End Of Summer
Friends & Family:
It is hard to believe that yet another summer has come and gone--so, I just refuse to dwell in it. It has been too long since I sent out an email to share Gracie with all of you. With the blog, I forget that many of you don't have the spare time (or the cavity-protection) to keep up with my little munchkin week to week.
Gracie continues to grow like a weed, and I learned that I was right last week when I thought that Gracie was the size of 4 and 5 year olds. In fact, she was the size (and some larger) than the 4 and 5 year olds that she played with at the little playground in the mall. I was somewhat embarrassed to watch these older kids look at Gracie like something was wrong with her. She was definitely their size, but she couldn't speak as well as they could, and she didn't take direction very well from them. I felt I needed to explain, but I decided that I shouldn't worry so much. After I asked a few parents their kids ages (they were in fact 4 and 5), I decided not to worry about it. The more I relaxed, the more I saw that Gracie will have no problems integrating with other kids; she went right up and chased them and danced around and played for nearly 2 hours. Those story times at the library that we started taking Gracie to this summer, to help with her shyness, have really paid off.
Because of her continued growth spurts Gracie is now in some 5T, but mostly 6X clothes. She just turned 2 and a half, last week. We aren't that worried about her size, she is very healthy, not chubby, and well proportioned. This does make it very difficult to find age appropriate clothes. I don't know what happened with retailers, but they are dressing 3 year olds like 7-8 years olds, 7-8 year olds like 12 year olds, and so on (have you seen today's 16 year olds!!!). I guess I better get really good at sewing very quickly, seeing as there are few things that I would allow my child to wear hanging in these stores. Until I can catch up on the sewing, I will stick to the second hand stores and cute outfits from my era where kids looked like kids and not pre-teens!
Back to summer. We had a busy one. We visited grandma and grandpa several times, and even made a trip to Tennessee to stay with Candice and Elliott and Lucie. Staying with grandma & grandpa is always a busy time, I can't even tell you all of the things we did from shopping, to swimming to playing on the swing set. Our trip to Tennessee was also quite the adventure. Since it was just us girls in the car for 6 hours (one way), Gracie and I had plenty of bonding time. Candice was solo for the week as well, so we considered it a "girls week." Gracie had so much fun playing with Lucie (their dog) and picking vegetables from the garden--not to mention the trips to Hands On Museum and rides on the 4-wheeler! I have to admit, Gracie is far more of a country girl than I ever was. She adores the wide open spaces, exploring and all the animals that come with a country life.
Also on our summer travels we saw DC for the first time since we moved here. We got brave (at the urging of my high school friends) and drove the hour to the Metro station, took the 30 minute ride and had a blast in DC. Gracie had the most fun on the train, and just after-- when she saw a pigeon for the first time (she thought it was a duck!). We took Gracie to the Air & Space museum, had an overpriced lunch and took in the Museum of Natural History. Gracie got an overpriced (but adorable) souvenir and we took in quite a few of the touristy sites like the Washington Monument and the Capitol building. We had so much fun that we are looking forward to going back!
We have spent some quality time in pools throughout the past 3 months and Gracie has become a little fish. While she can't swim on her own yet, the swim trainer suits have allowed her to float along beside me and work at moving her feet and arms. The last time we were in Lynchburg, Gracie was propelling herself into the deep end! I have confidence that she will be a strong swimmer and it won't take long next summer to catch back up.
In addition to growing, our little toddler has taken on quite a personality. Though we are still working (without much success) on potty training, she has formed her own agendas. While painting remains a favorite, she has now added PlayDough and especially dancing to her list. She is able to put together 25 piece puzzles on her own, and her vocabulary has grown exponentially, her new favorite word being "excellent." I wonder she gets it from ;) Other fun info: favorite color -now pink; favorite snack-raisins; favorite playtime pal-new stuffed panda "Tai Shan" from DC trip; favorite book-Three Little Kittens.
We have also had the chance to get closer to our wonderful neighbors and had several fun meals and "play-dates;" which has worked miracles for this lonely stay at home mom. Gracie and I spend plenty of time together learning, playing, hunting for new bargain books, and doing tons of fun crafts--but it is nice to have another adult to talk to!
Now that fall is here we have plenty of adventures still to come. We just got back from the zoo, and we are looking forward to the Pumpkin Patch, Halloween and visits from family. While it can be sad to watch another season come to an end, I am looking forward to all that the next season will bring. Garren, Gracie and I hope you had a wonderful summer full of your own memories. We look forward to hearing all about your many adventures and pray for more exciting ones to come.
We send our love and heartfelt wishes for a wonderful fall season,
Barbara, Garren & Gracie
It is hard to believe that yet another summer has come and gone--so, I just refuse to dwell in it. It has been too long since I sent out an email to share Gracie with all of you. With the blog, I forget that many of you don't have the spare time (or the cavity-protection) to keep up with my little munchkin week to week.
Gracie continues to grow like a weed, and I learned that I was right last week when I thought that Gracie was the size of 4 and 5 year olds. In fact, she was the size (and some larger) than the 4 and 5 year olds that she played with at the little playground in the mall. I was somewhat embarrassed to watch these older kids look at Gracie like something was wrong with her. She was definitely their size, but she couldn't speak as well as they could, and she didn't take direction very well from them. I felt I needed to explain, but I decided that I shouldn't worry so much. After I asked a few parents their kids ages (they were in fact 4 and 5), I decided not to worry about it. The more I relaxed, the more I saw that Gracie will have no problems integrating with other kids; she went right up and chased them and danced around and played for nearly 2 hours. Those story times at the library that we started taking Gracie to this summer, to help with her shyness, have really paid off.
Because of her continued growth spurts Gracie is now in some 5T, but mostly 6X clothes. She just turned 2 and a half, last week. We aren't that worried about her size, she is very healthy, not chubby, and well proportioned. This does make it very difficult to find age appropriate clothes. I don't know what happened with retailers, but they are dressing 3 year olds like 7-8 years olds, 7-8 year olds like 12 year olds, and so on (have you seen today's 16 year olds!!!). I guess I better get really good at sewing very quickly, seeing as there are few things that I would allow my child to wear hanging in these stores. Until I can catch up on the sewing, I will stick to the second hand stores and cute outfits from my era where kids looked like kids and not pre-teens!
Back to summer. We had a busy one. We visited grandma and grandpa several times, and even made a trip to Tennessee to stay with Candice and Elliott and Lucie. Staying with grandma & grandpa is always a busy time, I can't even tell you all of the things we did from shopping, to swimming to playing on the swing set. Our trip to Tennessee was also quite the adventure. Since it was just us girls in the car for 6 hours (one way), Gracie and I had plenty of bonding time. Candice was solo for the week as well, so we considered it a "girls week." Gracie had so much fun playing with Lucie (their dog) and picking vegetables from the garden--not to mention the trips to Hands On Museum and rides on the 4-wheeler! I have to admit, Gracie is far more of a country girl than I ever was. She adores the wide open spaces, exploring and all the animals that come with a country life.
Also on our summer travels we saw DC for the first time since we moved here. We got brave (at the urging of my high school friends) and drove the hour to the Metro station, took the 30 minute ride and had a blast in DC. Gracie had the most fun on the train, and just after-- when she saw a pigeon for the first time (she thought it was a duck!). We took Gracie to the Air & Space museum, had an overpriced lunch and took in the Museum of Natural History. Gracie got an overpriced (but adorable) souvenir and we took in quite a few of the touristy sites like the Washington Monument and the Capitol building. We had so much fun that we are looking forward to going back!
We have spent some quality time in pools throughout the past 3 months and Gracie has become a little fish. While she can't swim on her own yet, the swim trainer suits have allowed her to float along beside me and work at moving her feet and arms. The last time we were in Lynchburg, Gracie was propelling herself into the deep end! I have confidence that she will be a strong swimmer and it won't take long next summer to catch back up.
In addition to growing, our little toddler has taken on quite a personality. Though we are still working (without much success) on potty training, she has formed her own agendas. While painting remains a favorite, she has now added PlayDough and especially dancing to her list. She is able to put together 25 piece puzzles on her own, and her vocabulary has grown exponentially, her new favorite word being "excellent." I wonder she gets it from ;) Other fun info: favorite color -now pink; favorite snack-raisins; favorite playtime pal-new stuffed panda "Tai Shan" from DC trip; favorite book-Three Little Kittens.
We have also had the chance to get closer to our wonderful neighbors and had several fun meals and "play-dates;" which has worked miracles for this lonely stay at home mom. Gracie and I spend plenty of time together learning, playing, hunting for new bargain books, and doing tons of fun crafts--but it is nice to have another adult to talk to!
Now that fall is here we have plenty of adventures still to come. We just got back from the zoo, and we are looking forward to the Pumpkin Patch, Halloween and visits from family. While it can be sad to watch another season come to an end, I am looking forward to all that the next season will bring. Garren, Gracie and I hope you had a wonderful summer full of your own memories. We look forward to hearing all about your many adventures and pray for more exciting ones to come.
We send our love and heartfelt wishes for a wonderful fall season,
Barbara, Garren & Gracie
What great pictures. I loved it!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the update, pictures and interesting stories. We had a good summer also with 2 grandchildren here and 2 great grandchildren for almost a month. everyone is back on schedule now! It was fun while it lasted. I hope fall goes as well for all of you. Please stay in touch.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the update of Gracie. Sounds like you had a great summer. I have enjoyed viewing the photos – she is so adorable in her cute outfits. Growing so fast.
ReplyDeleteShe is lucky to have such caring parents to take time to play with her and take her places. I know she is the joy of your life.
I do hope you will bring her into the office soon. I would love to see her.
Thanks for sharing your summer.
Love and best wishes