Baths for Daddy

I'm posting this because it's a part of our routine now but mostly because I'm afraid Grace will tell you about how she gives her daddy baths (like she told everyone in Walgreens the other day).

The last two Sundays Jack has run home from church- yes, run home- it's about 18 miles. Grace got very upset the first time- she kept telling him to get in the car and that he was silly to run home. When Jack runs that long, he often requests an ice bath when he gets home to help his muscles heal. Grace has never been old enough or awake to help with the task of getting it ready. We literally fill the tub with ice and cold water. I asked Grace to help me this time and she was very excited to do so. She took her job of taking the buckets of ice from the kitchen to the tub very seriously. Then when Jack got home (and put on his bathing suit), she stood by the tub and insisted on putting the ice all over his legs. Poor Jack- we don't usually rub the ice all over him- it was so cold..

The next Sunday Grace begged to do another bath while Jack was running. She kept going in the bathroom and tried to turn on the water. She was very excited when we got the call that he was close by and we could start the bath.

Everyday Grace asks Jack if he is going to run and if she can give him a bath. And sometimes when we are in public, she will randomly ask me very loudly if her daddy is running and if she can give him a bath when he gets home like she did last time...

First "Allowance"

Grace has been taking more of an interest in shopping and paying for items at the store. She is good at counting and beginning to understand cause and effect concepts. So, being the financial planner I am, I decided it was time for an allowance. There are lots of ideas and thoughts on this that I have read about for years so Jack and I came up with a program that works for Grace.

Grace has to do "chores" to earn stickers. Five stickers (we will eventually increase that) earns a prize from the "prize bag" (little toys, mostly from the dollar store). Grace caught on very fast. Her favorite "chore" so far is emptying all the trash cans in the house. She is actually pretty good- she goes and gets the can, empties it in the kitchen and puts it back- all by herself. She is very proud to earn her sticker and constantly counts how many she has.

Her first prize was a pair of dress up shoes which she says she got for Pumpkin, her bear. He is "wearing" them right now.

Happy, Happy, Happy Birthday

Saturday was a very busy party day for us. We were invited to several parties and unfortunately couldn't make them all. We did the best we could and made it to three birthday parties. We had so much fun!

The first party was Grace's friend Anne from dance class. She actually had her party at the dance studio. The girls danced around and then had cake and ice cream. Grace loved seeing all her friends from class. My camera battery died two minutes after the party started so I just have this one picture of Grace dressed and ready to party.

The next party was a Cinderella party for Grace's friend Sarah. Grace was very excited about this party because she knew Cinderella was actually going to be at the party. Jack and I were a little nervous because of Grace's fear of characters- we weren't really sure how this was going to go. Grace wanted to dress like Cinderella so there would be "two Cinderellas!" She picked out a crown and "glass slippers" and was ready to go. And believe it or not- she loved Cinderella! Worshipped her really. She met her, talked to her, had quite a few questions "Where is your carriage? Do you miss the other princesses?", and then she followed Cinderella around the house and just stared. It was very cute and lots of fun!

Reading a story with the birthday girl

Waiting in line very patiently to meet Cinderella

Two Cinderellas...

Grace was very excited to introduce Kate to Cinderella

After Cinderella, we headed to the inflatable gym for Grace's friend Braden's birthday party. We had about a 30 minute drive between parties and we told Grace she could take a nap. We weren't really serious because Grace hasn't slept in the car since she was an infant. She said "ok" and squeezed her eyes closed. She looked so silly but after about two minutes, she fell asleep like that...she slept the whole ride. Then we were afraid to wake her because Grace does not like to be woken. We gently tapped her and her eyes popped open and she said "we at the party? Let's go." It was really funny.

Grace jumped right in and had a great time with all her friends. She started to show signs of no nap a little towards the end but she really did well considering the three parties, three cakes and three outfit changes...Grace and Lily bouncing

Grace loved playing with her friend Sophia

Kate stayed awake for most of the partiesBirthday Boy

Rub a Dub Dub- Two Girls in the Tub

Kate's first bath in the tub and Grace was soooo excited so she joined in. Everyone had a fun time ;o)

Moving Up

In our quest to get Kate on a schedule, the next step was sleeping in a bed during the day. She loves her pink chair and is not thrilled with her crib. She eventually gives in and falls asleep but it's a struggle some days.

After Christmas Clearance Fun

The other day I was at CVS and they had their Christmas clearance on sale for 90% off. I grabbed a gingerbread house for $1 thinking maybe one day we'd use it. It was the best $1 I've spent in a long time. Grace had a blast putting the house together. She really wanted to go inside the house but once she got over that, it was all fun. Especially when she realized how good the icing was...

Mommy's Helper

I'll admit- somedays I don't know what to do with Grace but most days I don't know what I'd do without her ;o)

That Says Me

We have been working on spelling Grace's name. She's almost got it. The other day she and I were leaving Target when she looked back to the building and started yelling, very excitedly, "That says me! That says me!" I couldn't figure out what she was talking about and she wouldn't give it up until I agreed. Finally she started pointing at the building and I saw the "Groceries" sign on the building. She thought that was her name ;o) Almost Grace, almost...

Taking Notes

This is a "don't want to forget this" post. It will be fun to look back at when Grace and Kate are CEOs. Grace has been to more board meetings than most adults. Jack and I serve on many boards (actually, right now, 9 between us) and very often our meetings overlap so one of us has to bring her with us. She started out in the bumbo on the conference table, moved to the floor with books, then to our lap with snacks and now her own chair with a notepad and pen to "take notes." It really is amazing how she will sit for an hour at a table writing on her notepad without saying a word, just listening to the meeting.
She has also been to many of Jack's will signing meetings as evidenced by the fact she's walked around the house with paper and a pen and asked us to "sign her document" since she was 2.
Kate has been to three board meetings and two will signings since January 1st...on her way...

Round

Kate had her two month appointment and it went great. Her stats were a little disproportionate though... 50% Percentile Height (22 1/2 inches) and.....95% Percentile Weight (12lbs 9oz). No fears about not eating enough...

20-10

Grace and I were eating lunch together yesterday and I ran out of things to talk about so we started working on our numbers. She has some fuzziness between 10 and 20 but once we get to 20, she knows the numbers very well. She caught on to the system a few months ago and loves to count the 20s, 30s, etc. We had a little problem yesterday though..After 29 she said, 20-10. I tried to explain that it was 30. She said "What!? No Mommy- you not know, listen- it 28, 29, 20-10." I tried again to explain it was 30. She literally looked at me like I was crazy and stupid. Again she tried to explain it to me and her frustration with me was obvious. I tried again. Then I gave up- I've taught her a lot- her preschool teacher can take this one on....

Happy 2 Months Kate!

I can't believe Kate is already 2 months old! Kate- you are getting big so fast! You still eat every 4 hours during the day- 6 ozs at a time! So far I've been able to keep up with your eating and we haven't had to use formula yet. At night you are able to sleep 5-6 hours. (Last night you actually made it 10 hours- we aren't counting on that happening again ;o)). You have a little routine that you like to follow- eat, sit in my lap for about 5 minutes, lay on the floor and kick, kick for about 30 minutes, look around and play for another 30 minutes then fall asleep. Pretty much the same rotation every four hours ;o) One of my favorite things to watch is your interaction with Grace. I mentioned several times on this blog that Grace loves you but lately it has become obvious how much you love Grace. Whenever she walks into the room, you literally turn your head to find her and start to smile. Sometimes you'll even giggle out loud. It becomes a problem when you are trying to sleep and you hear Grace's voice. You will wake from a sound sleep to see what she is doing. You LOVE your sister! Can't wait to learn more about you this next month!

White Day

These pictures are getting harder and harder.... Apparently she no longer likes her picture taken first thing in the morning...

It was cute- I had picked out a solid white shirt but she insisted on another "Big Sister" shirt

Who? Me?

I want to thank my friend Michelle of Mommy Memoirs for bestowing this prestigious award on me for a "Fabulous Blog." Along with such a great award comes a great task- I must divulge five addictions and chose five other recipients.
Addictions-

1. Target popcorn combo- $1.50 (used to be $1.00) for popcorn and a drink- you can't beat it! And I have to admit, I've gotten Grace addicted to this also. She asks to go to Target for popcorn and an icee at least once every two days. I didn't think we go that often but the lady behind the counter, Ms. Regina, knows our names too...

2. My website rotation- I check the same websites every day, several times a day-Slickdeals.net- They have the best compilation of deals that can be found for online shopping and it's updated every minute so you have to check it often. Facebook- I need to see what everyone's doing! Ebay- I like to put things on my watch list and see how much they are purchased for- sometimes I bid, most of the time I just watch. Blogs- I love to look and see who has updated their blog- some of you have been letting me down ;o)

3. Fast Food- I know it's horrible for you but I really like a special treat of a hamburger and fries every so often.

4. Things that cost a dollar- this used to just be the Dollar Tree but now Target has a "One Spot" and Walmart has a dollar section too. I can convince myself I need anything if it only costs one dollar.

5. This computer- it's on, all the time. When it's not, it calls to me. I like to think I'm connected at all times. I don't have to be working on it- just like it on and near...

I give this award to...

Erin at Boryczka Daze
Anna at Fambrough Family
Amy at Life with the Mathesons
Kim at The Lee Family
Heather at Three Lees in a Pod

Congratulations!

Naptime

This week I decided to start adding a little structure to Kate's day. Instead of her random catnaps throughout the day wherever she is, I started putting her in her bed for naptime a few times a day. I realized quickly she's a little social butterfly. She doesn't really like to be in the bedroom and has tricked me a few times and got out of her nap. She cries like something is really wrong so I pick her up and bring her into the family room where she instantly falls asleep. She just wanted to be part of the action. After a few days I've gotten wiser and she is learning to sleep better in the bed ;o)

Happy Birthday Pop!

We were all excited to go to Tuscaloosa to celebrate Pop's birthday with him. Grandma just had knee surgery so it was good to see her too.

Grace was very excited about giving Pop some gloves.

She was even more excited about the cake

Happy Birthday Pop!

Dance Class Update

Grace continues to love her dance class. She tries very hard and listens very well. She loves all her friends that attend and her teacher. She loves to play dance class at home and sing all the songs and dance. Maybe one day soon she'll master the last skill that continues to elude her- jumping ;o)

Happy Birthday Nana and Papa

At our Christmas celebration at Callaway Gardens we celebrated my mom and dad's (and Jeff's) birthdays. My dad's birthday is the week before Christmas, Jeff's is on Christmas and my mom's is the week after. Here are a few shots of my parents celebrating with their granddaughters.

New Years

Ever since high school at a Bulls Hockey New Year's Eve Bash, I've spent New Years with my friends from high school (and that year, Erin's parents- we weren't allowed to go by ourselves). Each year is a little different with location and participants as our lives continue to change. This year, Brooke invited a few of us to spend New Year's Eve at her new house in Atlanta. Everyone had a great time, including the kids (who went to bed at 8pm).
Kate stayed up until midnight!When the kids went to bed, everyone stepped back in time ten years and pulled out their favorite drinking games. Since most of us have babies, the ladies couldn't participate fully without passing on the fun in the milk so the boys partied late into the night without us.Grace was very excited to sleep on the floor in a sleeping bag for the first time. The sleeping bag was mine when I was a baby.All the kids watching cartoons the next morning