In honor of the Presidential Address to Congress

Grace says, "Yes we can!"

Mondays with Grandmas

The last two Mondays Grace has been very lucky to have grandma time while daddy is at bowling and mommy is in class.

Two weeks ago both Grandma Williams and Great Grandma Hone (GG) came and stayed with Grace. It was such a treat for all of us to have GG here and she even treated us to a delicious meatloaf dinner before Mark and I left for our activities!


Last Monday Grandma Williams flew solo. Grace loved having grandma all to herself!

Bumbo

Grace tried out her Bumbo for the first time today. She did awesome in it. She was able to sit in it holding up her head for over 10 minutes! It's so hard to believe that she's already so strong at 3 months!

Happy 3 Months Grace!

Grace was another month older today! We celebrated with Rice Krispie treats this time :-)

We also celebrated Valentine's Day. Mark and I had crab legs and fondue. We brought Grace's swing into the kitchen so she could join our dinner, which made her happy. Daisy was happy because she got lots of cheese dropped to her as I was making the cheese fondue. We had cheese and chocolate so Mark and I were definitely happy (and full!). It was a perfect night for our little family.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Love you all!
Have a great day!

Where in the World is Grace?

Can you find the baby in the photo below?

There she is!

"What are all these things?"

These are a few of my favorite things...

Sleeping in my jungle gym--it gives me a workout!

Posing after church

Wearing my jeans

Hanging out with my doggy

Wrapping paper

New dresses

And matching bathing suits--thanks Grandma Applebee!

Sucking on my hands (this is my new FAVORITE thing to do--who knew my hands tasted so good?)

Relaxing after a long day of shopping with mom and grandma--aren't my shoes cute?

Helping mommy with her homework

New clothes (thanks Gloria!)

Going for walks--yesterday was my first one and I'm hoping mommy and daddy take me for another one today. I was nice and warm in my snowsuit from Grandma Williams!

Baptism

Today was Grace's baptism. What a special day! We had several family members make the trip and that means the world to me and Mark. Grace was baptized at Central Presbyterian. It is a great church that Mark and I have been going to in downtown Lafayette. They are such a wonderful group of welcoming people and we are so pleased that Grace was baptized there by Pastor Bill Smutz and Pastor Jeff Cover. Here is a video of the baptism--it's a bit long but we know there are some family members out there who really wanted to see it :)

Sound asleep after the service--Grace was awake for the entire baptism, cried during the service afterwards, took a bottle, cried some more, hung out with mom in the parlor, and then rejoined for the final few hymns, then sleep for all the pictures--typical!

Grandparents

Pastor Jeff and Pastor Bill

All the cousins

Great Aunt Barb and Great Uncle Marcial ("Great in both senses!)

Following the service at church we had a brunch at our home. Lots of food, lots of family, lots of fun :-)

This is how Grace spent the majority of her brunch--church wore her out!

With Joy and Rick

With Lynn and Joe

Cousin Caleb--they weren't that interested in one another but Caleb kept resting her hand on Grace's knee--we'll be spending a week with them and the rest of the Williams family this summer in Minnesota--I'm sure Grace and Caleb will become the best of friends during that week!

Grace wore a very special outfit for her baptism. It was made by my grandpa's grandmother for his and his brother's baptism. My mom and her brothers and sisters were all baptized in it, as were me and all of my cousins, and now all of our kids are being baptized in it. It was so fun to dress her in something that both my mom and I have worn. She also had a bonnet that she wore for our pics at home (couldn't wear it with the water at church!). The bonnet is called an heirloom bonnet and we will put it away and someday when she gets married we will pull it out, snip a ribbon and it will become a hanky for her wedding day!

Mom, Grandma, and Grace

Proud parents and a happy baby!

Four generations

Grandparents Applebee

Grandparents Williams

G2Pa and GG

A big thank you to all of you who made Grace's day so special!

Lunch out

Last Friday Grace and I had lunch with my leadership research team, Brenda Berkelaar and Jenn Linvill. Brenda is expecting and Jenn has her little boy Porter. You can imagine that we look like quite a group when we walk in somewhere : ) We had a great time--it's just a little more difficult to get work done now!

Porter checking out Grace

Grace looking adorable and happy in her sweater outfit (it's size 3-6 month--I can't believe she fits in it!)