More Fun in Philly

This morning Grace was happy to wake up in Villanova and got her day started right - a little Dora, a nice breakfast, house exploration and a lot of turning all the lights and fans on and off. She also practiced a few of her new sentences: "fan on now," "fan off please" and "eat now please." Then we hit the club for a dip and met Grandpa and Daddy for lunch after their golf game.

This afternoon Grace explored the yard, the gardens, the neighbors' properties and more. She was most amused with the watering can, though.

Tonight we left Grace with my parents so we could go to Sola for dinner to celebrate our anniversary. It was so nice!

Fourth Anniversary

We drove to Philly this morning, and Gracie fell asleep in the car at 11:21 am. We could NOT believe it; she hasn't napped than early since she was 8 or 9 months. It was awesome because she slept almost the whole way, and then before we knew it, we were at Mom-mom and Grandpa's. We ate a nice lunch and went to the club, where Alex and I were married exactly 4 years earlier to the day. We were sure to take a few shots in front of the entrance with Grace, where our wedding photographer had captured some great pics on our wedding day. I wish I could do a side-by-side, but I don't have the proofs handy in digital.

Anyway, Grace was so excited to swim, too excited. She threw herself into the center of the kiddie pool so fast, she went under (horrible, scary moment), and I jumped in after her in full clothing and split my knee open on the filter at the bottom (horrible, painful moment). Grace continued to be dangerous and fearless, but since I was stuck on a lawn chair, Mom-mom had the pleasure of saving Gracie's life all afternoon. And Grace loved it - they swam, slid down the slide, played peekaboo, counted to ten in English and Spanish (I have to get video of this) and ate snacks. This afternoon Grace enjoyed exploring my parent's house, deck and [plucking their] beautiful flowers. Tonight Mom-mom surprised us with our favorite: Carvel!!

Something From Me?

Gracie loves pictures and looking at pictures of her friends and family! This may be the only thing she gets from me. Everything else is Alex. Today we went to the gym, storytime and Free To Be. This afternoon buds Max and Charlie came over to play during the thunderstorm.

Pigtails: Attempt #1

After a fun morning out and a nice nap, we hit Carl Schurz park to see Caroline and Ethan. Then we came home, and Charlie came over for a dinner date.

Day in Deal

Today we went to the Shore to visit the Meyers and hang out with the Packles and Zwillingers. Grace had the best time with her buddies George, Ayla and Max and babies Jonathan and Ben. She didn't want to get out of the pool; we literally had to lure her out with french fries and pizza. After a great nap, she enjoyed her first candied apple and a dip in both the baby pool and hot tub. Then we had a delicious BBQ dinner before hitting the road. What an awesome day!

Monkey Morning

Boots (from Dora the Explorer) is such a funny monkey! So is Grace. Week 80 Album.

Making Herself a Little More Comfortable

Tonight it thunderstormed, and I put the plastic on Gracie's stroller. Although she normally hates it, she was pretty quiet for the walk. Apparently she had found a way to make herself more comfortable; she kicked her legs up and was reclining, totally content.

Busy Babe

This morning was a busy one: breakfast with Max, playground with Charlie, playtime at Equinox (so Mommy could work out!) and then lunch and a playdate with cousin Maya. What a great time - Gracie didn't want to nap and was upset to go down! Fortunately Grandma came over when she woke up, and Aunt Katie joined later too.

Buckling Up

Grace has expressed a lot of interest in getting herself dressed lately - paying particular attention to shoes, socks and pants. She's also mastered the art of buckling herself into her stroller and insists on doing it herself. Tonight she combined the two - she put on her shoes, climbed in her stroller and then told me "outside." How could I resist?

Auntie M in the House

Gracie loves when Aunt Meredith comes to visit! If only we had gotten a cute pic.

Gracie's First Secret

Grace has proven her true character and is officially trustworthy. For the past 13 weeks, she's known that she is going to be a big sister, and she didn't tell a single soul. "Dos" is due the last week of December, but I'm holding out for a New Year's baby! We're not going to find out the sex of this one, but if you ask Grace if it's a boy or a girl, she says girl. What girl doesn't want a sister? So far I haven't had any morning sickness - like when I was preg with Grace - so maybe she's right? The only things that have been different: 1) I've been starving, really hungry. 2) I've been more tired and able to nap on command. I never nap - hate it, always have. The exhaustion might have something to do with taking care of Grace though! All that said, I love being pregnant again. Feels good.

Here is the baby's 12 week scan from last week. Definitely looks different than Grace so far (kind of looks like cousin Maya, no?), although it will be easier to do a side by side in another month. I have some great sonogram images of Grace at 17-20 weeks.

Daddy & Daughter Day

Happy Father's Day, Daddy! Alex, Grace and I enjoyed a nice brunch at Orsay and trip to the park to see the ducks.

Check out the look and timing of their expressions and mannerisms - both when Alex was a baby and now. How funny is this series of photos? So similar.

Sorry for my delinquency on album uploading the past few weeks. Week 77 Album. Week 78 Album. Week 79 Album.

Little Minnow

Today Grace went to swim class, and it was a total debacle. Although she loves the water, she hated waiting to get in the pool, didn't love the teachers and went berserk when it was time to get out. Oh - and the family locker room was smaller than our NYC kitchen. It took about 45 minutes to finally get out the door. Fortunately Grandma and Aunt Katie were here when we got home, and Grace was cheered up by their company and lunch at Yorkville Diner. Tonight Grace experimented with putting on her swim cap, which she - of course - wanted nothing to do with earlier in the day.

Graceisms

Grace has a ton of expressions, many of which are things that would come out of an adult's mouth. Others are uniquely her own. My favorites right now: oop (instead of oops), oh no, oh yeah, uh huh, aba (short for arriba/up). We have a lot of new things to talk about these days and quite a few new Graceisms. My personal favorite is when we walk in the door of our apartment, Grace says: "Home" pauses then cheers "YAY!" It's really funny. The expression that takes second place? When Grace burps, she puts her hand to her mouth and says, "me" - short for excuse me.

Something else she's just starting doing is putting words together - often mixing English and Spanish. For example, she says, "More agua please" or "Milk now." The introduction of "now" definitely surprised us, and the first few times we weren't sure she knew what it meant. Oh, but she does. We're trying to stress that she use "please" instead or at least use it with the "now." It's very hard to keep a straight face, especially since she asks for "now" nicely.

More Quali-T Time

Here is Grace bringing her new toy obsession - her Pooh backpack from Aunt Meredith - to Aunt Katie. She loves it, but she still needs help putting it on.

Cool Kids at The Playground

TGFK. Thank goodness for Katie. Grace was such an unhappy camper until "T" arrived this afternoon at John Jay Park.

Loving Bath Time

Yesterday Grace turned 18 months. Can't believe she is a year and a half old...and that we're only 6 months away from having a 2 year old. Today she went to the doctor for her check-up; she weighed 25 pounds and measured 33.5 inches tall, which puts her in the 75th and 90th percentiles respectively. Poor thing got two shots, which she did not enjoy and definitely anticipated. We managed to survive the appointment and day though.

Grandma and T Visit

Mom-mom & Grandpa

Mom-mom and Grandpa came to town to stay with Grace. Grace enjoyed going out to dinner, non-stop attention, lots of ice cream and fun. Alex and I enjoyed every minute of being away, and we especially enjoyed sleeping in until 10am!

Gracie had a Little Lamb Chop

Evening Playdate

Aunt Meredith, Jason and Allie came over to play tonight. What fun!

Hanging on by a String

Take a careful look at this picture. Yes, Grace is playing quietly and nicely with her dollhouse. But do you see the lopsided blinds in the background? Just moments before, Grace decided to grab on to one of the cords, lift her legs and jump. She swung back and forth and then crashed into a back flop. With the biggest smile on her face! My heart skipped a beat when I saw her dangle for those few seconds. Needless to say, we have tucked the cords away.

Schiffman Playdate

This afternoon Grace was thrilled to go west to see Sam and Henry. They had a great time together at the Schiff-pad, the playground and dinner. Grace learned how to say "Abby" really fast.