Grace and Her Baby

Here's a picture of Grace on New Year's Day with her swaddled baby. She got the baby from her Nana and Pop-Pop for Christmas, and she's been carrying her around non-stop. My baby and her baby...too cute for words!

Happy New Year!

Welcome to 2009! We're excited to begin another year and to see what's in store. We expect nothing but the best - building memories with those we love and watching our dear Grace grow up. We rang in 2009 in the company of some of our nearest and dearest. It was a fabulous night!

Grace's First Parade

This morning Grace and I went to the Chuy's Children Giving to Children Christmas parade in downtown Austin. I think it'll be a new tradition! Grace seemed to enjoy her first parade, and I had a great time too. Her favorite part ~ the HUGE Hello Kitty balloon, followed closely by seeing Santa! My favorite part was seeing loads of kids so excited about giving toys to kids in need. We were standing near a little boy who asked his Mom at least a dozen times when he could "give the toys away." I'll admit I got teary when they stopped the parade, and kids flooded the street to donate toys. What a beautiful sight and a great way to teach kids about sharing their gifts with others! A built-in stewardship lesson for families in and around Austin! I love it :-) Rumor has it that they collected 30,000+ toys today...awesome!

After the parade, Grace and I paid a visit to the hospital to give our best wishes to Grace's wonderful caregiver, who had an emergency c-section on Wednesday. She gave birth to a beautiful, but tiny, little girl named Avery, who is still in the NICU. Please keep her in your prayers!

We closed out our day at home with naps, followed by football, and of course, more Thanksgiving leftovers! It was a wonderful Saturday!

Christmas Trees Galore!

This picture sums up Grace's reaction to each of the three Christmas trees I put up last night while she was spending the night with Nana and Pop-Pop in Waco. Her joy was so heart-warming. Words can't begin to describe how fun it was to watch Grace discover each tree! I've been smiling non-stop since we got home a few hours ago.

I've always loved Christmas, and this has always been my favorite time of year. This year my excitement and anticipation are at a whole new level, knowing that Grace's 2nd Christmas will bring many smiles, much laughter, and memories that will last a lifetime.

By the way, this picture is my new desktop image on my laptop. It makes my day every time I see it. Grace has that effect on me daily.

From our home to yours...

We wish you and your family a blessed Thanksgiving! Be sure to take time to reflect on all you have to be thankful for...it will do your heart good. And tell your family and friends how much they mean to you. It's the perfect day to surround yourself with the love and happiness that only family can bring!

On this day, we are particularly grateful for our wonderful family, great friends, and a life that often feels like a fairytale. We are abundantly blessed, and we are thankful today and every day.

Grace is 18 months old today!

A year and a half old already? Seriously? The last 18 months have gone by far too quickly! We cherish our beautiful daughter and all the joy she brings to us on a daily basis!

She has her 18 month check-up on Monday, so we'll fill you in how much she's grown then. For now, here's a list of some of the words and phrases Grace likes to say these days:

Mom, Mama, Dad, Dada, Nana, Pop-Pop, Uncle, Billy, Anna, Chanel (her caregiver), Kayla (Chanel's daughter), Aidan (her 2 year old pal from day care), NO (her favorite word), ball, "Ewww, poo poo," sippy, cup, sit down, come on, here you go, up, on, one, two, moon, sun, dog, puppy, woof woof, cow, moo, kitty, Santa, "Ho Ho Ho," doll, apple, potty, get down, baby, nose, shoes, socks, toes, belly

Right before our very eyes, our newborn became an infant. Then our infant grew into a toddler. Grace Calleigh, slow down and stop growing up so fast! Happy 18 Month Birthday, sweet girl :-) We love you.

Booster Seat Time!

Today Grace officially graduated from her high chair to a booster seat! This picture shows her having her first meal, Spaghetti-O's, in her new booster seat. We've also moved past the days of us feeding anything to Grace. She wants to do most things herself these days. My little girl seems to have her mother's strong desire for independence. She's in a rush to grow up just as I was...now I know how my parents felt when I tried to hurry through my childhood years. I find it fascinating how we're in such a rush to grow up; then we reach a time in life when we want to be young again. Ahh, the circle of life :-) I'm feeling very reflective these days. With the holidays on the horizon, that's no surprise.

Speaking of the holidays, today Martin and I accomplished more Christmas shopping. We're on a roll! I hope to have most of our shopping finished before December begins. I'm getting so excited for Grace's 2nd Christmas! You can be assured that the decorating will begin this Friday. After all, it's the most wonderful time of the year!

I'm finally starting to recover after being under the weather for most of last week. Whatever I had really took its toll on me. I'm glad to be back in the land of the living. Being sick and having a toddler do not go hand in hand; I'm happy Grace managed to stay healthy. Even my sweet husband, who's rarely ever sick, didn't feel well for a few days.

That's all for now. Three cheers for our big girl & her new booster seat :-)