Mack's Mom: Family Vacation

I intended to have this post written soon after Mackenzie turned 4 but 4 months have gone by and I'm now getting around to it. Needless to say, Mack has kept me busy!

I'll start it off by sharing a video my sister made for Mackenzie. Mack definitely is "a little girl with great big plans".

Let's see if I can 'briefly' update you on the past 'few' months. We started January with going to Disney! Our good friends Kurt and Rebecca graciously offered for us to tag along with them and their daughter. Pretty certain we will have another Disney trip in our future. It was a good break for all of us and Mack still talks about it often! Definitely will be one of our favorite family vacations!!

Mack's most exciting moment happened the first night when she got to meet Rapunzel!

Stitch was definitely a favorite of Mack's & BJ's!

Mackenzie was very thrilled to get a kiss from Jake!

We had breakfast with the princesses!

And of course Mack had the best time with her good friend Olivia!

Mackenzie celebrated her 4th birthday in March- not sure where the time has gone! She had a birthday party with all of her friends before her actual birthday which was tons of fun for everyone involved! And then we celebrated her actual birthday (which is also my birthday:)) at Chuck e Cheese with just the 3 of us. Mackenzie is very proud at the fact that she's now 4. She smiles very big when someone asks how old she is and will hold up her 4 fingers.

In the middle of March we took Mackenzie skating for the first time. She got the hang of it in no time!:)

Near the end of March, Mackenzie and I went on a weekend trip with our friend Erica to participate in the Race for R.A.R.E. Race for R.A.R.E spreads awareness for all rare diseases but specifically raises awareness for Joubert Syndrome. Even though I was a tad out of shape, I completed the 5k and crossed the finish line hearing Mack yell "Go, Mommy go!" and then she gave me a big hug and told me "Good job, Mommy!".

Mackenzie enjoyed dressing up on Easter Sunday in April.

Mackenzie finished another year of preschool in May. She had a very fun year and is already looking forward to school starting beginning of September!

Mackenzie's 4 year old preschool pictures

Mack performed in her first dance recital near the end of May. We switched dance studios midway through the semester due to some conflicts, and I was nervous at how Mack would do in a new class with a new teacher. But of course she pushed aside my worries and did wonderful! Her teacher (who she will have again the fall) is one of Mack's favorite people! She is very patient and keeps an eye on Mack all while letting Mack do things fully on her own. I cannot wait (and neither can Mack!) for dance to start again in September.

Right before the dance recital

The following video is one of my favorites. Mackenzie had a difficult time when we first showed up for the dance recital. She had a few meltdowns and did not want to let go of her daddy. After a little encouragement from her teacher, she finally agreed to go with her friends and wait to perform. I was extremely nervous that once Mack got on stage, she would notice BJ and start crying for him. But instead, Mack noticed BJ, smiled so big, waved, gave a thumb's up, and signed 'I love you'. And I am so thankful that our friend got it all on video! I tried my hardest to hold back the tears, but I was pretty unsuccessful!

Mackenzie was definitely ready for the warmer weather!! At the end of May, she mastered the slip n slide!

We also introduced her to mini golf. She enjoyed hitting the ball once or twice and then eventually would pick up the ball, roll it, chase it, and eventually throw it into the hole.:)

Mackenzie attended a week long 'princess dance camp' at her dance studio in June. She LOVED it! It was a lot of fun watching how much she had grown in just a few weeks since she ended her regular dance class.

As you can tell Mackenzie has had a very eventful 4th year so far! We are already so proud of all she has done since turning 4 and look forward to seeing what more she accomplishes. We have had our ups and downs when it comes to every day challenges Mackenzie faces (that I hope to write about eventually), but amidst the challenges, we are so thankful to have such a cute, loving, funny, determined, silly 4 year old in our home!

The 3 of us recently went on a much needed family vacation to the beach for 10 days. It was GREAT! We stayed off the internet (yes- I refrained from using FaceBook for that long:)) and just relaxed. This was the first actual vacation since we've started therapies and received the new diagnosis of Joubert Syndrome. It was so nice not having to check the calendar daily and getting a "break" from therapies/appointments!

I have to start with posting the best video from our vacation. Our goal was to try to get Mackenzie to walk on the beach by herself. The waves, texture of the sand, the wind blowing, and the wide open area threw Mackenzie's balance WAY off. She wasn't even able to stand on her own. She enjoyed walking on the beach but had to hold onto our hands to do so- until the 10th and last day of our vacation. She spotted some seagulls, let go of BJ's hand, and took off on her own! :)