so we just left her be. Maybe next time.

But she did love playing in the Children's Garden after the fish trip!!!

Nice to see somethings stay the same, 3 years later. And I am smiling to myself as I type this and think about how much things have changed for US since that last trip 3 years ago....meaning having Mackenzie to share it with! :)

Fish are Friends, NOT food!!

So for the trip to the Aquarium, of course - we had to wear one of our fish themed outfits!!!


And curiously, she began to bite the fish as well.....


before covering it with other more appropriate forms of fish food.


Not pictured: the 4D vomit experience of fruit punch on the way home. Fish shirt continuing to soak in stain treater.

Night Night

So we took a brief overnight trip to Chicago this weekend, to visit Brookefield Zoo & Shedd Aquarium and had a wonderful time!! It was a bit of an adjustment for all of us - Mackenzie wasn't thrilled with all the stroller/sitting time, Jamey wasn't thrilled with lack of picture taking time and Cara wasn't thrilled with having to prod Jamey along and entertain Mackenzie in the meantime.....but we made it work, enjoyed ourselves and came home with nice memories and GREAT pictures!!! (which we will get to later).

Anyway, this was Mackenzie's 3rd time staying in a hotel - the last time was when she was 5.5 monthes old, so we knew this was going to be a bit interesting for her. We had a two room suite and had set up the Pack-n-Play in the front room for her. After swimming with Daddy and a bath, she knew it was time for night night. She told us night night, then walked her happy little butt into the bedroom, climbed in, laid down RIGHT in the middle of the king size and stayed put for 30 mintues

....before coming out to check on us. The sleeping only occurred after some cuddling with Mommy (but was too cute not to photograph). We were impressed with how well she did and that she actually slept, as she is QUITE partial to ONLY going to sleep in HER crib.

Mission Accomplished

C: "Honey, I suspect the cat is expressing her displeasure with the litter services."
cat in laundry room, curiously digging in pile of clothes awaiting for washer
J: "I just cleaned that box not too long ago!"
enters and begins rummaging through pile of clothes.
J: "Bitch" holding up shirt as cat turds fall out, checks label "And of course, it is mine."
C - snickering, walks away. "mission accomplished for the cat"

meanwhile, kitty perched on dining room table watching interaction unfold.

Fast forward 15 minutes - cat is now perched on Jamey's suitcase for work.
J: "We don't really need a cat anway, do we?"

FYI - Jamey's Cardinals shirt was already packed away for weekend trip to Chicago.

UGH - a gift from the cat

So today, we feature our kitty cat....(aka Squirrel):

Early this morning, a strong thunderstorm blew through...we were in bed sleeping. (very good for my fear of being swept off to OZ in a tornado, b/c we don't hear the sirens out where we live...) We awoke later this morning and Jamey went to get Mackenzie up and bring her to our room for her morning ritual of Elmo/Wiggles in our bed. Upon his return, he noticed something amiss in the hallway.....The cat had brought us a critter!! And you all know my DESPISE of critters - especially the small, rodent kind. UGH. Thank goodness it happened today, when Jamey was home to deal with it - b/c who know what kind of state I would be in if left to deal with that on my own! Upon further investigation, Jamey found the back door to the deck had been blown open during the storm (probably b/c he forgot to lock it on his way in from a late night night hot tub dip). Considering the cat still had grass in her mouth - he figures she must have used to opportunity to escape to go out and kill. We are quite proud of her, as this is the first time she has ever showed a hunting instinct or gotten a critter in her 5 years! We are also quite thankful that she left her prize in the hallway, as opposed to bringing it to us in our bed (as she is prone to do with her favorite toys!). Jamey reports (from his clean-up mission - in which he used CSI jargon of "high velocity spatter" and "transfer") that she had done quite the number on the critter - including be-heading it, along with playing with it throughout the length of the hallway (hence the splatter and transfer). He also suspects that it was a mole, not a mouse - which did relieve me a little bit. At least I can sleep a little better knowing she may be of use, if a rodent critter were to get in the house.....We will have to do a better job of not allowing her hunting expeditions to bring us treats!! Pretty gross, but pretty good for the kitty when you consider that she is de-clawed, wears a bell and we lovingly call her "fat girl"!!! Now I bet she will go poop on something of Jamey's, to thank him for cleaning up her mess. (remember, she is a Cubs fan!)

As I am typing this, I hear Mackenzie tormenting the kitty and Jamey just told her "be careful - that kitty is a killer!"