Four and Fantastic

Mac had his 4 year well child appointment this morning. You may recall that his 3 year well child appt did NOT go well. In fact, I think I may have said I wanted to tranquilize him during it. Well, as I was getting ready this morning, Mac sauntered into my room, looked at me and said, "Well, I'm not going to the doctor today" and walked back out. ARGH!!!

So I did what any red-blooded parent would do...I bribed him with 4 Skittles now and he could pick out anything at the gas station on the way home. Duh!

Well, it must have worked or maybe four is just better than three (which I think it is in many ways!). He had attitude and didn't do everything that was asked of him...but it was a good appointment and I think he acted like every normal four year old does at an appt like this.

So, enough of that. His appointment went amazingly well! He is ridiculously healthy, which I'll take every time. I think this is the first well child appt that we've gone to that he didn't have an ear infection that I didn't know about. Yay for no more ear infections (fingers crossed) and not having mommy guilt!

Anyway, here are his stats as of 7/27/18:
Height: 42.75" which is 93% (39.25", 88% at 3 year)
Weight: 46 lbs which is 97% (39.8 lbs, 97% at 3 year)
BMI: 94% (94% at 3 year)

Yes, that is not a typo...he grew THREE AND A HALF INCHES this year!!! No wonder he eats constantly. Overall, his growth curve says that he is thinning out, which isn't surprising with how much he grew this year. Here's an interesting comparison. When we went to Disneyland, Finn had just turned 5 and could not ride the big rides because he wasn't 42". Mac just turned FOUR and could ride those rides that Finn couldn't at FIVE! Crazy. Tale of two kiddos!

Jumping in the deep end at swimming yesterday!

We talked about his speech and she was NOT concerned about it. She is glad that school is on top of it and said to come back and discuss with her if I felt the need once school does their evaluation this fall. She said that at this age, as long as you can understand over 50% of what he says, which you can, it is good. So, we'll see.

Finn helping Mac warm up before Tball on Tuesday!

Then I mentioned his skin. He seems to itch a lot and end up with scratches all over, especially if there are bug bites on him. She didn't see anything on him that was concerning so she said he probably just has sensitive skin (Korri does, so again, not surprising) and to use 1% Hydrocortizone on spots and use a Children's Claritin if it is all over. Good to know because I feel so bad for him when he's itching.

Mac batting at Tball on Tuesday...Lil' Slugger!

I asked her opinion about summer birthdays and Kindergarten. I know, I know...I obsess, but I just want to feel like I'm as informed as I can be. She said in general, she recommends holding kids, especially boys, which is basically what Mac's preschool teacher said. In general, with how much more intense Kindergarten is these days, it gives them more time to be ready for what is expected of them. Again, we'll see!

And finally, we talked about his belly button hernia. Basically, it shouldn't cause him any problems in life, or at least not until he is 80 years old (but then everything goes, right?!?!). However, if it is something we feel we or he will want corrected, that we should do it now. And I do think he'll want it corrected...but probably not until he is much older and kids start teasing him about it. So, she gave me the number for the pediatric surgeons at Children's Hospital so at least we can meet with them and make an informed decision. That will be next on my To Do list!

Sparring with Daddy last night!

We decided to wait with his Kindergarten shots until this fall when we do flu shots so it seems like fewer times he's getting shots (even though he'll need four that day!). Save the drama for one time! Then he had his vision and hearing screening, which he was a bit stubborn for, but in the end, passed them both. For the second ear for his hearing test, he wouldn't lift up his hand when he heard something, but instead shook his head "no" every time they made a noise...so at least they knew he could hear it. Little stinker!

Overall, great appointment both in results and behavior. Oh, I found out at the appt that even though he told me he'd had breakfast in order to get those 4 Skittles this morning...he in fact had not, so I think he started feeling kind of yucky at the end. But he didn't want to stop for breakfast afterwards. And for those of you still reading this, you won't be surprised at all to hear that he picked a dinosaur sucker at Casey's on the way home for being good at the appt! While wearing a dinosaur shirt and dinosaur Crocs! Ha, he knows what he likes!

And I'll leave you with one of the pictures of him and me from Tuesday. My baby is growing up (but don't tell him he's old...he's just big!).

Four-ocious

This morning, Mac and I went to get his 4 year pictures taken by the fabulous Renee. This is the fifth time she's taken Mac's pictures and she sure didn't disappoint. And yes, I said THIS MORNING and the proofs are already back! Who wants to wait to see pics of their cute kiddo?!?!

Beforehand, I was nervous. While I feel like Mac is slowly getting out of this phase, he can be DIFFICULT, especially when I need him not to be. We talked about behavior and expectations before we went. I think it also confused him because she moved to a studio instead of her basement, so it was different for him.

However, I know I shouldn't have worried. Yes, Mac was stubborn and hurt his throat once by not chewing his candy and rammed his nose into my shoulder another time...but Renee seriously worked magic with him and managed to grab that half a second look that was THE look each time! Also, her teenage daughter is her assistant this summer...and she was AMAZING! If she lived closer, she would be babysitting for us all the time!

Anyway, enough, right? Let's get to it.

That is your one sneak peek! If you want to see all of them, click here or copy and paste: https://reneemassingham.zenfolio.com/p841360953 Password: mac

As you will see at the end, our pictures from last year are still on there, too. Also, there are a ton of me and Mac...that was a gift she gave me. You know, never any pictures with mom, right? Thank you so much!!

Renee really does a great job! If anybody is in need of a great photographer, check out her website at www.reneefromdassel.com or her facebook page at www.facebook.com/reneefromdassel. Also, this is my last yearly picture session with my kiddos! Once they get to school, I use their school pictures! I'm really sad. Although, we'll keep doing family and sibling pictures periodically, so it's not goodbye, it's until later.

Mac-asaurus

While my baby has been 4 for 4 days, today we celebrated with a summer party. We couldn't have ordered better weather. And the birthday boy had a blast. Thank you so much to everybody who made today such a special day for my Mac-asaurus.

Here is a graphic of his special day.

I didn't get as many pictures of all the kiddos playing as I would have liked, but the day got away from me. Based on the fact that I have one left, at least all the kiddos got their parting gift which was a Jurassic World themed Kinder egg! Can't beat that! Hint: these were a HUGE hint, so maybe use them regardless if they fit with your theme or not!

Also, thank you, Mom ('Rama), for all your help! I would have been so much more stressed out if you hadn't been here! Also, thank you, Andrea, for Mac's amazing birthday shirt (I'm four-ocious!)! If anybody is looking for a custom shirt, ask her or click on her facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/customlyyourz/

Twenty Questions - Mac 4

Twenty Questions - Mac 4

Starting last year at age three, I asked Mac 20 questions around the time of his birthday. I chose NOT to direct or influence his initial answers but may have made suggestions after his first response. Here are his responses:

20 questions: answered by MacKeegan on 07/18/2018

1. What is your favorite color? blue
2. What is your favorite toy? Legos
3. What is your favorite fruit? strawberries
4. What is your favorite TV show/movie? Lego Jurassic World/Jurassic Park
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Nothing/everything, Lunchables
6. What is your favorite outfit? Dino shirt and swimsuit, with guidance, Under Armour
7. What is your favorite game? BeyBlades
8. What is your favorite snack? Everything/Candy/Skittles
9. What is your favorite animal? Dinosaur
10. What is your favorite song? Joy Joy all the Joy (he said from VBS at St. John's), 7 Years
11. What is your favorite book? Racecar one on tablet
12. Who is your best friend? Paxten
13. What is your favorite cereal? nope
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play basketball and 4-wheeler
15. What is your favorite drink? Orange juice and sprite (seperately, not together!)
16. What is your favorite holiday? Nothing, my birthday (I like my birthday, it's doing well)
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Kiki and ducky
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? oatmeal
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Chinese chicken (LeeAnn Chin orange chicken)
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? Dino costume (for Halloween), race car driver (mommy’s suggestion)

Bonus Question:
21. What is your favorite sport to play? karate

Overall, it was fun doing these with him this year. I think he is still a little young to be able to really think about what his "favorite" is versus what he can currently see, what he just did/played with or the first thing that comes to his head. So I felt like I recorded his first response and followed up on a lot of them.

Click here to view his responses from last year.

Here are my thoughts comments.

2. He had Legos in his hand...but it is a pretty accurate answer.
4. He just watched Lego Jurassic World but does really like it and dinosaurs (obviously). He really likes to watch Dino Dan, which is a YouTube show about...you guessed it...dinosaurs! And yes, Mac has watched the Jurassic movies (he's clearly a third child!). I don't know if they are his favorite or not. But he doesn't have a go-to movie right now like he has in the past (I'm pretty sure he watched Zootopia 500 times when he was two and three!
6. I think he meant any shirt with a dinosaur, then he asked if he could say his swimsuit, which I said yes. Then he said his dino swimsuit...which he doesn't have! I suggested Under Armour because he LOVES wearing UA, even if it is actually Target or Walmart Under Armour (meaning their brand!).
8. After his two responses, he asked me to start listing "all the candy" so he could pick one. That is where Skittles came from, which I think is fairly accurate. He is an equal opportunity candy eater!
9. To be fair, it is accurate and I didn't say it had to be real or alive!!
10. I LOVE his first answer (and kind of thought it would be Runnin' From the Lord Now from the Music Camp). He immediately answered and then I asked what Kids Bop song is his favorite. 7 Years (by Lukas Graham, performed by Kidz Bop) is probably his favorite right now. He also loves RadioActive, Believer, Thunder and Good Old Days. He's well versed!
12. Paxten is in Finn's grade and lives near us. Mac clearly loves him. This cracked me up though!
13. He doesn't eat cereal. I may need to take this one off of his, although he might eat it when he's older.
14. I had to remind him about his 4-wheeler AND he NEVER plays basketball outside. I think our hoop died.
16. Again, I don't think he understands what "holiday" means. I tried to explain it and he answered that!
21. I thought he would say T-ball since he had it last night and loves it, but I agree that karate probably is tied, at least!

The last picture of him before he officially turned 4 (he was born at 11pm):

He had a very busy birthday yesterday! We started out by going to two of Finn's baseball games, which he got to play at the park for most of them. Memere came to watch Finn's games, so he got so time with her. Then we went to Uptown for lunch (I mean, it's his birthday after all!). We had to hurry home to get ready for preschool (he's taking a short three-day summer session). The bus was over ten minutes early, so we were rushing to find his backpack and find some tennis shoes (thankfully, Becky had given us an old pair of Ben's because Mac's were nowhere to be found). When he got home just after 3:30, he took a nap, which I had to wake him up at 5pm from so we could get ready for T-ball! We stopped at McDonald's on the way to T-ball. T-ball was great (he had a couple good hits...he's improved so much!). Then he picked to go to Dairy Queen to get some birthday ice cream. Finally, we came home, went for a quick family walk so he could ride his 4-wheeler, opened two small presents (remember, the 4-wheeler was his present), sang to him with store bought cupcakes and went to bed.

Google helped me create a movie from all his activities from this birthday:   https://photos.app.goo.gl/hDtAep2uu8Wr4RVe6

Sheesh! We barely survived, but I think he had an amazing birthday. Although he was confused about it being his birthday but his party not being until Saturday. He MAY think he's turning five on Saturday because it's his next birthday! We'll see! He told us this morning that he's five today because he was four yesterday! Begin the countdown to his fifth birthday!

I love this kid so much. He brings so much laughter and silliness into our lives. He challenges me with his stubbornness, but I should expect that from any offspring of Jim and me by now! He really prides himself on being a "first-time listener" so I'm trying to use that to my advantage while it lasts! He loves food, Legos, BeyBlades, Nerf guns, his 4-wheeler and anything Finn is doing.

Chase the Fire Truck

I didn't want to get up this morning. I certainly didn't want to get up at 6:30am! But for part of our town's Waverly Daze celebration, the Fire Department sponsored a Chase the Fire Truck 5K Run/Walk. It was this morning at 8am and registration was at 7am. I set my alarm last night but I wasn't positive I was going to go. Then Jim basically said that I was going to run today anyway, so why not do the race. Hmmm...good point! And support our local fire department at the same time!

I woke up constantly last night and I think it was because I was afraid my alarm wouldn't go off. I finally just got up around 6:30 and got ready. I headed out to the event just after 7am, got registered and waited for the race to start. And we actually ran behind an old fashioned fire truck (once they got it started!).

This was only my second timed race ever and it was a tough run for me. There were some pretty significant hills (which I'm not used to) and I'm not used to running with or by other people, which can be motivating or distracting! I was sucking wind but thankfully had my MapMyRun app on, so I knew how far I was and how fast I was going. I wanted to beat 28 minutes, which I knew was a little bit of a stretch for me.

And I finished at...28:18!!! Which is a pace of 9:05! Bummer...so close! I walked very briefly at one point and I think if I hadn't, I probably would have made 28 minutes. Oh, well. I did it and I got a t-shirt and a medal. They only tracked the first three finishers, but I'm pretty sure I finished seventh overall and third for the females (keep in mind this was a pretty small field!). The first place finisher had a time of 19:20 minutes (I heard somebody say he ran the Boston Marathon last year...so there's that!)! Next year they are going to have the race be around the lake (much flatter than today's race!) which will be a more scenic run than through town and out to a gravel road and back :)