The Past Couple Weeks

The past couple weeks have been a whirlwind! I can't believe August is almost halfway over. I also can't believe that school is starting without me. It's a strange mix of emotions that is very hard to describe. I literally haven't missed the beginning of a school year since I was 4 years old, and it it really sad to be missing it now! Being a stay at home mom (albeit-temporary) is so great, but I think it would be better if it had been by choice and not by lack of employment opportunities. Oh well! I am simply going to enjoy and treasure my time at home with my baby girl while she's still my only child.

Gracie has had so much fun playing, "helping" mommy, and just being her cute little self this summer. She has really gotten into art "projects," and she loves to color, paint, draw, play with playdoh, and just make a big mess! We've also had a slight issue with eating crayons, but I digress. We have gotten out of the house a bit more lately and have started attending story hour at a "local" library. (When local became 30 minutes away, I don't really know.) We also just discovered a really nice playground at a church only a few miles away. We will definitely be spending some of the cooler afternoons there.

Here are some of the cute pictures I have been able to capture over the past couple weeks.

Gracie's first time using watercolors. (Notice the Elmo big-girl panties. We were attempting a bit of potty training that morning.)

I don't think she quite understood how they worked because she was getting very frustrated. Mommy decided it was time to put the paint away when she dumped the water cup down the front of her; therefore, creating a huge mess, a pair of wet panties, and yet another puddle for me to clean up. She loves wearing her Elmo "tampies," but she hasn't quite made it to the toilet yet!

Just a cute picture of her little pig-tailed self.

This was the first time that I allowed her to use real markers (i.e. not the Color Wonder kind that only draw on the special paper). She actually did a lot better than expected except for the lovely beard that she drew on her face. You can see it near her lip-red and brown.

They were supposed to be Crayola Pipsqueaks made specially for coloring books, but they still bled right through the pages. Gracie didn't care because she loves coloring "Dorda" and Boots.

She also figured out how to connect the markers at the ends and make a long 'sword' out of them. Remember doing that when you were little?

She loves to go outside and play on our big wrap-around porch. One of her favorite things is when we blow bubbles. Unfortunately, we can't play out there right now because of a small wasp problem. Yikes!

Our good friends (and the head football coach at NGU) Jamey and Solmaz were expecting their first baby on August 13. Suprise! Due to a few complications, he arrived on July 30. They had a tiny baby boy named Jameson Heath, and he is absolutely precious!

He was so tiny! Literally, he was the size of a football when he was all swaddled up in the hospital.

Good practice for the fall! He was a little more than 6 pounds when he was born and Gracie was 8 lbs 2 oz. Goodness knows this next baby will be just as big!

This is as close as we would let Gracie get to Jameson. We have visited him at home since, and she was very sweet with him. I hope she is just as sweet with her new baby brother or sister when it arrives.