Blueberries, Playhouse, and "Sparkle"

I've been having a hard time brushing Grace's teeth. I tried the automatic toothbrush the pediatrician said to get and it worked for a while until Grace decided it was more fun to put her little finger on it, "ET phone home" style, than have Mama brush her teeth with it. Next came a little pink toothbrush with ladybugs, but she'd rather point to the ladybugs and say "bugs", than have it in her mouth. Finally last week I spotted a mini pink tube of baby Orajel gum cleaning gel in the baby aisle at Target and BINGO! it had a picture of Elmo. Armed with my Elmo "toothpaste" I decided this might just do the trick. So that night after her bath, I pulled out the pink brush and pink Elmo gel and Grace just smiled with excitement. She let me brush her teeth, gums, tongue - you name it! (Now, I realize you're probably thinking, why is she writing about this. Well, if you're a mom, then you understand how excited we get over these little everyday accomplishments. Plus, I've never had a cavity, so I'd like to instill good hygiene early on :) ) I also told Grace, now you can sparkle! And she took the bait! So everytime I say to her, "show me how you sparkle", this is what I get: Not bad, huh?

Sunday afternoon, Noonie brought over blueberries that one of their neighbors had grown. They were delicious! Grace had never tried them before and when she did, she puckered up and made a face at the "balls" as she called them! Along with the Elmo toothpaste, I picked up this pop up playhouse on sale at Target last week. At first Grace wouldn't go in it, but once Noonie went inside, she figured it was safe and happily climbed in Noonie's lap for her favorite "a,b" book. I can just picture the girlie sleepovers to come!

Weekend Fun - Part II

Tales from the Crib~

Picture this: Mama tucks in a sleepyhead Grace for an afternoon nap, although it's a little later than her usual time. Grace decides sleeping means she's missing out on something fun and refuses to nap. After about 20 minutes of fussing, Daddy gives in and goes to get Grace since it's obvious 1) she's not going to sleep and 2) if she DID fall asleep now, it would mess up her bedtime since it's close to 5PM. Grace (relieved that Daddy rescued her from that mean old crib) sees Mama and excitedly says, "Mama!"
Mama: "You didn't take a good nap. You're going to be sleepy, tired, and grouchy later."
Grace: "I happy."
Oh, my! She's only 15mo. old!! What are we in for???!!!

So we quickly switched plans and decided to have some good old fashioned backyard fun. Check out Grace's hands. Can you see a trend? Grace LOVES holding on to stuff. She calls these her "tools". Love those piggy tails! Fun in the summertime

Weekend Fun - Part I

I just love the extended daylight hours! Makes me feel like we have extra time to do fun things! Now, if I could do something about the heat...Anyhow, Grace had so much fun this weekend. She loved playing with this air ball toy until she figured out that just holding on to the balls was even more fun! Mimi to Grace: How does it work, Grace?
Grace: Press right here, Mimi! Thanks for the cute outfit, Mimi!

Saturday, we went to Madeline's birthday party at a video arcade. I can't believe my sweet goddaughter is already 5 years old!! My, how fast they grow! I remember holding her when she was just moments old...sweet memories, for sure.

The birthday girl Make a wish! Grace loved riding in this car! By the way, that's Uncle Brian (Madeline's dad) laughing in the corner! Playing with Daddy HAPPY 5TH BIRTHDAY, MADELINE!!! Aunt Jessica loves you!

"Elmo, Snack"

To say Grace loves Elmo would be an understatement! Her little red furry friend is a constant companion. She wants her Elmo books read over and over and over...She carries him everywhere. She looks for Elmo on her diapers ("Ernay" (ernie) is a close second). She wants to take a bath with her Elmo mat (non skid bath mat). You get the picture. Funny thing is, she's never watched Sesame Street! And until this past week, she had never seen an Elmo movie - I guess the little guy has his own appeal of sorts, at least to a 1 year old!

So you can imagine how I laughed when I walked in on this little scene. We had been watching the rain from our bedroom window and I stepped out of the room for a couple of minutes to get something. When I walked back, this is what I saw:

You hungry, Elmo? I got just what you need! Open wide! This works much better!!! Just a few more to make sure you don't go hungry. The "I just got caught" look! Mama: Grace, whatcha doing?
Grace: Elmo, snack.
Mama (laughing): Great job sharing, pumpkin!

Mama's sweet pumpkin! I'm so happy I still had my finger on the shoot button as Grace came running toward me!!!

And lastly, my little tornado!
(this is what happens when mama goes into the kitchen for a few minutes :) Who cares about the mess - she's having so much fun!!!!!

Hi, my name is Grace

Today, Noonie taught Grace how to respond when someone asks, "What's your name?". Check it out - it's so sweet and her facial expressions are too funny if I may say so myself! :)

Noonie, I missed you!

Noonie went on a week long trip to PR, to visit my grandma (her mom) for her 84th birthday. We all missed her, but especially Grace. Friday morning when I asked Grace, "do you know what today is?" expecting her to say "Gymbo" in reference to Gymboree, she said, "Noonie" with a look of anticipation and longing. So when Monday rolled around and it was time to pick Noonie up at the airport, we made a little welcome sign to let her know how happy we were to see her. Grace loves to "cogu" (color with crayons - albeit if just dots) and "paint" (use markers) so she was super excited about the welcome sign.

As soon as I spotted Noonie at the terminal, I handed Grace the sign and told her, "look who's here!!!" Oh, it was priceless! She was so excited and started running toward Noonie, sign in hand, yelling, "Noonie, Noonie, Noonie" until Noonie scooped her up in her arms. Me being the sappy person that I am, I even had a few little tears of joy seeing them together. I wasn't the only one, even other travelers stopped to look and smile at the love between grandma and child!

I missed you, I'm so glad you're home! Here, I made this just for you. Do you like it? Did you miss me? When we dropped off Noonie, Grace just wanted to play and hang out outside with Noonie.
Catch me if you can! Checking out some of the neighbor's flowers. Check out her hand in response to my "be gentle, Grace". She was so careful when touching the flowers! I just love how toddlers squat so check things out. It is just the cutest!!! Grace was so excited with the cow toy Noonie brought her! Here's Grace checking out her new Moo Cow flashlight.

Welcome home, Noonie! We missed you!!

Playdate with Cousin Carson

This past Saturday we made a trip to Shane, Amanda, and Carson's home in Tyler, TX for Julie's baby shower. Julie is Amanda's sister and is married to Lance's best friend Thomas (they met at our wedding!!). While we oooh'd and aaah'd over baby Preston's gifts, Grace had a very fun playdate with cousin Carson. Here they are just hanging out. Now, I know I've said it before, but Grace LOVES holding on to things. I often find her with her little hands full just trying to fit one more thing! Here's proof and check out the rest of the pictures - she didn't let go of those balls for hours! Here's Carson saying "I don't know what to think - she's playing with all my toys!!!" Other people's toys are just the best! This will show her! I have to defend my territory! Ha, ha - I'll just hold these way up in the air! When my mama said "playdate" I didn't know what she meant. I want my toys back! They really did have a fun time together, no major squabbles or tears! Thanks so much Davenport's! Grace had a fun time and we can't wait to have you guys over next time!

Southern Belles

A while back I found these sweet vintage pillowcase dresses on ebay. They were ready-to-ship creations and just happened to be the perfect size for Madeline and Grace! I envisioned having them wear them with cowboy boots for some fun photos, but I've been having a hard time finding boots in Grace's size with it being Summer and all, so barefoot it was and it was perfect!

Grace is in awe of Madeline and wants to do everything "Maden" does, as she calls her :) So Heidi, my partner in crime, and I set out to scope out some fun locations as the girls napped in the car. Heidi drove us to THE most beautiful tucked away plantation-style homes and pecan grove I have ever seen. How I didn't know about these, I have no idea, since I live less than 10 minutes away from them, but I'm head-over-heels in love with these houses.

Although we had gone to a couple of locations, we knew that was THE spot! Never mind that it was a private residence. We drove across the way and stopped at what looked like an old general store, complete with an old gas pump out front. Being almost 6 mo. pregnant and full of gumption, Heidi decided to go in and ask if they knew who the owners were and whether they thought the owners would mind if we took a couple of pictures of our girls:) The man was super nice and come to find out, he was the owner of the house, the business, and the plantation and said he'd be happy for us to take pictures in his yard! His brother and another family member owned the other two houses - talk about a family owned haven! Honestly, I felt transplanted in time when we drove by these three secret houses and the thought that came to mind was "...if you ever decide to sell your home, will you call me before you list it?" Doubtful since it's family land:( ...But we did get some fun pictures of the girls!

Prairie Girls
Dandelion Wishes
Sweet Cheeks
I want to be just like you
America, the Beautiful!
Aunt Jessica, are you sure this branch can hold me?
My favorite shot of Madeline
Friends Forever

Celebrating Flag Day

Anyone that knows me knows that I love Christmas, Birthdays, and Pumpkin Patches. Actually, I think I love all holidays!!! I like all the details that go into making each one special. I get excited over little holidays that are no longer celebrated as much as they were decades ago, like May (maypole) Day and Flag Day. So to celebrate Flag Day, which was last Saturday, June 14th, I taught Grace how to march and chant "USA". She of course thought I was looney and goofy, but she loved it! All afternoon she was walking around saying "You Say" for USA. I got little bitty flags and as you can see by the pictures, she loved waving hers in the air. LOL, I think we have a head start on Independence Day!

Here's Grace listening to me talk about our flag and what it means. Getting excited! My mama is goofy, for sure! Okay, I want to march too! This is SO much fun!!! God bless the USA!