Gracie's Minnie Mouse Party

Yesterday we celebrated Gracie's 2nd birthday.  She had a Minnie Mouse birthday party.  I don't think she realized that the party was all about her but she had a great time playing with all of her friends and family.  Mimi had the perfect cake made, it was beautiful and delicious.  I decided to have the party outside, which the kids loved.  They had the best time playing!  I am not so sure all of the adults enjoyed being outside in the HOT but it was fun watching all of the kids jump on the trampoline, play in the water table, play in the playhouse, on the airplane, play soccer and even a little baseball.  Our yard is lots of fun!  Gracie wasn't sure about everyone singing Happy Birthday to her, but she was excited to dig into the cake and ice cream!  She loves cake and ice cream! She got lots of great gifts...and of course she got a few very special gifts starting with another inch of pearls from Aunt Kim and Uncle Artie, a gorgeous pearl bracelet from Grandmama, and Nana gave her a gold necklace and cross...it was Nana's baby necklace and Mema's cross when she was little.  Needless to say all of the items are put away for only special occasions.  I am thinking she needs to go have her two year old pictures done with  a beautiful dress and her new bracelet!  She also got lots of baby dolls and dress up stuff and let me just say she has played with every baby doll and all of her dress up stuff all morning.  She loves it all!  I think she had a great time at her party!  She was ready for bed last night!

Thanks to everyone that came for celebrating with us and all of the wonderful gifts! 

I also want to give a special thanks to Mimi and Pop for helping us get everything together.  We love you and appreciate it so much! 

This is the perfect cake! 

Singing Happy Birthday, she isn't too sure but she knows that she wants the cake!

This is some good stuff, I wish everyday was my birthday!

Here Pop I need you to open my new baby doll...Please...I'll give you a pretty smile!

Oh thank you...I love it!

This is what Mommy, Daddy and Hayden gave her for her birthday!  She looks very serious in this picture but she LOVES her new motorcycle!  She wasn't too sure about it when we first brought it out but she has been on it all morning!  In fact she will not even let Hayden have a turn!

I have also included something special with my post today!  I have been working on this for a month now and couldn't wait any longer to publish it.

Happy Birthday Gracie

We love you so much!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

More Little Conversations

Wow, it has been a busy week!  I have been trying to get our house cleaned and ready for Gracie's big birthday party on Saturday.  I know most of you think that should be easy because as Artie says I am OCD about having a clean house, but unfortunately I do let some things go until I am inspired  or forced to do them, like when I have some where around 40 people coming over.  I also cleaned the girls playhouse out today, yes I know that is very OCD but I just can't help myself.  It was completely full of sand!  I mean who wants to go inside and play with all the sand everywhere!  I also tried to get the deck ready or I guess I should say picked up and organized!

I am so excited about Gracie's birthday party.  It is so hard to believe that she is going to be 2, where does the time go?  She is also getting excited about it.  I keep asking her "how old are you going to be on your birthday" and she replies "two" in the sweetest little voice ever.  I asked her this morning what she wanted for her birthday and she said  "Pop" I said you want Pop for your birthday and she nodded her head yes and said "Mimi" so I said you want Pop and Mimi for your birthday and she nodded yes and then she said "Hayden" and "Daddy" and  "Kim" and "Artie" and  "Nana" and "Steve" and  "Cy" and "Nichole" and finally there at the end was "Mommy"!  So as you see she is so easy to please she just wants to see everybody she loves for her birthday!  Isn't that the sweetest thing ever!  She also wants cake!  Every time I mention her birthday she ask for cake.  She loves cake and ice cream!  I can't wait for her to see everything set up and her face when she gets to open all of her presents.  Hayden is also excited about Gracie's birthday, she loves birthday parties. 

Well on to a different subject.  I picked Hayden up from school and she is always hot and tired, they come straight from the playground to car pool.  I always take her some water with me to drink on the way home.  It is always the first thing she ask for! 
This is our conversation after she had some water:

Mommy - Did you have a good day?
Hayden - sigh, Yeah
Mommy - What did you do today?
Hayden - I don't know

Mommy - Who did you play with?
Hayden - I don't know their names

Hayden - we didn't have snacks today
Mommy - why not?
Hayden - it was someone's birthday but we didn't have birthday cake
Mommy - well what did you have?
Hayden - cupcakes but I really wanted birthday cake
Mommy - oh well were they good?
Hayden - yes
Mommy - who's birthday was it?
Hayden - I don't know

See she doesn't like to talk about her day until she is good and ready to talk about it!  I love my little conversations with both of my girls!  They make me laugh all the time!!!

Family Reunion

Today we went to the Snell Family Reunion.  Hayden and Gracie wore matching dresses and looked simply beautiful!  The girls did very well, Gracie didn't want to talk to anyone she didn't know.  Hayden was very quiet and shy, as usual!  They spent most of the time we were there eating and running around the table, even after they were told to stop about a million times.   All of the food was absolutely delicious and Hayden, Gracie and myself got to meet lots of new people.   After we got finished eating we went outside and the girls played on the playground for a few minutes with all the other kids, it was too hot to stay out there too long! 

Getting ready to go:

Just look at those cuties:

This was their favorite part:

After School Fun

After school yesterday, Stephanie and I surprised the Hayden and Kierstin when we picked them up.  We took them to Wendy's for lunch and then to Aunt Kim's house to swim.  Hayden was so excited that Kierstin got to go swimming too!  They had so much fun, they pretended to be Mermaids and Sharks! Then they pretended that they were at the Afari(Safari, that is just how they pronounced it) looking for butterflies.  It was so cute.  Aunt Kim has lots of flowers and butterflies in her yard, so they had fun exploring and of course Gracie tagged right along too! They all have great imaginations!  Gracie also had fun hugging and kissing on Mark Brantley, she kept calling him a baby, I finally got her to call him Mark!  Mark Brantley wasn't a big fan of the kisses and hugs so he pushed her away!  It was a fun afternoon!

Gracie, Hayden and Kierstin...eating  pops and swimming:

Ice Cream Social

Ballet officially started yesterday afternoon!  I think she really enjoyed it and sorry there are not any pictures because as I thought I wasn't allowed to watch.  I was actually relieved that they have a waiting room for the parents, that way I can keep Gracie out of the middle of her ballet class.  Hayden was a little nervous about the new teachers and other little girls, but it didn't take long before she was having lots of fun. Gracie was tired by the time ballet started, so needless to say she was a bit of a handful as we waited for Hayden.  She kept telling all the other Mommies "No" and just not being her sweet, smiley self!  Oh well, hopefully next week be better, I plan to take lots of babies with us to try to keep her occupied!  Hayden came out with a big smile on her face, which means she liked it.  Then Mrs. Kim her teacher asked if she could talk to me.  I thought what in the world I know Hayden couldn't have done anything wrong!  She told me that Hayden was too advanced for the class she was in and that she wants to move her to the 5 o'clock class next week!  I told her that was fine, so next week she will meet all new friends again.  At first she told me she didn't want to move classes but I think she is okay with it now! 

After Ballet we went to pick up Mimi and we all went to Chick-fil-a to eat dinner before going back to GWA for the Ice Cream Social!   The girls love to eat a chick-fil-a, basically because they can play on the slide.  Gracie is now big enough to play too, and it is nice and cool because it is inside!  Gracie doesn't eat much anymore because she is only focused on playing, she used to be confined to the high chair so there wasn't anything else to do but eat.  Now she will not sit in a high chair for anything, she is too big for that, or so she thinks anyway.  There are always other kids there that go to GWA too, which is good because Hayden is getting to know everyone.  Just think in the past week she has met so many new people...Soccer friends, School friends, Ballet friends and next week a new set of Ballet friends.  I can only imagine how overwhelming it is, but she seems to be having fun and enjoying all of it!  I am very proud of our big girl, she is amazing! 

When we got back to the Ice Cream Social, I could tell that Hayden was a bit overwhelmed, to say the least.  The gym was very crowded and people were all over the place.  She had that look on her face, like what in the world is going on!  Then she saw some of her classmates and we finally found some homemade chocolate ice cream and she started opening up!  Gracie was absolutely in heaven, You all know that she could eat Popsicles and Ice Cream for every meal and never get tired of it.  She tried out several different flavors.  Hayden did try the Blue Pop flavor, which I must say was disgusting, but the girls seemed to like it!  Guess what though it turned their lips and teeth completely BLUE, but that was okay because I think every little kid in the gym had a BLUE mouth!  Hayden was thrilled when she saw Kierstin, they are not in the same class, so when they see each other now it is so exciting.  They sat in the bleachers and ate a little ice cream and then they spent the rest of the time playing Ring around the Roses!  They are so cute together! Then we went to the football field to watch the cheerleaders and football players be introduced.  That was the plan anyway, we made it through watching the cheerleaders come in on fire trucks and do a couple of cheers and decided that the girls needed to go home.  It was so HOT, Hayden was tired, but she had truly had a very busy day!  We missed everything else but that is okay because there is always next year.  Mark was very disappointed that he couldn't make because he had to work late, but I told him there is always next year!  I even bet next year Hayden will enjoy it more because she will know what to expect! Overall we had a great time and I know they enjoyed it and so did I, it was nice to meet other parents! 

Look at this pretty girl!  Everyone loved her outfit, especially her Daddy when we got back home.  He kept telling her how cute she was!

Yummy Blue Pop Ice Cream and what a beautiful smile even though it is BLUE:

Hayden and Blakeney, Blakeney is also in Mrs. Sherre's class:

So glad to see each other...

Having fun:

Cutie Pies:

Mimi and her girls: 

  Hayden loves that she gets to see Mimi everyday!  In the morning when I drop her off, Hayden says I will get to see Mimi today and Gracie starts calling "Mimi, Mimi" and wants me to go to Mimi's office!  I always tell Gracie we can't go every morning, Mimi has to work! 

Proud Mimi!

Sweet Gracie!

Busy...Busy...Busy

Tomorrow afternoon Hayden starts Ballet again, except she is going to go to a different place...Ballet on Broad!  I am so excited about it, last year she only had one other girl, Addie in her Ballet class.  This year there could be up to 12 in her class, as of right now there are 10.  I think she is a little nervous about meeting all the new girls but I have a feeling she will probably know some of them from school, or at least I hope so.  Her class will be on Tuesdays and will start at 4pm and last one hour.  I have her new Princess Dance Bag packed and ready to go! 

So now just to keep everyone informed...Hayden has Soccer practice on Monday and Thursday nights and now she has Ballet on Tuesday afternoons.  She has a very busy schedule for a 4 year old, but she is loving it and so am I.  When Gracie starts school and activities I may need two of me to keep up with everything! 

I will try to get some pictures of her tomorrow at Ballet, but I am sure that they will not let me stay and watch like I could last year.  However that is fine with me because Gracie would just want to be right in the middle of it and I would be going crazy trying to keep her from pitching a fit!

Oh I almost forgot, Hayden got her first library book today.  She was very excited about her first trip to the library!  She told me that I have to read it tonight at bedtime.  She gets to pick out one book for a bedtime story every night, usually around 8:30.  She gets to pick out whatever she wants, and sometimes she picks out a really LONG one trying to make it last longer.   Anyways she really liked the library and she says the best part is that when she takes the book she got today back she gets to get another one!  She wanted to put it on her bookshelf with all of her books but I told her I didn't think that was a very good idea because Gracie might try to color it or tear it up, which we have had happen on more than one occasion.  We compromised and decided that the book is at its safest on Mommy's dresser.  She is really enjoying all of the new things at school and tomorrow she gets to go to PE.  She told me that she has to wear shorts and tennis shoes, she even went on to tell me..."Not my white shoes(aka Keds, which are my favorites) but my real tennis shoes, the pink and white ones" tomorrow, that is what Mrs. Sherre told her!  I can't wait to hear what she thinks about PE tomorrow.

See she is a very busy little girl!!!

Week 1 - Done

Well we have completed our first week of school and soccer.  Notice how I said we instead of Hayden?  It has been an adjustment for Gracie and I too!  Hayden is still not a big fan of getting up early, but she does get on up after the second time I call her.  Once she is up, she eats her breakfast and is ready to GO!  Gracie has been excellent...as far as getting up and rolling with the flow!  The only thing Gracie is not a fan of, is carpool.  She cries and pitches a fit every afternoon.  The morning carpool is very fast so we don't have any problems, but sometimes in the afternoons we sit and wait for about 15 minutes, which isn't really that long but I guess to a two year old it seems like forever!  The worst part is that she is crying "Hayden Come On" which is really cute and really aggravating after 15 minutes.  She is just ready to see her big sister!  Hayden doesn't like to talk about her day when I pick her up.  Usually all I get out of her is that she had a great day and she loves school and she always wants to know if she gets to go back tomorrow!  She wasn't happy today when I told her that she doesn't have to go back for two days now, she said well "that's not fun" and "I won't get to see Mimi".  I think Mimi has been sneaking around the school pretty much all week to get a peek as to how Hayden was doing.  Mimi said that every time she saw her she was smiling, which makes me happy to know!  She loves her teachers Mrs. Sherre and Mrs. Kim, and she is making lots of new friends.  She brought home her folder today, it only comes home on Fridays with all of her work for the week.  She had lots of great paintings and worksheets, she got a 100 on two of them and the rest had smiling faces and stickers!  I know no one is surprised, we all know how intelligent she is, I just have to brag on my amazing little girl, after all that is my job!  I am so glad she had such a good week, I think she is going to have an amazing year this year. Next Tuesday evening at 6:30 is the Ice Cream Social so Daddy, Pop, Aunt Kim, Uncle Artie, Nana and Uncle Randy we expect to see you there...No I didn't forget Mimi, I know she will be there. 

We also started Soccer this week and so far she loves it!  Monday night it was raining so it was cooler but last night it was HOT, HOT, HOT!  Her coaches are trying to teach them all the rules, it is so funny watching them because all they want to do is run around and kick the ball, which is kind of the point.Right?  Anyways I am glad she likes her coaches and she does pay very close attention when they are talking and showing her what to do.  She is a really good kicker, once again I have to brag, like I said it's my job!  The only thing Mark and I told her after we left practice last night was...That she didn't need to be scared to try to take the ball and kick it when they are playing against each other.  It is 3 against 3, which is good because it was complete chaos last night, they were running all over the field, out of bounds and everything.  It is nice to see her excited about it though, she always wants to know when we leave when she will be coming back for practice again!  Her first game is September 11th, not sure exactly what time yet, her coach said it is usually around 9am and they will be doing team pictures that day too...It should be lots of FUN!

First Day of K4

Well today I have updated my blog twice!  We have been very busy this week!  Today was Hayden's first day of K4 at Mimi's school (aka George Walton Academy).  She was excited this morning but I think she was also a little nervous.  She wasn't a big fan of having to get up at 6:30 this morning, she really enjoys sleeping late and watching her shows in the mornings.  However, she was a good sport and got up the second time I told her to.  I had fixed her oatmeal and had it waiting for her to eat, she loves oatmeal but this morning she wasn't very hungry.  I kept telling her that she would be when she got to school, so she had to eat a little bit at least.  She finally took about 6 bites and then she was ready to go.  She wanted to wear her plaid jumper for her first day.  It was so cute on her, she looked simply beautiful, as always.  I took a few pictures but she kept giving me the fake smile instead of her beautiful, perfect smile. 

Honestly, I think I was more nervous this morning than she was!  It was completely different for me too, we were used to the way things were done at the Preschool last year, but now all of the sudden everything was different...car pool, teachers and friends.  Once we got to the school, I felt better because Mrs. Sherre, which is her teacher was the one to get her out of the car.  She welcomed us with happy good mornings and was telling Hayden what a fun day she had planned for them.  Hayden got really excited and almost slipped out of the car without giving me a good bye kiss.  Of course, I held up the whole car pool line to make sure I got my kiss!  She never even looked back, she is such a big girl!  Yes, as I pulled away the tears started coming, but I actually didn't cry as much this year as I did last year when it was just Preschool.  Mimi had called on our way to school this morning and wanted Gracie and I to stop by her office after we dropped Hayden off, so I dried up my tears and we went to visit Mimi.  Mimi wanted to go watch Hayden go from the cafeteria, which is where all the kids go until 8:05 and then they walk with their teachers and classmates to their classrooms.  I decided that I wanted to go watch her too, so we did and everyone that passed us told us we were like spies. Oh well, what can I say?  A couple of the other mothers stopped to spy with us when they realized what we were doing!!!  When she saw us she just smiled that beautiful smile and walked right passed us with her class and once again she never looked back. 

I went back to get her at 12:00 and Mrs. Sherre put her in the car and her face was as red as it could be, they had been playing on the playground.  Mrs. Sherre said they had a great first day.  She said that all of the kids were so smart!  Hayden said that she had a fun day, but just like last year she doesn't want to talk about it until she is ready to talk about it!  All I can get out of her is that she had fun and she wants to go back again.  Sorry I know everyone was hoping for more details but that is all I can get out of her today and I have been trying for hours now!  Maybe she will have a little more input tomorrow.  Oh and she lost her hair bow on the first day of school, somehow I am not surprised.  Hopefully Mrs. Sherre will find it and send it back tomorrow...I laughed when Mrs. Sherre said to put their name on the hair bows, now I am I so glad I did! 
I surprised Hayden by taking her by Mimi's office after school and then we went to lunch at the Chinese place that she loves so much! 

First Day of School:

Gorgeous!

Gracie wanted her picture taken too!

Ready to Go!

Going to class:

She is the one with the pink Princess book bag!  Her book bag is almost as big as she is!  I think Mrs. Sherre is trying to figure out what we are doing!

Soccer Practice

Last night was Hayden's first Soccer practice.  Mark was able to get home in time to go to, which made Hayden a very happy little girl!   She really enjoyed it, I wasn't sure if she would be really shy.  She was a little shy but she did great.  She listened and followed instructions from her coaches.  She even made a new friend, Barry Kate, which is also going to K4 at GWA this year, but she is not in Hayden's class.  They were so funny to watch.  They were silly and determined all at the same time.  I have to say that 30-45min is long enough practice for 4 year olds, their attention span is not that long yet!  I enjoyed watching her and I loved how she smiled the whole time because she was proud of herself. 

Watching for Daddy so we can go to Practice:

Ready to Go:

Having Fun:

Mommy and Daddy I did it!

How cute is she?

Hayden and Barry Kate getting to know each other:

Uniform Shopping

I forgot to post one of the funniest things Hayden has ever said to me and Aunt Kim!  While we were shopping for uniforms with Mimi on Tuesday afternoon, Hayden saw some Muslims in the store and of course the first thing she did was turn around and ask Mimi..."Mimi what is that on her head" and immediately I told her not to say it too loud.  I tried to explain to her in a round of about way what it meant, but honestly I really didn't know how to explain it to a 4 year old, so basically I just told her it was the way she wanted to dress and not to say anything to the nice lady!  By the way there was a whole family in the place and for those of you who know all of Hayden's facial expression...It was priceless the way she looked at all of them.  I kept quietly laughing to myself because if she knew I thought it was funny, she would keep making comments and faces.  Anyways on to my point...Wednesday while we were swimming at Aunt Kim's house and waiting for Mimi to join us.  Kim asked Hayden about uniform shopping and she told her that..."She was so hungry and thirsty and it took forever"  and it really did take a while to get everything together and apparently she was starving and very thirsty even though I fed her right before we left and she had juice in the car!  Then she went on to tell Aunt Kim that there were some funny people in the store.  She told Kim that "Some different people like to wear skirts on their head" I thought Kim and I were going to laugh till we cried.  She even went on to say after we started laughing that is kind of like the way her Daddy wears his hats..."Some people like to wear hats and some people like to wear skirts".  You just never know what she is going to come out and say!  She is so funny but sometimes it can be a little embarrassing too, just because she is so innocent!  I thought everyone one get a good laugh out of it anyway.

Mark and I took Hayden to get all of Soccer gear today at Academy Sports.  I mentioned before that she is on the Pink Team which is perfect for her because Pink is her favorite color.  So she got Pink Socks, Pink and White Soccer Ball, Pink and Gray shoes and Pink shorts.  I also bought her a pair of black shorts, which she was not impressed with because they are ugly!  I told her that she was going to need more than one pair of shorts and when she wore the black shorts she could still wear a pink shirt, pink socks and pink shoes!  She still wasn't impressed but she will get over it!  When we got home she tried all of her new Soccer stuff out and I think she is going to have a really good time playing!  Her first practice is Monday evening so we will see what she thinks.

Meet the Teachers

This morning was Open House for Hayden at GWA.  We found out that Mrs. Sherre and Mrs. Kim are going to be her teachers this year.  She already loves Mrs. Sherre.  Mrs. Sherre is a very sweet and kind teacher, which I would have to say is the same exact personality that Hayden has...don't you agree?  I have said before that I am excited and sad all at the same time, but after going this morning...I know she is going to love it.  Don't get me wrong it is going to be very different this year, but for the better.  She is going to have to get used to making new friends.  Addie is going to be in her class this year too, so I think that will help a little until she gets used to everyone else.  I also signed up for lots of things to do at the school this year.  I can't wait to be right in the middle of all of it.  I signed up to help with several of the holiday parties and to help out with some of the computer classes.  She is really going to have a big year this year...She is starting a new school with new friends, Soccer and possibly Ballet, depending on which day it is scheduled for.  I don't want to get her involved in too much stuff that she doesn't really enjoy it!

Hayden always makes me a proud Mommy.  When we got to her new classroom, Mrs. Sherre had them color pictures for her refrigerator while she went over everything with the parents.  Hayden was very quiet and colored a beautiful picture.  She was very shy with both of her teachers at first, but by the end of our visit she was talking with Mrs. Sherre.  Since we have been home, she informed that  Mrs. Sherre said that I could come to school too...I laughed...What she meant was that Mrs. Sherre said that all the kids love it when their parents participate in things and help out at the school.  I thought it was too cute that she wants me to come to school with her everyday!

Here is our big girl, ready to go meet her teachers and classmates in the most adorable dress ever, I bet you can't guess where she got it? That's right Mimi and Pop!

Being very shy, just looking around trying to figure everything out!

Hard at work!  Isn't she the most beautiful thing you have ever seen!

Hayden and Mrs. Sherre, I think they are going to have a great year! 

Proud Mommy, I never have pictures of me and the girls because I am always taking the pictures.  I had Addie's Mommy take a few shots of Hayden and I as we were leaving.  At the top of all of those steps is Hayden's new classroom!

My sweet little girl! 

 
After Open House today, Hayden and I have had what I like to call a Mommy and Hayden day!  We went to the grocery store and she got all of her favorite snacks, more silly bands and some jewelry!  I had to treat my little angel after all.  Then we stopped and had her favorite thing for lunch...Chick-fil-a!   Then we went home and just spent a couple of hours together!  Now we are off to pick up Gracie from Nana's house and then we will wait on Daddy to get home to tell him all about out exciting day!  Fridays are always exciting for Hayden and Gracie because Daddy gets to stay at home with us for 2 whole days! Yay!!!

Underwater

Yesterday we went swimming with Aunt Kim and Mimi.  Hayden loves to swim underwater and Gracie has decided that she loves it too.  It is so funny watching Gracie, she is a really fast swimmer.  Gracie loves to go underwater with me, she opens her eyes and waves and yes she even smiles underwater too!  She also can hold her breath for what seems like forever.  In fact, sometimes I make her come up to catch it!  She comes up for a brief second and she says TWO...GO and then back underwater we go.  Gracie also got Aunt Kim to go underwater with her, and Aunt Kim got some really good pictures of her swimming.  As always we also got some great pictures of our big girl too!  This was Hayden's last full Wednesday before school starts.  The good news is that she gets out at lunch time and we should still be able to get a few more Wednesday swims in before Fall gets here.   

See I told you she even smiles underwater!  She truly has the most beautiful smile ever!  Every time I look at this one it makes me smile...

What a big girl, she is going to be a little fish just like her big sister...

Look at this big girl, this one makes me smile every time I look at it too! 

Going all the way to the bottom of the pool for the diving sticks.  She is the best swimmer ever! 

We had so much fun Aunt Kim and Mimi!

 

On another note...Tomorrow is open house at school for Hayden.  Nana and Steve are going to keep Gracie so that it will be all about Hayden tomorrow morning.  I am so excited and sad at the same time.  I know I say this all the time, but she is growing up so fast, it really does seem like just yesterday I was holding her in my arms for the first time. 

Until Tomorrow...

Soccer

It is official, Hayden will be on the Pink Team for Soccer.  She is so excited.  I just hope that she enjoys it once we start.  Her first practice is next Monday at 6:45pm.  I will be curious to see just how shy she will be because I don't think she will know anyone on her team.  I figure it is a good experience for her to meet new friends and hopefully help with some of her shyness, but then again I am 30 and I can still be very shy and quiet if I don't know anyone!  Mark and I are going to take her this weekend to get her Soccer ball and all the other accessories.  I'm sure she will have to have the cutest of everything, she is a very picky shopper! I was excited that the practices are later in the evening because that means that Mark can come to some of them too and her first game is September 11th which is a Saturday, so I know Mark will be there.  The rest of the games will be on Mondays and Thursdays.  I am so excited for our little girl, it just seems like she is growing up way too fast!!! 

Silly Girls

This morning when I was getting the girls ready, Gracie decided she wanted a hair bow.  She picked out the one she wanted and put it on herself.  She was so proud of her hair accessory, she was running around the house smiling and saying "Cheese" so that meant hey Mommy take my picture.  She is such a silly girl! 

Silly...Silly...Silly

Two Silly little girls, with beautiful smiles:

They wanted me to take pictures of their feet, I don't know why but I took it for them and promised Hayden I would put it on the blog...Notice that nice hair accessory is already long gone!

We have been enjoying our lazy mornings this week because next week that all comes to an end.  Hayden starts school at GWA so all of us will have to get up and get moving every morning.  This year Hayden goes all 5 days so it will be a little different...Last year she had Thursdays and Fridays off and they were our play days.  The good thing is that she gets out at 12pm everyday, so we will still have time to have fun in the afternoons!  She also starts Soccer next week and then the next week she starts Ballet again.  She is going to be a busy little girl!

Little Conversations

I love my conversations with the girls, but I really enjoy listening to Hayden and Gracie talk to each other.  Hayden has control for right now because Gracie is just now putting two words together.   Mark got to witness a lot of it yesterday...for example...Hayden and Gracie are playing in Hayden's room, everything is going great and then all the sudden you hear Gracie crying out.   Gracie then comes straight to me and says Hayden and she is usually patting her head...this is when I have to fill in the blanks.  So I usually start with "What did Hayden do" and Gracie just cries and pats her head, arm or leg...Then I say did Hayden hit you and she nods her head yes...As soon as I ask Gracie if Hayden hit her, I immediately hear Hayden in the background squealing "No Gracie I didn't do anything."  So that is when I ask Hayden "Then why is Gracie saying that you hit her?"  Hayden then replies "Well she wasn't listening to me or sharing."  Now we are getting somewhere obviously by the way she answered we now know that Gracie is the one telling the truth.  I constantly have to remind Hayden that even though she is the best big sister ever, she is not the real Mommy and she can't discipline her.  I always tell Hayden that if Gracie is doing something wrong, then Mommy or Daddy will take care of it.  Now we are trying to tell Hayden that big girls do not tell stories and that it is very important to tell the truth.  Although in a couple of months Gracie will be able to tell her version of the story too and that is when things are going to get very interesting at the Stancil house.  

Today while I was cleaning the house, Gracie kept coming and telling me "Hayden broke" and it took me a while to figure out the broke part.  I kept asking Gracie "What are you trying to tell me?" and then I hear the Hayden hollering from her bedroom "Gracie I told you we don't need Mommy"  and then I figured it out...Hayden had apparently broke something.  So Hayden comes walking into the living room and I asked her "Did you break something"  and she responds by saying "Come here and I will show you" and the whole time I am thinking what in the world did she break and why is it supposed to be such a secret.  So I go back to her bedroom and she pulls something out from behind her chair(yes, that means that she hid whatever it was so I couldn't find it) and she opens her hand and it is a silly band.  I guess I was relieved that it was just a silly band, but it was hilarious the way she was trying to hide it and Gracie was bound and determined to tell on her.  I told Hayden that it was okay, and that once again she should always tell the truth. 

Another favorite today was...I told Hayden that she started big girl school next week and she says "Yeah, I am ready to go to school but I still like staying at home with you" Of course it melted my heart and I wanted to say okay you can stay home with me forever, but we all know that I can't do that!  Then she said "I just don't like to go to school when it is this hot outside, every time I go outside I get too hot"  and I said "Well it shouldn't be too hot when you get to school and I will have the air on in the car when I pick you up" and she says "okay I guess that will be alright."  She is truly growing up so fast!

As I type this Hayden and Gracie are having a strong disagreement.  Apparently Hayden is supposed to be the Mommy and Gracie is not listening.  All I hear is "No Mam, I told you not to do that...Go to your room"  So I told Hayden to be nice and she says " Well she is not doing what I tell her to do and I am the Mommy."  At this point I have a hard time explaining myself because on one hand she is right but on the other she really is not the Mommy(I guess when you are pretending the same rules apply).  So I said "why don't you two take a break and play something else"  and then I hear the door slam and Gracie is knocking on it crying wanting to go in.  So I go to see what has happened now and Hayden is in Gracie's room, yes in Gracie's room with the door closed and locked.  I knocked on the door and told her to open it right now and she opens the door with a sweet little smile and she says "You said that I didn't have to play with Gracie anymore"  I said "when did I say that"  Hayden says "you said to take a break."  See what I mean everything is very literal at this house.  I then explained to her that I meant to play something else instead of Mommy and baby not take a break from each other.

See don't you love my little conversations too?