It's gonna be a bright...bright sunshiny day!

Thanks to Uncle Steve, who captured these shots of our girl and her sweet cousins at the Rockwood Easter Egg Hunt the Saturday before Easter. He is amazing at capturing just the right moments. Fun to spend time together, too!

Girlie Got a Haircut

Gracie got her first official haircut today! Had to crack up when her stylist arrived ten minutes late, was in her 60s, wearing a miniskirt with thigh high stockings AND wanted to cut bangs on our little dear. I'm sure they'd be cute, but I have too many memories still so prevalent about my own bangs as a girl. (Sorry, Mom! I know that was the trend!)

She sat still (without bribery!) and did wonderful! We did give in to having her hair curled...I'm too chicken to go near our wiggle worm with a hot curling iron. She looks darling! But of course I'm biased.

Before:


During:








After!

Swimmin' & Bobbin'!

We've been spending lots of time at the pool this summer. (Thank you, Uncle Steve!) Gracie has taken awhile to really get comfortable in the water. She is careless or brave, whichever way you choose to look at it. As a former lifeguard/swim instructor/coach, I used to make fun of moms who used floaties. Until I became a mom. They have been especially helpful this year, because she just can't quite touch the shallow end bottom, and yet she wants the freedom to float around on her own. Or in her words, "Down, mama." Me: "I can't put you down, you can't swim!" Enter floaties.

In our past few trips to the pool, we've really emphasized going under. Taking turns with daddy, or with mommy, agreeing to both get our ponytails wet! I was ecstatic today when she wanted to bob on her own (with mama's hand, of course)!

Our little hoot turns 2!

Gracie turned two on May 26th! It's been a whirlwind - we celebrated four birthdays within a week's time. So so fun, but so busy!

Here are a few pictures to capture her special day. On her actual birthday, we had a low key dinner at our house with Nana & Grampy. Grace had been sick that week and wasn't quite feeling herself. But the Elmo potty book we gave her got a smile!

On Saturday the 28th we hosted a little gathering for friends and family. We are certainly blessed!

One of her favorite gifts was from her Uncle Steve, Aunt Sarah, and cousin Evy: her very own camera. She goes around with it everywhere shouting, "Cammy! Cheese!!"

We had her two year check up last week, and aside from being very very timid at the doctor's office, she is growing very well and the doc says she's perfectly healthy! She is in the 80 percentile for her weight, and 55 percentile for her height.

She loves to scribble, play, dote on her baby dolls, entertain and be entertained by our dogs, try keys in doors, smear on chapstick ("kick"), tote a purse everywhere, and we are just getting our feet wet now that it's summer. The pool looks to be a fun pastime! When we drive past Great Grandma & Grandpa's house, she always says "Gamma" and same goes for Mimi & Papa's or Nana & Grampy's. She also knows when we are about five houses from home.

Her little mind never ceases to amaze us. Just over the weekend we were in the middle of fixing breakfast and she surprised me with her first unprompted "I love you." Melt my heart! I need to remember that moment any time the terrible twos creep in! She's figured out the birthday song and birthday cake, and her famous line is "Happy to you." Happy two, to you, Gracie!

Easter & 23 Months

Hello there. It's been awhile. Spring has been busier than we expected it to be! We have been busy with Easter egg hunts, dying eggs, an Avenue paper party, Easter, and happy events of many friends and family.

Oh, and Grace is 23 months old today! One month shy of two whole years! She hasn't changed drastically from last month, however, she is putting words together to make short sentences. (Hi, Aya! which means hi to our dog Ellie). We definitely feel like translators as Grace has a language all her own. She is identifying things more and more and verbalizing them. She disapproves of diaper changes and her high chair, mostly because she is just so busy all the time! Right now she is loving trucks, balls, pop-up books, purses, baby dolls, the outdoors, animals, phones, keys, doors, sliding...the list keeps growing just like she does! In one short month our baby will be two!

Carl turns the big 3-0! (+ Grace at 22 months)

Carl turned 30 on March 29th...he has accomplished so much in three decades! Grace and I are so blessed to have him as our daddy and husband. Our friend Amy (check out her amazing blog!) made an incredible bike cake. She is so talented!

Grace hit the 22 month mark over last weekend. She is a growing girl! Not a lot has changed since the 21st month. She is saying phrases more and more like, "All done," "All gone," "I go," "Ah bite (a bite)," "I tit (for I sit)," "Tis you (thank you)," and "Bess you (bless you)." She is also identifying things by their names more and more instead of just pointing and whining! She also has a growing fascination with trucks. She calls them "cucks." ANY time one goes by our house, even if she can't see it, she alerts me with a gasp and "Cuck!" She is also becoming more aware of her actions. She knows if she pushes a friend it is wrong, so she immediately turns to them for a hug or a kiss. I'm glad? Two is just around the corner!

Congrats Josh & Alexis! + 18 Months

Our Hebert family has so much happening right now! (Part of why this blog has been lacking in new posts.) Two weddings and a baby on the way! We are so happy to be a part of such special events and to love and be loved by this amazing family.

Congratulations to brother Josh & Alexis, who were married in KC Nov. 20th. Everything about the eve was fabulous. We're just sorry we didn't get a photo with those two! Gracie LOVED the music and was dancing most the night! Mimi and Papa Lear were enjoying the music with her. Carl was a groomsman in the wedding. Gracie and I tried to keep it quiet during the ceremony, but she couldn't resist telling her daddy "hi" a couple times.

Thanksgiving has come and gone, and Grace hit another milestone...18 months! She weighs 25 lbs., 14 oz., which puts her in the 72nd percentile. She is 34 1/2 inches tall and in the 98th percentile! She is a tall girl. Her favorite words right now are definitely mama, no and uh-oh. She says "huh?" like she's hard of hearing a lot when we address her. It's very cute.

She's moved up to the toddler room at church and brings home art/crafts on Sundays! The other day she pointed to my Bible and very audibly said the word. She loves buttons and light switches of all kinds. She likes to close doors and say "bye bye," only to be thrilled once she opens them again. She favors her left hand while eating but we're not sure anything is conclusive with that yet! Her new favorite food is raspberries, which she loves to put on her fingers and show us with pride!

We've put up our Christmas decorations and her reaction when seeing the lights is "wow" or "woah." We love you, sweet girl! Christmas will be such an adventure with you this year...