5 Question Friday!

 I am loving this weather! It's the perfect evening to stay outside as long as possible, so that's exactly what I'm doing. Sean's on his laptop taking a test for his online class and I am right beside him, playing around in the blogging world, on mine. I figured this was a great opportunity for me to jump in on a little 5 Question Friday fun.

1. If you could, would you go back to high school?
Hmmm...I think NOT. I took everything I will ever need with me when I graduated, my best friend and my boyfriend (now husband). It's not that I didn't enjoy high school, because I did, but I am the happiest now that I've ever been, and going back just wouldn't make sense!

2. If a genie appeared and granted you two wishes, what would they be? (And, no saying "more wishes".)
This is kind of tough...My first wish would be for Gracie. I just want her to be happy, always. My second wish would be for our world. I would wish for all the "bad" people to dissapear. I can't believe how sick and horrible people can be. I want them gone.

3. What kids show do you secretly like?
I don't know that this is really a secret, but I enjoy watching The Wonder Pets with Gracie! It's almost become part of our nighttime routine to watch an episode before bed. Sometimes Gracie watches it, sometimes she runs around wild (getting out that last bit of energy) while Sean and I watch it! :) I also enjoy watching Wizards of Waverly Place and Sonny with a Chance on Disney Channel.

4. What is your beverage of choice?
Sweet Tea

5. What is something that you would change about yourself (or are working to change in yourself)?
I would like to see myself be more assertive. There have been too many times in my life where I have allowed myself to be taken advantage of or mistreated, and really, it's my own fault. I've just always been content to take a step back and avoid conflict when I really should be standing UP for myself and putting those people in their places. So, there. :)

(Okay, so he totally finished his test before I finished these questions...I guess it's time to head inside! I hope you all have a great weekend!)

That was a great group of 5! Visit Mama M for more 5 Question Friday answers!

Day 272...and a 30 Day Shred Update!

First of all, let me go ahead and give you all the update on my "30 Day Shred" progress! After 11 days of Jillian, I lost 0 pounds, but this is fine since my main goal was to tone and tighten. I definitely recommend the workout to anyone who wants to "feel" it. During some workouts, I thought I was going to die, but noticed that it did get easier with each passing day. I also noticed a difference in my abs and arms. The workout left me feeling great every day, even though it was tough!

Unfortunately for me, I ended up with a muscle spasm in my shoulder on Day 11. Booooo!!! This is apparently the same injury I had before, but this time, I was smart enough to see a doctor and get some helpful medication. It's already feeling MUCH better, but I'm taking it easy on the working out for a bit longer...This has been SO frustrating because I was so motivated to complete the 30 days. Anyway, I plan to jump back into it as soon as my neck and shoulder are all better. :)

Now for a Gracie update!

Day 272...

This little girl LOVES all of her "Cuddles"...

...but there is that one...

...that is the most special "Cuddles" of all, and when you see them all lined up, you can tell!

I've been busy planning a Cupcake party for a special little girl, so I needed one more practice round...

...and Gracie was happy to help! :)

Happy Friday!

Day 271...

This evening was perfect for lounging around and enjoying the cool breeze...

Gracie found a bug on her stairs! She calls most bugs either ladybugs or bumblebees. I don't know how she even spotted this tiny bug, but it was a "bumblebee". :)

Day 270...23 Months Old

Today, it's official. 23 months have passed since we welcomed Gracie into this world. This also means that in only ONE month...my baby will be two years old. It is still hard to believe that time can pass so quickly...I think I have said this very thing for exactly 23 months now...

One year ago today...

Today...My little girl is getting so BIG!

Happy 23 Months, Grace! I am looking forward to celebrating another birthday with you on May 27th!

Top 2 Tuesday!

Top Two Tuesday...Favorite Things About Summer!

1. First of all, I love warm weather, and even those HOT days aren't so bad as long as you have a little shade and a cool drink! I love enjoying summer days with Gracie. I love her cute summer outfits, the hats, sunglasses, and bathing suits. I love picnics at the park and afternoons at the pool!

(Hanging out poolside last year)

2. It seems like every summer, for the past few years, there have been some really exciting things to look forward to! Last year, it was my nephew's August birth that was the highlight of the summer. This year, I'm excited to meet ANOTHER nephew in August! One of my best friends is also giving birth this summer, and I totally consider this child to be my nephew, too!

Our family also has LOTS and LOTS of birthdays and wedding anniversaries that make the summer months extra special, and extra busy! One of those anniversaries is my own and we will be celebrating 4 years in July!

Join The Undomestic Momma in sharing your Top 2!

Day 269...Monday Morning

Gracie spent her Monday morning doing some serious coloring, building and knocking over tall towers, and making me smile with her smile. :)

Happy Monday!

Tot School: All About Animals!

Gracie is almost 23 months old.

Last week, our Tot School theme was "Animals". It was a very broad topic and we talked about everything from bumblebees to polar bears, and beyond! Below are some of the activities we did together.

Book of the Week:

Puzzle Time:

We worked with this puzzle a couple of times, taking time to also talk about the animals, the sounds they make, and colors. This was Gracie's first puzzle (Thanks, Megan!) and is still her favorite!

Matching Game:

These cards actually belong to a game, but I just use them in a matching exercise with Gracie. The cards have pictures of different mommy and baby animals on them, and there are two of each card, so she finds the ones that are the same and sets the pair aside!

Animal Flash Cards:

This is a Baby Einstein set of animal flash cards. There are great facts about each animal on the back of the cards.

She can name every animal now, with the exception of the red dragon fly, which she calls a "ladybug". :)

Animal Blocks:

I have really enjoyed watching Gracie have fun with this set of blocks! She likes to build them, or have me build them, as tall as possible, then she knocks them over! These are also great because there is either an animal or an animal name and color on every side of the block.

Sponge and Finger Painting:

I love letting Gracie get creative with her paints. One of her favorite things is when I coat her hand in paint and help her make hand prints all over the paper!

Color Sorting:

Easter Egg cups and strips of construction paper can go a long way! This was a fun activity to do with her. I would intentionally put the wrong color strips into the cups and she would quickly correct my mistakes.

She did it! :)

More Fun:

Since our week was all about animals, we also took a trip to the zoo. Lately, we've been going about twice a month because it's just a great way to spend the day! Gracie really loves seeing the animals, and she especially enjoyed seeing the fish, turtles, frogs, snakes, and bees during this trip! When her daddy asked her what she saw at the zoo that evening, however, her first response was "zebra"!

Day 266...Friday Fun

Friday morning, Gracie and I went to church for her Kindermusik class. It was great, as usual! Following class, we picked Sean up for lunch and ate at one of my favorite lunch spots! It was delicious, and was quite the treat, since I don't get the chance to meet Sean or have lunch there as often as I would like! We ordered Gracie the "Caterpillar", or 8 mini pancakes turned into a caterpillar's shape, complete with chocolate chip eyes! Speaking of chocolate, Gracie does not care for it, unless it's in ice cream or cake. She most certainly does not get this from me. She refused to eat the pancake with the chocolate chips in it, after spitting out her first bite! Crazy girl... :)

Days 264 and 265...

Time for Tea!

Zoo Trip

Happy Earth Day!

Days 262 and 263...

It's been a busy week, already! We spent most of Monday afternoon at my mom's house. She invited my sister and I, along with the grandbabies, over for lunch. We enjoyed lunch outside, took a walk, and watched Gracie and Austin play. After leaving my mom's, Austin and Ashley came over to our house for dinner. It was a great start to the week!

Today, we had nothing planned, so we took it easy. We did get out of the house long enough to pick up some new finger paints for Gracie! I also took Gracie around the neighborhood in her wagon before it started raining. Thank goodness for the rain, even if it wasn't much more than a sprinkle! Our allergies are driving us all crazy!

Gracie loves bouncing around the house while playing her harmonica! She's pretty good at it, too! She can differentiate between the low and high notes. I usually ask her to play me a "high note", then a "low note", and she does it! It's so fun watching her get into her "performance".

I would love for her to play an instrument when she's older, so she has a good variety of toy instruments for practice! ;)

Days 260 and 261...Wonderful Weekend!

On Saturday, Gracie helped me plant flowers. We chose sunflowers for the two pots in the backyard. These will be Gracie's flowers, although she already claims them all! She really got the hang of shoveling the dirt into the pots. She also helped place the tiny sunflower seeds in the dirt. I am really excited to watch her watch them grow!

Gracie is always searching the sky for airplanes and birds, so when she stopped dead in her tracks and pointed upward today, I assumed she had spotted one or the other. It took me a second to realize what she was saying, and then another minute to actually find what she was looking at, but here it is, something I rarely even look for at 4:30 in the afternoon:

"Moon!"