The World of Mackay

The holidays are almost here... little Owen is 2 months old already. He's doing well... having doubled his weight - from 5 lbs at birth to over 10 lbs. We're expecting he'll need another heart procedure -- an angioplasty where they go in through an artery with a little balloon to expand a narrow area in his heart -- but not sure when it will be. Let's hope he doesn't get THAT for Christmas. Miss Mackay continues to thrive, though she's definitely hit the terrible two's. All in all, she's been a great big sister and is doing well to accommodate the new addition to the family. Bill was explaining to her about Santa the other day - he knows when you've been good or bad, yadda yadda... And he tells her that Santa doesn't come if you've been bad. Mackay looks at him, wide eyed, and says "Oh no!!"

If you ask Mackay how old she is, she will tell you definitively either 'five', or (inexplicably) 'two more months'. In either case, she is officially two years old -- with daily bouts of throwing herself dramatically to the floor to protest anything denied to her to prove it. She received some wonderful birthday gifts, including a karaoke machine from Papa John, a tricycle from Nana, her own 'puter' (aka DVD player) and perhaps her favorite gift -- a chocolate cupcake. Some milestones: she has officially moved from her crib to a 'big girl' toddler bed - which she seems to enjoy. However, on night two of being in her new bed, she managed to fall out of it. Fortunately it's only about 12 inches to the carpet. She seems undeterred and continues to climb into her new bed each night without concern. On the little brother front, Owen is officially a month old -- and has already gained two pounds, perhaps setting a record for newborn weight gain. Every da

Owen's been home for just over a week now, and things are going well. He's already gained a pound since he was born, and he's a very mellow little guy. Mackay is mostly ignoring him, perhaps hoping that he'll go back where he came from. She's had a few moments of evil, more than balanced out by doing things that melt your heart. In the car yesterday, Owen was being uncharacteristically fussy, and Mackay leans over and tells him 'We're almost home, baby.' She has also undone any angry parent karma (not that she induces much) with her favorite new phrase. After several weeks of us being gone at the hospital, she was sitting on my lap. She leaned back, gave me a little backward hug, and said 'Miss you.' Despite being a little groggy, we are settling into our new routines. I'd be remiss if I didn't pass along a huge thank you to my mom, who was chef, playmate, chauffeur, teacher and more to Mackay for the three weeks we were at the hospital.

I now understand why mothers with multiple children get a 'mom' haircut and stop all except absolutely necessary personal grooming. And Owen's not even home yet...

Mackay's world just got a whole lot more interesting. Her baby brother, Owen, was born (early, and unexpectedly, of course) on Thursday, October 8th. He weighed 5 pounds and was 19 inches long. As we did expect, Owen has a few hurdles to jump in his first few weeks, with surgery to fix some heart problems. We'll post more info as we know more, but please join us in sending positive thoughts his way. Mackay is already talking about 'baby Owen' - but we'll see how excited she is when she realizes he's not going back where he came from.

We made our second annual sojourn with Mackay to Arata Farms. She got to ride a pony, a little train, feed goats and, of course, pick out a pumpkin (or five). She enjoyed it all, and we're definitely ramping up for Halloween in Half Moon Bay!

We recently made the trek to Graeagle to help celebrate my step-dad Ron's 75th birthday. Mackay, who now sings 'Happy Birthday Papa Ron' anytime the word 'birthday' is mentioned, got to get up close and personal with one of her favorite machines -- a motorcycle! We could hardly get her off of it.

Bill and I are toasting marshmallows (Mackay's favorite treat) in our backyard fireplace. As usual, she is already wanting 'nother one' when she's barely taken a bite of her first. Bill explains, logically, that she can have another as soon as she's done with the one she has. Mackay hears this, pulls her marshmallow out of her mouth, looks around surreptitiously, and shoves it under her leg. Then she looks at us and says 'all done!' Who knew kids learn guile so early?

So, Bill is home, listening over the baby monitor to Mackay shuffle around in her crib when she should be taking a nap. After a few more minutes of scratching around, he hears, 'Yuck... yuck... YUCK!  Poop!' Yep - Mackay managed to wrangle off her diaper, and, well, you can imagine the mess. Boy, am I glad I was at work that day.

My mom has been visiting for the past few days. This morning, Mackay was climbing around my mom's car (one of her favorite pastimes). While sitting at the steering wheel, my mom asked her if she was going to the store. Mackay said she was...so mom asked Mackay what she would get at the market.  After a short pause, Mackay replied, "Milk...Bread...Wine..." Just the staples in our household.

We had a fantastic holiday: fireworks in Graeagle, barbecues in Lake Tahoe, friends, family, swimming, playing, tractor rides, crazy neighbors... what more could we ask for? Mackay got to spend so much time with all our friends' children, she now wakes up and says 'kids?' expecting them to be there to join her for breakfast. 

We recently hosted a party to celebrate a milestone birthday for my dad. Mackay got to meet ALL of her Borovac great aunts and uncle, as well as some cousin-ish relatives that are beyond my genealogical ability to figure out. Friends and family traveled from far and wide to help Dad celebrate.  Miss Mack also had a fabulous time with her sweet, well-mannered 2 year-old 'cousin' Sabrina, though I fear Mackay is becoming that cousin who always gets everyone else into trouble.  In any case, a good time was had by all - and despite the crummy weather, we ate, drank and were merry. 

Here's a pic of Mackay and her Dad enjoying the beach in San Luis Obispo.  Hoping your Mothers' Day brings you low tides, sunny skies, and lots of starfish and sea anemones to poke.

We have a lovely little yellow potty that was bequeathed to us from our friends Jen and Sophie.  Mackay has had a great time sitting on it fully clothed, and also, wearing the removable plastic insert as a hat. But yesterday, while awaiting for her servant to draw her evening bath, Mackay actually used the potty for its intended purpose. (Whether she actually intended to is a matter up for debate.) Nevertheless, though I will spare you the details of our ongoing efforts in the potty training arena, I thought I should share this first milestone. 

Mackay's favorite word (and thing, for that matter) is 'ball.' She points them out everywhere -- in other people's yards, in books, at the grocery store... "No, Mackay, that's a cantaloupe, not a ball." Anyway, the other day, we were in Rite-Aid running some errands, and we came around the corner. There, directly in front of us, was this HUGE, 8 foot tall wire bin full of rubber balls in all shapes and sizes. Mackay's mouth literally dropped open as she beheld this amazing sight, and I hear her say, under her breath, "Wow...Wow...WOW!"

The other morning, sun was streaming through the window of our master bedroom. (Yes, despite the past two weeks of constant rain, we did have one sunny day.) I noticed Mackay looking a little like she was hallucinating, as she stared blankly into space, and sort of randomly grabbed at the air with her fingers.  As I came up behind her, I realized that she was seeing dust motes floating in the air. I commented 'You can't grab those, Mackay, they are just dust,' and she looked at me and said 'Dust!'  Not 'Du' or even 'Dus', but 'Dust' with the full tongue tap on the roof of her mouth. This is the first real enunciation we've heard from her, and we are quite proud. Of Mackay, not my housekeeping abilities.

I keep trying to tell her that dancing on tables is NEVER a good career move - especially when you have a feather boa...

Until tonight, Mackay used a spoon merely as an accelerator for transporting yogurt onto the floor or cabinets. In today's exciting news, Mackay has had her first successful use of an eating utensil. She used a fork, repeatedly, to pick up various vegetables like olives and beans, and actually deliver them to her mouth. Each time she speared something, she uttered a little 'heh heh' and looked mighty pleased with herself.  Hey - in this economy, we gotta celebrate the little things. 

Happy New Year to all! Santa, friends and family were extraordinarily generous this year, and the divine miss M has more toys than she can handle. However, she is still unclear on the concept of her Little People schoolbus, circus, and garage. When she's not trying to climb or sit on them, she is ripping the little people out of their seats, chewing on their heads, and leaving their vehicles and games in a pile of wreckage behind her. If you hear of any toy manufacturers that are looking for children to drop test their products, send them our way. Mackay is a one-kid demolition crew.