Dear Mackenzie: 20 months have gone too fast

Dear Mackenzie,

Please forgive me for being a day late. I was so wiped out after our 6 hour drive back from seeing your Oma and Opa (plus the detour to see the new son of your godfathers) that I completely forgot what day it was. And to be honest, we were all so worn out after the trip that we couldn’t think about many other things besides relaxation and sleep.

Your Opa has now become “Amah” and Oma gets called by the same name from time to time. But at the moment you are pretty transfixed on the guys in this family. They get the majority of your most sought after kisses and some of your best bear hugs…but us ladies are trying not to take it personally. Plus the guys also seem to ask for them a lot more often so I guess it’s just a matter of odds.

You do give some of the best hugs, though, and there’s nothing like having a Mackenzie monkey hanging off of your body. You even pat people on the back a few times just to further melt their heart. Your daddy is soaking up as many of those as he can before he goes back to work on August 2nd. It’s going to be a rough adjustment for us all after all this time spent so close together…but I guess that just means we have to appreciate the time we do have all that more — and work hard on Plans B, C and D!

You are VERY opinionated and have no qualms at all about telling us what you think about things. You respond to almost every question we ask you (are you hungry, do you want something to drink, are you ready for bed) and most of the time go with the standard head shaking to indicate “no.”  But if we do manage to come up with something you actually do want, you are pretty quick to nod your head and sometimes will say “yeah” or rub your belly to indicate “please.” You’ve also started answering for the dog but that’s only fair since she also comes when she hears your name. Maybe you two are sharing thoughts or something. But there are definitely not going to be any more moments of talking in front of you like you aren’t there. Both in German and English you seem to understand pretty much everything we say…even if you can’t say most of the words yourself.

I’m also hoping to start using your reading cards again and work those into our daily routine. Although they don’t hold your attention long (nor are they supposed to), you definitely seem to be picking up things quickly. And you’re trying to say all kinds of things although we unfortunately don’t yet understand your awesome stories. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time, though.

Most of July has been really warm, even up to 100 degrees…which is really, really hot when you don’t have air conditioning. So we spent quite a bit a time in our temporary pool and even went to a big swimming hall where you got your first real swimming experience. You loved splashing in the water and I think you’re going to be a little water-loving fish like your mom and dad eventually — I promise I’ll try to start going to our local pool with you more often so we can work on your skills a bit more.

You recently recovered from a severe gummy bear addiction. We had to put you in rehab shortly and remove all traces of candy from the house for a while…but sometimes these things happen when family comes in from out of time. You’ve gotta be spoiled a little at times, right? And I can certainly see where your love for candy comes from — your dad and Opa are big time chocolate fans. At least it wasn’t too hard to curb your search for sugar in the house…but you sure do get excited about special treats and food in general. And thankfully fruit is a good enough substitute for sugary stuff most of the time.

You’re still an excellent eater and one of your favorite meals is now chicken curry with rice…lots of rice. You also can eat your weight in pasta and will take it with or without sauce. But if there’s an option to put ketchup on it, you’re going to go for it. It does seem that ketchup truly goes with everything. It’s especially good on sausage (“saw-sa”) and cheese.

But the sugar madness wan’t all bad…since we know what really motivates you now, we’ve started using it to help you learn “please,” “thank you” and “you’re welcome.” Most of these you’re still just doing the signs for but we are getting something close to “thank you” lately.

You’re still picking up signs faster than I do and you definitely remember them much better than me. Of course I also still have to decipher what your version of the sign is sometimes versus what the sign really is which can be a real challenge. Milk, all done and fish still look pretty close in your book. But you’re already using more than 30 signs on a daily basis which is so fantastic. And you recognize even more of them but just aren’t able to make them yourself yet. Some of the signs are just too complicated for your little fingers still

You’ve had a pretty big growth spurt over the last month although the only reason I can be sure of this is because your feet have gone from a size 3 shoe to a size 5 all of the sudden. And you’re definitely filling out all of your 18 month sized clothes very well now…so it’s only a matter of time until all those awesome new outfits we just got from friends and family will be on you. You’re really putting your parent’s wardrobe to shame. But everyone just wants to look at you instead of us anyway so it’s okay for you to look better than us.

You love playing with the most random “toys” and now I realize why we just don’t have that many toys for you in general. We could always use more books (and I hope to make you some soon as well to help you learn to read) but one of your favorite toys at the moment are still your cups of aquaponics pebbles and a few scooping spoons that you’ve hijacked. You will seriously play with those for hours. And since we left them at home when we recently went to visit Oma and Opa, we suggested they grab a bowl for water and give you a cup so you could pour the water back and forth. Hours of instant fun! I personally favored a can of big nails when I was a kid…so I can definitely see the appeal. And I know you’d certainly take a jar of screws over any actual toy any day. Which is fantastic not only for your counting and organization skills, but for your creativity. I am going to see if we can’t make you some new hand puppets though from some of our old socks…because gloves are clearly some of the coolest things on earth right now! Next to pulling stuff behind you that is.

Although you don’t have any issues sharing your food with Ayla once you’re done, you aren’t so fond of her touching anything else that is yours. No leaning against your pillow or having her fur touch your magazine. I don’t know if you think she’s going to get it dirty or wet or maybe break it…but hopefully we can come to some sort of truce soon. Because, you see, Ayla is HUGE…and when she sits near you, she’s bound to end up touching something of yours. Don’t think that she’s going to try to claim it…but do remember that she is happy to share all of her toys with you so it’s only fair that you at least let her hair flow where it wants when the dog sits or lays down.

We need to work a bit on our car traveling skills. I know 6 hours in the car is not fun because not even your dad and I enjoy long car trips…but sometimes they just have to be done. We hoped that riding in your dad’s new car would make things easier but apparently being forced to sit mostly still for that long is just not right. Although I would still like to remind you that when nap time approaches and we’re in the car, you’re still more than welcome to snooze a bit. I certainly would like to most of the time. Just give it a bit of consideration…because for the person driving, it’s just not fun to have you trying to start Project Meltdown in the back seat

You are a whirlwind of energy all day long and I will assure you that I am exhausted by the time you go to bed each night…and sometimes even by the time your nap rolls around. You walk, run and zoom all over the house the entire time and you must be covering a few miles worth of ground every day. But you still appreciate my need to get things done myself and will usually not protest staying in the same room with me. You may need to go get something from time to time when you realize you need a toy to complete whatever project you’re working on yourself…but then you come right back where I can see you. This is highly, highly appreciated and I hope we can keep this arrangement going in the future.

I know I’ve said it before but I really couldn’t have asked for a better child. You’re smart, funny, so interactive already and definitely a handful. I continue to look forward to you learning more words and showing us more of the skills that you’re learning every day. And I can’t wait to keep dressing you up in all sorts of adorable outfits like my own personal Barbie doll…or maybe Cabbage Patch Kid.

Whatever you do, please don’t lose your sweetness, your sass or your smile.

All my love,

Mommy

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