I think Grace is attempting to pass on her love of shoes to her baby. :)

Steve and I both were cancelled today because of weather. We decided it was a good opportunity to clean and organize the house. It always feels so good to get things uncluttered. I think we had about 3 bags of stuff to take to Good Will within a half hour. I was sorting through Grace's shoes because I noticed that some of her shoes were getting a little snug. I was taking all of her size 4's out of the closet to put away and when I turned around she had taken this pair of shoes out of the pile. She was putting them on herself and on her baby. I kept telling her they were too small for her but she would just keep jamming them on. I might give in and buy these in a size 5. It's hard to feel guilty when they are Wal Mart shoes. :)

This is what happens to Grace's hair after naps. Talk about some serious bed-head.  

Grace loves to dance...she has several toys that play music and she'll go push the buttons so the music will start and then she dances around. When the music stops she runs over and pushes the button again. Sorry the video is sideways...I tried and tried to rotate it and couldn't get it to work. I will eventually figure it out. :)

Latest Happenings

Last weekend I went and picked Jill and Benjamin up in Columbus. They stayed at Mom and Dad's this past week. It was really fun to get to hang out with them and Jill even volunteered to watch Grace while Steve and I were at work. Benjamin and Grace had fun together although at times Grace thought she was the adult and had the right to tell Benjamin what he could and could not do. We were quick to remind her that she didn't have that right. :) They just left a couple of hours ago and already Grace has asked for "Benjen" numerous times. 

Grace started having a fever Tuesday morning; nothing serious just a little warm. All night on Wednesday she was a little furnace. We kept giving her Tylenol and Motrin but it didn't seem to be doing the job. On Thursday she woke up acting okay but was still warm. We ended up taking her to the doctor Thursday evening and discovered that she had an ear infection. Poor girl. She had been acting a little strange - not eating well and more grumpy than usual so I wasn't very surprised. By Friday afternoon she was pretty much back to normal - I'm glad that she's feeling better again! There's nothing worse than knowing your kids are miserable. 

The latest

I am happy to report that Grace is saying "no" about 90% less than the last time I blogged. I feel much better! :) Uncle Bret came up to spend the weekend with us which is always entertaining. We never do much of anything but it's just fun to hang out together. Bret, Steve and Grace took time to humor me and say "cheese!"

Grace has been really interested in animals lately. She's beginning to remember a lot more animals and the sounds they are associated with.

 

Little Mouths

During Science today one of the students was reading from the book. The sentence she was supposed to read said "Some trees, like Buckeye, are deciduous." Instead, the student read "Some trees, like Buckeye, are delicious." It was cute. The regular education teacher and I had to not look at each other to keep from laughing. :) I still remember when I was in 3rd grade and I (being a nerd) volunteered to read from the Health book. Instead of "esophagus" I read "asparagus". I remember it being really embarrassing at the time. Steve said that one of his students came up to him today and said that she was riding with another girl home from now on, "unless she is aspirin" (instead of absent). 

Christmas Break

We've had a really busy Christmas break. Lots of Christmases and traveling. I feel like I haven't blogged in forever, and sorry to disappoint everyone but I don't have any pictures to post. My camera died the night before we had Christmas and I didn't have extra batteries lying around. I will add pictures as soon as I can scrounge them together from my sister and sisters-in-law. :) 

Grace has been teething and had a bout of diarrhea last week. It wasn't fun but it did help her get started potty training. She quickly realized that it hurt a lot less when she would poop in the toilet than in her diaper. She seems to be interested in the whole idea so we have been working on it over break. She will come up to us and say potty and the majority of the time she has already gone in her diaper but we still take her to the toilet and tell her that she needs to tell us before she goes instead of after. I was really excited because this morning she ran up to me and said potty, and peed and pooped in the toilet! Yay! 

Grace is now 17 months old. Hard to believe. She is a very busy girl and is so stinking stubborn. I don't know where she gets that from. :) Here is some info about G. Marie:

Has 11 teeth

Loves "gapes" (grapes)

Still loves books

Plays with her babies (feeds, rocks, sings to, wraps in a blanket)

Plays with toy dishes ("feeds" us whatever it is she cooks up)

Likes to color

Obsession with shoes continues (has to have them on even when we are at home)

Loves to be chased and "scared"

Is beginning to only eat if she is feeding herself

It's been great watching her learn more and more. I love that she can understand what we are saying to her. She helps pick up her toys before bedtime and knows where everything goes (which is great since I'm kind of anal about organization). Along with all of this fun stuff comes some not-so-fun stuff. She is at the age where she is testing us all the time. She says "no" a lot and it sounds so snotty. I feel like all we do sometimes is lecture her about using that word. Last week Steve told her she needed to get her fingernails cut. She yanked her hand out of his, plopped on the floor and yelled "NO, STOP!" She got her first spanking and her fingernails trimmed. Although I feel like I'm constantly lecturing I know it's necessary. I don't want to be fighting these battles for years and years. I ask Mom and Dad for advice a lot and they always say to be consistent and united as parents and eventually they grow out of this "testing" stage. We are doing that and will continue to do that until this passes. Grace is stubborn, but there is no way she's more stubborn than us. :) Any other advice or stories about this kind of stuff?

We start back to school tomorrow. Besides the first day of school this is always the hardest day for me. It's really hard to leave Grace after being home for 2 solid weeks. It helps that she's getting older and she's excited to see the kids at the babysitters again. I also start up classes again for my masters this week. I have 2 more semesters - countdown: 7 months. 

Good Recipes

I made the following two recipes today - I feel bad always making Steve and Bret eat pizza when he comes up here so I promised to actually make a meal today. It turned out really good and was enjoyed by all! 

Mexican Style Lasagna 

1-1/2 lb. ground beef

1/4 lb.  (4 oz.) VELVEETA Mexican Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product, cut up

3/4 cup TACO BELL® HOME ORIGINALS® Thick 'N Chunky Medium Salsa

6   TACO BELL® HOME ORIGINALS® Flour Tortillas

1/2 cup KRAFT Shredded Cheddar & Monterey Jack Cheese

PREHEAT oven to 400°F. Brown meat in large skillet; drain. Add 1/4 cup water and Mexican VELVEETA; stir until VELVEETA is melted. Remove from heat. Stir in salsa.

SPRAY 8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray. Spread 1/4 of the meat mixture into dish; top with 2 tortillas. Repeat layers 2 times. Top with remaining meat mixture; sprinkle with shredded cheese. Cover tightly with foil.

BAKE 30 minutes. Remove foil. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

I also added a package of frozen sweet corn. I think that I may try it with refried beans or black beans sometime as well. That's why I love recipes like this - you can add as much stuff as you like!

Peanut Blossoms

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

2/3 cup  peanut butter

2/3 cup granulated sugar, divided

1/3 cup  firmly packed light brown sugar

1 egg

2 Tbsp.  milk

1 tsp. vanilla

1-1/2 cups  flour

1 tsp.  baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

48   Hershey kisses, unwrapped

PREHEAT oven to 375°F. Beat butter, peanut butter, 1/3 cup of the granulated sugar and the brown sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat until well blended. Combine flour, baking soda and salt. Gradually add to butter mixture, beating until well blended after each addition.

SHAPE dough into 48 balls, each about 1 inch in diameter; roll in remaining 1/3 cup granulated sugar. Place, 2 inches apart, on ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE 9 to 10 min. or until lightly browned. Immediately press a chocolate piece into center of each cookie. (Cookie will crack slightly around edge.) Cool on baking sheets 1 min. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.

Grace loved to help by unwrapping the kisses. :) 

Hurrah for Snow Days!

I'm not sure how much snow we got but it was enough to cancel school today! Steve had a 2 hour delay but didn't end up canceling. Grace loved the snow and didn't mind being bundled up. We attempted to make a mini snowman but the snow was pretty fluffy and didn't pack well. You can see our feeble attempt above. :)