Vacation

We decided to head down to Cincinnati again this summer. We stayed at a hotel in Kentucky. The kids enjoyed the indoor pool - we ended up using it quite a bit since it was so flaming hot outside. We left Monday morning and went to the Newport Aquarium. Afterwards we went back to the hotel and went swimming. Tuesday morning we woke up and went to the Cincinnati Zoo. We took the afternoon easy and napped and went swimming.  That evening we went out for ice cream and walked around to some different shops. Wednesday we went to the Reds game. We ended up leaving early because it was too hot for the kids. Live and learn - next year maybe we'll go to a night game and probably not in August. :) That night we went to Coney Island. Luckily it had rained and cooled off. We had a blast at the park. It wasn't busy - I think the rain must have scared a lot of people away. There was a kiddie pool that covered more than an acre. I love water parks and slides...so I was pumped to go down the slide in the middle of the pool a couple of times. The second time I was waiting to go up the stairs this 10 year old kid came up and asked me if he could go in front of me. He even called me miss, which I suppose is better than ma'am. I had to laugh inside because before I went to the slide Steve had told me not to shove any kids out of my way. I was a nice, mature mother and let him go in front of me, although I really wanted to tell him to go to the back of the line! :) Thursday morning we got up and left as early as possible. Poor Samuel was working on one of his top teeth the whole week and slept pretty horribly. Thursday morning he was up at 3...for the day. Not screaming, not even crying, just up. Monday night and Tuesday night went similarly. I'm ready for that tooth to pop through, although I'm sure he's looking forward to it way more! Unfortunately I didn't take a bunch of pictures. I forgot the camera in the hotel several times and was busy having fun (or pushing kids out of my way) the rest of the time. Despite the lack of sleep and extreme heat we had a great time.

Grace is 3!

Grace at age 1

Grace at age 2

Grace at age 3

Grace turning 3 was a bit emotional (for me). I believe it hit me because I suddenly realized how fast 3 years flew by. I found myself thinking back and laughing at certain memories and rolling my eyes at others. Remembering how she had that toothless grin until she was over a year old. Remembering her strong gag reflex...even baby food wouldn't go down easily for awhile. Remembering her baby chub and super soft skin. Remembering how she laughed silently until she was 18 months old. Remembering all of the "fights" that we've had...stubborn versus stubborn-er. :) And so many more. There is no doubt that Grace is a genuinely sweet child and a true blessing to our family. 

Several Grace Quotes and Grace-isms:

• Where'd the fever go? Did it fly up in the sky? (after I told Steve her fever was gone)
  
• Did the thunder go back in the woods? (after it stopped thundering)
  
• My leg has a fever! (after she dropped some Lego's on it - a bit dramatic)
  
• Mom, look at what your son is doing! (he had gotten one of his diapers out and was chewing on it)
  
• I think I'm going to need my butterfly wings to fly to Florida. (we're flying to Florida in December - obviously it will be Grace's first flight) :)
  
• Is a tornado kind of like a tomato? 
• I want relugar milk. (when asked if she wanted regular or chocolate milk)
• Mom, I don't remember this book. (when she doesn't have a book memorized)
• I went to bed at 2:30, slept for a half hour, got up and drank my water for 2 hours and went back to sleep and got up at 6:45. (hasn't quite got the time thing down yet) :)
• I need some privacy please! (when going to the bathroom)
• Is Sam going to sleep in the plak-n-play? 

Grace is very excited to start preschool next month. She's been talking about it since last year. We just got her backpack this week, but it still seems a bit surreal.

Grace (at age 3) loves to:

play outside on her bike and swing set

golf with Steve

bake with me

entertain Samuel

play with her dollhouse

go to Wendy's and McDonald's (and points them out when we drive by...how sad)

play with play-doh

go to the library each week to pick out new books and DVDs

go grocery shopping or shopping of any kind

watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Elmo's World and Word World

read and be read to

color and cut 

go to Kindermusik

eat ice cream, peanut butter and jelly, pancakes, bananas, peaches, mandarin oranges, and gum

"help" do whatever you're doing

play with helium balloons...and is always concerned they are going to blow away

go to the park

go to swim lessons

floss and brush her teeth (she recently had her teeth polished at the dentist and has been obsessed ever since)

listen to "her" CDs

go to Sunday School

sing

play in the bathtub

play with her cousins

see her grandparents and aunts and uncles

play with her dolls

Grace and I made cupcakes for her party today. She wanted zoo animals so in case you can't tell what they are here you go: tigers, zebras, lions and monkeys. We had a good time. :)

Baking with G. Marie

Grace is really enjoying being in the kitchen with me...which I am really excited about! We experimented with fondant for the first time last week. It was fun to hear her use terms like fondant and buttercream icing. This wasn't actually her birthday cake but she's looking forward to her birthday so much that when I asked her what we should write on it this is what she wanted:

I love that she wanted to write daddy on there as well. :) Can you see at the base where she helped me make fondant balls? Too cute. I was attempting to get a marbled look but I think I worked the fondant too much. It was still fun to try and we'll probably attempt it again. If nothing else it kept the cake insanely moist without even having to cover it. Today we made cut-out sugar cookies. I frosted and Grace decorated. I love how they turned out! :)

Samuel at 8 months

At 8 months Samuel...

...is army crawling and rolling at rapid speed...our giant couch pillows no longer work as a deterrent

...is still very interested in cords

...is feeding himself Cheerios and Puffs

...is pushing his knees and bum up in the air but not quite getting into the crawling position

...is a fish in the water-he kicks his legs at super sonic speed

...is very interested in what Grace is doing

...hates being hot and having the sun in his face

...takes a morning nap around 9:30 and an afternoon nap around 1:30

...goes to bed around 8

...puts himself to sleep

...has his 2 bottom teeth and is working on his 2 upper teeth

...loves to play peek-a-boo and pat-a-cake

...loves toys-especially ones that make noise or play music

...is very interested in hair

...is a very sweet, lovable little boy

Summer Pics

Look of distress..."Mom, the tractor is coming to get the bales and put them in the barn." 

Loving the zoo and the carousel

Picnic at Harrison Lake

Samuel at 7 months

Samuel at 7 months is:

sitting up for very short periods of time

a speed roller

army crawling

loving baby food (favorites being pears, applesauce, peaches, mangoes and sweet potatoes)

putting himself to sleep for the most part (naps are great, nighttime can still be a bit rough)

playing with toys constantly

lightening quick with his hands (grabs hair, clothes, toys etc. before you know it)

giggling at Grace, Mom and Dad constantly

saying da-da-da

talking, talking, talking

a toothless wonder

nearly impossible to dress/change...roll, flip, roll, flip, grab, grab, grab

still loving to suck on his toes 

into everything he shouldn't be (i.e. cords from the monitor and computer)

fussy only when he's hungry, tired or stuck (my favorite "stuck" place being under the desk)

sleeping for 12 hours at night (typically 8-8)

a very happy, loving little boy!

This picture makes me giggle because he's so proud of himself and you can actually see the bag in motion. A few weeks ago I left the room to go to the bathroom. I was gone for about 30 seconds before I heard crinkle, crinkle, crinkle. Trying to figure out what it was I came back into the living room and found a giggling little boy. Nothing like a shiny bag that makes crinkly noises to make a baby happy! Forget the actual goldfish. Too cute. :) And looking at this picture makes me realize how fast time goes...this was taken within the last month, but now I would never leave a bag or a piece of paper on the ground. He'd be eating them within seconds!

Summer Time!

We've been enjoying summer so much...I love having this time with the kids. We've been enjoying story time at the library and at the park, playing at the park, swim lessons and taking walks. Grace has been playing outside the majority of the time. Luckily, we have accumulated a lot of nice toys for outside. Her favorites are her tricycle, swing set, water table, hula hoop, and pushing any of the strollers around. It helps me out a ton because she'll keep herself busy while I mow the lawn or work in the flowerbeds. Sambam enjoys being outside as well...he loves the grass and will sit/roll in it and of course attempt to eat it. Mowing is also a sure-fire way of getting him to take a nap. I strap him to me in the carrier and usually within the first couple of rounds he's completely out. :)

For the past couple of months Grace has been very interested in puzzles. This is one of her favorites - it's a Melissa and Doug floor puzzle. I bought several cheap-o 25 piece puzzles at Wal-Mart and those are a huge hit as well. We take them to church and those keep her busy for the majority of the time. 

Grace's choice of comforting herself is not sucking her thumb or playing with her hair...it's playing with her belly button. A bit bizarre but what can you do besides tell her to put her shirt down about 400 times a day. :)

(I'm having trouble getting the video to load but will keep attempting.)This has been a common occurrence in our house in the past few weeks. Grace will stand or sit on her stool performing for Samuel. She stands when she sings (favorites being Father Abraham and If You're Happy and You Know It) and she sits when she reads (favorites being any book that she feels she "remembers" or has memorized). It's pretty cute and Samuel usually stares at her very intently the whole time although in the video he is very aware that I am sitting there with the camera instead. :)