Grace as an Elf

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Christmas Week

We had a very busy week in LA for Christmas!

Christmas Eve:
Anna stopped by in the morning to meet Grace because she missed her at the Apartment Gang holiday party because she was sick. It was so nice of her to drive all the way from Torrance just to visit with Grace for 30 minutes. We spent the day in the kitchen with my folks, helping them prepare a nice meal for Christmas Eve, make a dessert for Christmas and make Christmas brunch. My sister left SF and drove down to LA in the morning (it took her over 7 hours!) and Brandon flew down in the evening. Dan and Dalia came over for dinner as well. It was a quiet Christmas Eve and much different than last year, when my Dad had just been released from the hospital and The Jenkins and Grandma Flo drove all the way down to our house because my Dad was too weak to make the trip.

Anna and Grace

Grandpa and Grace

Crown Roast of Pork that I did not indulge in

Dalia and Gracie

Gracie's beary bum

The Red Velvet Cake

Look how pretty

Christmas:
We woke up early to open presents and Grace had cute Christmas Pajamas that Timi sent her. She actually slept through all the gift opening, but woke up in time for us to harass her with props and picture taking. We headed to Kim and Steve's house in Riverside for Christmas Night and got to see all the cousins. In the long car ride to Riverside, Grace pooped through her cute Christmas dress, and Todd and I had to spend 20 minutes in the bathroom when we arrived cleaning her up. Sadly, her cute Christmas dress got very little use. She will be wearing it for New Years! Kim and Steve made a delicious dinner, and it was a fun time getting to visit with everyone. The Lakers beat the Celtics so that made the night even better. However, my Grandma Sally was feeling under the weather and so was Uncle Gary and they were not able to make it. It really did not feel the same without them there.

Santa Grace

Dan with a happy Grace on Christmas morning

Grace with lots of presents

Grace two seconds later

Grace with a bunch of crap

All the children. It sure is nice to have lots of kids around again. They make things crazy but really fun! Grace does not look too happy here!

John and James

Isabella and Grace

Me and the girls

Elizabeth and Jonah

Friday:
We went to Pasadena to see Todd's family. Pam and Tom drove all the way out from Arizona on Christmas just to see their grandchildren. It was sad that Tommy was in St. Louis , it definitely was not the same without him. I know that Shannon and Logan missed him most. We had a nice time there and went to Porto's in Glendale for a late lunch. Yum! It was neat to watch Logan open all her presents! A two year old has a lot of fun on Christmas. Logan is just so sweet. Every time that Grace would cry she would say, "baby sad."Unfortunately I left my camera at my folk's house, so we did not get any pictures. I will post them when we get some from Shannon.

Late Friday Night/Saturday/Sunday:
The end of our trip did not turn out as planned, but it never does. My whole family came down with the stomach flu late Friday night. Unfortunately, we were too sick to go to Palm Springs to see Uncle Jay, Aunt Flo, Grandma and Matt. Alli and Brandon had to cancel their trip up the coast. My Mom was doing okay and took care of Grace while Todd and I slept, but then she felt ill at the end of the day and had to hand Grace over. Grace turned out to be the strong one, thank goodness! We ended up spending Sunday resting, and Todd and I missed our "date" without Grace.

It was a wonderful holiday week, and we are so thankful for all that we have. Grace has been the best gift of all!

Anthony's 2nd Birthday

Todd and I headed up to Napa for Anthony's second birthday on the 20th. Tony and Bonnie bought a house up there in the summer, so we were excited to get to see it. I can't believe that Anthony is 2 years old already. I used to go over to see him after work and play with him when he was a little baby. He sure has grown into a fun-loving and darling little one!

Anthony's own special cake. He mostly ate the frosting!

Gracie staring intently at the moving train

Bonnie and the birthday boy

Elsa

Gretchen and Paul were visiting from Virginia over the holidays and we finally got to meet baby Elsa! Elsa was born just several days before Grace and it has been wonderful to share this experience with Gretchen. It has been hard these last few years being so far away from Gretchen but whenever we see each other it is like she never left. Adrienne, Rachel, Maggie and I were able to make it out to Gretchen's folks' house in Pacifica. What a fun time we had. Gretchen's parents had a nice little spread out, and hot cider which was perfect for the rainy day. Elsa is just the cutest baby! She looks just like Paul (Gretch, I am sure you hear that too much) and she is just a doll. She has learned to make the "raspberry" sounds, and she is able to grab and chew on her toys. I can't wait for Paul and Gretchen to move back to Northern California. I know that Grace and Elsa will be great friends.

Rachel (the cutest pregnant person) and Grace

Adrienne, Elsa Grace and I

Grace says, "I like you Elsa."

Gretchen and Elsa

Elsa and Grace playing in their gym. Elsa thought Grace was one of her toys!

Apartment Gang Holiday Party

On the 13th, we headed down to LA (again) to make a stop at the annual Apartment Gang Holiday Party... It felt very crazy to make such a long drive for a short visit but we did not want to miss it. Babies are fun to lug around when you can strap them into things and pass them along to people to hold. We know that things will be quite different next year when she is on the move. No one seems to want to be the one to chase after a toddler!

Hailey and Isabella who are just so cute together!

We had a lovely time at the party hosted by Tom and Linda. It is always nice to see everyone and it was great to meet Remington (Patrick and Meghan's son) who is just about 6 weeks older than Grace. Tom and Linda did such a nice job making everyone feel welcome and happy (we know how difficult it is to host a party for that many folks). It has been many years since I have been to their house, so it was really neat to be there again. I have fond memories as a kid spending New Years with Molly and Patrick upstairs, while our parents made a fancy meal and celebrated downstairs :) I have included some fun pictures. I wish that we had snapped more this time, as we did not get pictures of everyone during the night.

Charlene and Grace (look at Grace's expression!)

Remmington and Grace meeting for the first time!

Karie and Gracie

Olivia holding Grace for the first time!

Tommy and Gracie

Molly and Grace

Remington and Jonah

We had to make a special trip to see Jenn, Kevin, and Emma and meet Ethan (we were sad that they could not make it to the annual party as Jenn's work party was on the same night). It was actually the first time that we have been to Jenn and Kevin's house. It is such a cute house and they have done such a nice job with it. It was fun to see Emma and how she has grown to such a smart and beautiful girl. She has the best room- it is like a pink princess room! Ethan is just darling and he has the cutest nursery which Kevin designed (in a fitting aviation theme). Grace and Ethan were so cute together... I can already smell trouble in the future with those two!

Uncle Dan, Ethan, Todd and Grace

Ethan and Grace meeting for the first time

Jenn, Ethan, Emma and I

Todd and Ethan

I'm 3 Months Old!

Adrienne reminded me that I have been super bad about posting on the blog, so I thought I would get a few in before Christmas. I have been a bit on the lazy side these last few weeks! I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season with your family and friends!

Grace turned three months on December 13th. We can't believe how much she has changed and grown. Everyday continues to be amazing journey with Grace surprising us each day. Here are some updates:

-We weighed Grace on a scale at home (I am not sure how accurate it is) and she weighed 12 pounds 9 ounces on December 13. She definitely is growing in length as well and has pretty much grown too tall for her 3 month clothes (however, sadly I keep trying to shove her in them!).
-Grace can track objects and people with both eyes.
-Her neck is very strong and she can hold her body up if it is slightly supported. She can now face outward in her Bjorn and sit in her Bumbo, which she loves. I bring the Bumbo in the kitchen while I cook and she loves it!
-She can roll from side to side.
-Although she smiles and laughs all the time, she made her first baby "giggle" this month. It was the best and we are anticipating the next one.
-Grace most often can go to sleep on her own! For naps and bedtime we put her in the crib and she can usually fall asleep without much of a fuss.
-Grace continues to interact with people. She is a social (but cautious) child.
-Grace is a talker. She yells and talks to us and her toys on her mobile and in her gym.
-Grace has decided that she does not like to sleep in the car anymore. Usually, she will pop awake after napping only shortly!

Happy 3 month Birthday Grace!

This was one of the first times that Grace was able to hold herself up on her own. If you notice, she has one glove on. We had a very bad parenting moment and Todd cut the tip of her finger pretty bad (it was bleeding for quite some time). It was definitely stressful but Grace was okay (we were the ones who weren't).

Thanksgiving Weekend

We had such a lovely time over the Thanksgiving Weekend, and we were sad that it had to come to an end. Grace had a milestone on the trip. She started sleeping through the entire night (she used to sleep 6-8 hours straight), now sleeping 9-12 hours without waking up! We thought that it was because she was nice and warm there, but she continues to sleep like a baby at home (I am not sure why that expression exists because Grace sure is a restless sleeper!).

Grace and I flew on the plane all by ourselves. Grace did a great job and slept until the captain made an announcement (the dinging sound startled her awake). We were lucky because no one sat next to us!Grace had a ball once she got to Grandy and Grandpa's house!

Grace talking to the fish Repeat.

Grandpa playing with Grace

Grace watching too much TV at Grandy and Grandpa's house!

Grace in her gym

We spent Wednesday evening at Dan and Dalia's house. Dalia made the most delicious Egyptian dinner for us. Reggie loved Grace and was so sweet with her. He gave her lots of kisses. Here are some pictures from that evening:

Uncle Dan, Grace and Reggie

Aunt Dalia and a naked Gracie

Grandy and Grace

My parents hosted Thanksgiving Dinner for a big crowd on Thursday. The Darwin, Jenkins, Ridley, Polacek and McManus families were all able to attend. Grace got to meet Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and her Great Grandma Flo. Todd's Family was also there, and Gracie met Grandpa Tom, Uncle Tom and Aunt Shannon and her cousin Logan. We all ate too much and had too much fun!

Grace in her Thanksgiving dress! Recently it has been difficult to snap a picture without her hands in her mouth.

Here is Isobel with Grace. Isobel was so interested in Grace and was such a good helper putting her to sleep.

Beautiful baby Sibylla and Stephanie

Great Grandma Flo holding Grace

Logan meeting Gracie

We headed to Pasadena on Friday for Logan's second Birthday party. I can't believe that she is two years old already. I remember last year celebrating her first birthday. She has grown into such a beautiful and smart little girl. She kept pointing to Grace and saying, "You're a baby!"

Uncle Tom and Grace

A sleeping Logan, Todd and Grace

The girls and I

Grandma and Grace

On Saturday before our flight we got to see some more family! Grace wore her "going home from the hospital" outfit that my Mom bought for her. She did not get to wear the outfit because it was so big that the top fit her like a dress. She ended up going home in the hospital shirt and a diaper. Poor baby! Well it took 11 weeks, but she finally fit!

Jonah, Olivia and Isabella

Great Grandma Sally and Grace

Isabella doing such a great job holding Grace

Aunt Alli and Gracie

Jonah giving Grace a big KISS!

Aunt Leah holding Grace