Susan is Sweet Sixty

We threw a swingin' surprise 60th birthday party for Carl's mom at the beginning of June. It was a theme party so there were some groovy threads there for sure. Most notable being Carl's stepdad Don, who donned his very own psychedelic shirt from the era! The party was all his idea and sweet Susan was blown away. Such fun memories.

Being a kid...

There is something magical about being a kid. Why do we clutter our lives with so much "stuff," when really it's the simple things that truly matter? For example:

The look on Gracie's face as she floats in the cold pool water for the first time, realizing that she's floating on her own, with mommy right there, scared to death, and yet extremely excited at the same time!

Going through a tunnel becomes a party! Windows down, daddy honking the S-O-U-T-H-E-A-S-T! high school chant, and the passing from darkness into light. As soon as we were through it, Gracie goes, "Mah, mah, mah!" (more, more more.)

Driving up to a frozen yogurt place, "Ice seem, ice seem!" She screams, we all scream, it's such a simple pleasure and favorite pastime.

Eating breakfast on a Saturday: scrambled eggs, sausage patties, crispy waffles - Grace looks at her plate and happily stabs a bite of syrupy drizzled waffle, "I do, waffie!" and promptly gobbles it up.

Any time we pass any kind of body of water, "guckie, guckie!" This girl is obsessed with ducks! We've had a fun spring and summer searching for ducks whenever we're out on walks or bike rides.

The joy of slides and swings. "Phing, phing, slide, slide!" With a new playset as one of her second birthday gifts, Gracie loves the wind in her hair via high flying swing or speedy slide.

"Goggie, goggie!" Dogs excite her so much - she would like everyone she meets to be her friend.

Walk or bike ride? "Biiike!" Thankfully the spill she took hasn't deterred her from loving bikes!

Coloring! It is such a joy for me as a mom to post her latest artworks on display.

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!

A random post squeezed in just before somebody's birthday!

The other night we were driving all together in the car.

I spotted a police car and said, "There's a cop."

Carl said, "You mean a policeman."

To which Grace replies, "Po-po!"

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Gracie loves to ride her bike...so much so that she had this big smile after falling off and getting a swollen lip. She is a very good patient. Daddy Carl was so proud she was crying afterwards before we went inside to clean her up, "Biiiiike, biiiiiike!" Her little tumble didn't scare her away from getting back on. Over the past week, she's pointed to her "owie," then says, "fall," and then, "bike," and even more, "helmu" for helmet - it saved her!

She is also insistent on cooking! She loves to sit and help. This was from one night where breakfast for dinner was our best option!

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!

Grace-isms

Tonight Grace said "emonade" as she handed Carl a plastic glass with plastic ice cubes and a plastic slice of lemon.

He said, "Lemonade?! Yeah!"

And she said, "Yeah, I cook."

Hilarious and so cute!

At dinner we were eating spinach quiche and after our prayer and a very audible "Ahmeen," she pointed to her plate and happily and quite clearly said "Quiche!"

Later we were at the playground and she peeked around the slide as she climbed up the stairs. Over and over in a sweetly ornery voice she said, "I see you."

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!