Pumpkin Patch, Shower, and Halloween Party

A couple of weeks ago we headed out to the pumpkin patch in Mayflower. Gracie had a great time! Here we are on the hay ride. Gracie and Kekoa explore the patch.

Daddy found us the perfect pumpkin!

We went with Matt, Iris, Kekoa, and Josh, Rebecca, Jacob, and Haven. Fun times with good friends!

This farm also had a little zoo. Gracie loved the ducks, and wanted to climb in the cages.

Last week, Beth, Jill, Lori, and April threw me a shower at Canon Grill. Baby boy Glasgow got some cute, cute clothes, blankets, and diapers! This was such a special girl time. I know there are not too many people who can say they are still friends with people all the way back to elementary and jr. high school. We all grew up together and went to college together as well, so we have a special bond!

And on Friday Gracie went to her first Halloween party! My brave girlfriend Mandy from Moms and More had 15 kiddos over to her house! That's 15 kids and about 12 moms! It was a houseful, but she graciously cooked grilled cheese and potato soup for us all, as well as let the kids play with all of Noah's toys and even had a craft and costume contest! Here's my little pumpkin.

Gracie loved Ruthie the duck most of all.

Grace loved the toy horse.

What a cute table! And delicious treats!

Grace also loved this oversized dog. Her costume didn't last too long, so we all decided she was a ninja instead.

Gracie also loved this car. It's funny how she finds just a few things and wants to play with them over and over.

And here's the winner of the costume contest...Little Indian Annette!Believe it or not, the kids sat still for several minutes while we snapped photos, all the while singing "Old MacDonald had a Farm." They are just precious! Mine didn't turn out too well, but if you visit my facebook page, several other girls have added their shots.

What a fun fall it has been so far!

Wonderful Wednesdays and the Cutest Little Boo Bear in the World

I love Wednesdays! Gracie and I go to the library for story time and she loves it! I love to see her face light up and all the progress she is making. I began taking her to story time when she could barely sit up on her own. Now she is an active participant!Here she is during the "Brown bear, brown bear" song, based on the book. As an animal is called out the kids are to pick it out and put it in the sack. Gracie doesn't identify the animals during the song, but if I point to the picture of the duck she can say it. There's a couple of other animals she can tell me if I point to them. One neat area of growth for Gracie is that she can now go to the front all by herself and get a bag from the teacher and (usually) go put it up at the end of the song!

Ringing bells is a favorite for all the kids.

My active listener!

And this past Wednesday, we had an extra treat. Wendy came over for lunch and Gracie (and I) had a blast. I think Wendy read every single book we had just checked out of the library to Gracie.

And here is some video of my cute little boo bear. My mom recently bought her this bear backpack harness. It has a "tail" that attaches so I can hold on to her so she can't run away from me. We practice at home, and hope to make a public debut soon. Meanwhile, it is one of Gracie's favorite new toys. She wants to wear the bear all the time and it's just the cutest thing!

Happy Birthday to Clay!

We celebrated Clay's 30th birthday today! He had a good day--breakfast at work, lunch with co-workers, a special visit by Gracie to the office today, and then a special dinner at home. Filet mignon topped with bacon, baked potato and creamed spinach. Yummy!I sometimes have trouble getting Gracie to eat meats, but she knows a good thing when she sees it! She loved the filet mignon.Then present time.And last but not least, cupcakes! I think Clay had a good birthday. And after all, as they say, 30 is the new 20! Ha!

P.S.--Somehow some of my text became a link. Don't know how that happened or what happens when you click on it. Oops!

Gracie's First Camping Trip

Gracie went on her first camping trip this weekend. As you can see, she was terribly excited to be going! We went to Albert Pike, the same camping grounds Clay grew up visiting every summer. It was the highlight of his year (better than Christmas!) and I think it will be the same for Gracie. She did great in the car--Albert Pike is a little over 2 hours away on the Little Missouri River.

Our home sweet away from home. The view of the Little Missouri River from our campsite.

Dear old dad did all the set up (and tear down) and did a great job!

We made the short hike down to the springs, and Gracie had a blast in this little spring.

"This is so fun!"

"Don't eat the rock!" We barely caught her before it went in her mouth....oh well, as they say "God made dirt, dirt don't hurt!"

Notice her foot totally submerged in the water. This water was frigid, but she played and played anyway. She only cried when we pulled her out and hiked back to camp.

This was also baby boy Glasgow's first camping trip. It's funny how different this pregnancy has been--I've got the total basketball belly this time around!
"Thanks for the ride, dad!"

More pretty views.

Sabrina had a blast as well.

Baby doll had to come along, too, of course. This is her water baby given to Gracie on her birthday from her Mimi. The good thing about water dolls is you can put them in a pillowcase and wash them in the washing machine, which made her the perfect camping companion!

In the morning after Gracie's first night in a tent. She went down fine in her pack-n-play, but kicked off her covers and got cold. We put her between us on the floor of the tent after that (atop an eggshell mattress). There were some strange hooting sounds going on throughout the night, though, that woke us all periodically. Perhaps not the best night's sleep, but definitely worth it!

Breakfast. Powdered sugar doughnuts! And daddy also made bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches--yummy!

Sabrina also got to engage in her favorite past time--fetching a stick from the river.

As they say, "a good time was had by all." We had a very memorable first camping trip, and look forward to many more!

For Daddy

Here's some pictures for daddy who had to be out of town tonight. Gracie got a couple of new fall outfits today. Here she is sporting the one she picked out herself. I held two outfits in front of her (same style, different color), and this is the one she chose! Cutie, if I do say so myself.

Something New

Gracie just began practicing with a fork and spoon this week. I'm pretty impressed at how quickly she's catching on! On one hand, meal times now take longer and are messier (for the time being), but it was nice this evening at dinner when I gave her a spoon and fork to "practice" with, and we ate in peace while she attempted to eat with the utensils (she had already eaten some and wasn't famished, don't worry!). Then of course we helped her finish up!

Latest Stats and Sayings

Gracie had her 15 month check up this week. She is in the 75% for height (we thought she looked tall!) and between the 25-50% for weight. Gracie is talking up a storm. She can say many words (by "say" I mean she attempts, getting the first consonant sound correct, and usually the vowel, but not many final consonants yet). She can say mama, daddy (da), dog, duck, door, doll (she loves the d words :) ball, eye, nose, and had begun saying bye bye and baby completely. The cool thing is, when we ask her to say a word, she almost always attempts and almost always gets that first consonant right. There's a whole host of other words she says that I can't remember right now. She can also identify several body parts (head, hair, eyes, ears, nose, tongue, arms, legs, feet, hands, toes, belly button) and can identify those parts on me and Clay as well. She even pointed to Sabrina's toes the other day. Gracie continues to love pretend play with her baby dolls and snack cups. I'm smiling just thinking about her....she's pretty amazing!

Okay, enough bragging for one day...more pics and video to come soon!

Everyday with Gracie

Here is Gracie looking out the window at the neighbor's yard people. Thanks, mom, for the pants...we actually needed them today! Gracie loves carrying around my shirts, but usually just certain ones. She was carrying this one around in the above picture, but it was a different day. I decided to put it on her, and boy was it cute! She also found this chain and loves playing with it.

Gracie looooooooooooooves her babydoll!

We knew she loved to read, but this commentary on the book of John is pretty advanced, huh?

Here is Gracie trying to put a piece of cereal in her doll's hand. Before I had the camera, she tried to put the cereal in the doll's mouth. Gracie loves playing with her doll. On Wednesday, I saw her carry her doll to her high chair, put the doll in it, then go bang on the pantry door a couple of times (her version of opening it and getting a snack out) and come back and "feed" an imaginary cracker to her baby. It was precious! She is going to be such a big help when her baby brother arrives!

I am pretty sure Gracie could live outside if we let her. Here she is just enjoying herself!

Oh so Flexible

The Adventures of Sabrina and Gracie

It's been a long time since I wrote about the adventures of Sabrina and Gracie. Gracie LOVES Sabrina. Most of the time, Sabrina loves her back, but occassionally she leaves the room when Gracie enters. Thankfully, Gracie doesn't understand what is happening when she does that! This morning I mentioned that Sabrina needed her hair brushed. A few minutes later, here's what happened.....
After I took this video, Sabrina rammed over Gracie, knocking her to the floor. Gracie just laughed and laughed and laughed! I think they are going to be good friends!

Pretend Play--Snack Time!

Gracie has begun pretend play! She loves to get a cup or bowl out of her drawer in the kitchen and pinch "snacks" out of it. She will "eat" them or give them to me or Clay to eat. Sorry the video isn't too good--I was trying to get in on the snack action!

Bloggy Catch-Up

Gracie has taken off walking. It only took her a couple of days to shed crawling, and walk full time! She has been walking for around 3 weeks, I think. The other day we went to the grocery store around 4:00 and Gracie hadn't eaten a big lunch that day. I immediately bought her an apple for her to munch on during the shopping trip. I didn't hear a peep out of her the entire trip, and when we got home, she kept munching while I brought in the groceries!

She ate quite a lot! My only mistake was forgetting a bib--next time I'll even buy one while I'm there if I have to!

Gracie is so proficient at walking that she can walk and drink at the same time. Notice how she only has one shoe on. She loves to go in her shoe basket and bring us a show to put on her foot. We have started to wonder if it's bad for her to go around with one shoe on, so today I told her "go get the other shoe" and she went back to her room and brought back the match! Such a smartie :)

My favorite time of day is getting Gracie up after her nap. She loves to play in her crib.

Doesn't she look so old here?!?!?! My cutie is growing up!

Yesterday Clay worked in the yard, clearing away some branches and cutting down a small tree in the yard.

Timber!

That's my hubby, a hard-workin' man!

Our sweetie.