First of all, Happy Anniversary MoMo and Papa!!! 

Lots of new developments at our house in the past few weeks.   Most importantly:  the addition of a big girl bed.......yep, a real bed for Grace. She went from looking like such a big girl in the toddler bed to looking like my little baby again in a full size bed.  The room is decorated beach style and Grace is proudly referring to it as her "Jimmy Buffet Room".  This makes Daddy very happy!!!! 

And drum roll please for the 2nd development...........no more diapers during the day!!  That is right, potty training FINALLY clicked.  Now every morning we have to spend 5 minutes discussing which character to wear on our big girl pants.....Princesses, Curious George, Red Sox (go Yankees!!!), Tinkerbell....the list goes on.  She is so proud of herself and we are thrilled to see the end of diapers!!!

Mothers Day was great......I actually took a nap in the middle of the day for 3 hours uninterrupted!!!!  Amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Grace and Bill made me a wonderful seafood feast dinner complete with lobster tails, shrimp, and crab legs.  Yummy! 

Happy Birthday Grace!

I cant believe that 3 years have passed since you came into the world.  How time flies! 

It has been so amazing watching you grow from the tiny newborn we held to the princess you are today.  You are the light of our lives and we cant remember what it was like without you.  You make it all worth it. 

Every morning when you run down to hall to give us hugs and kisses.  When its pickup time at daycare and you cant wait to show us today's craft project.  When you watch a movie and cuddle up on the couch.  Even when you have a little attitude and make us laugh.   All those moments are priceless and they are forever burned in my heart. 

I love you more than I ever knew I could love someone.  And it grows everyday. 

Happy Birthday Grace.  You are our princess.

Tonight was a sad night at our house.  We lost the family dog, Jake-Dog.  He was 17 years old and was such a great dog. 

He was Bill's best buddy for years through college and ever since.  He was Grace's first friend.  He was the best dog. 

He is already incredibly missed.

January has flown by at our house.  It seems the days are long but I looked at the calendar last night and realized the month is over!  I cant believe it. 

Most of Grace and my time this month has been spent taking care of Daddy.  Bill had aortic aneursym repair surgery Jan 8 and is recovering very well.  It is a slow recovery process but we are almost there!  Grace is quite the nurse; giving Daddy lots of hugs and kisses, bringing him Gatorade from the fridge, and she even leaves her beloved Blankie with him each morning before going to day care.  She loves to tell people about Daddy's boo-boo and that Blankie is taking care of Daddy. 

It is amazing how much she has grown lately.  I realized that her winter coat my mom bought for her was getting a little small when layered over sweaters.  So I went out assuming I would simply buy her a 4T coat.  Nope.  I had to venture into the "real" kids department for a kids size 5 coat.  No more baby/toddler section for Grace.  It broke my heart just a little.  My baby is growing up.

-Jaime

Time flies when you are having fun!

Grace is having such a great time lately.  She has really turned into a little kid......the baby and toddler stage are drifting away so quickly!!!  Little Miss Independent most of the time but every once in awhile, she will crawl over to us sitting on the couch to curl up and cuddle.  Those are the best moments!

Christmas prep has been a ball this year.  I took Grace to see Santa at the beginning of November.....would she like him or scream in fear?  We werent sure but thought we would give it a try.  Well, she loves him!  I had to peel her away from his chair so that other kids could talk to him.  Grace shared her crackers with him and said over and over "I a good girl, Santa Claus".  I think she got the idea that if she is good, Santa brings toys.  She talks about him all the time and even convinced her Aunt Meggie and MoMo (aka Kathy) to bring her to see the Big Guy again this past weekend. 

She is getting so smart!  Watch what you say near her little ears because immediately after you say something, she will repeat it.  We learned this the hard way!!!!

Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas, Happy Hannakah, etc, etc, etc! 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! 

The day started early with Grace insisting on wearing her costume to day care.  There was a party at day care for all the kids and parents but Grace wanted to wear her witch costume all day long, not just the 2 hours for the party. 

Our neighborhood is horrible on Halloween---not many young kids, a ton of older couples with their lights off and no candy to give.  But Grace hit the 5 houses directly around us that do actually celebrate the holiday and did pretty well.  By the last house, she had figured out the whole Trick or Treat thing and loved it. 

Next year we will have to scout out other neighborhoods near us for the good Halloween streets. 

New pictures are posted of the prettiest little witch ever!

I was in Nashville for 9 days the first part of this month for my association's annual conference.  Needless to say, I missed Grace and Bill so much while I was away.  (I did have a good time in TN though!).

It's amazing that 9 days seems like a lifetime in terms of how much a child grows up.  I feel like when I left I had a toddler.  Now that I am back, I have a kid.  Yes, there is a difference.  Grace wants to do everything for herself, has her own ideas and thoughts, and can carry on a full conversation with you about various subjects.  She is so amazing for a 2 year old.  I cant get over it.  Where did the baby girl go?! 

While I was gone, Daddy took Grace to get a haircut and they had a great time meeting the newest baby in our group of friends, Dylan.  From what I hear, Grace was so good with him; kissing him gently and reading a book to him. 

Well, more later.  Mommy is tired and still has 2 loads of laundry to fold!!!!

-Jaime

The past week has been a little rough at our house.  Bill had eye surgery to repair a detached retina last Thursday. While Jaime stayed home for a long weekend of playing Nurse, Grace got to spend 3 nights at her grandparents' house. What a good time she had!  Mommy, of course, packed her bag full of adorable summertime clothes (the cute sundress, shorts and tees, sandals---all appropriate August wear).  The weather took a turn towards Fall.  Yes, Marmee had to take her granddaughter shopping for long pants.  What a shame!!

Grace is a tough one to dress lately.  She definitely has her own opinions about what is pretty and what she does not want to wear or do.  Size-wise, she is a challenge as well.  Somewhere between 2T and 3T is Grace's size.  Mommy is not good with a needle and thread so hemming is out of the question----Grace will simply have to deal with the capri pants look and skirts/dresses this year until her height and weight balance out.  For now, she will just be tall and skinny----there ARE worse things in the world!!    Grace's hair is finally long enough for pigtails though they stick straight out like Pippy Longstockings. 

Now that Grace is home, she is such a good little nurse to her Daddy.  She gives his "boo-boo" kisses and cuddles with him on the couch after day care.  And she is so curious about the eye drops when Mommy gives Daddy his medications.  Its so adorable to watch her take care of her Daddy.  Adorable and oh so sweet!

Pictures Note:  I uploaded a bunch of the professional pictures from Meghan's wedding to the Wedding Folder.  Check them out---what beautiful shots of Miss Grace.