Florida Fall

I know some people scoff, but I think Floridians appreciate our autumn as much as anyone else. I think we might appreciate it more, considering we don't have as many leaves to rake. ;-) Anyway, today was our first day of cooler weather! Before the girls even went outside, they were asking for their sweaters! So there they are, my little Florida Girls, ready to brave the icy temperature of SEVENTY DEGREES!!!

And just over the weekend we were in tank tops and shorts at Sea World!

A couple of weeks ago, Gracie celebrated her 6th birthday. Early that week, we had a few friends over for a birthday playdate. Gracie and I worked together that afternoon to put the stage up for her friends:

The girls had a great time dressing up, and a few times the runway got some use! (It's got a sensor so that when they head out on the runway, you hear music and applause! Thanks, Papa!) One friend brought over a particular dress that Gracie tends to wear when she goes over to their house to play. We will label this "Daddy's Worst Nightmare":

Rachael found another use for the stage when the rest of the girls were back in the bedroom being different variations of princesses...

On her actual birthday, we just had family over at the house (it's so nice to be able to fit everyone!), and Gracie got to celebrate again! Publix made the cake for the gathering with friends, but since I'd bought two packages of Funfetti mix, we were able to have a cake that night as well!

Rachael loved it too!

The girls are still enjoying school, Gracie got the Student of the Week honor last week so we were proud of her for that! (Each child gets a chance to be it, but I was still pleased!) When Rachael gets to her preschool class now, she barely spares me a wave! She just puts her little bag in her cubby, and off she goes! So far, I haven't cried over this! :-) It's actually kind of fun to see her so comfortable and enjoying herself like that, and definitely better than the alternative!

The house is ALMOST done! I am hoping that when Rachael is at preschool, I can come home and tackle the office -- maybe not get it entirely done, but at least make a decent dent! We still have a few boxes that I'm ready to sort through and get rid of -- it'll be nice to not have to keep the door closed when we have company! ;-)

All in all, things are going well! Hope you're enjoying the beginning of fall where you are!

Happy Birthday, Gracie!

Six years ago, this little angel with ruby red lips and a headful of thick, dark brown hair came into the world. In a year that had brought a lot of difficult change for our family, she was a bright spot of love and laughter that we needed so much.

She's a little lady, most definitely -- 110% GIRL! She is also precious and sweet, strong-willed and kind. She has a pure, sensitive heart. She is polite, fun to be around, and we are so proud of her and so thankful she is ours.

Happy Birthday, Gracie! YOU are one of God's best gifts to us!

School's Cool

So far, so good! Both girls are loving every minute of their school days!

Gracie has adapted to kindergarten as well as she has to any other change in her life, like it's all a breeze! (She gets that from her daddy!) Loves her teacher, loves her activities, and if you ask her what she likes about school, her answer is: EVERYTHING! She's already made some friends, and she actually did me a huge favor by being buddy-buddy with a little girl with sweet parents and a little sister that's close to Rachael's age! As an added bonus, they don't live far from us!

She has already come home and asked to show us a science experiment (we sprinkled pepper in a cup of water, then she put a drop of dish detergent on her fingertip and set it on the top -- she and Rachael were fascinated), she is thrilled that she gets to go to the library (er, media center, sorry) one day a week, and she adores the P.E. teacher! He is in the car loop directing traffic each day, and Grace has asked for me to park and walk her in because that way we get to drive by him! It's like a celebrity sighting every morning!

The other day she told me that two boys had asked her to marry them. She told them no. I was happy to hear that, until she told me it was because she was already going to marry her friend, Noah. And then today she asked me if I knew one of her classmates' last names. I didn't, so she caught up with him and asked him herself. He answered, and as we walked away she told me she was going to marry him. (It may have been because his last name starts with an M, I'm not sure.) After we got home and Rachael went down for her nap, I explained that it would be a while before she got married. She wanted to know how long, and I told her she'd probably be around 25 or so, because she had to finish college first. (I was giving her a couple of extra years in case she wanted to get her Master's right away or go to law school or something...)

Rachael is in heaven at preschool! She gets to paint! Play with Play-Doh! Play with stickers! She gets to PAINT! Today when we were dropping Gracie off, she said that she missed her teacher -- it was so cute! If you ask Rachael what her favorite part of school is, she will answer "Snack time!"

I am so blessed to have two girls that can entertain themselves so well! Rachael is really great when we're at home together. One of her favorite activities is actually helping me with the laundry! She even asks to help with it -- asking if she can put clothes in the "washing clean." (I'm sure she is trying to say machine, but it's so cute that it sounds like that!) With the front loaders being lower to the ground, it is very easy for her to put the dirty clothes in and transfer the wet clothes to the dryer, and I think my back appreciates that!

Today we spent the morning at home, and before lunch I was treated to a concert (Rachael the Musician sitting on a chair using unsharpened pencils as drumsticks while music played), went to the doctor (Dr. Rachael listened to my heart and declared, "It's working!" -- good to know!), and got a haircut (Rachael the Stylist said, "Looks good!").

Soon we'll be celebrating Grace's 6th birthday! Time definitely does fly by, but I think that's only a bad thing if you're not paying attention as you go!

First Day #1

Amazingly enough, nobody cried on Grace's first day of kindergarten! I'm kind of surprised at myself since I got a little misty-eyed when I was making her lunch last night, but today at the school everyone had dry eyes! Daddy was able to join us, and of course Rachael came along for the ride -- asking if she could go to her school pretty much all morning! Tuesday apparently can't come fast enough!

We have heard nothing but great things about Gracie's teacher, and she was comfortable with her right away when she went in for her assessment on Wednesday. That was such a relief!

Here is Grace going into her classroom, with her teacher greeting her. The teacher wears an apron with four different greeting options that they point to and choose: a hug (heart), a smile (smiley face), fist bump (fists) or a "good morning" (sunshine). Upon meeting her teacher yesterday, and again today, Gracie chose the hug. :-)

We do it all again on Tuesday! I'm hoping for a repeat when it comes to the tears -- but sometimes Rachael can surprise us!

Multi-Tasking

It was bound to happen. Today it did. A wee bit earlier than I expected though...

Grace got her first phone call.

Sure, she has talked to her friend, Faith, on the phone before, but it was usually because Faith's mom and I had already been talking. This took me by surprise. I answered the phone and a sweet little 4-year-old voice identified herself and asked to speak to Gracie.

It was a friend of Grace's from school, and Grace was so happy to talk to her since she had to stay home sick today!

In the picture, you'll notice a book -- Dr. Seuss' Hop on Pop. That was given to her by her Grandma when she came over for a visit. She and Grandpa came for a visit specifically so Grace could read a book to them! In school they got to pick a book from the library, and Grace brought home Dora's Picnic by Christina Ricci. She brought it home, and pretty much read it cover to cover -- I had no idea! Sure, she had to ask about a few words (I cannot explain why brought sounds the way it does when it looks the way it does, which is why she will go to public school), but for the most part she had it down!

Now she's enjoying Hop on Pop, and she even told her friend she was reading a rhyming book.

Reading books. Talking on the phone.

Check back tomorrow, when I write about Grace's first time driving...

The Christmas Spirit

Nothing can scare the Grinch out of you faster than preschoolers singing Christmas songs! We were treated to it twice in one week.

Here's Grace as we went on our way to her VPK Christmas program last week. Each of the VPK classes sang three songs, and in between each one they "skated" around the sanctuary. Grace skated, smiled, and sang. And for those of you that encountered the Rachael of Thanksgiving Week, I know you will be shocked to hear that she sat through the entire performance without a whimper!! It was wonderful! The only time she made noise was to shout out to her big sister! So sweet!

Then this past Sunday, the children's choirs at church had their concert. I actually have video of that, and I may try to upload it. Grace sang her heart out, every word was clearly enunciated. Many thanks go to Miss Shannon for bringing about this change!

Here are Grace and Faith before the concert. It doesn't get any cuter than this:

Rachael was in the nursery during the performance, but afterwards she came out to visit with Grace and her friends. She was fascinated by one of the trees in the church, and had to touch almost every ornament within her reach -- she was covered in glitter when she was done!

And this picture is to produce evidence of Rachael being Daddy's Little Girl. Like Chris, she doesn't seem to get cold very easily. It was VERY cold Sunday night, and as soon as she got outside she took her little jacket off!

Hope your holiday season has begun well!

She SANG!!

Here is Grace in her first "performance" -- the end of the year program after her first year of preschool, May 2007. She started out just doing her pout thing and then... Well, you can see for yourself.

Yes, that's my girl with her back towards all the parents and teachers, while her classmates sang and did all the motions.

Here is Grace at the past year's program, in May 2008.

For any children's choir performance, Grace has improved in that she doesn't hide her face, but she has never actually been singing while she's been up there.

But this past Sunday morning, in both worship services...

SHE SANG!!!

And, look! A SMILE!

I'm not really an overly emotional mom most of the time, but I was BEAMING on Sunday morning, and yes, even wiping away a couple of tears! There's a Christmas presentation at her school in December, and of course her choir at church will sing during the holidays as well. It'll be exciting to see her enjoying herself like she did this past Sunday morning!

Before it's too late...

Halloween is not my favorite time of year. Truth be told, if I could skip it I probably would. However, there are always plenty of alternative fun activities for the kids to do and dressing up is usually expected. This year I even participated:

In case you can't tell, I was Sarah Palin, and there with me was a fella with a sign saying he was Joe the Plumber. THAT was pretty funny!

Here is our little Dolphins cheerleader -- it was difficult to get a still shot of her, because she was a wiggle worm, especially when the Chick-fil-A cow was around! She was given an award for being "prettiest" that night, awww!

Here are two of the sweetest little fairies you'll ever see. Grace and her "BFF" Faith (who was Tinkerbell).

Grace and Faith have been friends pretty much since Faith was born! That might have something to do with their mothers being as close to sisters as you can get without having the same parents!


I got to take the girls to a fall festival one of the local churches had, and afterwards I took them out for a very, very late dinner. They were having the best time hanging out, and the woman in line behind me remarked at how cute they were, and how sweet they were together. While I was ordering, I heard her speaking to them, and when I finished she said, "I just asked them if they were sisters or friends, and they said both! Isn't that precious?" That definitely warmed my heart!


If you haven't already, don't forget to...

A week to celebrate!

"Oh my gosh! I'm FIVE!!" I don't know why she posed like she's channeling Kevin McCallister, but it works! One day wasn't good enough for Grace, we celebrated her birthday just about every night last week! And some days too! Monday night, we went to Pump-It-Up, where she had her birthday party last year. We just went with a couple of her friends, and she had a blast! Rachael was pretty content sitting in Daddy's lap for quite a while, but soon enough she was showing interest in the big slide. With Daddy's arm in a sling (although that's gotten much better!), it was up to MOMMY to take her down! She loved it soooo much! One time, all three of us went down (me, Rachael and Grace), and that was definitely an adventure!

On Tuesday night, we had a visit from the girls' Papa (Vanessa's dad). His birthday was Monday, so he stopped by for dinner and he brought entertainment in the form of his Wii! That was a huge hit, not only with Grace, but with me too! Grace played golf (her choice, she insisted), then bowling. I let everyone stay up way too late that night!

Wednesday was her actual birthday, and although I didn't bring goodie bags for the kids in her class (I just can't get into that), I did make cupcakes. (Yes, I said make, and yes, they came from a box. You can't go wrong with Funfetti.) Grace was so proud bringing them in! We stopped by Nana's office on our way home, where Grace got the gift she'd been waiting for -- the new Little Mermaid movie! It also included a comb and hairbrush (plus a tiara) all with Ariel on them, and Grace now insists we can only comb and brush her hair with those. Chris' mom came by after she got out of school with gifts from her and Grandpa, as well as Aunt Lisa and Uncle Darryl. Lots of miniature toys (and his mom is so brilliant, she brought a Rubbermaid container to keep them all in!) that Grace plays with... while watching the new Little Mermaid movie. These toys are especially fun for her, because they remind her of the toys she played with when she was visiting her cousins in Georgia this summer! (By the way, Katrina, she wants to go back to Savannah's other Nana's so they can play Polly Pocket together again.)

But wait! There's more! A while ago we asked Grace where she'd rather go for her birthday, Sea World or Busch Gardens. She chose Sea World, so that's where we went on Saturday. Chris' mom was able to join us, and we had a blast, as usual! It was especially fun watching Rachael get so much more involved this time! She was able to ride a few of the rides this time, and I think she might've tried to touch a stingray if we'd let her! (I touched FIVE of those slimy little suckers, and Grace still wouldn't try herself!)

More pictures, of course!

Rachael comforted the Xbox controller, feeling sorry for it the night the Wii came. On Wednesday, I let her sample some frosting. (Because I was, and she caught me!) She made such a fuss when I told her it was all gone, I gave her the container to prove it. She managed to scrape every last little bit out!!

First of all, isn't this cute? Grace is poised to take Chris' position one day as tour guide at Sea World. And Rachael looks thrilled to be in the stroller, doesn't she? She was! If we were having trouble with her at all, if we asked, "Wanna go in the stroller?" she would immediately relax! This was the best. thing. EVER! It was my gift from Chris for the day. It was even more fun to watch the girls interact in it, or watch Grace sling her arm behind Rachael's shoulders as we strolled along. I don't think I can go to any theme park again without renting one of these!

Here's Grace waiting patiently for some dolphins to swim by.
Even though they changed the layout and you can't really get close to where the dolphins frequent unless you spend $7 for 4 slimy fish to feed them. I'm not bitter.

Miss Rachael checking out the sea turtles.
You can tell it's at the beginning of the day -- her hat is still on!

Rachael was willing to have her picture taken with the big penguin. Grace was not.
I wish I could enlarge this picture -- Rachael is definitely keeping her eye on the friendly penguin!

Here we all are in their version of Disney's teacup ride!
Rachael would not turn around before the ride began for Chris to get a picture of all of us,
but he snagged one while we were in motion!

It was a busy, fun-filled week! Less than 4 months before we do it all again for Rachael's 2nd birthday!!

What's in a name?

Grace took dance previously and did enjoy it, but her interest fizzled at the end of the year so we didn't continue. She would talk about it, though, and show us the different things that her teacher there had taught. It obviously wasn't forgotten. When we saw that the arts academy through the church was offering this dance camp, I had my doubts as her age group would only have 6 45-minute lessons. However, Grace had a great time and really enjoyed herself -- and she wasn't half bad!


My pictures didn't turn out as well as I would've liked, and the video camera wasn't working when I tried to tape her. I used the video feature on the camera so Chris would be able to see Grace in action, and I put this together. I don't know how much you can really see of her, but it's still cute. :-) Enjoy! (She's the first one on the left, in case you couldn't figure that out. The adorable miniature ballerina in the middle is her friend, Abbey!) :-)

Locks of Love!

The day has come! Grace's beautiful hair is going to be sent to Locks of Love -- I called them and they will accept as little as 6". If they can't use the hair for one of their wigs, they will sell the hair and use the money to offset their costs. Good enough for me! Grace had a little over 8" cut. She really, really likes it, and she looks adorable! I kind of like the fact that it makes her look younger! :-)

BEFORE!

Cutting the ponytail!

This is Kathy, who has actually done FOUR generations of Vanessa's family's hair! She did Vanessa's grandmother's (even coming to the house when she got to the point that she couldn't get out), Vanessa's mom's, Vanessa's and her sister's, and now Grace's!

Check out Grace's face! An exciting event!

AFTER!

She's a Mini-Me again! (The pose was all her idea!!)