Fair Day 2008

We headed out to the Texas State Fair tonight and as usual, had a blast. Grace and Ella liked visiting the animals at the petting zoo. Grace's favorite were the piglets, but she was disappointed that they weren't interested in the food she was offering them. She also tried feeding the baby goats, but the billy goats kept getting in the way.

Here's Grace enjoying a state fair tradition- a Fletcher's corny dog. Yummy!And, this was probably the highlight of her evening...The cotton candy was bigger than her head!Sweet Ella was happy just to be along for the ride.

Grace is 35 Months Old!

Oh, goodness (or, as Grace used to say, "oh ma goooodnessss"). Where has the time gone? Our first baby is almost 3 and is just as amazing as ever. We put up our fall decorations this weekend, and she's adopted these baby scarecrows. She calls them her "cousins" and wants to keep them inside the house. So's so motherly sometimes, but I had to nix the idea of them sleeping in her bed. Here is Grace with Lamby. She loves her so much!

Ella Loves Baylor

After she's finished with her morning bottle, Ella starts calling for "Bay" and just crawls all over him. He's such a good dog!

Girly Girl

As I've mentioned before, Grace is such a girly girl. She's even convinced Travis to paint her nails...

And, she loves dance class...And, anything pink (including Daddy's t-shirts).

Ella is 10 Months Old!

I can't believe she's almost a year old! This is such a fun age. Ella is very animated and talks constantly. She says "mama," "dada," "bay" (Baylor), "baba" (bottle), and "book." Book is by far her favorite word, and reading is by far her favorite activity. Any time she sees a book, she starts shouting the word and wants to read right then. She likes to turn the pages and lift the flaps and has zero patience for books she's not interested in. Her current favorites are Tails, Where is Baby's Belly Button, and Baby Einstein's Watch Me. Her love of reading sometimes prevents us from getting to to bed on time because while she's enjoying her pre-bed bottle, she'll often sit up, wiggle down to the floor, crawl over to her book basket and demand, "Book! Book! Book!" We don't mind it at all!

Here is a comparison shot of Grace and Ella at 10 months:

1st Day of Dance Class

Gracie started ballet/tap lessons today. Although her uniform consists solely of the black leotard (with added sparkles), pink tights and pink ballet slippers, she insisted on wearing her tutu! Her sweet teacher understood and only made her take it off during the lesson, but as soon as it was over, she put it back on. Gabby dropped her off at the studio, but I got to pick her up just in time for lunch. She was very excited to see me and said she loved ballet!

Ellie Bellie

Ella (aka Ellie Bellie, Ella Bella) LOVES having her picture taken.

Gracie Goes to School

Gracie started pre-school today! She was very excited when she woke up, but trying to get her out the door by 8:30 proved to be a bit of a challenge. Let's just say she likes to take her time eating breakfast and getting dressed. I really tried not to be too pushy, but I had to gently prod her to HURRY UP! She really loves this dress and the matching shoes, and I do, as well.

Check out the cute backpack Aunt Chachi gave her. Here she is--all ready to go!And, just one more picture before we head into the building.

Gabby and Ella accompanied us so they could see the new school and meet Gracie's teacher. Gracie was very quiet when we walked into the classroom, but she didn't shed a tear. As usual, her first stop was the potty. She has a strange fascination with bathrooms and likes to check out the potties at any new place. She was thrilled to find that the potty at school was just her size! After that, a nice handwashing was in order, and she loved that she could reach the sink.

And, after a brief goodbye (again, no tears), this is how we left her. She calls these "boy toys" and wanted to try out the school ones.

Just for fun, here are some pics of her first day of Mothers Day Out last year. She's grown up so much!

Gracie is 34 Months Old!

This precious girl is just 2 months shy of her 3rd birthday! Her sweet spirit continues to bless us daily.

I'm Raising a Spinster

We had an interesting conversation on our way to swimming lessons last night...
Me: Gracie, this is our last class with Miss Molly, so you need to swim really good tonight.
G: Where is Miss Molly going?
Me: Well, she's going back to college.
G: What is college?
Me: It's a place where you go when you're finished with regular school. See, you go to school for a long time, and then, you graduate and you go to college. You get to move out of your house and go live in a new place with your friends. That's what Miss Molly is doing, and someday, you'll do it to. (I almost cried when I said this).
G: But, I don't want to go to college!
Me: Oh, yes you do! It will be fun. And, Daddy and I can come and visit you there.
G: No. I don't want to leave my home! I'm. Not. Going. To. College.
Me: But, Gracie, it's a long time from now. And, you'll like it there. Daddy and I met when we were in college.
G: Okay, then I want to go to college with Daddy.

And, there you have it. Either she's going to be a spinster, or she's taking Travis to college. At least for now. I'm sure she'll feel differently 16 years from now. It makes me sad just thinking about it!

Other funny things she's said lately:
Random lady to Gracie: Hi, pretty girl. What's your name?
GG: SILENCE.
Me: Gracie, why are you going to be shy?
GG: I'm not being shy. I'm just not talking because I really need a break right now.

GG to Ella: Ella, I'm going to play with you for a minute, but then I have to go back to work.

Ella is 9 Months Old!

What a cutie-pie! Ella is such a go-getter. From the time she wakes up until she goes to bed, she's constantly on the go--crawling, pulling up (even on walls), climbing, and pulling toys out of all the baskets. She's hard to keep up with, but oh so much fun! She laughs and snorts when she's excited and started making kissy faces lately. She can wave and say "bye-bye" and can also say "mama," "dada," and "baba" (which we think means Baylor, whom she adores). She's started rejecting baby food because she's more interested in self-feeding. So, she makes lots of messes with Cheerios, watermelon, mango, grapes, rice, noodles and beans. She's still taking a bottle every 3 hours (5 a day), but has been practicing lately with sippy cups and straws. Only 2 teeth, which I'm not sure you can see in these pictures. Just like her sister, she's a great sleeper, generally snoozing for about 11 hours each night and taking 1 or 2 naps everyday.
As you can see, she's quite a ham for the camera, although I have to be very quick because she doesn't sit still for long...

I took her in for her 9-month checkup, and true to form, she's tall and thin and very healthy. Here are her stats:

Weight: 15.9 lbs (6th percentile)

Height: 27 1/4 in. (45th percentile)

Head: 17 in. (25th percentile)

Most people think she's much bigger than Gracie (because of her yummy rolls), but at every check-up, she's only about a pound heavier. Looking and her stats, weight obviously isn't an issue for either one of them (thank you, Lord, for good genes).

Fun Times

The girls are more fun (funner?) than ever. Ella loves cruising around the house in her walker, as did Gracie at the same age. See any similarities?

Mornings are so much fun, if I can get them out of bed before I leave. Here they are being silly...And, here's Ella enjoying her favorite breakfast of watermelon and Cheerios.Last weekend, we visited White Rock Lake for a little fishing. Gracie now has two Barbie poles, but unfortunately, she didn't catch any fish. Just think--next summer, her little sister can be her fishing buddy.

A Family Tradition

It's no secret: WE LOVE OJEDA'S! At least once a week, we visit our favorite Mexican restaurant to load up on chips and hot sauce, cheese enchiladas, and rice and beans. The people there know us, so we usually get seated right away. Most times, we make it in and out of there in under an hour! Gracie has always loved the chips and r&b, and until recently, Ella didn't mind sitting back in her carrier while we ate. Not any more. No ma'am. She wants to be in the middle of the action and now enjoys eating beans and banging spoons on the table. Oh yeah. And, she might have stuck her hand in the hot sauce- YIKES! Travis did a fabulous job cleaning her up.

Grace is 33 Months Old!

Yep, for 2 years and 9 months, we've been blessed by Gracie's presence in this world. She's been camera-shy lately, but I managed to snap these pics of her before her best friend Avery's birthday party. Yes, it was a princess party and the invitation asked her to wear a costume. I wouldn't normally send her out of the house like this.

She had a great time at the birthday party, and even got to meet Cinderella. She's already requested (with only some gentle suggestion on my part) a Pinkalicious party for her 3rd birthday. Considering that she's obsessed with the book and ALL things pink, I think it's a perfect idea. Oh, the planning is already under way...