Happy Halloween

Cookie Monster

Well, it's not really a cookie but it looks like one!  This is actually a banana flavored instant cereal biscuit and Gracie seems to like them.  The box says its an excellent source of niacin, vitamin B1 & B2, iron, and calcium.  We love watching Gracie pick this up and put in her mouth all by herself.  I'm very impressed with her fine motor skills!  I bet she'll love real cookies just like her Mommy & Daddy.

Just Us Girls

Pretty in Pink

I love this sweater and this little girl!

Fixin' Beans

The day we picked out our pumpkins we also got lots of yummy fresh produce from the country market too.  Ellee had some "help" from Gracie as they fixed the green beans for dinner.  

Hummm... one for you and one for me.

Check out her toes propped up on the side of the colander.  This child cracks me up with how she props her foot up on anything and everything.  

Cold beans feel pretty good on teething gums!

She's looks straight out of Hee-Haw in this picture.

That's our Southern (redneck) Girl!

Learning to Crawl

FINALLY (for 2 reasons)!!!!!   The wait is over....

1.  Gracie started crawling on Tuesday, October 21st.

2.  The crawling video is posted (after many hours trying to upload it) .

We are so excited that Little Miss Gracie is on the move.  For the last 3-4 weeks, I've been saying....I bet she starts crawling and she finally did.  Gracie had been easily going from a sitting position to putting both palms on the floor and either going all the way onto her tummy and/or back up to sitting.  While Todd's parents were here visiting she was able to get herself just anywhere she wanted to be in a 1-2 foot radius of where we put her by leaning forward and readjusting her position.

Well, something finally clicked - she realized she could move her hands forward and slide her knees to get to where she wanted to go!  We were both so thrilled that she waited until the evening when Todd was home from work before making her first moves (although, Ellee, Todd's Mom, was disappointed that she missed this milestone by only 12 hours - she flew back home to SC that morning).  

Hope you enjoy the long awaited video of her 1st attempt of learning to crawl.  

I'll post more videos of her REALLY moving now that she's a crawling pro!  Time to baby proof the house.  Tell me again, why we encouraged her to start moving?  Wish us good luck in keeping up with her.  

Lil' Punkin'

We couldn't find a pumpkin patch in town but we did find a really cute country market.  We were so excited to see Gracie sitting with all the pumpkins that we didn't notice how "dimply" the pumpkins were behind her.  

It was kinda chilly - perfect Fall temperature for pumpkin picking!

Had to lose the jacket to get some cute pictures of her adorable sweater and matching boots.

Gracie was way more interested in the leaves and hay than she was in the pumpkins.  Maybe she'll pick out her own pumpkin next year.

I think Todd picked the best pumpkin in the patch!

Todd found these 3 perfect pumpkins for us to take home for our front porch.

Gracie's 1st Pumpkin!

Another Beautiful Sunset

1st Lollipop

One reason why Gracie loves her Granddaddy -   

Her first lollipop, of course!

Ah oh, no more lollipop!  Love that pouty lip.  

Cutting the Grass

Here's Richard working hard - supervising the robotic lawn mower as it cuts the grass.  That's right, I said robotic lawn mower.  How cool is that?  The couple that built this house thought of it all - this house has everything and we're fortunate enough to enjoy it!

That is the river behind the tree - amazing view.  

I've decided to call it "Robbie" - our yard guy!

Richard doesn't like that Robbie misses some spots.

Todd is happy that he doesn't have to mow the hill.

Best Dressed

Gracie looked super cute in this borrowed outfit from her 2nd cousin Sophie.  It's an adorable Black Velour outfit with red & white flowers down the middle.  And the shoes!!!!  Thank you to the Hegenbergers for giving Gracie her 1st pair of black paten leather Mary Janes.    

Here she is playing on her Adirondack chair with a metal ramekin (gotta love toys straight out of the kitchen).  

Look at the ruffle around her shirt and the shoes!

She loves to be outside!

This picture was taken 2 weeks ago before it started to get really cold.  Now it's in the teens-20s overnight and only in the 40s during the day....brrrr! 

Check out her random collection of toys - a teething ring, metal kitchen canister with a plastic rattle inside, nerf ball, sippy cup, small red flashlight, metal whisk, red stethoscope (I'm hoping she'll go into medicine), and a plastic flip-flop appetizer plate.  

Smiling with Ellee!

Laid Back

Gracie cracks me up because she always props her foot up on just about anything when she's comfortable.  Here she is lounging while having her lunch.  

An apple a day

Mmmm....Yummy!  Honey Crisp Apples! 

These have got to be the best apples we've ever eaten (and played with).  Our grocery store and local farmers' markets only carry these in September and October - so we buy lots of these when we can get them.  They are delicious!!!  

Duck Tub

About a week ago - all of a sudden - Gracie started to HATE taking her bath.  And when I say hate, I mean she screamed and wanted nothing to do with being in the water, not even her toes.  So, I've changed things up a bit and it seems to be working.  Her dinner is now earlier, followed by some playtime, then bath in her new duck tub (see video below) filled with bubbles and toys, then we put on her PJs & she has her Vitamin D drops, a little more playtime, milk and then bed.  

Now, if I could just get her to sleep through the night - yep, we're still working on that but that's another post.   

Multiple Personalities

Serious...

Pouty (almost huffing and puffing)...

And then Happy!

She keeps us laughing everyday!

Introducing....Ellee

Todd's Mom has been trying to decide what she would like for Gracie to call her .... over the last 8 months we've tried out several different names .... LeeLee, Grandma "Hold Me", MyLee, and just plain Grandma .  

Well, thanks to Uncle Rickman for finally coming up with the perfect name.  Our whole family agrees and loves her new name...Ellee (like L. Lee)!!!  We can't wait to see if Gracie will be able to say it or whether she'll come up with her own name instead.  

Here's Gracie & Ellee with all of her elephants!

Canadian Thanksgiving

We enjoyed celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving with our little Canadian this year!  We are so very thankful for our happy, sweet, beautiful baby girl.  

Guess from now on, we'll always get to celebrate 2 Thanksgiving.

Water Dog

Tucker loves the Kennebacsis River in our backyard (and so do we).  

To our surprise, Tucker actually retrieved the stick Todd threw in the water a couple times - usually he just likes to swim around.  It was fun watching Tucker love being in the water.  Next summer is going to be a blast for sure with our days spent hanging out on the beach and swimming.  

Notice that Tucker does not like to get the tip of his tail wet.  Too funny!

What a good looking dog!  

He'll always be my first baby!

Snorter

This past week Gracie has started to show her displeasure by snorting.  It's so funny and fair warning before she fusses or cries.  She crinkles her little nose and pouts her lip and then huffs and puffs - hopefully she won't be in this phase for too long.  Can you imagine a toddler tantrum with snorting too?

This is during her bath - guess she didn't want to be washed and only wanted to splash!  She is definitely a girl who knows what she wants and usually gets it (wonder who she gets that from).  

Scrub-a-Dub-Dub in the Sink

Gracie's Adirondack

We couldn't wait to see Gracie sitting in her new chair out in our new backyard!

Thanks to Kurt for Gracie's pink Patagonia vest - isn't she adorable!  Kurt bought this vest for Gracie a few days after she was born - we love seeing her wear it and really think it's cute that he picked it out especially for her.   

Also, thanks to Nicole and Chip for sending Gracie this pink plaid button shirt from Talbot's.  It is perfect for the fall and layering in the winter!  She looks so pretty!  We also love the sweater too.

We would love to know what she's thinking about...

Daddy, will you buy me a boat?  

Enjoying the View

Thanks Jackie Lina for the cute little hat ~ 

it's the hat that goes with the her ultra soft pink snuggly jammies (they were our favorite PJs but, sadly, she has outgrown them).  

Sunset

We love watching the sunset each evening.  It's definitely Fall here - the days are usually in 50s and the evenings are in 30-40s.  We're so excited about sipping glasses of wine on the deck next Spring and Summer while we watch the day end.   Hopefully, some of you will be joining us!

Deck Dog

Yep, Tucker absolutely LOVES our new backyard & deck.  Oh to have this dog's life!