I haven't been posting much lately...it seems like everything that goes on around here involves bodily fuctions and not sure you are interested in reading about that all the time! But, we are all doing well. We are seeing more warm than cold here and are really enjoying being outside!

Grace continues to enjoy soccer but likes the practices better than the games. I mean, who wouldn't want to have their own ball to kick without other kids coming and trying to take it from you??? She goes in and out of seeming like she is getting the point of the game. Her new defense tactic....engaging the other team in coversation. She gets them to stop and talk to her and then her team takes the ball down the field. Her other new passion is painting....she is thrilled I am finally relaxing a bit about the mess it causes...thank goodness for washable paint!

Will is rolling rolling rolling!!!! We officially have to put up the gate so he doesn't head down the stairs. He can get to where he wants pretty quickly and has been lodged under the couch a few times. Grace is still thinking he is the most wonderful thing...even though he can now get her stuff. She just tells him "that isn't for babies." We'll see how long this continues!!!

Grace

At church today, it was like someone put a quarter in the monkey we call "grace." First off, the minister asked for our "amens" for the week...you know, people say the happy things from their week or the things they are thankful for. Grace's hand shoots up...I'm silently praying the minister won't see her small little hand from our perch in the back row....I am worried what is going to come out of her mouth. Brad and I are exchanging nervous glances. Just this morning Grace had a comment due to our clear shower door and I am just sure she is going to give an anatomically correct name describing Brad in the shower. Grace kept her hand up and wiggled it a bit to draw attention....she was then called on....and do you know what she said...she said she "really loves her brother William." Is that the sweetest thing!!!! She loves him so much. And here I was so worried about her!

Then it came time to hand out the birthday balloons for those celebrating a birthday in the past month. Grace is up with the kids and Chloe, her faithful companion doll, is with her. She tells the minister she would like a balloon. He matter of factly tells her he knows when her birthday is and it is not in April. Well, she tells him, Chloe's birthday is in March. How could he argue with that one....needless to say, we now have two balloons (one for Brad and one for Chloe)!!!

End of the week

We're heading into the weekend...had a week with a picnic at the park followed by a couple days where we were building snowmen (and a snow dog)! Our pictures won't load onto the blog the last few days so I'm going to have to send them out via another avenue so you can see our adventures.

Will tried another new food...sweet peas. He is not so thrilled with them to say the least. He did this full stomach lurching gagging dramatic face tears swelling up in his eyes routine both times I have tried them. Then he sees the sweet potatoes come out and he smiles and gets so excited. His Dad is thrilled because he is not so excited about peas himself and now it is 2 for and 2 against this veggie!

We're Back

I'm finally back...after a week of messing around with my video, I had to get some stuff done around the house. We've all been doing well and enjoying some nice weather which is so uplifting!!!! Brad celebrated #30 and he survived. It was questionable at moment as to if he was going to make it or not but he pulled through.

Grace has had many comedic moments lately....life with a 3 year old is pretty constantly funny or frustrating! Yesterday I took her to try on swimsuits. The selection was slim...meaning the suits looked like they should be for a 16 year old. Wait, let me change that...they were more for a 22 year old! SKIMPY!! After trying on the first one with a top the size of a toothpick, which of course Grace loved because it was pink and the bottoms had this little skirt thing, I told Grace we needed to make sure her nipples were going to be covered. She looked at me with the most serious face and asked if that was so no one would "try to eat." Ok, so she has been around to many nursing mothers!!! We then moved on to the one pieces. She informed me she liked the suits where her belly was showing.....needless to say, we did not make a purchase.

Will has become a rolling machine lately. He rolls around getting to whatever he wants. He has not ventured too far yet but we know what is coming. He is quite the go getter! We've decided he can really sit up because if nothing interests him he will stay sitting. But if he sees something he wants he lunges and thrashes and then of course tips over. He is also making this "baabaa" "aaaa" combination sound which makes it seem like he is singing the "Bow Wow" song from the Wiggles. Grace thinks this is So wonderful!! He is a little ham and if you are looking at him he acts wild and smiles. If you look away he will stop.

In other Grace news....yesterday she took a nap. This is a rare occurrence ( i think the last one was in September). She slept for almost 3 hours and I kept trying to be loud and wake her up. Will was talking, the laundry buzzer was going, the tv was on...we were trying everything. Then I decided she must be ill. When she woke up I was all concerned about her. She then perked up. We followed the usual bed time routine and put her in bed, albeit a bit later than normal. Well, when I went to bed at 11:15pm, I could still hear her in her room reading to her babies. She was up at her usual 7am this morning so I'm anxious to see how the day unfolds....

Video of Grace's 1st Year

I decided to edit out a bit of Grace's personal info so I didn't feel so nervous about webcasting it. It's a bit long, but hey, we had a great first year with her....so get a good snack, turn on your speakers, and enjoy!

Easter weekend

We had a great Easter weekend spent celebrating with Doug, Kim, Jacob, and Henry. Grace always loves to play with her cousins and Will enjoyed watching all the action!

Grace & Chloe had matching Easter dresses.


Will isn't so sure about the whole bunny concept yet!

Also, thought I'd include a few pics from the last week....

*Grace letting me know she was having fun riding her bike!

*And a bit of an 80's flashback (this is what happens when you let your child play with your old dance costumes!!!)

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Grace's Video

I made what I think is a very cool slide show of Grace's first year but freaked myself about posting it because it has a lot of info about her. If you are interested in seeing it, let me know!

Should have known better...

We had a crazy laughable afternoon around here. While we were listening to Tony Bennett (Grace likes to do her ballet dancing to him and Will is mesmerized by the little light show Windows Media Player puts on during the songs...and for me, well, anything that is not Raffi or Wiggles is good!!!). Ok, back to the story...so during our Tony Bennett Will has a big explosion that requires a bath. I'm running the bath water and getting him pre-bath clean. I'm also simultaneously making a grilled cheese for Grace because of course she becomes ravenous during this time. So back to Will...he is laying naked on the changing table (you can probably guess what is coming next) when I drop something. I squat down to get it and feel something warm on my head. He is peeing on my head, just smiling the biggest grin in the world. Only a tiny bit got on the carpet (meaning most of it was in my hair). I am a little nervous about my mental state because I was actually glad. My hair is washable and the carpet is a lot harder to clean.

Will's big day

Will had his hearing test this morning...all results look really good. They say he "passed" and the meds he took while in the NICU did not have any affect on his hearing. We are so thankful!

The little guy also tried avacados for the first time today. He loved them!!! He kept opening his mouth like a little bird asking for more.

Palm Sunday

Grace sang in the Children's choir at church today...since she is one of the youngest kids, she was in the front row and actually did pretty well. She was impressed with the Palm she got to wave around and so that kept her out of trouble!

One of her antics this past week that really impresesd me is that she rattled off our address...I asked her if her Dad taught her that. She told me very matter of factly "NO, Mom, it's written on our house and we live on C*&)@!" Kind of like "duh, mom"