ABCs

Grace has started picking things up VERY quickly lately. We've noticed her becoming a lot more vocal--many times we still can't make out what she's saying but she is saying a lot more! She also has started to be able to identify specific animals and to sort things by color. With all of these steps, I decided it was a good time to get out the alphabet magnets. She LOVES them! Her favorite is to take them all off the refrigerator and then move them to the dishwasher.

Cincinnati

This past weekend we traveled to Cincinnati for a conference that I had to present a paper at. It turned out to be the same weekend as Mark's company day to King's Island so we made a weekend out of it. We had a BLAST! It was a great family weekend! We drove to Cinci Saturday morning. They had changed the time of my presentation and I hadn't caught it so we had some time to kill. So, we went to IKEA, checked into our hotel room, and then I went back to the conference. After my presentation, we went to the Cincinnati Zoo. We only had an hour there but it was perfect because the crowds had dissipated and it was the perfect amount of time for Grace. We finished off the night with pizza at the hotel. Mark and I had planned on sharing a bottle of wine and watching a movie after Grace went to bed but I was sound asleep by 8:30. It was fabulous :)

Grace trying out the rocking horse at IKEA

Grace and Daddy at the zoo

Grace was constantly pointing while we were at the zoo. She LOVES animals!

We were posing like the momma/baby bear statue behind us, but we blocked the statue...oops!

Love this picture Mark caught of Grace in the hotel room!

On Sunday morning we woke up, had breakfast at the hotel, and then went swimming. The pool was pretty cold so Mark was the only one of the three of us who put more than his feet in the water! Once we got ready for the day, we headed to Jungle Jim's which is a grocery store on the north side of Cincinnati. Let's just say it's more of an attraction than a grocery store. It's a must stop every time we go to Cinci. Finally we made it to King's Island for Mark's company day. Grace was able to ride on a few of the rides and we enjoyed a nice picnic lunch. It's so cool to have the park open only to Cincinnati Insurance employees--much shorter lines! All in all we had a FABULOUS weekend!

Trying out the pool

Post-pool but not ready to get dressed for the day

Grace's favorite thing is to get ready with me. She loves using my makeup brushes on her face (sans makeup, of course!) and adores it when I use the blow dryer on her!

Checking out the animal statues outside of Jungle Jim's

The view from the "Eiffel Tower"

Grace got scared on the carousel...

She was much happier in mommy's arms!

This was the "craziest" ride we went on

Grace and daddy on the airplane ride

Pretty high!

Waiting in line for the mini train ride (yes, she was chewing on my hair!)

And then on to the big train ride around the park.

Too much fun for Grace!

Hats

Grace is very fair skinned so we try to make sure she wears a hat outside. It always helps when we wear them too!

Those moments

Poor Grace has her last molars coming in and they have made her terribly uncomfortable. This morning she woke up at 5:15 and we just couldn't get her to go back to sleep. She was clearly tired, so I decided to try rocking her. We curled up under a blanket and sat in the comfy rocker in the living room. Grace just clung to me and we rocked until she fell asleep and then we continued to rock. You see, I don't get to rock my baby that much anymore. And I love it! I love the smell of her hair. I love hearing her steady breathing as she sleeps. I love the fact that she feels so comforted by me that she is able to fall back asleep. I love seeing the sun begin to creep in behind the curtains. I love the quiet of the house. I love those moments!

Sleepy Head

Grace and Mark headed to Indy to see Grandma and Grandpa on Sunday so I could get some rest and try to get over this bug I've been fighting. They had a great time--played at a park, took a walk with Aunt Amy and Uncle Greg, and did lots of stair climbing. They left after dinner. Grace wore her PJs home and I carried her inside. I put her down so I could pour her a glass of milk--she was so sleepy, she laid down on the floor and tried to go to bed. Despite a full night's sleep, Grace's teacher informed me that she actually fell asleep at the lunch table today for about 5 minutes. What a little sleepy head!

Park Time

This past Saturday was gorgeous. I've been sick all week and although I'm still not well, I desperately needed to get out of the house so we took Grace to a few parks. It was nice being out in the sunshine and I think Grace really loved playing on the big playgrounds. Her favorite are the little motorcycle/animal bouncers. She gets sooooo happy on them!

Rainy Day

This was one of those days when it was gross out but Grace still wanted to be outside--so Mark bundled her up and took her down to the end of the driveway to see "the river" that was flowing through the street. She loved it! The pictures are a bit grainy because of the rain but I just love them--you can tell how much Mark and Grace love each other!

Outside Time

One of Grace's favorite things to do is play outside. She wants to be out there all the time--when it's raining, when it's 30 degrees, when she has her pajamas on, etc. We've had some great Spring weather lately though so Grace has got the chance to be outside more. Here are some pics from one of our evening play sessions.

Grace stole the broom I was using to clean off the patio. Not sure what she planned on doing with it :)

Checking out what's going on at the neighbor's house

And, finally, one of her new favorites, crawling through the holes on the bottom of her climber.