My little princess. . .

What a day! We started with a 9:30am doctor visit to re-check her back and then proceeded to the hospital for x-rays and blood work. . .all I can say is that she did WAY better than Momma! We met dad for lunch on his way home from the airport and she was so happy to see him ~ she jumped out of our booth and ran to him and then sat in his lap the entire lunch! We finally made it back to the house for a short nap and "princess prep" only to run out the door again to the Fall Festival. What a great time! On the way home we stopped by the neighbor's house for Trick-or-Treating and now we are burning off the "sugar high" while trying to convince her it's bedtime. . .thank goodness Halloween only comes around once a year!

My Beautiful Cinderella!

Daddy's first glimpse. . .

Cinderella's "grand" arrival in the horse drawn carriage. . .(and NO, that is not Brey driving!)

Her favorite game of the night. . .

Shootin' hoops. . .

Toddler's and Darts????

Gracie and her best friends, Amber and Trinity!

Group hug. . .

Daddy and Gracie's masterpiece. . .

Can anyone say SUGAR HIGH?

Don't even think about taking my candy!

A visit to the North Pole!

What a perfect way to start the holiday season ~ a visit to Santa! Gracie has been so excited that she could not even sleep! She has been scouring the catalogs for the perfect gift and was ready to tell Santa. She bravely went in to talk to him (with Daddy right by her side) and actually began to speak! First she asked if he had a dog (which he does!) and finally she announced that she would like the dollhouse that comes with the car and puppy. He smiled, she stared and when we asked her to take a picture she lost it! I guess we should just focus on the progress. . .We did have a great time and she had a ball shopping in the Santa's Workshop and riding the "big kid" rides with Daddy. Mommy, on the other hand, stood on the side lines holding my breath :) Here are a ton of pictures for those of you that live to far away to visit Santa's Workshop.

Over the river and through the woods. . .

Houston, we have a problem. . ."I don't WANT to get out of my rocket!"

Flyin' high. . .

"THE" Reindeer!

Santa's House. . .

The mailbox where all of the children's letters are delivered!

Amma can hardly wait to pick out what she wants. . .

The "Little Girl's Workshop"!

Santa's Church

The explaination. . .

Can anyone say TIME OF YOUR LIFE?

Nothing beats the carosel ~ expect a ride on Rudolph!

What is that?

"Actual" North Pole ice!

What can I say. . .Fall has been very busy! What an amazing season in Colorado. The weather has been perfect (until this week ~ we got our first cold snap/snow) which made the changing leaves even more breath-taking! How blessed we are to live in a place where God is everywhere you look! We had a ball on our trip to the Colorado Wine Country with Papa, Grammy and Aunt Lindsey. Who knew a two year old could be so much fun? I will post pictures of our trip soon. Last weekend we celebrated a "major" accomplishment. . . After exactly 8 years from his original "below the board" promotion, Brey finally pinned on his oak leaf! With help from Jeff and Lisa, Gracie and I surprised Daddy at the promotion ceremony at Fort Carson. What an awesome event ~ we are so proud of him! The following day took us to Wyoming (almost:)) to a Pumpkin Patch with our Life Group. We had a great time with friends, but Gracie is still saying "Daddy won't jump out of the corn and scare ME." I think she just has to reassure herself from time to time:) It is fair to say, the big boys had more fun than the babes! Overall it was a great day, save the flies in our cotton candy! UGH! I am so thrilled to report, after 2 3/4 years, Gracie has experienced Cracker Barrel! I can't imagine what Disney will be like if she was that overwhelmed in "the country store". On the down side, we are still struggling with "back pain". The doctor has no idea what is causing it and said it is a very unusual complaint at this age. It only happens in her car seat and right after she has fallen asleep. So strange. Otherwise, she is going a mile a minute. I caught her reading books to her "guys" today. I thought I would fall over laughing. She knew all of the character's lines and where she was in the plot. Her facial expressions and inflection were priceless. I promise to try to get some video. . .but until then here are a few of the photos from the Pumpkin Patch.

Consequences. . .

Well, today we learned about consequences. It was time to go upstairs for a nap but she did not want to oblige. I told her she had three seconds to start moving "or else" no book. This has worked EVERY time for the last 6 months. Several minutes later she finally made her way upstairs and I explained that there would be no story today. Instant tears, followed by at least 100 "I'm sorry Momma" 's. It completely broke my heart to not be able to read her a story. I told her she was forgiven and that Momma had to keep her promise so she knew she could always trust me. More "I'm sorry" 's followed by lots of hugs and kisses. So now she is upstairs sleeping peacefully and I am completely guilt-ridden. I know it had to be done, but man, this is way more difficult than I imagined. Go figure, it really does hurt the Momma more than the child. . .

Track star. . .

Gracie LOVES to run (still). . .right now they are outside doing "time trials". Of course she is wearing her Dora jammies, a pink down coat and her glass slippers, but she is fast! Daddy asked her if she was going to run with him and do races for her school when she got bigger. Her face lit up, so he added "I will teach you to be a good runner!" and she replied "Teach me now!" So, now they are practicing starting positions and trying to beat her best time. . .I think they have been outside almost all day ~ oh how I, I mean she, loves her time with Daddy!

Sappy?

Where does she come up with this stuff? This morning she came over to me and said in a sweet, soft voice "Momma, I care for you, forever. It makes my heart sappy!" I tried to respond with a straight face, but seriously. . .she is so precious!

On a sad note, the puppies are gone:( They have moved to their "forever" homes. . . We are so blessed to have Claire for a neighbor. What a wonderful experience to watch these babies grow. I don't know who misses them more ~ me or Gracie (definitely not Miss Claire!). I kept asking her if it would be hard to let them go and she kept saying "no". I now understand ~ they were certainly a full time job! So here are a few of the photos from this week. . .

(Ugh! for some reason they will not upload. . .stay tuned!)

Love languages. . .

Do you know what your love language is? Acts of service, words of affirmation, touch, gifts or quality time. . .I have decided that these are taught by our parents (and grandparents in Gracie's case. . .). Personally, I am words of affirmation; I believe this is because my family is very supportive (and verbal:)). Brey is Acts of Service; his mother was constantly doing things to show her love. . .cooking his favorite foods, washing/ironing/cleaning, reading or teaching him. They say a child needs all of the languages and does not develop a primary category until age five. I guess Gracie has developed here like she did with her vocabulary ~ way ahead of schedule! She is defiantly gifts! She loves to be surprised with a new little trinket. After coming home from a recent trip with her grandparents (she was loaded down with new "stuff" she convinced them she "needed") she commented they "really love me!" Of course I quickly explained that they really do love her, but not because of the "stuff". We are so grateful for the gifts, but more so the unconditional love. So what triggered this post? Gracie is blindfolding me and saying "Don't you peek!" and then saying "Surprise!". She is tickled when I open my eyes and see what she is holding. So amazing to watch her come in to her own. . .



Here is a link to the Love Languages quiz. So interresting. . .It really helped me understand Brey ~ even after many years of marriage! http://www.fivelovelanguages.com/

Cinderella gone bad. . .

Gracie is consumed with Sherella (Cinderella). We have everything Cinderella ~ shirts, jammies, towels, balls, colors, books, movies, and even the ballgown, glass slippers and crown that she will wear for Halloween. I think I've already posted about a Princess movie she watches with Daddy while I am at Bible Study. So, she just woke up from her nap and was very excited to try one of the bread pudding muffins we made and watch a little t.v. She asked to watch Cinderella and so I turned on "A Twist in Time: Cinderella 3". She watched few minutes close to the end and then it turned ugly! Her precious little face went blank and then her eyes got really big. I was trying not to laugh when she said "This is so bad, I can't stand it!" I wish I could tell you I said something comforting. . .I will say that I promptly changed the channel to something safe and then had to walk away. Her expression was priceless! Hopefully she won't be permanently scarred by this movie. . .

Well, we have both recovered and she is draped across my legs as I type, repeating "You make the best cupcakes ever!" I will say this new recipe is a very yummy way to use up bread that is about to go bad, and not to mention a much healthier alternative than its frosted counterpart! Here is the recipe if you want to give them a try. . .

BREAD PUDDING MUFFINS

Ingredients:
1-1/4 cups reduced-fat (2%) milk
1/2 cup cholesterol-free egg substitute
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)*
4 cups 1/2-inch cinnamon or cinnamon-raisin bread cubes (about 6 bread slices)*
1 tablespoon margarine or butter, melted

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 12 medium-size muffin cups with paper liners.
2. Combine milk, egg substitute, sugar, vanilla, salt and nutmeg, if desired, in medium bowl; mix well. Add bread; mix until well moistened. Let stand at room temperature 15 minutes.
3. Spoon bread mixture evenly into prepared cups; drizzle evenly with margarine.
4. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until snacks are puffed and golden brown. Remove to wire rack to cool completely.
Note: Snacks will puff up in the oven and fall slightly upon cooling.

*I ACTUALLY USED 8 SLICES OF WHITE BREAD AND ADDED RAISINS AND DRIED CRANBERRIES AND CINNAMON. I ALSO LET THE FRUIT SOAK FOR 15-20 MINUTES IN THE LIQUID MIXTURE BEFORE COMBINING WITH THE BREAD. ENJOY!

Gracisms. . .

We have been extra busy this past month but that has not slowed Gracie down one bit. Here are a few of the funny things she has said. . .

1. "Mommy, are you going to pinch your hair?" This is what she calls it when I straighten my hair.

2. Gracie: "Amma, I had the hick-ups this morning." Amma: "Really? What did you do to get rid of them?" Gracie: "I just Hicked!"

3. "You PRECIATE coming to my house." What she told my friend when she was leaving our home. I think (hope) she meant "I appreciate you coming to my house."

4. Whenever she talks about something that has already happened, she begins with "Last morning. . ."

5. As I was getting ready for the house cleaning, I came across several coloring sheets from this week's Sunday School. Most only had one streak of color on the entire page ~ she is definitely a "less is more" kind of girl:) Anyway, these somehow "accidentally" ended up in the trash. She went over to throw away something and was devastated when she opened up the lid. . ."Oh no!" was the first response, which was followed by sulking. I told her that it must have been an accident. She kept apologizing and I continued to tell her that it was not her fault. A few minutes later she walks over to me and says " Momma, I so sorry. . .FOR YOU!" Obviously she was not buying the "accident" part. I guess it was a good lesson on accountability ~ for me!

6. She is so excited to start school. We have a fabulous Charter School across the street from our neighborhood that she will start in 2010! Every time we pass the school she says "Look Momma, it's my school. . .Academy A-LOG-A-SEE!" The reason we love this so much is because the school is actually called Legacy Academy! So cute:) even though I am already dreading the day she starts. . .

7. She loves ADVERBS! "Actually" has become one of her favorite words. It always makes me smile to hear her compose such complex thoughts and sentences. It must be in her genes. . .(Thanks be to Meme!).

8. She loves to be outside with Daddy (let's be honest, she just loves to be with Daddy, period) to help him work on whatever project he is doing. She helps him work on the ATV, water the garden, pick veggies or plums, feed the neighbors horse, or anything else he comes up with. Last week they were outside letting the dogs run when she yelled out "Beaux, get over here, your frustrating me!" Funny to you, not so funny to me ~ I know exactly where she learned this verbiage. I guess I need to go back and review some of the original posts when I promised to be a little less dramatic!

9. We were talking about Daddy coming home from work when she said "You have to go to your meeting." I said "I'm not going anywhere tonight" and she replied "But you have to!" Every Tuesday I have Bible Study so she gets to have special time with Daddy and obviously she loves every second of it! Sad part for me is it is only Thursday. . .

10. Gracie had an awesome time with Grammy, Papa and Lindsey during her recent spend the night. They let her sleep in a big girl bed that they made just for her (she made for about an hour), they went shopping and to the zoo. She had so much fun, so here are a few pictures from her vacation. . .