BABYHEAD

Pinehaven

2010-10-03T09:08:00.001-07:00

We went to Pinehaven on Saturday.

Gracie got her face painted.

She pet a cow.

Posing for the camera by the "pumpkin" maze.

Leo and Austin by the slide.

Sophie off the slide.

Gracie on the slide.

Leo and Gracie on a tractor ride thingie.

Art

2010-09-15T19:57:00.001-07:00

Rectangle, people, stairs!

Labor Day Weekend

2010-09-07T16:39:00.001-07:00

Labor Day weekend. Saturday we went to the State Fair. Gracie loved the rides and the animals.

Monday she was spinning around in a chair (after we had repeatedly told her not to), and took a header into the coffee table. She bit thru her lip and may have broken her nose, we won't be able to tell for sure until the swelling goes down in a couple weeks. She's a tough cookie and after a well deserved nap, was dancing and playing like normal.

Poor kiddo!

OOOPS!

2010-08-17T20:44:00.001-07:00

Ah summer! Gracie is now 4 years old. I thought I had saved all the birthday / 4th of July pictures to my computer, for sure, so I deleted them from my camera, only to now discover that indeed I had NOT saved them...GASP! The parade was on the 3rd which was her birthday so we hit that up as well as the carnival, had the big family birthday party / lake fun day, fireworks etc. It was all good.

Gracie had a trip to urgent care this summer too. She fell and cut the back of her head on the coffee table. The Dr. glued it shut. It was not my weekend so I was not there but I hear she was a real trooper and didn't fuss. That's my tough cookie!

Here's some recent pictures...

I think she had been saying "Cheese!" for too long.

2nd attempt, she's into silly faces.

There's an in ground pool at her daycare and w/the heat they've been in it just about every day. Yes she does get caked w/sunscreen but dang! Her tan is better than mine! And she just likes being "shirt head".

Yowza!

And she's growing out of naps so she comes home and does this. Um, it's dinner time, wake up!

Gracie's Kitty Cats

2010-05-19T21:15:00.000-07:00

2010-03-25T22:27:00.000-07:00

Dang the blog, it always does it backwards!

Beth and Leo came to check out the new place, the kids were trippin!

Gracie's first bath w/a boy (that I know about).

Painting at Oma's b-day party, Happy 53 Mammary!

Worn out from moving!

Halloween

2009-11-10T21:01:00.000-08:00

It's been a few months, and the pictures are scanned but here's to Halloween!

I carved what she drew, it was an original.

She got a lot of "aren't you a cute little guy" and "there ya go buddy". What, a girl can't be a monkey?

So proud of her masterpiece

She threw them away, didn't like the waxy taste.

Rocko the cat..."gimmie candy!"

Gracie & Landin in Love

2009-07-13T21:55:00.000-07:00

The memory stick reader i got needs a cord cuz this computer of my mothers is whacked! Thank goodness for Kari's daycare photos:

They climbed...

They met....

They played...

and played...

still best buds...

Been a while

2009-06-07T15:35:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a while folks so here's some pictures.

Helmet head

Gracie and Ayden just kickin it.

Easter

Showing off her new hat and shiny chapstick lips.

Cheese.

Oma got her a new towel for fun, she digs it.

Being goofy.

2 months worth of paint

2009-03-03T14:19:00.000-08:00

Sorry it's been so long. What's new? hmmm....Gracie loves: painting, Romeo the fat cat, telling me "Get away from me!" and her friends (although you will see, one of them didn't love her very much one day. Or was it a LOVE bite?) She's becoming more and more imaginative and hilarious. I always mean to write down the funny stuff she says but I'm a slacker...

Grandma and her cat moved out a few weeks ago. I decided to weigh Romeo cuz he seemed to have put on quite a bit of winter weight. Yup! 4 extra pounds! I think he was eating half the other cat's food so now he's feeling starved! Here's some photos.

He thinks he can still fit on that thing.

That's his favorite toy that he plays fetch with. I think he misses Grandma's cat "Pretty Boy" (what's w/the queery cat names in our house?) because since they left, he'll carry that thing around with him and meow and stand over it like it's his hunting trophy.

Just to show off his chub and how he likes to sit.

Some lovely painting pictures for your enjoyment

She was on her way to audition for the Blue Man Group.

She was trying to paint a kitty nose and whiskers on her face.

There's the love bite! OUCH!

"What do you think you're doing?"

Her "CHEESE" face.

Being cute at TT's b-day party.

Ayden came over to play one night. I like Gracie's look in this picture. She thinks she's in heaven. Click on the picture to enlarge!

Holiday update and other snazzy stuff

2009-01-08T12:49:00.000-08:00

We took Gracie to see Santa this year. She ran right up to him and hopped on his lap. She wouldn't say much to him but it was a good experience. She's still telling people, "I'm not afraid of Santa."

Still holding Barney!

Her cousin Trinity came over one day and pulled out nearly all the stuffed animals and blankets. Thanks a lot kiddo!

Art time!

Big girl panties! She potty trained very well. The trouble is now, it's like having an infant again cuz she's up at least twice every nite crying "I need have to go potty, I need have to go potty!"

If for some reason you didn't get our Christmas (New Years) card, this is what it looked like.

The girls with daddy on Christmas Eve.

Gracie loves dressing up.

Sitting on the potty with cute messy hair.

Celebrating New Years Eve with some cookies and juice.

We made it to a couple parties on New Years Eve. This was at Jenny's.

Bethy showed up for a while too!

Me and Jen

The end.

The gift of NO BEARD

2009-01-08T12:41:00.000-08:00

For months now, Gracie, Kendal and I have been chanting "SHAVE IT SHAVE IT SHAVE IT!"

OUR DREAM CAME TRUE!

BEFORE (ew, yetti!)

BEFORE (scary lion!)

DURING (still scary! prison inmate)

DONE!

Random

2008-12-03T08:20:00.000-08:00

More pudding, I love how messy she still is.

Grandma got her a nifty ORANGE sucker

Showing off her "Native American" hat she made at Kari's house. One evening I was sitting in that chair with her and she said she was hungry and wanted a grilled cheese sandwich. I told her ok, but just sat there and admired her cuteness. She pointed toward the kitchen and said "Go make me a sandwich!" I instantly thought of Breakfast Club and "Go make me a turkey pot
pie #%@*&!"

Hey Leonard Maltin, you'll be happy to know that "No Shave November" has turned into "No Shave Til March" (I shudder)

Gracie likes her bath toys and I often don't get to see her cute face while she plays in the water. One nite a few weeks ago, to get her to look at me I would say "Gracie" and she would say "whatie?" and I would say "Look at mama" and when she'd look up, I'd be making a funny/ugly face. She'd giggle and go right back to her toys. After about the 4th time of doing this she said, "You're so weird." Already I'm an embarrassment to her.

No that's not black mold around her mouth, it's Oreo cookie goo. And she demanded that Little Barney be in the picture too.

Video of her bath time songs. (ABC's & Twinkle Twinkle Little Star)

2008-11-03T11:33:00.001-08:00

Happy Halloween!

Gracie was Elmo

Dave and I won the award for "Most Original" at the Halloween Costume Party. I think there were better costumes for that specific category but they said we won by a landslide so I'll glady accept.

Landin was a puppy dog and I thought he and Gracie looked so cute here after trick or treating watching Shrek.

PUMPKIN PATCH

2008-10-28T09:20:00.001-07:00

Ok, so this picture isn't the pumpkin patch but I like how Dave is totally sleeping and Gracie's just hanging out on him with her little construction paper Fire Dept. hat.

We took Gracie, Kendal and her friend Abby to the Pumpkin Patch on Saturday. We already had pumpkins but wanted some cute pictures. I think we got some.

The girls were goofing around in the corn bin.

Meeow

Kendal's nearly as tall as I am.

Gracie was getting tired of the joint at this point.

No Talking!

2008-10-23T14:01:00.001-07:00

Well, she's basically potty trained. Even taking naps with no diapers. She was a bit cranky last night and throwing a fit at bed time. She said "no more crying, no more tears." I asked her "are you all done crying now?" She said "don't talk at me! I say it myself!" Yes mam! (I had to hide my chuckles).

Here she is on football Sunday munching on ice cubes.

Headband City

2008-10-09T12:38:00.000-07:00

Miss Gracie gets cranky when the wind blows her hair into her eyes. I recently got her some new headbands and she loves them and likes wearing two or more at a time.

We've gone full blown on the potty training. She wears big girl panties (not pull ups) all day except at nap and bed times. She's had two full "no accidents" days in a row.

She also went to her first funeral on Tuesday. Her great grandmother Carol passed away after battling MS and other health problems for a long time. She's very missed and Gracie likes to say that her "Nanna" is running in the sky with the stars.

Anyway, the cousins got her pretty rowdy before the service began and sitting still and being quiet weren't working so well. After about 10 minutes of wiggling she said "I go poop!" After we had success in the ladies room, I kept her in the playroom w/the other little kids.

She's becoming quite the songstress and doesn't seem to know how to walk. She's always running, galloping, skipping or jumping everywhere. She's still a clutz though and falls down every place she goes too.

Take a ride

2008-09-29T12:35:00.000-07:00

Not a whole ton of stuff is new. She's a talking, snuggle bug working on potty training.

Here she and grandma are either working on a puzzle or checking out a book.

Ayden and Gracie enjoy a wagon ride.

Another short sleeved warm day. I think we were winding down before nap time. Waaaaay too close to the tv.

This is a picture of the girls on the carousel at Wyoming's Stage Coach days. Unfortunately, it was the best shot of their faces I could get.

I SLEEP IN TENT!

2008-09-04T11:50:00.001-07:00

Our first camping adventure! The first night Gracie was a bit freaked about being alone in a tent and us telling her it was nite nite. The next day already she was a pro. Not a whine for naptime from her. It was really fun and very dirty camping with 3 toddlers and 4 dogs.

Above: near the pool area, Gracie and Landin trade acorns.

Again near the pool area, Landin, Ayden and Gracie eat orange push ups and get sticky.

Near the campfire, Dave and Adam babysit while the moms enjoy BEER BONGS! Go Kari Go!

Catch Up Time

2008-08-28T07:54:00.001-07:00

Summer has been waaaaaaaay too busy. Weddings, birthdays, showers, bacheloretties! Below is a picture of the bride and some of her home girls at Sam & James' wedding.

We also had our annual Girl's weekend at the cabin. Was it year #6 or 7? Not sure but there was much needed fun and relaxing and laughing.

Lexi stopped by to play with Gracie for a bit last night. They're only a week apart in age.

Gracie started a new daycare and it's only 3 houses away! She's such a sponge and picks up the funniest things from the older kids. She says (in correct context too) UM, OH, CUZ, CUZ WHY? When you say "Gracie" she says "whatie?" She's doing great with potty training and loves her little stickers that she gets as rewards, she wears them on her arms and legs and tummy. She is such a sweet smooshy mooshy snuggle wuggle shnookums! We're taking the girls camping this weekend with neighbors and it'll be interesting to see how she handles sleeping in the tent. Oh, and she loves cake too as you can see in the video below.

Summertime

2008-07-15T07:34:00.000-07:00

Unlike her momma who's a little scared of the big bikes, Gracie loves the Harley

I took her to the Forest Lake Carnival on her birthday. At first, she didn't know what to think about the cotton candy. Once the freakiness of the texture passed, she was diggin it.

We had a big birthday party for her. She got lots of goodies.

Trying out the Sit N Spin

Kari's helping her ride her new bike

She also got lots of jewelry

Here she is on the 4th of July groovin to Kid Rock.

2008-06-25T13:49:00.000-07:00

Some pool pictures

Gracie dancin

Countdown and the pool

2008-06-24T11:12:00.000-07:00

No, it's not a giant Caterpillar or a snake, it's my countdown chain for GIRLS WEEKEND 08! 30 days to go. OW OW

Here's my awesome birthday present from big daddy o! Kendal can't stay out of it. She's modeling while cruising along on Brianna (the whale).

Mid Summer Days

2008-06-23T08:02:00.000-07:00

(These pictures are all in whacked order cuz I'm lazy today).

It was Mid Summer Days in N.Branch this weekend. I don't know why it's called that being that summer just officially began but despite me catching Gracie's nasty cold, we had a great time. Friday Dave came home with a couple early birthday presents for me and Gracie. We hung out with neighbors and had a fire after the kids went to bed. Saturday we filled the pool (my awesome present) and hung out til Gracie went to bed, then went to the street dance with neighbors Mike and Julie. Sunday we took the kids to the carnival and the parade.

Dave and Gracie on the boats

More rides

Gracie's birthday present, the sandbox with lid (we don't want cat poop in there ya know)

Gracie hugging Rudy the Doberman (he's harmless)

This was just funny, see Barney.

Gracie on the merry go round

Stupid memory card! She was holding a gigantic pronto pup at the carnival.

Kendal on the merry go round

Gracie actually fell asleep on the bumpy bike ride home from the parade.

Also...I had a great picture of Kendal on her whale floaty in the pool but the memory card is being defective, I'll get a new picture soon.

Goodbye.

2008-06-19T13:32:00.000-07:00

Gracie's tempers have calmed. Thank you. She's still a little "scary cat" about being outside but it's not terrible. She can hear a plane before anyone else too and puts her arms out and pretends to be a "plane in sky"

Headband

Father's Day

Driving Daddy's van with feet.

Neighbor Kylie

Kendal going for a ride in nieghbor Mike's truck.

Ya Ya Petites

2008-06-10T08:44:00.001-07:00

One year ago...from left to right, Ashley, Elsa, Gracie, Violet and Maddy.

Left to right, Ashley, Elsa, Maddy, Violet and Gracie.

Phases (I hope)

2008-06-10T08:26:00.000-07:00

Gracie seems to be going through some strange phases. She's not too overly obsessed (anymore) of it being dark outside but she won't play outside. I think she's afraid of noises and even in the back yard, demands being held. I'll have to inquire with Mimi at daycare and find out if it's the same situation over there. She WILL, however, play on her own out on the deck so that gate Dave built really comes in handy.
Another frustrating phase is these temper tantrums. It's all for me too. Not Mimi, not Dave, not Grandma, all for Momma! And I'm the mean one! She really should know better by now.
She's getting very good at counting and goes up to twelve all on her own. She tries the teens but all it is is a noise teen and then she knows when Twenty comes. Her ABC's are coming along good too.
Watching Grandma has taught her to use the phone (Grandma likes to talk on the phone, a lot) and she's become quite well spoken with her greetings....(sorry about the greenish tint, my digital camera is an antique).

Accessories, Screen Licking and Miscellaneous Funtimes

2008-05-27T12:29:00.001-07:00

We got Gracie some new glasses, she actually keeps them on cuz they're "super cool" and they have elephants on the sides.

Dad's hat sorta gives her the "redneck" look.

Here she's licking the screen door. I can't begin to imagine it's anything but fun!

Carrying Barney everywhere she goes has become a norm but now she needs her blanky too. Her friend Landon came over one evening and they both seem to be like deer caught in the headlights.

Landon's mom Kari sponsored a garage sale at her house. I picked up these fashionable Strawberry Shortcake slippers. Gracie digs their humongousness.

There was a big ol' b-day bash at the Johnson's Ranch for Violet's 1st b-day a couple weeks back. Here Gracie and her friends Elsa and Ashley wear their awesome "food catcher" bibs while scarfing down cake and ice cream.

Playing outdoors at the Johnson Ranch.

Yes, we have to come to a close with another bath picture. That's not really a "happy" face, it's more of a sneaky "I'm gonna eat these bubbles even tho you told me not to" look. I did especially like her messy, wild mane.

And to finalize, another hooray for using the potty! First she peed on the floor and I said, "Silly goose, you should have gone on your potty." So she pulled her potty chair out of the closet and made tinkle. (Did I just say that?) Anyway, she was very proud of herself. I think it's time to get some big girl panties!

Stuff

2008-05-01T11:54:00.000-07:00

Happy April 26! Yep, this is what we woke up to at 8 am on Saturday morning. We were mad.

Grooooooss! Isn't it officially spring yet?

This is the look Gracie gives me when I ask her to use her spoon instead of her fingers as utensils. "Keep dreaming."

Typical MN weather. One day it's 30 and snows, a few days later it's 70. We took the day off and went on a field trip with Gracie to some weird farm in Hugo. Gracie only threw a couple temper tantrums. She was also the only kid I witnessed acting out so hmmm....is she spoiled? Or maybe just overstimulated. Here she's hanging out w/a goat. I think she hugged it.

This farm was pretty different, they had a big ol' sandbox and a mini golf course too. I think Elsa just threw some sand in Gracie's eye.

Lunch time at the farm.

We spent the rest of the beautiful day outside. Gracie's new favorite way to go down her "infant" slide is, well, it's like she's trying to downhill ski. Or maybe oooooh! I think she's ready for a skateboard!

Here we go....

She says "Weeeeeeee, FUN!" I keep thinking she's gonna hurt her tailbone or back but then I remember she's made of rubber.

Biker Hair

2008-04-15T13:26:00.000-07:00

We had a birthday party for Kendal on Saturday. She's 10! We got her a new mt. bike.

Gracie likes Girl Scout cookies.

Ah, nice and clean. I don't think she was diggin the hairstyle.

THE CHAIR!

2008-04-08T13:28:00.000-07:00

Gracie had her 21 month birthday on Thursday 4-3. After her bath she pointed to her potty and said "Gacies potty." Then she sat down on it and peed! We tried it again on Saturday morning but didn't do quite as well.

She told me she wanted to go so I took off her jammies and diaper and told her to sit down on her potty chair. She stood there and peed. We cleaned that up. Then she squated down and made poo on the floor. Good try kiddo.

Later that day we had a play date with Beth and Leo.

Hugging Leo.

She had so much fun at the park on the slides.

Weeeeeeeee!

We always let her run around naked after bathtime and she decided running on the couch would be fun. I snapped a few photos before telling her we don't do that.

Crayola

2008-04-03T12:36:00.000-07:00

Our first crayon incident....she even got the glass patio door. Thank you Mr. Clean magic eraser.

Smiley

Giggles McGoo

The pants she's wearing are hand-me-downs from someone....Dave came into the room, saw her wearing them and said "Look at you in your 80's butt-rocker pants!" Nice.

She likes wearing my shoes.

Cat scratch fever! She was tormenting poor Romes with her Barney doll. I warned her that he was gonna get her. Yes, there were a few tears.

Easter

2008-03-25T06:39:00.000-07:00

We had to do Easter a day late. Gracie's Great Grandma was in the hospital so we didn't have time to hunt for eggs until Monday night. Grandma Carol, we love you and hope you get well soon! Anyway, I know her socks don't exactly go with the dress but she's outgrown her tights and all her white socks were in the washing machine. She did feel very pretty in her fancy clothes though.

Grandpa "Papa" also cut her bangs again on Easter so she's extra fancy.

She really had fun finding all the eggs and SLAMMING them into her basket. Egg salad anyone?

Just stuff

2008-03-21T13:14:00.000-07:00

Gracie likes jumping on her sissy's bed and then leaping off.

Don't worry, dad's there to catch her.

Ah, more pudding

Here's a cute one of her friend Ashley digging into her first birthday cake.

Gracie took advantage of Ashley's toys and had fun with the rocking horse.

After the birthday party, Kendal and Gracie snuggled together and relaxed while watching TV. Gracie somehow fell off the couch and banged her head on the coffee table but I think Kendal cried harder.

Here she's holding Barney who she seems to have aquired quite an obsession with. She's also got a slinky belt. I don't get it but she likes it.

I just think that one's cute.

And finally, the beard. Dave hacked it off a couple weeks ago now and I couldn't be happier.

As you can see, he was having a good time making different styles out of it.

The Hitler stache. Yep, that's my baby daddy.

Nuk - be gone!

2008-02-28T07:24:00.000-08:00

Great Grandma O. got Gracie these cute little marker dudes for Valentine's Day so we're getting into the arts and crafts. Sometimes, coloring is the only way to distract her from "Moove Moove Moove" which means Movie. I think I'm going to hide the TV.

Gracie says more new words everyday, and we're finally getting into the 2 syllable words. Just this morning I got her to say Happy, clear as a bell. (What a strange phrase, why not - clear as a cloudless sky or clear as my clean windows? Comment and give me more alternatives. Come on, it'll be fun!) No sentences yet, although, she does speak in full paragraphs worth with her own martian language.

Above: Sitting on sleeping Daddy while sucking on her Nuk. We always called it Paci (Passy) but Grandma and Mimi call it Nuk so she went that route. Anyway, thanx to Mimi's help, the Nuk is no more!

Sleeping beauty without the Nuk.

Dining on chocolate pudding and cottage cheese. Mmmmmmmmmmm......that sounds really good.

I don't remember what she was playing with here but I loved the splits sit, so there ya go.

Kendal with cousins Noah and Lily playing Apples to Apples during their slumber party.

Update!

2008-02-07T09:32:00.000-08:00

Oops! Going on nearly a month without an update. Here's what's new in Gracieland...she says a lot of words, everything is "blue", she now says "yes" when I ask her if she loves me. But she also says "yes" if i ask her if she loves the couch so I don't feel that special for it. She looooooves movies and throws a fit if I don't let her watch one. And she's back to hating getting her diaper changed again which has resulted in a few "time-outs!" which has also resulted in a few accidents on the carpet in the corner. She has become a pro at going down the stairs in a normal standing position, although it still scares the crap out of me. She's a complete monkey and even climbs up on the kitchen table. After watching The Squid and the Whale, I thought of using the nickname "Pickle" but monkey suits her better.

Hey!

I think she's ready to get down here.

Relaxin'

Hangin around with dad

We got her a booster chair after she refused to eat her dinner in her highchair one night. Can you say "spoiled"?

And more bath pictures.

It's all about fashion

2008-01-10T08:37:00.000-08:00

Fashion it is. Here Gracie is hanging out on the fridge with dad sportin his winter facial hair.

Here she is brushing her big girl teeth wearing her super cute sweater she got for Christmas.

Coloring with Sissy as they both show off their PJ's and of course, the passy.

Romeo the cat stylin the scarf.

I was a bad momma and didn't get any pics of Gracie in her Christmas get ups so I dressed her up for random photos. Grandma LuAnne supplied both her Christmas Eve and Christmas Day outfits. These looked and felt like super comfy jammies.

Below is the Christmas pot-holder dress. Very unique.

Climbing up on the chair.

Playing "PEEK!"

She turned 18 months on the 3rd and had her dr. appointment the same day. No shots this time and here are her stats... Weight - 22 lb, 12.8 oz., 28% / Height - 30", 10% (the dr. thinks that's inaccurate due the crappy way they lay her down and mark it on a piece of paper, although, she is a shorty), Head - 19.5", 64%. Goodbye.

Olson Twins

2008-01-02T13:15:00.001-08:00

Gracie as "Gracie"

I've had several people tell me now that Gracie looks just like Michelle from Full House when she was little. What is it, the nose? Of course I'm biased but I think "Gracie" is cuter than "Michelle"

Gracie as "Michelle"

Happy Holidays

2008-01-02T11:12:00.000-08:00

The holidays were very nice. Gracie got a lot of nice gifts, clothes, toys and ooodles of new books which I'm very happy about because I think I've memorized the 50 that she already has. She didn't really get into the gift opening. She'd rip a piece of paper off and get up to throw it in the garbage and forget about coming back to finish opening it. I think next year she'll probably be more excited.
Some of her favorites gifts are her new Dora chair from mom and dad and a double dolly stroller from Grandma. She likes hanging upside down, sitting in boxes and she's talking up a storm now too. enjoy...

FOOD!

2007-12-11T06:42:00.000-08:00

So, I'm making dinner last night and Miss Gracie is digging in the food cupboard due to yet another broken baby-proof latch. I look over and she's opened the bag of generic fruity pebbles, spilled them and is eating them off the floor. She thought it was pretty funny.

Dave got home late so Gracie got to eat twice. She snaked dad's fake meat corn dog so he had to make another.

WeirdCatSnow

2007-12-10T12:21:00.000-08:00

Gracie's weird. She likes wearing strange things over her own clothes. Here she's sportin her sisters floral printed T over her jammies.

Yes, Romeo is still fat. He recently discovered that the baby-proof latch for our corner cupboard where we keep our pots and pans no longer is effective at keeping things out. He digs that cupboard and I think I know why. When he was a wee kitten, that used to be our food cupboard and I had mistakenly left it open and he got in there and ate Chinese noodles. I think he's hoping he'll find some more.

Since there wasn't much wind this weekend, I bundled up the little weird-o and we headed outdoors for some sledding fun. Below is cousin Lily, sister Kendal and Gracie all enjoying the snow.

Diapers and trees

2007-11-15T08:26:00.000-08:00

Last week Gracie found one of her Splashers diapers. She brought it out to me, laid down and stuck her legs in the air. She insisted on wearing it. Later, I changed her real diaper and put the splashers back on her changing table. She found it again and demanded I put it back on her. She walked sorta funny with it over her jeans but she was having so much fun I had to indulge her.

Look at that pose. So proud.

I couldn't resist. I put the tree up last night. She wanted to sit under it like Romeo.

Whenever she sees the camera, she comes running and wants to look at the screen. It's getting hard to get centered photos.

That's all folks.

Fun Foods

2007-11-08T08:41:00.000-08:00

Gracie has experienced a growth spurt. Which is obvious by her extreme interest in food.

However, her interest in vegetables is no more. She's very angry at me here for cooking peas in her grilled cheese sandwich. She picked out every last one.

Feeding herself is a new found talent that she enjoys. The other morning, she fed herself the entire bowl of cream of wheat.

Then we had yogurt for a bedtime snack. I have to remind her to use her spoon because she likes digging her hands right in there. What a disaster. A fun disaster tho.

On to other topics. Halloween was fun. We didn't get nearly as many trick-or-treaters as I was anticipating. Yes, we had 5 full bags of candy leftover. I'll be bringing it to work to fatten up the co-workers. Below, Gracie models her lovely jack-o-lantern shirt donated to her by Grandma LuAnne.

She loves her sister dearly and seems to have a smooching fettish. This is one of the rare closed-mouth kisses.

It may look like she's making out with her doll here but really, she's licking it's eyeball. She's a strange one.

She misses playing on the deck and summertime so I let her bring in her intertube. We're going to have to limit the amount of toys (tubes) in the living room to make space for the Christmas tree pretty soon.

That's all for today's episode of Gracieville. Stay tuned for next weeks photos.

Happy Halloween

2007-10-31T08:02:00.000-07:00

One of Gracie's favorite things to do is climb on us when we're laying on the floor. Then she purposely falls off and thinks it's hilarious.

I don't know what she's doing here other than being adorable.

Saturday morning we took the girls to Pinehaven. It was a lot of fun and Gracie really like the animals and the popcorn.

These are the Scottish Highland Cattle. I love them.

That night Grandma LuAnne came over to babysit so we could go to our Halloween parties. We both dressed in old cosutmes.

Our first stop was at my parents house where sister Elly was throwing a party. She was Pocohontas. The braids are real.

Here's sister Erin and her dude Jesse. I don't know what's up with the flames in this picture but they're wicked cool.

Then we went to Sam & James' party. The guy with the nose was scary.

Movies, shopping and family

2007-10-18T06:50:00.000-07:00

This is Gracie's reaction to the adorable kids in her favorite disney sing along movie. She's even getting the hand gestures down and knows when to jump and spin. I have a hard time getting her involved in anything other than tv lately. I blame others.

Last night she got to meet her maternal great grandparents from Ohio for the first time. Here she's delivering some barrels to Grandpa Len.

Here we have four generations of women. Dave took the photo so we'll blame him for the off-centered shot.

Last week she got her first haircut. The bangs were poking the eyes. Grandpa Steve did a super job. Being that he's a professional, well, duh!

She also got to visit with her Auntie Pammy from Florida.

The next day we had lunch at Denny's and went shopping with Elsa and Jessie. I forgot the stroller so we rented an awesome oversized stroller with a steering wheel. It was worth the 3 bucks and Gracie really got into driving it around. We were browsing for winter gear for my munchkin.

Glad I didn't spend the dough. I thought it would be too big but this loaner fits her pretty well. I think it was Henry's. Thanx dude!

And for good measure, more bath pictures. She likes eating the bubbles.

She's doing her crazy legs dance on the bath matt here. And I know it looks like there's something very wrong but I blurped it out as to not offend anyone out there who might think it's wrong to take naked pics of kids. She's just a baby! Look at that toad tummy! (I'm sure Julie loves that comparison).

The end.

So go learn karate!

2007-10-05T12:20:00.000-07:00

Gracie has her 1st ear infection. But you can see she's still crazy and it's not affecting her happiness to any degree whatsoever. All my friends who have baby blogs give out stats so I guess I better be a copycat. I left the sheet at home with the exact numbers so this may be off a degree or two.

Wt. 21.3 lbs - 25%

Ht. 30 inches - 37% (I think this is wrong, she was measured laying down on a piece of paper without being stretched out)

Head Crc. I don't remember but it was in the 80th percentile so her head size is good, the rest of her is puny!

And here she is again with one shoe. She walks around like that all day if you let her. She's nutty.

Meeeeow!

2007-10-03T08:48:00.000-07:00

Gracie is 15 moths old today. She has her Dr. appt. tomorrow. Here is Miss Gracie being speedy! She's a runnin' fool!

Here she's showing off her ONE shoe. Although, with the pink sock, it's hard to tell she's even wearing a shoe.

She's also suddenly very fond of playing with socks.

This was the first day I put a pony tail in her hair. It was also the first day I've actually seen her watching tv. I believe it was veggie tales. She's also learned to get up and down from chairs quite well. We've had our spills but remarkably, she's quite agile.

Like her friend Maddy, she loooves ravioli. Dad cleaned her up and it was straight into the bath.

This picture is also on Henry's blog but mine turned out better. I don't know what Dave is thinking here. He looks like he's about to beat the life out of poor Henry, although I assure you, he would never do such a thing. Gracie's just enjoying somebody elses toys.

We give Gracie rides in the diaper box while she still fits.

Normally she hits the cat but she's also begun to hit me. Being that I don't think I could bring myself to spank and I can't stand those people who scream at their children, my friends suggested TIME OUT! Now she's sweet to the cat. In the picture below, she was hugging/laying on Romeo and he's desperately trying to escape. So it sorta looks like she's smelling his rear. That cat is a lifesaver. Normally when my alarm clock goes off in the morning, he's right up there licking / biting my face trying to get me up to feed him. Last night I forgot to turn on my clock but he woke me up this morning with a lovely chomp on the arm so I wasn't too late for work.

Gracie usually naps after daycare and when she wakes it's time for dinner and then it's dark. So it may not look like she gets any fresh air but we DO get outside together on the weekends, weather permitting of course.

Chomp Chomp

2007-09-20T13:44:00.001-07:00

And here she is wearing a beanie! It's a hat that goes on her giant doll. She digs it.

She looooves hanging around.

Auntie Elly babysat for us on Saturday so we could go on Tiki Steve's double decker party boat in Lindstrom. I guess Gracie was pretty cranky. Of course is was the 2 new toothers coming in. Now we're up to 12! Time for steak (don't tell dad).

Captain Tiki Tiki and side-kick Barback Dustin.

Soooooo big!

2007-09-05T13:12:00.000-07:00

No cool stories. The guinea hens have not returned.

Gracieland updates...she wears barrettes, she runs, she climbs, she likes hats, she cracks us up and gives lots of kisses now, big open mouth smooches. I can't believe how big she is.

Running

Climbing

Sporting the skull cap.

Lovin' her baby.

Fan fair and feathers

2007-08-29T06:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning I woke up and heard this horrendous sound. At first I thought the wind was blowing my purple butterfly wind-mobile dealie and it was rusty and loud enough to wake the neighbors. A while later, I heard it again and thought I better have Dave take it down for sure, I'd kill my neighbors if they had something that noisy on their house. Yet a part of me just couldn't believe that the noise was really from that. So...in the early morning pre-dawn light, I went out to my deck and HOLY BALLS! There were at least 5 turkey's sitting on our cedar fence squawking away. I yelled at Dave to get up just to make sure they were turkey's (I've mistaken pheasants for turkey's in the past - don't ask) and sure enough, he said they were! We've since discovered that they're actually Guinea Hens and there's a group of 7 just hanging around our neighborhood, going into people's yards, getting chased by the neighbors dogs and stuff. Below is the gaggle ? of them trying out a game of horseshoes.

Below is Gracie in Oma's sink. She got a touch of the diaper rash and her big sis Kendal was sweet enough to give her a bath.

We took Monday off work and brought the girls to the Great Minnesota Get Together. They both behaved excellent. Kendal had a moment of bravery and wanted to check out the haunted house. Unfortunately, as soon as we entered, she backed out and said, "I don't want to!" I talked her through it but mostly just held her all the way with my hand over her eyes. She was a toughie, no tears from her pretty eyes.

Below the little peanut is enjoying auntie's smoothie.

And once we finally left the Midway, she was out.

The Curious George was donated by a super nice woman just walking by. She and her dude were loaded down with stuffed creatures, big and small. Gracie was fussing in her stroller a bit so the lady bent down and played with her for a moment and left George on her lap! Now how nice is that?

Pool Party!

2007-08-17T09:20:00.000-07:00

These pictures are about a month old. It was Leo's birthday and they had a pool party at his aunt's house. Above she's splashing around with her dad.

Here she's enjoying some watermelon and pickle with mom.

This is just a couple days ago. I went to peek at her before I left for work and she looked so darn peaceful, I had to share it.

Shiner

2007-08-09T13:43:00.000-07:00

Gracie got wounded at daycare on Tuesday. She tripped and smacked her cheekbone on a plastic teeter-totter.

She enjoys playing on the deck.

Watch out, it's a full moon!

Walking Maniac

2007-08-02T13:20:00.001-07:00

We haven't been able to play with Skipper since Sunday cuz he hasn't returned. Dave saw him raiding the neighbors trash Monday nite so he must still be full.

I've been trying to snap Gracie walking and I finally got a few. Above you can see her marching towards me, bringing me a book to read her.

And here she's bringing me her rolly ball. The sucker rolls around on it's own and makes all sorts of wacky sounds. It still scares her once in a while and she'll run over to me and grab on and point at the ball like "Look mom, it's possessed!"

I don't usually like letting her sleep with her toys and here you can see why. She's got some leg action going on with the giant dolly and she's getting freaky with the glow worm. When I went to cover her up, her pants were actually pulled down and she was flashing some diapered butt and I should have left it for the awesomest photo ever but I wasn't actually thinking at the time that I was going to take her picture and I wasn't about to risk waking her up trying to pull her pants back down for a good snapshot. So too bad.

Fun, Food & Felines

2007-07-30T13:46:00.000-07:00

Here is Gracie being funny.

Dad made us blueberry pancakes for breakfast on Saturday. Quite the mess indeed.

She's never taken to pasta so well before. It must be the delicious Bertolli sauce. Again, quite the mess.

Friday I got home nearing 1 am after a nite out with my girls and came to discover this little cat out on our deck. Dave told me that he scared Romeo (the fat guy on the left) so bad that he actually tinkled. I saw the puddle myself but find it hard to believe that fear led such a massive creature to such an act. Personally I think he was marking his territory. Anyway, I've named the little cat Skipper. I don't know why, it just popped in my head and I think it fits. Last summer we had a momma kitty give birth to her kittens up in a hallow branch in our oak tree and I'm thinking this might be one of those kittens. The tips of his ears are gray like maybe they've been frost bit, being he's very skinny and I'm assuming a stray. He's come around 3 nites in a row now and I'm thinking I'm going to have to adopt him. Could he be returning because I'm feeding him?

Dinner

2007-07-20T11:47:00.000-07:00

Gracie and I enjoyed a fine dinner of hamburger helper and krinkle cut carrots.

She then screamed, "don't feed me this stuff anymore! now i have gas!"

Walking Shots

2007-07-16T10:05:00.001-07:00

Gracie got her 1 year shots on Thursday. She was tough and didn't cry too much. She's pretty much given up crawling and the bottles are packed away. She even tried feeding herself with a spoon, although, most of the peas ended up on the floor. We also discovered that she has molars! When did that happen?

The Partier!

2007-07-12T06:37:00.001-07:00

We had a birthday party on Saturday just for Gracie. Lots of people, lots of hot dogs. Thanks Grandpa Ewaldt for eating 12 of them! We would have had waaay too many otherwise. Above is Gracie nice and clean before diving into her cake.

Now she's messy! And although Kendal looks sparkling in comparison, you can see a little smudge of chocolate on her cheek, what a slob!

Aunt Connie was brave and helped with bath time, then refused going out in public due to the embarassing chocolate covered shirt.

Festivities

2007-07-05T12:29:00.000-07:00

The deck is done! Thanks a million to Kyle and Dave. Now we need some furniture!

This is Gracie on July 3rd, her first birthday. I don't know if you can tell by her eyes but she's a little under the weather. Poor babyhead!

Here she is on the 4th attmepting to blow out the candle. It's a 6 because we were celebrating six birthdays. Don't worry, she'll get her own special day.

We all had ice cream cake but Grandpa insisted she have chocolate cake so he bought her a chocolate cupcake with chocolate icing. She loooved it.

All Gone! Bathtime.

Spindles!

2007-06-27T06:55:00.000-07:00

Not quite done but getting close! Sorry, no new pictures of Gracie. Bad momma!

Weekend Fun

2007-06-25T06:31:00.000-07:00

I took the girls swimming this weekend. They loved it.

While we were simming, Dave and Kyle worked their butts off building my deck.

This is what we've got so far. They tell me it'll be done by the time I get home from work. I better call the house and wake them up!

Wipe out

2007-06-22T06:34:00.000-07:00

All this walking business is really exhausting. We snapped this photo last night. I went in to check on her and cover her up cuz she never stays covered and she looked so funny we had to get it on record.

She took another 4 unassisted steps towards me yesterday and she's getting really fast cruising around the coffee table. I swear this last month she's grown tons cuz suddenly I'm busting out the onsie extenders. I think another tooth may be on the way as well. Droolie!

Snack time

2007-06-21T09:51:00.000-07:00

HERE! HAVE MY GRAPE!

I've fallen! And I can't get up!

2007-06-13T11:07:00.000-07:00

This here is Gracie's cousin Travis. He seems to have fallen into a giant hole in our yard! How I can't wait for my deck.

This is Gracie a couple months ago with her big sister Kendal. The picture turned out cute but I will never go back to WalMart for portraits again.

Here's Gracie with her friend Landon in the stroller. Notice Landon in his full gear hiding from the UV rays. Good daddy. Gracie thinks it's funny.

She's very close to walking and as her first birthday nears, trying lots of new foods. She's not picky that's for sure.

Daycare Bonanza

2007-06-06T06:45:00.000-07:00

Here we are at Maddy's first birthday party. Gracie and Elsa are none too pleased with the rain and being confined to their strollers.

We tried desperately to snap photos of all five girls born within a year of each other but Gracie had other plans, like diving off the couch.

This is what we ended up with. Again, Gracie and Elsa are none too pleased.

And here she is after her first big day at daycare. Worn out and ill with teething. It's going good.

BUGS!

2007-05-30T09:17:00.000-07:00

Here she is reaching for the camera. I don't know if you can see it but she's got 4 mosquito bites on her head. First ones ever and they all attacked at once! I myself am a big fan of deet cuz it works but really, is there a good repellent out there for baby heads?

Showing off her standing skills and how well she pulls the magnets off the fridge. And of corse they go right into the mouth.

Help, my fluffy towel is too soft!

2007-05-15T12:15:00.000-07:00

Not much is new in Gracie land. She shakes her head NO to everything. Dave asks her "do you want to go for a bike ride?" she shakes her head NO. I ask her "do you love your momma?" she shakes her head NO. She also waves hi and bye now too.

In other news...life was about to become a little less choatic with me quitting my nite gig but at the very same time, we lost a babysitter. No, she didn't die, she's just no longer available. We'll miss you Donna! If any of you readers out there know of anyone good but cheap looking to babysit Monday thru Wednesday, pass on some info please.

Bubble chips and tools

2007-04-27T11:33:00.000-07:00

We took Gracie to a psychic last week and just as we suspected, she's destined to win the world series of poker.

She loves power tools and was helping dad install cupboard locks.

And for good measure, another bath picture.

A yiyiyiy ya

2007-04-12T07:08:00.000-07:00

Alright, enough Sven jokes, lets focus on the important matters. Like realizing how dirty my floors are now that she's a crawling maniac. A YIYIYIY YA is her favorite thing to say lately, and also BABABA. I'm trying to get her to turn it into MAMAMA.

Gotta love the cheerio stuck to her cheek.

Here she's gettin some auntie Elly love. She'll miss you when you're in Jersey sis!

Nap time

2007-04-03T12:15:00.000-07:00

Sven was so nice to take a nap with Gracie on Saturday so I could get some cleaning done. He's really great with babies.

Buds

2007-04-02T11:22:00.000-07:00

Gracie met Sven over the weekend. He just got back from Miami. They had a good time together.

No Title

2007-03-28T07:55:00.000-07:00

Gracie is really taking after her dad. She feels powerful with that remote control.

She and her friends are visiting Sheri and Matt and their new baby Ashley!

Here she's saying "That's right, this is MY pacifier."

Greetings

2007-03-07T13:30:00.000-08:00

Alright, it's been a while so here are pictures galore.

Gracie's teeth

Gracie with a ponytail

Romeo, morbidly obese feline

Dave, Gracie and Kendal playing on the snowbank

(Before) The nasty beard face I refused to smooch.

(After) Much better

TEETH

2007-02-19T11:07:00.000-08:00

Gracie is now about 7.5 months old. I finally talked my little sisters into babysitting a couple weeks ago for the first time. We got home and discovered she was fussy and wouldn't go to bed til almost midnite. The next morning I discovered why...teeth. Her two front bottom teeth popped thru at last. I've been trying to snap a photo for all of you too see but haven't had any luck. She keeps sticking her tongue out. She's still cute tho so enjoy...

Sick Tongue

2007-01-31T07:21:00.000-08:00

Gracie is just getting over her very first cold. I don't know if it's the snot she's aiming for or just something new but her tongue seems to have found it's way outward and upward. I thought Gramdma Donna was going to wet herself the first time she saw Gracie doing this. From laughing so hard of course.

And here she is enjoying the "Ring of Fire" that Henry so kindly loaned her.

Just Ducky

2007-01-16T07:20:00.000-08:00

Gracie loves bath time. She especially loves her rubber ducky. I think she's trying to tear off some tail feathers. Too bad she doesn't have any teeth yet.

Daddy's getting the hang of feeding her cereal. He still has to learn to pick up the pace or she gets impatient.

Not a whole lot else is new. She's a sweetie and that's it.

sWeETness

2007-01-12T11:56:00.000-08:00

Poor me. Gracie woke up very early today. Daddy put her to bed with a little generic diaper and the sucker overflowed. She was wet up to her armpits. Here she is being sweet.

Hiya

2007-01-10T13:20:00.000-08:00

With my wee little bit of free time, I decided to create a blog and be like mike. Here's a picture of my baby, Gracie. She's the cutest in the world and that's all there is to it.

Love,

Crystal O.