The Diva Goes Hiking

The weather down here has been great the past couple weeks. It's off and on, so we take advantage of the warm days knowing it's not normal to have a high of 68 degrees in January. Last week when I was sitting in the doctor's office for my three hour glucose test Nathan took Mac on a hike. I ended up passing the test and when I got home Mac was very excited to tell me about everything she saw.
We decided to take her out again this morning and she did great. She made a request for her sunglasses, even though it was cloudy, and smiled saying "Sunny don't get me." As soon as she saw me with my camera she asked if I was going to take her picture and started smiling before I could answer. This is highly unusual as I am normally found chasing her down or bribing her with candy for a shot.

Mac loved taking the lead on the path, exploring various items found on the ground and searching for animals. She was really fitting the part and snacked on beef jerky. Nathan and I were discussing how salty it tasted when she chimed in saying, "It tastes so salsy." Of course I laughed and then we heard it 10 more times. I love her sense of adventure, it is calculated, not reckless.

Catch Up

The Miller family traveled up to Indiana for Christmas vacation. The first three days were more like a nightmare as we sat in traffic for a total of 18 hours. Next time we'll pay closer attention to the weather and hopefully avoid blizzard conditions.

Mackenzie enjoyed Christmas more than ever this year. She woke up everyone in the house with a sweet Merry Christmas that sounded more like "Hairy Hismass." Mac was in no hurry to open up gifts and insisted on playing with each new toy before moving on to the next.

I tried to savor every moment of this holiday season knowing that Nathan would not be here next year. I opened up the paper on Christmas morning to find an article about a mother who has three sons and her husband serving in the military. All four family members were deployed during the holiday season. I cried for her and all of the other families missing someone during this time of year.

Mackenzie spent some time playing in the snow when were home. She loved it and would have stayed out there all day.

Mackenzie has officially moved out of her crib and into a big girl bed. I fully anticipated her to be up and down all night, but so far it's been a breeze. We'll see if it lasts.