I sure love Macey! She and I butt heads quite often, but we love each other through it all. She is SO spunky and independent! I never know what to expect from her. Remember that awesome preschool worksheet where she said she loved to take cold baths? Well, this worksheet came home from preschool the other day, and it made me laugh. This answer is TOTALLY a Macey answer!
Macey only does things she wants to do. Most of the time that results in her creating and saying funny things. Sometimes, her stubbornness pushes me a little over the edge. A couple weeks ago, we found out that Macey was going to have a surprise dance performance at the High School. I knew Scott had to take the youth in our ward to the temple that night, but I thought Macey would LOVE this! Last time, she loved getting dressed up, curling her hair, putting on make up and dancing. So...I decided I could do this again on my own with 3 little kids under 3 years old. It would totally be worth it!
It was such a hard day, which was probably my major problem! I spent 2 hours getting Macey ready for this. I made dinner for all the kids and we ate and bathed Jemma before we left. We got out the door early, and I had my back pack filled with bribes and snacks for the younger two. We got to the high school 20 minutes early, and the parking lot was packed! We ended up being the last to park in the seminary parking lot, and we all held hands and headed to the high school. I immediately took all three kids to the bathroom (where about 20 girls were trying to look into one bathroom mirror to get ready). All four of us packed into a small bathroom stall (I didn't know that was possible!), and Macey and Cooper used the potty. We met up with Macey's dance teacher. I gave Macey a pep talk. She was so excited, and she seemed fine that I was leaving. The entire bottom section of bleachers was packed, so Cooper, Jemma and I headed to the balcony. We got a seat, and we sat and waited. Jemma screamed for 30 minutes straight. Cooper was such a good kid! I could have kissed him all night long! He sat right next to me and talked. When people danced, he would go take a look and yell and clap.
I was so excited for Macey! Then she came out and I got the whole thing on camera. She was visibly upset about something. In fact, she was so upset that she dropped her head and scowled the ENTIRE time! I thought she would get into the dance and start moving with the other girls. She just stared. All the other girls held hands and left the stage, and there stood Macey. Luckily, the girl standing next to her came back and brought her off!
I won't lie, I was a totally disappointed. I had done so much to get all three kids ready for this! I know that's totally selfish of me to say, but it's true. I went and picked Macey up after the dance, and after a lot of prodding, she told me she didn't dance because she didn't get to stand by her friend CharlyAnn. I told her that she still could of danced, and I was so sad that I didn't get to see her dance. Macey could sense I was upset, so she planted her feet. She refused to walk with me to the car. She planted her feet right outside the school. I had a screaming Jemma in the carseat and Cooper walking beside me. She refused to hold hands with anyone. There were people driving in and out and through the parking lot, so I knew she had to at least stick close while we were walking. Finally, with much screaming/crying/looks from strangers she screamed and cried as she walked 10 steps behind me. She refused to sit in her booster seat or hook her seat belt. It was totally rough on this mom, who already had a hard day. It ended with Macey and I curled up crying together on her bed. She wrapped her little arms around my neck and told me she loved me. I did the same. I just cried in her little arms and kept apologizing for being hard on her.
Scott didn't get home until 9:30--well after the kids went to sleep. I was still visibly upset about the whole thing, but after watching the video, we decided we would laugh at this one day.
The next day, Scott came home and told me how cute everyone thought Macey was. With all the frustrations, I didn't realize how her spunky personality came off. I was so concerned about her dancing that I missed the fact that it was okay that three year old Macey was stubborn!
I do love her so much! She knows exactly what to say to push my buttons, to make me laugh, or to make things better.
Something else I love about Macey is her imagination. She and her dad have the biggest imaginations and come up with the biggest stories. She loves to create story lines for her brother and sister during the day. When her dad gets home, they create the biggest stories and have the greatest adventures! One day she even made a library in Jemma's room!
Macey has always been about a head taller than the other kids. I was the exact same way when I was little, and it does this mom's heart some good to see that Macey is following her mom's footsteps! She doesn't look that big, but compared with other kids her age, she looks older. She has always been off the charts at the pediatrician's office. She wears size 7 girls clothes (and she is only 3!). I bought a size 6x/7 leotard for dance class, and it got to the point that it wasn't covering the places it should be. :) My mom graciously bought her a 8/10 leotard. The first time she put it on, she exclaimed, "Oh sank you mommy!" and gave me a giant hug! Even her dance outfit (that she wears for performances) was also too little, but after talking with her dance teacher, we were able to order a size up for the next outfit.
Macey sure does look adorable in her new leotard, though! Who would have thought that my three year old could look so adorable in 8/10 clothing?!
