"Gotcha Day"...Two Years Later!

Two years ago, Gary and I realized our dream. We became parents to the most amazing child! Mandy Rose stole our hearts in an instant. Each and every day since we have been awe-struck by the incredible blessing we were given when we were given this little girl.

I took the above picture just a few days after we returned home from China. On a whim, I plucked a Black-Eyed Susan from my garden and shot a few photos. Mandy Rose was so little, such a little angel!

Last year, when we returned home from our day of celebrating the anniversary of "Gotcha Day", I plucked another flower and shot some more pictures. I didn't realize until later that she was wearing overalls and a pink shirt like the year previous. She had grown and changed so much in that year!

This year, I must admit, I planned the pose on purpose. I decided I had a nice tradition going! I love overalls on Mandy Rose and made sure I had a pink shirt. Another Black-Eyed Susan and we were in business!

We celebrated our two year anniversary of "Gotcha Day" by going geocaching...one of our favorite family activities! We found some great "treasure" according to little Miss Mandy Rose! We ended the day by having supper with Mama Kitty, Papa, Uncle Matt, Aunt Reanna and Mandy Rose's cousins, Carlee and Waylon. What could be more perfect to celebrate the "birth" of a family than to spend it with family!!!

Mandy Rose has lost her baby looks....her little chubby cheeks and short hair are a memory. She is daily developing her personality and it is so fun to experience! She is so bright and funny and affectionate and precocious and.....I could go on and on. In a word, she is perfect! Happy "Gotcha Day" Mandy Rose! Momma and Daddy love you to the moon and back!

Mandy Rose-isms!!

Four year olds are fabulous! I love this age! We are really seeing Mandy Rose's personality develop and shine. She is naturally funny....and very bright! (I might be a little biased, but I'm her Momma. I'm supposed to be!) We wanted to record some of the many unique things that Mandy Rose says day to day; they exemplify her silly, exuberant personality!

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Where does Daddy work, Mandy Rose?...."At the hossypital!"

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One of her favorite movies lately is Finding Nemo. She has taken to getting in your face and quoting Dory's line, "Do you want a piece of me? Do ya? Do ya? Do ya?" If you ask her the same question, she will look you square in the eye and say, "Yes, I do!"

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Mandy Rose is very much into dinosaurs right now. She was describing herself the other day. "I'm pretty. I'm funny. And, I'm a T-Rex!"

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She has long been very interested in the moon. Now her interest is expanding to the stars. Daddy has been studying astronomy so he can tell her what the names of the stars are. She now confidently points out the planet Venus on the horizon in the evenings. Then, she will ask, "Where's Arcturus?" How many 4 year olds have that in their vocabulary?

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Mandy Rose spent a weekend with her Aunt Michi and Michi's boyfriend, who is a farmer. Ever since that weekend, she excitedly yells "Big round bales!" every time she sees any! She got to feed cattle with them and knows what they are for. When we are driving in the country, she will keep exclaiming at each appearance of more bales. Pretty soon, she says, "There EVERYWHERE!"

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Other common outbursts while driving include announcing places that she recognizes. She yells, "That's where Mrs. McClain works!" when we pass the school where she gets speech therapy. Or, "That's where we get steam buns!" when we pass our favorite Chinese restaurant. These announcements are made EVERY SINGLE TIME we pass these places! And, always with the same degree of exaggerated enthusiasm!

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This year in preschool, Mandy Rose learned how to write all the letters of her name. Now, you have to look at "the big picture" to see her name as they are not yet in a line. They are randomly dispersed all over the page...but they are all there. Whenever she sees an "M" on anything, she will say, "Up, down, up, down. That says Mandy Rose!" She gets a kick out of the Miracle Whip jar because it has a "M" and a "W" on the front. We tell her that means it is her bottle! Heehee!

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Lately, she has become very interested in praying at meal times. Sometimes, she forgets until midway through the meal and then she claps her hands together and says "I want to pray!" We must fold our hands together too. She prays first and then announces whose turn is next. We all have to say our individual prayers before the meal continues. I love her little heart and the fact that she is learning to express her gratitude to God. When she first started this habit, she wouldn't always get the "G" put on God. Her prayers would start, "Dear 'od...." So cute!!!

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Mandy Rose loves to help me cook! She drops everything when I announce we are going to make banana bread or cookies. She knows her role in these projects. She will tell me, "Momma, you measure. I dump!" Gary calls her the little "dumperumper!" She always giggles and tells him "That's punny!"

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Daddy plays another game with Mandy Rose regarding Delilah's name. Gary is NOT a dog person and the only reason we have a dog is because he ADORES his little girl and she desperately wanted one. He always refers to Delilah as "Mutt". Mandy Rose will argue.

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Daddy, "Mutt!"

Mandy Rose, "Delilah!"

Daddy, "Mutt!"

Mandy Rose, "Delilah!"

Daddy, "Mutt!"

Mandy Rose, "Delilah!"

Daddy, "Delilah!"

Mandy Rose, "Mutt!" :)

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Last, but not least, Mandy Rose has problems making the "f" sound. She mispronounces the word "fish" and everyone thinks it is hilarious!! She says "b*tch" instead. When we were playing in the pool one day, she was using her noodle to "fish" for me. I had hold of one end and she had the other end trying to "reel" me in. I kept saying, "I don't wanna get caught!" Finally, she said, "Out of the water, b*tch!" I thought my sister was gonna choke she was laughing so hard!!

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Well, there you have it! A glimpse into the world and mind of little miss Mandy Rose!

Going to the Zoo!!

So, it is summertime in Kansas! We have been keeping very busy! Mandy Rose has been going to swim lessons for 3 weeks now and is doing fabulously! She loves the water and is performing all the tasks put to her by her instructor. She delights in going all the way under the water and retrieving toys from the bottom of the pool! I am very proud of her achievements! We have also been swimming with the Dresher's, went to a Wingnuts baseball game (again with our favorite people, the Dresher's), gone geocaching a few times, grilled out alot, and have been making regular trips to the zoo.

We are extremely fortunate that our local zoo is such a nice one. They keep adding new things and new habitats for the animals. The zoo has really cool gorilla, tiger, lion, chimpanzee, and penguin exhibits. They are in the process of developing a new elephant habitat too! We have a family pass, so we don't have to feel like doing the whole zoo each time. We can pick and choose which animals we are interested in that day. During this visit, the giraffe feeding station was open! Mandy Rose had so much fun feeding cottonwood leaves to the giraffes. She had no fear of them at all...getting very close to feed them each leaf. It was really amazing to watch her and so fun for her to have this experience! We got to be so close to these beautiful creatures!

Their muzzles were so soft!

Mandy Rose insisted on taking the obligatory picture with the gorilla statue. Of course, she was tired of it by the time Momma got the pose she wanted! LOL!

Another posed picture, but I thought it was so cute! The first time she buried her face in the flower and got covered with pollen! Fortunately, she doesn't seem to have any allergies!

I love this picture! This is from another trip to the zoo. We were watching the gorillas being fed and Mandy Rose was mesmerized! You can see the reflection of her eyes in the glass.

Our cheesy-smiling girl!! Having lots of summertime fun!

Happy "Half" Birthday!!!

Okay, so we are indulgent parents! Do I think that is a bad thing? Um, no! Mandy Rose is an incredibly wonderful blessing in our lives and any way we can make her life special, day-to-day, is worth it. We don't know if her life was ever celebrated in the first two and half years she lived. So, we make it a point to celebrate it now! Tomorrow Mandy Rose will be exactly 4 1/2 years old so we had an impromptu "half" birthday party for her today.

She got one candle blown out!

Yea, I did it!!!

What's a birthday party without presents? Daddy picked out a "Polly Pockets" set for her. She loves it....but I'm wondering how long before these little pieces are missing or Delilah eats them!!

Our happy 4 1/2 year old girl!!

She's been playing with her present for the last hour...I think it was worth it! We love you sooooo much baby girl!! Happy "Half" Birthday!!

Ahhhh, Summer!!

I think summer has officially started here at the Wenzl household! I have spent the last two weeks doing a pre-session class which is basically cramming a whole semester into 9 days! Whew, I would not want to do that again! I was in class for 4 1/2 hours each day and doing about 3 hours of homework each night after Mandy Rose went to bed. But...it's done and I have the rest of the summer free to play with my sweet baby girl!

Last summer, we had purchased a wading pool for Mandy Rose that required blowing up. That was fine last year, but this year it had developed a slow leak and Momma was getting uber tired of blowing the silly thing back up! So, we got a molded plastic one complete with a built in slide! Mandy Rose used this new pool for the first time this afternoon. She played for about an hour and half, only getting out when I made her due to the goosebumps and it being supper time! She said she was "trapped" here and I had to save her! She is such a silly little girl!

I just adore the joy on my daughter's face! She is a kid having all the fun in the world and that is as it should be. Gary and I enjoyed lounging in our camp chairs and just watching her. I don't know how to put it into words, but watching her enjoying her childhood brings me such a feeling of peace and contentment. I don't want this to ever end! I know she is going to grow up...but I wish she would stay 4 years old! It is such a wonderful age!

We enjoyed a nice summery meal complete with corn on the cob to top off the evening! Gary and I treated ourselves to a bbq grill for our Mother's/Father's Day present! We used it for the first time tonight. Had burgers, homemade cole slaw, and fresh corn on the cob! Can't get more summery than that...at least until watermelon comes in season!

Mandy Rose See, Mandy Rose Do!!!

Mandy Rose is becoming very interested in imaginative play lately! She is constantly acting out the events she is witnessing in her day-to-day life. For example, shopping is a favorite game at our house now! She loads a basket with her "items" and comes to me to check her out. Then, I have to hand her a slip of paper that is her receipt. She says "thank you" and I say "thanks for shopping"! Another example of her acting out what she is seeing happened this evening. A few weeks ago, when we went to Karen's graduation, Mandy Rose was fascinated by the fact that her other cousin, Jessica, was pregnant. She asked fourteen hundred times on the way home from Almena, "Now, where is that baby?" Thankfully, she has yet to ask how it got in there!! That's a conversation for another day! LOL! Jessica had her little boy a few days later and Mandy Rose has enjoyed seeing pictures of the baby that used to be the BUMP in Jessica's tummy! Tonight, she shoved her jammies under her shirt and pretended to have a baby in her tummy too!

She looks about 6 months along, don't you think? Too adorable!! But, Momma is NOT ready for grandparenthood yet!

We also recently attended the birthday party of Mandy Rose's friend, Emma M! At lunch the other day, she turned her cheeseburger into an impromptu birthday cake complete with a french fry ("lit" with ketchup no less) as a candle! It cracked us up!

Happy Birthday!! Such an imaginative little girl! She definitely keeps her Momma & Daddy entertained!

Celebrating Cousin Karen's Graduation!!

This past weekend found us on the road to northwestern Kansas to attend Mandy Rose's cousin's graduation. We always enjoy visiting this branch of the family and this weekend was no exception.

Saturday began with preparations for the party! Food was being cooked, tents erected, and Mandy Rose took on the chore of gathering pine cones from the yard (her idea!) It kept her very busy!

She almost filled this tote with pinecones! Of course, later in the day, she and some other kids scattered them all around the yard again! Should make for some fun mowing for Uncle Rich! Our next chore was to sweep the patio. Mandy Rose "helped" alot! I would sweep the pile one direction and she swept it the other! Eventually, we got the job done.

We are ready to party!!

Mandy Rose loves her cousin Karen! They have such fun together! Aren't they both such beautiful girls?

Karen had to have a picture with Delilah too! She thought she was such a cute puppy!

Waiting for graduation to start!

Kisses for Momma! We managed to keep Mandy Rose entertained until the graduation started. Then "Pomp & Circumstance" began to be played and the graduates filed in. Mandy Rose was standing on a chair next to me. When I turned around to check on her, I saw her swaying with eyes drifting shut! Graduation was right in the middle of nap time! Soooo.......

......this is how she spent the entire ceremony! And, yes, she does sleep with her eyes open!

Awake again and ready for the fun to begin! She was fascinated with the chocolate fountain! She tried strawberries, grapes, pretzels, marshmallows, and pineapple covered with the yummy stuff!

Uncle Rich and Aunt Judy have a ferret that the kids brought out into the yard. Mandy Rose and Delilah are mesmerized by the ferret! I really think Delilah was even more so!!

Mandy Rose got to spend quite a bit of time with another beauty from China, Elle T! They are just 9 months apart in age, but quite different in size! They played soccer, fed the dogs, played hide and go seek, and snuck marshmallows for several hours!!

This is Elle's brother, Alex, who is also Karen's boyfriend. He is soooo good with the kids! He played soccer with them for quite awhile!

There were lots of kids to play with!

Mandy Rose was tickling Karen telling her, "It has to be done!" This is the phrase that Uncle Rich uses when he tickles the kids and Mandy Rose picked up on it! It took 3 tries to get this picture! Karen accused me of taking my time so Mandy Rose could tickle her even more!!! All too soon, the weekend came to an end! We had so much fun! Karen has grown into such a lovely, bright, funny, sweet woman!