Sunday, May 23, 2010

About my Girl

Just a little blog about Grace:


Grace likes to cross her feet...she was doing this in the womb as well. We have the ultrasound to prove it =)



She is a great eater...and very independent. She loves to feed herself. If most of it gets in her mouth I consider it a success!



She loves the park. She will climb up and go down the slide by herself if you don't watch her like a hawk.






She loves to see birds and ducks (those are our categories of birds in our home). She says "teet teet" for the birds and "quack quack" for the ducks. Oh, and Geese are also "ducks" to us.


                                               Grace has wild hair...especially when she wakes up

                   Her current favorite toy is the yamaha electric piano. She loves, loves, loves music.
           She dances to it and sings and as you see,  she can tickle the ivories with her feet as well as her hands.



She is so close to walking on her own. She loves to walk while holding on to furniture or people....mostly people, whom she directs where she wants to go...usually downstairs to play with the "balls"






Grace is super playful! She loves to make up games and almost any pattern is a game to her.







Grace Loves her Aunt Michelle...she calls her "Mi Mi" and sometimes wants to be with her more than mommy.


Grace loves to talk to her daddy on the phone and loves even more to see him in person


She loves it especially when he takes her outside on long walks


Let's see...other little things you may not know:  Grace seems to be left-handed, loves avocado and strawberries and has learned to go down the stairs backwards...and has fallen down the stairs (rolling sidewards). She always smiles and jumps excitedly when I come around to get her out of the car; she likes to turn the pages on books but is starting to have the patience to have them read...a little bit. Every time she laughs she gets the hiccups. She is a wiggle worm of the first order and it is nearly impossible to get a diaper on without multiple hands helping. She is a human vacuum and if she sees you looking at her, she will throw her "treasure" into her mouth and then crawl away as fast as she can, swallowing before you can get to her. She scratches her ears all time (has had mommy checking for earaches at every check-up). She has fred-flintstone feet that barely fit into the stretchiest shoes. She is tre-chic thanks to the Chiappeta Family, and has gorgeous eye-lashes thanks to her Dad. On that note, she has the most beautiful "animation" eyes ever (they look like the female eyes disney makes if you know what I mean). She is very easily startled, but also can knock her head and not get phased. She is cautious but also quite tough. She is the cutest, most demanding, smart as a whip, fun, sleep-less, little girl ever. That, my friends, is Grace!

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Mother's Day



Happy  Mother's day to all you beautiful moms and moms-to-be out there! In honor of this day, I thought I would do a "you know you're a mother if..." list. I have had these thoughts periodically over the last 10 months, and hope they ring a bell with some of you. But, since they may be unique to me and my own craziness etc. I will be politically correct and non-judgmental and just speak for myself...

I Know I am a Mother when...


  • I am driving on the freeway ten minutes away from my house, and look down to make sure I am actually dressed, or at least wearing a shirt.

  • I sniff my daughter's rear end without any hesitation or any thought about being in public.

  • The songs stuck in my head are such hits as " I am a lion, I roar all day" and "We sing, and we dance when we play the drums."

  • I catch myself in a primal state of indecision unable to choose between sleep, eating, and showering when I get some time to myself.

  • I go on a 5 hour plane ride and don't even bother to bring a book to read. 

  • I constantly fantasize about a geenie coming to me and granting me one wish...and I say "I want Grace to sleep through the night."

  • I aks for a "back pillow" for a mother's day gift.
And lastly... I know I am a mother when I feel myself so deeply, so biologically in-love and dedicated to this little person who runs me ragged and has forever given my life new meaning.

Even though Grace is "a very demanding child," she is the light of my life. She is a testament to me that God loves me, answers my prayers, and keeps his promises. She is certainly a handful, but she also keeps my heart full, for which I am truly thankful. I don't know what I would do without this loving distraction in my life right now. And, while I am at it, I should also say, I don't know what I would do without my own devoted, selfless mother, right now. We will miss Grandma Nan so much in the next few weeks, but Mom, you deserve this break.

Happy Mother's day to all of you who are a part of the nurturing circle that encompasses Grace with "mother-love."  Becasue of all of you (and the men in her life too ;) she is truly one lucky girl.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Washington D.C


What a fantastic trip we had back to Washington D.C! I have spent my life only being able to go back in the sweltering Summer, but having now had the experience of the Spring I don't think I can ever go back to my old ways. It was gorgeous! So lush and the flowers were amazing. And despite a few rainy days, the weather was always perfectly pleasant.

Of course, the best part of the trip was seeing family. Grace took to people so quickly, especially the Boyack boys. She LOVED those boys and they were so cute with her. Ben even announced that he wanted to marry Grace. So sweet.  Thank you thank you to all the Hannemans and Boyacks and Wises for making us feel so welcome. It was a wonderful respite from all the cares and tasks back at home.  We definitely will be back soon.


Mom and Grace and I went for a delightful stroll around the monuments one day.
We started at the FDR memorial.









On our way over to the Jefferson Memorial. The Title Basin was so full!

The World War II memorial

Looking down to the Lincoln Memorial


Mindy and Kirk were so kind to take us on a tour of the Capitol. We got the special treatment and got to see Senator Dodd's offices, which was really interesting.



Above: Here we are in Senator Dodd's hideaway. Grace even had her diaper changed there...pretty exciting stuff.  Below: Mom tries out the Senator's desk.



Grace and I get ready to announce our new Bill.


Ben and Grace
Grace actually took her first steps back in D.C! I will try to get some video on here of that soon.

After Church photo shoot in Aunt Karen's beautiful yard.








Mom and Grace and I also spent a beautiful Sunday evening exploring the National Botanical Gardens. Grace especially loved it when she got out of her stroller and could touch the plants and crawl around the forest. Not good for her pants, but so fun to see her just take off exploring.






Grace and Uncle Kirk


Thanks so much to everyone who made this trip possible for us! Mom and Aunt Karen were tirelessly selfless in their devotion to us  despite their terrible health issues. They especially deserve our thanks and love.