One Smart Cookie

I can't believe I'm writing two blog entries in one week, but I wanted to share. I've been kind of a delinquent blogger as of late.

Sometimes it amazes me how much children pick up without parents ever trying to teach it. Mackenna has done so many "a-ha" things in the past week or so that I just shake my head in amazement.

A couple weeks ago Mackenna and I met John in his office to go out to dinner. On the floor in his office is a standing picture frame with pics of Mackenna from 5 weeks old to 10 months old. She loves the frame so much that I had told John he had to take it to work. She was knocking it down a lot, and I was afraid it was going to hurt her. Anyway, while we were in John's office that night she made a bee-line for that picture frame. I asked her who was in the pictures, and she turned and said, "Me." Not a word we've worked on with her.

Last week, we were watching Sesame Street. Ernie was in the bathtub singing his traditional song, "Rubber duckie you're the one, Rubber Duckie you're so much fun..." The next thing I see is Mackenna crawling out of the living room, into the kitchen, and down the hallway. As I follow her she moves as quickly as she can to the closed bathroom door and starts pounding on it. I open the door, and she directly goes to the tub and stands beside it. And she got her wish...she got a bath. It was amazing to me that seeing Ernie take a bath inspired her to take one too!

Since her birth I have always sang "Jesus Loves Me" to her to calm her down at night or at nap time. I started to sing it to her a couple nights ago, when she said "Jesus" to me twice. I can't tell you what this did for my heart! She has a couple baby Bible books, and one about the birth of Jesus I still read to her even though it was traditionally a Christmas book. I've ordered her a book for Easter entitled, "Jesus Loves Me." I definitely want to continue this trend!

Tonight we bought groceries at Wal-Mart. Mackenna had gotten both of her shoes off her feet in the store. She was watching me put groceries up on the conveyer belt (as she's done many times before). The next thing John and I see is Mackenna putting her shoes on the conveyer belt. They boy who was checking our food has to be a college student. He just laughed and when he tried to give Mackenna back her shoes, she smiled and gave him one of those bashful grins she gives. Just another reminder to John that he may have a lot to watch out for once she starts dating!

When we got home tonight, Mackenna was watching an episode of the Backyardigans (a cartoon on Nick Jr.) about clowns wanting to join a circus. Fortunately, she doesn't seem to be afraid of clowns, not yet anyway. In the episode, three clowns are trying to talk the ringmaster (who hates clowns) of a circus to let them join. The clowns sing a song with the words, "We will make you laugh." Obviously Mackenna thought they were funny. You can watch her laugh and hear her "belly laughs" in the video posted below. I don't know why, but laughs of babies and toddlers always seem to be the most endearing to me. I just don't know many people who don't smile when they hear a baby laugh!

As a parent, it really is amazing to see how your children develop and grow. And Mac is walking more (thank goodness). She will take 5-7 steps at a time now and stand in one place for up to 5 minutes. Hopefully she will be sprinting across the room soon!