Ready for Winter!

Warm fuzzy coat and hat.

Check.A fridge full of my favorites - applesauce and milk.

Check.

Michelle Tanner?

I don't know if you see it, but in this photo I see Michelle Tanner from Full House. This was Gracie's first day wearing pig tails. They lasted 20 minutes, which is 19 minutes and 59 seconds longer than any bow, headband, birthday hat or princess crown has ever lasted on Gracie's head.

Bath Time

Boy, a lot can change in a year. It's so hard for me to remember teeny, tiny Gracie. I wanted to capture one last photo of Gracie in her baby tub, as she'll soon be transitioning to the big bath tub. We've had a few trial runs in the big tub, and with the distraction of bath toys, she likes it ok. She loves her baby tub, and we love avoiding kneeling down in a small, cramped bathroom with a tub with sliding doors. We're so happy that she loves bath time!

Gracie's 1st Birthday!

We had a great time celebrating Gracie's first birthday with family. She was a little bit under the weather, but still had a great day. She enjoyed opening most of her presents. She loved her baby doll stroller, her three dogs, Mickey Mouse and even her new clothes. She wanted nothing to do with the cake both before and after her nap, but she did finally dig into it the day after her birthday. What a wonderful year!

Fall Fun

The Pumpkin Patch

This weekend we visited a local pumpkin patch. Gracie loved playing in the straw, carrying around her pumpkin and visiting the farm animals. We enjoyed the nice fall day!

Walking and Talking

Gracie started walking the last week of September! At first, she would just take short walks to mommy or daddy. Now she'll walk across the living room or kitchen just because she can. She says mama, dada, cat, dog, toes and a few other words too. She now eats table food....chunks of bananas, avacodos, carrots, green beans, cheese, ham, turkey, watermelon, strawberries and more. She caught the viral infection of hand, foot and mouth disease, and was home from school all week. We had some fun, but it's been a long week of trying to work from home and care for Gracie. We learned that she can be distracted for short periods of time, enough for mom to respond to a couple of emails, by Dora the Explorer. At her last doctor visit, she weighed 24 lbs and 2 oz and measured 29 1/2 inches tall. Our baby girl is growing up fast.

Riding in daddy's old horse!

Laughing with Daddy

Paying Homage to the Man Upstairs

I love to read!

Lately, Gracie just loves books.

Our little Tiger!

Gracie got to cheer on her first Tiger football victory this past weekend!

Working on her cheer...MIZ - ZOU.

She may look a little like a Tiger, but she's just a cat.

Gracie getting a nice pat on the back from Mia!

School is Cool!

Gracie enjoyed a walk around the house and a little playtime before heading to school (day care.) We call it school, and there actually is a curriculum for infants, so it is school. Gracie loves her teachers, Miss Jennifer and Miss Laura, and her classmates. We're grateful for everything she has had the opportunity to experience at school so far...a petting zoo, art projects, buggy rides through the sprinkler... And she's really gotten into the spirit days, such as wear a specific color, wear your pjs to school, backwards shirt day...Ok, mom's really the one who has gotten into dressing Gracie up for the spirit days. She's not even nine months old yet and she'll be taking her first school picture next week. Crazy! But the absolute best part about school is seeing her face light up when we pick her up at the end of the day.

Rock Star

Gracie was excited for Katie and baby Aidan's pool party shower! She dressed like a rock star!

Summer Vacation

We spent the past week on vacation, which included a few days at the Lake, a quick stop in Columbia and a few days at home! It's been wonderful to spend so much time together as a family. At the Lake, we had rainy, cool weather, but we made the most of it. We swam a little in the rain, played mini-golf, shopped for a fall and winter wardrobe for Gracie at the outlet mall and lunched on the lake. On our way home, we showed Gracie Columbia. Rush, or should I say Recruitment Week, was in session and it was fun to see the girls lined up and marching into the sororities, songs a-blazin. We lunched at Campus Bar and Grill, which Mike still calls Suds and I call Big 12. We also made a pilgrammage to Tonic, where the story of Mike and Karen began. We've been relaxing at home the past few days, and Gracie is glad to be done with getting in-and-out of the car seat so many times a day. We wish every day was a vacation day!

Vintage

Here's a shot of Gracie in a dress that I wore as a baby.

A happy baby!

Gracie and I had fun playing tonight after work. We usually get to play for one hour before it's time for her to eat, take her bath and go to bed. Check out her seven teeth in the photo below! I caught her clapping today, which was very exciting! Her crawling is speeding up and she's just starting to follow us from room to room. She'll be 8 months tomorrow!

July

I haven't been taking many photos lately, but here's a few. I've also uploaded a short video of Gracie's new favorite trick. When we put her to bed now, she prefers to stand up in her crib and play. She's crawling in her own unique way. She's been slowly pushing a walking toy across the living room floor. She cruises along the couch and the coffee table. Her favorite word is dada, but she also says mmmmmom. However, we don't think she understands who's who. My mom is so proud that Gracie can wave good-bye to her.

We also celebrated Mike's birthday in Vegas a few weeks ago. We didn't win big, but we had a good time...and Gracie had a good time at her Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Also in July….Mike ordered pizza from Domino’s and was surprised with the D’Marco Delivery. D’Marco Farr, former Rams player and current ESPN radio host, delivered Mike’s pizza, along with 2 Rams tickets, pizza for a year and a chance to win season tickets to the Rams!

http://www.101espn.com/post/14044_dmarco_farr_is_trying_out_pizza_delivery/story