Gingerbread Houses!

This weekend our MOPS table made gingerbread houses. It has been such a blessing to be surrounded by these amazing women this year! Everything was so well organized and Grace had fun watching most of the process. hehe We tried to have her be more involved, but as you will see in the picture with Dada, Grace ripped a hole in the table cloth so she was moved slightly out of table's reach. We hope to continue this tradition next year and have her be even more involved!

Grace is getting so much more active and she is needing life to be a lot more hands on these days. One day Grace helped me clean all the toys in her playroom. She stood on the chair by the sink and had fun picking the toys out of the soapy water and dropping them in the clean water. She also enjoyed putting the toys that were drying back in the soapy water as well. Silly Grace.

We are trying to get this girl walking each day. Mama tries to go somewhere new and interesting and we walk at Grace's pace so she can enjoy feeling in control. This week we walked around in our little historic downtown Cary and at one of the local parks. Grace found lots of sticks and leaves which she liked to carry around. She also liked putting them through the bars on this bridge and yelling "dop dop" which is her version of drop.

Errands with Mama to target to get medicine for Grace. The hemangioma on Grace's back was growing at an alarming rate so this week we started our sweet girl back on propranolol which is the high blood pressure medicine. It adds an extra level of stress while she is on it, we have to carry around apple juice all the time, but in the grand scheme of things my baby is healthy and happy so we don't have much to complain about. She has been on the medicine for 2 days now and all ready we are seeing a huge difference in the hemangioma. It is about 1/2 of the size it was two days ago. Truly amazing.

I just love her toes while she eats. They are always up on the tray or on the table. She never ever just lets them hang where legs normally go. So cute!

So.... we bought a dora potty training seat. Grace is in LOVE with the show Dora. We watch it during breakfast to give Mama and Dada a chance to talk and start the day in peace. Grace knows "doe-a" (Dora) and "boos" (boots) and "bapa" (back pack) She loves singing with the show and responds to their questions. We decided to go ahead and get a seat even though we do not expect her to be potty trained any time soon! Dada sits her on it each  night before she takes a bath and she loves just sitting there like a big person and reading books and pointing out all the characters. She also loves taking the toilet paper and pushing it down into the toilet. We had to remove the toilet paper off of the hanger. We thought it would be good just to get her used to the toilet so she is not scared of it someday when we do expect it. Also I refuse to clean those little toilets. (I will probably have to eat those words someday) but for now - I am sticking with it!

 

$1.00 window clings and the girl loved sticking them on the window. I am waiting to see if she figures out how to move them around, but so far she just points at them.

Grace Art. Mama cut the tree out and put glue on the back of the red squares but Grace stuck them on. My favorite is the one way out to the right off the tree. Way to think outside the box Grace! hehe

Dear Grace,
Sweet girl I am so tired! Mama and Dada have decided we need to start going to be earlier so we can keep up with you! Nowadays you want very specific things and are not happy until you get them, and often the specific things are undivided attention from your parents! This evening we blew bubbles, showed you how to kick and throw a ball and you read the book "moo, baa, la, la, la" 3 times (2 times I read it to you, and 1 time you read it to me) You are our sunshine and we love you with all of our hearts. Even when I try and hold your hand and you pull it away and tell me "no no no" it only makes me smile, laugh, and love you that much more.
xoxo
Mommy & Daddy

Grandma & Grandpa Mac Come to Visit

Grandma and Grandpa Mac came to visit! It was wonderful to spend the weekend with them and have them get a chance to see how fast this girl is growing! She showed off all her skills which currently include saying the words, cracker, up, down, singing "round and round" and moving hands with the wheels on the bus song,  dancing every time music comes on, collecting blocks and putting them in a bag, telling us what most animals say (favorite is dog say woof right now), pointing out her nose and eyes, and climbing everywhere! Yes, there is a lot going on!

 

 

Aunt Patty's rocking horse finally made it to NC! Grace loved climbing up on the horse and rocking! She can get up there all by herself. It is pretty amazing, and a little terrifying as a Mom!

 

We took Grandma and Grandpa to a local park that we love to go to. It has no mulch which is AMAZING for a child who will still stick things in her mouth! We got to take a nice walk and go at Grace's pace.... which is a bit slower then we are used to walking, but Grace did great!

 

 

 

Thanks for visiting Grandma and Grandpa and driving the long long drive to be here for the weekend! Grace loved seeing you both!

Dear Grace,
This week you have learned the leg cling. Anytime I set you down when you want to be "up down" which is what you call up, you start crying and grab onto my leg and hold on for dear life. You also do this if I have to go tutor or leave the house without you. It makes me feel so loved, but also sometimes I need to cook dinner. hehe. I am trying to just enjoy each stage. I know when you go to college you won't hold onto me the same way anymore and I will miss that. I think the next time I see your Mimi I might cling onto her legs just so she will remember how great it felt. LOVE YOU GRACE JACKLYN! You make me smile.
xoxo
Mommy & Daddy

Tree Lighting & Apex Parade

Another week of amazing growth and development. She loves exploring new things and can quickly imitate any words you say or behaviors. Here she was trying to wrap herself up in bubble wrap. I showed her how you can squeeze and pop one of the huge bubbles. She continually tried to do it herself! She also tried to step on it but her 19.5 lbs just did not have enough weight to make it pop!

 

On Friday night we went to dinner with our friends the Pucketts and Uncle Taylor and then headed to Waverly Place for the tree lighting. We met a lot of Mommy's MOPS friends. It was fun to dance to the music and watch Grace explore the green space. She is one amazing and social girl!

 

 

 

 On Saturday we headed to Apex. We walked around the town during the day and then at night we went back for the Apex Christmas Parade. We watched most of it from inside the mexican restaurant which was very fun! Then we took the back way out of the restaurant and walked down the parade. We had a great time listening to bands, singing, and watching the dances. Grace is so interested in sound and movement.

 

Grace also went to the dentist for the first time! We learned all about how to brush her teeth effectively and tips to prevent cavities. Grace actually really enjoyed having her teeth cleaned which was amazing! It was fun to watch her become such a big girl.

Dear Sweet Girl,
Grace we love you so much. This morning you spent 45 minutes reading books. I went in about half way through your time to read with you. You pointed out all the "nosssss" in the book and of course you showed me your "nose" nosssss as well. You also showed me the "be-bays" on each page. I would say "yes, that is a baby" and you would say "be-bay" and show me how you rock a baby. You are starting to really communicate which is amazing. You also get REALLY frustrated when I can't understand what you are trying to say. I will keep trying my best, be patient with me. We love you sweet girl.
xoxo
Mommy & Daddy