Sink Bath & Visitors

Have you ever given a bath to an almost 20 month old in a sink before?  It’s not easy.  I attempted it.  She really didn’t need a bath considering that her sink is so dry from being dry here that we really try to limit bath time.  Well, Lil’ Miss Gracie decided to get something in her hair so that meant we needed to have her hair, hands, feet, and face washed.  Everything was great until it came to the hair.  Getting it wet…not a problem….washing it…ok then when it came to rinsing it, Gracie was all over the place.  By the time I got through, we should have just got in the bath tub.  Gracie was soaked, I was soaked, and both of us were giggling so hard we couldn’t see straight.  I am sure if someone was looking from the outside in they would have been thinking that it was not one of my finer parenting moments.

Well, tomorrow is the day.  The Sadler’s will be here tomorrow evening and I am excited.  I have calling it the “Toddler Invasion” considering the number of toddlers are going to exceed the number of adults.  I am sure it is going to be a great time.  I will definitely keep you updated as I am sure I am going to have tons of pictures to post! 

Tomorrow is finally Friday and I am ready for the weekend.  It was a really long week.  Enjoy your weekend!

Swimsuit Pictures

Here are the pictures I promised…

She loves being outside.

Hmmm…I wonder if I wait for a minute they will move away and I can grab it….

Ah ha…here is my chance!

Look Mama, I got their toy….

Oh no….Daisy found it!!!!  If I close my eyes maybe she won’t see that I have it!!!

Oh well, maybe next time I will have to change my plan…

Gracie loves her dolls. She carries one with her most of the night.

 

P.S. Liz & Nicki….I figured it out after 2 hours of searching on the internet…I love it though..totally worth it!

Just wanted to try this out…

So I am trying a new way to type a blog tonight and just wanted to see if it works.  Gracie and I are just sitting at home, watching TV, and getting ready for our guests.  I have taken a couple of pictures tonight and I will try to post them later on after I get them loaded on my computer.  We spent some time outside tonight to try to cool off.  I turned on the sprinkler thinking Gracie would be on board with playing in the water…yeah not so much.  She hated it but loved running around after the dogs.  It was really cute.  Well, I promise I will post pictures later on.  Tomorrow is Wednesday…thank goodness.  I am so ready for Friday! :) 

My Husband

Lately, I have had a hard time keeping everyone updated on what has been going on. I actually miss blogging as much as I used to but life happens. I am going to make an extra effort to get back in the habit of blogging every other day. Now I know this is ambitious but I am going to attempt. Actually I have posted 3 blogs in the last 3 days. I am proud of myself. Either way, if I don't have something specific to blog about I am going to search for topics and blog about that.

Tonight I thought I would write a quick blog about my husband. Most of you that read this are close friends and family so you already know Matt so you probably already know how wonderful he is. Matt and I met in high school. Of course we knew each other our freshmen year but never talked until right before our senior year started. We were young, naive, and in love. I know it's hard to say you loved your high school sweetheart, but I did. It was innocent and youthful but as time went on it grew into something bigger and better. When he proposed to me there wasn't a big elaborate presentation...it was a sweet surprising moment that was meant for just us. His words were simple and full of meaning. From that moment I knew my life would always be exciting and full of love. The day we were married, we were still young, still naive, but we were ready to take on the world and begin our journey together. Matt has always been a great guy. There are many things I love about that man...but the #1 thing outside of being a great dad, is his humor. He makes me laugh every day. I could sit here and tell you countless stories about the things he does or says to make me laugh. He is sweet, kind, and may not buy me flowers or shower me with gifts, but I don't want that. I love the little things he does for me. Whether it be a simple household chore he helps with or text during the day that lets me know he is thinking about me. He makes me feel special. Today, we are not nearly has naive, not nearly as young, but still in love. Of course there have been bumps and hills along the way, but at the end of the day we are still together, still in love, and look forward to every moment we have together.

San Diego Zoo 2009

The greatest thing we have ever done!

Grace Anna 11 Months

Nashville 2007

Just a few more...

Gracie and I just sat around the house today. It was a very nice relaxing day. Tomorrow is the beginning of a long work week...if you already have that feeling you know it is not going to be good. :) I am off to bed, Gracie is down for the night and actually went down easily, so enjoy the beginning of your week.

Our precious baby girl

This one I asked her if she loves her daddy...and this was the face I got...what do you think?

Gracie riding her bike in her slippers. She kept bumping her toes on everything so I put the slippers on to give her toes a break...she didn't want to take them off. I had to coax her to take them off to go to bed. Just another thing to check off the list that she is so much like her daddy. Matt loves his house shoes too.

Mowing the yard...

I am so proud of my baby girl! Needless to say every since Matt left last week, Gracie has been attached at my hip. If I am in a room she has to be there too, if I go upstairs to grab something, I know she is going to be right behind me, etc. etc. etc. Well, I HAD to mow the yard. There were parts that if Harley laid down, I don't know if I would be able to see her. So I bit the bullet and prayed that Gracie would be content eating her breakfast and watching Wonder Pets while I mowed. She did such a great job! She was great, even when I came in to get the broom to sweep off the landing. Having said that, I am proud of myself too! I have not mowed since 1999....actually I take that back....1998. Yes, you read that right, 1998. That was when Aunt Joy and Uncle Joe moved to West Frankfort and I moved up to Jacksonville with Grandpa and Grandma. So, when I went out to the shed and looked at the mower and thought "I sure hope these things haven't changed that much." Low and behold, they haven't. I started it right up and mowed the yard. It only took me about 20 minutes or so. We don't have that big of a yard. So I just wanted to share. We are hanging around the house doing a bit of cleaning. I have some friends coming at the end of the week with their 1 year old triplets. Yep, that means the adults are going to be out numbered...needless to say it should be interesting! :)

Pictures...

Not much to report but I thought I would share some pictures from the last couple of days! Hope you all are having a great weekend!

This is how we HAVE to ride anywhere now. It is a must to have at least one

or the other and a blanket to make them go "nighty night."

We went to Las Cruces to see Leda last night. Gracie had so

much fun playing under the glass table.

Twirling in circles...you can see how much fun she has doing this.

The results of fish sticks with veggie mac and cheese. The look on her face is priceless. You can almost hear her saying "Really? Mom, my hair is not picture ready!"

Passed out after a day of playing and having fun!

Strawberry Shortcake

Tonight I decided to treat Gracie and I to a nice summer favorite of mine, Strawberry Shortcake. I haven't made it in forever and Sam's was having a fantastic sale on strawberries. Anyhoo, Gracie loved loved loved it. She had all of her serving at first. Then while I was getting myself some, I broke the bowl I was putting it in. (Side note: Corel dishes do break...) So by the time I got it all cleaned up and of course took a few pictures, Gracie was done eating her Strawberry Shortcake so of course she wanted down which then meant that she was going to want mine. I actually had to go get more for me because she ate so much of mine! Too cute. I did get a few pictures of her enjoying her yummy treat. I also posted a cute picture I took last night that I thought was precious. I found a great program online that you can edit pictures so I thought I would play with it. (The program is Picnik by the way!) Enjoy the rest of your week...I am so glad it is Friday!

Here she is just shoveling it in as fast as she can!

MMMMMMM.......

Just Mommy & Gracie

Well, we are coming up on a week that Matt has been gone and I feel like we are finally getting into the groove of things. It is a huge difference not having him around. As a spouse, you know there are things the spouse takes care of (garbage, animals, etc) but you maybe don't appreciate it as much as you should until...they are gone. Now don't get me wrong, I am a veteran when it comes to doing things on my own without Matt. He has spent a lot of time gone whether it be days, weeks, or months, even more then a year once, so it's not like I should be shocked. But having a child adds so much more to the mix. I honestly can say it is like doing for the first time all over again. Matt did leave for a couple of weeks last June but it was easier honestly because Gracie wasn't mobile. If I needed to take a shower I would just pop her in her bouncy seat and do what I needed to do, same thing with the dishes, laundry, and pretty much any other chore you can think of. Now when she is not only mobile, but wanting to help, it is so much different. Anyway, we have gotten into somewhat a routine and that has helped a lot! We get to talk to Matt for a few minutes every night. Then we always call before one of is going to bed so Gracie can say "nighty night." I am glad we are almost down one week but the first and last week are always the hardest.

Another reason I wanted to type another blog tonight is to say a BIG, HUGE, CONGRATS to my bestie Liz and her husband Mike. They are having another baby! For those of you that don't know, Liz and I met through our husbands in Germany and became instant friends. As I mentioned a couple of days ago, she has been with me through the toughest times. The funny thing is with both of the babies, I knew before Mike knew. In Liz's defense, when she found out she was pregnant with Sophia, she was in complete and utter shock which meant she had to talk to someone to process it and Mike was not available I think due to training. Well, it happened again and I also think that Liz didn't want to get Mike's hopes up after months of trying so she needed confirmation. I, however, get to tell Sophia and Baby Salvog #2 the story of how we all found out that Mommy was pregnant. Regardless, I am so happy for them. They are great parents and they have received the most precious gift God could give them.

Well, I will leave you with a few pictures of some favorites of me and my girl. I love to look back at old pictures...

Gracie & I at the San Diego Zoo, I love this picture, I think it is so sweet

After a wedding in April 2008, she was 4 months old.

11 Months and enjoying a nice Fall day

6 Months & Daddy's Father's Day gift

Orange Polka Dotted Dog

Intrigued? I would be...I mean there are few orange spotted dogs that I know of, but I know have one. No, we didn't get another dog...that would be insane, 1 toddler and 2 poodles is enough for me. Anyway, Gracie was having spaghetto's for dinner tonight (I was feeding her what I knew what she would eat considering she wasn't feeling well today) and she was apparently done after eating almost 3/4 of the can. Well, instead of saying done or giving me her bowl like she normally does, she dumped on the floor or rather Daisy. So my beautiful white dog now has an orange spot on her back. Hence, the orange polka dotted dog. I forgot my camera at work so I will have to take a picture tomorrow.

Gracie is feeling better after a day at home. I am going to take her to the daycare tomorrow because I think at this point it has more to do with teething then an actual sickness. She slept for 2 hours this morning and then took a 3 1/2 nap this afternoon. She is feeling better and it will do us both good to get out of the house tomorrow.

Well, no pictures tonight so I will sign off for now. Enjoy your week!

Lazy Weekend

Well, this weekend has been lazy just like I wanted it...almost! Gracie is not feeling well. She kind of started getting an upset belly yesterday and today it has continued. I am actually trying to decide if I am going to keep her home. She doesn't have a fever and it really isn't that bad, but the daycare is SUPER sensitive about illnesses due to the Swine Flu virus. I am going to give it another hour and see. She is eating and drinking fine so I am thinking it is just something most toddlers go through.

Well, all we did this weekend was went to Gymboree. It was a good week. She was in her normal silliness and stole the show once again. There is a girl that moved up from her last class and they did recognize each other which was good. Although they weren't paying attention to each other and conked heads once and almost twice. It was so nice staying at home but it was a bit too quiet. When you are used to having someone here and then there not it is hard to get used to that. However, I did expect that though. It is the same thing every time.

Matt is doing good though. He actually drove down to Pinehurst, NC to see our very good friends Mike & Liz. I will say I am incredibly jealous that he got to see them and I had to be here but I am glad he was able to see them. I know he had a good time. I am hoping I get to go out to Virginia for his graduation and maybe I can jet down and see them even if it is only for dinner. I miss them so much. Liz has been through the think and thin on a lot of things and is a great friend. Although we may not be able to talk as much as we want, especially being 2 hours apart, but she is always there for me when I need her. You are such a sweetie and thanks for being my rock when I need you to be!

Well, Gracie is being a bit clingy (she is not wanting me to be on the computer) and she is destroying my newly folded laundry. I am seriously doing a Mt. Rainier size pile of laundry. I didn't know it had gotten so bad! UGH! Well, I hope you all had a good weekend and here is a few pictures from Gymboree and one I stole from Liz of the boys at the pool yesterday!

Mike & Matt chilling in the pool, I am so glad they got to hang out!

Can you see her pony tail...so cute! I am glad she is finally getting hair.

She loves going to Gymboree, it almost makes me sad
we aren't going to be going anymore in a few weeks.

Hmmmm....do we have a basketball player on our hands...

I prefer volleyball but you know I can't always get my way! ha ha!

Daddy's Gone & Antenneas!

Whew...what a couple of days. Matt left yesterday for school in Ft. Lee, VA for 7 weeks. We spent Wednesday getting his stuff ready and spending time together. He surprised Gracie and I and took us out for dinner at Chili's. This has become Gracie's newest favorite restaurant just based on the fact she loves their salsa. Yeah, you read that right, she loves the salsa. She will get a chip, dip it in the salsa, push it down farther to dip her hand in the salsa, and then lick it all off of her hand. We went through so many napkins it was a little ridiculous.

Then, all got up earlier then usual to drop Matt off at the airport. I have to admit this time is harder then any other time. Actually they are all hard, it doesn't matter if it is only for a few days or weeks, or months...it is always hard. I am handling it better today. I think a lot of it is the fact that Gracie really wants daddy home and it has been a long time since Matt has been gone then just a few days. Either way, we are getting in a routine and before you know it, it will be time for him to come home. We are currently looking for some cheap plane tickets so Gracie and I can fly down to see him graduate from school.

Today was a good day, mainly because it is FRIDAY! I have been looking forward to today because I am exhausted. I swear I can't get enough sleep. My allergies have been bothering me so I think that has a lot to do with it. Gracie has been the same way. Although she was awake enough and sleepy enough this morning for me to put her hair in two little pigtails and leave them in ALL DAY! I was so surprised to see them still in when I picked her up from daycare today (where she immediately asked for her daddy..it is going to be a long weeks!). No worries here are some pictures for you!

We are going to take it easy and spend some time around the house this weekend. The only thing we have planned is Gymboree tomorrow. I hope you all are having a relaxing weekend like us! I will update with some pictures over the weekend too! Have a good one...it's time for me to hit the hay...

Too cool...

Little piggy tail girl

This is what I woke up too today...how sweet is she!

She was trying to put her ring around Daisy's neck and give

her a new collar! They love playing together.

Just when you think....

Just when you think you know love,

something little comes along to remind you how Big love really is.

-Unknown

Our Saturday

Today was a great day. Matt got up early and headed to the gym while us girls slept and then made apple cinnamon pancakes for breakfast. After breakfast we hopped in the car and made a couple of stops then headed of to our weekly date at Gymboree. Gracie wasn't really into it today but I finally got a full video of her dancing to her favorite song. Don't worry, it's below for you to enjoy!

After Gymboree, Matt treated his girls to a late lunch before we dropped Gracie off at daycare for our Saturday drive on the bikes. I am so thankful that our daycare has Saturday openings. We don't take advantage of it often but it is nice to have it. We started out on both bikes but I am just not ready to be amongst other cars. I want to practice a lot more. El Paseons are not the safest and logical drivers so I want to be sure I thinking about that and not how to operate the bike! ha ha! So I did practice for a few minutes and then we headed home to get one Matt's bike and we went riding for a couple of hours. We stopped at Sonic for much needed liquid refreshments (I swear I keep them in business) then headed back to get Gracie.

It was such a nice and relaxing day. I love spending time out as a family and time with Matt is always a bonus. I am so sad he has to leave for 7 weeks for school on Thursday. Thankfully, this is the first time he has had to leave us longer then just a few weeks. Gracie is going to miss him like crazy and I will too. I never like it when he leaves.

Well, it is late and I am ready for bed so I hope you all have a great rest of your weekend and look for more pictures soon!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

"Nack" & "Eat"

Gracie loves loves loves food. She wants to eat 24/7. One would think we starve the child but I promise you we don't! As soon as we come home from school, she walks to the cupboard and says "nack." I start cooking dinner, she repeats going to the cupboard with her adorable request for "nack." I put her in the high chair and she says "eat." She is just too much! I thought I would share a few of food pictures from the week. They are just too cute not to share.

She brought me a bowl of ice cream that daddy made me...Gracie ate half of the bowl.

This was the aftermath of dinner last night...we definitely had a bath after that mess!

This is her after school routine, crackers, water, and Wonder Pets in her new chair.

Double bowling snack time!

Before the empty bowls...I gave her two bowls so she could seperate her snack...she would rather eat it! :)

Another month gone by....

Gracie is 19 months old! Every month that goes by I am always saying I can't believe it...well why change it now! I can't believe she is over 1 1/2 old. She is such a sweet delightful child. Even on her bad days she is still a good baby. She is really talking a lot. We have now mastered "mine." I was wondering when that one was going to rear it's ugly head. Today Daisy was on my lap and I was petting her and Gracie looked at Daisy and said mine. I don't know if it was for me or Daisy either way one of us is hers! She is broadening her pretend play to include the puppies too. I was folding towels today and she took one of the wash clothes, covered Daisy with it, and told her to go "nighty nite." It was way too cute. She is also wanting to play with them more. When they play fetch with their toys, Gracie wants to be the one that throws the toys. She is getting to be such a big girl.

Today we literally did nothing. We slept in, made a small breakfast, watched tv, made homemade pizza for a late lunch early dinner, and we are still watching tv. We have been so busy lately that today was a much needed rest. We have really enjoyed being at home this weekend and realized how much we needed to do this more often. Well, I don't have any pictures for you today but I am sure I will have more throughout the week. Have a good start to your week and I promise to be better about updating more often!

2 in one day!

So I took some really cute pictures of Gracie in the yard tonight while Matt was cooking some hamburgers out on the grill. I thought I would post them so you could see them! Enjoy!!!

Gracie of course is teething again...can you tell by all the slobber? You can actually see the tooth poking through on the right!

Gracie playing with Harley and Daisy outside
So sweet and tired!

She was on her way down....she thinks it is funny when she falls...

Trying to catch bubbles

Happy 4th of July! I love this holiday. Matt and I always enjoy spending this holiday together. It is so fun to share it with Grace now. She is such a ham! Well, this blog is going to be different then all the other blogs because I have a variety of pictures from the week so I thought I would just type a little blurb about each group of pictures. It was such a hectic week with family being here and all of the events we had scheduled. I am so glad it is only Saturday and I still have another day off! Anyway...here are the pictures!

Last night we went to the El Paso Street Fest and had a blast. They had four bands playing along with food and other booths. I got a funnel cake which I love! I was so glad they had them. We listened to Trapt and Evan's Blue. Gracie had a blast. She totally stole the show from the stage when she was out of her stoller and dancing. She loves music. She really did a good job. We were there for about 4 or 5 hours and she was only fussy for about 30 minutes total. I was so proud of her. She also got to see her first fireworks (while we were walking to our car). She didn't like the booms very much. We really had a great time. Today we are just going to hang around the house and BBQ out tonight. We might go for a walk later on to get out of the house. We will see if the weather cooperates! :)

Gracie's first fireworks

Mommy and Gracie waiting for the music to start

Daddy and Gracie being silly! Gracie was trying to give Daddy her bink.

Walking around holding Daddy's hand. I love her outfit! So festive...

Just too precious! Can you believe all the hair she is getting. She even has some curls in the back!

On Thursday we had an Organizational Day at Biggs Park here on Ft. Bliss for my office. It was a picnic with games and the water park was open for the kids. It isn't much of a "water park" it is just a few things for the younger kids. It is nice for kids around Gracie's age. She was able to literally crawl around in the water...she had a blast. Here are a couple of pictures from the day.

Matt holding Gracie's hand while she checking out the scene!

We also found out she loves fried chicken!

I keep telling you that she is majorly into pretend play and now I have the picture to prove it. She was trying to put her baby to "nighty night" by using the extra clothes from her diaper bag as a blanket!

Playing in the car at the outlet mall while waiting for Aunt Debbie and Mikayla.

I loved these books when I was a kid...I am so glad they are still around. The apple was her favorite ride.

For Father's Day, we got pictures taken of Gracie on a Harley at JC Penny's Harley Event. Of course Gracie had a blast playing on the bike. The pictures turned out really good. Here are a few of them for you to see! Grandparents: We only ordered enough for Matt for Father's Day but if you want to order more, just email me and I will email you the link so you can.

This one is my favorite!

She is just too cool!