Playing Outside (and with the new camera)

Will and I are both enjoying the new camera.  I've taken lots of pictures of the kiddos and Will has taken a few of wildlife :-)

Collier on his new scooter!

Grace Ann 3rd Year Post (very late)

We didn't go to Grace Ann's 3 year checkup until last month, and I've been so busy with Christmas that I have put off doing her 3rd year post.  Anyway, GA was such a big girl at her checkup.  She didn't cry once, even when she had to get her finger pricked.  She weighed 29 pounds (45th) percentile and we were really excited since she has weighed 28 pounds for about a year now.  She finally gained a pound! She was 36 inches tall (exactly 3 ft for 3 years - 15th percentile).

Grace Ann at her checkup- she was such a BIG girl!



Lizzie was there too.  She was happy until she had to get her flu shot - boohoo!


Her Personality:
She is VERY strong willed and can be a little sassy at times, but she is also very affectionate and loving.  She loves her baby sister and is always hugging her.  If Lizzie starts crying, GA immediately starts singing to her to try to calm her down. Today she told me "Mom, I really love Lizzie and I'm so glad she got born!" So Sweet!  I am so so so glad that for the most part Grace Ann is a very HAPPY child.  She can really meltdown if she doesn't get her way, but most of the time she is smiling and happy.   She is a Daddy's girl for sure and gets so excited when Will comes home everyday. She isn't shy at all and loves meeting new people and making friends (every time we go to the park I hear her inviting a random child to our house to play). She is full of energy and is definitely into everything! I always tell people that her personality is such a mixture of Will and me.  Social and full of joy like Will but competitive, strong-willed, and inquisitive like me! She is definitely a leader and likes to tell her friends (and us) what to do and how to do it! My friends joke that we better raise her to be a "good teenager" because she will be talking their kids into doing whatever she wants!

Favorites:
Her favorite shows are Dora, Max and Ruby, Bubble Guppies, Curious George, and lots more.  The girl LOVES some TV and I have such a hard time limiting it!  It is a constant battle at our house.  She also really loves the Disney Princesses these days.

She loves to play instruments, do gymnastics, and play with playdoh!

Other skills:
She has a great vocabulary and has very grown-up conversations.   She has learned all her letters and numbers, and knows most of the sounds of the letters.  She is getting much better at coloring and can actually draw recognizable pictures now.  She likes to sing and makes up songs all the time. 

Things we need to work on:
-giving up the pacifiers (I know, I'm a terrible mom, but she only has them at bedtime and they just help her to go to sleep so much faster)
-listening and obeying!  (don't all 3 year olds need to work on this?)
- going to bed on her own (without Daddy or Mommy laying down with her).  She naps for me fine by herself during the day but says she needs us when it is dark. 

Eating:
She is still a good eater except for breakfast.  Her favorites are still macaroni and ravioli.  She loves most fruits and will eat veggies fairly well.  Our only problem is that since Halloween she has become OBSESSED with candy.  She asks for it all the time and cries when we say no!  She is ecstatic when we go to the cleaners or the bank and they give her a sucker!

I'm sure there is so much more I could write!  She is a handful, but I wouldn't change that angel one bit!

Christmas Day 2011

We had a WONDERFUL Christmas Day this year.  GA was so excited when we woke her up and told her Santa had come.  We stayed home all day and just enjoyed our new toys and each other.  I really didn't get that many pictures of the gifts bc we were taking videos instead.

Lizzie's Pile - funny how most of these look just like GA's baby toys we put in the attic a couple of years ago!

Grace Ann was so excited that Santa brought Will a PlotWatcher Pro because he had been telling her that was what he wanted!

GA with her new Dora slippers and her CAMERA!

And Santa brought Mommy a new camera too!

Lizzie loves pulling up on her new activity table.  Grace Ann likes it too!

"Snow Wipe" Dress

Princess scooter, helmet, and knee pads

It was a wonderful day! Will, Dad, and I just watched Grace Ann run wild and Lizzie crawl everywhere and get into everything. Santa was good to all of us for Christmas, but God has been so good to us everyday!  I am SO BLESSED! Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve 2011

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve .  We started the day with a brunch at the DeWaard's house.  That afternoon, we went to church and then came home to eat dinner and open a few presents before bedtime.

Digging into a  yummy breakfast!

Sweet Peggy was the only one who would pose for me!

Lizzie and her friend Eloise had a crawing race. They are about 5 weeks apart.

UGH!  One of these days I will get a family shot!

"Preparing for Christmas" Week

We had a busy week getting ready for Christmas. My heart has been so heavy as a sweet friend lost her husband to cancer this week. While I have been filled with sadness, I am especially thankful to spend time enjoying my girls and having Will home from work a little. We have been able to see GamMama and Gandaddy and RahRah and look forward to seeing Mimi and Jenni after Christmas (we miss you Ru and Scotty!)

We made reindeer cookies for Grace Ann's friends at school

Not the most beautiful reindeer, but they were cute.  Baking is not my strong point!

The girls had so much fun with Buddy and Margie here!

They brought Grace Ann duct tape and masking tape and she was thrilled (she has been obsessed with tape lately!)

Some dress up shoes

Lizzie got an ornament that Granny made!

Grace Ann got the minivan to go with her doll house.

We met the Bales at Zoolight Safari.  We really enjoyed the company but Will and I agreed that this wasn't our favorite Christmas activity.  Grace Ann was disappointed that the animals weren't on display.

It was cold! Bradley was so cute in his hat!

We made a birthday cake for Baby Jesus.




Happy Birthday Baby Jesus!

 

Instagram

I don't have an iphone and I don't know anything about Instagram, but Aunt Jenni has done some precious pictures of the girls on Intagram and so of course, I have stolen them!

Starting her early playing the Mitchell family tradition cardgame, Liverpool

Tutu, Apron, Chef's Hat, and roll of tape

Santa was at the ZOO!

This morning we met a couple of friends at the zoo to have breakfast and visit with Santa. 

This was her face when he walked in the door.

WILD with her friends!

waiting in line for her turn

Peg and Emi

"I want a camera and a Snow White dress"

She was hugging and patting him goodbye!

Santa gave her a coin for the train.

Harris did not like Santa one bit but she sure is a cute giraffe!

Liz stayed home with Daddy since she didn't love Santa last weekend.

Look at my TWO teeth!

Funny Conversation with Grace Ann on the way to the zoo:
GA:  Mommy, some of the animals live inside and some of the animals live outside.  Inside and Outside are opposites!
Me:  That's right!  Inside and Outside are opposites!
GA:  Yeah, I'm smart!
Me:  You are smart, because you know your opposites!
GA:  Yeah, me and God are smart!  We know our opposites!