Grace is a climber. It all started innocently enough. She began by climbing into things...the laundry basket, drawers, etc. That quickly got boring and she began climbing onto things...everything. If I turn my back, even for a second, I will find her on top of something. Grace has great problem solving skills therefore nothing is safe. She will climb from her Pooh car onto her activity table and try to climb onto the changing table. She will climb onto her little table and try to climb into the baby bed. The only thing that slows her down are jeans. If I put her in jeans it limits her stretch.

Getting caught on one of her favorite climbs - the big chair. She likes to climb onto the arm and ride it like it is a horse. That puts her about three feet in the air and it terrifies me every time I catch her doing that, I can just see her toppling off onto the floor.

Grace trying to charm her way out of trouble.


Pouting in time out.


Yesterday we went to visit Aunt Terri. Grace was wowing everyone with her front flip.

Terri has this great hammock swing in her back yard and Grace had the best time.

Sick Baby & Video with Friends

When I bought my new camera I planned to post all the time. I haven't managed to do that lately. I have had a sick baby for a week. On Tuesday Grace had a temp of 102 (nothing for her). I immediately called the dr., not panicing just trying to find out if it was an ear infection. The last one was awful by the time she started showing symptoms. She found nothing and said it might be Roseola, to look for a rash in a few days. She said to call her if any other symptoms presented themselves.

Wed. she woke with a snotty nose and cough. She was stilling running temps of about 102,but it was managable. I was impressed to find out that my daughter knows how to blow her nose! I reached down to wipe it and she blew! I called dr. who said that she still thought that the cold symptoms and the fever were unrelated. She said to continue treating the fever and look for the rash. No rash came on Friday, so on Saturday dr. met us at the clinic to check Grace over (it's true a dr. on Saturday, she is a close family friend). She had the beginning of an ear infection in her left ear. Began antibiotics on Sat. and Grace is now fever free.

She is a fantastic dr. and is always right on the mark. I am still looking for a rash. I'll let you know if she gets one. Grace is feeling better that is the important thing. The only problem now is that with the return of her health she is now acting bratty. She has felt so bad that all I have done is hold her and she could't breathe lying down so I would sit on the couch and hold her all night while she slept. Now comes the transition back to the real world. Here is sick Grace looking a little scary. She had butt paste all over her face because it was terribly chapped from the runny nose and the wiping. She had just enjoyed a Pedialyte popsicle.

The video below shows Grace with Nanny, Duck and Bunny. She and Nanny have this ritual with Duck and Bunny. Grace will do one of two things as they play. Sometimes she will sit in Nanny's lap and bounce (see how she turned around and backed up) and other times she will let Nanny hold onto her while she does "the wild jump." Whether sitting or jumping she always does the duck wings with her arms.

It's a Girl

Laurie and Travis have a daughter! The last few days I have been very preoccupied with the baby's impending arrival. Check out Laurie's blog. She is a Supermom. The baby has been born and now I have time to post.

It was a chilly Easter. Grace had to wear a sweater over her pretty smocked dress with the bunnies. I also forgot to take a picture of her in her pretty dress. However I got lots of pictures later in the day.

She was sooo disinterested in the egg hunt. She would just look at an egg and run off to chase the dog. In the picture below you can see how she was distracted by a pretty baby on the porch. She was admiring herself in the kick plate on the front door and blowing kisses to herself.

This is her "Gracie Lou Who" hairdo, courtesy of cousin Kristan

Grace and her cousin Ryan simply adore each other. They both break out in huge smiles when they are together.

I have some great video I will try to post soon. I got Grace with the bunny and the duck, one last dance together. Strangly enough, the bunny and the duck cannot be found anywhere.

Gracie is Growing Up

Grace turned 20 months old on the 17th. I can hardly believe that she is almost two. It seems like just yesterday she was that little baby who couldn't even crawl yet. Now she is a fearless, big girl. So about Grace...

• She has a very extensive vocabulary. Some of her words (especially words with A) often sound the same, so you must pay attention. Lately she has started something new. When she burps, she follows it with a loud announcement - BURP. She did this during church last Sunday.
• She is extremely stubborn. For instance-she can be standing on the furniture and I will ask her to sit down. She will comply only for a second. Then she will stand up slowly, looking you directly in the eye and waiting for a reaction. We do this often, different activities but always the same battle.
• She will eat ANYTHING. I am fortunate.
• I am not exactly sure what she weighs or her height. I am guessing about 23 or 24 pounds. Height who knows, she just keeps getting taller. She can still wear most of her 6-12 mos. clothes from last summer, somethings are too short in the torso or stride. Thank goodness for summer. I don't have to worry about her pants either being too short or falling off of her.
• She has a great sense of humor. She loves to make people laugh. The weirdest things will just crack her up, you never know what it will be. She is always laughing at Ellie.
• She loves music and will begin immediately begin dancing. She loves watching musicals like Annie, etc.
• She HATES going to bed. She will fight to stay awake.
• She is obsessed with phones, remotes and my purse. I went to pick up lunch today and had no money or debit card. They were all in the floor of my bedroom. Thank God I had my Amex.
• She has a mouth full of teeth. She has the new habit of sticking her bottom lip out like she is pouting. She does this all the time. I think she is getting used to all those teeth.

Here are some photos from today. We had so much fun playing outside.









This photo shows the offensive bunny and duck. See previous post for further explanation.

Duck

Grace loves ducks (see the first photo below, there is one attached to her crib). Or maybe she just loves to say the word, I don't know. You can go to Wal-Mart and she will spot every duck in the place. That's tough this time of year! She wants to play them all, because we know all these type toys have to sing a song or do a dance. She is quite adept at finding and pushing the little buttons in the hand, belly, etc. Sometimes she will turn it on for a couple of seconds and then turn it off. She can keep this up for a long, long time. She loves to jump and dance along with them. That is why my mother and sister continually buy more. And she loves them soooooooooo much that I can't bring myself to turn them off. I just endure. She loves her gorilla that both jumps and sings. Very talented gorilla. Being the giving person she is, she often insists that you enjoy them with her. I am looking forward to next week, when a bunny and a chicken that are particulary annoying will diappear. Hey they're Easter toys right?



Ellie and Grace have so much fun together. I have to get video of them chasing each other. You will crack up!!

I still haven't read the manual...

...but check out the pictures. I have no idea what my camera can do, but I have captured smiles. You have no idea how much that means to me. Grace is almost 2 and I have only gotten a handful of pictures with her smile. Kelly the camera is a Canon Xti and I promise to post more! Saturday morning Nanny and Aunt Terri came for breakfast. Look at what fun she is having (with jam on her face). She adores her Aunt Terri whom she met the same day she met me! Speaking of the first people to know Grace, I tried to catch some special pictures for "Uncle" Justin. Uncle Justin is Lucy's dad. Since Grace doesn't have a daddy, Justin was the first man in Gracie's life. While in Vietnam he graciously endured Grace's jumping. She was a wild woman. She still is and I wanted some good photos to show him she still loves to jump. The photos I took did not capture her wild jumps. I did however catch her love of acrobatics. Justin I will continue trying to catch the jumping. Or maybe we will see Lucy and family soon!

Smiles!!!

Now you can see what I see. Big toothy smiles. It always amazes me how many teeth she has, it looks like she has cotton in he mouth when she smiles. Such a big girl now.

Well, I was sick and tired of no smiling pictures so I bought a new camera. My other camera is a camera/video recorder that writes directly to a cd. Real high tech, just a long delay when taking pics. Well this camera will take 3 pics/second. I got smiles. Here she is playing with her Pappy who she thinks is hilarious. I hope to read the manual this weekend so I can learn to use my new camera. More smiles to come.

A Messed Up Weekend

I was looking forward to seeing my friends this weekend. We had plans to travel to Nashville Sun/Mon to see Lucy, Kelly, LilyAna and Susan. However Lucy, Kelly and Kelly's mom are sick. I haven't seen Lucy and Kelly since July and I am dying to see them. Lucy has changed so much. As soon as everyone is well we will set a new date. I really want to make sure these girls all know each other as they grow up. Get well soon!

It is snowing like crazy now. I mean we have a few inches and this is not the norm for Tennessee. That would normally be great. Snowed in for the weekend, have some down time at home. However I work for Boys & Girls Club and we have a benefit tomorrow evening. I have a million things to do tomorrow to set up. I live about 45 minutes from the venue and we southerners are not snow/ice drivers.


Gracie and her beloved Trigger.

It amazes me how grown up she looks with all those teeth.

She really loves to feed herself. She isn't good at getting the food on the spoon/fork, but if you get it on there for her she likes to take it from there. However forks and spoons also make fun toys. After each bite she likes to make the spoon go up and down by moving her mouth. As you can see in this photo, she is extremely talented and can keep the spoon firmly in her mouth while drinking milk! Impressive huh?

I have a climber on my hands. She climbs on EVERYTHING. I am constantly saying Grace get down or Grace sit on your bottom.

My Two Girls

Gracie and Ellie were sleeping on the couch together Saturday night. I took this one right before I carried Grace to bed.

I hate it when my bath starts to get cool. Grace however doesn't seem to mind. In this picture sheis cracking up at herself. She kept turning on the cold water to play in it as it ran from the faucet. I have the hot fixed where she can't turn it on, so her bath kept getting colder and colder.

Feeding herself has proven to be great fun for Grace.

Drama, Drama, Drama

I haven't posted in a while because I hate to post without pictures. This update needs no pictures, just imagination. I know that I have posted before about Grace's tendency to "fake" an injury to get her way, to get picked up, etc. This is no longer a tendency, it is a way of life. Seriously - she tried it at least three or four times before I left for work this morning! I am raising a drama queen. She understands that the head bump always gets attention. Some examples of her devestating injuries are:

• When she falls on her thickly diapered butt and immediately rubs her forehead and looks to you for a response.
• When Grace is STARVED for attention she will tap her head on/with something. Sometimes she will tap her head on the chair arm and other times she will use her sippy cup to tap her forehead. She is shameless when she does this. She will look you straight in the eye, tap the sippy cup on her head and her hand immediately goes to her forehead. Next the arms go in the air reaching for you.

How does you deal with this one? I am trying to deal by telling her "Grace you are not hurt and Mommy is not going to pick you up." The head injury ploy is also a favorite when she is in trouble. Then there is my mother who says "I am picking that baby up when she holds her arms up." What a sucker.

Anyone else raising a drama queen?

Grace Has Been Sick

On Sunday afternoon Grace woke up from her nap with a temp of 102. Her nose had been running for a couple of weeks, but so had everyone elses. Other the the fever she showed no signs of illness. We battled high temps, up to 105, all night. Before you panic Grace, like her momma, tends to run VERY high temps when she is sick. Monday morning we went to see Dr. Amy. She was surprised to see us, Grace has only been sick once before.

Grace had a very, very red throat and a RAGING ear infection in her left ear, the right looked perfect. She not only had an ear infections, there was pus behind the ear drum. This child had not tugged on her ear once. She had not exhibited any signs of illness until the fever. She got a big, bad shot and ten days of oral antibiotics. When I say bad shot, I mean bad shot. Has anybody ever had a shot of Rocephin? I had never heard of it. My sister in law, who works at a clinic, said that she had seen grown men with tears in their eyes after having a shot of Rocephin. It is very painful as it works it's way into your system.

Poor little Grace was hurting so bad. Grace only cries when she is faking it or she is truly uncomfortable/in pain. She cried her eyes out for an hour after the shot was given. I have never wanted to take her out of her car seat so badly. All I could do was put my arms around her.

She battled temps Monday and Tuesday. Tuesday night her temp went up to 105. Motrin/Tylenol wasn't helping. I bathed her with cold cloths and it finally went down. Wednesday her fever broke. Not being able to help your child is the worst. I can't believe that there were no signs that she was sick. My girl is tough.

Grace is on the mend and has had no fever for two days. I pray all signs of infection are gone by the time she finished the antibiotic.

It's Been a While

I have been trying to post for over a week. The problem is that every time I have the opportunity to sit and blog, I fall asleep. Last weekend was fantastic. My friend Susan, Petunia and Lela came to visit. Aren't they adorable playing?


We missed Lucy and her parents so much! Here is our attempt to get all three Que Son girls together for a picture.


Here's Grace all decked out in her cowprint.





As you know I have been dying to get pics of Grace smiling. I have to tell you...she's tough to get. She will be laughing and smiling but when she hears the click of the camera being turned on and there are no smiles. After working very, very hard I captured the smile I love. Now you all can see the sweet smile that makes my heart full.

I've been tagged.

I've been tagged by my friend Melissa who is mother to the stunning Mia. I cannot wait until I meet them. We live in the same state and I think it is a terrible injustice that we have never met. And Melissa's answers were just too good. I can tell we'd get along. I am tagging Beverly, Chandra and Kristin

1. What is your occupation? I work for a non-profit agency as Director of Development
2. What color are your socks right now? I don't have any on
3. What are you listening to right now? the dishwasher
4. What was the last thing you ate? peanut butter and jelly sandwich
5. Can you drive a stick shift? no
6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? green
7. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Terri, my sister
8. How old are you today? 39
9. Favorite drink? coffee
10. What is your favorite sport to watch? football
11. Have you ever dyed your hair? yes
12. Favorite reality TV show? I already have too much reality, I prefer fantasy
13. What was the last movie you watched? Sweeney Todd. Yes that's what I said Sweeney Todd. It started slow, but it really picked up when they started killing people.
14. Favorite day of the year? The day of the fall time change - one extra hour in bed.
15. What do you do to vent anger? Oh I HAVE to tell somebody, if not I am quite sure that my head would blow up.
16. What was your favorite toy as a child? Barbie. I also loved my mom's shoes.
17. What is your favorite, fall or spring? I love them both but I must say fall. Winter is very mild here and summer is unbeleivably humid. It is so nice when the weather starts to get cooler.
18. Hugs or kisses? I am a hugger, but I absolutely agree with Melissa about the boobs
19. Cherries or blueberries? blueberries
20. Do you want your friends to email you back? Unless I am asking a question or need a response, I don't need emails or phone calls for that matter.
21. Favorite dessert? is there a bad one?
22. Who is least likely to respond? who knows. I was probably the least likely, but look at me
23. Living arrangement? Grace and I live in a house in the country with our dog Ellie. I live beside my parents and across the road from my sister. My brother is 2 miles away. With all these babysitters I never have to take Grace grocery shopping!
24. When was the last time you cried? I can't recall. Is that good or bad?
25. What is on the floor of your closet? I actually have a path down the center. Luggage, shoes, and (shamefully) clothes along the sides
26. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending this to? ??
27. What did you do last night? cleaned my house and did laundry. big Saturday night28. Favorite smells? coffee, bread baking, Grace after a bath
29. What inspires you? people who are always kind and thinking of others
30. What are you afraid of? It all revolves around Grace. Will she be bullied in school, will she be the bully, what if something happens to me, will I be able to meet her needs, etc
31. Plain, cheese, or spicy burgers? cheese
32. Favorite breed of dog? Yorkies. I love my Ellie
33. How many years at your current job? one
34. Favorite day of the week? Saturday
35. How many states have you lived in? one - Tennessee
36. Celebrity crush? Justin Timberlake, that boy sure can move
37. Ever driven a motorcycle or heavy machinery? no
38. Who is your favorite NFL team? Tennessee Titans
39. Do you have a house phone that is not cordless? yes
40. 10 inches of snow or 100 degree weather? It depends-can I hang out at the pool?

Company's Coming!!!

I am so excited. My friend Susan and her adoable Petunia are coming to visit one week from today! Susan helped me keep my sanity (and my friends) during Grace's adoption.

Susan and I talked on the phone almost every day. We talked about what our daughters would be like, if they were born yet, how big they would be (shopping purposes), etc. We talked about our girls incessantly. Without her as my sounding board I probably wouldn't have any friends left. Now that we are both busy, single moms we rarely get to talk. It will be so great to have the day to catch up and watch our girls play together. The only thing that would be better is if Lucy could come. Hopefully we will all get together soon.

You will never believe what Grace's new "thing" is. If she is down on the floor and needs some attention, she will touch her forehead to the floor (just a light tap). She will then put her hand on her forehead like she is injured. Then she starts the fake cry and walks up with arms outstretched. All that just to get picked up - and it works on everyone except for her cousin/babysitter Kristan and me. Here are a few pictures of my drama queen.