Let the festivities begin...

We've been trying to soak up this time of year because it always seems to go by way to fast.

Gracie all dolled up for her friend's Christmas party
We've seen santa many times and she is slowly warming up to him but still doesn't want to sit on his lap. Hopefully before Christmas is over she'll be brave enough. The other morning the FedEx man rang the doorbell and Gracie ran to the door yelling "Santa". I think she likes the idea of Santa, but just not on his lap.

Gracie and Ben waiting so patiently for Santa to arrive on the train.
Thanks to Ben we have Christmas lights up this year. He and Gracie go out every night together to turn them on.

We've been married for over 3 years now and have never had our own stockings. I've looked every year, but just have not found anything I loved so I decided to make my own. It defeintley makes the mantel complete and Grace loves pointing out who each stocking belongs to.

Celebrity Citing

Ben was excited to come home from school the other day and say that he meet his first celebrity. Andy Baldwin "an officer and gentlemen" from one of the seasons of the bachelor came to speak at Ben's school to recruit people to the marines. Maybe Ben's next celebrating citing will be someone that he is more interested in, but either way at least now he can say he met someone famous.

Thanksgiving

It was so nice this weekend having Ben around for 6 whole days! We spent a few days home putting up Christmas decor and the rest of the time in Dallas with Ben's family. We had a wonderful time and enjoyed being with family. This weekend I began to get a small glimpse of what having a two year old will be like. I know most people call it the "terrible two's" but I think troubled, trying, teachable, terrifying, and terrific could also be described at this age. She is teaching me so much lately and I'm slowly learning how to be a Mom to an almost 2 year old. Everyday''s an adventure.
Thanksgiving dinner was delicious. I forgot to get a picture of the food, but the table setting with china and crystal was beautiful.

We went to Gatti Town ( a nicer version of Chuck-E-Cheese). Of course Gracie won this game with the help of DaddyHer favorite thing to do was ride the merry-go-round. She won that little doll on the game she played with Ben and wouldn't let it down the rest of the day.

We went on a cute little train ride that they turned into the polar express. It was fun to sing Christmas songs on the train and see Santa.

Her new favorite thing to do is...

SING!
She's a little distracted with Mickey Mouse on TV and her breakfast. It's so fun to leave words off songs and have her fill them in. I had no idea she even new some of the songs I sing her until we started playing this game. She's getting pretty good with her ABC's and counting to 10. We're working on Christmas songs so she can be ready for the holidays.

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Doughnuts, Duckies, and Dada

What a great weekend!

20 weeks

I really don't like posting pictures of myself pregnant so this might be the only one you get. I've had many requests of my growing belly. I figured since I'm half way there I'd let you all see. This time it has gone by much faster than when I was pregnant with Gracie. I can't help but think since I'm half way there I'm going to be getting twice as big. Poor Gracie... my stomach already gets in her way when she sits on my lap to read books. This pregnancy has been really easy and I'm really enjoying it.

Martino Mouse

We all dressed up as Mickey and Minnie Mouse thanks to Gracie's love for Mickey. My sister gave Gracie this cute costume that she found at a yard sale for .50 cents (thanks Jen) and we took off from there. We had a great day. We went to music makers, a friends Halloween party, the ward party, and trick-or-treating in our neighborhood after. Gracie loved all the costumes (especially hers and Ben's). She even thought Ben was really Mickey when he first came out all dressed up. By the end of the night she got really good at trick-or-treating, and understood it meant candy in her bag. She would first knock, say "treat", was very polite and said "thank you", but only after saying "more". We had a fun Halloween!!!

Gracie will be having a...

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(that was "sister" for those who didn't catch it)
We are so excited to be having another girl. Deep down I think I was hoping it was going to be a girl. It will be fun for Gracie to have a sister close to her in age. It also helps that we already have all the girl stuff and they will be sharing a room and I am so excited to dress them the same. We can't wait to meet this little girl.

Halloween Time

I love fall, and especially all of the fun Halloween activities. It is a low key, stress free, fun time of year. Gracie's loved all the pumpkins (even though she still calls them apples). We're looking forward to dressing up going trick-or-treating.


We went over to some friends house to carve pumpkins and have delicious caramel apples. Gracie did not like taking out the pumpkins seeds. All we heard was "awh-oh" every time a little pumpkinwould get on her hand...thats my clean little girl for you.

Heather's Wedding

My best friend Heather got married this past weekend in Utah, and her wedding was beautiful. It was my first time away from Gracie for that long (3 & 1/2 full days). She spent part of the weekend with Nana and Pop and the other part with Daddy. It sounds like she didn't miss me one bit because of all the fun she was having. I came back feeling like a refreshed mom and wife. I had so much fun being back in Utah and spending a few days with Heather before she got married. Her and Nick are perfect for each other. It was fun to see Steve and spend some time with him. I stayed with him one night and he took me to lunch at Cafe Rio. I sure do miss that place, especially now that I'm pregnant. Him and Melinda were very sweet together and we are excited to see them again in December for their wedding.
Heather had 11 bridesmaids and groomsmen. She sure does have a lot of friends. I've never seen that many in a wedding party before.

Grandma comes to Texas

After living here for over a year, Grandma finally came to visit. We had so much fun. Gracie loved having Grandma around 24/7. She would wake up asking for her and would just laugh with her all day. I also enjoyed having the company all day.
We went to the zoo. Gracie was so funny. She had to walk around holding the Halloween purse Grandma got for her and showed Grandma how she knew all the sounds the animals make.
We went out to dinner at Belton Lake and enjoyed yummy seafood. We also took Grandma to the best brisket place in town.
Gracie's favorite part of the pumpkin patch was the hay ride.
We sure miss you Grandma and welcome you back anytime.

Nice Weekend

This weekend I scored at a huge yard sale. I got an adorable pottery barn rocking horse for only $15 (usually sells for over $100). Gracie LOVES it! I also got her a lot of cute winter clothes, a tricycle, books, and bowling pins and ball. I remember how I used to think going to yard sales was gross and there was only junk. Now that I'm a Mom I think they are so worth it...I love a good deal!

I also attempted to make homemade cinnamon rolls at Ben's request. I have a really good recipe from my Aunt Robin, but it looked a little too involved for me. The few times I have cooked with yeast the dough has turned out horrible, but I thought I would give it one more try. All three of us didn't wake up until 8:15 Sunday morning and the rolls were a perfect way to continue our relaxed Sunday. They were delicious and Ben even complemented me by saying they were the best cinnamon rolls he's ever had.

Watching conference is a lot different with a toddler. Gracie kept herself pretty well entertained with coloring. It's nice that she now enjoys it and I actually enjoy sitting with her and coloring myself. We had some friends over later in the afternoon which helped distract her. We always love watching General Conference and feel very uplifted and inspired at the end of each session.

Ready, Set, Go.....

Friday night was the big Pinewood Derby. Each family got to enter a car and we were so proud of ours. Ben spent many hours carving it, putting weights in it, and making it just right. We went with a Mickey Mouse theme, since Gracie is so into him these days. She cheered on our little car with her matching ears and was yelling "Mickey Mouse" every time she saw it go down. Her favorite part was eating all of the cookies on the table which were eye level and just at her reach. Sadly, we lost but we did win the "Fancy Shmancy" award.

Happy 25th Birthday

We've had a fun birthday week celebrating Ben's birthday. Tuesday, he got his first birthday card from his parents with a gift. Wednesday, Ben mowed the yard and I thought I'd give him his birthday present early (a blower for the yard)since it would be so practical. Thursday we brought an ice-cream sandwich cake up to school to celebrate with his class. Friday he received a packed in the mail from my Mom and couldn't wait to open it (very nice shirts.) An today we made him a nice breakfast (cream cheese French toast, hash browns, and bacon, all at his request), he has a softball game this afternoon, and tonight we got a sitter and are going to a restaurant on the lake. Happy 25th birthday. We love you!

20 Months Old

Here is a little update on Grace:
-Completely weened from her pacifier.
-eats a whole apple (not cut with skin and all) almost everyday.
-organizes the Uno Cards into colors
-still in a size 3 diaper
-loves to clean-up
-Hates nursery at church
-sleeps from 7pm to 7:45am
-very attached to Mommy
-loves steak and cookies
-watches Mickey Mouse every morning
-always carrying her baby, blankie, and a book
-getting good at puzzles
-climbs up and goes down slide by herself

We can't believe how big she's getting. It's very sweet to hear her say "I love you" back to us. Even though she is a crazy toddler she makes our days full of life.

No labor...All Fun

For Labor Day Nana and Pop came down for a visit for the weekend. We had a great time going to the Zoo and Children's Museum.

Thanks Nana for the new dress up outfit .
This is all we had to dress up in before.

Poor Gracie had a little bit of a hard time getting down this slide. Her sweaty legs made her stick. You can see the traffic jam it caused.

When she's happy, she's happy!

Ben and Grace went to the water park that evening. What a way to finish off the day, and she only got a15 minute nap in the car.

Sweet Girl

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New Favorite Thing...

Accessories ...it makes me smile every time!

Gracie the Ghost.

We're only laughing because she's laughing...

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Lake House

We've continued our many travels this summer with a trip to the Lake House with Ben's family. It was fun having the whole family together and enjoying the relaxation of being on a Lake. Gracie went on her first wave runner and loved it. We're sad that summers coming to an end for Ben (he starts school Monday), but feel like we really enjoyed every minute and squeezed in as much as we could.