What a week! We had so much fun doing so many different things. I will try to highlight the different events quickly. I had over 150 pictures from this past week. It is so hard to figure out which ones convey what we were up to this week without going overboard. Okay I probably do go overboard, but I just love this girl more then I realized was possible! To begin, earlier this week we did a pinterest idea that Mimi found and sent to us! We put paint in Ziploc bags and Grace squished the different colors together. When we started there were two separate colors in each bag, but by the end it was one squishy mess! It was a perfect activity for a day we had somewhere else to go because the mess stayed in the bag, and not all over Grace!
So stuffed animals that appear to talk on their own are really freaking this child out! We first noticed a few weeks ago when we got out her favorite singing puppy. When I turned it on to sing (its a stuffed animal) she started screaming in pure terror! This is just a puppet on my hand, so the voice is MINE! And yet - she was so freaked out. I am thinking no Chuck-E-Cheese for this girl!!! Could you imagine what she would do with a GIANT stuffed thing talking? hehe. We have noticed that if we hand her the stuffed animal without the talking, she has no problem!
Shopping at whole foods! We are trying really hard to get our family back on track with healthy eating. Now that Grace is starting to eat finger food, we know it wont be too long before she is eating whatever we are eating and we realize we would like that to be a little healthier!
Playroom fun. She is just moving all the time. It is amazing to watch her each day as she learns new ways to do things quickly. She now pulls up with ease, she can get down from standing, but it is still not graceful! She has learned to go from sitting to crawling and that looks easy for her now! Of all the things she can do now the thing that makes my heart sing is getting kisses. When I say "Grace can I have a kiss?" She opens up really big and sticks it on my mouth! Sometimes I even get a tongue wiggle on my lips. hehe Love this girl.
Eating. It is a messy job, but someone has got to do it! Grace makes the "more" sign now, but hers looks more like she grabs her hands together and then pulls them up to her forehead. Subsequently anything on her hand is left on her forehead. Can you tell we were eating bananas?
Grace is going to show how she pulls up. It is amazing how strong her arms are! She literally pulls herself up using only arm strength. We are so thankful that Grandpa Mac attached the shelves to the wall the last time he was in town!
Pillow Mountain! There are so many great sites out now about different activities to do with your 8 month old. One of the sites suggested having a pillow mountain. It gives the child a chance to stretch and use different muscles then they would regularly. She loved it!
Pool time with Daddy. It is summer time and Daddy is home!!! Grace is now calling Daddy "dada" Good job Mommy for switching over to calling him Daddy and not Gabe! He has been home so much lately that when he is not home she will ask me about him, looking all around, saying "dadadadadada?" hehe
Sleeping angel. We don't get a whole lot of pictures of Grace sleeping. She is a very light sleeper. The second I open the door she usually shoots her head up to look at me! I just love how it shows her right thumb in her mouth and how she holds onto her monkey blanket in her fingers. She has been sleeping like this for a long time now. Glad to finally have captured it!
Oops! So we made the "father's day" gifts this week. SHHH don't tell the Dad's! hehe Daddy had to actually help me do it. The foot prints were very easy to do! The hands however were a different story! She wanted to feel the fabric so she would squish her hands up and move them all around... oh well, it kind of captures this stage perfectly!
Play date with our Bethesda friends. Mommy used to teach at Bethesda Elementary before Grace was born. Several of the teachers there have stopped teaching and become stay at home Moms! We try and get together every other week to catch up and let the kiddos play. Now that they are all becoming more active it is even more fun! This week it was Grace and the boys. She was quite chatty. I just love how little Henry looks at her like "what is she doing??" Oh the life of an 8 month old girl.
Grace my girl, you are a cheese ball. And I love it! It has truly been a pleasure to watch you grow. You have a definite independent streak in you. I will not be surprised when soon you are telling me how I could be doing things better, and you will probably be right. Always remember no matter what you do or how frustrating you find me, that I will ALWAYS love you. You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
xoxo
Mommy & Daddy
