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!

80's Girl

Gracie did her own hairstyle this morning. I think maybe she was born in the wrong decade!

Where Did my Baby Go?

I put Gracie's hair in pigtails today for the first time in a long time and was blown away by how old she looked. I don't think I was really able to capture it in the pictures, but she is definitely looking like a big girl these days! I miss that sweet little baby, but Gracie is so much fun as a toddler and continues to amaze me with what she learns everyday!