To My Surpise!

 I've always thought of Gracie as "my surprise".  That kind of makes it sound like Gracie was an "oops", but my little sweetie was planned down to the finest detail.  Chris and I knew that when Emily turned 3, we wanted to try to add to our family.  And before you knew it, that was the case.....we we're on our way to being a family of four.  The surprise part comes in because I KNEW I was going to have a boy.  Chris has a sister and I have a brother.  So in my mind I was thinking that our little family would be just the same....one of each. 

Chris had an issue at work the day I had my sonogram, so mother went with me.  I had waited 20 long months to find out what this little joy was going to be and I couldn't wait another day!   We had two names picked out.  William Christopher (Will) for a boy and Grayson Ruth (Gracie) for a girl.  I just knew it was going to be "Will", so when the tech said "Girl", I made her say it again.  When she repeated "girl" I let out the loudest "WhaHoo" you could have imagined.  Two girls!  I just couldn't believe it!  Then I was a little worried.  What if Chris was disappointed that he wouldn't be having a son?  There was no need for worry because the sound of pride in his voice when I told him we would be having ANOTHER girl calmed all my fears.  Gracie Ruth is named after Chris' grandmother and she was a wonderful woman.  I often think about her and I wonder how she would feel about having her great granddaughter named after her.  Gracie Ruth is so blessed to have such a wonderful namesake. 

I hadn't started this blog when Gracie was born, so I'm going to give you a brief stroll down memory lane.

Newborn

5 months (as you can see, her food was really starting to agree with her)

6 months

10 months

1 year

Gracie Ruth, I can't believe how much you've changed in a year!  You can say anything you want to, and have for quite some time.  My favorite things you've said lately are: "Do it self me", "Birthday Me", and when asked what your name is you say"Gacie Roof". You are a little sassy, but that's okay.  And you have the best little personality.  You love to smile and play.  Since Emily has started school, you've asked about her at least 15 times a day, but that's only because you love her so much.  You are just my pride and joy, and the best little addition to our family.  I'm so blessed to be your mother.  Happy 2nd Birthday!

School Days

Well, we are officially on our third week of school.  Last week was what I consider the first REAL week because Emily stayed the regular school hours.  Now, Monday was not the best day, but the rest of the week shaped up pretty nicely. 

They had to wear certain colors the past two weeks and here and a few of my favorites.

Yellow.  Thanks Gran for making the shorts (sorry you can't see them, but they are really cute).

Green

Black

We've had homework, which is totally new to us.  Thank goodness it's something I can help her with!  I will probably peek at 3rd grade and then we'll have to hire help.

Had a little craft time.  Emily is all about Christmas as you can see by the picture she is coloring. 

To encourage Emily to follow directions and do all her school work, Chris and I promised her that if she has a good report on all her work at the end of the week we would buy her a Jessie (from Toy Story) doll.  Well, we should have checked the price on those bad boys because they are not cheap!!! Um, $35 to be exact!   And we can't afford a toy like that every week. But we promised, so we went ahead.  We have come up with a new idea.  She gets $5 every week for doing her school work and a few chores we have her do around the house. Now she can save her money and buy what she wants.  We are also starting her a savings account, so hopefully she will learn to save and a little as well. 

Hope your Monday has been a good one!

Accidents Happen

Our weekend started out pretty low key.  Gracie was having a few "stomach troubles" Saturday night into Sunday morning, so she and I stayed home from church while Chris and Emily went on.  We relaxed for most of the day, so that afternoon we went outside to play.  Gracie wasn't feeling her best, but she was okay enough to go out to play.  We played for a little bit then we walked over to see our neighbors new boat again.  Gracie, Emily and Landon (the neighbor's son) were sitting in the boat talking and Chris and I standing outside the boat.  Landon had this whistle with a cord on it that he and Emily had been playing with and I noticed it had a fishing lure on it.  About one second after I noticed it, Gracie fell into it and it went into her leg! 

As you can imagine, it got crazy after that.  Chris called 911 because he really didn't know what to do with her crying and going crazy. Chris held her for awhile and calmed her and I held her hand.  The paramedic said she would definitely need to go the Emergency room, but I really wasn't sure how we were going to get her there!  I mean, could you really imagine trying to put a kid with a fishing lure in her leg into a car seat!!!! They suggested that we go in the ambulance so that she could lay flat in my lap and not move her leg around. With it so close to her knee cap, he said the less movement would be better.  Plus, we wouldn't have to wait in the waiting room.  That was all I need to hear!  We loaded up in the ambulance and Emily stayed with the neighbors. 

When we got to the ER, Gracie was surprisingly doing great!  As long as I didn't move that is.  I held her as still as I could for an hour and a half.  They numbed up her leg, pushed the hook through the skin (oh my!) and clipped the end and pulled it right out.  Now she screamed and cried while they were doing all that, but as soon as they finished, she said, "Thank You".  After a grape Popsicle and a cup of ice, she was all better.

To say that my nerves were SHOT is an understatement!!!!!   Chris and I talked about how blessed we were that it was something that could be fixed so easily! Accidents can happen so fast even when you are doing your best to prevent them! 

I'm just so glad my baby is okay!!!  Thank you Lord for taking care of us!

Tiny Dancer

 Hey y'all!  I know it has been forever since I have blogged but this new "school" schedule is wearing on me and it's just the second week.  And what a week it's been!  We've had to modify the way we do things, which shouldn't be a big deal, but when you're creatures of habit like we are, it can get stressful!  Plus we had a trip to the emergency room this weekend!   (but more on that later)

Today was an exciting day around our house because it was Emily's first day of ballet.  We have been talking about this for a whole year and I've been dreaming about this my whole life!  I love this Tiny Dancer!

When I finished taking Emily's picture, Gracie came running in saying "Yook Mommy" and posing. 

Emily loved it!  I wish I could watch, but I will get my chance soon enough.  They have a parents day and I can't wait to see her in action.  She showed me what she learned and I do believe she's a natural!  But that's coming from her #1 fan. 

A Great First Day

Today was Emily's first OFFICIAL day in kindergarten.  I didn't sleep well last night at all!  Was I worried about Emily?  No.  I was worried I was going to sleep late and make her late for her first day.  I set my alarm for 5 am just to make sure I was up.  Plus there are a few things that you can't do the night before, and I wanted to make sure I had plenty of time. 

Emily is a very picky eater and I worry about it a lot.  I packed all the things she would eat in her lunch bag.  I know they thought that by the looks of it, she would be there for supper too!

Some of my best memories of school are the notes my mother would leave me in my lunch box.  I wish so bad that I would have saved them because I would love to show them to Emily.  She may not have even noticed the note, but in my heart it felt like I was reaching out and giving her a little hug. 

She was all smiles about getting there.  And to be honest, I wouldn't have it any other way.  They had a Boohoo Breakfast at school for the kids and parents that needed a little more time together.  Emily didn't want anything to do with that!  She said she was ready to see her teacher.  Emily lead me down to her classroom (which is WAY  far for a little kid), so I don't even think I'll need to walk her in tomorrow. But that's totally up to her, so we'll see in the morning. 

Not many, if any, of the kids in Emily's class went to the breakfast.  Before I left the classroom, they were all heading to the mat to hear Mrs. M read a story. 

This is Emily's buddy Ali. 

Pop was kind enough to come stay with Gracie so I could be with Emily.  When I got home, we ate breakfast and played a little.  I've started working on colors with Gracie.  Her favorite is purple.  What I mean by favorite is that she remembers it more often than the others. But she'll get it.  She's a smart girl! 

By the looks of it, I should have combed her hair!

My Daddy stopped by for a minute because he was working a few houses down from ours.  Gracie brought me the camera and said "Cheeseburgers" and wanted to Daddy to hold her.  It makes me laugh at how she can get her point across.   

Before long, it was time to go get Emily and she got in the car telling me all kinds of stories.  They read a book about gingerbread men and it must have been good because she has talked about it often.  And we had a minor problem at lunch because some boy thought that Emily had taken someone else's goldfish.  I guess in the morning I'm going to write her name on EVERYTHING!!!

I hope our second day was as good as today. 

Meet and Greet

Although today was the first day of school for most, it was just a meet and greet day for Emily.  It was the first day that she got to meet her teacher, Mrs. Martinez. 

If I would have wanted to get a picture of the girls together, they would have had NONE of it, but because I wanted to take a picture of  "just" Emily, Gracie was all about it.

The things that I remember about my first day of big school was that my jeans were DARK and my shoes were WHITE.  I just wanted to remember how Emily's shoes looked on the first day because I'm sure they won't be white for long! 

The Preschool Girls.  Emily was so excited to see her friends from Preschool.  McKenzie and McKenna.  They all are in different classes, but I'm sure they will run into each other at Recess.

As usual, Gracie thinks she's as big as everyone else!

When Dr. B started calling the classes out by teachers, the crowd slimmed down a lot.  Emily was able to find her friend Ali (also a preschool girl and also in Emily's room).  Emily held her hand all the way to the classroom.

Mrs. Martinez read the sweetest story called "The Kissing Hand".  I can't even go into it right now or I'll cry, but it was a great story as much for the parents as well and the kids. 

Before we left, Emily asked Mrs. Martinez if she knew were we lived.  Mrs. M said, "No, honey, I don't".  Emily then told her the name of the town where we live.  Mrs. M said, "I live in that town too".  Emily then told her, "We have a big house, but it's kind of messy".  Out of the mouths of babes!  Mrs. M goes to the same church that we are visiting, so there is no telling what she'll think of us by the time Emily finishes telling her all our family secrets!!!! 

We had a great afternoon.  Gracie took a really long nap, Emily actually rested for a long time, and I attacked that messiness that Emily was telling everyone about.  With Emily at school and while Gracie naps, I'm going to have a mass exodus of stuff!!!  That's my goal anyway. 

Onto the first official day of Kindergarten.  No tears!!!  I'm ready!  Oh, and Emily is too! 

Painting with Emily

Last Wednesday, Emily and I had a Girl's Day Out.  Grandmother was sweet enough to watch Gracie so it could be the two of us.  Emily got to choose an activity and she decided on painting pottery.  We did this last year and she loved it.

We painted a little bit, then walked around to see all the stuff they had.  Of course the big round tube of sugar caught Emily's eye.  I see these things everywhere but we have never purchased any of it sugary goodness, but today was all about Emily, so she walked away with the biggest pixie stick I'd ever laid eyes on!!! 

Me and my sweet baby.  I can't believe she starts big school tomorrow! 
I just realized that she is holding a statue of hand.  How funny!

 I was going to let Emily choose whatever it was she wanted to paint, but I had decided that I was going to paint a coffee mug.  I love me some big chunky coffee mugs.  When we got there, Emily went straight to the coffee mugs and said, "Mommy, I want to paint this for you".  What a sweet angel she can be.

An artist I am not, so I just went with a spoon rest for the kitchen.  The front has a red "A", and this is the back...

After we finished painting, we headed to a local sandwich shop because Emily said, "I want to go to the place with the grill cheese.  Okay...coming right up!  While we were there we ran into Emily's friend David from preschool.  I'm a little bummed that David is going to a different school than Emily because he is such a sweet boy and I love his parents.  They will come back together for middle school, so I'm happy about that.  Emily says, "David is such a nice boy, and he is so cute"!

He looks way serious in this picture, but he had just been to get his 5 year old portraits made and he was showing me how he posed. Very good David.

After lunch Emily and I stopped at Aunt Janine's for a quick dip in the pool before getting Gracie.  And last but not least, I promised everyone ice cream.  By the looks of it, Gracie enjoyed hers. 

We are ready for our big day tomorrow.  Emily gets to meet her teacher for the first time, and I'm excited to see her reaction.  I met Mrs. Martinez on Friday, and I do feel like she is the answer to the prayer I prayed all summer.  I got tickled that they only go half days the first week for what the school calls "an easy transition".  I do believe that the "transition" that they speak of is more for the parents than for the children. 

There are a few things that I know.  I know that Emily is ready for "big school".  I know that Emily needs to be around the other children, because she is the happiest when she's around people.  I know that I have prayed for God to keep her safe while she is at school, and my God is faithful, so no worries there!  Now my head is telling me all those things. I just wish someone would break it to my heart!!  I'm just going to miss her so much!! 

Lord, I thank you so much for giving me such a lively and healthy child.  One that keeps me on my toes and makes me realize what good parents I had.  You have given me so many blessing and I just can't thank you enough! 

The Bachelorette

As most of you women know (and maybe a few men), this past Monday night was the finale of the Bachelorette.  I love this show!  Maggie and I were talking about it on the phone and we decided that she and Sophie Clare would come over to watch it.  I live right down the road form a really good nail salon, so before the Bachelorette came on, Maggie left Sophie Clare with us while she went to get her nails done. 

I was so excited because I never get to spend as much time as I would like with her.  But it was a little crazy around here to say the least.  Sophie Clare is real gentle and dainty, so I think she was in total shock of the chaos around here! 

I don't think Sophie Clare is much on highchairs at home, but I was afraid she would fall off our bar stools while we were eating dinner, so I pulled her right up in the highchair and she loved it.  When I say "loved it" that means she actually sat there.  She was so cute!  When I asked her if she wanted "more", she did the sign for more. 

I won't say it was a fun evening.  When Maggie got back, we started watching the Bachelorette and then my mother stopped by for a visit.  All was fine until Sophie Clare saw my mother and she kind of had a break down.  I think we kept saying "Here comes Gran", and she thought it was going to be HER Gran.  But it all kind of went down hill form there.  I ended up staying up late to see who Ali picked.  I was really pleased with how it ended.  She really couldn't have made a bad choice and I hope she and Roberto have a long and happy life together! 

The Best Money I've Ever Spent!

Last week, Maggie and I took the girls to Spring Valley Beach.  I've heard people talk about this place for years, but I've never really thought about going.  Maggie had gone the week before that and Sophie Clare had loved it, so I was very excited to give it a try. 

We loaded the car down with all the comforts of home and headed out.  It was really neat because we backed the car right up to the water and set up a tent.  The water started out knee deep where we set up camp, so it was easy for the girls to get in and out.  It was just like a day at the beach because we were there for like 7 hours, and it felt like we were there 30 minutes.  I've called it "stress free" swimming because there were no worries.  Emily didn't even need her floaties, but she wanted to wear them. 

Although we packed food for the girls, later in the day we got a few snow cones. 

The girls did great to not have had a nap all day!  But as soon as we got in the car Sophie Clare was out!  Maggie says she does this thing when she's sleepy where she pulls her hair down in her face.  That's the reason for the hairdo!

Of course, my girls didn't sleep a bit!  They were glued to the TV.  Emily never naps, but Gracie usually does.  I guess it was the snow cone and half a bag of suckers that Gracie had that day (a few times she had one in each hand), but there was no going to sleep for her!! 

I was hoping to go back before school starts, but now with that day ever so near, I guess we'll have to wait until next year!  But like I said, it was the best money I've ever spent because the memories are priceless!