Tea with Grace

Grace was given a tin tea set for her birthday from her Grandma. She loves having tea parties, especially when there are homemade scones and jam involved!

Small Spaces

Charlie continues to be quite the explorer. Yesterday he kept finding his way into small spaces...

And so, after eating some playdough while I tried to make dinner, he was introduced to another small space:

Now before you go judging me, he had a great time in there. It is called a pack 'n PLAY after all!

The Birthday Boy

Its hard to believe that my "baby" has turned one! The past year has gone unbelievable fast. (And yet some days seem soooooo long. How does that happen??) Charlie is such a hilarious, adventurous, sweet little boy. Last Saturday we had our families over to celebrate his big day!

Charlie and Grammy

Charlie and Bop

Charlie, Grandma, and Boppo

Charlie checks out the party game

Grace made sure that everyone had party hats to wear.The Dumptruck Cake...aka the easiest cake that ever graced a birthday partyTime to sing and eat cake!

Charlie tests it out...

and decides it's pretty good!

Grace likes it, too!

Jake pretty much just liked playing with the truck it came in!

Charlie got lots of really fun presents!

What a fun day for a fun boy!

Cartwheels for Charlie

I got a call from my mom yesterday morning saying she needed to see Charlie. She had something for him that couldn't wait another day. It was his last day before turning one, and she was determined to give him his baby quilt before his first birthday. She had worked all weekend putting on the binding and label. Here is the finished product, appropriately named "Turning Happy Cartwheels":

This quilt is absolutely beautiful, and although I don't really understand all the quilting terms and techniques, I do know she said this is one of the most complicated quilts she has made. I didn't get a picture of the back, but it is an amazing work of art in itself. Thank you, Mom, for such an amazing treasure!

The Birthday Girl

When Grace was a newborn, I wanted nothing more than to be able to freeze time and keep her that way forever. I can hardly believe that that was three years ago! I'm so glad she didn't stay a newborn because she is such a hilarious, spunky, sensitive, inquisitive three year old. Now if I can just find a way to freeze her at this age! :)

We had a great time celebrating her birthday. I'll let the pictures do the talking.

Opening presents in the morning

(Seriously, when did she get so old!?!?)

Grace's Breakfast Request: "Real Waffles...not from the freezer"

A fun trip to the Children's Museum

Getting measured at the museum... she was 3 feet, 5 inches

Lunch at Red Robin

Grace's Dinner Request: Chickie Noodies Mash Potaties (A favorite originating with Jeff's family)

Special ice cream cupcakes from Coldstone
Do you think she liked it?

Finally, no birthday post would be complete without a look back.

At birth

First Birthday

Second Birthday

Third Birthday

On the Move

I recently commented to my mom how nice it is that Grace seems to be moving out of her "constantly into everything" stage. I should have known better than to say such a thing. If Charlie could have, I bet he would have muttered, "Watch out Mama, 'cause you ain't seen nothing yet!" He has recently discovered the joys of mobility. He is into everything. All. Day. Long. I don't even want to think about what life will be like when he can walk.

The other night we had a very rare experience in that just he and I were home at dinnertime. As I tried to clean up the dishes, he was up to his usual antics. I decided to pick up the camera and document all the places he went in about a 5 minute time span.

First stop: pushing a chair all over the kitchen. He thought this was great fun.

Next he headed to the bathroom to play the toilet like a drum.

This toilet paper is fun to unroll!

After I moved him out of the bathroom, he immediately scooted his way over to the dishwasher. Don't worry. I put the camera down and grabbed him before he grabbed anything sharp.Next up, one of his favorite spots...the pots and pans.Finding something to eat in the pantry. Off to the office to try to get that keyboard. I finally got him settled in with a toy, until..."Hey! Let me see that camera!" Oh, to have endless energy like this little one!

The Dentist Chair

Grace had her first visit to the dentist this week. Although she's very determined to be a doctor one day, she is very afraid of actually visiting one. The last time we went for a check-up with her pediatrician, she screamed when they asked her stand on the scale and could only be coerced into letting the doctor check her out if she ate goldfish crackers while it happened. Since she couldn't really snack and have her teeth checked at the same time, I wasn't really sure how she'd react to the dentist.

When we first got there, Grace didn't want to sit in the dentist chair, so Charlie showed her how much fun it would be. Then she decided to try it out as long as I sat with her. We got to go on lots of "rides" as the dental assistant made the chair go up and down. Eventually she decided to sit in the chair alone and even let the dentist "count" her teeth. She was doing great until that crazy spinning toothbrush came out. Once she saw it, she was done. The dentist was great and didn't try to talk her into anything she didn't want to do. She left having a great experience and thinking that dentist visits were a lot of fun. I guess that's a good first step. Maybe next time we'll get those teeth cleaned. =)

Charlie checks out the chair

Grace feeling a little timid at first

The kids get to wear these groovy sunglasses to keep the bright light out of their eyes. I think I'll ask for a pair myself at my next check-up!