She's Talking! :o)

Grace said her first word on Sunday night.

We were unsure whether or not it was a fluke and if we should 'count' it but she was "talking" all day yesterday.

I was hoping her first word would be MaMa and we could even the score but it didn't work out for me ;o).

This makes two for Joe and zero for me.

We'll just have to have more babies so we can even things out ...

........juuuussst kidding :o)

Stand Strong Little Grace

I have a pretty strong will.

So does our daughter.

She looks sooo sad.

And after dabling in the delectable world of pears, she decided

she would not be eating peas anymore.

And so she put down her proverbial foot and made her will known in the best way she knew how. 

And it was loud. And it was pitiful.

I sang her songs and pet her head .. to no avail.

Eventually I sent the boys upstairs to play.  It didn't seem right for Joey to have to cover his ears during dinner while his sister protested hers, so he got some playtime with Daddy.  I didn't have to tell him twice that he could leave the table.

In the end, distraction worked best.

The lid to her baby food was enough to distract her from her fight.

And no, that's not baby acne, she gave herself hives by getting so upset ... over peas. Oh my goodness.

Should I start fearing her teenage years?

In the end, we worked it out and she finished those terrible terrible peas.

And then ate only peas for the next four days.

It's going much better now.

And don't worry, as soon as Grace was finished her mean Mommy whisked her up, gave her a good snuggle, a warm bath, and pea-free jammies and all was forgiven.

See.

There's Gracie Pie.

No more hives.  I think they washed away in the bath.  ;o)

I was even so kind as to let her get away with no blow-dry which leaves you with a few glimpses of the rarely seen curly headed Grace.

Her little fluffy tufts curl right up if you don't do something to stop them.  I love this about her but when we let her hair dry curly and then brush it it just gets super crazy and there is nothing that can be done to tame it until she gets her next dip in the tub.

Reunited after her fiasco and he's helping her feel better.

Joe calls her natural look the Grace Hawk.  

It's not hard to tell why when you see her from the front.

According to my husband, she gets it done at the salon, of course, and it takes at least ten hours .. in case you were wondering or wanted to adopt the look for yourself.

The have this adorable Daddy & daughter thing blooming.  She gets sooo happy when he comes home from work.  I love watching them. 

Watch Grace Grow - Six Month Edition

 Baby Girl got quite a bit more hair, a little more strength, and even a little more personality this month.

We are loving watching her grow!

Snow Babies

 This basically sums up their reactions to the snow this year. Joey is in love with it and Grace ... kind of doesn't know what to think about it.  She needs another year or two to come around.

Our snow babies <3

Joey is very into shoveling this year.  He asks to go out and shovel every time we have a dusting of snow.  We haven't had snow deep enough you can shovel since October so he finally got his wish after a long wait.

Throwing snow. He found it thrilling, her not so much.  I think she just didn't know what to make of it all.

He's pretending to be a 'snow cow' and eating snow.

More snow for the snow cow.

He was really into eating the snow.  This was the first time he was allowed to do this, or even realized it was possible I think.  A childhood rite of passage.  You can even see the wonder on his face in the second picture. So sweet.

Today was Grace's first time to get down in the snow but her real first snow storm, the first time she saw snow, was back in October, at three months old.  These were from the first time our little monkey saw snow :o)

She was too tiny to partake in the fun that day so she had to stay snuggled with Mommy and watch her brother from the porch.

Next snow storm we plan to get both of them on a sled.

This Moment

<3

Also, for your viewing pleasure, 

                                   a day shy of 10 weeks                                               6 months and 1 week

A little more hair and sporting piggies, but apparently this child just doesn't outgrow her clothes. ;o)

Dear Grace {6 Months}

Sweet little girl,
It has been a whole half of a year since you have graced our lives with your beautiful presence. On one hand it seems like the last six months have flown by, and yet on the other hand it's hard to even remember back to the time before you joined us. You have been nothing but sweetness and you just keep getting better.

It has been interesting for me to watch you grow after only having had a son before you. You are only six months old and yet you are already so much 'a girl.' You are coy and inviting and do this thing where you hide your face in my shoulder after smiling when other people talk to you. It's like you are feigning shyness, or maybe the shyness is real, but either way it's so very endearing. You are more pensive than your brother was at this age, a little more cautious of people not in your immediate circle, and definitely more picky. You love baby dolls and smile so big when someone makes one of your babies talk to you. It's so so cute, especially because one of your favorites is basically the same size as you.

You have had a big two months and have completed the transformation from newborn to baby. You are sitting up pretty well now and like to play with toys in this position. We still have to stay very close by though because you just let yourself tumble over if you get excited or distracted. You are rolling easily onto your stomach from your back and then, most of the time, act mad. We know you can get back over, as you learned how to get off of your stomach first, but for some reason now you prefer us to do it for you. No crawling or pulling up yet. You love to bounce yourself when held in a standing position and will "walk" if we hold you up ... but not well. The "walking" has been slow going for you.

You had your first meal on Thanksgiving. The first one went well but then it all went downhill, pretty fast and pretty far down the hill too. Your sleep at night became terrible, you would cry and cry if anyone held you other than me at night, and you would cry when we tried to feed you too. You seemed to completely lack the instinct to open your mouth for food and could not get it to the back of your mouth to swallow. After a week we realized the connection with your sleep and temperament, and that, combined with the fact that you and I were both stressed, led us to stop feeding you and wait until you were six months to try again. This was a great decision! You are now doing so so so much better. You are opening your mouth and eating like a pro. You have had sweet potatoes, carrots, squash, and peas (in that order) along with cheerios, puffs, and baby yogurt melts. You love your "baby snacks" and squash is by far your favorite vegetable so far. You've even starting taking water from a sippy cup. We're so proud of you!

Your brother is still head over heals about you.  He tells you're his "bes fweind" and I just about can't take the cuteness.  Every morning he is asking for you and he needs to see you whenever he comes back after having been somewhere without you.  You love to watch him and want whatever he has.  He also wants whatever you have, especially your cheerios and puffs.  He says he's sharing when he takes a toy off of you ... apparently he doesn't quite have the concept down quite right just yet.

We think you are seriously just the cutest little thing.  You have such a little button face still with your big blue eyes and fluffy dark hair that seems to get just the slighest bit lighter every month. Your little fluffy tufts have now gotten long enough to eek them into a little pony tail, or two, on the top of your head. You have graduated from the land of only head bands and hats.  At your six month doctor appointment you were 15 lbs 14 oz  and 26 inches and you are now in a size 3 diapers, though they are little big.  3-6 month clothes still fit you best.  You are just the sweetest, most amazing, smiliest little baby girl we could have hoped for.

  You and you brother fufill our every wish and surpass our every dream.

We are so honored be to your parents.