Monday, March 28, 2011

Mommy and Mackenzie Day

Back when we had cable,
and John and Kate Gosselin were normal,
I used to watch the show John and Kate plus 8.

Even though they did some things (maybe a lot of things) wrong, I also think they did a lot of things right (parenting wise).
One of my favorite things they started doing was taking each child out on a special Mommy/Daddy day.
A day totally catered to each specific child doing something they knew he or she would love.

Last month Aaron and I started our very own Mommy or Daddy date days.
Once a month Aaron or I take Mackenzie and Wesley out for a very special day.
Since we still only have 2 kids we each take one kid out.
For example, Saturday I took Mackenzie out for a girly day while Aaron took Wesley out to do boy stuff (go to the park, look at camping stuff, eat In N Out, etc.).

Here is a peek at me and Mackenzie's Mommy day!

The day started off with all of us eating our usual Saturday breakfast together
Mackenzie was so excited for her day out with Mommy!
I was too!

She asked to put on her last tattoo that she had been saving for a special occasion.
Of course I said yes.
{She has a thing for tattoos.}

I told Mackenzie our plans for the day
(we always keep it a surprise until the morning of)

and after a quick picture by Daddy...

we were of to our first stop...
the nail salon!

Mackenzie loves getting her nails done.
Usually her manicure and pedicures are done by me,
but today she got to go to the real nail salon.

It was a huge treat for her and they turned out way better than when I do them.
Shocking I know :)

Did you know that you can get your little girlie's nails painted at the nail salon for super cheap?
I think it was $3 for her nails and $5 for her toes.
Not too bad if you ask me :)

My toes also got a much needed paint job.

Our next stop was to the dollar theater by our house.
We ended up getting there a little early so we stopped by the toy store that was in the same center to test out all their toys.
I had forgotten how easy it is to take just a 3 year old into a store.

Next we headed to the theaters to see Tangled in 3D.
It was Mackenzie's first time to the movie theaters so she had no idea what to expect.
I was hoping that she would have a blast and not freak out.
Sometimes you never know with this girl.
She's not exactly little miss adventurous.

Thankfully she loved both the movie and the movie theater experience!
I think it may have had something to do with the massive amounts of candy I let her eat during the movie :)
Either way, she had a blast!

Do any of you guys do something similar?
Even though we just started this, it's something we definitely want to keep up!
It may look different in the future as our family grows (probably each child will get to go every couple months, since we will have 3 or more kids) but I think the time alone with each child is invaluable!

5 comments:

The Miller Five said...

My husband started doing this about a year ago. He takes our girls out on daddy dates. They are 11 and 13 and they absolutely love it. He learns so much about them and he says they talk his ear off. Every parent should make this a requirement in their home! It has truly made a difference in ours.

stephanie said...

I think once our new baby gets here in June this will be a tradition we implement. I am so excited. Looks like you and M had a great day!

Sarah said...

How fun! We had a princess day awhile ago where we dressed up (even me in an old bridesmaid dress!), had pink & purple cupcakes, danced and drank cherry 7-up out of champagne glasses. I love having special days!

Candace said...

What a sweet idea! I can't wait to have girls days with my little one soon! :)

Krulls in Haiti said...

We do the same thing, but had to alter it a bit when we had our third. Now it is just one at a time while the other two stay at home. Daddy even brings Sweetpea a rose when it is his turn to take her out. My son practices holding the door and ordering for me at the restaurant. He's going to be a great husband someday and my daughter is going to be looking for a real stand up guy just like her daddy! This is a great way to start!