How far?

Every day I ask Gracie, "Have I told you that I love you today?"  As the conversation continues, I say, "I love you to the moon and back."  She always reciprocates. But tonight when I told her how 'far' I love her, she replied, "No. You love me to Aunt Steph's and back!"  I guess I need to work on my affection, cause Aunt Steph only lives a mile away! Silly Monkey!  

But Daddy's really good, he loves Gracie to Pluto and back!  And so you know, Pluto Smooches cannot be wiped off. That's her thing... she likes to tease her daddy by wiping his kisses off (I wonder where she learned how to tease??!!) She does it so he'll give her more smooches. But the new discovery tonight was that Pluto Smooches don't wipe off. Interesting!  

Aquarium Adventure!

We had an extra day together last weekend because of President's Day, so Ryan and I decided to take Gracie to the Sea Life Aquarium for an adventure!  Whenever we plan a new and fun family outing, Gracie always calls it an adventure!  And she's right, we definitely had an underwater adventure together!

It was everyone's first time, so we explored the aquarium together!  Here are some of the highlights of our exploration!

Daddy and Gracie looking at the freshwater fish... like the ones we catch at the lake!

Our little fishy!

Look! Look!

Hands on exhibit, but Gracie didn't want to touch!
Check out that tongue!

String ray!

Dory!
(from Finding Nemo)

Gracie in the bubble!

Trying to find the turtle

Shark!

Jellyfish!

Look, Nemo!

A Lego station to build a castle

Digging for fossils!

Our little family always has such a fun time on our adventures!  I look forward to all the adventures ahead!

Annabelle's Baptism

This morning we had the privilege of attending Annabelle's baptism.  She was such a good little baby as the Pastor baptized her.  I didn't hear a peep out of her during the entire service.  What a good girl!

It was especially interesting for Gracie because we're currently in the process of taking classes to join the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod at King of Kings.  There they believe in infant baptism, which is different from Northland Baptist, where we attended when Gracie was born.  So Gracie will be baptized into the Lutheran Church sometime in the future and we've been talking a lot about it lately.  She's not too keen on the idea at this point.  When we talk about it, she simply says that she's not ready yet.  We've talked about what baptism means and we've pulled out the Hymnal and even recited the words as we baptize each other and her babies in the bathtub.  But as far as letting Pastor Frank baptize her, she's not ready quite yet.  I'm okay letting her wait until she's comfortable with the idea.  Her childlike faith is so evident and her love for Jesus and her desire to go to church and Sunday School is strong, that I don't want to push.  She will be ready when she's ready.  But it was good for her to see Annabelle's baptism today because she was able to get some of her questions answered and see her baby cousin (whom she adores) take the plunge!

Before, during, and after church, all Gracie really wanted to do was hold Annabelle.  Surprising, I know!  Aunt B and Uncle Chad were nice enough to let Gracie hold Annabelle until her heart was content... well actually, I don't think there are enough hours in the day to make that happen, but she held her quite a bit!  

A few pictures from Annabelle's first milestone!

Cousin love!
Melts my heart

Grandma Tena and her grandbabies!

Aunt Kristy and Annabelle
So happy to witness her baptism!

Uncle Ry-Ry and Annabelle

I had to add this picture, too!  This is the first picture Gracie has taken with a real camera (not my phone) and I think she did a fantastic job!

Annabelle's Grandma Sandy and me!

Tonight my prayer for Annabelle is that the faith God has placed in her heart will grow stronger as she grows older.  I pray that she always believe as innocently as a child.

Valentine's Day

Our family decorated for Valentine's Day in early January, so little Gracie has been asking for weeks, "Is it Valentine's Day, yet?!"  Finally, on Thursday night, a day early, our little family celebrated our love for one another.  We chose to celebrate on the 13th because Ryan and I had a couple of dates planned for the 14th and 15th.  

We began by fixing biscuits and gravy for dinner... Gracie's favorite!  Then she got to open her gifts.  We got her a balloon (big hit!) some baby accessories (like she needs more) and an Anna doll from Frozen.  She loved it all!  The Anna doll was especially exciting... see below.  I also gave Ryan and Gracie our third family yearbook.  For those who don't know, I use Blog2Print to publish our family yearbook each year.  I include all the blog posts from January 1 - December 31 of the year before.  Then on Valentine's Day, I give it to them as a gift.  It's always fun to pull it out to read and see pictures of the past.   

Giddy about opening presents... and the balloon!

So excited about her Anna doll!

Notice the doll clothes and hair.
Very nice and put together, right?!

30 seconds later
Braids out, Gracie brushing

60 seconds later
Hair brushed, clothes off

90 seconds later
Jammies on

2 minutes later
"Mommy" in princess attire, Baby shushing begins!

Shortly after gifts it was time for a bath, so Gracie dutifully took Anna downstairs and laid her in the cradle with a pillow and blanket.  Such and good Mommy!  What a fun Valentine's Day Eve!

Ryan and I were spoiled this weekend with not one, but TWO dates!  The first was just an easy dinner and shopping at JCPenney, but I'm not complaining.  We both wore jeans, hoodies, and tennis shoes... yeah buddy!  Then on Saturday night we went to The Melting Pot to enjoy some fondue.  It was a unique dining experience and we left totally stuffed.  A great night!  I love date nights with Ryan where we can just be husband and wife.  I do love my role as Mommy, but I also love my role as wife.  Blessed!

Great Grandma Jean's Birthday!

Tonight we celebrated a belated birthday for Gracie's Grandma Jean. We all enjoyed catching up and eating well, but this was the highlight for The Goose Monkey!  Such a wonderful big cousin!   

Snow Play

So far we're on our second snow day for this snow storm.  I've used this time to focus on just playing with Gracie.  We've had plenty of indoor fun, but we've been outside quite a bit, too!

All bundled up!

Sledding!

Making a snow angel.

Digging out her playhouse.

Swinging in the baby swing... weirdo!

Walking through the track I dug for Tysie.
The snow was above her knees before I shoveled.

You've Got Mail

A few weeks ago I finished our Valentine's Day mailboxes. I try to put a special note or treat inside each morning for Gracie and her cousins. They all love to get thoughtful notes or silly jokes. Gracie keeps all of hers and asks me to read them to her every so often. Aunt Steph and a few friends from work have even written notes to the kids... which they love love love!  Gracie also quite enjoys creating mail for Daddy and Mommy. It always says the same thing... "Dear Mommy/Daddy - I love you!"  Which somehow never gets old!