Anniversary

Happy 2 year Anniversary to my favorite companion! This has been a year of busting through comfort zones for Josh and me: moving to essentially a foreign country, getting new jobs and having a baby. All have challenged us, made us feel uncomfortable and strengthened our marriage. I wouldn't trade it for the world...well except that time we shared a twin mattress our first night in Miami. I still could've had a fulfilling marriage without that.

Thank you, Josh, for working every day to be the best husband and father that you can be. You make me beyond happy and loved.

Bath Time Progress

Mackenzie's come a long way with her toleration for baths. 

We started out like this during her 1st week:

And are now to this:

I think I caught a glimmer of a smile. Maybe.

Smiles and Stares

Mackenzie has smiled before now, but it was while I was reading to her about the tensions in North Korea. Unless she is planning a career in international politics, I am sure that was a reflex.

Below is a video of a smile in response to something that actually warrants a smile:

I wouldn't go so far as to say Mackenzie is quick to smile. She tends to be somewhat discerning in what she observes....IE, she stares a lot.

A New Spin on Biking

While out to dinner tonight, we witnessed no fewer than 5,000 bikers going through downtown Coral Gables.

Apparently it is a group mass of people that meet the last Friday of the month and cycle a different route around Miami. The cyclists were not exactly super-serious....there were numerous bars (and I'm not talking handle bars) attached to bikes and stereos blasting Jay-Z and Pit Bull tunes. Think South Beach club meets group exercise.

The video is a mere glimpse of the mayhem that ensued for the next 20 minutes.

Make Way for Ducklings

While watching and reading about the bombings at the Boston Marathon, all I could think about was a favorite children's book, "Make Way for Ducklings."

The book was read to me by my grandmother, and it was given to Mackenzie by her great aunt Jane and great uncle Ted. It is about a duckling family-the Mallards-who venture into downtown Boston for the day. They are aided by a Boston policeman, Michael, and the Boston PD as they navigate the busy streets of the city. The moral of the story is to help others, no matter how small they are.

Attacks like the one in Boston are senseless, horrible and cruel. My heart goes out to those families who lost loved ones, those who are suffering from war-like wounds, and all those first responders and volunteers who helped those in need.

For this terrible deed, there are hundreds of heroic deeds done-by good people like Michael. I am trying to focus on that instead of the heinous bombing.

Go Boston, Go America.

A Right and Wrong Kind of Luck

We are officially a month into my rookie season as a parent, and a month into Mackenzie's rookie season of living outside of the womb.

Mackenzie is making great strides with tummy time, following objects with her eyes, making 'oooo' noises and getting used to the world. However, as any new parent will tell you, I've learned a lot more from Mackenzie than she's learned from me.

So far, I've learned that nothing is harder yet more rewarding than being a parent, and to disregard any parenting 'how to' book and trust my gut. And, today, I learned that there is a right and wrong kind of luck.

Disclaimer: this story involves poop.

I always found my friends' baby "blowout" tales pretty funny. All the while, I secretly hoped that I'd be lucky and avoid a blowout in public. At the very least, I vowed to always be prepared.

Wrong. I suffered my first public blowout-in the parking lot of the pediatrician's office-and was stuck without a changing pad or an extra onesie for Mackenzie. Mackenzie was very good natured about it all, while I, on the other hand, was very frazzled.

Hoping to avoid a blowout is hoping for the wrong kind of luck...and it's just unrealistic.

The right kind of luck is something that we are grateful to have. Mackenzie had a great check-up, is healthy and alert, and gets cooler every day.

I'll take any number of blowouts (within reason) for that kind of luck.

Happy 1 Month!

Making Friends

As cool as Josh and I are, week 3 marked when Mackenzie thought it was high time she made some friends her own age.

Early in the week she met Dayton, who wasn't quite sure what to make of Mackenzie. I can't say I blame him--she slept through the visit and didn't provide much to the conversation. He warmed up to her when he discovered all the buttons on her car seat.

Later in the week, Mackenzie had a visit from her cousins, Anneliese, Eli, and Jack, and her Aunt Braden and Aunt Alison.

Being a newborn, Mackenzie can't interact a whole lot, yet, so I was curious how the cousins would react to her. Turns out that Mackenzie won them over pretty easily, and she was the source of many questions.

Anneliese, "You are feeding her again? How many times does she eat a day?"
Me, "Well, babies have to eat a lot to grow. So she eats 10 or 12 times a day."
Anneliese, "Wow. That's a lot of work. Who is better at taking care of Mackenzie, you or Uncle Josh?"

Side note: Thank you, Anneliese, for acknowledging how much work breastfeeding is. And I answered the latter question as diplomatically as possible.

Jack brought Mackenzie a gift near and dear to his heart: her very own toy car. He also wanted to know if she liked fast cars...or slow cars...or planes...or helicopters...or trucks...or dump trucks.

And Eli was the master of helping Mackenzie swing in her swing. He made sure that the music was always playing, and the mobile always moving.

Mackenzie had a wonderful time...thank you to everyone for the visits!

Non-April Fool's

No joke-Mackenzie let us sleep from 5am to 8am straight.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter from the Boones!

Easter weekend was our first as just the three of us, and, the verdict is in: weekends are much cooler with Mackenzie around.

One day Mackenzie will thank us for dressing her in such silly/cute/ridiculous holiday outfits.