The World of Mackay

This morning, as I was tidying up yet another mess from the kids' post-Christmas toy frenzy, I noticed that the paint pens Mac and Owen had just been playing with were sitting on the table with the caps off. I think to myself 'What a good opportunity to teach Mackay how to take better care of her things.' Me: 'Mackay, if you leave the caps off your paint pens, they will dry out and you won't be able to play with them anymore.' Mackay: 'Really? Well, I'm trying to watch Phineas and Ferb right now. Could you just put them on for me?' Mackay, 122. Mom, 0.

Owen just came into the kitchen with a small, sticky fleck on his finger. He says 'Mewey Cwishmush, this is for you.' Me: 'Is that a booger?' Owen: 'Yep' I suspect his father had something to do with this, but I have no proof. Mewey Cwishmush.

December is once again upon us. Can't believe how fast the time is going by. Owen just turned two, and Mackay is four. Relatively speaking, the family health meter is up a few notches. Owen just got great news (after having to undergo surgery to repair a hernia he was born with). Since they had to knock him out for the surgery, they were able to also do an MRI on his heart. It's been awhile since they've had good heart pics (he will no longer sit still for the ultrasound), and we were all pleased to learn that his heart is continuing to grow - especially in the places where it was seemingly too narrow before. In fact, his normally reserved cardiologist went as far as to say that if things continue this way, he may never need another heart surgery. We are incredibly grateful and relieved. Bill and I hardly know what to do with ourselves now that we don't have this looming worry! Bill is continuing to recover. 3 months post chemo, he's still in remission, which is a g

Lots of news. Owen turned two, and is proud to tell anyone who asks! He'll answer either "I'm two" or "Woody." I guess age and halloween costumes are easily interchangeable at this age. I'll upload pics of birthday and halloween soon! Mackay recently had a funny incident with my mom. After diligently trying to explain something to her nana several times, and my mom (who is a tad hard of hearing in one ear) not understanding, Mackay said 'Nana, I don't think your ears are hearing what I am trying to tell them!' And just tonight, I overheard Bill talking to Mackay, For all the world, I thought I heard Bill ask her "So, what do you think about Jesus." Those of you who know our household might understand why I would be surprised to hear this question. Had I given it a moment's thought, though, I would have realized that I had just delivered them a cup of Cheez Its. Bill now thinks we have a mass market for a bumper sticker called

Appropriate for the upcoming holiday... the last time we were up visiting my Mom (up in the woods, where various creatures large and small abound), I was packing up our bags to head home. Behind me, I hear Owen say 'Bug on head! BUG ON HEAD!!' I turn around, and sure enough, he has an enormous spider on the top of his head. Owen's just pointing at it, and is clearly waiting for me to do something. Those of you who know how much I love spiders will not be surprised to hear that I actually considered leaving the room and letting him deal with it on his own. However, I'm proud to say that I grabbed Mackay's sock and successfully knocked the spider onto the ground, where it skittered under my Mom's bed. Come to think of it, I don't think I mentioned that to her. Sorry, Mom.

It's been awhile! Lots of news. The best news is on the health front... After 3 months of highly unpleasant (understatement of the year) chemo, Bill got the 'all clear' from the docs, and is officially in remission. We're all keeping fingers crossed that it stays this way. Owen, for his part, has also been given a reprieve. His blood pressure readings and the various other measurements the cardiologists use to determine how well he's doing show that he's doing great right now. They - at this point - don't have any reason to recommend further surgery. This doesn't mean that won't change as he grows, but for now, his heart seems to be keeping pace with the rest of his growth. Mackay started her second year of preschool, and is now a 'Pooh Bear.' She continues to enjoy school, though I still can't get her to tell me anything she did during each day. We had fun this morning at the beach, helping another friend with a project for school, and e

We headed to the mountains again for this year’s Fourth of July. Per our recent tradition, we visited Graeagle for the local fireworks show on the 2nd , and a nice visit with Nana and Papa Ron, which included tractor rides, hikes to raging waterfalls, fishing, and lots of fun with friends. Then, we headed to Tahoe for the next round of fireworks and a week with Mackay and Owen’s cousins, Bobby and Bradley. After spending at least a week straight in the pool, Mackay also made a big leap, swimming on her own for the first time. She also caught her first trout! Owen, meanwhile, continues to find interesting materials to use for hats. Aside from fashion, he continues to blow us all away with his verbal skills – he has a remarkable grasp context and speaks pretty much in full sentences now. He’s super curious, and follows Bill around on his various projects asking ‘What are you doing?’ over and over. He also exasperates Mackay whenever they’re watching a movie by asking her (over and ove

And here, you can see what Owen has to look forward to by having a big sister. He also has a penchant for wearing her hats.

So Mackay and I were coloring the other day. I draw a head, and then Mackay draws a princess from that. She adds hair, a crown, arms (usually coming directly out of the head), legs, hands and feet, and a dress. Then, she asked me what else she should add to her drawing. "A prince," I ask? "I don't have enough space," she replies.

For those of you who didn't see my Facebook post (or who have opted to avoid that evil timesink altogether), we got the disappointing news recently that Bill's cancer has returned. The good news is that the prognosis is still very good with treatment. The bad news is that the treatment is brutal. 4, three-week cycles of chemotherapy. He's made it through the first chemo week (4 days straight of 6-7 hours per day), and - at least outwardly - he seems to be tolerating it reasonably well, though I can't even imagine how awful he must feel. We are very hopeful that we'll be able to soon bid adieu to this miserable disease. Please send your thoughts and prayers -- and phone calls, emails, book recommendations, or anything you can think of that might help him pass the time.

Life's been so busy. The suntans and mosquito bites have faded from our Kauai vacation. We had a truly wonderful time. The kids were (more or less) great on the plane ride, and we had a fantastic time sharing part of our vacation with Dean, Michel and their kids. The cousins are old enough to entertain each other, and we parents were able to eke out a few minutes for actual conversation. Owen had a blast following the big kids around. He's still gaining weight and doing better with food. He's 18 months now, and he's pretty verbal. 'I wanna go in 'nere' is a common statement whenever Mackay is somewhere he wants to be. Mackay has continued to maintain her potty training (YAY!!!), though we did have one amusing incident in Kauai. We'd been back and forth to the potty multiple times that morning, and I had Mackay and Owen in tow for a quick dip in the hot tub at the Westin resort where we were staying. We slip (as unobtrusively as possible for a woman with

Our household was evacuated at 5 am on Friday over concerns over a possible tsunami in Half Moon Bay, the result of the horrific earthquake in Japan. We were incredibly lucky - the harbor rose and fell 5 feet in the course of an hour - but thanks to a low tide, we had no real issues in our area. But our hearts are breaking for Japan. We're lucky so far in that everyone we know there are safe - but there are so many who were not. The only tiny light we've had during this tragedy falls into the 'from the mouths of babes' category. Mackay is an avid listener to NPR while she and Bill are en route to wherever they are going. She can't figure out 'Why do they keep talking about the salami?' Despite this little bit of humor, we are sending every positive bit of energy we can to the people of Japan. We wish them strength and resilience and hope.

The stars have finally aligned. The dam has broken. Alert the papers. Mackay has pooped on the potty. Twice. On two consecutive days. Wherever you are, it's not so far away that you can't hear the collective sigh of relief coming from the Borovac-Bennett household at the prospect of reducing our Costco purchases to just one set of diapers. HALLELUJAH!! She's very proud of herself, and is definitely basking in the accolades being bestowed by friends and family.

Owen is talking up a storm these days, though it's not always immediately evident what he's saying. While getting him dressed the other day, Bill was naming clothing components, and Owen, quite adamantly, told Bill that he was putting on his 'oo' and his 'ock'. Apparently the letter 's' has not yet made it into his lexicon. Anyway - Bill took Owen to a occupation/child development specialist recently to try to figure out how to help him move on from formula to solid food. While they determined that he has a hair trigger gag reflex (which we knew), they were evidently impressed by how far ahead he is in his verbal development and in his physical coordination - even despite his diminutive size. Meanwhile, Miss Mac is growing taller by the minute, it seems. According to the people/websites that calculate such things, given her height at 3, she's likely to be 5'8" What a pair! Small or big -- they both love to swing! Here's a recent pic our

We had a wonderful holiday! Everyone is growing and reasonably healthy. Owen is talking (some comprehensible, a lot that isn't). Like his sister, he's a big climber. He scales anything his little legs can reach, but often finds himself unable to get back down. On these occasions, you'll hear his little voice ring from another room... 'I'm 'tuck!!!' Very cute. Mackay is loving pre-school and despite being nicely potty trained there, we think she's just trying to tweak us at home. A recent conversation in the car: Mackay: So, when I go poop in the potty, I get a pillow pet! Bill: Yes. When do you think that will be? Mackay: Oh, maybe, like, a couple years? I recommend you buy Pampers stock. Maybe we can get a Vegas line going on whether Owen will be potty trained before Mackay. I think the odds are good.