4th of July & Playdates

On July 4th Eve each year the Cary Town Band performs at Bond Park. This year Grace got to attend. She loves the music and the beat. Daddy would drum the tune on his legs and Grace would put her hands on top of his so she could feel his rhythm. It really is amazing to see how already at this age music and sound has such and important space in Grace's life.

  

July 4th was a busy, busy day! We started out with Uncle Taylor coming over. We took Grace back to Bond Park for the stroller/bike decorating and the parade! Cary, the wonderful city we live in, provides all the decorating supplies so that kids/families can make their "rides" look awesome! Then we took a short walk up to the boat house with everyone else. It was fun to be apart of the parade and Grace LOVED watching all the people. I think we did a great job on the stroller!

 

 

We made some delicious strawberries dipped in chocolate and sprinkles and had an amazing lunch with Uncle Taylor. Then Taylor left to hang out with some other friends from church and our family of 3 headed over to our good friends Jason & Tina's house! We hung out there for dinner, good company and great food! It is always delicious at their house! There were lots of people there and they all had dogs. Grace loved crawling around and entertaining all the pups!

 

  
It was a WONDERFUL first 4th of July! Next year we plan on doing something very similar. It was perfect for our little person and our tiny family.

Back to regular life Grace spent some time in the pool this week. She is quite a water baby. Now that she is so much more mobile she LOVES flipping around in the pool and splashing! I love how the camera caught all the water movement in some of the pictures. We also got some great pictures of Grace's hemangioma on her back. It is amazing how small it has gotten with the help of the medicine.

 

Day 2 in the baby pool. Mommy often gets her suit on too. I just suck in the sun and enjoy splashing with my sweet girl.

 

Mommy and Grace took some glamour shots before church on Sunday. Look at how big my girl is getting. I can't believe she will be 9 months on WEDNESDAY! Where did time go?

 

Craft Time: This week we did a really fun painting activity one day. We used corn syrup and food coloring to create a very sticky painting mess! We actually did the whole thing in the bathtub. She painted and then it was a quick clean up and bath! I couldn't believe Grace was interested and attentive for 45 minutes!! We cleaned up because Mommy got worried about how slippery it was, not because Grace was bored. Her attention span is amazingly long for such a little girl!

 

 

Grace is getting big enough that we have put her to work! Here she is helping Daddy unload the dishwasher. Keep up the good work Grace!

 

Playing around the house. I am actually enjoying Grace's big girl toys so much more then her baby toys! They interact and she has to figure things out. Here I have put the pink flower ball underneath the green leaf and she is trying to figure out how to get it back out.

Love for Athens! Grace often stands at the gate and laughs at the dogs. Bean actually does this high pitch crying noise, which Grace finds very amusing and often laughs when she hears it. This in turn just makes Bean mad, so she cries louder, then Grace thinks they are playing a game... so she laughs louder, and on it goes.

Yup that's right. Not only has she figured out how to use the walker, but she also located the dog toy bucket.   Oh the joys of kid who can MOVE IT!

 Every week Grace and Mommy go on play dates so that Grace has a chance to meet friends and watch what other babies are doing. She loves going to new places and exploring their houses and toys. This week we went over and played with our new friend Nola. Next there are pictures from a different day of Grace's friend Summer who came over to explore water with us. Last there are pictures of Grace swimming at her friend Liam's pool.

 

 

Sweet girl. I just love watching you grow and learn. You really do amaze me. I can not believe that you are going to be 9 months in a few days. How did life get moving so fast? This week one of my favorite moments with you was when I realized you were sharing with me. You will now hand your toys to Mommy and I say "You can share with Mommy", I play for a minute with whatever it was, then you reach your hand out and I say "Mommy shares with Grace" You like to play the game often, and I just love indulging you. You are my sweet buttercup. I love you so much.
xoxo
Mommy & Daddy