Conversations: Grace

Grace currently says the following words at 15 months:

Dada or Da! for Daddy (and she says it most excitedly when he gets home from work! It as if her entire world changes in a split second to completely happiness because he is home. She will run as fast as she can to him and jump in to his arms to be held awhile.)

Mama - but while it was the first word she said a few months back, she stopped awhile. Now, she is starting it up again - mostly when she is tired and fussy and wants to be held by me, but I'll take it.

At, or Dat for Atticus. You have to be around her a lot to catch it, but she does have a sound for him.

Bubble - said perfectly. so cute!

Dah - for Dog. She points and says it every since they came back from their vacation at Grandma and Pop's house where she was around Sam, Molly's dog, all week.

Jih Jih - She can almost say GG, but is getting better all the time!

She also says "more" in sign language and I'm trying to teach her please. Sometimes when I giver her something, I tell her to say Thank You and she says something to that effect.

10 Things About Grace

I haven't done an update on Grace in awhile, so I thought I would. She is changing so much every single day and turning into a toddler very quickly! Here are 10 of my favorite things she is up to!

1. At 15 months, she weighs 23 lbs. She has all 12 teeth, but has been cutting the 2 most recent for about two weeks and has been extra miserable for these 2.

2. She loves snacks and will pull my hand toward her to get up from wherever I am and lead me to the pantry for a snack. However, she is also good at eating all kinds of food including vegetables!

3. She has gotten to the stage of hitting. She will hit me anytime I tell her no when she really doesn't want to be told no. I tell her no and sometimes seat her somewhere in a pseudo-time out to show her no means no. And with Atticus, she really hits him! She will push, pull, and hit him as hard as she can when she wants her way or wants him to get out of her way!

4. When I change her diaper on the changing table, she asks for her wooden cupcakes she got for her birthday. I leave the stand and cupcake on the dresser and she points and gets so excited when I give her one to play with during the diaper changing.

5. She also loves to put things in a box or move things from one spot to another.

6. She loves being outside and goes to both doors and grunts and points to tell me she wants to be out there. Her favorite things to do out there are swing and play with chalk. I am surprised at how long she occupies her time with getting every piece of chalk out of the box and drawing with it on the ground. She also takes a few licks of each piece, but for the most part, she just draws all over the porch.

7. This week, she has started finding one of Atticus' animals - usually a bear or giraffe or sometime a pig or cow and follows me and roaring at me. I, of course, act scared and run away and she just giggles and roars some more.

8. She also loves her baby dolls. She will pick them up and pat them and put them in the stroller. She will also pick up her little purse and walk around the house with it. Sometimes, you will find some random toys in that little purse. She also will pick up her little bracelets occasionally and put them on her wrist. Fingers crossed for a girl who loves to play dolls and dress-up!

9. Her hair is growing longer down past her neck in the back. And at the front, it is growing down into her eyes (gotta trim it this weekend!) but on the sides, it is growing very slowly. So, it looks kind of like a mullet! Plus, it is really thin and fine just like mine was for so many years when I was a little girl. So, since she is pulling headbands out of her hair these days (as soon as she realizes they are there despite me being sneaky when I put them in!), I thought I would try clips. But, she doesn't really have enough hair for clips. So, my friend Cecilia told me about this little plastic hairties. I can get two little pigtails in with these ties, although she doesn't love that process. And they are precious! And I thought she was pulling them out when we got in the car, but now I'm not sure if she pulls them out or they just come out while her head rubs against the seat. But, either way, they don't make it out the door. So, at VBS the other night, I put them in at the church and she didn't bother them all night. They are the cutest, tiniest little pigtails though and I love them! The only drawback - they make her look like such a big girl!

10. And finally, my favorite thing about Grace right now is her love of Frozen! I know you are thinking that she is 15 months old and how does she even know what Frozen really is? But, I bought the soundtrack a few months ago and it has played in our car a hundred times. Then, we got the movie and she recognizes the music when she watches it. Do you want to know the reason I know she loves the movie and music? This past Sunday, we stayed a few hours after church to help decorate for VBS. She was not happy because her teeth were bothering her. But, at one point, I turned on the Disney music I've downloaded for the kids on my phone. It starts with some Frozen songs and then goes to Lion King and Dumbo, etc. When Lion King music would come on, she would bring me the phone fussing. At first I assumed she was bored but I'd re-start the music and she would be completely content walking around carrying the phone and listening to her music. But, then I realized each time she brought it to me, it was because it was NOT playing Frozen anymore. So, since then, when she is being fussy, I start singing Frozen songs to her and she smiles and listens and is completely happy! I love, love, love this movie and love that she has such sweet music to comfort her!
11. A Bonus! Grace has a new love of sitting in chairs. She crawls up on the ottoman to the oversized chair in the living room to relax. She immediately moves whatever is in Atticus' wooden rocking chair in his room so she can sit in it. And best of all, she loves going back and forth between their backyard chairs choosing which one she will sit in to relax. 

 

 

Vacation at Grandma and Pop's

So, for a few months, Vic, myself, Molly, Charley, and Ana were planning a trip to Destin, Florida for a weeklong beach vacation. In the meantime, we had planned for Grace and Atticus to stay in Sanger with Grandma and Pop as well as visiting GG, Melbo, and Pa. This was going to be their first time to stay away from us since Atticus was born. I talked a lot about their "vacation" and Atticus knew, by the time we got there, that he and Grace had their own vacation at Gwanma and Pop's house while Mommy and Daddy were going to the beach for our vacation. We got to Sanger Friday night. On Saturday, we went to Sharkarosa in Pilot Point with Grandma, Pop, and Molly to see the animals and left before they woke up on Sunday morning.

(These picture was from when we went to Melbo's the afternoon after Sharkarosa. Grace was so cute sitting her her lap and putting her hand in Melbo's water over and over and licking her hand. And of course, Melbo told her she could do anything she wanted. Spoiled!) 

Apparently, they had a great time. According to mom and daddy, Grace didn't cry the entire time and Atticus behaved the entire time with the exception of bothering Grace and getting into trouble occasionally. The highlight of the week for Atticus, I think, included him getting to play with the goats in the pen every evening while Grace played on the porch and Mom and Daddy watching them. Daddy pulled some up in the pen for him and let him go. He loved on them, hugged them, chased them, fed them, and ran with them. He befriended two of the friendly ones, Snip, a little 3 month or so old buck (who I have recently learned will probably become a permanent member after his castration) and Yodel, a 6 month old doe who is also going to be a keeper at the Erwin goat ranch. And he was quick to explain to me that Snip's mommy didn't like him, but only liked his brother (which is the truth - Snip's mother wasn't too interested in him when he was born, but eventually let him nurse - poor little guy!) Atticus got to go with Pop to the feedstore one day and on the last day, he and Grace went with Pop and GG who took them to the boot store to buy new boots for both kiddos! And they ended with lunch at Chic-Fil-A. They watched their favorite shows, ate fun grandparent approved food, and took naps well. I was so proud of Grace who slept in her crib so well (since she is usually terrible when sleeping in the pack and play away from home). They also celebrated Daddy's birthday with a cake GG made. Oh and one night, there was a big thunderstorm and apparently, Mom was worried that the kids would wake up and be scared so she waited in the living room around 4am. Sure enough, Atticus came out and told her "I don't yike the wain on my windows!" and snuggled up with her on the couch where they played on the Ipad. He even found our beach instagram pictures and while Mom quickly explained we were on our beach vacation hoping that he wouldn't get sad that we weren't there, he told her it was "yike me on my vacation". So, clearly, he was not too upset about being away from us! For the kids, and the grandparents, it was a really good week for the four of them to be together!

After we got back into town late Friday night, we thought Atticus might be asleep. But, he was having a hard time falling asleep because they had told him that after he slept, we would be back. Well, we couldn't wait to see him, so I walked into his room and he looked at me really close as if he was confused and said "but I haven't swept yet!" So funny!

Grace, however, was a stinker the entire day. She only wanted us to hold her and only wanted to whine and cry. Looking back, I wonder if she didn't feel good because on the way home that day, she threw up and the following week she was very crabby due to her teething. But, thankfully, that at least held off until we got back. Fussy babies are hard to make happy!

After Atticus told his goats goodbye, the entire family met over at Melbo and Pa's house for Daddy's birthday and Father's Day lunch and we stayed until about 4pm or so before loading up to go back to College Station. After lunch, we hung outside watching a grass fire across the street and showing Atticus the fire trucks. It was a wonderful week of vacation for the kids and for Vic and me. Can't wait to send the kids away again for a week next summer!!!

 Atticus and Yodel.

Atticus and his goat, Snip.

 This was Grace's rough day, when she couldn't stop crying most of the day.

 Sometimes, there is NO time to go inside to the restroom. You just have to potty outside.

 

 Group photo failed. But, look at those new boots!!

 This was the Grandma and Pop's evening view throughout the week.

Everyone was watching the grass fire across the road.

She was happy playing outside though!

 Atticus always helps blow out the candles so he can eat the cake, even when it's not his birthday!

 

One Sunday Morning

This last Sunday morning, right before going to our last Sunday School class of the school year at church, I did a quick photo shoot. I had just bought Atticus his first cowboy hat and both kids were dressed up so cute!

I didn't really want our front porch as a background, but Atticus was insistent on posing here.

 

 

Grace was harder to convince, as she is obsessed with the sprinkler in the flower beds. She goes to it first thing when we go into the front yard to pull it to see if she can pick it up. (little blue spot on the bottom left).

 My pretty little girl, Grace Caroline.

 

My sweet boy, Atticus Vic.

Then, I attempted some pictures of the two of them. Atticus was trying hard to follow directions, but Grace was just not interested!

Paw Patrol

A month or so ago, I let Atticus watch TV for a long time one day as I scrubbed our house clean. There are some days you just need to do a lot of extra cleaning and you just need the kids to be occupied. So, for Atticus, he watched TV. And when Disney was over, I switched to Nickelodeon and kept my eye on it to make sure the right shows were being watched. Sometime Nickelodeon has some iffy shows. But, that exact day, he found one he particularly liked. It was called Paw Patrol. And on the very next day he asked to watch it again. I had no idea what he was talking about when he was telling me, but I switched it over to Nickelodeon and strangely enough at 8:30 in the morning, it was on! I recorded it and we set more to record. Since then, he has been addicted. And in the past two weeks, he has gotten even more addicted. It is the only show he wants to watch when he wakes up in the morning. He knows the theme song and the dogs and what each dog says and he even knows all the details of the shows he has seen. It is a really cute cartoon about Ryder, the boy and 6 dogs, Marshall, Chase, Zuma, Rocky, Rubble and Sky, who all have special traits that allow them to help others in need. They live in a small town and there is a town mayor and a farmer and boat captain and a baker and other kinds of people. And, there is always a theme such as "The Pups save the cake!" or "The pups save the kitty!" or "The pups save the circus!" And they all drive fun vehicles depending on what they do. So, Marshall drives a fire truck and his catchphrase is "I'm fired up!". Or there is Chase who is a police dog and says "Chase is on the case!". Or there is a recycling dog (drives a dump truck) named Rocky who says something like "Don't lose it, Reuse it!" You get the idea. And, yes, I just realized that I know all of this a little too well. So, it is a really cute show and while the same basic thing happens each episode, it is all about helping others. So, it is totally acceptable.

It's just hilarious the way he runs around the house copying what has happened in the show. Or he is yelling out the phrases such as "Atticus is on the case!" The funniest thing happened today when I didn't shut the refrigerator door and the door alarm started going off. Atticus and Grace were eating lunch and I heard it from the other room. I said "just a second refrigerator - I'm coming to close you!" (and yes, I realize I just told you that I talked to the refrigerator, but I'm home with two kids all day long. So, this is my normal.) But, before I walk in, I hear Atticus say "Mommy I'll get it. No job is too big, no pup is too small!" and he ran to shut the door. That phrase is also part of the show.

I love that he uses Paw Patrol, which he actually calls Puppy Patrol, to pretend and use his imagination. He also likes to name each of us the dog names. So, one night while in the bathtub, he dubbed Grace as Sky, me as Chase, Vic as Zuma, and himself as Marshall. Marshall must be his favorite - he is always Marshall. And he will sometimes want me to call him Marshall so he can pretend to be a dog, which of course I oblige to. But, when I talk to him, he will also sometimes tell me that dogs don't talk. And then he will stick out his tongue and pant like a dog. The funniest part about the panting? Grace now does it too. She is so stinking cute. She doesn't put her tongue out but will still pant like a dog and laugh.

So, Paw Patrol is our show right now. Thankfully, it's a good one!

An Aggie Baseball Game

The night before Atticus' birthday, we took him to his first Texas Aggie baseball game at Blue Bell Park in Olsen Field vs. Texas State. We were actually meeting a friend there as well and we had great seats loaned to us by the Cummings family. Grace stayed at the house with GG. So, we got to the game, ate some popcorn and watched about 4 innings before Atticus got restless. But, before he got restless, he would cheer for the Aggies and yell "go aggies!" So, he and I went to the playground on the side of the field to play, while Vic headed up to see our friend, Lloyd, at his seats. Atticus played and played at the playground and then we headed back to find Vic. Unable to find him, and Atticus unable to stay seated, we started walking around behind the stands. It was fun because it is so family friendly there. He found a couple of bugs to follow along the ground and we walked to the grassy area by 3rd base to sit awhile and talk and sing songs, since by that point, he focus on the game. But, he still loved watching and being in the ballpark. We even saw Lillie Dunham, a member of our church who is in her 90's and still comes to every Aggie baseball game. Jim, her son, had brought her. We couldn't really find Vic, so we just kept playing and walking around and watching the game, just he and I, until the game was over. He was really cute in his little Aggie outfit and ball cap. And he had the best time. We even saw a bunch of baseball scouts (I guess professional) seated behind the stands clocking the pitchers. I learned that's who they were from someone who sat near us. It was a beautiful, cool, fun evening! And the Aggies won 9-2! Here's to many more Aggie baseball games in out future and maybe even a little t-ball player in a couple of years!