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!

Party Time

Since we were out of town on Grace's birthday last week, we had her party last night. Our little girl is three!

She helped with much of the planning, baking, and decorating...and thoroughly enjoyed herself! Her Grandma and Grandpa Lewis were there along with several of her aunts and uncles that live in the area. We also let her invite her friends Morgan and Sydney (they're sisters) and their mommy and daddy. Grace had so much fun with her little friends that she could hardly stay focused on eating her pizza (which she normally gobbles up.)

Besides the general fun of running around and being silly, we also took turns whacking a pinata, played "Pin the Bee on the Flower," watched Grace open presents, sang Happy Birthday, and ate pink cake (the actual cake was pink...a request from our little girly girl.) It was great because most of the adults participated in the games as well.


Grace had just about as much fun a little kid can have in a day. She was bouncing around like a little happy ball...and of course she loved the fact that everyone was at the party for her.

Utah Pictures

Here are the pictures I promised from my trip to Utah. I just received them from my sister...thanks Taush!

Tausha, Eve, and I in front of Tausha's house:

Three of my brothers and I with our babies. Shawn (Cameron), Jeremy (Ty), Me (Eve), Jonathan (Chloee):

Ty:

The babies playing:

Eve with Grandpa and Grandma:

At the Beach...

I just love being near the ocean! We just spent the past five days there and it was great. A couple of weeks ago Aaron's parents asked us if we would be interested in using their time-share in Newport Beach because they would only be able to use it for part of the week. It was great timing because Aaron has been working so much lately, was very stressed-out, and in need of a break. So we of course said yes! We left last Friday and returned last night. Our time there overlapped a few days with his family so we also had fun hanging out with them. We even got to see Aaron's sister and her kids from San Diego.


When we arrived Friday (around 9 p.m.) Grace saw the pool and got so excited. She started declaring "I want to swim just like that" as she pointed out of the big window in the check-in area. Even though it was already past the girl's bedtime, we immediately changed into our suits and all four of us took a little swim (after all, we were on a vacation!) The next day was Grace's birthday. We swam some more, spent a little time at the beach, and brought Grace to The rainforest Cafe to celebrate. She loved the fun atmosphere of moving rainforest animals, fish tanks, simulated rain, a huge water fountain, and even a talking tree! She also loved that they brought her her own bowl of ice cream with a candle in it and sang "Happy Birthday." How important she must have felt!


The rest of the time we spent in Newport included much relaxing and tons of fun at the beach(including splashing in the waves, playing in the sand, exploring tidepools, and making smores in a fire pit.) It was wonderful to be able to spend so much time together as a family. These kinds of things are always over too fast!

On our way home we stopped to see a good friend of ours that we hadn't seen since I was pregnant with Grace. We knew Lisa from when we were first married and lived in Southern California for a summer. It was nice to have a visit with her.


Overall we had a great time and the girls really traveled well. Although they had fun, they are happy to be home and to be sleeping in their own beds (as are their parents.) Good-night!

I'm Back

Wow, have things been busy. First, Eve and I were in Utah for a quick visit. I made the trip so I could be there for my brother Jeremy and sister-in-law Miriam's sealing in the Temple to their sweet baby Ty. It was so special to be there with them to witness it. I also got to see a lot of family (including my parents and several siblings) during the visit. It was nice. I had a lot of fun staying with my sister Tausha at her house in Layton. I didn't bring my camera on this trip because it broke right before I left, but I will post some pictures later (after I receive copies from family members.)

I was home for less than a week before Aaron, the girls, and I left for Newport Beach. We were there about five days and just returned last night. I'll tell more about that trip in my next post...

In the News

Last week the girls and I were in the newspaper! We had attended an "art class" called Baby Gets Messy. Basically the babies used colored yogurt, frosting, and other fun foods to make a picture. Needless to say the girls got very messy!

Anyway, a photographer from the paper was there to do a feature on the fun little class, and what do you know...we were in one of the photos! It was fun for Grace to see herself in the newspaper. I was able to copy these pictures from the newspaper's website, but not as a very big images. If you want to see them bigger, click here:
http://modbee.mycapture.com/mycapture/enlarge.asp?userphoto=&image=12712225

and here:

http://modbee.mycapture.com/mycapture/enlarge.asp?userphoto=&image=12744341

Fun with Cousins

Today the girls and I drove down to visit my brother Jason, his wife Becky, and their three kids (Olivia, Chandler and Davis.) They only live about an hour and half away from us, so it was not a bad drive at all. We spent the afternoon swimming and visiting together. When Jason got home from work we BBQed and had dinner. We stayed until bedtime and then I drove home while the girls slept. It was a fun day. I love to see Grace interact with her cousins, and I love that they get to grow up living so close to each other.

A Fair Day

Last night we went to the county fair. The girls really enjoyed looking at the rows and rows of different farm animals. We saw blue ribbon pigs and that sort of thing. We also caught a little part of some kind of cow competition and another one with goats. Our favorite attraction was the petting zoo, where the girls actually got to pet baby goats, cows, ducks and sheep.

Another highlight was the fun music. There was a dance floor and Grace wanted to have her daddy get up and dance with her. So the two of them danced for a while. Eve and I joined them for part of it as well.


It was the perfect night to be outdoors. The temperature was so mild and there was even a cool breeze! What a nice break from the awful heat we've been experiencing lately.

My Top Ten

The Top Ten Reasons I Love Being a Mom:

10. Having an excuse to eat things like peanut butter and honey sandwiches or macaroni and cheese.

9. Having somebody think what I do is important enough to mimic.

8. Having my alarm clock be a sweet little voice saying "Good morning Mommy" or "I'm awake!"

7. Being able to kiss soft baby skin as many times a day as I want to .

6. Being somebody's favorite person.

5. Having two little people around that are part me and part the man I love.

4. Getting to sing, dance, and play pretend everyday.

3. Being reminded on a daily basis what really matters.

2. Making them laugh, having them make me laugh, and watching them make each other laugh.

1. Knowing that Heavenly Father has intrusted me with His precious children, and that they are priceless to Him.

Family Fun

We went on a family date last night, and had so much fun! We started by going out for sushi (Aaron's and my favorite.) We brought along a sandwich for Grace (just in case) but she ended up eating almost an entire Philly roll off Daddy's plate. She would have eaten the whole thing if Aaron and I hadn't wanted to at least taste the yummy salmon and cream cheese roll. Eve was just content to be fed her peas and carrots with chop sticks!

After eating, we played a round of mini golf. Aaron and I had fun putting and teasing one another about our shots. For Grace it was more of a "run around with your golf club, drop your ball in the hole and laugh hysterically" kind of a game. We didn't even end up keeping score, but I've never had more fun playing golf!

A Nice Visit

We just had a fun visit from my sister Tausha, my brother Jeremy, my sister-in-law Miriam, and their sweet baby Ty. They were only here for a couple days and left this morning to go visit my brothers Jason and then Trenton. We really had a good time.

It was so funny to watch Eve and Ty interact. They definitely have their own personalities. Eve was a bit aggressive (in a playful way) toward Ty. She wanted to touch him, climb on him, and squeal at him. Anytime she tried any of these things, poor little Ty would start to cry. But by the end of the visit he was getting a little more used to this invasion of space!

Grace absolutely loved having three more adults in the house to play with. She took turns asking Uncle Jeremy, Aunt Tausha, and Aunt Miriam to read to her, sing with her, play hide and seek with her, and whatever else she could get them to do! It was especially exciting to have them sleep at her house. The first morning she woke up, ran down stairs to where they were all sleeping, and exclaimed "I found you!" She was sad to see them go. After they had been gone a little while this morning she asked me, "They're gone?" I answered "Yes." She must have thought I needed comforting because she then said, "I'm sorry Mommy" and "It will be alright." What a thoughtful girl!

Welcome Home Uncle Vance!

Rarely do I get both girls down for a nap at the same time, and today I have accomplished this! So I thought I would take advantage of the free time by writing a little something.

Yesterday, Aaron's brother Vance got home from his two-year mission to Taiwan. Almost his whole family was there to greet him at the airport. We all went out to lunch and those of us that didn't have to get back to work spent the day visiting. It was a lot of fun.

Grace had an especially fun time with her cousin Julia who is visiting from San Diego. Julia is a a year and a few months older than Grace. They are getting old enough now that their age difference doesn't really matter (a year ago Julia would ask me to clearify what Grace was saying, and now they hold their own conversations!) They played house (they took turns being the mother), chased eachother, and jumped on the trampoline. I walked in on them while they were playing with dolls and Grace told me Julia was teaching her some things. The cutest thing was watching them walk around the house holding hands. This is the kind of stuff they will look back on and laugh at when they are college roomates!

A boat, some scissors, and a lot of little paper

We bought a big clock for our family room that came in a big, flat box which has become Grace and Eve's new favorite toy. Grace calls it her boat and piles all of her toys into it as if she were actually going on a long voyage! And she's not alone;Captain Grace has a first mate...Eve. Eve likes to crawl into the "boat" and just sit there assessing the cargo as the captain shouts at her to "not touch her things!" Its hard not to laugh.

A couple of young women in my ward asked me a few weeks ago if I could show them how to scrapbook. So, even though I'm not the best scrapbooker, I told them I'd be happy to help. So Erika and Adela have been coming over to scrapbook with me. It's been a lot of fun to have them over. Grace always looks forward to them coming (she thinks they are coming over to play with her!) and it has gotten me to scrapbook a lot more. They came over again yesterday and Grace wanted to "work on her book" too. So I pulled out her little scissors, crayons and some fun paper and let her be creative. She mostly just cut her paper into many tiny pieces. It was fun!