Just Because She's Cute...

You can tell that someone

has been watching her mom

do a lot of food blogging lately 

I love my little helper <3

I Shall Capitalize on This...

Gracie has a new found passion for vacuuming.

Far be it for me to stand in her way of happiness.

Spread your wings little vacuuming bird, and fly high ;)

I mean, she happily vacuumed for a solid 10 minutes.

Let's hope she keeps this new found passion through her teenage years :)

Have a happy Monday!

Nighttime Wins!

Aaron and I like to say that Gracie's personal inner monologue is, "Play!  Play!  Play!"

In case you were wondering, my personal inner monologue is, "Cut strawberries.  Braid hair.  Stop the crying.  Cut strawberries.  Braid hair.  Stop the crying."

Anyway, Gracie's personal inner monologue has made for some less than awesome going-to-bed-times the last 6 months or so...but probably way longer.

And, bless Maggie's heart, she needs her sleep, so Gracie being chatty and playful at night wasn't going real far when it came to building sisterly community.

Nothing was helping.  I would go in friendly.  I'd go in angry frustrated irritated less than friendly.  We even took out all of her stuffed animals so she wouldn't have anything to play with.

Her response?  "That's okay, Mom.  I don't mind."

Really?!?!?!

I even sat in their room one night so that I could immediately ask her to be quiet if she talked.

Backfired.

The next night she was crying because she wanted me their room.

Whomp whomp whooooooooomp.

Seeing as this heightened in the summer, naturally, it was hot out.  We don't have central air, but we do have an alarmingly large window air conditioner that does a good job cooling the house down.  

We always have the girls' bedroom doors closed at night, but we decided to leave their doors open so the cool air could get in.

Bedtime problem=solved!

I don't know if it was the realization that Aaron or I could walk by at any second and see her making bad choice, but that made a HUGE difference in Gracie's bedtime behavior.  She stopped talking to Maggie and stopped trying to keep her awake.  It was amazing!

I never in a million years would have thought that keeping their bedroom door open would help.  Plus, we haven't had problems with any of the girls complaining about noise or light or anything.  

But, we still had problems with her calling out and neeeeeeeeding something from us right after she laid down.

She was no longer bugging Maggie which was good, but still...

Namely, she just had to poop.

I mean, I seriously think she conditioned herself to have to poop like 2 minutes after she went to bed.

This led to me saying insane things like, "You had that poop in your bottom before you went to bed, and that's when you are supposed to poop...before bed."

Then I'd poke my head into the bathroom to check on her like every 30 seconds, and I'd say, "Did you squeeze out all your poop?"

WHO AM I???  I mean...I just can't even...

When she turned 4, I even tried telling her that kids who are 4 only call out in case of emergency.

Every now and then, she'd earn back 1 of the stuffed animals we had to take away, but not very consistently.

There was nothing we could do that would make her stop.  We just started praying that God would give Gracie a heart that wants to obey.

Gracie is quite self motivated which will hopefully be a huge asset in her decision making as she gets older, but it can certainly present some parenting conundrums.  I mean, I can't make her want to obey.

Well, I'm happy to report that the last couple of weeks have been awesome!  Gracie has been going to bed like a champion, and I'm so, so thankful!

I know it might seem like a little thing, but I'm so thankful that God cares about the little things, too.

It also builds my faith.  I know God is powerful enough to change the heart of my stubborn strong willed daughter, because I've seen it.  Believe me, Gracie's heart didn't change because of any excellent parenting techniques. 

I can trust that God will change hearts that need changing...including mine.

Packed Full of Walmart Bags

Towards the end of the summer, I asked Maggie and Gracie to clean their room.

When Aaron does this, they're all like, "Yeah!  Dad!  I love to clean my room!  WHOOP! there it is!"  And things like that.

When I ask them to clean their room, they're all like, "Mom.  I don't know hoooooooow to clean my room.  Can you tell me what to do?  It's sooooooo much.  I caaaaaaaan't do it."

Yeah, I don't know why that is, but it's just one of those weird, oddly frustrating things.

Anyway, so when I asked them to clean their room, they got right to it.

This was a pleasant surprise, until I realized just what they were doing.

They filled Walmart bags with their stuff, and packed the Walmart bags into their closet. 

Maggie and Gracie were so proud of themselves (and the stuff was off the floor) that I didn't have the heart to tell them that wasn't really what I had in mind.

I finally decided to have the girls buckle down and clean out their closet.

I mean, look at it!

And, then the bags...

I am by no means a neat-nik or clean freak or whatever, but that seriously made me want to hyperventilate.  To be fair, those bags were stashed in the closet until we started cleaning.

We found some fun things, like Swiper.

He looks creepy and guilty all at the same time.

I also found a stack of cash.

And, like all cleaning things, it got worse before it got better.

Maggie was a happy, little cleaning machine!

It looks so awesome!

Then, after they cleaned and organized, Maggie sorted her dresses according to color :)

She is her father's daughter :)

Oh, do you see how freaking yellow their closet is?  That's what color their room was.  Yikes!

I'm glad to say, that while all this cleaning occurred about 10 days ago, and it's still looking pretty good!

It's probably some sort of miracle :)

Have a happy week!

For Gracie on Her Birthday (4 Happy Pictures)

Happiest of Birthdays to you, sweet Gracie Kate!

What would our family be like without you?  Daddy and I say all the time how you complete our family so perfectly!

We love how silly you are and how your answer to answer to so many questions is, "Shawshee!"

We're not exactly sure what Shawshee is, but it's usually a noun :)

You have the happiest, smiley-est eyes, and you have the most expressive facial expressions of any kid I've ever seen!

You make people feel welcome in our home and lives when you engage them in your silly stories and antics!  

You do like to bug your sisters, because you're the youngest, after all, and that's pretty much required.  But, there are times when Maggie is sad or scared that you encourage her and tell her kind things.

I'm looking forward to our time together this school year!  I can't wait to go on adventures with you, read books together, eat soup for lunch, and play at the park.  It's good for me to see who you are on your own, and I love who you are in all contexts and environments.

Your personality is an awesome marriage of free spirit and commitment to organization.  

I mean, 1 minute you're crawling around with a giraffe costume on and pretending to be a cat, and the next minute you have to have your bed set up just so!  

And let me not forget to mention that you are my little foodie buddy!  At long last, a child of mine who isn't a picky eater :)  I love that you'll try anything I eat, and I sometimes forget that you'll eat leftovers for lunch and not just a sandwich!

Even though there are times that your energy just wears me out, I wouldn't change you one bit!  

My hope and prayer for you this year is that God would give you a heart that loves and seeks Him.

I hope that as your grow older, you never lose your fun-loving personality, but that you let it be refined as a tool that points people to Jesus.  

You have a sparkle about you that makes people want to be around you, and I know that's something that God can use to further His kingdom.

You, my sweet girl, are going to be and are the most amazing force to be reckoned with...so passionate and enthusiastic and magnetic and brave and silly and sometimes so sincere.

I love love double love being your mommy.  I could never have imagined a more perfect-for-me youngest daughter than you are.

Thanks for always lightening the mood, doing silly dances, and being the first one to laugh.

God knew just what we needed when He designed you.  I'll always be thankful for you, my sweet Gracie Kate (aka GKat, aka Kitty Cat, aka Meow Meow...you have the most nicknames!)

I love you!!!!

Shawsheee!

Love always, 
Mommy


And a bonus one, just because it looks like you're flashing gang signs :)

In case you're interested in a walk down memory lane, here's her letter from last year which includes baby pictures.  Gulp!  She's practically an adult :)

That One

I feel like every family has one of those people. 

You know...the one who has all of the weird things happen to him/her.

When I was growing up, that person was my brother.  I didn't have an ear infection until I was 31 (which is strange), but my brother had them like every 5 minutes.  He had pneumonia, burned has hand really bad, etc.

That person in our family is one Gracie Kate.

She had that bump thing on the inside of her mouth removed, broke her leg (which I still plan to write about), and had to go to the ER because of a laceration on her head.

Naturally, weird health things happen to my girls on the weekend or when we are out of town and can't get to our normal doctor.

It shouldn't have come as a huge surprise, then, when at 5:10 on a Friday, she started seeming like she had a UTI.  Among other things, she was trying and trying to go potty and couldn't, even thought she had to go really badly.

There's a decent amount of drama around here, but this was one of those times that I didn't think was rooted in drama.

Poor Gracie was crying and crying and crying.  I couldn't get her to calm down, and mentioning that we were going to see the doctor certainly didn't help any.

But, as I was getting some things together to go to the ER, Leah and Maggie went into the bathroom and seriously talked her down like I couldn't.  They were praying for her with Aaron, too.

I'm not going to say she was excited to go to the ER, but she was calm and not crying.

Armed with Pink Blanket and Maggie's stuffed giraffe, Twigs, we made our way into the ER with zero waiting.  Totally a perk to living in a fairly small town.  

I'll admit that I didn't have real high hopes for the initial exam.

But, Gracie was a champ!  They put the finger monitor on her and, while she wasn't thrilled, she did great!  She stepped on the scale without a fuss and let them take her temperature like she does it every day!

Granted, getting her to pee into the bowl thing that they put in the toilet was easier said than done, but she didn't cry.

I think she was motivated by the popsicle that the nurse promised her when she peed, because that's what did it!

Gracie sat on my lap and enjoyed her popsicle...which was a doubler (you know, the kind that are like 2 attached skinny popsicles).  She was so sweet and wanted to save one for Leah.

She even whispered the entire time we were waiting for her test results :)

I said, "Gracie, you can talk in your regular voice.  It's okay; you don't have to whisper."

She replied, "Oh, so I can shout?"

This explains a whole lot about the talking volume at our house.

Needless to say, I was happy to let the whispering continue in lieu of the outside voice.

The doctor came in with the news that Gracie had a UTI and gave us some instructions and a prescription and we were done!

I dropped the prescription off at Walgreens and then went through the drive thru at McDonald's to get Gracie a happy meal as she requested. 

And because I would like to never eat McDonald's ever again, I went through the drive thru at Culver's for myself :)

As we were driving home, I asked Gracie what she wanted to listen to.  She requested the Christmas CD we still have in the minivan.  

The first song:  O Come All Ye Faithful.

I loved hearing her sweet voice sing us home, "Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing..."  

Made for Summer

This girl of mine,

she was made for summer.

I feel like there's something in her spirit that resonates with the wonder of summer and all it entails.

In summer, you don't need to have inside voices.

You can run and jump and splash all you want.

You can go for long rambles in the woods,

exploring everything around you and finding little bits of treasure everywhere you look.

You can swing and sing at the top of your lungs.

Plus, it's good to be messy in summer.

There's something about summer that oozes freedom and happiness and joy...

...just like this girl of mine.

Talking on the Phone to a 3 Year Old

Gracie was talking to my parents on the phone the other day, and I enjoyed listening to Gracie's somewhat ridiculous end of the conversation.

It started out traditionally enough.

Then she started talking about one of her favorite things:  her birthday!

...which is actually on August 26th, so there's that :)

Gracie is consistently concerned about Aaron's dad's gluten allergy.

And then she just grocery listed every allergy she could think of!

When she's done being on the phone...she is DONE being on the phone.

You know, regardless of how silly, meandering, and abrupt a phone call with Gracie may be, it's worth it, because you get to talk to her <3

Such a silly little sweetheart!

Do You Have a Case of the Mondays?

I'll admit that I don't have a "thing" about Mondays.  

Mondays feel fresh to me.  I like starting new things on Mondays, plus I enjoy the structure that weekdays offer as compared to the free-for-all of the weekend.

That makes me sound rigid and weird, but I promise I'm not...very much ;)

Anyway, just in case you have a case of the Mondays, here's something sweet from this little lady...

She woke up last week, dragged her baby bed into the kitchen and started singing this sweet little song to her babies.

That was 28 seconds well spent if I do say so myself!

Have a happy Monday!

Back in the Day

I've started going through a pile of boxes filled with randomness in the basement.

It's interesting, and I'm proud of myself for all of the things I'm tossing!

But, I came across something that is TOTALLY a keeper!

Yep, that's a first generation Strawberry Shortcake doll (the Apricot one)!  I remember playing with her in the wooden cradle with the lacy pillow and the vintage-y red quilt!  I think that her plastic bunny sidekick is around here somewhere...quite possibly in the bottom of the toy box!

I wasn't much of a doll kid...I liked puzzles and books and playing school and bossing people around, but I loved this doll!

Gracie loves her, too, enough to take her to her room...

...and welcome her to the bed community :)

I feel like the spot right by the Care Bear is a good one.

Funshine Bear has his/her eye on you ;)

Gracie even managed to sleep in spite of her excitement!

Maggie gets the doll in her bed next.  We might need to develop some sort of sign up sheet :)

Have a great start to your week!

A Glimpse into the Random Bits of My Quirky Life: Tums Edition

Edited June 11th:  Hi And Babies Don't Keep Friends!  When Kristi announced her link up, I immediately knew this was just the post to link up!  I'll have something "fresh" next time, but for now, please enjoy the ridiculousness that is my life :)  I'm looking forward to reading on commenting on YOUR stories, too!

There was a scene in Armageddon, the box office hit thriller starring Ben Affleck, when this crazy guy is sitting on a nuclear warhead and an astronaut looks at him and sternly says, "Get off.  The nuclear warhead.  Now."

On a side note, maybe Armageddon wasn't a box office hit thriller, but I believe that I still own it on VHS.

Additionally, Ben Affleck is part of my favorite celebrity couple.

STOP MAKING FUN OF ME!!!

I can't believe I even like that movie, because I pretty much hate space.

As in outer space.  I am a fan of personal space.  

Aaaaaaaaaanyway, I have moments like that astronaut...when I say things that are so utterly ridiculous that I can't even believe that those words just came out of my mouth.

I feel like, as parents, that happens more than we'd care to admit :)

So, in light of Armageddon, space, nuclear warheads, Ben and Jen (Jen and I are pregnancy buddies seeing as I was pregnant the same time as she was...twice.  STOP MAKING FUN OF ME!!!), and embracing the quirky, I will occasionally be giving you...

I'll say "you're welcome" already.  Really, there's no need to thank me.

Last Wednesday, Gracie had a hard time falling asleep.

The above picture is from a different night.

And yes, those are bitten peeps being pulled around on a xylophone.

Anyway, the girls got to bed around 8:15 which is late for them.  They are used to being in bed around 7:30, but our friends were over to watch Survivor.

And we ate puppy chow.

I love puppy chow.  For people.

The girls went to bed well which is always a huge bonus.

But, around 9:45 Gracie began making some rumblings which woke up Maggie, and Maggie called out on her behalf.

How generous.

You do need to understand that I value sleep.

I particularly value the sleep of my children.

Because it leads to more sleep for me.

We are all happier when we are all sleeping more.

It seemed like Gracie hadn't slept.  It was one of those things that I could just kind of tell, and that problem needed to be rectified immediately.

So, I crawled into the bottom bunk with her, brushed her hair away from her face over and over again (known as "softing" when I was growing up) while we whispered about our favorite things and told the other that they were beautiful, pretty, cute, and adorable.

I left her to sleep, but that only lasted like a minute until she was needing attention again, because she missed me so much.

Apparently I am that awesome.

This time, though, I pulled out the big guns.

FIGURATIVELY.

I had already given her one of the bracelets I wear (courtesy of Leah from the rainbow loom) so she could feel close to me.  I decided to bust out the washable red marker to draw hearts on our hands.

I took this picture the next morning :)

Look!  We're heart buddies now.  We can just look at our hands and feel close to each other.

Apparently, I think my life is a Hallmark movie.  Because, really, who does something so cheesy?

Additionally, if Gracie gets a heart tattoo on her hand when she's older, we'll all know why.

The heart buddy thing, although touching, wasn't exactly effective.

Next, Gracie and I cuddled on my bed.  We closed our eyes, and I asked her to imagine a night sky full of stars.

She asked if she could imagine Elmos instead.

I agreed. 

We whisper counted 20 Elmos.

Then 20 stars and 20 sheep and 20 cookies and 20 fill-in-the-blanks.

While cuddling with a usually very busy 3 year old is endearing and lovely, it was after 10 at this point and she didn't seem much closer to being ready for bed.

And then I said, "Gracie, would a Tums help you sleep?"

Whadaya know!  She thought a Tums would surely help her sleep!

I gave her half of a Tums, laid her back in bed, and she was out.

Tums...Mommy's favorite placebo :)

So, tell me!  What's the most ridiculous thing you've ever said out loud?

Linking up with:

Date with Tres

Aaron will very often take the girls out on dates...one at a time.

Then, our friend, Bri, took each of the girls out on a date...one at a time.

Sometimes, the girls ask for me to take them out on a date...one at a time.

I always think it's so sweet, but a little bit funny, because we are together all.the.time. 

But, there is something special about some time with just you and your mom, so Gracie and I had a little coffee date.

She got her special drink.

We have this super cool Bible app for kids on our tablet (more about that later), and they came out with a new story, so we went through that together.

Gracie was very happy :)

Then, she played a little lego game...

She puts her hand on my hand quite often, and on my face...

which is quite adorable <3

We had a great little date complete with cuddling and coffee.

Have a great day!

Oh, and about the title of this post...I sometimes refer to the girls as their birth order number in Spanish :)