Gracie Vs. Santa 2009

So, I got up the courage to dress Gracie up and take her to Hopscotch to see Santa. I knew that it wasn't going to be pretty, but it is one of those things you feel like you just have to do as a parent. What good parent doesn't take their child to see Santa? For days I had been prepping her: "Look at the picture of Santa, Gracie! He is so nice! Give the Santa ornament kisses . . . Santa LOVES Gracie!" You get the picture.

When we walked in the door to the toy store Gracie was already clinging to my neck, and with my winter scarf and flannel on, Gracie clinging, and the body heat of people crammed in line practically touching, my blood pressure was already rising. For over a half an hour we waited, Gracie never loosening her grip on my neck. We watched as little kids excitedly hopped up and down knowing that they were soon going to climb up the stair to the little room where Santa was waiting to discuss their Christmas wishes.

Finally it was our turn. I told Santa's elf that my daughter was going to be a hard sell with the whole sitting on Santa's lap thing. Afterall, she wouldn't even make eye contact with an elf - no matter how endearing the elf's jingly hat was to the other boys and girls. We walked up the stairs, and I heard Gracie wisper "Santa" before we even reached the top of the steps. She knew who we were here to see. "Look, Gracie! Santa!" I sang as we reached the top step. That's all it took. One look at this lunatic in the flesh and Gracie was screaming bloody murder trying to climb up my neck and over my head to run out the door. "Santa." I commanded, over the top of her screaming. "Let's make this quick. I'll hand her off- you just hold on to her and smile." Santa reached for her (an old pro) and I threw her in his lap. Because I know my daughter, I was prepared. The camera was already out and the lens was off.

Gracie was screaming and half trying to leap off his lap, half assaulting him. I snapped a quick shot, scooped her up and thanked Santa and his elf. We waltzed out past the line of kids and their parents who were all staring by now.

When we got to the door to leave Gracie loosened her grip on my neck, turned around, and shouted "Ho! Ho! Ho!" to the crowd. Gotta love my little pistol.

Thanksgiving 09

Sick with the Seahawks

Ben and Libbey came over to visit a few months ago when Gracie was in the midst of her month-long cold. It was so good to catch up with Libbey (whom I've been friends with for over 25 years) and watch our kids as friends now. Ben is just two weeks older than Gracie!

Fall at "Ma" and "Buck's"

Time seems to be speeding up. How can it be fall already? Gracie is more of a toddler than a baby these days, and we can't keep up with how fast she's growing up! At just 15 months old we have lost count of how many words she says (she points and names everything she sees), and gone are the days of the drunken sailor. She runs, dances, and climbs for the most part. She finally sleeps through the night (until about 9 in the morning!) and even naps in the day with little to no fuss. If we tell her it's time for "ni-night," she grabs her blanket, races to the stairs, and climbs up- eager for story time. Wow, we've come a long way! The intensity she had as a baby, however, remains. Tantrums complete with hitting herself in the head have replaced the colic, and she loves to boss and shout "NO!" especially at Bernie. I'm so proud of the little girl she's becoming. As my dad says, "She wants what she wants, and she doesn't want what she doesn't want." One thing she always seems to want is food. She's not a fan of little kid food like crackers and juice, etc. Just this morning she had eggs and portabella musrooms for breakfast and chili with onions for lunch. It's so fun getting to know her as the distinct individual that she is. I love this stage!

Trick or Treat!

Once again the Fasts hosted the annual baked potato bar for Halloween. We were unsure at first whether or not to take Gracie trick or treating because she is still too young to "get it," but she quickly proved us wrong. All night she led the pack of children and adults, never dropping her bucket of candy. She sped up and down the side walks and climbed the steps of many a front porch. Her only hesitation was the fact that people actually answered the doors and wanted to talk to her and offer her candy. As soon as someone opened the door she would spin around and rush quickly away. Campbell, however, was a fan of picking out candy from each bowl. She would stand for minutes at a time pondering which piece to take. Maya was the veteran, showing the little kids the Halloween how-to, and Peyton was the injured bee who managed to stay up happily until 9 at night! What a great Halloween. I already cannot wait until next year.

Campbell's First Birthday!

momma loves Gracie

Fireside

Aquarium Trip with Campbell

First Kiss

Greg will not be happy about this, but it was his daughter who put "the moves" on Zac as a first birthday gift.

One

I must not have been looking. Somehow a year just went by and my baby is now one. My oh my, what a year it has been. Those first few months really do seem like a blur now, and it may be a cliche but Greg and I really cannot even imagine our life without our "baby Race." I find myself often just watching her in wonderment as she explores her little world and negotiates her role in it. What a miracle she is and what gifts she has brought to our lives! Happy birthday Gracie Victoria!

The Zoo!

Remlinger Farms

Happy fourth birthday, Matthew!!!

Miss Personality

Speak To Me

As we quickly approach Gracie's 1st birthday, it seems as though our 10 1/2 month old has all of a sudden become a big girl! In addition to the new 'grill' and the insistence on walking everywhere, Gracie has started talking! Along with mama and dad (not da-da, just dad), which she has been saying for some time, Gracie also says dog, duck, Beth, bye-bye, up, and hi. Her little words just melt my heart, especially when she looks up at us with a big smile and just says simply and sweetly, "Hi!" Where did our little baby go?!?!

These Teeth are Made for Walkin'

Gracie has never slept well (keep reading- I promise that this is not another post about sleep) so the other night when she woke up every hour on the hour I just habitually zombied my way into her room as usual not giving it much thought. In the morning, I blamed it on "teething," which I have been blaming my ten month old's piss and vinegar personality on for the last nine months. Yet, my cover is always blown when I have to admit that no, she doesn't actually have any teeth at all.

Anyway, a few days ago after the super-sized Gracie Victoria was wearing me thin, I decided to do the finger-swipe across her gums praying that for the first time since she was born I would actually have a reason for the nightly drama. I did. In true diva style, Gracie decided that she would skip the bottom teeth all together and get her entire top row of teeth over night. She was pissed as you can imagine. Greg went and bought an array of teething remedies, which we are not really convinced work, and we are making sure to supply an excess of hugs and loves as she is so unhappy about her new accessories.

In addition to this huge milestone, Gracie has made some other steps- literally. She's always been super early when it comes to motor development, and we hypothesize that her CD (Curiosity Disorder) mixed with her tendancy to get highly irritated at the slightest thing motivates her to go go go!! Case and point: yesterday I was sitting on the floor playing with somthing is my hand as a highly irritated Gracie (Teething. Yes! I CAN use that as an excuse now!) looked up, threw down what she was playing with and walked across the room. Five steps, easy. I was dumb founded. She didn't even pull the whole "drunken sailor taddle." She seriously straight up walked.

As sorry as I feel for my little baby getting so many teeth at once, I can't help but giggle a little because as so many friends have said about her, "That is just SO Gracie."