Fun at Grandma's . . . .In The Bathroom,

Lane is potty trained and when # 2 comes along he's just like a guy and sits on the potty and reads books. Well, Gracie thought she had to poop too and followed Lane's lead of reading books.  It was just a comical site and we had to get a picture. I'm sure they'll kill us later for taking this picture.

Happy 1st Birthday Kade!

Kade loves Mickey Mouse, so that was the birthday theme.

We all had little Mickey hats to wear. They were very cute and the kids thought they were funny.

Gracie loved the "birday cake". We all had a laugh cause Amanda made a Mickey Mouse cake, which of course has black ears. Everyone who ate the black frosting got black lips and teeth. It was funny.

Booyah Santa!

 

Rarely is Gracie speechless, but when she seen Santa she entered shy mode.  She would only wave hi and liked jingling his jingle bells. (I know what your thinking; quit being disgusting). Evie had no problem sitting on Santa's lap and got her poor hand tangled in his big old beard. Only when we were leaving did Gracie open her mouth telling Santa "Bye" and gave him a fist bump and said, "Booyah". She got a pencil from Santa and enjoyed a sugar cookie. See you next year Santa!

Snow Fun!

Gracie had been begging to go out and play in the snow. It finally warmed up a little and Hoff took her out to play. They rode on the sled for a little while and then Hoff dug her a tunnel through one of the big drifts of snow by our house.  The mere 20 minutes she was out there wasn't near enough, but I think her hands and cheeks had had enough.  I think Gracie would honostly freeze to death before she came in the house. Next time she's begging to go outside, I'm going to try Maria's awesome idea and bring the snow into her in the bathtub.

Evie's Baptism

On December 6th, we got little Evie baptized. Gracie and Evie were surprisingly very good during the service. Clint and Colleen were the sponsors for Miss Evie. The good Lord was already watching over little Evie cause that morning Gracie decided to feed Evie Coco Puffs and she did choke on it. I gave her the old whap on the back and out popped 1 puff. Hopefully that was our one and only choking experience.

Let's Paint Mommy

Gracie loves to paint. . . . . .and obviously she loves to eat it too.  I leave the room for one minute to change Evie and I returned to find her painting her fingernails with the water paints.  Her back was to me and I went to get a wash cloth and when I turned to face her I seen the mess on her face. Oh yes, it was in her mouth also. Thank goodness its non toxic!

I'm a Big Girl Now . . . . Well Almost.

Gracie has gone through some big-girl changes in a short period of time.  I finally bit the bullet and took Gracie's Nuk sippy cups away from her. I was just tired of washing them. There was much protest; throwing the new sippy cups, crying, anger, whining, but eventually she drank out of them.  Then Gracie, during one of her sippy cup tantrums, threw the apple juice from the fridge onto the floor and got sent to bed early and I angrily told her "And no pacifier!" Meaning for that evening, but she didn't ask for the pacifier for 1 whole day and I took full advantage of that. She now doesn't use a pacifier!!!!! Yea!!!! However she does steal Evies once in a while, but not as often as I thought she would. Now that we got rid of the pacifier, she really has a hard time getting to sleep. So, that's what the picture is about - she reads all sorts of books, does puzzles, and plays with her stuffed animals. Its quite funny.  We have also started using the potty! Although we aren't in full force yet, she is using the toilet more than she is her diapers!  She likes to use it as an excuse to avoid nap and bedtime.  Hopefully by the time I go back to work I'll have her trained! Wish me luck!

Evie's 2 Months

The months are going by quickly and Evie has reached her 2 month mark already. Still doing a lot of sleeping and only for about 3 hours at a time, so still sleepless nights, but we are slowly progressing. This girl is growing big! She is already 24 inches long and weighs 13 lbs, 3 oz. She is doing 6 month clothes already. She took her 3 shots at the doctor like a champ. She has quickly learned that when Gracie is near she gets picked on and therefore has begun to cry when Gracie is around.  We have found that soy milk and a little pear juice have been the key to Evie's fussiness and constipation. She loves her swing and bouncer and is starting to smile alot more! Love those smiles!

Halloween 2009

Unfortunately Hoff was exposed to a nasty virus last week while he was at work. Luckily, he has not gotten it yet, but we decided it'd be best if he stayed away from the girls. I felt bad he wasn't around for halloween, but I think I would've felt worse if someone would've gotten sick! We ventured back to Genoa for the weekend.  Gracie got to experience her first pumpkin carvinng and loved cleaning out all the goo and seeds.  She got quite angry when we were all done. Gracie was a pirate and Evie was a ladybug. They trick or treated both great grandparents and enjoyed the nice afternoon.  Hoff and I both dressed up as well. He was a nerd and I was a flapper. Hopefully next halloween we will all be together.

Disney Live!

We decided to go to Disney Live as a fun birthday activity for Gracie. As you can see from the pictures, Gracie was estatic and her facial expressions were priceless.  She was quite entertaining for the surrounding families - I guess we should have charged admission to the Gracie show - JK. She stood on the chair for the whole 75 minute show and got to see Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Handy Manny, Winne the Pooh, and Little Einsteins.  She clapped and danced and screamed throughout the show.  We all had a good time and I guess will have to try and make it to a Sesame Street show next year.

Evie's 1 Month Old!

Miss Evie is a month old already! It's been a long month though. A month of adjustments - two kids, a more fussy baby, sleep deprivation.  Its pretty busy at our house, but well worth all the work.  Evie is pretty fussy in the evening hours, which we contribute to gas and upset stomach.  We've tried new bottles and now new formula, so hopefully it works.  She just can't get comfortable and is inconsoleable. Other than that and a little constipation, she's an awesome baby. The poor dear has to deal with Gracie messing with her all the time.  I think Gracie is determined to give her at least 50 kisses a day. She loves her alot and so do we! I just have to get her days and nights switched around - she'll sleep for good lengths of time during the day which is nice, but then she's up at least every two hours during the night.  I'm sure it will come with time.

Happy 2nd Birthday Gracie!

Well, I can't believe that Gracie is 2 already!  She had a lot of fun opening the presents and definitely liked blowing out the candles.  She would say over and over "Again?"  She had to be a patient girl and wait for Dad to come home on the weekend to open up her gifts. Hope you had a good birthday Gracie!

Vala's 2009

We went to Vala's this year on Sunday, October 18th.  Gracie had a lot of fun, but was scared of the little kid haunted houses. I think just because it was dark.  She especially liked seeing all of the pumpkins and getting to ride on the choo choo train. I guess it was everybody else's plan to go to Vala's on the 18th also.  It was packed and lines were long to do anything-eat, rides, attractions, you name it.  We arrived early around 10:30th and left around 2:30. The line to get into Vala's when we left was unreal-like 5 miles long. We were glad we went early and plan on attending during the week next year :)

October Snow!

Ok mother nature; what the heck is going on here? Snow on October 10th? And a pretty decent amount too; like 2-3 inches. This really was Gracie's first experience playing out in the snow. She thought it was great! And as you can see, she was having fun eating it. I'm going to have to teach her about the old saying don't eat yellow snow.  We only played for about 10 or so minutes as her fingers got pretty cold even with her gloves on.  

Miss Evie Belle Has Arrived.

Well it all started around midnight. I was getting woke up by little contractions. Around 1 to 2 am they started getting pretty intense and I was unable to sleep because of this.  I thought I had better get to the hospital before I was unable to tolerate the pain. They were around 4 minutes apart;I was dilated 4-5 cm; I got admitted and they told me to walk to increase my contractions. All the walking did was slow the process down.  So, Dr. Dziko broke my water and I instantly progressed to 7 cm. I got my epidural and boy was that a good epidural.  I couldn't feel my legs or butt for like 2-3 hours after Evie was born. I pushed like 4 times and out came Miss Evie. I, unfortunately had to be cut again; I was hoping to avoid that this time.  The only bad thing about this experience was that I was unable to sleep. I got about an hour before this all started and got a couple 15 minute cat naps here and there. Running on no sleep; guess I better get used to it. Other than tiredness, I feel great. Evie is checking out to be a grade A baby.  She already loves to be warm and likes her pacifier. Her fingernails are really long, I need to cut them already.  She has very similar characteristics to Miss Gracie, but has a little darker hair and she has a thinner face. Gracie was really excited to meet Evie and likes to give her lots of kisses.  I'm in the new mother/baby tower. Besides the nice enviroment, snack and beverage room, room service, my favorite thing is the heated toilet seat! Awesome-I really want one for my house.  The second time around is really different. You know what is going on and can enjoy the experience.  Its going to be a real adjustment transitioning from a family of three to a family of four, but we welcome it with open and happy arms.  Evie, we are so glad you joined our family and we love you lots.

Awaiting Baby!

As Sept. 19th draws nearer, we are eagarly awaiting the new baby's arrival. Gracie, as you can see, has all sorts of fun playing with all the baby toys, loves being in the crib-where she pretends to sleep and plays with the mobile, and hops her big butt into the baby swing-which sounds like its about to break when she's in there. I'm a little nervous about how Gracie will take having a new little sister around the house when she's the queen of the scene now. Hopefully, down the road they will be great friends. I imagine my next blog entry will be of her arrival as we only have 9 days left and we have decided if she doesn't come by the 21st, we will be inducing on that date due to Hoff's work arrangements. I will post her arrival as soon as possible. Hopefully, it will be soon!

First Husker Game 2009

We enjoyed watching the first Husker game on Saturday Sept 5th at Dave and Laurie's house. Gracie was the center of attention; throwing her hands in the air saying "touchdown"and giving everyone "fives". Luckily the Huskers won, so everyone was in a good mood and there was a ton of yummy food.

Happy 32nd Birthday Hoff!

Hoff turned 32 on the 3rd of September. We, of course, didn't do much of anything. We did go out to eat at Olive Garden and I made Hoff one of his favorites - chocolate rice krispy bars.

Antelope Park

All the girls got together again on August 4th at Antelope Park before the summer comes to a close. Once again, it was very good to see everyone and the kids all had fun playing on the playground equiptment.

Taylor Swift Concert

On August 9th, Dad, Mom, Colleen and I went to go see Taylor Swift at the Quest Center. She had Gloriana and Kelli Pickler open for her. They all were very good and I was quite impressed that she played for nearly 2 hours! It was really funny when we went out to eat at Zio's in the Old Market, Colleen had a couple people come up to her and tell her that she looked like Taylor Swift. I was thinking once we got to the concert we would have way more fans come up to us, but unfortunately no one did. Guess they figured Taylor wouldn't be roaming about. I was planning this huge money scheme; $10 for an autograph and $15 for a photo with her. Too bad it didn't work out. Had fun though.

Saunders County Fair '09

We went to the Saunder's County Fair the last weekend in July for something to do and check it out because we had never been there. Unfortunately there isn't much to up there except the Merry Go Round. I was almost too much for Gracie to wait in line to get onto the ride. Once she was on, she was loving it.And then the ride was over, and the crying baby scene began. Like I chopped her leg off or something.

Luckily for her she was able to ride 3 times total without much a a wait. Once she was back on the ride, she was all smiles. I rode with her 1 of the 3 times and as it was coming to an end I told her "Uh Oh, all done." And she replied, "No, No." And then I tore her clinging hands from the pole as she proceeded to make another scene. The torture of being a 1 year old.


It looked pretty pathetic her balling and clenching the fence watching the ride go around. Everyone on the ride seemed to show her sympathy and they came and went by her. Maybe next year she won't cry; I hope!

Kiddie Parade '09

Gracie dressed as a little hula girl during the July 18th Stir Up Days Kiddie Parade. I couldn't figure out how to turn the picture around, sorry.

We decided to enter Gracie into the kiddie parade for something fun to do.
This was Gracie's little float. It was all pretty much last minute as I was having a hard time deciding what we were going to do. While trying to find supplies for a princess theme in Walmart I can across this set up, meant for a party, but we made it into float decorations. Gracie ended up getting second place for "Hawaiian Fun in the Sun". Way to go Gracie! I think you won the judges over with your cuteness.