MMM...mmmm...good!

One more celebration of Grace

Gracie had a nice birthday! We celebrated at her school by singing and giving all the kids mini cupcakes. I forgot how fun it can be to watch toddlers. :-) Then we had a special dinner of grilled cheese, tomato soup, and sweet potato fries. As an added surprise, Connie and Aliana came over to have dinner and celebrate with us. Gracie enjoyed playing with Aliana and tried to share her toys, but that seems to be getting harder for her these days.

You'll see some of the evening's events below, in an oddly random order. Gracie got an easel, kitchen, and blocks for her birthday. She seemed to really, really like paining and using her chalks with the easel, which was a little surprising. She got tired by the time we got to the kitchen, so I'm not sure how much she liked that yet. And she didn't really have time to play with her blocks yet, as bedtime seems to approach all too soon.

You'll also notice her shiner in some of the pictures below, which is sad in her birthday pictures, but as I'm learning it is yet another sign of toddler-hood. She got a little too excited over her big girl table the other day and bumped her cheek about two inches below her eye. Of course it had to give her a black eye. It makes you feel like such a terrible parent when they get hurt, despite your desperate attempts to watch closely without making them feel like they can't do things independently. But gheesh...when they get a real mark from it, it makes you feel like a real looser! I'm sure it'll get better soon. And it kind of fits her personality ;-)

Happy 1st Birthday Gracie!

Gracie,

We adore your smiles and laughs, your hugs and kisses, your sweet little voice when you point and say, "isss?" (what's this).

We love that you greet us with arms stretched out and palms facing up, just like we did when you were learning to walk.

We can't wait for the daily challenge of making it through a meal or a car ride, without your protests and tears.

We have grown accustomed to and even ever-so-slightly enjoy waking up several times every night when you cry out for food or cuddles.

Our hearts and our patience have expanded exponentially since you were born.

We look forward to watching you grow up, teaching you all the little things that you seem to pick up so quickly, and sharing with you all of the wonderful things life has to offer.

We know the day will come when you don't need us quite so much. But for now we'll continue to cherish every second we spend with you, knowing that you need us...and no matter what, you will forever be our little girl.

We cannot ever put into words how much you've taught us in 12 short months, how much our beliefs, outlook on life, and goals have changed, and we will never be able to show you just how much we love you.

But we hope you always know that you are our world and our life...and we are so thankful god gave you to us.

Love you, bunches...

Mommy and Daddy

Gracie's Birthday Party Pictures!

Welcome Noah!

Congratulations to our friends, Teresa and Gareth, who welcomed their baby boy to the world yesterday.

Noah Matthew gave mom a run for her money, and finally arrived after 48 hours, early Monday morning. he weighed in at a whopping 10lbs, 8oz and is 21 and a 1/2 inches long.

We can't wait to see pictures and meet the big guy!

Gracie and the Ducks

Sorry this video is over a minute, but it takes too long to edit it. So just skip to about 45 seconds into the video if you can.

...yes, she does eventually get to pet a duck. I eventually catch one for her. But I wish now that I'd have let her keep trying. It's funnier watching it than it was doing it. ;-)

Gracie and the Goats

Gracie Feeding the Sheep

Petting Farm

We found a petting farm in Orlando. It was the coolest activity there! Gracie absolutely loved it...videos to come very soon!

riding a pony...
She actually liked this much more than it looks.
I had trouble taking pictures and leading the pony ;-)

Gracie and the goats

kissing a baby chick...
Gracie was so gentle and sweet to the tiny little thing.

feeding sheep

Gracie and daddy, just after milking the cow

Swimming in Orlando

Gracie's first time going under water

...and she kind of liked it!

This picture is so typical of the Gibbens Clan!

Gracie and her tail

...lovin' the pool!
...and I have to say I think she actually looks a little like me in this picture.

Family Time in Orlando

Gracie and her "cousin" LilyAnn

Gracie being a bad influence, teaching LilyAnn to use the stairs

Poppa Gibbens and Gracie

Travis, Rory, Dad, and Ryan

Rory, Dad and Ryan

Gracie and LilyAnn with Memaw

The Gibbens Siblings
(and their birth order, for those who usually ask)
Rory (#4), Rob (#1), Sarah (#5), StaceyAna (#2), Travis (#6), and Ryan (#3)

Gracie and Grammie
Isn't the outfit adorable that Grammie made for her?

Pictures from Animal Kingdom

Ryan turns "old"

Family Days...

...at Claude Moore Colonial Farm and Clemyjontri Park

Gracie Walking

Though she's been working on it for a while, I think this is the first video I've gotten of her really walking by herself. This was at the beginning of our trip to Orlando, when she could take 5-10 steps alone. Only a week and a half later, she's walking most places by herself (more than 20 steps on averge).

11 (and a half) months old

I know this post is a little late, but we've been so busy lately and I wanted to wait a little extra time this month so that I could do something different for next month. I had to get this one in though, before I forget everything Gracie has done in the six weeks.

Gracie's most noteable accomplishment is that she started walking! She took her first steps at 10 months and 3 weeks. Since then, she has really taken off. She is now taking 5-10 steps at a time. She is already starting to be able to carry things when she walks. She is also now able to stand from a sitting position without holding on to anything.

She has been focusing on walking pretty much all the time, but we have also noticed her humming familiar songs or rhymes from books the way we do. And she is saying (or trying to say) a few more words and phrases. She said "no night-night" the other day, which was irritating but cool.

There are many new and exciting things happening with her, not all of which I can recall details of right now, but all are equally awesome and important ;-)

Over the next month and moving forward, we will be working on weening and getting rid of the bottle. So far, my efforts have not only been rejected but the opposite seems to be happening. Gracie was losing interest and now seems to be ultra interested. So, we'll keep working on it and trying to get her to drink anything other than water.

Recent Pictures

Gracie has really been fun this past week...and here are a few pictures to prove it:

I was cutting some watermelon for her, and she was having one of her frequent "you can't put me down" moments. So she was sitting on the counter next to me and just reached around and stole a whole piece of watermelon and had her whole mouth full before I could do anything about it. So here are two pictures where I happened to catch her in the act...

"What?"


YUMMY!

Gracie enjoying exploring the neighborhood.

And my favorite... I have been trying to let her "cry it out" a little bit for her naps. In this exchange, she cried for only about 7 minutes. But in that time, she got off her bed and back on it twice. The second time she didn't quite make it all the way onto the bed before falling asleep. At least she is getting the idea. She's so sweet!