Days 211 and 212...Welcome to Gracie's House!

Gracie's Memaw (Sean's mom) was in town the weekend of our move. She and Gracie spent moving day together, which was so very helpful! Memaw was also kind enough to buy Gracie her first ever housewarming gift...a house of her own! It has really been too cold to enjoy her new house, but I took Gracie out for a few minutes Saturday afternoon. She's been standing at the window every single day looking at her house, unable to go out and play! It will be lots of fun once the weather warms up!

In the meantime, Welcome to Gracie's house!

As for today, Sunday, Gracie discovered there's no better way to enjoy watching her favorite show... :)

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Day 210...A Happy (and very belated) Birthday Cake

Between moving and being sick, we haven't really had a chance to celebrate Sean's birthday (which was over a week ago)! So Friday, Gracie and I decided to surprise him with his favorite cake. He actually walked through the door as I was frosting it, so I made him avoid the kitchen. I had to rush my lovely cake decorating a bit, but Sean was very pleased with his (belated) birthday surprise. :)

Gracie loves to be right by my side as I cook, so this was of course no exception! She looked on from her highchair and listened as I explained each step of the cake baking process. Hopefully she will love to cook one day. I've only started to enjoy it now, as a mom. It's something we can do together, so it makes it special, as opposed to simply being another chore.

Day 209...

Where's my little Gracie?

There she is! :)

Day 208...

One room down...and only the rest to go! I was able to get some things accomplished this afternoon, now that Gracie is feeling better. I set my sights on the kitchen, and can finally stand back and feel some relief. Aside from hanging a picture or two, our kitchen is complete. It's nice to move freely without tripping over boxes or moving piles of stuff around on the counters!

While I was working in the kitchen, Gracie found a nice spot to sit and read...

The bottom step! :) She's not used to having stairs inside, and so far, it hasn't proved to be too much of an issue. She can easily make her way up the stairs (although I don't promote it...), but we're trying to teach her to scoot on her bottom to get back down. She wants to grab the hand rail and walk down so badly, but she's too little. Time will tell if the gate needs to go up or not. We most certainly do not want any tumbles!

Day 207...

Today, my little Grace...

found the perfect opportunity to get into everything she shouldn't...

was very helpful as I worked to unpack our many boxes...

had a wonderful visit with her cousin, Austin, this afternoon. They "talk" to each other, smile at each other, and are so darn cute playing together. It was a good day. :)

Day 204, 205, and 206...

The past few days have been busy, busy! We moved this weekend, which is always exhausting, both mentally and physically. On top of all of that, Sean, Gracie, and I ended up with our first cold of the season (at least it waited until after we recovered from the stomach bug that knocked us down for three days...). Why is it that this stuff decides to hit at the worst times ever? At this point, we are looking forward to getting healthy and getting the house set up! Gracie seemed to be feeling better this evening, so I'm hoping I'm not far behind!

Gracie, rocking in her new room, was pitiful this weekend, but still wanted to wear her fairy wings. :)

Day 203...

Nana (my mom) joined Gracie and I this morning for her Kindermusik class! I hope everyone had a fabulous Friday!

Day 202...

Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband!

Unfortunately, none of us are feeling well, and we're trying really hard to just push through because we have so much to do this weekend! We did start moving this evening, but I'm way behind on where I'd hoped to be in the packing/moving process. Hopefully we (especially Gracie) will be better in the morning...I can handle being sick, and I can handle Gracie being sick, but it has been a real challenge being sick myself and having to take care of my sick baby. Sean joined us today and stayed home because he was not feeling well. I feel horrible about him being sick on his birthday, but at least we did get to spend the day together. :)

Days 200 and 201...

Yesterday was quite the day here in our household...Remember that birthday party I blogged about on Saturday? The 1st Birthday Party for my precious cousin? Well, just about everyone who attended that party ended up with a stomach virus that hit them either Saturday or Sunday night. When I was still feeling fine yesterday morning, I thought Gracie and I were in the clear...

Unfortunately, Gracie woke up Tuesday morning with a fever. She barely ate anything Monday, so I knew something was up. I made an appointment for her to see the Pediatrician that morning, I had this fear that maybe she had ended up with the virus afterall, and was just delayed in showing the symptoms. The doctor thought that Gracie looked great. We discussed a few other concerns and that was that.

Around the same time that I got home from the appointment, I started feeling nauseas...it only got worse from there. I had to ask Sean to come home early from work. I was unable to properly take care of my child, and terrified that if she got too close, she'd be in the same boat. He came home, I hid out in the bedroom.

Gracie was really concerned about me, and kept wanting to check on me throughout the evening. At one point, during one of my "episodes", she came in and stood beside the bed and asked, "Mommy, you 'kay?", over and over. Then, once I assured her I was, she said, "uv you", and went back to playing with her dad. :) Even though I felt horrible, I couldn't help but smile.

Sean was a huge help and kept Gracie entertained and happy so I could rest. They did, however, come in and serenade me with Gracie's harmonica. It was both priceless and hilarious. Gracie and I took it easy today and have been trying to rest as much as possible. I can still tell that she's not quite herself, and being sick like this has really left me feeling yucky and weak, even though I do feel better.

We just have to be okay tomorrow! It's Sean's birthday (he's turning 26!) and the beginning of our moving weekend!

Tot School: All About L.O.V.E

Last week, Gracie and I enjoyed making a few Valentine's Day crafts and came up with a few activities to celebrate this holiday of LOVE!

Sticker Fun: Gracie loves stickers, so I bought her a pack of Valentine's Day puppy and kitty stickers to enjoy! She had so much fun placing her stickers on the hearts. She also had fun placing some of the stickers on my pants, the dog, herself... :)

Sponge Painting: I remember doing a similar craft when I was a little girl. I cut a heart out of a sponge and let Gracie dip it in paint, then press it down onto our paper. I wasn't really sure how it would turn out, but she did a great job!

We had fun using our white paint this past week. I took these pictures of her after we'd completed our special Valentines...

This was Daddy's Valentine's Day surprise! :) We used Gracie's thumb print for the rabbit's head, and her other fingers worked perfectly as the ears! (You can find this idea here, along with many other fun and crafty ideas for kids.)

And I had to add this last picture, just because it makes me smile! This is Gracie doing the Yoga pose, Downward Dog! She also breaks out into a really funny version of "Warrior" when asked. She cracks me up with her Yoga moves, and you can't see it, but she's wearing her "Yoga Girl" shirt. When I saw it, I had to buy it for her, although it was really one of those purchases that was probably more for me than her... :)

This week's theme is...MOVING! We have been really busy packing and preparing for our move. We offcially begin moving to the new house on Thursday!

Day 198...

Happy Valentine's Day!

My Valentines :)

Day 197...Let's Celebrate!

I have this little cousin...

He is as cute as can be, and as sweet as the icing on a birthday cake...

In fact, we celebrated this little guy, and all of his adorable sweetness, today. He turned one year old yesterday and Gracie, my mom, and I were so happy we were able to join him for his very first birthday party. 

It has been such a joy watching Baby Beckam grow over the past year. He has the brightest eyes and an infectious smile. It's impossible not to adore him, and I think he and Gracie will have lots of fun as they grow up together. She also loves playing with his big brother, Lance (who has an incredible personality and a great laugh).

Gracie had fun running after him, and then, when he chased her, she went diving into this tube!  

We had a wonderful afternoon and look forward to visiting again soon!

Day 196...

This morning Gracie and I went to the first Kindermusik class of the new semester. She moved up to a new class today, so where she once was one of the oldest toddlers, she's now one of the youngest! The class is made up of about 10 toddlers, ages 18 months to 3 years (she's 20 months old). I wondered how she would do when she saw so many new faces, but three of her "friends" from last semester moved up with us, so she was her usual dancing self!

This evening, we went out to dinner as a family. Sean is feeling pretty lucky this Valentine's Day weekend. He has two Valentines, and both of them adore him. :)

(Here's his littlest Valentine, wrapped up in my yoga mat.)

Day 195...

In one week, we make our move to the new house. If I'm ever going to finish packing, I've got to get creative...

Luckily, I found another great use for packing paper! Gracie was able to sit right in the kitchen floor and play while I packed up some of the pots, pans, and dishes.

She loves stickers, and she loves when I draw pictures of Cuddles, so I took my time, stopping to color with her while I was in the process of filling another box.

Note to self: Definitely do NOT leave the packing paper (turned drawing paper) in the floor for little feet to step on or run across...Those little feet just might get so excited when Daddy comes home that they run at full speed into the kitchen and slip on the paper, resulting in a bump on the head and lots of little tears. :(

Thankfully, those tears didn't last long and she was all smiles again minutes later...

We've Been Waiting For You...

It's been about 10 years ago that I came across this song on my Carolyn Arends cd. I instantly fell in love with it, even as a 16 year old, and promised myself that one day, when the lyrics spoke about my own life, I would sing this song in church. The only problem is, now that I'm a mother, I can't even make it through the song...It evokes in me an amazing feeling of warmth and emotion, and takes me back to the day Gracie was born. I thought it was worth sharing with the mothers and mothers-to-be in my life. You can click the link below to listen to a clip from the song.

Carolyn Arends ~ We've Been Waiting For You

Let me hold you close, I know you're frightened

Go ahead and cry, I understand

You were safe and you were warm

And then suddenly without a warning

Things began to change

It must have seemed so strange

To all at once be traveling a journey

All the way to this delivery room

But baby you are not alone

Your room is ready, let's go home

You're gonna like it here

Let me make it clear that

We've been waiting for you

We're so glad you came

We've been looking forward

To showing you the place

There's so much in store and

We've been waiting for you

I know it can take some getting used to

But this old world is where you're meant to be

Life is something not to miss

The taste of ice cream, your first kiss

And when love takes your hand

You will understand why

We've been waiting for you

We're so glad you came

We've been looking forward

To showing you the place

There's so much in store and

We've been waiting for you

And watching you come into this world

Baby, you've made me believe

Another journey awaits us

So when I have to leave

I am pretty sure that I'll be frightened

But even if I cry, please understand

I will know I'm not alone

When my room is ready I'll go home

And when I reach the gate

I'm going to hear them saying

We've been waiting for you

We're so glad you came

We've been looking forward

To showing you the place

There's so much in store and

We've been waiting for you

Day 194...

Favorite Wedding Memory...

I'm joining Mama M again today! She's asked us to share our favorite wedding memory...It's all part of her Valentine's Day Extravaganza!

It was the 8th of July. The afternoon was a hot, which didn't really matter all that much because our ceremony and reception were to be held indoors. We were married in an adorable church, which was also a church that Sean's father had been the minister of at one time. The whole day was special. I woke up to my sister's beautiful face with butterflies in my tummy and a big smile on my face. It's difficult to choose one favorite memory, but I think I can narrow them down to just a few.

• Sean's father married us, which is a pretty special fact about our special day. He did a wonderful job during the ceremony, and during the months leading up to our wedding day, made sure that every word he spoke was to our liking. I imagine it was also pretty special for him. Sean is his baby, so I'm sure there were lots of emotions there that we didn't actually see. I clearly remember him saying, "Sean, you may kiss your bride". It was barely a whisper, and I wonder sometimes if he was holding back tears.

• Madison, my precious niece, was our flower girl. She wasn't even two years old yet, but I had complete faith that that little girl would make it down the aisle. Once her big moment arrived, she was perfect! She didn't take the petals out of her basket and toss them like most flower girls do, in fact, we never even attempted to have her do it. I did notice, however, as I made my walk down the aisle, that there were petals dropped perfectly along the path...Later, I was told that as she bounced down that aisle to her daddy, who was the best man, the flower petals just fell right out onto the floor. She then dumped the remaining petals out of the basket once she reached the front of the church.  Her little headpiece fell off at the beginning of her trip down the aisle, and everyone was brought to giggles and smiles when she said, "I'm coming, Daddy!", as she got closer to her dad. Precious, precious memories.

(During pictures: A toddler can only take so much!)

• "I now pronounce you husband and wife..." This has to be my favorite memory of the day. When "Sean, you may kiss your bride" followed, I grabbed Sean's face with both hands and let out a big "Muah!", right then and there. It was our first kiss as husband and wife, and it was so exciting! I was the new Mrs. V and couldn't have been happier about it! That was an awesome moment, and is such a happy memory.

It was also really special having my daddy walk me down the aisle, and having my sister right by side as I spoke my vows. We were surrounded by our family and closest friends that day, so it was perfect. Here are a few other memories from the day that make me smile...