Playing at the park for Nana's Birthday

For as long as I can remember we have been celebrating my Mom's birthday at the park with BBQing and playing games. This year was no different! Gracelyn lately has been really into playing baseball and she LOVED playing it at the park. 

For David's first father's day when we were pregnant with Gigi my Mom gave this bat and ball to him showing him that girls can play ball too... now she is finally old enough to play with it and David LOVES it.

She didn't even play on the playground she just chased after her uncles playing frisbee and catch and flying the kite!

This was the cutest thing... Gracelyn leaned over and said "Hiiiiii" to her daddy and then kissed him. So sweet :)

It was so nice to hang out with the family, and we loved that my Dad was able to come for a bit!! Gracelyn LOVES her Papa that she calls "Pop" and they had fun watching the duckies!

Happy Birthday Mom! Thank you for another wonderful year of sunday lunches and family game nights!! We love you so much Nana :)

Friday Fun Day for the cousins!!

On friday Evy and Landon came over to keep Gigi and me company while I waited from 12-6 for our new AC unit to show up. (Talk about a HUGE time window) Since I was on house arrest Evy thought it would be fun for the kiddos to play in the back yard while we still can.

Time for a sippy cup break :)

I decided to make it real fun and get all of her fun toys and tunnels and bring them outside. We blew up her inflatable baby pool and filled it with balls... it was a nice alternative while we wait for summer to put water in it. Of course that didn't stop the little man. He found the dog's water dish and dumped it all over the patio and then proceeded to play in it. So off came the wet clothes and we stripped the babies down to their britches!

Look at those cousins with matching thighs and rolls! We love our chunky monkeys!!

It was such a nice afternoon! Evy and I enjoyed talking and watching the kids experience FREEDOM! The baby and I loved lying in the sun!!! 

We can't wait to bring out the sprinklers and pool and try to enjoy the weather as it warms up quicker than we would like ;)

First nap in her big girl bed!

I was really worried that Gracelyn wouldn't nap that well in her new bed. Thankfully I cheated and she fell asleep in the car so when I moved her to her bed she stayed asleep. I also decided to make her room darker... K had told me that it helps her boys sleep and since all she has is a light piece of fabric over the window it stays very bright in her room. I placed a black blanket over the window... hopefully it will help!
So far she has been sleeping for an hour and a half and hasn't woken up or slid off her bed... This is progress people!!!!

Night #1 of sleep training.

Today we took the side off of Gracelyn's crib. We were encouraged to do this before the baby came since we would be moving her to a big girl twin bed come September. We figured if we get her used to a toddler bed now... her converted crib... then by the time we move her it will be a lot easier than going straight to the twin. We also wanted to do this before she learned how to open her door... and before it became a challenge as opposed to just a normal routine for Gigi.

We put her to bed with her regular night time routine. She was excited to crawl into bed with both Mommy and Daddy. As soon as we were done saying prayers we said goodnight to her, kissed her and shut the door. Immediately she crawled out of bed and stood by the door screaming for a good 10 minutes... yup... torture... for me that is ;) Crying was on and off for the next half and hour... but it got quieter and we could tell she was getting sleepy. Once she was quiet for a good 30 min we went in to find her asleep on the floor curled up with her blankie. David picked her up and put her back in her bed. We went back to check on her another hour later expecting to find her asleep still since she had not made any noise... surprisingly she was on the floor again next to the door with her blanket and binky just sleeping away... this time I put her back into her crib and pushed her against the back so she wouldn't roll out. Not that we know it had happened, more or less preventing from happening.

So far... so good... we will have to wait and see what happens :)

A sunny day spent outside :)

Last Sunday David and I came home and decided to play with the dogs outside for a bit since we had been gone at church. Well Gracelyn LOVES to be outside, no matter what she is wearing or isn't wearing... most of the time no shoes :) The second that door is open she is outside and in the grass. She is at the age now where I can let her play outside while I dishes or other things since I can watch her through the window and boy does she LOVE her freedom!
Here are some pictures of her enjoying this beautiful spring afternoon :)

She was having a ball playing fetch with the doggies and going down her slide. Her other favorite thing to do outside is sit on the lawn swing with us and just swing... she is sooo content sitting between her Mommy and Daddy!!

I thought it was getting a little warm so I told David to aim the hose up in the air... BIG MISTAKE! She is JUST like her Mama ;) Not only does she hate being surprised but she does NOT like being splashed!!

We had so much fun and can't wait to break out the sprinkle and baby pool once it warms up a bit more ;)

A snowy trip up north!

My family, well all that could make it took a trip up North to enjoy some relaxation and snow before it all melts. We were so blessed to be able to stay at a friend's cozy rustic cabin! We had so much fun making meals together, listening to music, watching a movie and just hanging out on the back porch talking. Even though David wasn't able to join us this time, we are so excited for him to come with us on our next adventure up :)

This is what the snow looked like on the front porch! Gracelyn would walk by and then just stare at the 8ft of snow... it was so fun! "sooooo" is what she called it!!

 The cabin is on a golf course so the fairway and green gave us our very own sledding hill. Gracelyn didn't like sledding by herself but once she was on Mommy's lap she really loved it!

Of course I think the highlight of the trip for her was eating all that snow ;)

We were so thankful for that short but lovely time spend together and have already planned our next trip up there in a few months! This time with everyone :)

See you soon cozy cabin!!!

Little mama... big sister in training :)

Lately Gracelyn has been in love with her baby doll. She got it for Christmas from her Great Grandma and it mainly stayed in the bath since she is a tub baby. Once she figured out that the baby can come out of the tub she loves to walk around the house with it. She takes her everywhere and likes to dress and undress her. The other day I made her dolly a little baby headband from an old pair of tights... I think she liked being the one to make the decision of wearing it or not wearing it because she would take it off and Mommy would put it back on... this went on for about 50 times until Mommy just took off the headband ;)
She takes the baby to her window seat and puts her to bed by putting a blanket over her. Then Mommy decided to teach Gigi how to swaddle her baby.... now she always wants her baby wrapped up nice and warm. I am hoping this is a glimpse of how much Gigi will want to be involved with her baby brother or baby sister, but I am not going to be surprised if instead she just wants to mimic what I do with her baby doll!

and my favorite by far!

A trip to the Zoo and Landon turns one!!

We had the most wonderful opportunity to go to the zoo on Saturday. David was so fortunate to have the day off and we enjoyed the day as a family of 3.5 ;) It was so nice to get out and get some fresh air... thankfully my nausea has started to lessen with each day and I am PRAYING that once we get into the second trimester it will subside completely and I will be able to make dinner again and eat anything once again ;)

Such a fun day! Nothing better than spending time as a family outside! We LOVE having a membership and look forward to many more trips to the Zoo!

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LANDON TURNS ONE!

Last Saturday we celebrated Landon turning one! We always love spending time with family and Gracelyn LOVES playing with her cousin! It was such a cute baseball themed party and David's Mom did a wonderful job putting it together!

Landon LOVED his baseball cake... and was very upset when the plate was taken away :)

We sure missed Auntie B but it was so nice to talk to her on the phone all the way from Togo, Africa :)