He Once was Lost...

But now he's found! You'd think we'd won the lottery with the excitement level at our house today. Grace found Baby Jesus!! Many of you know that Baby Jesus has been missing from Grace's nativity set since before Christmas. We looked everywhere trying to find him...the pantry, the heat vents, under beds and couches but were never able to find him. It has become a bit of joke around here. Whenever we can't find something, we say, "It must be with Baby Jesus."

Today I was vacuuming and Grace was taking refuge on the living room couch. As soon as I turned off the vacuum, Grace yelled, "I found Baby Jesus!" He was in the couch cushions.

It may be August, but today Grace is playing with her nativity scene. It just seems right. =)

A New "Do"

Ever since Grace was a baby, the comment I hear most is, "She has such beautiful hair!" Lately, however, that beautiful hair has become quite long and stringy, so it was time to cut those locks and get a new do. What better place for that than Dooz on Mercer Island? I probably won't take her there every time, but it was a fun experience for a first haircut. They even take before and after pictures and save some of the hair for you.

I wasn't really sure how Gracie would react. Remember our Yuen Lui experience? But she did great! She even said, "I want to get my hair cut EVERY DAY!" Too cute. We made a big deal out of the day. She got to wear a new dress and we went out for lunch afterwards. It was such fun!

Here are a few shots of her hair before we left. She was having a particularly good hair day...how typical!

Grace was such a big girl sitting in that chair so still!

The new look. I know it looks like all the curl is gone, but I think that's because it was combed as it was drying. I'm sure there will be a little curl once we wash it...I hope!!

Sharing the Spotlight

Last week Charlie started rolling from his tummy to his back. I wanted to take a quick video of his new skill, but he wasn't really into rolling over at the time. He's a little frustrated in this video, but it worth watching to see his big sister in the background. She wasn't about to let him have the spotlight to himself!

When I finished recording, Grace started yelling, "My turn! My turn!" Here's her turn...

Then Grace insisted it was Bitty Baby's turn...(It's short. I promise.)

And just so that Charlie doesn't lose all the spotlight, here are some pictures of his new talent! (In case you haven't noticed in all these pictures and videos, pants seem to be an optional article of clothing in our house. What can I say... it's been hot lately!)

Graceful Words

Me: "I love you."
Grace: "I love you. That's why I have to EAT YOU!"


Upon walking into Grandma's house who had recently roasted some cauliflower...
"What is that smell? It smells like a diaper!"


to Jeff:" You look like a garbage man."


to me: "I swiped your fingers. You'll never tickle again!"


After tasting bread I made while she was napping...
"There a little bit of cinnamon in there?"


Gracie's first full length story:
"Once upon a time there was ooh and ahh and a tickle monster. Then somebody else came. Then daddy came and ate everybody. Then the tree and the leaves came and daddy ate them. Then a monkey came. The end."


Gracie's first poem:
"7, 8, 9, 10,
Not by hair on my chinny-chin-chin."

Visiting Nana Bea and Grandpa Oral

On our way down to the coast, we stopped and had a long overdue visit with my grandparents. It was Charlie's first time meeting them, and he instantly cuddled in with both of them.

They gave Charlie a Children's Bible, a book about tractors, and his first John Deere tractor! This is especially fitting since my grandparents were farmers for many years.

Grace also had fun seeing them again. She enjoyed the treats they had for her...cheese crackers and a new Dora coloring book! She was very impressed that "Grandpa Oral's house has an elevator!"

We don't get to see them often enough, so this was a very special visit. We love you Nana Bea and Grandpa Oral!!

Beach Bash '08

What do you get when you mix 8 adults, 2 toddlers, an infant, 2 dogs, a sunny beach, and a jumbo pack of Sour Patch Kids?

A crazy-good time!!

We just got back from a week on the Oregon Coast with my family. We had so much fun playing on the beach and spending time with each other. My parents found an AMAZING 6 bedroom house right on the beach for us to stay in. THANK YOU to them for making this trip happen. It was such a special time!

I took over 250 pictures while were gone, but here are a few favorites. WARNING: Picture overload ahead!

Due to Charlie's naps, I didn't spend a lot of time on the beach, but I loved watching Jeff and Grace play on the beach from the deck of our house. He is such a fun Daddy and Grace had so much fun playing in the sand and water with him.

Gracie and Grandma get cozy with a book.
Please note: I am in NO WAY responsible for Grace's outfit. =) I loved how the ocean air made Gracie's hair extra curly around her face. So cute!! Charlie and "Momo"I love this picture of Grace and Jeff looking at each other. She is such a Daddy's girl! One of the highlights of the trip was watching Grace and her cousin Jake play together. Only recently have they begun really interacting with each other. It is so fun to watch that friendship form.We all took turns preparing dinner. Honestly, I would have been quite happy cooking every night. Seriously, check out that kitchen!! We were living in the lap of luxury!A few cute shots of Charlie, who after this trip has cinched his place as the easiest and most content baby in the history of all babies. Charlie dipping his toes in the ocean for the first time. We had beautiful sunsets several nights. This picture was taken from our deck. When I said we were right on the beach, I meant RIGHT on the beach! Gracie tried out the Baby Bjorn and exclaimed. "Look! I a mommy!" Every morning Grace liked "getting ready" with Grandma. This particular morning she thought she looked like a zebra, a princess, and a rainbow. =) The little family

The big family

The Power of Words

Grace has added a few words to her vocabulary lately that are quite powerful. The first has the power to turn my hair gray and tempts to me yell at the top of my lungs, "Because I said so, that's WHY!!" (Of course I never do that, but it is definitely tempting!) Oh yes, we've entered the stage of WHY. She asks me "why?" all. day. long. I'm actually exhausted at the end of the day because of this one little word. Just for fun, I set the timer for 5 minutes and kept track of how many times she said those three little letters. It was 11. That doesn't sound like much, but that was just in 5 minutes. That's 132 an hour or 1,452 in the 11 hours she's spends awake each day. Honestly, it's probably not really that many, but it's a lot, and I'm tired, and I now understand why parents use the phrase "because I said so."

She has also started saying "thank you" all by herself with no prompting. These words hold the power to melt my heart, and she knows it, so she says it often. If "why" has the power to zap my energy, these little words have the power to build it back up. It's one of those little things we've been working on for a long time, and it feels good to see she's finally got it.

Finally, she has added a word that has the power to make me giggle every single time..."honey". It makes perfect sense. Jeff and I call her honey all the time. We call each other honey. But there is something so funny about a two year old saying, "I'm all done eating, honey," or "Be right back, honey." It's especially funny when she's upset or whining..."Don't put my toys away, honey!" Oh my, she's so funny.

While we're on the topic of powerful words, I have a few for Jeff who I married 8 YEARS AGO today. How could it possibly already be 8 years!?! Anyway...I love you honey! Thank you for being an amazing husband and father. Grace, Charlie and I are all so blessed to have you as the head of our family!