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.