The link to my resolution blog is: http://sparkplug208.blogspot.com/

We hope you are all doing well and we'll be writing a new blog soon! I will also be posting back issues of our family newsletter soon as well...probably when I write the one for February and then I can post them all at the same time.

I could not believe it as opening doors is something that she just learned this weekend. She also knew where the trash bin was and didn't get into any of the other stuff in the room.

Will wonders with Mackenzie never cease?

Josh

1. She isn't a slouch when it comes to technology. She is now just under 3 months shy of her 2nd birthday and she can completely run the iPad. She now knows how to take the iPad from one of us, open the cover, set it down, press the home button, slide the open slider on the screen and then flip the pages to the one that has her programs on it. She then chooses the one she wants to play. She's not great at all of the programs just yet because only about half of them are visual only, but I really don't think that some of them are too far off. Oh, and she also knows where the videos are, how to pick her spongebob episodes, as well as how to turn up the volume. This has now led Lindsay and I to giving her the iPad completely. We are going to remove all of the programs that we run and leave only Mack programs.

2. She understands where the dog goes when she uses the dog door. Just this afternoon Lindsay slipped out to talk to me (I was working in the yard) and not but 2 minutes later Mackenzie was in the backyard with us. Lindsay turned around just in time to see her pulling her second leg out of the opening. What this means to us is that we used to be able to let her run around the house and be confident that she was somewhere inside the house and this fact is now no longer true.

Fun times at the Raker household.

(Muffins come out of the oven and smell DELICIOUS!)

{Mack}: Mine!
{Lindsay}: No, not yours. These are for breakfast tomorrow.
{Mack}: Please?
{Lindsay}: No, please won't work right now.
{Mack}: PLEASE!
{Lindsay}: No, sorry Mack. These are for tomorrow.
{Mack}: Yes.
{Lindsay}: Yes.
{Mack}: No.
{Lindsay}: Yes.
{Mack}: Mine. Please?
{Lindsay}: Thank you for saying please, but no, you can't have one.
{Mack, with arched back}: PLEASE!
{Lindsay}: No, I am sorry.
{Mack}: No!
{Lindsay}: I am sorry, but that is correct.

So, either she ABSOLUTELY knows what she's saying, or she does a really good job of faking it. Here's hoping everyone gets to enjoy some muffin greatness tomorrow morning!

We weren't able to capture any pictures because we didn't have a camera outside and we were worried she would stop enjoying herself but we plan to capture it next time!

These days, Mackenzie vacillates between being a loving, snuggly kid to a tantrum-throwing devil-child. When she's doing what she wants, she'll kiss everything in site (Keyne, stuffed animals, people, puzzles, pictures, books...literally everything) and blow kisses at things she can't get to. She'll sit in your lap and read a book or dance to the music playing. When she's not doing what she wants, or when you redirect her, or take something away, the tantrum comes out in full force. Red faced, crocodile tears, screaming...nothing you want to experience or share with others.

I suppose it was bound to happen at some point, but we're hoping because the terrible twos came early that they will leave early as well. :)

In other news, last weekend was Mack's first official easter egg hunt. Josh is a member of a Mini Cooper group in DFW and they hosted an easter egg hunt and dog parade. Mack collected 26 easter eggs and got to meet the easter bunny. She wasn't scared of him at all, which was nice. She tried to give him a high five, which was cute (and we made sure to thank him a lot because it was hot outside and no doubt sweltering inside his costume). We took some good pictures so as soon as we convert them we'll post them so you can see her picking up (and subsequently dumping out) her easter eggs.