Ummm VERY Belated Halloween Post!

Okay, so it has seriously been forever since my last post and I apologize. We have been VERY busy. We moved which was an enormous job, especially since it ended up happening during the week so I was busy with work and school. Gracie's Aunt Kristin came stayed with us for a few days. Which was super fun. Gracie and her Auntie became the best of friends. And then I've been really busy with school and work. Next semester I'm taking 18 credits so I won't be working any longer, but I'm sure we'll be just as busy!
So, I've been wanting to write about Halloween badly. At first Gracie wanted nothing to do with her costume. Even after she saw her "aunt" and "uncle" Chloe and Zach wearing their costumes.. I thought I would never get her in one ( I brought her two options) But at the last minute she finally submitted. And oh my goodness, the pictures don't do her justice. For whatever reason everytime I was taking her picture and I asked her to smile she would do this weird fake smile. She LOVED Halloween. She was running up to the doors saying "Treat! Treat!" She was really packing in the candy. She was even saying Happy Halloween to everyone! And for weeks and weeks and weeks I heard " Happy Halloween, Trick or Treat" I usually had no idea what she was saying at first because I just wasn't expecting that to be what she was saying. She had a really good time with my little brother and sister.




When we first moved Gracie would not sleep by herself through the night. And she wouldn't go to sleep unless I sat in her room until she fell asleep. Which sometimes would take forever. I gave her a big girl bed when we moved and it was all just a little too much for my lil munchkin I guess. But now she is back to sleeping in her own bed all night and going to sleep on her own. Sometimes she'll call me in there for various reasons, but for the most part she does it on her own. And she does sometimes keep calling out to me every few minutes " What are you doing Mommy??" Actually that is probably one of her most frequently used phrases now. " What are you doing?" and "What's That?" . She is extremely inquistive. She is very dramatic and stubborn as well. She huffs and puffs. Goes " Geez". Very bossy. Likes to tell everyone what to do, where to sit and what to say. She's still very affectionate. When's she's up to something and I call out for her she ALWAYS says " No mom, go away!" That's when I know its time to go running for her! She's very into retelling her experiences. She's very independent. And if she knows she's in trouble or doesn't like what she's being told she closes her eyes and pretends she's asleep or will tell me she's tired.

And as for Christmas. The day after Thanksgiving we put up all our Christmas decorations and Gracie just has been so excited ever since. I am taking her to see Santa this weekend ( hopefully I'll post pics of that sooner than I posted the Halloween ones!) and I was telling her about it and now she keeps talking about Santa's lap. She gets sooo excited whenever she sees Christmas lights or trees. And if she sees Santa she starts screaming his name till someone acknowledges her! Santa went a little overboard this year, but I think that this will be her first year that she really gets Christmas. She is already so excited! Which makes me so excited!!

Quite the Hand Full

Pretending to be asleep, using a pacifier ( which as you may know, she doesn't really use and never has) and waiting to get her diaper changed.... silly head...

Trying to hide from me behind the towels to avoid getting her teeth brushed..... Notice her look of angst : )

My silly willy giggling chef.....

Okay, as always Gracie is very funny and cute. She has definitely entered the terrible twos though. Full blown tantrums in parking lots and stores. Refusing to go to bed. Screaming at me to "Shut up!" and slamming her bedroom door when I tell her no( actually this makes me fear her teenage years!). She is REALLY asserting her independence. I am reading a parenting book about how to properly deal with this behavior and hopefully it will help. She is into EVERYTHING. Nothing is safe! But in between it all she makes jokes and is sweet with her kisses and cuddles. Thank goodness for that. Plus she is such a chatterbox. She just talks and talks... and is very animated when she does talk. She tells these long stories and everything she has to say is VERY important. I can't imagine where she gets her talkative-ness from.

We went to her two year check up last week. The doctor said she now has two of the criteria for neurofibromatosis... so a diagnosis looks eminent.

New Look

Okay, I got her these cutesy headbands and just wanted to share... this is when her hair was still relatively wet, I wish I got some shots once it was dry. It was much fuller and very cute. She got quite a few compliments. She is getting a cold so thats why she's not looking quite herself and a little runny eyed. Let me know what you think!

A Couple of Firsts for my Baby....

Well, last Saturday Gracie got her first haircut! She was sooo good, all the old ladies in the place commented on how well she behaved. She just sat there and watched in the mirror. Halfway through she did want to hold my hand, but she was soooo good.


And Gracie had her first day of "school" yesterday!!! When I picked her up and asked her how it was she said "FUN!" She was so excited to show off her artwork. She was so excited to be there that she hardly noticed me leaving.. she just gave me a kiss, a hug, said " Bye Mom," and gave a little wave. And turned around to play. I am so happy she loved it!

She's TWO!!!

Okay so I promised all these pictures and then I never got around to it... so here is my true picture taking happiness gone wild.

Gracie climbed up next to Noah with her puzzle and I thought they looked so cute together I just had to share....
On her birthday we went to Jungle Java... she had so much fun. She played a little in the toddler part but was much more interested in the gargantuan play structure. She had a lot of fun climbing!

At the park by my house with Noah....
A fun day at the pool.. She really is getting to be more and more comfortable in the water....




Here's Gracie trying on my jammies....

Okay, when I last posted I had these pictures of Gracie and Noah playing dress up and haevn't posted them because most of them are sideways, so sorry about the sideways one... but I can't get it to open in the software!

Picture Happy

Well, we were lucky enough to get another visit from Heather and Nadia! Who Gracie talks about all the time. Gracie is pretty good about being gentle with her and is really sweet with her. Always trying to help ( even though most of the time she's really getting in the way!)




Gracie loves being with Noah, she will follow him around all day. She lately drags a chair over to where he is at the computer to watch. And of course she carries a phone everywhere she goes... just talking away!

Gracie also is obsessed with Sponge Bob. She is always asking to watch him.. and luckily he is practically all the time. I got her a stuffed Sponge Bob pillow that has arms and hands. And at the store he sat up in the seat of the cart with her. She was hitting his hand.. and just as I was about to tell her to be nice I hear her quietly saying..." Five! Five!" She was giving him high fives!

I honestly don't think much makes her laugh harder than Noah. He makes her laugh so hard... and pretty easily... though there are days where she really makes him work for it!


And babies.. Gracie is still sooooooo into playing with her baby dolls. In fact, we usually take them with us everywhere we go ( at least to the car) lately she grabs an old purse of mine ( stuffed with all sorts of odds and ends.. i found all our remotes in there the other day!) slings it over her shoulder and grabs her babies. And we can't go before she does all this. That and pretend food... she LOVES to play with her play food!


Okay, I know it hasn't been that long since my last post... but I have gone picture happy. We have been doing so much and had so many cute picture opportunities. Besides the fact that Gracie is just so funny that we happen to get a lot of chances. We went to the zoo and it was soooo hot... and Gracie was sooo hot she was almost zombie like. But every time I tried to walk away from some animals she would throw a fit! She would just stare mezmorized at a lot of them. She was also calling a lot of them cows... we never did see a cow though : )

Fun at the Pool!

Okay, so Gracie once again LOVES the pool and is getting more and more courageous in it!
She has even started trying to get in more of a swimming position, so that she can really get around. She of course still prefers the side of the pool and the stairs. But in the kids pool she's been starting to get pretty brave!

She is super fortunate that she has her " big brother" Noah to play and swim with her! Unfortunately they were both looking so cute with huge smiles for pictures but my shutter was being weird and not taking it in time before Gracie would get wiggly : (

Here she is swimming in the kids pool!

She loves these fountain things, they kept making her giggle!

Ready to get out and warm up with Mom!

Yay for summer! Hopefully she can take some swim lessons this year and will be totally ready for a fun water filled summer next year! I'm so excited that she seems to like the water... because I LOVE it myself!