and miss g's videos..

momma never did post her 6 year old video...

 gracie birth to 5

 5 to 6

gracie girl, i love you so!!  

preschool program

of course, i didn't get any good pictures from during the program & my video camera ran out of batteries (thank goodness we have 1 more year to miss g graduates from pre-k).  but, she was as cute as ever!

after the program, running up to give daddio a huggie.

with her friends.

at home with momma & bubby.

& benj doing what he loves best..nintendo

i'm surprised he didn't sneak it into the program..
miss gracie gal, we are so proud of you & your sweet, beautiful heart & strong spirit (those sometimes i wanna pull out my hair).  we love you to jesus & back & will always love you.  keep on learning, loving & leaning on God!

where is thumbkin?

miss gracie had her speech evaluation with the school this week & passed their testing no problem.  so, no speech with evsc at this time.  but momma is working with her the best i can & will look into other options.  i am very thankful that she herself is not concerned about the fact that some can't understand her.  but i want her to be able to sing one of her favorite songs "where is thumbkin?" without sounding like she's saying the f-bomb.  i'm sure the music teacher at her preschool church blushes when she hears that being belted out!   & those tricky k sounds (that sound like a t - kitty with a t is said quite often) & gr sounds (her name is not tracy, folks).  momma & daddio both had to take speech when we were little & she's kinda destined for it i guess.  not a biggie.  she'll get those words. she's one smart cookie & doesn't give up.

feelin' a bit froggy round here

our cement pond had become a refuge for frogs in the past few weeks since we hadn't been putting in the chemicals & just trying to find the time to close it.  i am sooo happy daddio closed that thing up this past weekend.  thank you hunny! every day, multiple times a day, we would have to check the pool skimmer for frogs - which entailed me lifting that basket out & dumping out whatever was inside & gracie grabbing every frog for her to save in her nice little froggy habitat she created in our cooler. 

here are some of the froggys gracie "saved" in the past few days... they were named daddy frog, momma frog, baby frog, baby frog, baby frog, baby frog (too many "baby" frogs to name).

nice, huh?

it was getting a bit too much for momma to handle (they wouldn't eat the frog food or fish food those little boogers), so last night we had a release of the frogs to find the rest of their froggie families & head somewhere a bit warmer.

 before the release, a family picture.

she sure does love froggies!! & i look forward to the day when mr. b will give me a smile again.

& here she is letting them go.

she had to pet each one &give them a little squeeze before releasing them towards the lake.

benj is a bit more like his momma, not caring so much for the sliminess & squirmyness & jumping.
but, he did release some of the baby frogs.

there's that smile i love!

i thought the frog release would never end!

frogs everywhere that gracie had to love on before release.  ick!

& one of the last ones was the big daddy frog.  that dude really freaked me out.

& gracie loved that fact.  (& a side note - check out her dress momma made for her from old shirts- just don't look too close at my lack of sewing skills!)

can ya tell? 

 

 at least, my sweet boy was trying to protect me with a "shield" as gracie kept wanting me to get a better look. i think he was a bugged out as me!

 
adios, froggies.. until next year when you try to overtake our cement pond. 



she's back in pink!

well, miss gracie decided to give it another go at soccer thanks to big brother's pep talks.  & love it she did.  it helped that she had some of her favorite people, dave & kate (& baby in the belly), in the crowd cheering her on.  one of her favorite places was still on the bench, socializing & cheering "let's go shockers, let's go!" though.

but guess what - little miss came back in pink with a vengeance!  a goal!!!  woohoo!

ok, she might have been at the right place at the right time thanks to coach susan, but it was a goal!

all in a day's work for miss grace. (at least she looks that way after her goal)

& she ran & played & most of all had fun! 

 & not away from the ball, but with the crowd!

keep up the good work & fun, my little shocker!

papaw's hat

we took papaw to get a haircut friday while benj was in school.  i ended up taking him to a beauty shop, which he was less than thrilled with but tough.
miss gracie was trying out his hat for size. & i, of course thought she was the cutest thang.

go phillies!!

pretty pictures of you

my miss gracie faye, i love to dress you up & take your picture.  i know soon you won't let me either.  i grabbed the opportunity at the beach one evening when we were flying the kite aunt donna got for ben & you were a trooper.  thank you, my beauty.

but sometimes you can be a sassy cat!

but i still & will always love you as far as the ocean is wide & all the way up to jesus - just like you tell me. 

& that's the end!



my little tree hugger

& tree kisser (she named this tree woody)

happy earth day!!



happy belated birthday, my gracie girl

only a month late here, but it is a friday the thirteenth, just like the day when you were born.   oh, what a day.  i know i probably write the same stuff every year, but what a day.  i had it all planned out.  a 5 page document for the grandmas & poppy to care for ben while we would be in the hospital for a short time when you were born.  your birth didn't go quite as planned & you ended up in the nicu for a few weeks.

 thank goodness for family to care for benjo so i could stay by your side.  i kept saying to myself that this would only be short term, but at the time, i was a mess.  i wish i could have just "let go & let god" be in control. 



gracie was going to be ben's name had he been a gal.  once we had heard gracie girl
by ben folds, my mind was set i was having a gracie.   that entire song just gets me.  here's the end of the lyrics:
"one day you’re gonna wanna go

i hope we taught you everything
you need to know
gracie girl
there will always be a part of me
nobody else is ever gonna see
but you and me
a little girl
my Gracie girl"

you are the perfect little gracie.  just like in that song. 


 momma & daddio loove ben folds.  our wedding song was the luckiest by him.  which some might think is kinda strange, but it was us. 


my dear justin, "where was i before the day that i first saw your lovely face? now I see it everyday. and i know that i am the luckiest"  (lyrics from the song.  but you do make me feel pretty durn lucky. 


now back to you miss grace, gracie by ben folds & good old amazing grace just bring tears to my eyes thinking about you & how precious your little life is.

how you've grown in 3 years!  some pics from the past. (i realized going through all of our pictures, i sure do take a lot of you kids)

easter time

working on "craps" (crafts) with benj.  you are always hands on & not afraid to get dirty!

(your 1 year old birthday at namaw & poppy's)

lovin with bub

there's some hair on ya!

so pretty!

(your 2 year old birthday shot at the beach)

playing in the fall leaves while ben was at preschool

you are growing up to be quite independent (i think you get that from auntie jen, even though she's a few hundred miles away).  i am so proud of all you can do.  you are a big gurl, you let me know all the time & you can do it yourself.  sometimes your dress might be on backwards or your swim bottoms are in one leg, but you do it.  all by yourself. 

we spent your actual birthday this year on vacation with namaw & poppy at the beach.  can't beat that!  we all made your horsey cake,

we made princess crowns 

& had a pony pinata (only 1 place in the area sold pinatas, but we got ya one). 

& got to play on the beach & in the ocean.  

  i think you had a fun day. 

you don't look too much like your momma, but i can still dress you up in my old clothes (at least for now) & you are cute as a button.

here you are telling the world you are 3.  i love this shot of you!

preschool starts for you soon.  you are super duper excited & momma is too for you.  but i will miss our little time together.  you are my little helper & my super duper sweetie pie.  you tell me "momma, i wuv you" about a bazillion times a day & i can't get enough of that.  thank you. 

we love you, our little cowgirl with all our hearts!

(in this picture you have your tounge stuck out, like you always do when you are workin real hard!)

modeling some of your birthday presents!!  yee haw!

happy belated 3rd birthday gracie faye!!