Thursday, June 16, 2011

Ballet Class

This week Grace went to a dance camp for three days. It was one of the cutest things I've ever seen! Our cousin Lilley went and it was fun to spend time with her and Jenn too! Check out these two little ballerinas. (And thanks Jenn for the video!)

Fingerpainting

A few weeks ago, Grace and I tried fingerpainting. She wasn't too sure about getting her hands messy. But I sure LOVE some of the photos I captured of her. I think the very first one is my favorite.





Happy Birthday, Grandaddy!

Granddaddy, also known as "Da" celebrated his 82nd birthday this past Sunday.



Happy Birthday Granddaddy! We love you!

Monday, June 13, 2011

Friends having Babies...

Most of you know my friend Julia. Well I wanted to introduce you to her baby girl, Molly Jane, born just last Wednesday!


I had the honor to photograph her today. It was so good to see Julia who looks amazing by the way and to cuddle with Molly. Incase you haven't checked the MLP blog in a while go over there, thankfully I've been really busy lately... http://www.meganlanephoto.blogspot.com/ lots of beautiful people to check out there! :)

And speaking of Julia... I was going through some CD's of images and happened to come across this photo of Julia and I from when we were younger. Love it!

Friday, June 10, 2011

Thursday, June 2, 2011

At 2 years old...

Grace has been two now for almost a month. I haven't done an update yet because we hadn't been to the doctor for her check up until yesterday! So... here goes some fun facts about our little one! :)

Weight: 23 1/2 (25%)
Height: 34" (50%)

*Grace communicates her needs and wants well. There is still a lot of babbling but its beginning to make more and more sense each day.
*She can say "My name is Allie Grace McLaughlin" (however McLaughlin seems to come out sounding more like the word 'daughter').
*For about a month now she has been able to count to ten. She first did it when we went on our vacation the first of May. If she's focused she doesn't skip any numbers, however if she does leave out a number its usually the 4 or the 9.
*I have tried my BEST to get the two above said items on video. However, she's camera shy and wont do it whenever I have the camera in her face. :( Maybe one day!
*She passed all of her developmental tests at the pediatrician yesterday and the pediatrician was pleased with her development. Based on her Height and Weight her BMI is slightly below the 'healthy weight' range that our pediatrician would like to see. She says that she doesn't for a second think Grace is malnutritioned but that she just probably is a little busy body with a high metabolism. The doctor would like to see her a little more plump. She recommended that we give her a daily multi-vitamin supplement and watch what she eats a little more. She wants to see us back in 3-6 months for a weight check and then she will determine if she wants to do some blood work to see if Grace may be anemic.
*Her favorite songs right now are: "Ten little fingers on my hands" and "You are my Sunshine". She loves to sing these with you. Even though they aren't word for word, she does a pretty darn good job!
*Her favorite books right now are: "Sleepy Bunny", "Flip, Flap, Fly", and any Curious George Book.
*She's still on a Dora and Diego kick and has learned to love Sid the Science Kid again.
*She tries her best to be a big helper. Even when it might be bringing me the laundry as its already folded and I'm beginning to put it away and by the time it gets to me its all unfolded. :)
*We're still not potty trained. I made an attempt and with maybe 4 out of 30 successful tries gave up. Three of those times we sat and sat on the potty only for Grace to beg to get up and pee in her panties before she even got out of the bathroom. I grew overwhelmingly frustrated and gave up. We have all of the needed materials so I hope to try again very soon.
*Some of my favorite thing she does/says: sings, when she says "Bless You" when someone sneezes, her big/tight hugs, storytime just before bed, her fake laugh is hilarious & a little scary if you didn't know her personality, when she waves her arm to come toward her and tries to say 'come on' instead it comes out "m'on". :) I love when she comes up to me and rubs my arm / back and asks me if I'm okay. "o-tay?" She isn't satisfied until I tell her I'm okay. I could go on and on here...
*Her favorite toys are her alphabet puzzles. She loves for me to say the letter before she places it in the puzzle, there are a few she recognizes on her own. If its possible to have a favorite letter I'd say hers is M. Each time I say M she says Moon with a big smile (same with D and duck). She's beginning to learn that she might have to turn the puzzle pieces to make them fit without me having to tell her each time.
*Grace refers to herself as baby. "baby do it" or "baby cry" (which she tells me as she's crying), "baby's turn", etc.
*Grace went to the dentist for the second time a few weeks ago. She screamed like a champ. the. entire. time. we were there! ;) Her dentist said all of her baby teeth are in so no more teething! :)
*Grace's comfort is still her passy. I kept saying it was going to be hard to get it away from her but I think its gotten worse. When she has one still still asks for another, "two passy" and isn't satisfied until she has two.
*She loves her weekly visits to the library. She's often so excited about new books she forgets to use her library voice. It's quite funny watching her fill her arms with new books to bring home. Even though she just grabs off the shelves she's picked a few good ones that we've really enjoyed. :)
*She finished her last Kindermusik class in May. We had fun interacting with other children and learning lots of new songs to sing.
*We have a few things on the agenda for summer! Kindermusik one-day-a-month play dates, story times at the library, a three day dance camp, Mommy & Me swimming lessons with Aunt Brooke and who knows what else might pop up!
*Her hemangioma has healed nicely from her recent surgery. Although I don't see much coloring difference in it yet, I can tell a big difference in the texture of the birthmark.

Hope you all are well! xoxo
SM&G

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Tubin'

Grace went tubin' for the first time this past Saturday. These photos were taken with my camera phone so excuse the quality.