Gracie's Fall Fun

From Email 11-18-06
Family & Friends:

It has been a while since I last updated you all, so make an appointment with the cavity police, because here comes some more sugar-filled news.

Gracie had a fantastic Halloween this year. Her Mamaw & Papaw (Garren's mom and dad) came in the weekend before and spoiled her rotten, and then she and I drove to Lynchburg so we could trick or treat in my parents neighborhood. We have done that for the past 2 years, and there isn't any real place to take her trick or treating here. On the downside, because it was election season daddy had to stay at home and he missed out on this fun holiday. I wasn't sure how Gracie would react to the dressing up part, and she wasn't a happy camper...at first. By the third house or so she was really enjoying herself and telling the person at each house that she was a puppy dog. Then she would tell me on the stroll to the next house that she got candy and "I having fun momma!"
The morning after Halloween we had even more fun in store as I drove mom and Gracie to Virginia Beach for an extended stay. We hadn't been to the beach since Gracie was 6 months old, and I was really looking forward to this mini-vacation. We went to see family, but we had already decided to make it into a fun stay as well. Gracie absolutely adored the beach, and the first day was so warm that she was able to splash in the water and play in the sand. By day 2 the cold had set in, but we didn't let that stop us! We wrapped Gracie up in many layers and had a big coat on her while she made sand castles and sand angels. We also visited the aquarium which was a neat experience, and my little animal lover was so excited to see all the fish and other creatures. Personally, I loved the sea turtles!
I guess this has been the season for traveling. Besides Halloween and the beach we have made trips to Lynchburg for my 10th high school reunion, Grandma and Grandpa came to Strasburg to see Gracie as did Mamaw & Papaw; and now we are getting ready for a week long trip to Tennessee for Thanksgiving.
We have had such fun this fall. We baked many pies and took several trips to the apple orchards and pumpkin patches in our area. We carved pumpkins and hosted tea parties. Gracie got to take her first pony ride, and attended her fist real football game. We went to a couple of festivals, and attended story times at the library and really enjoyed the Teddy Bear Picnic that they hosted. Gracie used scissors by herself for the first time, and astonished me by completing matching worksheets. (She is such a little genius isn't she ;)
In the midst of all these activities Gracie took another growth spurt; surprise, surprise. She is now pretty much only in 6x clothes, we do get her 7/8 or larger (that's little girls not toddler) shirts to fit over her head. The potty training is still at a dead end, but we are starting to see some renewed interest, so here's hoping. As for the binki, I am at a loss for what to do. I have gotten many suggestions, but I don't want to cut her off cold turkey, and while the idea of giving them to the baby animals is a good one, I can't see Gracie walking away without running back to retrieve them. I have thought of getting her infant pacifiers and when she can't get any suction, hope she will give them up on her own. Anybody else got some ideas? Right now she still only gets "gi-gi" at naptime and bedtime.
I guess that's a pretty good update. Gracie continues to grow in to more of an independent person, and boy does she have a personality. She is very well behaved child so far, although these past few weeks have been difficult as she tests our limits to see what she can get away with. The "terrible two's" are definitely in full swing at our house! We are sticking to our guns though and we have consequences for bad behavior (time outs), and our rule with temper tantrums is: everyone gets frustrated and mad sometimes and we don't punish it, but we don't want to listen to it either, so she goes in to her room until she is finished being upset. She doesn't have to lay down or sit in a corner, just take time to fume and calm down. This really works, she usually cries for a minute and starts playing and then comes out and tells us "all better."
I have tons of pictures and videos to share, and of course you can read all about our life here on our blog.
Gracie, Garren and I hope all of you have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for this year and we plan to celebrate those blessings as often as we can. We are again asking family and friends this year to share their blessings with us as we continue to teach Gracie what it means to be thankful. You can email you thankful lists to me, or post them on the blog.
In the meantime, be sure to let us know how you are doing. We care about each of you and would love to know how life is treating you.

All our love,
Barbara, Garren & Gracie

Pictures:
Gracie September 2006
Gracie October 2006
More October
Gracie Halloween
Gracie At The Beach
Gracie Novemeber 2006

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