Glad to Sad--or Maybe Mad.....

Gracyn was having a great time playing on her elephant. It was all fun and games until she started standing up on it. When we'd tell her to sit on her bottom, she'd sit down. But not a second later she'd be up again and thought it was so much fun!Mommy got up to show her how to sit on her bottom. But, someone didn't get the message.
So, the elephant was put up since she wouldn't ride it correctly. Gracyn was REALLY mad at me.......what do you think??

Time for Tea!

Gracyn got a tea set for Christmas and LOVES to play with it. I'm just glad that the tea pot has an "off" switch and I can turn off the music because she'd have it playing ALL day long!
She really likes to play with the cups. She'll bring one over to me and we'll both share a sip. She's too cute!!

14 Months!!

So, I've stopped taking Gracyn's picture every month on her birthday, and it makes me sad that I'm not remembering all that she's doing now. I know that I can't possibly keep it up each month of her life, so I will try and just write down things every now and then so I can remember her at this stage. So at 14 months, here's what she's up to. (This is a long post.....)
Busy, busy, busy!!!She never stops...I know I've said this all along, but now that she's walking--it's non-stop action. Sometimes I think I need a bell on her to keep up with where she is at all times!*She loves babies and likes to hug and kiss them and pat them. It's so sweet to watch. I just hope she'll be this sweet to the real thing when it gets here! She loves to take them for a ride in her doll stroller too.
* She's also so loving to us. She'll give tight hugs where she wraps her arms around your neck and then will lean back and give you a big, wet kiss! Melts my heart every time. She also loves to share her food with us too. A bite for her, and then a bite for us.

*She's starting to be a fickle eater. One day she loves something, and the next time she won't touch it. And she shakes her head "NO" to be sure to let you know that she doesn't want it! I never know what she's going to eat these days. One thing I can always count on though is potatoes--she'll eat them any way. (Just like her Mama!) She sure likes to shove as much as she can get in there--I have to ration how much I give her. She's getting 4 new teeth, making a total of 12 now. Hopefully that will help with her chewing up her food better.*She is a social butterfly and LOVES to go "bye-bye." When I get her up from her morning nap, the first thing she says to me is, "Go Bye-Bye?" She loves to get attention and will stare someone down until they give it to her. She'll tell and wave bye to them and blow them a kiss when we leave.

*She is a talker! (Wonder where she gets that from....) She babbles all day long. Sometimes she sings too...it's precious! Whenever she wakes up, she just lays in her crib and talks to herself and waits for someone to come get her. In the mornings, she's just started to yell, "DA DA" because he's the one who usually comes to get her then. He loves it! We have so many conversations throughout the day....I just wish I knew what we were talking about. :)
*Gracyn LOVES music. She'll clap with the song and dance too. Her favorite toys are the ones that play music. ( We love the ones that come with "on/off" switches!)

*She also loves books. She likes for us to read to her and she definitely has her favorites--(you can tell by the book's condition). But, she's started sitting and looking at her books by herself. She'll even babble at the pictures like she's reading it out loud. Makes this former teacher VERY proud!

*She likes her toy phone and will pick it up putting it to her ear and say, "Lo" and then pretend to talk to someone and then hand it to us. She'll say "bye" when she's done too. I just love watching her! Today, she handed me the real phone and said, "Da Da?" So we called to talk to him.*She's really started understanding simple directions. When I ask her to close a door or bring me something, she knows what I'm talking about and does it. But, she's also started "selective hearing" when I tell her not to do something. She'll keep right on doing it like I haven't said a word. I'm getting to see more and more of her little temper--she's VERY strong-willed!

*She knows the names for so many things and it's so neat to watch her learn more. When I tell her a word, she'll repeat it. Whenever she hears an airplane--whether she can see it or not--she'll say "a-pane" over and over until we acknowledge that we've heard it too and she's right.

*She's very attached to her blankie. She likes to take it with her all over the house, but we leave it here when we go places. She also still loves her paci. But, we only usually give it to her when she's going to sleep or really upset about something.
*When I ask her if she's ready to go "Night Night", she'll grab her blankie and stand by the bottom of the stairs at the gate. Sometimes she even walks over there on her own and waits to be taken up to go to sleep.*Gracyn LOVES balls. I think that they are her most favorite things to play with. She finds them anywhere we go and points them out.

Slide Fun!

I got this slide for Gracyn a while back, but she's just now getting big enough to really play with it. She's learned quickly how to climb up the stairs and get her feet out in front of her to slide down. She has so much fun on it!!

Balloons!!

Gracyn LOVES balloons! She goes crazy when we walk into HEB and she sees them! She'll yell "Ba-oon" at the top of her lungs. Everyone gets a little laugh out of it! :)

Ava's 3rd Birthday!!

Ava had her birthday at a bounce house this year. Gracyn had a blast! It was a little difficult keeping up with her though, now that she is on the go!Gracyn had fun in the little car.

She played inside all the bouncers.

Gracyn & Pop

She even slid down the BIG slide with Daddy and didn't cry! (Not too sure how much she really enjoyed it though by the look on her face:)

First Night Away!

Drew got a call from someone at work offering him tickets to the Cotton Bowl. Since Oklahoma State was playing AND the seats were in a suite at the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium, he was super excited. He even called my parents and asked them if Gracyn could spend the night. So, we finally did it....we left her over night. I thought I'd been looking forward to this for a long time...but it was SO much harder than I thought! Maybe it's because I'm pregnant (that's what I'm blaming it on) but I cried for 20 minutes as we drove down I-35 and I wouldn't let Drew talk about her because I was so sad. I just missed her so much--like a part of me was missing. We did end up having a great time and got to go to dinner with Tara and Dwight. We stayed at a great hotel and the game was a lot of fun--even if we didn't win. It was wonderful to get away. And Gracyn had a great time too....so did Mimi & Pop. I don't even think she knew we were gone! (Tear!) We did go pick her up late Saturday night when we got back--even though she was asleep-- because we were both dying to see her. So, it was a success, and I'm checking the calendar to see when we can do it again!! :)"Hello...Mommy, Daddy...when are you coming home??"

Gracyn got to spend time with Nana too!

Ava and Towns came to play. Here's Ava sporting her new "do."

Uncle Ry-Ry's Visit

Ryan came for a surprise visit the day after Christmas until New Year's Day. Virginia was in a show and had to stay in New York City. We had a great time with him and the girls had a blast playing "Pirates and Princesses" with their Uncle Ry-Ry. We're not sure if he'll come back again by himself though. I don't think either one of them knew how hard it would be to be away from each other and how bad they would miss one another. Awww, newlyweds! :)

Gracyn and Ava LOVE their Uncle Ry-Ry!

Uncle Drew reading a book to Ava. She loves to snuggle up to him and have him read to her--and to think that when she was a baby, she wouldn't go near him and screamed and cried when she heard or saw him! She definitely loves him now!This little girl LOVES books too!

Say CHEESE!! (Literally, that's what Ava's eating!)

Mimi reading to Gracyn.

Christmas 2009

With Gracyn being in the hospital, Christmas seemed like such a blur. It came and went so quickly! We had a lot of fun! It sure is a different experience with kids in the mix now. It's so fun to watch them. Ava had a blast and I can't wait for Gracyn to get more excited the older she gets. Nana and Gracyn

Gracyn LOVES to help Mimi in the kitchen!The best we could get of all three cousins!

Gracyn LOVED this little snowman that would sing if you wound him up. She would just stand there and wait for someone to wind him up and just dance around. Luckily, Ava quickly learned how to do it for us! :)

Reading our Christmas book on Christmas Eve before we opened presents.

Here she is on Christmas morning.

Gracyn really loves her new pink chair she got from Mimi and Pop. She loves to play Peek-a-Boo with you. It's too cute!

Ava and Gracyn love to just sit and look out the back door. They watch for the birds, squirrels, and kitty to visit. It's so cute to watch them. Again, playing with that snowman. She REALLY liked it!