Laundry Basket Ride -- Whee!!!

Grace loves to be a helper...one of her favorite things to help Mommy with, "folding" laundry. She spreads the clean clothes all over the house and even tries on our clothes. She's not impressed when Mommy actually gets all the clothes folded and back into the basket. She knows that then her fun is over.

Tonight we found a new use for the laundry basket, and Grace liked it even more than helping to fold clothes. Martin, Uncle Billy, and I each took turns racing Grace around the house in the basket, which brought hysterical laughter from Grace and shortness of breath for the three of us :-) Neverless, fun was had by all.

Getting so smart!

Our little girl is getting more and more clever by the day! Tonight she spent quite awhile with her Old McDonald book. In this picture, I asked her, "Where's the kitty cat?" And she pointed to the kitty cat. I then asked her to find the cow, and she did. It's thrilling to watch her learn about the world around her.

I'm sure it's not shocking to anyone that Grace is talking up a storm! I've lost count of the number of words she can say now. She's great at repeating, so we're constantly trying to teach her.

My favorite word she's repeated so far...CHAMPIONSHIP! Daddy said it, and Grace repeated it! How cool is that?

As I'm sure you can tell, we are SO proud of our sweet girl!

Hello, Anna!

Today Martin, Grace, and I visited Uncle Brian, Aunt Jen, and baby Anna at their home in La Vernia. It was so amazing holding my niece again...this time Grace let me hold her for a bit longer before having a tantrum. I savored the moment!

Anna had her eyes open a lot during our visit, and she seemed curious about her relatives who had come to see her. As she grows up, she'll come to understand how incredibly loved she is!

Grace was pretty curious about her cousin. She watched her for a bit while she had tummy time. I know Grace will shower her cousin with hugs and kisses in the years to come. It will be fun to watch them play together as they grow up!

This afternoon Grace and I went out shopping and had a good time. I couldn't believe how many people were out and about today! The holidays are coming, and folks in Austin seem to be getting prepared. Martin and I are getting really excited about Grace's second Christmas!

Tonight we're looking forward to having our friends, Keila and Brandon, over for dinner. We'll be making steak and salmon on the grill. Yummy yum yum! Can't wait!

Introducing Anna Marie Moyer!

At 12:56 pm today, my brother, Brian, and sister-in-law, Jen, welcomed their daughter, Anna Marie, into the world! She's a perfect angel, weighing in at 6 lbs, 9 oz and 19.5 inches long. We are thrilled to welcome Anna to our family!

My Mom (the proud Nana), Grace, and I went to San Antonio this afternoon to meet Anna and congratulate the new Mom and Dad. There's something magical about witnessing the first hours of a child's life. A friend of mine put it best, "A newborn child is proof of God's undying faith in us."

Grace did a lot of playing at the hospital, but she had quite the temper tantrum when I held Anna. I guess Grace isn't ready to share her Mommy just yet! She recovered awhile later and kept repeating Anna's name for us. This had us all giggling! I'm so glad Grace now has a cousin close by to grow up with...some of my best childhood memories involve hanging out with my cousins in PA.

Welcome to the world, Anna Marie, and more importantly, welcome to the family! You can be assured of our unconditional love today and always.

Ring Around the Rosie!

During a visit from Nana & Pop-Pop today, Grace learned one of Nana's favorite grandkid activities
~ RING AROUND THE ROSIE!

Grace's favorite part is when "we all fall down." It makes her laugh every time! This picture captures Daddy, Nana, and Grace having a blast doing Ring Around the Rosie together :-) Another wonderful family memory!

We have a new President!

This evening the United States of America elected a new President, Barack Obama!

This was the first election of Grace's life, and Martin's first election living in the U.S. We watched as the results rolled in, and Grace clapped every time she saw people clapping on TV. Unfortunately, she wasn't awake by the time the new President was announced.

This picture shows Grace during President-Elect Obama's acceptance speech.

It's been a year...

It seems hard to believe that Dawn's been gone a year. Many of you will remember my blog posts last year about my friend, Dawn, who died unexpectedly at the age of 33. It was one year ago today.

I'll never forget receiving that phone call; hearing the news knocked the wind out of me. In the last year, I've struggled to accept the reality of the death of a young wife and mother. Someone like me. Someone experiencing the same joys in her life. Her daughter, Hannah, was just 15 months old when she lost her Mom. Dawn and Robert had been married for four years. It was too soon.

In the midst of my own struggle to come to terms with losing Dawn, I pray daily for Robert and Hannah, for Dawn's parents, her sister, her brothers. I ask you to pray for them today as well. And pray for Dawn as she watches over us. My friend, Kathryn, said it best, "Dawn, we hope you're making heaven laugh today."