Strange Places

Lately I've been finding things in very strange places. Take the sippy cup in Jeff's shoes for example...

And then there was Elmo in the pantry...

But this afternoon Jeff and I found our most surprising discovery of all. Our printer has not been working for many months. We tried to fix it, but the paper just wouldn't feed correctly. Today we really needed to print something, so Jeff finally just tried turning it over and shaking. What do you think fell out? One small goldfish cracker! Lo and behold, the printer works again!!

Life is always interesting with a toddler around! =)

Merry Christmas!

We've had a wonderful time celebrating Christmas over the past couple days. Instead of writing about it, we'll just let the pictures show off the fun we've had!

Gracie holding stocking #1 at Grammy and Bop's house.
(She hasn't really put Ernie and Bert down since she found them in her stocking!)

Uncle Ryan and Lindsay showing off their Christmas spirit!

Gracie looks groovy in her new sunglasses.

Stocking #2 on Christmas morning

She still enjoys the boxes as much as the toys!

Gracie showing off her new backpack.

Our twirling ballerina in her new tutu!
(Shortly after this picture she twirled right into that door behind her and gave herself a HUGE bruise on her forehead. OUCH!!)

Boppo always reads the Christmas story before we start opening gifts. It's a great way to remember the real reason we're celebrating!

Whoa! Stocking #3 is HEAVY!

Playing with cousin Jacob...they are so cute together!

Daddy and Grace read a book while she cuddles her new bitty baby and sock monkey (who also has a tutu!)

Mrs. Potato Head's accessories look good on Gracie too!
We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas as well!

Choo! Choo!

All month long Grace has been finding surprises in her advent calendar. Sometimes there is a piece to her nativity set, sometimes a yummy treat, but usually some sort of activity for the day. Today's activity was helping Jeff set up his train set. I'm not really sure who was looking forward to it the most. (Actually, I'm pretty sure it was Jeff!) Gracie had a great time helping him put the pieces together and quickly learned the difference between curvy and straight.
Gracie was a little scared once the trained started moving, but as long as Daddy was holding her, she liked pushing the button to make the train go "Choo! Choo!" I'm sure putting together Daddy's train will become a Christmas tradition that she looks forward to each year!

Pizza Party

Last night our good friends Joe and Jennifer and their girls Clara and Hannah came over for dinner. We made homemade pizza and the girls had a great time making their own. They both chose to have pineapple and olives on their pizza (yum! yum!) but ate the toppings as quickly as they put them on. I've never seen pineapple devoured so quickly! Gracie even took a huge handful of dough, cheese, and sauce and ate it. I think they actually ended up eating more of their pizza before it was baked than after! Clara amused us all by wearing our Christmas stockings as socks! The girls started out eating at Grace's little table, but quickly began enjoying the independence of not being strapped into a highchair and decided the floor was a much more comfortable place to eat!

Small Spaces

Gracie's favorite new activity is making forts. Well, that's what she calls them. They are actually more like nests. She finds or creates a small space then piles as many "treasures" in as she can. It can be any small space really...a basket in her closet, the area behind the couch cushions, her bed, under a table, even her highchair. She gets such delight and squeals every time she adds something new to her fort. At the end she climbs in and just sits. She doesn't really play with what she's brought in. She just likes to sit and enjoy her hard work.

All Dressed Up

Here's our cutie pie all dressed up to go visit Santa!

Round and Round

Yesterday Gracie's Grammy and Bop took us to ride the holiday carousel in Westlake Center. Neigh-neighs (aka horses) are Grace's very favorite thing, so we thought she would love riding one. We were wrong! She was a little frightened by the whole experience and ended up riding most of the time in Daddy's arms. She loves talking about it now though and calls it a "round and round" or "up and down".

Jeff just informed me that Gracie is upstairs fully clothed playing in the bathtub. And yes, the water is running! I guess I better go help. =)

Let it Snow!

We've been having a great time playing in the first snow of the season! We weren't quite prepared, so Gracie went out with a hat from last year that is too small, tennis shoes, and socks on her hands. She looked hilarious but had a great time!

This morning when we woke up it was still snowing, but now it's turned to rain. We hurried outside to have some playtime and Jeff made a snowman outside our family room window for Gracie to watch. Unfortunately, she has already had to learn about the life cycle of a snowman and isn't taking it too well.

Grace and Jeff with the finished snowman. We were also a little unprepared for this! Please note the celery nose and Hershey kiss eyes and mouth. =)

About 30 minutes later the snowman starts to lean....

Ten minutes later, the snowman tips over and the constant chorus of "Snowman? More Snowman" begins.

He led a short life, but he was loved! =)

Watch Out Rachael Ray, There's a New Cook in Town!

Perhaps it was the new apron that Grandma gave her to wear. Or maybe it was the fact that she got to wash her hands every few minutes which is one of her absolute favorite things to do. Or could it have possibly been the fact that I had the Food Network playing in the background much of her first six months of life? Whatever the reasons, Gracie LOVES to cook! She had so much fun this past week helping with all the Thanksgiving food preparation. In our family, Thanksgiving lasts all weekend long and all our gatherings include lots of yummy food!

On Wednesday and Thursday, Gracie helped get ready for Thanksgiving dinner. Her favorite job was "washing" the potatoes which really meant she spent about half an hour playing the sink with Momo (my sister Megan).

On Friday we have Noodle Night. Gracie helped Grandma and Momo make 10 batches of homemade noodles!

.

Saturday night is Pizza Night. Gracie got to help my Uncle Brooks make homemade pizza. She spread out the dough, topped it with sauce and cheese and watched it bake. This was really fun for me to watch because I have many of my own memories of cooking with Uncle Brooks as a little girl.

New Bed Update

I've been informed that my last post left some friends hanging...so sorry! I'm here to give an update on the transition to the big girl bed. =)

We didn't hear a sound from Grace until about 4:40 when she started coughing. I knew that any moment she would be calling for us and/or trying to get her door open. Much to our surprise however, we heard her little footsteps running down the hall (we thought her door was closed tightly), and she came right up to our bed with a big grin on her face saying "Mama! Mama! Superman!" I'm not really sure if she had been having a strange dream or what. Superman is not a common figure in our house, but she did meet him at Toys R Us about a week ago. I took her back to bed and layed on her floor so that she would sleep. Let me say, that is not so comfortable for a pregnant lady with a hip out of joint!! She managed to sleep until 6 as long as I held her hand. It's sweet now, but at the time my arm was very sore and I just wanted to go back to my bed. =)

Nap time today was pretty normal. It took her awhile to settle in, as usual, but after about 30 minutes I heard her climb into bed and go to sleep. Of course, that only lasted about 25 minutes, but that's sort of the way Gracie naps these days!

So we're onto night 2 now and she's back asleep without a word. Hopefully her cough won't wake her up so I can stay in my own bed until the morning. =)

Proud Mommy Update

Gracie went to sleep tonight without a SINGLE PEEP!! I am so proud of her! Of course, we have the whole night ahead of us...

Big Girl Bed!

Today Gracie moved out of her crib and into her big girl bed! She had a great time saying "bye-bye" to her crib (there was obviously no attachment there!) and helping put together her toddler bed. Perhaps it was a mark of her new independence, but she refused to wear a shirt during the process. =)

Once the bed was put together, Grandma came over with a new monkey quilt and pillow for the bed. The quilt is TOOOO cute! The panels tell the story of the "5 Funky Monkeys" and the smaller pieces of fabrics contain thinks like band aids, bananas, and sock monkeys jumping on pogo-sticks. I will try to get a better picture of it that shows all the detail. The most amazing part? My mom made it in one week and had no pattern! Gracie loves it!

So now comes the interesting part. Bedtime is only minutes away...will she sleep? I'll keep you posted!

Gracie's last time in her crib

Helping Daddy build the new bed

Reading the monkey story on her quilt

Gracie is SO BIG!

Oddles of Noodles

By far, Gracie's favorite food is noodles. She asks for them at breakfast, lunch, and dinner EVERYDAY. Tonight she got her wish and had ravioli (whole wheat, of course!). What a mess!!! All I can say is I'm glad that bath time comes right after dinner!

Turning 30!

Jeff turned 30 yesterday! We had such a fun day starting out with a trip to the driving range. I gave him new golf clubs for his birthday, so he was anxious to try them out. Grace brought along her clubs as well and had a great time hitting balls, watching Daddy golf, and running around on the grass.

Last night we had a family party, and boy was Jeff SPOILED!!! Everyone kept saying, "Well, you only turn 30 once," and I have to say I'm really looking forward to my 30th now! =) One of our traditions is to have a parade before the birthday boy or girl opens gifts. This was an extraordinary parade because Gracie was given a drum and set of percussion instruments to use.The neighbors probably wondered what we were up to with all that noise! It was a fun night and both Jeff and I feel so grateful for our amazing family!

Little Fishy

Grace dressed up as a fish for Halloween this year. She looked so cute, especially when she wore the hood (which didn't happen very often!) We had such a fun day. We spent the morning with our playgroup and got to see all of Gracie's friends dressed up, too! Then we visited Grandma, Boppo, and Grammy for some trick-or-treat fun! Finally we went trick-or-treating and had dinner with some good friends. Gracie loved trick-or-treating, as did her daddy! It was hard to tell who was having more fun.

Meet our newest addition!

Yesterday was a very exciting day for our family! We had an ultrasound and found out that Gracie is going to have a baby brother! It was so much fun to see his little toes, hands, and head. Here is a picture of his profile with his hand up by his forehead. No matter how hard the technician tried, she could not get him to move that hand. Uh-oh! A stubborn streak already?!?!?

After the ultrasound we had our families over for a "Reveal Party". We didn't make it too easy for them to find out if we're having a boy or girl. Each of them had to eat a container of baby food to find the answer at the bottom. The people who got fruit didn't have too hard of time (I've never seen Kate eat so fast!), but those with green beans and turkey dinner had a harder time. Everyone was a great sport about it, and Jeff and I had a great time watching!

Bedtime

One of my favorite parts of the day is bedtime. Partly because it means I'm headed toward more relaxing and less chasing, but mostly because of the quality snuggle time that Gracie and I have. Every night Jeff takes Gracie up for bath time. I love listening from downstairs as he sings several renditions of "Rubber Ducky" and Gracie giggles and giggles. I always know when bath time is ending because I hear her cry. She hates getting out of the tub. Jeff gets her dressed in her cozy pajamas, then from the top of the stairs Gracie yells, "Mama!" That means it's my turn. I bring up milk and her favorite stuffed animal, Baba. Jeff hands her off and it's cuddle time! We sit in her glider, read the same Elmo book and the same page of her Bible every night.

Then comes my favorite time. We pray. I always ask her who she wants to pray for. It usually consists of some combination of her grandparents or aunts and uncles. Every once in awhile she says she wants to pray for Elmo or Baba. Last night she really surprised me. She started out by saying she wanted to pray for Elmo. I giggled and asked, "Who else?" She quickly responded "Owl Pa, Nana, Doctor" which translated means Grandpa Oral, and Nana Bea (my grandparents) and the doctor. You see, my grandpa has recently spent some time in the hospital. My mom returned home from a visit with them yesterday afternoon and had been updating me on how they were doing. Gracie had taken it all in and remembered that night to pray for them. What an amazing and insightful little girl!

Pumpkin Patch

We had a really fun time at Jubilee Farm's pumpkin patch this morning. We got to ride in a horse pulled wagon out to the pumpkin patch. Gracie loved watching the "neigh-neighs" walk along the road so much that she wouldn't even turn around to let us take her picture. In fact, it was next to impossible to take her picture the whole time. She was so excited to explore the pumpkin patch that most of our pictures are of her running away. She was much more interested in the herd of cows near the patch than the pumpkins themselves which wasn't surprising. She did choose a great pumpkin in the end that you can see her hugging in the last picture. We got to ride in a tractor pulled wagon on the way back to the farm which was also a lot of fun, especially when we rode past chickens and pigs. My personal favorite part of the morning was the car ride to and from the farm. The whole way there Gracie sang, "E-I-E-I-O" which actually sounded more like, "YI-YI-YI-OOOOOO!" It was too cute!