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

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year! What a difference from last year I remember at thanksgiving dinner last year just hoping that Grace would sleep through the meal so that I could eat in peace. hehe. So loving this age! Grace got to help out a couple times during the preparation of the meal. Here Grace is helping J-pa and Daddy, the night before, cook the sausage for the breakfast casserole. As you can see she was very interested in understanding what everyone was doing in the kitchen! I love the picture of her and all the guys legs. 

 

Hanging out with Grace before her bedtime on the night before Thanksgiving! Can you tell a difference in what a man does to help a child get settled for bed and what a women does? Love it!

 

Early morning run over the river and through the woods to Mimi's house we went! We literally ran from our house to Mimi and J-pa's house. Hopefully  next year the bridge will be completed and we wont have to cross the river in such a muddy fashion.

Cooking breakfast and Mimi and J-pa's. Grace helped with the monkey bread. She LOVED licking her hands after putting the dough in the sugar and cinnamon. A little bit of a sugar high? I think so!

 

Finally we are all showered and back at our house. Ready to start cooking dinner! The turkey came out great again this year and we added a corn casserole that everyone really loved. It has been really fun hosting the actual Thanksgiving meal the last 3 years.

 

 

The day after Thanksgiving we headed up to Durham for a family dinner at a pizzeria and then a walk through the lights. Grace kept going "woah woah woah"

Throughout the week Uncle Tay Tay found his snuggle buddy. I think we wore them both out on multiple days. Grace has gotten to be a really great snuggler too which is extra nice!

 

Mimi entertained Grace with fun kid songs on her phone. Got to love technology. We are  hoping to get smart phones in 2013! Look at Grace's Mom and Dad getting all fancy. hehe

Daddy played around with the camera this week while watching Grace. He got some really great shots, here are just three of them. Thanks Daddy for taking great pics!

Dear Grace,
I can not wait for next Thanksgiving! Each day just gets better and better. You are learning so much each day and becoming your own person. You love dancing when music comes on and if you don't feel you are getting enough attention you are very verbal about it. We love you sweet girl.
xoxo
Mommy & Daddy