Early Religion

Grace has always been fascinated with Jesus- Baby Jesus actually. She loves to go to church and see the crucifix and wave to Jesus.
She learned our family prayers about a year ago and takes great pride in saying them (except when we have company, then she is shy). Jack and I were only in a habit of saying prayers outloud for dinner but Grace won't eat unless we pray before every meal. Her goodness really reminds us to be thankful.
The other day we were in the car and I was scanning radio stations. She heard about 3 seconds of a gospel song and said "Oh! It's the Lord!" I wasn't really listening to the music and didn't know what she was talking about- I was a little worried she was having visions ;o). I asked her and she said "The Lord Mommy! He's on the radio- that Lord music!" This really makes me laugh because neither Jack nor I use the word "Lord"- I'm not sure where she picked it up and she says it very dramatically- "The Lllorrrd"
Jack and Grace had the first of many, I'm sure, discussions where Grace thought her Daddy didn't know anything. Jack was attempting to answer some of Grace's questions about who God was. He told her that God was Jesus' dad. Well- you know where that went- "Joseph is Jesus' Dad!" Then he tried the "He's our Father" and it just went downhill from there.
It's a great adventure as we struggle to teach Grace our faith but exciting because she is so eager to learn.

"I Took Care of Her"

I was in the kitchen and heard Kate start to get a little fussy in her crib. I decided to wait a minute to see if she would go back to sleep. After a minute she did stop crying. I came into the family room a few minutes later and Grace looked up at me and said "Kate stopped crying, I took care of her." I asked her what she meant and she said "she just wanted some dolls to play with." I had no idea what she was talking about but hurried to Kate's closed bedroom door. I opened the door and found two of Grace's princess dolls in Kate's crib and Kate wasn't crying ;o) We did have to have a talk about giving Kate her toys but it was so sweet of her to try and comfort Kate on her own.

Partying with the Boys

Grace had two birthday parties this weekend for birthday boys Austin and Carson. Austin's birthday party was at the local inflatable gym. Grace has been to a few parties at the gym and has really started to warm up to the jumping. Before we went she laid out the plans- what to do first, how to do it, etc. She's got the routine down and loves it! We had a great time celebrating Austin's birthday- Happy Birthday Austin!

Sunday was Grace's friend Carson's birthday party at the park. I had spent the night at Jessica's house for a sleepover with Erika and Stephanie so Jack was on his own getting the girls ready for the party. He did a great job- even added layers to the party outfit I had laid out since the temperature dropped 20 degrees overnight. And he remembered the camera! Grace had a fun time playing and Kate found a little closet to stay warm in and take a nap. Happy Birthday Carson!

Add "Flap" to Grace's skills

I had to pick up some donuts for my MOMS group and Grace was in the car when I went through the drive thru. She of course asked for a donut and I told her she could have one if there was any left after the meeting. I thought this would be the end of the conversation. Instead, she asked "Well, how many people are going to be at your meeting?" I answered, "15" wondering if she was really going to analyze this situation- she just turned 3, surely she's not old enough... And sure enough, the next thing out of her mouth was "And how many donuts did you get?" I told her "20" and she said "Well, sounds like there is going to some for me!" She didn't do the math but she knew 20 was bigger than 15...Super impressive Grace!
So- I then started wondering if I should be doing math with her, she seems to have some of the skills to comprehend it. I told her we were going to play a game "Math" in the car. We did several word games and she loves it! And she is good. We do small word problems- like "2 people are in the store and 2 more come- how many are there?" We do subtraction too. Almost 100% of the time she gets it correct. It's funny- the only thing she doesn't understand is the word- she calls it "flap." Almost every day in the car she asks to "play that fun game- flap!"

Rollie Pollie

As soon as you lay Kate down on her back, she flips to her stomach instantly. Which would be fine except she seems to hate to be on her stomach...All day long we play the same game- Kate goes on her back, she flips herself to her stomach, she screams, we put her back on her back. Over and over and over. If she wasn't so cute....

New Playset

Thanks to our generous friends, the Steele Family, the girls got a new swingset. Their Pop, Papa, Daddy and Uncle Jeff spent most of the birthday weekend working on putting it together. Grace LOVES it! She is really into swinging on the swings and playing in the fort. Grace and Kate say thanks!

Tinkerbells for Everyone!

Grace received lots of Tinkerbell items for her birthday- which she loved! Ms. Jessica got Grace a big Tinkerbell doll that Grace played with for a few minutes before she realized "Kate needs a Tinkerbell doll!" Grace was very sweet to give Kate one of her small Tinkerbells and they played "Tink" together.

Sick Grace..

Grace was sick for several days after the baptism. It probably was a combination of stomach bug, too much partying and just exhaustion from a busy week.

She wasn't too sick to sleep with her birthday presents...;o)

This was the only night Grace and I have slept in the same bed. She was so sick and kept waking up so I finally just fell asleep while comforting her. Apparently lying between my legs was the most comfortable...for her.

Kate's Baptism

It was a beautiful Sunday when Kate was baptised. Kate has been blessed with wonderful godparents- Craig and Gayle, wonderful family and friends and the love of Jesus Christ.

A few days before the big day, we were trying to explain to Grace what was going to happen to Kate. Jack told her simply that Grace was going to "become friends with Jesus." Poor Grace burst into tears, crying "I don't Kate to live with Jesus, I want her to live with us." We explained it a little differently and Grace was finally convinced Kate was going to come home. Grace was excited about the day but unfortunately got sick during the ceremony. Our very good friend Stephanie was very kind to take her home and care for her while we celebrated the day with Kate. Here are the pictures from the very special day!Gayle and Craig getting Kate dressed. The dress was the same that Grace and Isabella wore on their baptism. My mom made it from her own wedding dress so it is very special.

Grace helped set up for the party before the baptism. Here is her "contribution." She was very excited to lay out the confetti on the tables ;o)

Next Cake- If you were impressed before...

This green cake (leftover from Grace's birthday)

Plus

a box of cake mix and some white frosting

Became....

Blowing Out the Candle

I remembered the candle, but forgot the matches at the park. After dinner, Grace didn't need to be convinced to have some more cake so she could blow out her candle... ;O)

Grace 3rd Birthday Party!

Grace started planning her "3 birthday" a few months ago. She decided to have it at a park- which is good because I had also- and was really funny picking one out. She wanted to make sure there "was things for the kids to play on." Ever since we went to Disney World she was convinced Tinkerbell was coming to her party. She asked me every day if I mailed the invitation to Pixie Hollow for Tinkerbell. Luckily we were able to get a hold of Tinkerbell and she was able to attend! Here are lots and lots of pictures. Grace, in her special Tinkerbell outfit and hair "up like Tinkerbell" had a super, super day with all her friends and Tinkerbell!

Grace loves the "Hokey Pokey" and "If you are Happy and you Know It" and had everyone join her in singing before we had cake.

As Grace was playing, we picked up her gifts and loaded them in the car. When she realized they were gone, she was very upset. We felt bad and had no idea she would remember that she opened them at the party last year. When she got home and saw them all there, she recovered quickly. She has very generous friends!
Great day!