Zoo Fun!

We took advantage of a somewhat cooler day and headed to the zoo! (The high was only supposed to be 95 today..YEA!) Gracyn had a good time and got to see a lot of animals. We got a season pass, so I'm sure we'll be spending a lot of time there once (IF) it ever cools down! :)

Gracyn loved looking at all of the fish!

Here she is with the hippo!

Ava wanted to hold a bird, but once they got in there, she was too scared to do it. After they left, she cried because she didn't hold one. They were ALL over Amber......I don't think I'll be doing that any time soon!

9 Months!!

Gracyn is 9 months old today! I can't believe it! The past 9 months have gone by a lot quicker than when I was pregnant, that's for sure! We are having so much fun with her at this stage! She is learning so many new things and really interacts with us now. She's got such a cute little personality and sense of humor. She's a speed crawler and is getting really good at walking with help. She lets go of what she's holding onto and stands alone for a little bit too. She still has only 2 little teeth on the bottom and is getting more hair every day! She loves to clap her hands and has started waving at us. She likes to play peek-a-boo with us too. She's still only taking cat naps during the day, but sleeps all through the night. She loves to chatter and yell and loves music! I'm ready for our Music and Me class to start back up because she's finally old enough to interact with the songs and instruments. We started going when she was only 6 weeks old and she slept through her first class. We start swimming lessons tomorrow. She LOVES the water! Some of her favorite things to play with are empty boxes, wooden spoons, empty water bottles and the channel changer...go figure! She is a mover and a shaker and is NEVER still! She eats anything I give her and even a few of her books too! :) We went to the Dr. today and she's right on track. Here are her stats:

Weight: 20 lbs. 8 oz. 80%
Height: 28 1/2 in. long 85%
Head: 50%

It looks like she's praying here, but she was clapping her hands.

She's started doing this a lot lately....I ask her how big she is, and then we put our hands up high and say, "SO BIG!" She loves it!

Luckily I was sitting right there because she crawled right off the chair--head first. This girl isn't afraid of anything! I guess she was still long enough!

Baby Steps

Graycn is trying to walk all over the place! She's so cute when she's taking steps! She hasn't done anything by herself yet, but she's trying. She uses her toy and pushes it all over the house. She also tries to push any other big toy or box across the room while walking. She likes to hold my hands and walk too. It's funny when she's done because she just plops right down. I can't believe how big my baby is getting!!

Love, Love, Love!

I just LOVE this new thing! Some may call it a "cage," (Ava might have pretended she was a tiger at the zoo when she first saw it), but I'd like to refer to it as a "safe play space." It's nice when I need to get some things done around the house and I don't have to chase her around and get her off the blinds or fireplace or keep her from crawling into the dishwasher, washer, or dryer when I'm trying to load or empty them. She plays pretty well in it too....most of the time. She's nearly outgrown her exersaucer, but I can still get a good 20 minutes out of her in the mornings while I eat my breakfast. :) I remember when we first put her in it and she could barely see out of it. My, how she's grown! She's only 2 months here. Tomorrow she'll be 9 months old!!

Separation Anxiety!

I'm not sure who has it worse...me or Gracyn! She wails when she can't see me and I'm dying to get away (Just Kidding!:) Right before we left on our trip, she would get a little upset if I left the room and she couldn't see me. But ever since we've gotten back, it's been awful! She goes nuts when I walk into any room...even if I'm still talking to her! She flails herself onto the floor, starts screaming, and big old tears start rolling down those cute, chubby cheeks. She starts crawling to find me, but her eyes are closed because she's crying so hard, and I know she's going to run into something one of these days. I really don't know what to do with her....any suggestions?? Also, can anyone tell me how long this will last? Sheesh! She's wearing me out! She's such a pitiful little sight....see for yourself.

Look at that big tear!There's my mommy....all better now!

Charleston Part 4 ~ The Wedding

Here are the happy couple, Dallas & Steven. Graycn LOVES necklaces! You can see why I don't wear them anymore....I sure do miss them....

The wedding was outside at a Golf Course. Gracyn was loving the grass. I think it might have been the first time she's seen it and crawled around in it. Since we're having a drought down here, all the grass in our yard is dead!

Sweet cousins!! Zayne just LOVED Gracyn and had so much fun with her! She was so sweet with her. We wish that the girls could see each other more often.I can't believe that I only took a few pictures! Since Drew was in the wedding, I had Gracyn to take care of and picture taking wasn't a priority. The wedding didn't start until 7pm and that's right when she's eating dinner and winding down to go to bed. I was nervous we might have a melt down on our hands, but she did great! We left before the reception though and had a melt down on the way home.....9:00 was pushing it for Gracyn! Drew had to pull over and I got her to sleep and then put her back in her car seat. Poor baby!

Charleston Part 3 ~ Boone Hall Plantation

One afternoon we went to Boone Hall Plantation. It's one of the oldest working plantations. The property was beautiful and we learned a lot about the plantation. We only got to see the first floor of the house though and I was a bit disappointed with that. I love touring old houses and seeing all the history there.

These were the slaves quarters. There were nine houses there and each one told about their lives and history.
This the the house. It isn't the original though...this one was built in 1938. The first one was destroyed in a hurricane and the second was not kept up well so they took parts of it and built the one you see here. Gracyn did pretty well during the tour....she decided to start singing during it, but I don't think anyone minded too much. It's better than crying! :)

Charleston Part 2 ~ Isle of Palms

This was Gracyn's first time at the beach...and she LOVED it! She had so much fun in the water! The sand went straight in her mouth--as you can see in the pictures.

She's found her nose and loves to stick her finger up there. Lovely Gracyn!

Charleston Part 1 ~ Ft. Sumter

We went to Charleston, SC for Drew's little sister's wedding. We made it into a family vacation too! We did a lot of sight seeing and had a great time! I was really nervous about this trip now that Gracyn is always on the go and likes to get down and explore. But, I worried for nothing...she was a fantastic little traveler! She was great the whole time...except for at night. She slept HORRIBLE! She woke up all night long and it took forever to get her back to sleep because she had to be in a deep sleep when I put her down or she'd pop right back up again. Finally, on the last night, I pulled the covers off the bed and Gracyn and I slept on the floor. We were all really happy to be back home!

Cousin Zayne had SO much fun with Gracyn! She was such a big help and Gracyn just loves her to pieces!We went on a boat ride over to Ft. Sumter. It is where the Civil War first began. I love learning about this period of history...."Gone with the Wind" is my all time FAVORITE movie. I'm trying to talk Drew into watching it with me one of these days. Gracyn was SUCH a little trooper! I think she really enjoyed all the people watching she got to do on this trip. She is such a little ham and loves to get other people's attention!

Stuck!

Gracyn dumped out all of her toys in her bucket, so I stuck her in there. She thought it was hilarious at first....until she realized that she couldn't get out and explore!

Random Pictures

There really isn't anything to say in this post. These are just some pictures that Grandmom Tina hasn't seen yet...enjoy! :)