Baby news

by Allison

I'm a baby, and I like to do baby things.  I still enjoy good naps, and have been sleeping 7-8 hours at night most nights.  I like to lay on the floor, on my back or my tummy.  I like to look at light fixtures.  I like to look at my people, and even smile at them lately.  I like to look at myself in the mirror.  I like to take a bath, and my sister likes to help me take a bath.  Sometimes I like to be outside in the fresh air, if it's not too hot and sunny. 

Some days, I need to have a good baby cry.  My big sister often tries to cheer me up.  So far, I'm not a big fan of the baby swing.  I don't particularly like spending long periods of time in my car seat.  I don't like changing clothes, especially putting my arms through sleeves.  Other than that, I'm pretty easygoing.

In my short time, I've been to two birthday parties.  Here I am partying with the girls.  I really find that parties are a good place to catch a nap.  They won't let me have cake or play in the water yet, but I'll be trying to keep up with the bigger kids soon enough. 

I took my first trip out-of-state already.  Here I am at a farm in South Carolina.  I'm visiting a donkey, and taking another catnap.  That's multi-tasking!

Despite how it appears, I'm napping less and playing & talking more the past week or so.

I'm enjoying getting to know a couple of my grandparents.  It's nice to have them around.  Here we are:

That's all the baby news I have to report today.  Next week, I'll be 2 months old!  More then!

I'm 2!!

by Gracie

That's right ladies & gentlemen, I am now officially 2 years old!  First, the stats:

* I am 34" tall (51st percentile).

* I weigh 25 pounds (26th percentile).

I've grown a couple inches, but haven't gained any weight, since my 1 1/2 year old check-up... so still a long, thin string bean.  I'm healthy and didn't cry a bit when I got my shots today.  That's definitely a sign of a big girl.

My birthday was an excellent day.  I had a relaxing morning of Sesame Street and cheerios, while my mom, Grandma, and "Bop" (Grandpa) were frantically getting ready for something, which turned out to be my birthday party!  Grandma made me a special birthday shirt and headband, and I was looking just stunning if I do say so myself.  Bop brought me some balloons and we headed off to the neighborhood playground, where a bunch of my friends joined me for playing on the playground and making bubbles, which are two of my favorite things.  Better yet, we played in the water.  I got a sand/water table for my birthday (one of my new favorite things), and I really enjoyed splashing and pouring the water into the toys.  We had cupcakes and some of my favorite foods for lunch.  It was such a special day, and I'm so glad my friends & family could share it with me.

After the party, I washed all the cupcake frosting off in a big rainstorm, and then headed home.  Although I tried to fight it, I slept off the party with a long afternoon nap.  I eventually gave in to the nap, but I did not give in to letting go of my balloons.

Bop!

Aside from birthday celebrations, I've been working on lots of other things.  I've added many words and phrases to my vocabulary in the past few weeks.  The phrase of the week is "I got it!!"  Other recent favorite words include two, bop, hug, read book, eyes, and bath.  I have confirmed my face-drawing with a new game: my mom draws a face that is missing eyes or mouth, and I draw the missing feature.  I have also been enjoying driving my new motorized 4-wheeler, shooting baskets, and taking very good care of my baby dolls.

My sister is doing very fine.  She is staying awake more and smiling a lot.  We are getting along just great, and it's been nice having my grandparents here to play with me while my mom takes care of the baby.

I'll let my sister write to you soon.  I also need to tell you about Easter--I've been so busy!  Stay tuned!

Dear Gram,

Thank you for my spectacular birthday beach package.  I was so excited when I opened it that I tried on everything immediately.  Some of it I tried on twice.  Everything fit just great.  Now I just have to convince my parents to take me to the beach.  Or at least to the pool when my Daddy gets home.

Today after my birthday party, I got caught in a downpour!  Thank goodness I had taken my umbrella chair to the party with me.  My mom handed me that umbrella and I headed out into the storm.  I had a fantastic time with my first experience playing in the rain.

Love & kisses,
Gracie

P.S. to everyone:  Many more stories about my 2nd birthday coming very soon!

Fun fun fun

by Gracie

I know it's really Allie's turn to get a word in, but she is just so sweet and agreeable that she let me have another turn.  And she was also cooperative with letting me have another lovely weekend.  Thanks little sister!  The weekend was so nice that I wanted to tell you all about it.

I went to a birthday party on Saturday where I got to play with lots of other kids, play outside in the water, eat a delicious cupcake, and wear an Elmo hat.  Fantastic.  Here I am on the slip-and-slide.  Usually my mother fusses at me when I play in the water, and here she actually encouraged it.  I had a great time.  Allie pretty much slept... she's not much of a party animal.

On Sunday I went to a dog Easter bonnet contest with some friends.  The dog in this picture is also named Gracie!  She is deserving of the name, because she is just as fashionable as I am.  I met a lot of other dogs there, including one who loved to give me kisses, and a gigantic English Mastiff.  Dogs are the best.

My mother insisted that our own dogs would never allow us to dress them up for Easter.  She underestimates my darling Raven!  I put beads and bunny ears on her, and she didn't complain one bit.  Do I have a future canine contestant for next year's bonnet competition??

In appreciation of her support of Team Mikan, here is a recent picture of my sweet little sister.  Can you believe it?  She's actually awake, eyes open!  She's had a few days where she catches on to the nap-fighting, crying technique that I perfected when I was her age, but most of the time she is a sleepy, good-natured little angel.

Let the celebrations begin!

by Gracie

The big 2 is just around the corner, and I kicked off the party early so I could celebrate with my daddy.  He has to go to work for a few weeks.  We had a wonderful party weekend, complete with cake, a trip to the toy store, and an outing to the bouncy houses.

I had a great time at Leaping Lizards.  Jumping is super, but I think my favorite part is going down the slides really fast.  Luckily, I got to play with both of my parents, because Allie slept almost the whole time.  She has no idea what she missed out on.  Of all places to give in to the nap!!  My dad and I also won more dinosaurs for my collection, and a couple of them appeared on my birthday cake later.  They have invaded our house and they are everywhere.

Shopping for toys was a treat.  Since I'm almost 2, I got to really shop instead of just riding in the shopping cart with everything out of reach.  I test drove some cars, saw real live Elmo & Ernie, saw all kinds of bubble-blowing toys, animals, and dolls.  It was a blast.

I am enjoying my Mrs. Potato Head very much.  I didn't pick her out myself, but my parents are smart cookies.  They usually know exactly what will amuse me.  I've been mastering the art of facial rearrangement.  I think she looks great with 2 noses.  I've also been shaking my new pompoms and making millions of bubbles.

I miss Daddy already, but the party must carry-on, and Grandma & Grandpa Ford will be here next week!

Art Show

by Gracie

Greetings! 

As you know, art is one of my passions, and I spend time coloring pictures every afternoon.  My style and skill have developed quite a bit over the past few months.  I'd like to take this opportunity to premiere one of my most recent masterpieces.

This piece is titled "Bo-bbles."  Obviously, it is inspired by one of my other favorite hobbies, blowing bubbles.  The medium is crayon.

My mother is giving me credit for drawing faces. They are abstract interpretations of people I love.  Do you recognize yourself in any of them?  Here are close-ups of some of the "faces" with eyes found in this drawing:

My dad and I took on an experimental art project this evening.  It was somewhat accidental, and I reported directly to the shower afterward.  If anyone has seen the commercial for the crayola colored bubbles, don't do it!!  This photo doesn't fully capture the magnitude of the green mess... in my hair, on the house, all over me, and the garage floor.  The Bubble Blaster 5000 may never be the same again.

My first month

by Allison

Hello again! 

Yesterday marked my 1st complete month of life in the real world.  To celebrate this, I woke up.  My big sister gave me some advice about not napping so agreeably, so most of today & yesterday, I stayed up and cried off-and-on for no obvious reason.  I took a chapter from the book of Gracie, and anytime my mom laid me down asleep, I waited about 5 minutes, and then woke up and started crying.  I don't think my mom really appreciated it.  She looks disheveled.

I don't go back to the pediatrician for "official stats" until next month, but according to the bathroom scale, I weigh 11 1/2 pounds.  That's a 2 pound gain in 2 weeks!  No wonder I was sleeping and eating so much.  It takes a lot of energy to grow that fast.

Things I like include listening to my parents sing, taking a bath, riding in my Moby wrap, and hanging out with my sister.  Things I don't like include taking my vitamins, bottles, gassy-ness, and riding in my carseat carrier. 

Other than that, I'm just doing little baby stuff and looking forward to meeting some more family in a couple weeks!

It's not all about the baby!

by Gracie

The photographer took my picture too.  I loved this beautiful, ruffly tutu skirt so much!  And the flower in my hair made me feel so fancy!  Why won't my mother dress me like this everyday?

I love my baby sister, but as an almost-2-year-old, I've got a lot of other things going on as well.  One of my favorite games lately is to tell my mom what picture to draw.  My commands include: dog, meow, fish, duck, ball, baby, Daddy, and apple.  My mom draws all these items pretty well.










My spoken vocabulary expands daily.  In addition to the words I use in my drawing game, some other recent words I say are: bubbles, jump, ball, up, balloon, and cookie.  You know I've got others.  My editor just doesn't understand them.

Speaking of bubbles, they are my current obsession.  I ask to play with them several times every day.  I also like to draw them, read about them, and see them on TV.  My dad and I made a special trip to the store to get a Bubble Blaster 5000.  It makes more bubbles than you can imagine!  My dad likes all the coolest toys.

In rearranging to make room for little baby gear, my parents have finally provided me with my own office space.  I have been tending to all my most important business at my table.  I keep my prized dinosaurs and my dog valentine cards in the drawer, and I like to read my books and have snacks here.  (By the way, check out my first flip-flops!)

Last but not least, I have my own baby to take care of.  She's an angel baby--she doesn't cry at all.  She never dirties her diaper (and I do check several times per day).  She does not interrupt my playtime with my parents.  She doesn't eat much at all.  And she's so sturdy!

More almost-2-year-old news soon.  Hugs & kisses to you all!