Summertime Fun

The weather is finally feeling like summer, so we've been trying to have fun outside without melting. 

We went to the park for our monthly play group where Graecyn showed us how good she is at climbing (she made it up pretty high all by herself, with Eric close by of course).

Fortunately, our backyard is pretty shaded, so we spent a lot of time out there over the weekend. We drew on the sidewalk, blew bubbles, laid in the hammock, and played in the sprinkler some.

Giddy Up!

Graecyn is loving this Zebra that we inherited from Addison and Colton.  She's a bit of a dare devil! Yee Haw!

Iowa Vacation

We spent last week in Iowa visiting my family and had a great time!  Like usual, we packed a lot into a short amount of time, but were able to do everything we wanted to including: asparagus picking -- amusement park (twice) -- Taco House (twice) -- Pavilion slide -- Monkey Joes in Des Moines with my college roommate and her family -- my Grandma's memorial service -- a friend's wedding -- boating -- lots of good food, laughs, and family fun.  Eric even got to go golfing and fishing (he caught a good sized bass in less than 5 minutes)! 

Excited to see Grandma & Papa

Fun at Monkey Joes!

Papa's big tractor

There's nothing better than a good nap on the boat!

Graecyn had a blast playing with her cousins; they wore her out every day.  Addison was a very helpful and protective cousin - keeping her safe on all of the amusement park rides, holding her hand whenever possible, helping feed her supper.  She's going to be a big help to her mama & daddy when her new baby brother or sister arrives in August!  Both her and Colton gave Graecyn lots of hugs and kisses.

Getting ready to jump into the freezing cold lake!

Graecyn is still obsessed with dogs and was always looking for Riley.  First thing in the morning she would run to the front door to see if he was laying on the steps and if he was, she would start waving and saying "hi" over and over.  She's learning to be gentle and was good not to pull his hair; she was sure to give him hugs every chance she got.

Happy Father's Day!

17 months

Dear Monkey,

Another month has flown by and you are now 17 months old! You are talking like crazy, with your favorite words being more, all done, mama, daddy, and night night. You are starting to put multiple words together, saying things like "hi mama", "bye bye daddy", and "I love you" (although it doesn't completely sound like I love you). You try to say most of the words that Daddy and I say.

You know your nose, eyes, ears, mouth, tongue, teeth, knee, foot, belly, hair, head, and sometimes, your elbow.  You love to blow kisses, saying "muah".  You have started to develop an imagination and will carry around a drink coaster pretending it's a plate and take "bites" off of it; you'll often share your pretend food with Daddy and me.

When you get really excited (which is often), you'll tuck one of your hands up in your arm pit and start pumping it up and down like a chicken wing and then take off running. Your most favorite things to do right now are to watch Elmo and Barney on TV (you call them both Elmo) and to go outside to play or go bye-bye. You start squealing with delight and saying "yay!" whenever you realize you're about to do one of these. You also love when I blow bubbles with you.

You've turned into a great sleeper (finally...I hope I don't jinx it now by writing this) and practically tell us when you're ready to take a nap or go to bed. Most times I'll simply ask you if you're ready to go night-night or take a bath and you'll stop playing, pick up one toy to take with you and start heading upstairs to bed. You have to sleep with your dolphin and elephant stuffed animals and have also recently grown attached to a stuffed puppy (you snuggle with him after bath while I'm drying you off and putting your pjs on).

You're still a little squirt, weighing 20 lb 6 oz (you're so active now, it's going to be hard to put weight on you) and are so long at 32". You're still a great eater and love all fruits and vegetables; sausage seems to be your favorite meat.

You are so independent and want to do most things on your own; if you're struggling to do something and Daddy or I try to help you, you get mad and tell us "no". We find ourselves saying "Graecyn do it" a lot.

You are so happy and always have a smile on your face.

 

 

 

I love you, baby girl!

Mama