Baby Chicks

Hayden and Gracie got a big surprise when Mark got home from work on Monday.  Last year we bought colored baby chicks for Easter, so now it is a tradition at the Stancil House.  It turned out to be a great surprise and the girls were very excited. 

Waiting to see what is in the box:

Oh, Thank You Daddy:

This is Orange Juice:

Baby Chicks...Big Bird, Orange Juice, Blue Boy, Bear, Pinky and Oscar:

WE LOVE YOU SWEET GIRL:

WE LOVE YOU TOO:

More Antibiotics

Well yesterday started out by having lots of fun. Hayden, Gracie and myself went to the Mall with Stephanie, Kierstin and Mark Brantley to see the Easter Bunny and shop too!!! As always Hayden and Kierstin were very excited to be together, they shop very well and they even had to have a matching dress! Gracie and Mark Brantley were both excellent shoppers too. Gracie stayed in her stroller the whole time and never once fussed to get out, I must admit I was very surprised! The main focus of the trip was to buy Easter shoes for everyone and to see the Easter Bunny. When we finally made it over to the Easter Bunny, Kierstin and Mark Brantley were very excited and took an excellent picture! Hayden would not go within 10 feet of the Easter Bunny and well, Gracie held her arms up and started screaming Mama...So needless to say their our no Easter Bunny pictures of the Stancil girls this year. Hayden didn't like the Easter Bunny last year either but she promised me she was going to like him this year. After everything was said and done she explained to me why she didn't like this Easter Bunny...It is because the Easter Bunny this year was brown and she only likes the Easter Bunny that is white. I told her that sure is funny because last year the Easter Bunny was white and she still wouldn't have anything to do with him. Oh, well the Easter Bunny is a little scary looking! I noticed the whole time we were shopping that Hayden wasn't quite acting like herself, but when she wouldn't eat I knew something was off, she is my kid that always eats well, Gracie is the one who usually picks at everything. I just figured she was tired, but I didn't think she could possible be getting sick again so I continued our shopping trip to Toys R Us to buy the Toy Story movies, yes we bought both of them. I think I was more excited about them than the girls were, I can't help I still like little kid movies! Then after that we went to visit Nana and Steve and Mema and Pop. My Mama had a painting done from one of Gracie's one year photos, just like she had done for Hayden at it was ready for pick up yesterday, so we went to get it. I couldn't wait until next week I have been excited about getting it...It turned out beautiful, just like the one of Hayden. Now I just have to figure out where to hang both of them together. Once again I noticed that Hayden seemed very tired but I figured it was from being on the go all day.

Well we finally made it home and we were getting ready to go to an Easter Egg Hunt when I she told me she was cold and I noticed she had chills. I knew immediately after that, that she had a fever. So I took her temperature and it was 102.5 so I called Dr. Beeber and the lady took a message for him to call me back. Keep in mind this is a 5pm as the doctor's office is closing, but Dr. Beeber called me back and told me to get in the car and come right then that he would wait on me. Well unfortunately for Hayden he ended up giving her two shots and two more antibiotics and wanted to see her again this morning. As I have mentioned before Hayden is terrified of shots, so once I told her we had to pull her pants down, she went to crying and telling me "No", well I finally got her pants down and she ended up kicking over the chair in the office and it took me and Dr. Beeber to hold her down. She has got to be the strongest 4 year old I know! So we got up this morning and noticed that Gracie also had a fever and bad cough, so we went ahead and took both of them this morning. Hayden, once again had to have two more shots, but she did very good today I think it was because her Daddy was there with her. I personally think it is because Mommy always has to do all the mean and bad stuff! Oh and Gracie ended up on two antibiotics but she didn't have to get a shot.

The girls are feeling better and playing just fine! I just wish it wasn't going to rain tomorrow so we could have another beautiful day to go outside and enjoy. Mimi and Pop are coming over tomorrow and that always makes for two happy little girls even if we can't go outside!!!

Kite Day at Preschool

Today was Kite Day at school. Hayden took her new Princess Kite today. Gracie was such a good girl the whole time, she sat back and watched. Hayden did a great job flying her new kite.

Here a few pictures of our Kite Day!

What a Beauty:

Sitting there so sweet while everyone is flying their kite:

Kierstin, Hayden and Ally:

Right before it was her turn to fly her kite:

Grant really likes Gracie:

Hayden and Ally jumping up and down, full of excitement:

Cutie Pies:

There she goes:

What a pretty kite:

It was a beautiful day, after we got done with Kite Day we had lunch with Aunt Kim and Mimi at the Chinese place. Then we came home a played outside for a little while!!!

Here is Hayden in action:

Hat Day at Preschool

My morning started off in the best possible way ever. Hayden woke me up around 7am by giving me a kiss on the cheek and telling me that she loved me!!! Now that is one wonderful way to start the morning. She is so thoughtful and sweet...That is usually how Mark and I wake her up in the mornings.

It was also Hat Day at Preschool today. Hayden picked her bass pro shop hat that Aunt Kim and Uncle Artie gave her for Christmas, except I didn't let her wear the light clip that they also gave her, even though she wanted too. It is such a cute little hat, it is pink with a camouflage butterfly on it. They also gave Gracie the same hat for Christmas, so I decided she could participate in hat day too! They look so cute in hats, but of course neither one of them leave it on for too long. I made Hayden promise that she would leave her hat on for most of the day since it was hat day. I will be curious to see if she did or not when I pick her up. She was a proud little girl this morning when I dropped her off, all of the teachers went on and on about how cute her outfit and hat were. One of the teachers even leaned back in the car to tell me that it was one of the cutest hats ever!!! What can I say, everything is cute on that little girl! Gracie looks like a little angel in her hat, but she finds it to be more fun to pull it all the way down on her face and play peek a boo! Everyone in Wal-Mart thought it was hilarious this morning...Mommy had to go pick out a few things and take them to the Easter Bunny, being that Easter is next weekend!!! I think the girls will be very pleased with what the Easter Bunny decided on.

Aww so sweet:

Hayden was trying not to miss her show on TV:

While I was updating the blog, Gracie was napping or at least I thought she was. Instead of taking a morning nap she played in her bed and decided to start taking her clothes off! She was very proud of her accomplishment when I opened the door to get her up, so of course I had to get the camera.

Proud little girl:

Our Weekend

Here are a few pictures from this weekend.  We had lots of friends and family over on Saturday since it was so beautiful outside.  Hayden and Gracie were so worn out that they actually slept until 8am on Sunday, and that is really late for Gracie these days.  Hayden showed everyone how well she plays softball.  She is really good at it, I guess she is going to be like her Daddy and be good at everything she does.   Gracie showed everyone how she can climb up her little playset and slide down her little slide too!  It was so funny and of course since we kept laughing she kept doing it over and over again. 

Sunday we went to eat hot fire(Japanese) with Uncle Randy and then Hayden and I went to get a pedicure!  She didn't really know what to think, I actually think she was scared to move but it was really sweet.  She must have liked it because she already wants to know when we are going back.  Gracie didn't get to get a pedicure, but she did get some quality time with her Daddy.  They went shopping at the Tractor Supply and she tried to pull the head off of a baby chick.  In her defense she really doesn't know any better yet, I guess we will have to see how she does when we get them some baby chicks for Easter.  It is a tradition now that we get colored baby chicks for Easter every year!!!  Last year we had several colored ones...they were green - oscar, pink - pinky, purple - bear, orange - orange juice, yellow - big bird and blue - blue bird...and yes we even name our baby chicks.  I can't wait to see what they pick this year!!! 

Anyway, on to the pictures...

They are just so sweet:

Going for a ride with Daddy:

I still like to swing too:

My sweet little baby, she was about to go to sleep:

She wants her hair to be just like Mommy's:

My little Minnie Mouse:

Spring Fever

The girls have been sick this week but today they were feeling much better.  We went to the grocery store and then spent lots of time outside.  It is just like Spring today, I am so ready for it to be like this everyday!!!  Hayden and Gracie are REALLY enjoying spending all day outside.  In fact Gracie cries everytime I make them come in to take a break.  It has actually been warm enough that I have had to make Hayden come in and cool off because her little face turns so red.   We have played Soccer, Baseball, jumped on the trampoline and we even cleaned out their playhouse and set it up so cute.  We have accomplished a lot this week...We have done all of our Spring cleaning.  I have cleaned the house from top to bottom, even cleaned out closets!!!  Hayden and I cleaned the inside of the Hummer and cleaned and organized the deck.  I can't take credit for the yard looking so wonderful, we actually paid someone to come cut the grass and put out pinestraw, but it is always well worth it!!! 

My little Peebles

I always said I wouldn't put my kids hair up like this, but I have decided that it is really cute on her with all her little curls!!!

I love their smiles in this picture, even Rowdy's...

Hayden wanted a picture of her and Daddy's hunting dogs...

She is saying Cheese but running away from the camera...

Hayden and Ms. Sue, notice in the background Gracie is making a run for it...

I am sure I will have more great pictures tomorrow.  It is supposed to be another beautiful day, so hopefully we will spend it outside.  I know that we have to go buy sand for both of our sandboxes, being that I have already promised them we would. 

Friends

Yesterday morning Mark and I took the girls to IHOP, and of course they didn't eat hardly anything. They always both eat a good healthy breakfast every morning but for some reason when we go out for breakfast they don't eat anything. Then we went to the grocery store, I always shop at Wal-Mart because I know where everything is, but when you take Mark and two little girls with you somehow we spend too much money. I guess it is okay to splurge and have some fun every once in a while. When tried to play outside a little bit but it was just too windy, but while Gracie was napping Mark took Hayden outside to play a little soccer. I think Mark actually really enjoys playing soccer too! Watching them play yesterday made me realize that Mark would be a great soccer coach if Hayden does decide she wants to play soccer. He has lots of patience and makes her try to do something even when she says she can't do it. Later yesterday afternoon Mimi, Pop and Kim came over to play and eat dinner. Mark and Kim both played soccer with Hayden. I think everyone enjoys getting outside and playing like a little kid again. I know I do, I jump on the trampoline, slide and play soccer when it is pretty outside during the week!!! Kierstin and Mark Brantley also came over to play! Hayden was so excited that Kierstin was coming to her house. They played dress up most of the night and some video games, the educational kind that is. They also both actually fell asleep last night, and it wasn't even too late. Gracie had fun playing with Mark Brantley, she has decided that she doesn't want to try to keep up with Hayden and Kierstin. Mark Brantley was sitting on Gracie's little princess couch playing and she just sat down right beside him. She also gave him big hugs and kisses. It was really cute and it won't be much longer before Gracie and Mark Brantley will be chasing their big sisters around and aggravating them all the time.

Gracie and Mark Brantley:

So cute:



Hayden and Kierstin playing video games:



Gracie giving big hugs:

Happy Baby:

18 Month Check Up

Gracie had to go for her 18 month check up today.  Mark was actually back home this morning before we had to leave to go to Dr. Beeber's office so he got to go too!  Hayden only went so that she could see Gracie get shots.  As you have read in recent posts...Hayden is TERRIFIED of shots so she was excited that someone else had to get some.  It was actually the fastest doctors appointment we have ever had, usually we ended up spending at least and hour or more at the doctor but today we were in and out of there within 45 minutes.  Ms. Pat came in to get Gracie's weight and measurements first.  Gracie absolutely does not like anyone she doesn't know to touch her, I don't know where she could have possibly gotten that from(just kidding my Mom says I was always the same way)!  Gracie weighed 22lbs 2oz and was 31 1/2 inches long.  It was funny because the first thing Ms. Pat said when she came into to the room was "Wow she is so tall".  I guess I don't notice it as much because I see her everyday.  She was 25th percentile for weight and 75th percentile for height.  After Ms. Pat got finished I told Mark to just wait and see how Gracie reacts when Dr. Beeber comes into the room.  He thought I was exaggerating a little, but I promise I wasn't.  As soon as Dr. Beeber came into the room, Gracie held up her hand and started saying "No No".  Of course Dr. Beeber laughed but she wasn't kidding.  She screamed the whole time he checked her out and once again he confirmed that she is perfect.  When Dr. Beeber was getting ready to leave the room, Gracie started cutting her eyes at him, pointing her finger and talking to him.  I can only imagine what she was trying to say.  Dr. Beeber agreed that he probably didn't want to know what she was saying and just laughed.  He did say that she has a lot of personality about her, which is very true.  He also told Mark and I that we have two beautiful little girls and he is enjoying watching them grow up too!  Unfortunately Gracie did have to get one shot today and Hayden was very excited about it until Gracie started crying, and yes once again Gracie held her breath until she almost passed out after Ms. Pat gave her the shot.  I sure do hope she out grows that!  Hayden was very upset for her little sister after the shot was given, she went over to Gracie and held her little hand and told her everything would be okay. 

Then it was on to some fun stuff, I always take my girls and let them pick out a surprise after they have doctor visits.  We went to Wal-Mart to do a little grocery shopping and Gracie got a new ball since she had to have a shot today.  She loves to throw balls, and she is pretty good at it too!  Hayden got another puzzle, she said that she needed a surprise too since Gracie had to get a shot. 

On the way back home we stopped by to see Nana and Steve.  Gracie showed off big time today.  She was being so SILLY and it is even better when she laughs at herself.  I haven't heard Nana laugh like that in a long time. The girls were glad to see Nana and Steve but they were hungry and tired by this point so we didn't stay but a few minutues.   

Gracie doesn't have to go back for another check up until she is two.  I can't believe that in just 6 months she will be two.  She is growing up way too fast! 

Fishing

We took Hayden and Gracie fishing last Sunday with Cy, Heath, and Lee...

I even had to go to Wal-Mart to buy new fishing poles for the girls...The choices were Barbie, Princess or Dora so I let Hayden pick which one she wanted first and she picked Barbie, yeah I was surprised she didn't pick the Princess one.  Gracie got the Dora one because it had purple on it and Hayden says that purple is Gracie's favorite color.  I guess Hayden and Gracie have conversations that Mommy doesn't know about.

My Beautiful Family : Hayden was very excited about fishing and well Gracie just wanted Mommy's drink for McDonalds...

I love this profile shot of that sweet little face...

What can I say just simply beautiful...

Paying close attention so that she doesn't miss any of those big fish...

We all had a great afternoon Sunday, it was nice to be able to be outside.  Hayden REALLY enjoyed fishing and Gracie loved just being able to walk around outside and get into everything.   Cy cleaned and cooked all the fish that Hayden caught and we ate them for dinner.  Hayden thought that was so funny but her and Gracie both enjoyed their fish fry.  I was surprised that Gracie liked it, I think she even ate more than Hayden did.  I think we are planning to go fishing again this weekend with Cy and Nichole, it is supposed to be another beautiful weekend, well that is if the weather doesn't change before then.   

Here are a couple of other pictures from the weekend:

This is Hayden Saturday morning going to spend the special time with Daddy.  They put out birds so that Uncle Clifford could go bird hunting over at Cy's house.  She had so much fun and she was so excited about getting a biscuit from the Good Hope Store.  She is actually wearing a vest in this picture that was Mark's when he was little.  I bet you can't figure out who dressed her!!!  She was so cute and excited!!!

This is the birthday present that we gave Mimi.  Hayden was so excited about it.  It is a fleece throw and I tried to pick all the pictures that I knew Mimi had told me were her favorites.  Now everytime Mimi cuddles up on the couch she will have the two most beautiful girls ever to snuggle with...

Gracie was saying Cheese, she knows what to do when she sees the camera these days:

All snuggled up under Mimi's birthday present...

Surprise

Today is Mimi's birthday, so I posted a surprise on Facebook first thing this morning, but I realized when Mimi didn't call us she must not have seen it yet. Hayden and Gracie decided they also wanted to surprise Mimi with pink roses, Hayden says pink is always the prettiest(I must say I agree). Hayden and Gracie decided that we needed to go to Garden Gate Florist and get the roses and then personally deliver them to Mimi's school(as Hayden calls it). Mimi's door was actually closed all the way and she had her back to us, so I told Hayden that we would sneak around and go in the other door and really surprise Mimi. Mimi was hard at work and didn't even see us when we first came in, Hayden carried the flowers all by herself and when she walked in Mimi's office she was smiling that beautiful big smile and she said in such a sweet little voice "Happy Birthday Mimi" and gave Mimi a big hug. I ask Mimi after she got all of her hugs and kisses from Hayden and Gracie if she had seen her surprise on Facebook and she said no, so she pulled it up and of course she LOVED it. I think Mimi and Hayden watched it about 10 times together. I think Hayden and Gracie did an excellent job on their surprise today! They are two sweet little girls that always want Mimi to know how much they LOVE her.

I also posted the video here so that every one could see it!!!

Happy Birthday Mimi! We love you! We found fresh shrimp for your birthday dinner tomorrow and we have another surprise birthday gift for you that Hayden is very excited about!!!

Fighting

So yesterday Hayden and Gracie had what I call their first REAL fight. They were fighting over the pieces to Hayden's puzzle, and yes I have tried to tell her that she either has to put it together when Gracie is asleep or at a place that Gracie can't reach, like the kitchen table instead of her princess table but for some reason she just will not do that. Gracie likes to clean up, so she was trying to put all the pieces of the puzzle back in the box and Hayden kept telling her to stop, well she doesn't completely understand yet so she kept taking the pieces and putting them in the box. I just sat back and watched to see what would happen...The next thing I know Hayden told Gracie to give the piece back to her and Gracie took off running, so Hayden got up and pushed her down on the floor and that was just the beginning. Gracie of course started crying and wasn't sure what had just happened, so she kept screaming while sitting on the floor and Hayden told her to please be quiet and of course Gracie screamed even louder, so Hayden got up and held Gracie down and put her hand over her mouth and yes at this point Mommy had to get involved. I told Hayden to please stop that Gracie just doesn't understand, so I tried to get Gracie involved with one of her own puzzles, even one that makes sounds, but she could have cared less...she wanted Hayden's puzzle. So Gracie went back over to Hayden's puzzle and took another piece and once again Hayden pushed her down on the floor except this time Gracie didn't just cry and scream and wait for attention...She immediately got up very upset and went straight over to Hayden and grabbed two handfuls of hair and pulled as hard as she could. Yes, at this point Mommy was tired of the fighting so had to punish both of them...I made Hayden go to her room and since I wasn't real sure how to punish Gracie, I popped her little hand(no not very hard Mimi and Pop) and told her no no we don't pull hair and put her in her baby bed for about a minute. I only made Hayden stay in her room for a minute too and after that they got along a little better. It was very interesting and hopefully they learned that fighting is not the answer to the problem, but I have a feeling there will be plenty more fights in the future.

Gracie has also learned how to take her clothes off. She took her pants off while she was supposed to be napping on Sunday and I didn't think to much about it, but today she learned to take her shirt off and she did not want to put it back on. Hayden said she looked like a little boy running around. So I spent the majority of the afternoon chasing her around the house and making her put her shirt back on. Gracie also says "cheese" when she sees the camera now, at least she is smiling for the camera now...It used to take lots of work to get a good picture and these days it seems they are all good pictures.

Cheese...