Where have I been?

Sorry for the lack of pictures and updates. We've been having so much fun with our company. Todd's family was here July 14th-21st. My Mom flew in July 22nd and she's here until the 29th. Then my best friend Ashlee and her husband and little boy fly in on August 6th.

I've got lots and lots of pictures to share. Hopefully, I'll get them posted soon.

Until then...

Just Play

An indoor playground just opened up in our city and it's so much fun! There is a toddler area, an LED light floor, Plasma Cars, and a HUGE play structure. I'm so excited that we have a place we can go play when it's raining or freezing cold outside (which is 9-10 months out of the year - ha!).

Climbing Up to the Toddler Slide

Almost to the Top!

WwwEeeeEee!

Come On Daddy!

Stealin' a kiss (as usual)!

Catch me if you can!

Baby Nascar!

She preferred being on the Pit Crew -

She kept pulling the screw cover

off the top of the handle bars.

Super Fast Twisty Slide

I think ALL 3 of us had a blast! Playing with our little girl and getting to be a kid again is the best!!!

Sleepy Head

Miss Grace woke up this morning at 5:45 - ugh! She wakes up around this time every morning but will usually fall back asleep if I rock her or (depending on how tired I am) bring her back into bed with us.

Well, this morning I was tired so she came into bed with us but she didn't want to go back to sleep. What??? That's not the plan! (Big Sigh!) Luckily for all of my blog fans out there - I decided to add a new post since I wasn't going to be getting more sleep.

So, like any good parent, I turned on morning cartoons and we snuggled in bed while she drank her morning bottle and I worked on the blog. After a little while we both ventured out of bed and into the family room. She played around for a little while, ate some Cheerios (or 'Rios as we call them) and then settled down in her chair to watch one of her Elmo movies. When I looked over at her - this is what I saw...

Guess she was still sleepy after all!

There's nothing sweeter than a sleeping baby.

Wouldn't you agree?

Smarty Pants

Every parent wants their child to be smart, right?

And of course, Todd and I are no exception. It really is amazing to watch as Gracie shows us all the things she is able to do and what she understands. Just as everyone always says...she really does learn something new everyday.

So here's why we think our child is smart:

We were doing our normal bedtime routine, but instead of Gracie randomly picking and pulling books down off her bookshelf for us to read, I decided to ask her to "find" certain books by saying the title - and SHE DID IT!!!

We are beyond proud of her!!!

She did this for the first time on June 15th - she was just over 16 months old. This video is from last night - she's almost 17 months old.

Crazy, huh!?!

Here's what she's up to these days:

• Loves her "night night" blanket and binky.
• Points to her nose, eyes, ears, hair, belly, hands, and teeth when asked (still working on knees and elbows).
• Uses sign language for milk, eat, more, bath, please, bird, airplane, choo choo train, and I love you (which is my favorite).
• Has 6 teeth - 4 on top and 2 on the bottom and the 7th one coming in on the bottom.
• Still does her "O" face and loves to eat spicy Buffalo Chicken Dip.
• Loves watching Elmo and her nursery rhyme videos while sitting in her pink chair.
• Loves being outside and picking up rocks.
• Puts her hand on her forehead and slides it down over her eye when we say "Oh...No"
• Squeezes her nose when we say "P U stinky".
• Walks backwards.
• Likes to be chased.
• Loves gadgets and to figure out how things work - just like her Daddy.
• Plays in and falls on top of the laundry when I'm washing and folding clothes.
• Can point to pictures of her grandparents, Uncle Jeff, and Aunt Katie (so cute).
• Loves to drink out of a regular cup, by herself of course.
• Feeds herself well with a spoon.
• Will play in the kitchen sink filling and dumping cups with water for an hour if we let her (hey, it gives me time to get the kitchen clean...well, sort of - depending on how much water is splashed and spilled).
• Seems to love being in the water and blows bubbles in her bath every night.
• Loves to sit in your lap to read books.
• Has started to like her doll babies.
• Tries to hop but doesn't get off the ground.
• Practically runs everywhere.
• Just started turning her palms up and holding her arms out when we say "where is it" or "I don't know".
• Says "Uh Oh". Da (for Daddy). Ta (for Tucker). Babbles and does "uhuh" with pointing for everything else she wants.

A little inside joke

My brother, Jeff, has been calling Gracie...

Helen.

Yes, Helen...as in Helen Keller!

Because she isn't talking and

uses some sign language.

And my Dad thinks the nickname is hilarious.

I think it's mean Uncle Jeff...funny...but mean!

Happy Canada Day!

July 1st is Canada Day!

Here's a little history lesson from an online source:

"On July 1, 1867, the British government (under Queen Victoria) approved a plan which allowed Canada to become an independent country with its own government. This new nation, which remained loyal to Britain, was called the Dominion of Canada. At that time, the new Dominion of Canada had only four provinces (Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick). Now there are 10 provinces and 3 territories."

Interesting Canadian Facts:

• Canada was named from the Huron and Iroquois word kanata, which means village.
• Canada has approximately three million lakes across the country. More than 30,000 of those lakes are larger than three square kilometers (almost 2 miles)!
• Princess Juliana of the Netherlands gave Ottawa 100,000 tulip bulbs as a thank-you gift in 1945 for keeping the Dutch Royal Family safe during World War II. The Netherlands was occupied by the Nazis until Canadian soldiers liberated the country in 1944-45.
• The Bank of Canada issued the last $1 bill in 1989. It was replaced by the one dollar coin, known as the loonie, which came out in 1987.
• The world's only flying saucer launching pad is in St. Paul, Alberta. It was built in 1967.
• The largest mall in the world is the West Edmonton Mall in Alberta. It has over 800 stores and restaurants, an amusement park, the world's largest indoor lake with four working submarines, 26 movie theaters and a hockey-sized ice arena.
• More than 75% of the world's maple syrup comes from Canada.

FYI - Gracie is a Canadian!

She has dual citizenship because she was born in Canada - how cool is that?! So, we'll ALWAYS celebrate the 1st and 4th of July!!!

She and I drove up to Moncton to celebrate Canada Day with our Canadian friends! We had a great time despite the drizzle and cool temperature.

Gracie & Hannah (look at her curls)

Maaike (pronounced Micah) & Gracie

I think they kinda look alike. So cute!

Gracie & Eric (he speaks French)

Gracie & Noah almost holding hands!

Christina & Noah and Gracie & Me

Tania (looking great preggo with baby #2) & Eric

and Hannah & Jenny

Hannah & Gracie

Hannah did not like having sand on her hands.

We've got to get that girl to a S.C. beach!