Fun with Friends

Grace and I went for a walk with Ilyse and Riley this morning, took a long afternoon nap, strolled with Liz and baby Charlie and Jessie and then played with Nikki and George. Here is a pic of Gracie and George. Thanks for the photo, Nikki!

Goody Goody Gumballs

This morning we went to Dylan's Candy Bar for lunch, and Grace loved lounging on the gumball table. She layed on it almost the whole time. In the afternoon we rocked out with Andy. Then later in the day I read Grace a book; I think she's starting to understand the cadence of speak. She looked at me almost everytime I finished a sentence.

Rainy Play

Grace and I practiced tummy time together today. Then Caroline and Ethan came over for lunch and a rainy day playdate. The babies had a blast hanging out together, as did the moms.

Daddy Turns 30

Today was Daddy's birthday, and Abby, Jeremy, Sam and Henry came over for brunch to celebrate. It was a lot of fun! Then we went to Al Forno with the family for dinner in honor of Grandma and Daddy. Good times.

One...Two...Weeeeee

Happy Birthday, Grandma! Here is some serious laughter from Grace today. She totally understood the game we were playing and was waiting for me sit up and say "weeee" so she could crack up. Babies learn so fast; it's incredible. Check it out.

This morning we went to brunch with Burke, Neil, Lauren, Justin and Brigit.

Tonight we went out to The Cutting Room to celebrate the big 3-0. It was great to see so many awesome people in one place. We feel lucky to have such nice friends and siblings :)

Watch Out, Tiger

Here is Grace in her sporty bib from Grandpa. He brought it back from The Masters. Pretty cool, huh?! Grace met cousin Amy at lunch today.

No Nap Day

Grace slept so well last night and was cheerful this morning (see pic of her hanging with her blabla dolls), but she just wouldn't nap for long today. We went to the Park with Lauren and Shannon, but Grace just couldn't drift off and became really fussy. Tonight we walked to Jenn's for a Hunter Dixon shopping party. Grace loved meeting Jenn's mom, Carla, but apparently she doesn't love shopping...

New Developments

Grace is learning her name; she's very responsive to "Gracie" in particular. She is also learning to sit up. And she loves her exersaucer - check out this video. Oh - and she's learned to crinkle her nose and curl her upper lip.

Rockin Out

Grace was a kid in a candy store this morning - really, here she is at Heavenly Delights. Then we went to Bloomingdales, where Grace ate lunch and picked up a gift for a friend. This afternoon we had our first Rockin with Andy class. All the babies had a lot of fun. Check out the bottom left below of Grace - she is in the foreground. Ha - cracks me up :)

Hanging with Her Friends

Daddy worked from NYC today, and Gracie got some quality time with him this morning. She also helped him crunch away - she's so smart! Later on, Gracie met up with her Y group friends - Caroline, Haley and Ethan - for a delicious lunch and an early afternoon playdate at Haley's. Afterwards we visited Brody Sundheim, and - being an older and wiser baby - he taught her a couple of things. She practiced sitting up and played with his toys. Grace was in an awesome mood. She was probably still star-struck...forgot to post yesterday that Grace, Daddy and I saw Conan O'Brien on Park last night.

Itty Knitty

Gracie was thrilled to see Grandpa after her morning nap today. Then we drove back to NYC with Aunt Meredith, who entertained Grace the little time she was awake in the car. Tonight we went to Roni and Howard's for the second night. Gracie got all dolled up in her hand-knit sweater from Aunt Enid and her hand-knit hat from Roni. She even took along her hand-knit Aunt Enid blanket, which matches the hat! Roni and Aunt E are too much. They don't mess with baby style.

Gracie's First Passover

We hit the road today for Philly for an amazing seder at Mom-mom and Grandpa's on Gracie's 19 week birthday. She had a great time and looked adorable in her dress from Aunt Meredith. Here are the albums from Week 18 and Week 19. Most of the photos, though, are of Gracie's first vacation!

Boy Crazy

Today Grace joined Mommy at a doctor's appointment and spent some quality time with Dr. Michel, who delivered Gracie 4 1/2 months ago. After that, we met up with Daddy and the three of us worked our way to Central Park (through a lot of policemen and road blocks due the Pope being in town). We crossed the park and made it to the Schiffman's apartment. And Grace FINALLY met Sam and Henry. It was love at first sight. Really. Check out Gracie's face. How happy is she to see Sam?! You really can't blame her though - these boys are SO cute and very charming, to say the least.

The babies ate together, changed diapers together, played together and even had sophisticated conversation together in baby armchairs. Precious. The walk home was so beautiful, we had to stop for even more pictures.

Going Home

After a great vacation, we came back home today. Grace was so behaved the whole day. For whatever reason, she loves being in airports! She was even good for the flight back to NYC.

Breezy & Beautiful

Today was beautiful - cool and breezy, but very sunny. We went out to lunch and then spent the afternoon poolside. Grace was in such a good, giggly mood! Can't believe we're heading home tomorrow. It went so fast.

Leaps and Dribbles

In the past 2-3 days, Grace has taken tremendous developmental leaps. She's found her feet, rolled from her back to her front, completely sidewound herself 360 degrees, intentionally grabbed for toys, seen the bottle coming/grabbed it and put it in her mouth and more. She's also drooling and teething furiously. Yesterday was a cool one down here in Florida. Daddy played golf in the morning, and in the afternoon we went out to lunch, picked up food for our evening BBQ and took a walk.

Chilling Out

Grace was so cute in her outfit from Uncle Ryan Miller. She played in the morning and was very sweet, but once we got to the pool, she was really difficult. After trying everything to soothe her, we finally (gave up and) laid her down on a chair and she calmed down immediately. Apparently, she just wanted to relax on a chair. After that, she was so good. This afternoon we took a walk, and Grace enjoyed it. Normally she hates her stroller, but today she watched the palm tree tops and checked out the beautiful setting.

Sunnyday

Today we went to the resort pool and Grace was so overwhelmed, she didn't take her morning nap. She's never done that before! (And we hope she never does it again.) She was a bit touchy and tried to refuse her afternoon nap, too, but she finally fell asleep in my arms. Then I fell asleep. I'm not sure who was more exhausted. It was a beautiful day, though, and we took her for an afternoon walk along the beach. On one side was the Gulf Coast and on the other was the golf course. Afterwards we went to our villa pool, which we had all to ourselves. Tonight Daddy took us out to an early dinner.

Gracie's First Vacation

We left for Florida early this morning, and Grace was so well behaved in the airport and for take-off. However, the rest of the flight was intense...to say the least. Here we are at the baggage claim - relieved to be off the plane - in a summer sling, thanks to Towne and Carter Anne. Above right is Grace posing with Daddy in our Kia car rental.

Despite the rocky morning, the rest of the day went well. Grace was pretty happy and even took her first swim! We're staying on Captiva at South Seas Island Resort. We booked a regular one bedroom villa, but thanks to our friend (and hero) Henley we are in a luxury 2 bedroom Land's End Villa. It's awesome!