Cinderella Diva and One to Melt your Heart

Just a couple more random pics to enjoy of the peanut!

After Daddy got her home from daycare last night, she threw on her tutu and wouldn't take her boots off!  Probably one of the better purchases we've made as of late, LOL!

Mackenna is sure falling in love a little more each day with her buddy Wrigley and while she can get a little rough with her at times, these 2 are sure to be the best of friends some day :) If Wrigley allows it!





Blizzard FUN!

We got our first blizzard over the weekend...well actually the blizzard was pretty much our first snow of the season!  We saw 15 inches!!!!  It was the most beautiful snow though and being it's Christmas time, I am AOK with having it to top off all the deocrations and lights :)

I headed to Target to get Kenna the Cinderella snow boots she wanted (nothing like waiting til the last minute, I know) and came back home to get her all bundled up after nap to go play and roll around in the snow!

At first, she was not too thrilled with her get-up, as you can see!  This child would prefer to NEVER wear a coat - and getting her snow pants on?!?!  Well that was just a fight!  EEK!  But we did it and made our way outside!

At first glance, it was kinda cute, she just kinda stood there, taking it all :)

When she realized she could walk and play in it, it was time to do some serious playing!!!  (Yes, she still has her Rudolph nose on - DUH!)

Daddy was like a little kid and was running and sliding - Kenna thought it was pretty funny...so did Wrigley apparently!

Fun photo op!

Then it was time to build our 1st family snowman - Daddy did most of the hard work with rolling each ball, but Kenna helped pack it in place :)

And here is the finished product..I'd like you all to meet none other than, SNOWMAN!  Yup, that's what Mackenna named him :)



She was so proud of her new friend - but I think her favorite part of the afternoon was all the snow she ate!!!


We did some sledding on the hill up by the field and exhausted ourselves for the couple hours that we were out there, but it was an awesome way to spend quality time with each other.  When we finally decided to go in, we had some hot chocolate and watched some Christmas classics on TV!  I love this time of year...





Breakfast with Santa - December 9, 2012

Sunday morning, during the season's 1st Blizzard, Kenna and I headed to Macy's @ Southdale to have breakfast with the Big Man himself!  Grandma Harrison had planned this surprise a few weeks ago and I'll be honest, I was kinda excited too!  Kenna got all dressed up in her new Christmas dress (from Grandma too!) and even let me put on her pretty red coat, although that was quite the fight :)

I was happy Erica grabbed this photo for keepsake purposes!

Kenna was pretty excited knowing she was going to see Santa - she waited patiently and posed beautifully for pictures while we were watching for Grandma and Aunt Erica to arrive!

Once we got in, there was lots to see and do!  We got right over to the face painter so we wouldn't have to wait in line.  Kenna chose a red nose like Rudolph and sat so patiently while it was being painted!

She went back a second time to get a snowflake on her cheek and Aunt Erica saw Mrs. Claus peaking (so cute!!!!)

My lil Rudolph!

Back at the table, a balloon artist came to see Mackenna and asked what she wanted and Kenna choose a reindeer.

Kenna was so proud of her reindeer and at one point while we were eating, told us how happy she was :) There was a yummy breakfast buffet and we all enjoyed eggs, french toast, hash browns, bacon and juice, but of course out of all that, Kenna just wanted the grapes and strawberries

Mrs. Claus came to see us and sat at the table and after talking for a couple minutes about how proud of Mackenna she was for being such a good girl this year, Santa was making his way over and Kenna's pure excitement was so fun to watch!

The best part of this whole experience was that Santa made it very personal.  He sat down with us at our table, he talked to Mackenna by name and took the time to really just listen to her and have some fun!  She was so happy!

Mommy had painted her nails the night before and I kid you not, at one point of her conversation with Santa she says to him, " Santa, wook (that's look in kenna language) it my nails!"  she was so proud of her big girl nails and had to show them to her new friend!

We got some great pics with him!

When it was time for him to continue on with the other kids, she made sure she told him that he was now going to be HER Santa...she's such a character!

My sweet sweet girl who I love to the moon and back - not sure what we did to have such an amazing blessing in our lives!  SO LUCKY!

 

Thank you Grandma Harrison!  Not just for the fun breakfast surprise, but for making this new experience for her so memorable!!!  The Cinderella book might have trumped her time with Santa considering it came with a glass slipper necklace, LOL!  I think we just found a fun new tradition each Christmas season! XOXO

Nap time was not an issue...notice the rudolph nose is still on and before she could take her nap, she had to get cozy in her Christmas jammies that Conky the elf brought her!



What an amazing day!!!!  One definitely to remember :)



A True Princess

If we're not watching Cinderella the movie, we're always dressing like her! I swear she'd wear her Halloween costume night and day if we let her :)  She is truly a princess at heart and is in love with her favorite, Cinderella.  She came out of her room last night dressed in all her accessories and when I went to snap her pic, she told me to wait, ran back in her room, and grabbed her pink stool that goes with her 'Mackenna' chair :) Such a character....



Shame on Mommy!

Oh my goodness, it has been TOO long since I updated the blog...my apologies! We've had some crazy days over the last month or so, with the biggest distractor being the decision to build our new home!!! EEK, we're so excited! Mackenna has been excited too and is looking forward to getting her new big girl room and a playroom all to herself! There are days she even asks if we can go see the house, so it's fun that she's invested, even if she doesn't understand what she's asking :)

We are fully into the Christmas spirit at the Schlieman household. Tree is up, lights are on and Mackenna's elf, who she named Conky, is here and watching her every move to report back to the big man! Speaking of the big man, Grandma Harrison is taking us to have breakfast with Santa this coming weekend, Kenna seems to be very excited and can't wait to tell him she wants a pink kitchen!

Our gifts are almost all purchased and many are already wrapped and under the tree and believe it or not, our Christmas cards are already floating around making their way to our friends and families' homes!

Aside from the Christmas festivities and the home building process; Mackenna is changing DAILY! I feel like I probably always say that, but seriously, my lil girl is not so lil anymore!!! She's becoming SO articulate and poised in her conversations. One of my favorites is when you ask her a question and she responds with either, "Sure!" or "I sure do!" - it's very sweet and so grown up of her! I think my most favorite part of her age right now is that we can have a full on conversation with her and actually understand most, if not all! She is very animated and just a little diva (in mostly good ways most of the time!). She is fully vested in her princess obsession and Nate and I can't wait for all the fun goodies come Christmas time; from what we have gotten her and from what we've heard, it's going to be a Princess-packed year...that is if she's good :)

I can't believe my lil lady will be 2 and a half this month - seriously, where on Earth does the time go? We have so much to be thankful for this year and even more to look forward to in the New Year! We wish all of you a blessed holiday season and a wonderful New Year!

I just love this sweet face so much!!!!!!!!

Couldn't resist in sharing this pic!  She got some new princess pull ups and is so proud of herself, she dropped her drawers to show me and made sure I took her picture to show daddy too!  Now if she could just get the concept of the potty down!  It's coming...I just know it!





Cookies with the Gilbertson's

I got home from LA on Friday night and then Nate headed to Nashville on Saturday for the week, so to do something fun on our lil girls weekend, we headed to the Gilbertson's house up in Nowthen, MN for some fun Christmas cookie time!

We had a great time and had planned on staying there overnight, but had to leave early as Mackenna had some random bug that got the best of her (8 diapers!!!!!!!) UGH!!!!  Happy to report she is much better now (only like a 24 hour thing) and still had a great time with her lil friends!  Sarah and I think we need to make this an annual thing :)

Kenna and Bennett getting ready to decorate some sugar cookies!

Yes as you can see she was complete in her princess crown and necklace and couldn't leave the house without it!

I found my lil lady rubbing red sprinkles on her lips - although mommy doesn't really wear lipstick, I'm pretty sure she knew what she was doing!  So cute!

Silly girl - even though she didn't feel the best, she was a warrior when she needed to be!

Not the best pic, but I know I need to get in a few more with her to document these fun experiences :)



She has hair!!!!

Out of the blue, Miss Mackenna woke up one day and had hair!!!!  Well she's always had hair, but she has hair now that we can have some fun with when it comes to styling!  And she is turning into such a girly girl, she's asking for me to do her hair each day and even dabbling into her own sense of style on her own by adding her own touches.

Since the front isn't as long as the back still, I have mastered this fun lil look and she loves all her ponies as she calls them and asks for :)

It's weird to see all the hair!

Kenna's own touch with the head band and necklace!

My lil MVC!

My lil Cindy Loo Who :)



Introducing Kenna's Elf...Conky!

The Sunday after Turkey Day, Mackenna woke up to a North Pole Breakfast put on by her lil Elf friend who she decided to name, Conky!



Meet Conky!

 Conky came with lots of goodies!  He brought her a book explaining why he was there and about his magic!!!  He also brought her snow covered donuts, mint M&Ms and red milk from Rudolph complete with new Santa inspired dishes!

 He even came with a personal letter to tell her a few special things to remember this holiday season!  Here is what Conky's letter said:

Hi!  I come from the North Pole to help Santa know if you've been naughty or nice! I watch with my very own eyes and report back to the BIG jolly fella every night, so be good and remember to say please!  Oh and listen to your mommy and daddy and make sure to clean up your toys, ok?

Love, your friendly Elf

While Kenna wasn't too interested in Conky himself, she had a fun morning eating her special breakfast!



M&Ms for breakfast?!?!  Lucky girl!

The red milk sure was a hit!!!  Smart lil guy that Conky is!

Conky also came with some new Christmas jammies and stickers for Mackenna and of course she had to put her jammies on and wants to wear them almost every night!

We had such a fun morning really kicking off Christmas at our house! Conky has been finding some very fun hiding places since he's been here and Mackenna loves to wake up each morning and go find him, but she is being great about not touching him, but she sure does try!

I think the North Pole Breakfast will be a fun new tradition for our family - now let's hope Conky keeps doing it each year :)