Schlitterbahn Christmas

Schlitterbahn has a Christmas festival - I'm not sure if it is every year or if this was the first. We decided to take Grace to see the lights and go ice skating for the first time! We met our friends, Ava and Gracie, along with their parents. We had a great time playing around!

Jeff went ice skating for the first time - and me for the first time since college. Grace liked it at first, but then got a little tired/bored of it. Ava and Gracie loved it and Amy showed us what amateurs we were! Scott sat out to play photographer - one day I might get those photos!

We saw a ton of lights, played in fake snow, danced to light/music shows and watched trains. The girls has a wonderful time playing! Here are some photos!

The sweetest thing

Tonight, while we were rocking, Grace was cuddling up in my lap and being all snugly and loving. These moments are getting more and more rare. I looked at her and asked, "Can I just eat you up, nibble, nibble, nibble and put you in my tummy forever and ever?"

I'm not sure why I said that - it just came out :) Below is the rest of our conversation...

G - "Um, yes."
Me - "I can!? YAY! Nibble, nibble, nibble. MMM tasty!"
G - "When I was a little baby I was in your tummy."
M - "Yes, you were. When you were little - itty, bitty tiny little."
G - "I was in your tummy, then you did BLAH (with a wide open mouth and tongue half out) with your mouth and I got in your mouth. Like this, Mommy, BLAH. A wide mouth - open wide like this, Mommy (she opened her mouth as wide as possible). Then God took me out. He made your heart happy."
A - (with teary eyes and big, silly smile), "He did make my heart happy when He gave you to me. I love you so much, when you came out, God left a piece of you inside my heart so you will know that I will always love you. He put a piece of me inside your heart, so you will know I will always be with you."
G - "Mommy, I love you. You're my sweetie pie."

Can I just say how much I love this kid!!??

A little out of order, I know....

I am jumping ahead of myself (I still have Christmas with Granddad, Christmas with Nonni, and several other little things before I am caught up), but this was so funny to me.

Recently, Grace has picked up the word, "stupid." I am sure she got it from Jeff or I (we have both said it before!). She started saying it last week. I tried not to make a big deal out of it so she wouldn't get fixated on the word. At first, I ignored it. Then I would just say that it was a mean word that we shouldn't say. Then, I told her she couldn't say it because it might hurt someone's feelings (her response to that was "I am just saying it to me.").

Yesterday, I was trying to get her to put on her coat. She was taking her time like normal - and I was rushing her like normal. In the process, she dropped her ribbon. She muttered, "stupid." She looked at my when she said it, I thought because she knew she wasn't supposed to.

I told her that her candy was in time out (she was holding a piece for the car ride). I again explained to her why we can't say that word. I told her that she needed to apologize for saying it. She looked at me (with quite a bit of attitude) and said, "sorry." I told her that she has to say, "I'm sorry for saying stupid." We are working on making better apologies and recognizing what we did wrong. She looked me straight in the eye and said, "I'm sorry for calling you stupid."

I had no idea that she was calling me stupid!! So, I explained that stupid is a mean word and that when we say mean words, it makes us ugly inside. When we say nice and kind words, it makes us beautiful on the inside. She said, "Mama. Look at my face. I AM beautiful." She then smiled and batted her eyes at me.

What do you say to that!?

Two Jeeps and Sleeves

Nandy asked me for a Christmas wishlist from Grace. So, I asked Grace what she wanted from Nandy.

Her list included dresses with sleeves on them (because all she has are tank-top or sleeveless dresses and it is COLD!) and another jeep. I said, "Grace, you already have a jeep." She said that she wanted 2 like daddy.

The Jeep!

I know my mom is thinking, "FINALLY!" She has been asking me to get these photos up since the day Grace got the jeep!

As I said in an earlier post, Grace decided that her Granddad should get her a jeep for Christmas. Whether he wanted to or not. Of course, being a great granddad, he did want to!

Here she is standing with her eyes clothes - then jumping up and down with excitement when she saw her jeep!


When she finally got in and had her safety belt on, she hit the gas and the noise scared her. So, she decided she was going to push it. That got old pretty quick. Finally, she got back in - but I had to hold her hand while she drove (with Daddy's help!). Eventually, she regained her courage and was off like lightening. She was trying to chase me down soon after. Our first trip was to the mailbox, where she pretended to b e the mail man on the way home!



We did Christmas with Granddad and Mimi while they were here. Grace had so much fun opening the presents. This year is going to be a blast watching her!!

Cooking with Grace

Grace loves to help me in the kitchen. She has so much fun making anything, but especially baking. Muffins and cookies are her favorite. She wants to be the one to put the ingredients in the bowl, stir and then transfer to the baking pan. She REALLY wants to be the taster.

Here are some photos of her helping me cook the cornbread for the Thanksgiving turkey and dressing.

Playing

One of Grace's favorite activities is going to the park. Every time I ask her what she wants to do, she says, "go to the park." (Well, occasionally, she wants to go shopping!).

On the day before Thanksgiving, I decided that we both needed to get out of the house. We met Amy, Ava and Gracie (Rachel was with us) to play soccer and then hit the playground. Ava and Gracie soon became huge Rachel fans, just like Grace!

The best part of the day - I got a free lunch! I asked Amy if they wanted to have lunch. After she agreed to it, we got to Taco Bueno and I discovered I didn't have my wallet!

Talking With Santa

On the spur of the moment, Rachel and I decided to take Grace to Sea World (Sunday, November 23). When we got there, we saw Santa Clause. While standing in line, I told Grace that she could sit in Santa's lap and tell him what she wanted for Christmas. She replied that she wanted a jeep. I told her to tell Santa. When it was her turn, she looked at Santa, then looked at me. She asked, "But where is Granddad? I want a jeep." I told her to go tell Santa she wanted a jeep for Christmas. She was pretty hesitant, but she finally got in his lap. When he asked what she wanted for Christmas, she replied, "My granddad is buying me a jeep."

Santa said, "Well, I guess you don't need me!"

Little Cooks

Grace loves her new friends from school and has such a wonderful time playing with them. A few weeks ago, we stayed after school to play with Ava and Gracie. After naps, they made cookies with the help of Mrs. Amy (who burned the bottoms of the cookies, btw! HAHA). Even though these were peanut butter cookies, the girls really wanted to ice them. Not a yummy combination in my book, but they were really happy!