Games & Giggles

I drove Todd's dad back down to Bangor today for his flight home - we were all sad to see him leave and so thankful for the yummy meals he cooked and all projects he did around the house.

(Check out the post below to see pictures from when they arrived).

Ellee (Todd's mom) stayed at home with Gracie and they "played and played all day"! Ellee said they had a great day and that Gracie was really good! I'm so glad they got to spend special one-on-one time together. Not too long after I was home, I heard some music and "whoas" and lots and lots of giggling coming from the new (almost finished) playroom. No wonder Ellee went to bed exhausted at 9 pm. Here's a little peak at their day together!

Thanks Ellee for watching, playing and loving on Gracie all day!

Airport Arrival

Bangor, Maine is a 3.5+ hour drive from our house in Canada. It's a beautiful drive...winding along the Bay of Fundy leaving Canada and hilly down through Maine. The +(plus) in driving hours is for the time needed to wait to cross the US/Canada border and the extra time needed to stop while traveling with Gracie.

Gracie and I had a great drive down to Bangor last Tuesday morning when she and I drove down to pick up Ellee & Granddaddy (Todd's parents)...Gracie fell asleep 20 minutes after we left home and woke up 90 minutes later just before we crossed the border. She was great the rest of the drive and we stopped off at the mall before heading to the airport. (Of course I built in extra, extra time to stop off at the mall - I have to do a little shopping while I'm in the States, even if its only for a few hours). Gracie was awesome shopping with me at Macys & GapKids and we shared a yummy piece of pizza. Luckily for Todd and our bank account, I couldn't find the Target nor did I have enough time to stop.

Even though we're far away from our family - we're so fortunate to stay connected with our family & friends with our States line phone #, email, blog, webcam, frequent trips home and having them visit us up here . We always show Gracie pictures of her grandparents and Aunt Katie and Uncle Jeff. She's always able to point everyone out when we ask her who's who. We also use our speakerphone all the time so she gets to hear and will occasionally "talk" to them over the phone.

In preparing to see Gracie at the airport, Ellee told Granddaddy that she wasn't sure if Gracie would be comfortable with them as soon as the walked off the plane - so they were just going to take it slow and follow her lead...

Well, guess who ran up and hugged Ellee?

Yep - Gracie!

And guess who melted into a puddle on the floor?

Yep - Ellee!

It was the cutest, sweetest thing! I wish I would have had my camera ready but I wasn't really expecting her to do that either. It was a very special moment for us all!

Just minutes after getting off the plane.

Playing with "Melissa & Doug" Construction Trucks we bought in the gift shop while waiting for the plane to arrive.

And holding Granddaddy's hand right away!

She loves her Granddaddy!

And I love this picture.

Best Buddies!

Big Bag of Ring Pops in the airport parking lot!

Let the spoiling begin!!!

YumEee!!! Yay for grandparents!!!

Gracie slept shortly after we left Bangor for an hour. In the middle of no where, half way in between Bangor and Calais (the border town), she absolutely lost it. She was sick of being in the car and wanted to make sure she got her point across by screaming for an hour...it didn't matter what we tried to do - playing with toys, singing, ignoring...she just wanted to be home!

Closet Peek-A-Boo

With DaDa and GranDaDa

Boy, does she have these two

wrapped around her finger!

The perfect punkin!

I planted a few pumpkin seeds in our garden this summer but no pumpkins grew...either because of the chilly, very rainy summer weather we had or because I didn't know what I was doing which is likely the real reason! I couldn't find an actual pumpkin patch but we have an adorable country market in town and they had a great selection of pumpkins!

Our search begins for the perfect porch pumpkins!

Distracted by the gourds!

Gourd-eous Girl!

Wishing her Fairy Godmother would

turn this pumpkin into a carriage!

Pumpkin Obstacle Course

Perfect

(both the pumpkin & the Granddaddy)!

Making Playdough Animals

Breakfast with Ellee

All dressed up & no where to go!

Got Milk?

Cutest milk mustache (or stubble) ev-er!

This face makes me see the milk glass as half full!

What? You're kidding, right?

You mean most people don't like Lima Beans!

And if they do eat them,

they don't eat them in the tub?

That's CRAZY! Because I LOVE limas!

Thank goodness Daddy didn't finish all the limas from dinner because she enjoyed eating them during her bath (kinda gross).

Betcha I can touch my tongue to my nose!

Future's so Bright...Gotta Wear Shades!

One, Two, Raarrr, & Woof Woof

Canadian Vocabulary

Lesson One.

Tuque - pronounced two-k.

Wikipedia says:

A tuque is a knitted cap. Most tuques are tapered, some have ear-flaps, and may be topped with a pom-pon, this style of tuque is sometimes referred to as a sherpa. The term originated in Canada.

The 2009 Winter Tuque!

She's started putting her binky

in sideways to get playful attention!

And Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!!!

Peek-a-BOO!!!

So here's our usual morning routine:

Todd's alarm goes off at 6:15 and he hits snooze 2-3 times (thank goodness I don't hear it - I hate the "snooze" button....don't get me wrong I LOVE to sleep - and can sleep at the drop of a hat - but I'd rather sleep the extra 20-30 minutes in the morning than be woken up every 10 by the snoozer). Gracie fusses around 6:30 and I go in to see her standing in crib nearest her bedroom door and ready to hand me her "night-night" blankets (all 3 of them). I bring her back into our bed where she cuddles with Todd while I get her morning milk ready. We turn on some cartoons and she drinks her milk in our bed while I try to close my eyes for a little bit longer. Todd hops in the shower. After she's done with her milk - she's running around bringing toys or movies back to our room. Once Todd is getting his coffee and breakfast, Gracie and I venture out to the family room where she plays and watches movies while I check email, Facebook, and blogs!

So this morning, I had to giggle when I looked over to see her sitting like this:

Where's Gracie?

peek-a-BOO!

Yep, I see you!

What are we gonna do with you?

Need a tissue? Or a hundred?

Honey, can you please go get a tissue?

And Blow!

Huh! That's the last one!

HUH! Where did all the tissues go?

Oh! There they are!!!