Happy 16 months!!!

Grace turned 16 months on Tuesday! It feels like she has been here forever. I have to keep reminding myself she has only been with us for 3 1/2 months. Things this week seem so much better with Grace. She isn't crying when I leave the room. She watches me and will either come along or stay put. The "pulling my pants down" routine hasn't happened all week :) Her sleep is better, but not perfect. She wakes every night around 1:30, stands and cries until we go in and lay her back down. She goes right back to sleep in a minute or two. We were given the suggestion by the IA therapist to put her in footed pjs. The first night we did it, she slept through the night! But has still been waking once a night since then. Once is much better than 3 or 4! Grace has also been taking my hand and taking me to what she wants, therefore the whining seems much less. She is doing so well and we are so blessed to have her!

What is Grace up to???
*says dog (more mike dau), hot, hi and mama (more like mom mom).
*She has pointed to me and said "mommom" but then points to a picture of the boys and says "mama". Not quite sure yet what is going on with that yet.
*climbs everything (couches, kitchen chairs, etc)
*learned how to go down a step on her butt
*knows exactly where the popsicles are and tries to open the freezer all day
*loves The Wiggles and Zaboomafoo


Grace loves to bend over and look through her legs. She was cracking up the other day when we were all saying hello.

Grace loves her electronics!!!!

Still loves books, but now we only read about 5-6 books a day as opposed to about 30!


Grace only likes the swing if someone stands in front of her. She kicks us, we pretend to fall, she cracks up!


Caught in the act!!!! Grace loves to climb the edge of the stairs and can go up to at least the 3rd step. We are constantly pulling her off or counting to three until she removes herself. When she is in one of her "I want to make you mad" moods, this is one of the first places she goes (besides the oven).

We headed to the park today to try and burn some of Grace's energy off before nap :) We played by the creek, scootered and played at the playgrounds. It is a gorgeous day out!

This would have been a great picture if Nate didn't have the "school photographer head cock" going on!


Grace loves slides and is very determined to walk herself up any slide she comes across. She worked very hard getting herself up the one at the playground today :)

Lake Wallenpaupack

We just got back from an awesome vacation at Lake Wallenpaupack. We went up with Mom mom and Pop-pop and visited with some old family friends who live up there year round. Our friends, Tom and Janice had us over to their place on the lake all day sunday. It is like a water wonderland with all the stuff to do. Then they let us use their boat for the rest of our vacation at the house we were staying at on the lake. Janice also let the boys care for and ride her three beautiful horses. Grace was very nervous at first, then loved them. We are so grateful for their generosity and friendship. The lake is gorgeous and huge (13 miles long and 52 miles of shoreline). We did so much in 5 days!
*boating
*wave runners
*swimming
*kayaking
*tubing
*water skiing
*eating smores
*playing with fire (Aidan wanted me to add that one)
*docking and swimming to little island
*riding, brushing and feeding horses
*evening boat cruise (my favorite)
*celebrating Aidan's 8th birthday
*fishing

The kids had an absolute blast and Grace did some bonding with Mom mom and Pop-pop. Our first night there (after 2 weeks of sleep issues) she slept through the night in the pack and play! Go figure! She napped well, ate well, and was pleasant most of the trip. She is starting to accept my parents and was not clingy much at all. She really enjoyed herself and loves being outdoors. The boat was not her favorite place to be, but we think that was due to the life jacket. We walked in the front door yesterday and the clingy, crying, whining behavior started along with a bad night sleep. I don't quite get it, but I guess she was just coming down off the vacation high we were all on. Now it is back to reality for a while, but here are some pics....

Aidan walking on water!







Grace loves all dogs, even those that look like bears!



Brad the Human Raft

Aidan's 8th Birthday

Aidan turns 8 years old this coming Monday! I can't believe how fast the time goes. He has become quite the baseball nut this year and wanted to take his friends to a minor league baseball game, The Reading Phillies. They offer didn't birthday packages and it is all very family friendly. Aidan got to throw the first pitch of the game, got a shirt, hat, autographed ball, visit from the mascot and a photo of his pitch (Which Brad forgot to pick up, so he will be working on that :) The kids had a great time and Aidan was over the moon! I didn't get to go since we couldn't leave Grace with anyone yet and we knew better than to bring her. From what I'm told, Aidan's pitch was great! The night ended with a great fireworks display that the boys couldn't stop talking about when they got home. I wish I could have been there, but am so happy that Aidan had a great night!

This is only part of the kids. The other car hadn't gotten there yet. I was a little disappointed that Brad didn't get one good group shot, but I need to start letting go of things :)


Aidan down on the field getting ready to pitch the first ball.

Aidan pitching the first ball of the game :) He told me he was so nervous he was shaking, but absolutely loved doing it!



The mascot came to where they were all sitting and sang "Happy Birthday" to Aidan.