No Soda for You!

Grace,

We were watching TV when we heard it.  It was the unmistakable sound of some liquid falling onto the floor.  Your dad's words?  "That's not good."  He went running into the kitchen where I heard him exclaim "OH MY!" then burst out laughing.

What mess?

You opened the 2 liter bottle of soda & poured yourself a sippy full of cola.  You did a pretty good job--that was a full bottle you poured from!  Some of this mess is from you trying to get down those steps with your full glass & some spilled.

You're very creative with the trouble you get in little girl!  Thankfully, you were fine with us switching your soda for grape juice & tantrums were averted.

Love you!

Fun Every Day

Oh Gracie.  You are reaching the point where you do so many new and fun things each day that I'm afraid I'll forget them forever if I don't tell you about them now.

You are napping right now, thanks to your new habit of getting up at 5:45 am, then napping from 9-11:30.  I'm not blaming you.  It's the party girls who moved in next door and kept you up this weekend that I blame!  Regardless, it's the perfect opportunity to tell you about yourself.

      This hat is new & I have been wanting to get you one since you were born!  You LOVE hats and sure look cute in them.  I love that a hat can make your wild curls look tame when we go out.  You're such a cutie!  We always have hats on our heads thanks to you acting as our stylist each day.  The other day, I almost left the house wearing one of your toddler hats because I'd forgotten about it.

     Yes, this is you eating corn on the cob in the car.  Why?  Because we were late to meet your daddy for lunch but you insisted that corn on the cob would be your in car snack.  We needed to get going so I didn't argue with you--boy was your daddy surprised when we picked him up for lunch and saw you eating this!

      Your favorite food is corn on the cob so I shouldn't have been surprised, right?  If you see we've bought it, you start husking it immediately & will take big bites of it raw.  Popcorn is also a big hit.  You brought your daddy the children's book Popcorn by Frank Ash several times on Saturday.  He kept trying to read it to you & you'd shut the cover, mad at him.  Then, you brought it to mommy who figured it out--oh!  you want popcorn!  Of course, you know the word for popcorn, but I guess you were just testing our riddle-solving skills.

Every night you want us to take you on stroller walks.  This is the same girl who HATED her stroller for the first two years of her life, right?

     On Saturday night,  you were helping daddy cook when you decided to get out the base for my mini food processor.  You carried it to the living room, set it down and proceeded to drag it across the floor by the cord.  I watched you, confused at first.  Then, you started panting, stopped & told it to sit.  OH!  You were pretending it was a dog!  It was hard to figure out what to do next.  Let you continue & risk taking the cord off the machine (let's face it, you're very strong & rough on things) or break your heart?  A call to grandpa (the man who would've had to replace the cord) fixed it all.  He had the idea of tying yarn around your stuffed animal dogs for an instant leash & you were thrilled.  Of course, your daddy thought we should get you a real dog.  I agree but you need to wait a bit, monkey.  We aren't ready to enter the world of dog ownership again just yet.  You favorite animal by far is dogs, and I am relieved that our former dog's attack on you at 6 months has obviously left no emotional scarring behind!

     Daddy has been teaching you about trees.  You love to feel their branches & leaves.  This one is a pine tree & you were laughing at the needles & how they felt on your hand.

     Your smile wins us over all the time, monkey.  You really know how to get your way, especially with your daddy.  You know I melt if you use your words so you're really working on talking to me.  The other day you got a container of frozen custard out & brought it to me.  "Help!" you said, a new word I've been trying to get you to say for about a year now.  When I started to laugh you added "PLEEEEAAASSSEE!" so of course you got ice cream right away!  If I ignore your requests, you often go to your daddy where a simple smile usually gets you exactly what you want.
     We have been telling you no more though and people all over town have seen the tantrums to prove it.  You have your mother's German temper little girl!

     Why was I ever worried about your language skills?  You have been coming along well in the past few months.  You counted five objects last night and we haven't even worked on that!  We don't really work with you on academic stuff because we think you are too young but we've been trying some Montessori activities and you love them.  You know almost all your colors & say their names thanks to your love of painting.  You got me up at 4:45 the other day to have me refill your paint cups!  You know a lot of letter names A, B, C, D, E, G, I, J, K, M, O, P, R, T, U, V, Y and Z!  You try to write them a lot but e has been the only recognizable one.  P is your FAVORITE letter.  You always say "P--puh, puh."  It's very cute.  You count your things and tell us how many you have, lifting up two of something and saying "Two!"  Grandma tried to get you to count on the phone last night & when she said "1, 2, 3, 4" you said "Wow!" like "Wow Grandma, you can do it, too!"  "Wow, cool" is one of your favorite expressions, right up there with saying "Aw, man!" and slapping your leg when you spill something.  I guess you're getting these things from us because you're around us the most!

     We love the time we spend with you Grace.  Daddy's favorite part of the work week is when we meet him for lunch.  You watch for him & when you see him, your smile is priceless.  Thanks for making all our days just a bit brighter with your smile Gracie!

You LOVE Chocolate & Frozen Custard

Gracie,

     The move to WI has been a good one for you.  You LOVE frozen custard, a treat very common here in Milwaukee.  We asked you tonight if you wanted to go for ice cream & you came running & yelling "Ice Cream!"  When asked if you wanted your ice cream to be chocolate ice cream, you immediately said "Choc" with conviction.  You couldn't wait for us to get going, hugging each of us as if to hurry us along.

     I should preface these photos by telling you that you have been tired all day but refused your nap.  When you are tired, you are generally very naughty.  It's like your body seeks out trouble nonstop!  The ice cream diversion was partly to keep you busy for a few minutes & out of trouble.

     We decided to head to Leon's (we call it Neon Leon's due to his apparent love of neon signs) & daddy went to get the custard while we waited in the car.  You were so excited!  I turned on music to keep you occupied & we rocked out to that "I hate myself for loving you" song.  I have to admit that while I'm thrilled you're trying to talk & to sing, I was a little nervous about you learning this song.  Maybe we should start with Twinkle Twinkle Little Star?  You started to cry when daddy took too long, as if maybe he was secretly standing in the parking lot, eating all our ice creams.

     You wasted no time when he handed you your cone & began to eat.  Poor thing--you were so tired!  We laughed as we watched you falling asleep while trying to still eat your cone.  You'd nod off between licks.  Then, you were out.  Daddy calls this the Ice Cream Hobo look.

Your cone is in your lap!

Messy, tired girl!

Still so cute!

     After we snapped these pics, your daddy carried you up to bed.  As he laid you down, you drew up your arm & licked an imaginary cone.  I agree, baby girl.  The chocolate custard here is the stuff dreams are made of!

Sweet dreams Gracie Goo!

You Love the Outdoors

Grace,

You get your love of the outdoors from your father--this is sooooo not your mother's quality!

What's better than mud?

What mom?  This is good for my nails!

Not sure what you were digging for!

You LOVE this rock at the edge of our yard.

It's so good for jumping!

   
     I asked your daddy tonight if he thought we could ever take you camping.  He said,  "Grace?  Yes.  You? No."  He knows me so well!  We had dinner at Olive Garden tonight.  You had bread sticks galore, pasta, went potty not once, not twice, but three times & then finished the meal with one of their mint chocolates that come with bill.  Best night ever you thought.  You blew a kiss to the restaurant as we left & yelled, "Bye!  Bye!!" as you waved while we walked out.  Too cute.  The way to your heart is carbs, chocolate and frequent bathroom visits.

Love you!

You Are an Artist

Baby Girl,

You love art.  Drawing, coloring, painting--they are all passions for you.  Is it any wonder that the words "draw," "color," and "paint" were among your first 50?  You don't have a favorite color but already name the colors yellow, blue, red and green.

We knew you needed a new easel--a taller one with the chalkboard you'd been craving.  How do I know?  You kept writing on EVERYTHING with chalk.  Grandma & Grandpa found this goodie in their shed & when they brought it up, you were in love.  When we got out the paints, you fell in love even more!

The plastic tablecloth on the floor is essential!

So is using Crayola WASHABLE paints!

You have such a vision! :)  Not sure what it is but you're busy!

You're always soooo focused when you paint!

Moved you by the window so you could have plenty of
natural light. 

     Your favorite thing to draw is circles but painting seems to be where it's at for you.  We've stopped putting the paints & brushes away since you paint about eight times a day.  The other morning, I woke up at 4:45 to find you cheerfully painting!!  You smiled and kept on with your work as if to say "I was inspired by a dream & just had to paint this!"

     I love you little Monet!

Grace: Style Icon

Yes little girl, you insisted on wearing one glove to and from the park.  It was 60 degrees out & you didn't want a coat, just one glove.  Fashion over function I'm guessing. :)

Every Day is April Fool's Day with a 2 Year Old

Hey there bunny!

Your dad & I talked about it this morning and we're changing your nickname.  We always call you monkey because you climb over everything.  You were climbing out of your crib by 11 months!  Well you jump a lot these days.  A LOT.  This morning I made the bed, turned around & it was disheveled.  Gracie!  I said, rolling my eyes.  When you jump, you either say "jump jump jump" with every bounce or my favorite "up down" "up down" "up down" every time.  We've decided maybe you're more of a bunny than a monkey.

You're a snuggle bunny, making daddy hold you while you insist on holding
cookie monster, baby, big bird and pinky bear!

We've also been talking about your language skills lately.  Your speech therapist agreed this week that you're better at language than you test at initially.  Specifically, you understand more than it seems.  You're a tricky girl!  We first noticed it when I said some not nice things to you in a plain tone.  I was frustrated & let myself vent for a minute because you'd never understand what I was saying anyway.  I was wrong!  Wrong to say mean things but also wrong because you understood me.  My tone was pleasant but my words gave away my frustration.  You started sobbing immediately.  Your dad & I were both in shock.  I hugged you and told you I was very sorry & that you were a very good girl & thank goodness you forgave me.

Maybe you started saying momma
because I always wear all the
hats you give me?

You do have trouble understanding things at times but it's not nearly as bad as they made it out to be.  Thank God for that!!  Your language is coming along slow & steady.  The other day you were on the phone with grandma and grandpa.  By the way, they are the most patient phone buddies on earth.  They talk to you for 10-15 minutes while you say nothing.  That is love, Grace and boy do they love you.  This week Grandpa said "Grace, are you not gonna talk to me?" and you shook your head no with a big smile.  Yeah, you understood what he asked.

YOU SAID MOMMA!!!!!!!  You now say momma regularly.  You say it with a French accent, much like you say the word jump (shump!) and it's the cutest thing ever to hear "mum-MA."  You already use it mostly to manipulate me, like saying mum-MA when you want me to get you another cookie (it's a good strategy that works 90% of the time).

You say words like car, dog, up, etc. to name things more and more.  No new words in the last week but that's okay because you've been working on consistently saying the words you know.  You're also trying to communicate a lot more.  You climb up on my lap & here's how the conversation goes:
You:  Mumma!

You're also trying out new faces all the time!

Me:  Good!  Yes, Gracie?
You:  Uh Oh
Me:  Uh oh
You:  Dada
Me:  Dada!  Good!
You:  Wow!
Me:  Wow!
You:  No no!
Me:  No No--what no no?
Yep, that's how the conversation goes.  You sit on my lap thinking of any words you can.  I generally repeat them.  Eventually you run out of words & then get a disappointed look on your face.  I try to encourage you but you tend to slide out of my lap and walk away, getting interested in something else pretty quickly.

You're getting a little bossy but we roll with it.  After all, you're an only child and we live to cater to you.  :)  Ok, that's just what you think but we let you boss us on the little things.

Daddy lets you be his stylist.
You tell him "hat!" and he puts in on
diligently, even lining the bow on the front up.

You bossed me at the children's museum.  I asked if I could draw too, and you promptly said "No!"
When I tried to draw on my own paper, you took my crayon away and said "No No!"

We're loving all your talking Grace!  It's letting you show your personality even more, as if faces like this one didn't tell us you were a bit of a character!

In addition to peeing on the carpet a few times this week, breaking a water & glitter filled baton open and getting glitter all over, and drinking from a bottle of pancake syrup while wearing a lot of it too, you also played a little prank on your daddy while he was cooking this week.  That's dry oatmeal.  I came in the kitchen to find you throwing it in the air like you were making it rain.  "Where is your daddy?" I asked, looking at your daddy standing not 2 feet from you & oblivious to your mess.  "He's cookin!" he said with a smile.  Ah, two year olds.  You're lucky you're cute!  Your daddy is lucky he's cute, too!