Happy Birthday, Gramps!

Birthday cake 2 days in row? What? This weekend has been jam-packed with birthday fun. Yesterday, we went to a friend's 1st birthday party and today we got to go celebrate Gramps's (I won't mention which one) birthday. It was a great time and the girls had a blast playing together again!

All dressed up and ready for the party

*"Bonnie Banah" loves her Gramps!

Where's the cake?

Make a wish, Gramps!

*Bonnie Banah is the nickname that Grace gave to Bonnie the first time she ever met her in the hospital. It makes no sense whatsoever, but it just sort of stuck!

"Mom...

I may have messy hands." You may have messy hands? "Um, yes."

Those ink-stained hands were all I saw when I turned around. Definitely need to remember that she is getting taller by the day.

What a mess!

So, we're spending another day indoors (ahhh!), and I'm just about ready for my third cup of coffee. There's nothing like sleeping on the floor of your baby's room for 2 nights in a row. Thanks to the the humidifier and the white noise machine, I kept dreaming I was in the Antarctic!

Speaking of sleep, I was trying to put Grace to bed the other night. Of course, she was pulling out all her usual stall tactics. I finally said in a rather stern voice, Grace, it is time for bed. Mommy is not putting away any more toys! I am done for the day! She didn't put up quite the fight I was expecting. She just bowed and said "Sorry, your Majesty." Maybe I need to cut back on the Disney movies!

My sweet girls

When one gets it...

you can bet your bottom dollar that the other one will, too. Poor Bonnie. We spent this past Sunday at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta where Bonnie was diagnosed with Croup. After a 3 hour wait and a dose of oral steroid they sent us on our way.

She seemed to be doing better until yesterday afternoon. The coughing just would not stop. Then, I thought I heard wheezing. I called the doctor to try to get the last appointment of the day because, of course, things like this only happen after hours. Luckily, they still had an opening so off we went. Thank you very much Mom and Dad for staying with Grace.

Unfortunately, this was not a fun visit. Not that going to the doctor is ever particularly pleasant, but this one was definitely our worst to date. Not only did Bonnie have to have a breathing treatment, but I, not the nurse or the doctor, had to hold the mask over her face. For 15 minutes. While she screamed and tried to rip it off. Oh, and also the nurse took off and left us by ourselves the entire time. We both cried and I don't think I've ever apologized to someone so much in my life. The good news is that the nebulizer helped, and the doctor sent us home with an inhaler and told me that this is just a virus that needs to run its course. Phew!! What a day. Now we'll spend today and probably tomorrow indoors playing a lot of dress-up!

Grace has already gotten us started...

Still getting good use out of the $$$ Kelly's Kids dress

SUCH a girly-girl!

but I think Bon will get to spend the day in her jammies.

Smiley and sweet even when she's sick

On a side note, I've had to reinstate Gracie's afternoon nap. She's just not quite able to make it through the day without one yet. I'm not too upset about it, though!

Pura Vida.

Someone is going through a little dress-wearing phase right now, and absolutely had to put this one on when she spotted it in her closet. She was also very excited that she had the perfect red shoes to match. Thank you Aunt Ellie and Uncle Josh for picking up this fabulous dress on your trip to Costa Rica!

More Cousin Play Time!

Yesterday after ballet class, we headed over to Mimi's house for a play date with Emma. Grace was so excited that she got to see her cousin 2 times in one week! They play really well together, and the conversations they have with each other are hilarious. Emma brought two snake stuffed animals with her - Kaa and Rattlesnake - and at one point, my mom and I overheard the girls negotiating who got to hold which snake (and for how long). It was interesting because they weren't whining or fighting about it - just wheeling and dealing. Eventually, they came to an agreement that worked for both parties.

Emma is sporting her super cool Wonder Woman t-shirt!

Bon is happy to celebrate her 6 month birthday with the girls!

This picture you see here was not easy to get. Each child took her turn smiling for the camera. I guess the rules are sinking in after all - just not always at the right time!

Say "Girl Power!"

Time for a little R & R in the hammock

"Ladies and Jigglemen!"

Welcome to the greatest show on "Earf"! We couldn't have asked for a more fun weekend than this. Not only was the weather BEAUTIFUL, but we also got to go go the Circus with Grace's best friend...her cousin Emma! All last week, I really thought that Saturday would never come. All Grace could talk about was how she couldn't wait to see Emma. She reminded me several times a day that on Saturday we were going to go to the Circus with Uncle Dave, Aunt Stacy, and Emma and that Mimi and Gramps were going to stay home with Bonnie because "she is not grown up enough to go to the Circus yet." Don't worry, Bon. I promise that we'll all go next year.

"Is it time to go yet? Please?"

Gracie and her Daddy

SOOO happy to see Cousin Emma!

Running around the CNN Center after the show

We had a great lunch at Don Juan after the show ended, then the girls had a blast running through Centennial Olympic Park. Grace definitely worked off her quesadillas! She was so sad when it was time to go home. All the way to the car she said, "I need to see my cousin Emma. I miss her!"

Emma telling Gracie all about the pansies

They were so startled every time the water shot up!

Another sick day.

I ended up taking Grace to the Wellstar down the street last night after she cried inconsolably for 2 hours. She also kept telling me that her mouth hurt. I couldn't figure out what could possibly be hurting in there, so I assumed that she was talking about that funny feeling you get in your mouth right before you throw up. Well, she never threw up but she does have an ear infection. Can an ear ache make your mouth hurt? Actually, the doctor said that she was on the verge of an ear infection so she wrote us a prescription and told me to hold off giving it to her for 48 hours with the hope that it might clear up on its own. She ended up spiking a fever late last night, so I went ahead with the antibiotic.

That being said, we spent another day at home and Grace would not let me take her picture even though she looked really cute in an outfit she picked all by herself, of course...a Christmas dress, with hot pink leggings, and my black patent leather flats. Bonnie, on the other hand, has no choice but to let me photograph (and dress) her since she still can't get away from me! It was also very nice of Grace to loan us her chair for our little photo shoot.

Sick Day

It seems that all the fun we had at Disney World has resulted in a pretty nasty cold for Gracie. We spent today playing inside and watching a lot of movies. Disney movies, of course. Even though she didn't feel good and we had no plans to leave the house today, Grace still insisted on wearing a pretty dress that she picked out all by herself. You'll also note the new Cinderella "princess gown dress".

Meeska, Mooska, Mickey Mouse!

This past weekend, Grace and I had the opportunity to go to Disney World with our best friends. It was a last minute trip, so packing and getting ready was a little hectic, but I'm sure glad we got to go! So what if we missed the snow in Atlanta...we were at the happiest place on Earth...in the pouring rain! Well, it only rained for a few hours on Friday. We didn't care, though, because it was so much fun!

After a VERY long drive, we kicked off our trip with dinner at the Rainforest Cafe. It was fantastic, and the girls loved looking at all the animals throughout the restaurant. The adults loved the glass of wine served with dinner.

Mackenzie and Grace in front of the gigantic fish tank

Ceylese, Mackenzie, Erica and Gracie

Grace could not have been more excited to meet Mickey. What a surprise to find Minnie and Mickey together when they opened the doors to their autograph room! She ran right up to them yelling, "Mickey! Minnie! Hi! I'm so glad to see you! I'm Gracie!" It was worth all the rain we had to run through to get to them.

World's most famous couple...and Gracie!

Suffice it to say Small World was a big hit. There were "no pirates and no tunnels", unlike Pirates of the Caribbean, which I took her on first. Who would have thought a 2 year old wouldn't like that? I quickly decided to stick with rides that didn't feature Captain Jack Sparrow. Also, I love Small World and was a little sad that we only got to ride it twice. The line was really long. Guess I'm not the only one who loves it!

"It's a world of laughter..."

Something that absolutely shocked me was Grace's fondness for the Barnstormer. If you're not familiar with the Barnstormer, it is a roller coaster in Toon Town. She saw Mackenzie ride it and begged for me to let her go, too. I figured since I'd already traumatized her with Pirates of the Caribbean, I might as well let her have a go at this one, too. She only whined a little the first time we rode it. The next four times (that's right, 4) she held her hands up in the air and screamed, "This is SO much fun! I'm not scared at all!"

Grace is tall enough to ride, but her pants might not be!

We had such a great trip with Ceylese and Mackenzie and can't wait to go back with Bonnie and Daddy next time! See you real soon!

So tired and so sad to leave

Loves bananas and pears.

Peas...not so much. As soon as I turned around with the peas in my hand, this is what I found...

Was she trying to tell me something by falling asleep in her high chair? Also, never mind the Colts bib she is wearing here. We are Saints fans in this house - sorry, Aunt Nancy and all my other Indiana relatives! We have to support the city that houses the school that is responsible for Corey's career (and law school debt). If it helps, she projectile vomited the peas all over the bib shortly after this picture was taken.

Bring a friend

Today was an especially fun day at ballet class. Not only did Grace get to dress up like Aurora, but she also got to bring her friend, Handley, with her. They had such a great time, and Grace kept asking if Handley was going to be at all of her ballet classes! Click here to see a cute little clip of today's fun!

Finally standing on her dot!

Not easy to get them to look at the camera at the same time (or at all)!

"Hey, I'll trade you my Valentine for your sticker."

"Deal!"

More dress-up...

but this time it's with Bonnie! She is outgrowing her clothes at a much faster rate than she is wearing them, so we're going to be playing a lot of dress-up this week so that I feel like she is getting at least some use out of everything. Most of it is Grace's from when she was a baby...what was Corey thinking letting me buy ALL this stuff?!

Pancake Saturday!

I recently had to eliminate Grace's daily nap. Even if she only slumbered for an hour, it would take hours for her to fall asleep at night. On the night she didn't fall asleep until 11:30, I decided that the naps had to go. It was not an easy decision, as I cherished the one hour of quiet time I got to enjoy every day.

Yesterday, however, was an exception. Grace has had a little cold this past week, and she was up and at 'em at 5:15 yesterday morning! As much as I knew I would pay for it at bedtime, she had to take a nap. Turns out I was right. She wanted nothing to do with going to bed. Luckily, it happened to be Friday night and we have a little weekend tradition at our house that Corey has affectionately named Pancake Saturday. Once I told her that the faster she fell asleep the sooner Pancake Saturday would be here, it was off to dreamland.

A good cook always accessorizes

Stir, stir, stir

"How am I doing?"

Yummy!!!

"May I have some pancakes? Look at how cute I am!"

I LOVE chubby-cheeked babies...

especially when they belong to me! I just want to kiss 'em!

A New Perspective

We were in the playroom this afternoon and Bonnie was "kickin' around" on her blanket as usual, but this time she was really fussy. I finally realized what she wanted after she kept having to contort herself in order to see what Gracie was doing. I took this as the perfect opportunity to bust out the Bumbo seat. She loved it, and all was well again with the Bon!

Sweet Girls

I don't know what I did to deserve this. I hope they're best friends forever.

Tonight before bed, Gracie was saying her prayers. We went through the litany of family and friends to bless, and then she said, "Dear Jesus. Please make our Aunt Nancy feel all better. Amen. Thank you, Jesus!" What an angel.