Thursday, May 15, 2014

MK. Five years and nine months.

This little blog, that I rarely update anymore, is titled "Life with MK", but I haven't really done a good job lately of talking about life with MK. It's been weeks since I've updated this space and many more weeks since I've actually given an update about MK. So, here goes…
Sleeping
MK argues with us every.single.night before bed. I guess I shouldn't say argue, she just procrastinates, which then turns into arguing. "One more minute", "I need some water", "I think I need to use the bathroom again", "Can I tell Lola and Cash good night"…stuff like that. Our girl still needs her 12+ hours of sleep each night. Thank goodness. She typically goes to bed between 8:30 and 9:00 on weekdays and 9:00 - 9:30 on weekends. This past weekend she was busy playing with her cousins and that hasn't happened in a while, so she stayed up well past 11:00. We wake her up during the week and she's a total bear, but she gets her self up on the weekends. She wakes up anywhere from 8:00 - 10:00. She's sleeps through the night, but still gets up occasionally (maybe once every two weeks) and asks us to lay with her for a few minutes. Nothing creepier than waking up in the middle of the night and having two little eyes staring at you. Yikes.
Eating
Our girl is kind of picky. And she goes through phases. Some weeks she eats a lot and cleans her plate at every meal. Other weeks she picks and eats like a bird. Her favorites are mac n' cheese (Velveeta), fruit (but she doesn't like the same one repeated too often), grilled cheese, pizza, lasagna, spaghetti, some veggies, cinnamon roles, cheese grits, pancakes, waffles, and cupcakes. She will try anything once - always has. She calls them her "try bites" or "thank you bites". It's the cutest thing and I'm so thankful that she will try things. And she really will try anything - different types of fish, sushi, etc. She loves to snack and probably snacks too much, which then leads to picky eating at dinner. Pick and choose your battles, right?!?
Clothing
I am excited to say that picking out clothes has gotten so much easier. I realize it will NOT always be like this, but right now it is and I'm so thankful. Just a few months ago, she was not happy about anything I put on her. She fought me over everything related to clothes. These days, she's easy. And while she doesn't mind what I pick out for her, she also has her own since of style and I appreciate that as well. I get to pick out clothes during the week for school/Roddey's and I let her pick out most things on the weekends. Most. She also comes home every.single.day and picks out her "afternoon outfit". It creates a little more laundry, but it's so worth it because we are both happy. She's wearing mostly size 5. Some of the 5 dresses are too short, but most of the time size 5 works. Her shoe size still baffles me - size 9 in some, 10 in others, and we even have one or two pairs that are 11. Shoes are not our thing. She has a pair of flip flops that she likes to wear every day and when she's not wearing those, she wants to wear her cowboy boots which are very worn and torn. I'm the same way, my flips flops are my go to shoe and they are SO old and SO worn. The only other spring/summer shoes I have are three pairs of sandals that I rotate. She gets it honest.
Princess/Pirate Day at school. She chose pirate.
Attitude/Personality
MK is a perfect combination of sweetness and sass. Most days we could just eat her up. She's affectionate and caring and has a big heart. She loves to give hugs and kisses and wants to snuggle. She cares about people and animals and even bugs. She doesn't like for me to squish spiders and she thinks snakes are cool. Craziness! And then there are some days where she deliberately pushes our buttons and is all sass. She will say things just to get a rise out of us and on those days I wonder "Where is our child and who is this?!?" On those days, we just try to take a deep breath and practice patience. It doesn't always work. 
Learning/School
MK has had THE best year in preschool. We are so thankful for her school and her teachers. She's learned a lot and has had such a fun time doing it. Next Wednesday is her last day of preschool and then August brings kindergarten. Oh.My.Goodness. She's so ready, but momma really isn't. She will be going to my school, which I'm excited about, but I'm just not ready for my baby to be in "big school". I'm also NOT ready, in any way, for her to leave Roddey. And MK isn't either. She misses Roddey on the weekends, so I'm not sure how she's going to survive next school year. I can't even think about it without getting teary eyed. Roddey is all we've known since MK was two and it breaks my heart to think about not taking MK to Roddey's every day. So, so sad.
For Fun
MK loves to play outside. She loves to swing, play "soccer", draw with sidewalk chalk, and ride her bike or scooter. She loves going to the lake and playing at Sandy Beach. She loves to swim. She enjoys playing the iPad and her LeapPad. She enjoys watching movies. She loves playing office or teacher or vet. She likes to "cook" and bring us her creations. She loves to dance and sing. She really likes writing and drawing. She "writes" songs and then sings them for us. She's quite the performer. 
Oh, and let's talk about this picture. Her daddy bought her this booster. Mommy was not quite ready for this. I'm determined to keep her a tiny baby for as long as I can. MK and Daddy are thrilled. Mommy is adjusting.