And a great weekend it was!

Friday night I posted that Grace and I had a fun start to what was sure to be a great weekend--and a great weekend it was!

Grace woke up early Saturday morning with a bit of a coughing fit. I got up, got her some medicine and then, since it was still dark out, she came to bed with me. It wasn't very restful though. She kept popping up and saying, "Hi!" And of course she thought putting her feet in my face was hilarious. Finally at 7:00 we decided to get up since light was peeking in through the blinds. I made Grace blueberry pancakes for breakfast...Mickey Mouse shaped, of course!


Then it was time to get ready for a play date at the zoo with our friends Jenn and Porter. Grace tried out her new pull ups and although she did wet them, she did ask to go potty at the zoo, which was a big deal. We're not pushing the potty training but she does seem to be starting to get it a bit more. Funny story--we were ready to leave and I needed to turn the dryer off so I ran the 10 feet through the kitchen to the dryer and Grace started SCREAMING and stomping her feet. I of course ran back and asked her what was the matter. Her response, "Daisy! Hug!" Daisy ran away when Grace tried to give her a hug goodbye. I grabbed Daisy, let Grace give her a hug and kiss, say, "Bye Bye Daisy!" and our crisis was averted :-)


Saturday was a very cool, fall-like day--the perfect day to be at the zoo! Grace and Porter had so much fun together! As a bonus, it was the Labor Union's Family Day at the park so, while the zoo is usually free, you have to pay for the rides but they were all free thanks to the Union. We kind of felt like we were party crashers but it was open to the public :-)

At the river otter exhibit

Walking in the tunnel, through the "river" with the otters

Porter taking G for a ride on the tractor

Petting the goats

Grace decided she had enough of the zoo and was ready for the rides!

The boat ride.

The helicopter ride. Of course the one they chose went way up high. Jenn and I were a bit freaked out but you could hear them giggling from where we were standing under the ride...they loved it!

After the rides, including a train ride around the park, we walked over to Arni's for lunch. They have a mini arcade and Grace and Porter had fun "playing" the race car game. Following lunch we made a stop at the the playground and then it was homeward. Grace was asleep within 3 minutes of being in the car :-) The rest of the day we just hung out at home and played, ate dinner, and played some more.

Sunday, Grace woke up with a coughing fit again so I decided we'd have a snuggle day. We watched some Sesame Street, played some cards (Memory--we have them all flipped up and she finds the matches), read some books and colored...notice the smears on her face below from the red marker--thankfully they were washable!

We also played dress up...

After her nap, Grace and I decided to finally get dressed for the day and headed to Target to get some groceries. We had so much fun at Target! We went to the snack bar and shared a soft pretzel before doing our shopping and then we wandered the store, picked up Potty Time with Elmo DVD, a Sesame Street coloring book and some crayons (see photo above of marker on face!), and our groceries. It was so cute. I would be pushing Grace in the cart and all of a sudden she would hold her arms open and say, "Hug!" I can think of very few things that have made me happier. She is SUCH a sweet girl! We got home and made homemade, low-fat Fettuccine Alfredo. Grace absolutely went nuts over it--I love it when that happens!

"Yum! Dinner!"

Today was our most packed day yet. We got up and hung out, reading and watching Sesame Street for a bit. The we had to get ready for our fun-filled day.

First we met my advisor, Stacey, and her St. Bernard, Tuff at the park for a walk. I don't think Grace knew what to make of Tuff at first but by the end she absolutely loved him!




On our walk, we ran into a recent Purdue grad, Charlie, and his family. He has a little boy, Eli, who is about 6 months older than Grace. They had fun playing together and with Tuff.

Pooh Bear tree

Look at how big Tuff's water bowl is!

We left the park and headed over to our friend Kari's apartment for a picnic and a swim. The water was so cold but we all got in and Grace had fun jumping off the side and then having Kari and I "toss" her back and forth.


Grace crashed when we got home. Mark's cousin, Lynn, and her boyfriend, Ryan stopped by on their way home from Cincinnati. We let Grace sleep for a while but they didn't have long to visit so we finally woke Grace up. She was not a happy camper at first but I think she was happy to see Lynn and Ryan, I know I was :-) We finished out our perfect weekend with a play session outside after dinner and a wagon walk with Daisy. We're excited for Mark to get home tomorrow but we definitely enjoyed our girl time!

The beginning of a great weekend...

Grace and I are flying solo this weekend. Mark is currently in Minnesota with his parents for his great aunt's funeral tomorrow morning. They are then heading to Iowa to visit Grandpa. I have to be honest, I'm a little nervous being on my own with G for four and a half days but if tonight is any indication of what our weekend is going to be like--it will be awesome!

I picked Grace up from school today around 3:30 and we headed to "mommy's school" to pick up a few things. She was so cute on campus. She held my hand walking around (which she won't do at her school) and had her other arm swinging by her side. She looked so proud to be walking around with all the big kids as there were lots of students out and about. She pointed out all the bikes and buses we saw (which were a lot!) and even rode on my shoulders for a bit. We got home, had dinner, played with Play-Doh, read our books, took a bath, called daddy and Papa Weber, and then read books in mommy and daddy's bed before moving to Grace's room for bedtime stories and slumber. On the agenda for the weekend is a trip to the zoo, a visit to Monkey Joe's, swimming at Kari's, and maybe checking out Global Fest. It will be perfect (or as close to perfect as it can be without Mark here)!

Giggling as I make her take her thumb out of her mouth for a picture

And one with the thumb back in

In other fun Grace news:
*We all know Grace loves buses. Now whenever we see one she holds one finger up and asks for "more." On our way to school yesterday I told her to keep her eyes open and I was sure she would see another one. When I looked in my rearview mirror I saw her LITERALLY holding her eyes open with her little fingers!
*Last night at dinner I said, "Grace, you're pretty!" To which she responded, "You're pretty!"
*Grace is getting better and better with her ABCs and counting. Tonight she lined all of her toys up on the side of the tub and counted them. She went from 1 to 9--skipping 7 and 8 :-)

Yet another fun weekend in Indy!

We had another great weekend in Indy! Grandma came down and got Grace Friday morning and they spent the afternoon at the zoo together. From all reports they had an awesome time! Highlights included the dolphin show and a picnic lunch.

This is Grace's new signature nose scrunch face

And her old stand by look--thumb in mouth!

Mark and I traveled down late Friday afternoon and got to spend a little time with G before we headed to dinner with our friends Mark and Rob. We enjoyed a great dinner downtown and loved catching up with them! Meanwhile, Grace joined her Grandma and Grandpa and some of their friends at a jazz concert in the park. They only stayed for an hour but Grace loved the music! Whenever a song ended she would hold up her pointer finger and ask for more.

Grace and Papa

Saturday was a baby shower for Aunt Amy hosted by her girlfriends. It was a fun shower with good food, a beautiful setting, and nice company. Grace made a new friend, Wren. They were cute together.

Grace made herself comfortable on Ms. Jackie's lap during the present opening. It was hilarious--she had only met Jackie once before but she insisted on sitting on her lap!

After the shower, the Galls came to Mark's parents house and Grace and Noah were able to swim together. The big hit was bumper cars on the pool floats. After swimming we played several rounds of "Ring around the Rosie" and "Duck, Duck, Goose." Grace doesn't quite get the purpose of "Duck, Duck, Goose" yet and would simply run to the back of the yard instead of around the circle. The best part was that Noah would chase her with both his hands up in the air. Hilarious!

We ordered dinner in and Grace and Noah enjoyed eating at a table that was just their size!



Sunday was another relaxing day. We did a walk in the morning and then Sara took me shopping for an interview suit. It was so generous of her and I definitely will feel confident in my new outfit on my interviews (which I hopefully will get!). Grace spent more time in the pool Sunday and then we had a nice family dinner with the seven of us before we headed home. Whew! That was fun :-)

Troublemaker!

Grace is quite the little troublemaker! In the morning when we walk out to the car to go to school, she loves to "hide" from me by going to the other side of the car. I end up having to "chase" her and pick her up to get her in the car.

The other night when Mark got home with her, she kept lying on the driveway and on the garage floor rather than going into the house. She thought it was HILARIOUS!

She definitely has a little twinkle in her eye!

Slumber Party!

A couple of weekends ago, Mark and I had our beginning of the year party for my department. Grace's Aunt Amy and Uncle Greg graciously offered to host Grace for the night. Aunt Amy came and got Grace Friday afternoon. They headed to Indy and had a wonderful evening full of blanket forts, a trip to park across the street, baking brownies, and lots of stories. Grace loved it! Thanks Aunt Amy and Uncle Greg (a.k.a. Fre or Ba)!

Grace got to break in Anna's room :-)