that grace

Summer Days

2009-07-09T22:54:00.002-04:00

Picnic lunch at the park.

Cooking with the butterfly net on her head. Caught herself, she did.

Beach Trip

2009-07-07T22:09:00.002-04:00

Life Goes On

2009-05-24T19:08:00.004-04:00

And so do we. We had a lovely, mellow Sunday afternoon, filled with lots of snuggling, a few projects, and dancing barefoot in the dining room. We're loving Renee and Jeremy right now.

Home Alone

2009-05-03T22:20:00.005-04:00

That Grace and I had a picnic in the park for supper. Rob was out of town and Caroline was having dinner with friends, so we dined alfresco.

Bowling with paper cups -- good for at least 20 minutes of entertainment.

We went grocery shopping Saturday. That Grace's job is to put up the frozen foods. She takes her work very seriously and does a great job. She's is very intent on making sure all of the frozen food is put away. As for the rain boots -- it actually was raining that day, so very appropriate. Usually she wears them without regard for the weather.

Happy Day!

2009-05-03T22:08:00.005-04:00

We went to the park twice on Friday. That Grace is becoming a pro on park etiquette. She understands she has to share and be gentle with her friends. This is our favorite park. It's close to our house, it has a slides, swings, and a water feature. It's mostly shady and it is rarely crowded during the week.

Sliding! We keep a park basket in the car with sand toys, bubbles and sidewalk chalk in it. We have used it a lot this week -- perfect park weather.

That Grace loves to color and write. She also loves her stickers. She sat at the table coloring and saying "happy day, happy day." Oh, that's her bunny harness. We don't use it much as a harness any more but she likes to put on the bunny backpack part and wear it around the house.

Helping

2009-05-03T22:02:00.005-04:00

Just being adorable.

Helping Daddy wash his motorcycle.

Helping plant sunflowers.

Spring Time Fun

2009-05-03T21:59:00.003-04:00

Last Birthday Post

2009-05-03T21:50:00.004-04:00

We had a small party at Grandma's house, mostly for the cousins to get together. That Grace went wild over the monkey cake. Monkeys are her latest obsession and she can usually be found in the company of 2 or 3 of them.

A few friends dropped in for the party.

After-party crash. She never sleeps in the car seat, so this is a testament to how tired she was!

Sunflowers and Sprinklers

2009-04-20T22:52:00.004-04:00

Look what's sprouting! The sunflowers are taking off. We decided to focus on flowers this year. I have been halfheartedly trying to grow zinnias for 2 years now, ever since a man Rob works with brought some to his office and assured me, "Oh, I just threw out the seeds and they took care of themselves." Uh-huh. I tried that method. It didn't exactly work out for me. So this year we're putting each seed in it's own little peat pot and giving them lots of love and care. We started with sunflowers and we'll plant zinnias after we transplant these.

Playing in the sprinklers -- she kept trying to drink the water.

First Wheels

2009-04-20T22:47:00.004-04:00

A few weeks ago, I told Rob, "Keep your eyes out for a tricycle. I think That Grace would like one." Well, Aunt Katie must have been reading my mind because look what she and her sweet family sent That Grace for her birthday! The push bar has saved Daddy from a herniated disk, I'm sure. She loves the bucket and has been using it to transport babies and blocks all over the house!

Busy Week

2009-04-18T22:15:00.002-04:00

Planting sunflowers.

Missing Daddy. I was folding clothes and she saw his shirt. She grabbed it, hugged it, and said, "Daddy!" She wore his shirt all afternoon.

Dressed herself, she did.

It was a rough afternoon.

Nothing else to do but put the table leaf on the chaise and start sliding! This is still up. She has had a ball "shiding."

The Saturday Before Easter

2009-04-12T00:13:00.004-04:00

We had a very busy day today. Easter egg hunt with our church.

Sooo tired! She took a long nap when we got home.

Goodies from church.
After her nap we dyed Easter Eggs.

Some moms would be a little worried about the green hand clashing with the Easter dress. Luckily, her dress is yellow, so it'll be fine.

What led to the green hand. Apparently the little wire holder was just too hard to use and that green egg needed to be put away RIGHT NOW.

After we dyed eggs, we had our own egg hunt in our yard with our play eggs. That Grace loved this and we re-hid the eggs several times. Then Daddy came home from the store and she played egg hunt with him, inside.

When it was her turn to hide the eggs, she decided to take it easy on Daddy!

How Old Are You?

2009-04-11T23:50:00.006-04:00

She's 2!
"Happy, happy, happy!" She never quite got out the "birthday" part.

Making "2" cookies.

Opening Memaw's present. She loved the yellow dress Memaw gave her. She did not want to take it off.
Going in for the kiss!
Grandma gave her this bunny that sings while his ears flip up and down. She really liked holding his ears while he was singing!

Eating cake. I think she really understands the "keep your elbows off the table" rule.

Getting Ready for her Birthday.

2009-04-11T23:45:00.004-04:00

Helping with the cake. She picked out the cake (chocolate) and the icing (also chocolate).

The best part of making a cake.

The reason we don't let her have much sugar. She ran around the house shouting "cake, cake, cake" and throwing/tearing up Styrofoam plates. She was a little excited.

Happy Birthday!

2009-04-06T22:36:00.001-04:00

That Grace had a wonderful birthday today. I have lots of pictures that I'll upload as soon as I recover!

2009-04-01T22:12:00.004-04:00

We had a fun, if wet, weekend. There is a great marionette theater near us. This is the 2nd time That Grace and I have been. She made it almost all the way through the show (Beauty and the Beast -- 1 hour) before we had to go to the back to stretch our legs. She talked (signed) about the music more than anything.

We got wet leaving the theater and coming home.

That Grace has been working with an early interventionist because she has not been talking very much. Miss Meagan came today and that Grace must have said 40 new words today alone. It's like the flood gates have finally opened. I won't say she's a chatterbox but she's getting there. You should hear her say "Dah-dee." It is so sweet, melts her daddy's heart, of course.

Here are some more:

boo = blue
tease=please
mo=more
see see=Sweetie
bah-be=baby

On a related note, she loves the song, "The Wheels on the Bus." So tonight we were all sitting on the sofa singing it (Caroline was at MYF) and Rob says, "What does Mommy say?" That Grace responds, "shh, shh, shh." Then he says, "What does Daddy say?" Her reply? "Oookaaay." So, I try to change the song to, "The mommies on the bus say, I love you." She just stood on the couch shaking her head no and saying, "shh, shh, shh."

Oh my.

2009-03-12T21:32:00.005-04:00

We may have to rethink the chocolate oatmeal. She ate a huge bowl of it this morning.

Coloring. She's getting good at drawing circles now, but she still eats the crayons if you turn your back on her.

Making lunch. She insisted on eating outside again today.

New Skills

2009-03-11T22:14:00.003-04:00

I've been meaning to introduce banana slicing for a while and finally got around to it this morning. She did great with it. She is becoming so self-sufficient. It's sad in a way, but also very exciting to watch her develop. She can climb into the car and car seat by herself. She can buckle the chest strap but not the buckle at the bottom. She's getting proficient at pouring her drinks, but it can be painful to watch. Sometimes I just have to look away and remind myself, "Mistakes are how we learn!" She works so hard at it. It is just amazing to see the concentration on her face.

Tonight while she was "helping Mommy cook" she started throwing things from her chair. I overlook a lot during the late afternoon/early evening -- it's always a difficult time for everyone but this was just really intentional. I turned to her and said (in a firm but kind voice), "If you throw anything else, you will not be able to stay in here with Mommy." Apparently, that would be a horrible fate, because she straightened up immediately. Another issue we have had lately is her kicking me while I change her diaper. I know, it's just one more reason we need to focus more on potty training. Anyway, I don't really like to use rewards or punishment, so I try to stay away from time-out and so forth. What I will do is enforce my boundaries. When she kicks me, I tell her, "That hurts. I don't like it. If you kick again, Mommy will leave the room" which involves going into my room and shutting the door, with her in the hall. After about 30 seconds, I open the door and ask, "Are you going to use your gentle hands?" and she'll reach out and softly stroke my arm. I've had to do that twice over a couple of days and now just the threat of "leaving the room" is enough to get her to quit beating up on me!

Rob had to go to church tonight to make dinner for Sonshine Kids and Caroline was at MYF so That Grace and I were alone for supper. The weather was beautiful today but it's supposed to turn cold and rainy the rest of the week, so we decided to enjoy this evening and eat outside. We took a walk before we started cooking supper and I put the harness on That Grace because she does not like the stroller. She always wants to walk. It's really cute. It looks like a bunny shaped backpack. Or at least to me it looks like a bunny shaped backpack. Apparently to every other kid, it looks like a leash. The first time she wore it, this boy, about 10, said, "Oh, wow, that is so cool!" I thought, "See, it's not so bad." Then he said, "You've got a leash on your baby -- like a dog!" Great. So, tonight, the little girl across the street said, "Why is your baby wearing that?"

I have to say, I like the leash, I mean, harness. At least she has some freedom and is getting some exercise, which she wouldn't in a stroller.

Part Two

2009-03-10T22:27:00.003-04:00

We had such a big day, it's taking up two posts. After the zoo, we went to the park for a picnic (if you count take-out as a picnic, which I do).

She's really only interested in the slides. She does not really like to swing. She hated the carousel at the zoo, but she loves the slide.

That Grace hates the vacuum (which is the only reason I so rarely use it!), but I had to vacuum up some crumbs tonight. She ran into her room and this is where I found her when I finished. The book is Everywhere Babies, still her favorite book. She likes to "count" all of the babies.

Finally -- the Baby Giraffe

2009-03-10T22:17:00.004-04:00

We had a big day today. What better way to start it than a bowl of chocolate oatmeal with bananas and dark chocolate chips. It's as good as it looks. This is definitely going in our regular breakfast rotation. We just made the oatmeal with milk, added cocoa powder and topped with banana chunks and chocolate chips.

It was a beautiful day today -- sunny and 80 degrees. Much too nice to stay inside. We headed to the zoo to see the new baby giraffe. He's an awfully big baby.

Apparently the baby giraffe was not quite interesting enough to hold That Grace's attention -- I turned around and caught her reading her Bible! Now, I'd love to claim that we are so devout that we carry our Bibles with us everywhere, but the truth is, just about the only place we routinely take the diaper bag is Sunday School, so her Bible was still in there from Sunday.

Pouring Water and Getting Dirty

2009-03-09T22:35:00.004-04:00

That Grace is able to pour her own drinks now. My master plan is coming along nicely. Pretty soon, she'll be bringing me a tray for dinner!

Getting dirty in the backyard. Look at those little fingers! And that face!

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Now playing: Laurie Berkner - I'm A Mess
via FoxyTunes

Only That Grace

2009-03-05T20:35:00.004-05:00

Last night, That Grace was sitting on the table eating her Italian ice (yeah, we're big on formality around here) and Rob and I started asking for bites. She kept shaking her head "no." I said, "Who can have a bite of ice?" She signed her own name!

On a totally unrelated note, we were doing Sleepy Yoga tonight before bed and That Grace started doing somersaults by herself! I think she even surprised herself.

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Now playing: Laurie Berkner - Ice Cream Cone
via FoxyTunes

Helping Daddy Work on the Car

2009-03-05T20:31:00.004-05:00

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Now playing: Elizabeth Mitchell - Car Car
via FoxyTunes A screwdriver and a running toddler -- scary.

Sick Days and New Music

2009-03-04T22:06:00.003-05:00

It's easy to tell when either of my girls are sick -- it's all in the eyes. Here's That Grace trying to make herself feel better with some buttermilk lotion.

If you're getting this in your e-mail, click on the title to hear the music. I love this song -- it perfectly captures life with a little one.

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Now playing: Kimya Dawson - I Love You Sweet Baby
via FoxyTunes

Just a Quick Update

2009-03-04T21:20:00.003-05:00

Wow, we missed the whole month of February. We've been busy and sick -- a couple of ear infections, stomach viruses, sinus infections. Nothing major, just nagging little things. We're all ready for spring. That Grace is (crossing fingers) finally well. She can put on her coat by herself. It's amazing. I lay it out on the floor for her and she leans over and puts her arms in the sleeves and lifts it up over her head, like this. She says the blessing (although only God can understand her) and is becoming obsessive about her routines.