Freezing, Burning up, Make up your mind weather!

January, January, What an amazing month you have been. This year as a family we are really working towards finding purpose. Purpose as we grow and change and try to figure out how best to support each other and what things we want to support as a family. It has been an interesting journey so far and a path I am excited to continue down to find out what great things our God has in store for us!

This month Grace's room got beautified! We added flower wall clings and changed some things around. Wow is it really starting to look like a little girls room. We also got some snow! The first snow we got so interesting. It was warm enough to be outside without a coat and the only thing you could really do with the snow was step on it! However, it did make a satisfying CRUNCH with every step.

 

Some people can't believe that Grace sleeps on a floor bed, it is just hard for them to let go of "the baby in the crib" for me, it was an easy choice! Bath time has been a completely different story... I  held onto the bath seat far longer then was really necessary, but this month its gone. Grace LOVES the freedom she has now in the bathtub. She is a great listener to the rule about staying on your bottom and she loves being able to reach her toys on her own without always asking for help to get them. I am so glad we took the bath seat out, but wow... to me, this is grown up.

 

We spend a lot of time these days reading books and going to the park! Grace still loves the book "Moo, Baa, Lalala" She can actually read it mostly by herself! It is amazing how quick she is picking up on language! She is already saying two word sentences like "bye dada" and "help please" It is so neat to watch her brain grow and develop.

 

Wagon rides outside! Yes, this  months weather has been crazy, so hot one day, freezing the next, but we try to get out at least once a day regardless of the temperature!

  

Pictures of a happy eating girl and a happy sleeping girl. :)

 

Second snow of the month! Yes we took the baby pool and went sledding... No Grace was not a fan, although she did it once. hehe

  

Random pictures from one day, Grace with both dogs, holding her "happy birthday mimi" sign and typing away on her play laptop!

Art, glorious art. Yes I know, I love letting my kid get messy. I think it is such an essential part of the learning process. How do we know what paint feels like on our face, unless we have a chance to put it there!

 

We still have gone on lots of play dates this month. Here are pictures from just two of them. Grace and Nola having dinner and Grace, Henry and Alan playing at our Bethesda play date.

Grace Jacklyn,
I love watching you. It is amazing how much change there is in just one day! You are making connections about the world and about love and our family. I hope you know how much I love you. Lots of things will come and go from your life, but the thing that will always stay the same is how much your dada and I love you.
xoxo
Mommy & Daddy

January: The First Half

So the big question is always, how long are you going to keep posting each week? Well until now is the answer! In 2013 I am going to try to post twice a month, on the 1st and the 15th. I just realized looking through pictures last week that I don't have as many!!! Last year I had posts with over 50 pictures! WOW, now this is a 2 week span and I think there is 23... We have just gotten so busy living life that there aren't as many pictures. Hopefully this will at least give everyone an idea of how we spent the first half of January. 

Grace is getting so grown looking. I swear sometimes she looks like a miniature teenager. We have been told that maybe it is because her proportions are more like an adults then an average toddler? I am not sure, but sometimes I look over and just wonder, where in the world did my baby go? She still is amazing me every day, and honestly I am loving each day more then the last. I LOVE being able to communicate with her. She can tell me pretty much everything she wants. I would say that I understand what she is needing 85% of the time. Now of that 85% at least 20% of the time my answer to whatever she wants is no, so we still have the tantrums but at least its not because I don't understand, its just because she can't do it. Oh to be a toddler again!

We painted Grace's nails this week! Grace got this toddler safe nail polish for Christmas from Mimi and J-pa so Mimi and  Mama painted her nails. It was hard! You can see Mama tried her best, but it was no beauty salon. Oh yeah, on that note, Mimi has been her the entire 2 weeks and we have LOVED it! She left 2 days ago to head back to Atlanta, J-pa was on a business trip, and we already miss her terribly.

 

We got a new bookshelf for board books. We are so incredible blessed to have so many generous people in our lives who are willing to share things they don't want anymore with us for free! This shelf is drilled into the wall in our living room. We wanted the living room to be about more then just the television, so now its our reading area too! Grace loves pulling all the books off and putting them back on. Her favorite book right now is a counting book about Hawaii... hint hint.

 

We are still loving our Marbles Museum Membership. We get out there at least twice a month and Grace notices new things each time with her continued mobility improvements. We also signed up for a class on Tuesday mornings in February. It is a Mama and Me class so I will get to be with Grace as we explore different stations they set up in a back room. I am very excited!

 

Grace's hair is getting so long!!! We finally got a braid in it just like Mama's hair! Grace loved the whole process of having me brush and braid her hair. She is a true lover girl. I love that she will let me play with her hair or rub her back and she just melts into my arms.

15 months! We are now a year and a quarter! I can't believe it. We took lots of pictures today and yes we had several outfit changes, lol. At our doctor appointment Grace was in the 20% for head and height (29 inches) and the 15% for weight (20 lbs 5 oz) She is growing great and the doctor was most impressed with her language development and how much she was talking and how clear it is! Grace uses a lot of signs with her words for more, please, thank you, all done, etc. and then she also just says a lot of words without the signs. I wish I could take the credit for how amazing she is, but she just started doing it on her own. She is one incredible girl.

 

 

 

 

Mama has started decorating for Valentine's day! We are decorating using all previously owned craft supplies, it has been fun to find different ideas on pinterest and then try to recreate them using what we have!

Last but not least, we have been doing a LOT of running lately! So far in 2013 Mama has run 20 miles and I think Dada is at 20 too for right now - he will pass Mama soon! It has been very exciting to get our bodies back in shape! We are eating healthy, running, and spending our money wisely! I would say 2013 might be the best year yet!

Sweet Grace,
You are beautiful, you are kind, you are intelligent, you are important. Currently you are trying to climb on the back of the couch and you smell like poop, so I should really get off here. But someday you will look back and read these and know how much I love you. My girl, it is more then you will ever understand, until perhaps you have a little person of your own to love. You are my sunshine, my world, my life.
xoxo
Mama & Dada