A Rocking Moose!

Maddy & Poppy found this fun rocking moose for Grace. It's perfect for her because you can't possibly have a rocking horse when you live in Maine!

Rock Star

Gracie girl got all rock star on us when Pepere gave Grace her own custom built toy chest. Grace was extremely appreciative that Pepere built her her very own beautiful toy chest. The excitement quickly turned to unbridled confidence and Gracie told Memere she would be kind enought to grant her an "interview." Gracie told Memere that she thought about doing Idol but that it was sooooo 2007. Gracie then wore her sunglasses the rest of the day - inside and outside. I guess custom built toys are a toddler's best friend! Thank you, again, Pepere for Grace's beautiful toy chest. It is something that we will all cherish forever.

Three Signs That Spring Has Not Yet Sprung...

(1) We traded in Grace's Spring coat for her winter one today.
(2) We can't see the ground.
(3) We didn't hear the birds singing. Grace looked up today because she heard snow falling from the trees!
Oh, and did you notice that the BIG mittens are back! Grace had a great time playing in the freshly fallen snow today and Mommy did too but Mommy really can't wait to see some green grass!

Our First Three Signs That Spring Has Sprung....

(1) Grace is wearing a Spring coat!

(2) We are starting to see some ground!

(3) Grace is looking up because she hears birds singing!

Oh, and did you notice NO BIG MITTENS!!!

Our Easter Memories

Make a slideshow - it's easy!

Thank you Memere & Pepere for a wonderful Easter. Grace had the best time playing with her cousins. It was so nice for Bob and I to see the friendship between Grace and Rose. Grace was so happy to see her beautiful cousin, Kimberlee. Kimberlee is such a happy baby and we all LOVED seeing her many, many smiles yesterday! What a sweet family Uncle Steve, Auntie Allison, Rose, and Kimberlee are! Grace also enjoyed her time with Julia, Andrew, and Lillianna and it is always special to see Bob's aunts, uncles, and cousins. Here are a few memories of our fun Easter day!

Happy Easter

Make a slideshow - it's easy!

We spent our Easter in Leominster, Massachusetts at Memere & Pepere's house. Yesterday we told Grace that she would be seeing her cousin Rose, whom Grace absolutely adores, for Easter. Once Grace this out she kept pointing to our door and saying, "Oh" (Rose) and "Hi Oh." Grace was very excited this morning on our car ride to Massachusetts because she knew she would be seeing Rose once the car stopped. When Grace and Rose first saw each other they began twirling and dancing together. The slideshow shows some of the special moment the two girls shared today. We think these are some of the sweetest pictures we have ever seen!

It's Potty Time!

Our Gracie girl has her very own potty! We bought Grace a pink potty two weeks ago because she is really showing a great interest in potty training. As you can see, Grace loves to sit on her potty and she makes Ella and her dolls sit on her potty too. Grace is now saying "bye-bye" to her diaper and lets us know when she needs to go to the bathroom...such a big girl!

Cute as a Bunny!

Grace received a very fun Easter package from Maddy this week. Included in her package was this adorable bunny outfit. Grace especially loves her bunny slippers and she wears them ALL THE TIME! The first thing Grace does each morning is run to find her slippers and once they are on her feet she dances and twirls while saying, "hop, hop!"

Happy Easter weekend!

It's Spring!

Spring has sprung....well, sort of. Although we still have two feet of snow on the ground, it certainly didn't stop us from celebrating the arrival of Spring. We love this day because it gives us hope that the beautiful shades of green will be here soon.

A very big thank you to Sarah MacKenzie who found this beautiful dress for Grace all the way in India! Sarah is currently a student at Colgate University. She spent a semester abroad in India last semester and was so sweet to think of Grace while she was there.

All Dressed Up!

One of Grace's favorite things to do is to put clothes on....and lots of them. Her personal style consists of layering, which is always very much in style here in Maine. Hats are Grace's favorite article of clothing. Here Grace is wearing two of them! Grace later added a third hat along with a scarf, a single mitten, another pair of pants, and sunglasses. I especially love the boot on one foot and the bunny slipper on the other foot. Tres chic, Gracie girl!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Four leaf clovers painted by Grace

Grace Dances A Jig!

We went to hear a wonderful local Irish band play in Portland today. The band consisted of three musicians who played the uilleann pipes, a fiddle, & a bouzouki (similar to a guitar). When Grace first saw the band, she walked right up to them in order to get a very close look at the instruments. Grace didn't move a single muscle for the first several minutes as she watched them perform! The band seemed to really enjoy all of the attention they were receiving from Grace. In between songs, one of the band members invited Grace over to play his bouzouki! What a great experience that was for Grace. Grace has always shown such a strong love of music and it was clear today how excited she was to be able to play a new musical instrument.

We were delighted to sit back and watch Grace dance and twirl around the room as the lively Irish music played. Grace brings so much joy and happiness to all those around her. She is such a happy little girl that is always full of so much fun!

Grace's New View on Life!

Maddy & Poppy surprised us with a large package in the mail yesterday. What was inside the package will truly change our lives! It is, by far, the best thing that we own for Grace. It's called the Learning Tower. The Learning Tower is a large step stool that has an adjustable deck with four sturdy sides. It will allow Grace to participate in all kinds of activities that were previously out of reach. The Learning Tower fits flush against our kitchen counter, which will allow Grace to participate with me in the kitchen. The Learning Tower will grow with Grace until she is six years old! You can read more about the Learning Tower and see it in full view at http://www.littlepartners.com/. The Learning Tower has received the honor of one of the 100 Best Children's Products. I can't say enough good things about this product and thank Maddy & Poppy so, so very much. Grace spent most of today on her Learning Tower in our kitchen. She helped me make all of her meals and loved water play in the sink!Grace was smiling from ear to ear all day. She loves her new view on life!

Grace and I had a fun day today. Swimming lessons this morning, lunch with Daddy this afternoon, and the Children's Museum to end the day. To top it off, the sun was shining all day!

Bird Watching

This picture of Grace was taken this morning as she stood on our couch to watch birds eating from our bird feeders. Grace is now quick to inform us when the birds are there by saying, "tweet, tweet" and "eat." Bird watching has become one of Grace's favorite things! Grace especially loves watching a beautiful woodpecker that arrives every morning.

Happy Feet

Maddy sent Grace & I these fun coordinating mismatched socks. Aren't they cute!!

A Beautiful Winter's Day

Grace's fingers delicately touch the ice that had fallen from last night's ice storm.

Later this afternoon, Grace and I took advantage of the sunshine by taking a walk down our street, all the while admiring the beauty of the snow and sparkling ice that surrounded us. If you look closely at the picture below you can see that Ella (Grace's beloved flatso elephant) came with us too. Ella, Grace, and I enjoyed our adventure and afternoon together.

Grace Celebrates Read Across America Day!

Grace and I proudly participated in the second annual Read Across America Day today along with thousands of other children across the nation. We spent our day reading all of Dr. Seuss's amazing books! Grace also honored Dr. Seuss's 101st birthday, which was yesterday, by making a painting of the hat from the Cat In The Hat.

"You're never too old, too wacky, too wild, to pick up a book and read to a child."

Fifteen Months Old!

Grace turned fifteen months old today and she was so full of fun all day! Here are a few of Grace's accomplishments over the past month:

• Identifies 20 letters, names 18 letters, & says 12 letter sounds when she sees the letters
• Identifies and reads the following words in print: Grace, mama, bus, goodnight, moon
• When counting to 10, Grace can fill in the numbers 2, 3, 8, and 10
• Identifies and has word approximations for the following shapes: circle, square, triangle, rectangle, pentagon, octagon, rhombus
• Identifies the following colors: red, orange, green, blue, pink, and occasionally yellow & purple and uses the signs for green, red, orange, blue
• Asks for help by signing and saying "hep"
• Builds block towers using 7 blocks
• Kicks a ball (definitely has Daddy's soccer skills!)
• Self-feeding with a fork and spoon
• An increased interest in drawing & painting - beginning imitation of vertical lines and circles
• A significant increase in expressive language skills. Grace is learning so many new words and signs every day!
• Favorite things: books, letters, shapes, jumping, dancing, singing, music, climing up & down her slide, watching the woodpecker eating from our bird feeder, lotions, shoes, hats, apples, eggs, helping Mommy in the kitchen, drawing & painting, Ella (pink elephant), stacking stars, & bath time.
  

"Today is gone. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one. Every day, from here to there, funny things are everywhere!" ~Dr. Seuss

(Happy 101st birthday to Dr. Seuss today!).

Reading With Daddy

March...In Like A Lion!

Another big snowstorm today brought us an additional foot of snow. We asked Grace what she thinks of all this snow and she gave us a very big thumbs up! Some of our snowbanks are over ten feet tall and here is one of them!
March...In like a lion, out like a lamb (we hope!).