Phone Pictures of Dad and Grace

Thanks to Jeff for taking these since I neglected to bring the camera!

Today Was the Day...

that Grace figured out how to pull up on everything. And pull everything off of those surfaces. The ottoman. The trunk in the family room. The window seats and coffee table in the playroom. The rocker in her room. And, finally, her crib. And, for some reason, she seemed pretty mad about it all day. I think she's going to be happier when she figures out how to walk, or at least cruise (taking steps while holding onto furniture.)

I know that we had an unusually long time to be able to keep books and papers (and Jonathan's toys) on the aforementioned surfaces and successfully keep them away from Grace. Thirteen months and ten days, to be exact. And I certainly ran around chasing her and keeping her out of trouble a lot more today than yesterday. But it's really exciting to see her get strong enough to do all these things and see what a different little character she is than Jonathan.

I did take a lot of pictures, which I'll try to post. Maybe tomorrow. But our sweet Grace fussed for most of her waking hours today, and I am enjoying the quiet for the rest of the night. Ahhhh...

Intense

Now that we are not pushing forward to the next major event, Jeff and I have had a few moments to reflect on the last six weeks. To say they have been intense is an understatement. We have had a lot going on in our family. During those few weeks, we have hosted Jeff's parents, a first birthday party, a wedding, and a baby shower. (I can't say how thankful I am for a backyard and good weather! And I'm thankful for lots of helpers.) Jeff has had three trips for work. My dad has been in the hospital twice. And then there's all the normal stuff that normal people do that keeps life hopping. Oh, and our sweet kiddos. They keep things hopping, too. We're thankful that life looks like it may calm down...and we'll rediscover our "normal"...at least briefly.

My Sister's Baby Shower

My sister's baby shower was today! We were thankful for beautiful weather, and I was especially thankful for Jeff taking the kids out and about for awhile, and for all the help from my mom and Linnea. They helped with more things than I can list here!

Amanda helped a lot, too, and she and I got little bags of chocolate together a few weeks ago to give to each person. She came up with little quotes to put on the tags.

Mom and Linnea load the Aram (sp?) sandwiches into little boxes

Assembling the gift bags (think boxed lunch, but in bags)

All set up and ready for guests to arrive.

Drinks in the middle of the table

Goodies and lunch in the bags. Amanda had made a CD of songs for each of us that went along with the baby theme. (Not lullabies, but songs with lyrics including babies or girls.)

Time to eat!

Mom. Amanda, and me

Mom with her daughters

The cake. It was as yummy as it was cute!

My grandma gave these shirts to Amanda. I love them, but I love what Grandma said even more: "I didn't want one to think she was cuter than the other." Ha!

Yes! Hangers!

Opening the big box

Big thanks to everyone who showered my sister with gracious gifts for the babies!

Tee Ball

My wonderful husband took Jonathan and Grace to Jonathan's tee ball game and then to lunch while I hosted Amanda's baby shower today. At the game, both teams batted through their lineups four times. I think it was a verrrry long game. The following sums up Jonathan's thoughts about tee ball:

Jeff: Jonathan, I'm proud of you for having four good hits today!

Jonathan: AND, I saw TWO airplanes! One up high and one down low!!!

A Bath, PJs...

and her brother's bike helmet.

What else could a girl need?

Please Bear With Me...

As I experiment with the blog layout a bit. Don't worry, I'm not finished...

What's Cookin'?

Apples and peanut butter. :)

Links

If you have ever followed Ira's story or prayed for him, you won't believe it but he's five years old now.

If you have ever thought about the price of spices, you should read this post about their prices at WinCo. Even if you dislike WinCo, you might want to read it. :)

And, one more reason that reading Tip Junkie is so addictive: Fabric Flower Tutorials. I haven't made any, but they're pretty. Also, TJ only posts every few days and does a huge post on one topic. I like that!

The Weather Report

Monday's weather:
Sunshine.

Tuesday's weather:

Rain.

Our outdoor-loving girl was not thrilled that she was excluded from the puddle jumping. I think she would have crawled around out there if I had let her. She has an opinion, and she's not afraid to share it.

Yup, that face pretty much sums it up.