Preschool

Since the end of August Grace has been part of a preschool/ playgroup. It's just a group of three and four-year olds from our ward that meet twice a week for a couple of hours. Each mom takes a turn having it at her house, while the other moms get a nice little break (we rotate each week.) This week it was at our house. It was a lot of fun. We learned about the letter "E" and the number "5." I had the kids hunt for plastic eggs (because egg begins with E) in the backyard. After they found all of the eggs we gathered together to see the things that were inside the eggs (little pictures of different "e" words.) We also had a cool experiment with a hard boiled egg and a raw one. They were fascinated! I really enjoyed seeing the excitement on their faces when we worked on an art project or played "duck, duck, goose!" It was reminiscent of my teaching days. Mostly, I just loved watching Grace interact with her little friends.

Grace-isms

Here are some of the funny, cute, and even tender things that have come out of Grace's mouth lately:

"I'm not scared of anything."

"When I'm bigger, when I'm ten, I can be a fire -fighter."

"I can do many things."

"I'm just like a princess!"

"I'm watching the sun turn pink." (in response to a sunset)

"When I grow up like a farmer, I can say E-I-E-I-O and feed the ducks."

"We are a happy family!" (she often says this when we're all together)

"The sun is awake." (She says this in the morning)

"I'm a Superhero!"

Good Morning

Mornings can be really fun. It's so easy to just be together and enjoy one another's company before the events of the day can get in the way. This morning was great...we got up a little earlier than normal so we ended up having some extra time to play before we got ready for the day. And that's just what we did...we played! Grace and I played with her dolls and toys until Eve woke up and joined us. A little while later we all joined Aaron in "Mommy and Daddy's" bed and just snuggled while he read books to us. We had breakfast together and Aaron even had time to play the piano while Grace danced around in a tu-tu. I'm not usually a morning person, but mornings like this one make me want to become one!

She's Walking!

Eve took her first step a couple of weeks ago and is slowly becoming a walker! It evolved from one step as she was falling, to two or three teetering steps, and now she takes several semi-steady steps in a row before toppling over. I think we counted eight or nine consecutive steps last night. She is thrilled with herself in her new found skill. It is so exciting to see her accomplish this big “step.”

Good-bye Summer

It has been a fun summer. Here are a few more of the things we enjoyed this summer that I never had time to post:







Morning and evening bike rides (it was definitely too hot during the day.)















Swim Lessons: Grace learned to kick, blow bubbles, and move her arms during her "Mommy and Me" lessons.










Grace and Eve spent countless days playing "dress-up" in a cool, air-conditioned house.













Aaron and Grace got soaked as they rode around in a "Blaster Boat" (at a local fun center.)













And of course popsicles. Grace enjoys introducing her sister to the finer things in life!

Labor Day

We had a fun and relaxing Labor Day. Aaron took most of the day off and we headed down to spend it with my brother Jason and his family. We had a good time swimming in their pool and getting caught up. Later in the evening they had some of their friends come over for a BBQ and the swimming continued. We had a good time. As you can see Eve really enjoyed the watermelon!

About an hour before we left is when Grace's real fun began. She and her cousin Davis were running around being totally silly and making eachother laugh. When we took pictures of the two of them together, I told Grace to kiss his cheek and just as she did Davis turned his head and got a big kiss on the lips! It was definitely not on purpose based on his reaction (he wiped his mouth and looked disgusted!) It was hilarious and I caught it on my camera.

A Colorful Lesson

Yesterday evening, just before dinner time, Aaron took Grace with him to run a quick errand (leaving me with only Eve to look after while I hurriedly tried to finish dinner.) Very determined to get dinner made, I let Eve wander on her own and do a little exploring. After a while I was aware that it was very quiet and I could no longer see Eve. I didn't worry too much about it, afterall the baby gate was blocking the stairs and the house was essentially baby-proofed. Wanting to take advantage of the time she was giving me to finish the meal, I waited a few minutes before I actually checked on her. When I did, I discovered her in the corner. She had found Grace's crayon case, unzipped it, and was now eating it's contents! There were crayons laying on the floor that had been bitten into, and the one she was holding looked about an inch shorter than it should have been! She had a variety of colors in her mouth and on her shirt so I could tell she had tasted several of the yummy crayons. Thank goodness they make things non-toxic!