We head out for our vacation tomorrow!

Here's Grace playing with Ava while she had her morning snack...we'll miss the babies while we're gone, but we're super excited to fly home for my younger brother's wedding...we fly into Charleston, SC tomorrow for a few days, we'll stay with one of our best friends from high school and then we fly up to VA on Sunday, and from then until the 11th, we'll be visiting all our family and getting dressed up for the wedding! Grace is the flower girl and she thinks she has a ball gown and will be going to the ball. 'See' you all in a few weeks!

Our little grocery store

So the other morning, Ava was napping and Grace and I were playing downstairs...well I couldn't stand the thought of playing princesses that morning (we play that ALL the time) so I looked at those toy shelves and had a brilliant idea...swept all the baby toys off of them, grabbed some of her play food and set up a little grocery store...she got her purse, with real money in it, and we took turns who was shopping and who was the cashier...it was fun!

Time-out

So I thought it was odd the other day when I put Grace in time out for some wrong-doing or another, and she was super cooperative and super quiet...should have known, I went to go get her out of time out and she was putting dirty laundry on, in particular, Daddy's socks...(if it's an upstairs time out, she sits in the hallway and that day there were piles of laundry sorted and waiting to be washed) I very quickly grabbed the camera but all the while I was wearing a very stern face, I didn't say one word to her, took the shot (trying not to laugh the whole time)

The Itsy-Bitsy Pider ;)

No, we didn't cut her hair, it's just back in a very messy end-of-the-day ponytail...and notice that little tongue of hers, she uses it now for extra drama when she talks or sings...like she has to lick her lips for a better effect :)

"We're goin' on a mission, start the countdown..."

So clearly she is stalling going to bed, but it was cute nonetheless...this is the theme song to the Little Einsteins for those of you who don't know :) Oh what a ham...oh and she found these curtain tie backs and thought they made good microphones.

Learning to ride her bike...

David said she is "soooo my girl" because she wasn't paying a bit of attention to what Daddy was saying, she kept looking all around her to see who was watching her...more concerned about how she looked on the bike than riding it! :) By the time I got the camera, she was done...

Talking about her boo-boo's after falling off the bike...

The Baby Room

Still needs a few more pictures hung I think and with the wall coloring, it's kind of a smattering of colors throughout, but I hope it's cozy and cute nonetheless...

A tent that Granny gave her when she was a baby...

It works great in the room, gives Grace something to play with so I can have all 3 girls in there at the same time to change diapers and put the babies down for a nap...

New pool

Since there will be atleast two days a week that we won't be able to go anywhere (3 carseats just won't fit in the Highlander) we bought this little baby pool to go in the backyard for something fun to do at the house...it was a hit! Now let's see if the babies like it :)

Hiking from Red Rock...it appears it's going to come out sideways, sorry! Not sure how to fix that...

Such a goober...

On Fridays, Grace's school does a 'water day' so she wears a bathing suit there and then changes afterwards...well we're organizing and cleaning out old baby clothes, and she found an old headband that she put on as a necklace, last winter's hat, and this coat (that lo and behold still fits her...woo hoo!) and layerd up over her bathing suit (we have a serious case of season confusion)

This morning before going to school...

She looks happy right? Well then you explain to me, why two seconds later, after she happily walks out to the car, she suddenly turns into a stubborn monster and freaks out when I try to put her in her car seat...for no reason whatsoever...other than she's 2 right? :) Back inside we went for a time out (there's no way I'm forcing my two and a half year old into her car seat when she knows better) Aye aye aye, we're entering a new stage...time outs were few and far between these past few months and now they're happening two or three times a day, she's definitely testing us...I'll say "Do you need to sit in time out?" And she'll look back at me with this look in her eyes "Yes, put me in time out" Little booger.

The Battle of the Fish

It may look sketchy in the picture but trust me, it was delicious grilled talapia...first bite of fish for Grace (other than fish sticks which we know don't count) One bite was all we asked of her, and the battle commenced...

Long, exhausting fight full of sneaky war tactics and plotting...

We won!

Came across this picture...

while I was organizing files and files of pictures on our computer (my latest work in progress) Just thought it was cute...she knew what rain was back then (in Dayton, OH) and loved it! We had opened the front door, she crawled out there and had a blast...when the rain really started to come down, David went out to drag her back in...

"Where is Grace?"

We were playing hide and seek this morning and it cracked me up how this bright little blue bum was sticking out from the blanket...

"Well gee, I THOUGHT she was under the blanket!"

Then and Now...

So we put together the exersaucer in preparation for the babies coming, and Grace decided to climb in there on her own...

Trying to capture the all out belly laughing she was doing watching the movie...you wouldn't know it by the video though, little stinker...

Movie night at The Green

Every Friday and Saturday night, this outdoor shopping place has a movie night, with popcorn and a darling carousel (it had all different animals to ride on, cats, bunnies, elephants, soooo cute) Friday night they played Horton Hears a Who (Grace has seen it now 3 times :) Everybody brings a blanket/chairs and snacks, it was alot of fun!

As close as she would get to the carousel...

Grace Hoffman, Future Surgeon

She said Daddy was sick, found the nearest tool and went to work...
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Living room, adjacent to kitchen/dining area...Grace also has a play 'nook' behind one of the couches

Front living room: play area for the babies, reading nook for us

Such a little lady

One of Grace's favorite things to do as of late is try on my shoes and I have to say, she walks around better in them than I do!

Pictures from Red Rock, courtesy of Christian Fuller! (Great photographer/friend)

Here's a few more pictures that our friend Christian took (I stole them off his family website :)
And seriously, the one of her climbing up the rock looks steeper than it was (Breathe Mimi, that's it...deep breath in, slow breath out) :)

Grace at our friends' pool

So Grace has become quite the little fishy these days...it only took her a week to warm up to swimming at the Casper's house and now she jumps in and goes under, swims back up (with a noodle wrapped around her) She loves that she can be on her own in the water.

The Flower Girl

Grace is going to be the flower girl in my younger brother, Paul's, wedding on Sept. 6th...I found this dress yesterday and she loves it! Asked to "go to the ball" in it, so we let her wear it long enough for a dance, now it's safely hanging in her closet!