Christmas Cookies

Official Taste-Tester!! Yummy!

Fresh out of the oven...they look delicious!

Ready to put them in the oven.

Dirty hands!

Coating the cookie balls in sugar.

(There was typically more sugar on the counter and floor then there was in the bowl.)

Rolling the dough into balls.

Stirring the molassess into the sugar mixture.

Last night Gracie and I decided to make a batch of Grandma Fox's famous Ginger Crinkle Cookies. Gracie and I were the "cookers" and Daddy was the "eater". Grace helped me by rolling the cookie dough into balls, covering them with sugar, then placing them on the baking sheet.

This was one of the best nights I've had in a long time! Grace was really into making the cookies and helping out. I enjoyed spending some quality time with my sweet little girl. It was such a simple, impromptu activity. No planning or scheduling, just a spur of the moment thing.

...a wonderful memory I will keep forever!

Letters

Grace loves to draw and write. She has recently started talking about writing numbers and letters. Here is a picture of her writing practice. The only letter that she did not write herself is the letter "G". Everything else is her own. Not too shabby for a two year old!!

Oops, I skipped Thanksgiving....

Since Thanksgiving is a very special day, Grace got to use a very special glass for her milk. "Princesses use special glasses like this too!"

Grace, Aunt Rae Rae, and "Arj"

Our sweet little family!

We have a LOT to be thankful for!!

I couldn't do very much for Thanksgiving since I was recovering from hernia surgery again, so we had a very quiet day at GG and Grandpa's house. We mainly lounged on the couch all day watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade then football! It was a wonderful day!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas! (pictures are out of order, but oh well...)

Everyone is playing so nicely together!

This is Grace after the Christmas Parade. She was all paraded out!!

In the span of two weeks RJ has learned to sit up, clap his hands, and Army crawl. He is into EVERYTHING!! Boys are definitely very different than girls. The kids doesn't sit still!

At his last doctor's visit he weighed 18lbs...that's just six pounds shy of his big sister!

Bundled up for the Christmas Parade!

G waiting for the parade to start. Is that the most precious picture ever??


Mommy and G!



SUPER STAR!! A very serious one, at that!



Baby burrito!



Ta Da!!

The weather has been so nice. Beautiful, sunny skies and cold crisp air! Love it! This past weekend my Dad and I took the kids to a Christmas Parade. We met up with Aunt Rae and Uncle Marc. It was a great day. RJ slept for most of it, but Grace really enjoyed herself. She loves the marching bands, the dancers, and of course, the candy that was thrown from the floats!

Gracism

Bryan and Grace were sitting in the kitchen together. Bryan had shirt on, that he cut the sleeves off of. Below is the conversation that took place...

Grace: "Daddy you have hair under your arms."

Bryan: "Yes, I do. How did it get there?"

Grace: "When you cut your hair, the hair falls down and sprinkles under your arm pits."

Bryan: "Does Mommy have hair under her arms?"

Grace: "No, she has long hair because she doesn't cut her hair, so it doesn't sprinkle under her arms!"

Perfect explanation of hairy arm pits!

RJ Waves Hello!

RJ is waving at the beginning of the video, then he gets fussy. You can hear Grace in the background wanting me to film her. Too cute!

It's COLD outside!

The Boy Can't Get Enough Food!

Meaty B!!

Very sleepy little angel!

Here's a quick update...

RJ can eat! Typically he will eat 2 jars of baby food at a sitting. This is WAY more than Grace could ever eat. He loves his food! He still doesn't have any teeth, but EVERYTHING goes in his mouth and he is constantly drooling. Any day now we expect to see a little chopper sprout up. He has become a bit more mobile. He rolls around and will even get up on his knees and elbows and scoot. Unfortunately he rolled off of the bed in our hotel room when we were in New Orleans. He didn't hurt himself, but we realize he's very quick and are extremely vigilent now.

Grace continues to make RJ laugh and RJ continues to adore his big sister. Bryan and I are so very blessed to have such amazing children! We count our blessings every day!

HALLOWEEN!!

Our little Hungry Hungry Caterpillar got dressed up just for pictures. It was way too hot to make him ride around in that costume. We put his pj's on him and he hung out in the stroller while Big Sister Fairy Princess went door to door for candy. Grace got the concept of trick or treating this year. She really loved getting lolli-pops! However, she was scared of many of the costumes and decorations so our night was short lived. That was ok by me, since it was a Sunday night and we all had to get up early for work and school.

I LOVE how Grace is walking in this video. She is just the cutest little girl ever to walk this planet!!

Much Needed Update

Happy baby!!

"All aboard!!"

Mommy, RJ, and Grace






For whatever reason, Grace started to get very moody at the Pumpkin Patch. She didn't want to take a picture with her brother, she didn't want me to take a picture of her by herself, she didn't want to pick out and buy a pumpkin. She wanted to pout. (I caught the pout on camera!) Needless to say, we weren't there long and we left empty handed.

She was happy when we first arrived at the Pumpkin Patch. Things turned bad quickly.

Grace ~

What an amazing little girl! She is so smart, so funny, and so sweet. She loves reading books and singing songs. Grace will make up her own songs and sing them for long periods of time. They are quite creative. In fact, her favorite times to sing are while we are out shopping. She not only entertains me, but all the customers in the stores get a kick out her as well. I love it!

Grace now draws people with little arms, hands, legs, and feet. She can also rhyme words. She is also a very sweet big sister. She talks to RJ all the time and still likes to kiss him when she sees him.

RJ ~

He's growing like a weed! He had his 6 month checkup today and he weighed 17 lbs even! For as big as he looks, he was only in the 50th percentile. RJ is such a laid back little boy. He likes to observe his surroundings. He is also a very happy baby. RJ smiles continuously and loves to laugh!

Gracism

Grace: "Mommy, you are a bad Mommy."

Me: "Why am I a bad Mommy?"

Grace: "Because you say bad words!"

RJ's Baptism

RJ was baptized on Sunday August 22nd. The service was beautiful. RJ slept through the entire think, only opening his eyes when the water was poured on his head.

A reception followed at GG and Grandpa's house, with bagels, egg casseroles, bacon, sausage, and every kind of sweet treat you could think of. It was such a nice day.

Our Little Champ

RJ is growing like a weed. We are estimating that he weighs at least 15 lbs. His next doctor's appointment isn't until the end of October, so we won't know for sure until then. He has been sleeping through the night for many weeks now. What a champ!

I have been trying to get him to try some rice cereal on a spoon, but he has been very successful at spitting it out. This week, however, he seemed to get the hang of it. Yesterday he tried sweet potatoes for the first time and wasn't impressed. Tonight was a different story. He ate both rice cereal and sweet potatoes, and dare I say, he liked them!

RJ loves interacting with Grace. He will stare at her for long periods of time and will laugh or squeal when she plays with him. My hope is that they will always be great friends. I am blessed beyond words to be the mother of these two wonderful children!

Grace-ism

Last night I went in to kiss Grace good night. She hugged and kissed me then said, "I love you.......always!" My heart melted! God I love that kid!

RJ Rolled Over

RJ rolled over by himself this afternoon! He's been trying for the last month. He kicks his feet up in the air then rolls to the side. Today he actually got all the way over, then managed to work his arm out from under him so he was flat on his belly! By the look on his face, he was pretty proud of himself!

4 Months Old (well, almost)

Sportin' my airplane shirt!

RJ discovered his thumb a few weeks ago.

RJ had his 4 month checkup on Thursday (a little early). Everything went well. He's growing just as he should. He weighed 13lbs 10oz, which is more than half what Grace weighs! He's really trying to sit up on his own, he's very vocal, he chews on everything, and he's super smiley! He has a great disposition. RJ is very interested in Grace now. He smiles and gurgles when he sees her. And...a very cool thing for Mommy...he's sleeping through the night!! Woo hoo!!

Grace-ism

We were at the pediatrician's office the other day. Grace was sitting up on the exam table and she pointed at the jar of tongue depressors saying, "Momma, are those the ahhhh sticks?"!! "Yes Gracie. Those are the ahhhh sticks." I love looking at life through the eyes of a child!

Grace and RJ were mesmerized by Yo Gabba Gabba!

The little dude showing off his muscle shirt.

Pink jumpsuit and pink boots...ever the fashionista!

I have been so busy with my two kiddos, that I haven't had much time to blog. I'm trying to get caught up before I go back to work in August. I have really enjoyed my time home with our little boy. He is such a good baby. Grace still loves her little brother and like to keep tabs on him when she wakes up in the morning or comes home from school. She is the BEST big sister ever!!

3 weeks old...sweet baby boy!

We are blessed again! RJ is a very laid back baby. He sleeps way more than Gracie ever did. He rarely cries and he's super cuddley. Bryan, Grace, and I are so in love with him!!