Cassidy's 3rd Birthday

We went to the Tomlin's house this afternoon for Cassidy's 3rd birthday party. We weren't there 3 minutes before Gabriel and Grace had muscled some other kids out of the car so they could have it.
There was a coloring station set up in the house. Grandma, Grace, and Cassidy colored together.
Grace kept coming back to this little doll house to play with. I never really thought that she would like a doll house. Who knew?
The kids played a game of stick the flower on Hello Kitty's garden. Grace cheated a tad. After being spun around three times and pointed in the direction of the Hello Kitty picture, she walked up to it, took her blindfold off, and put the sticker on the flower. Ha!
Gabriel took a turn to stick a flower to Hello Kitty's garden. When the game was over, Grace had won. I wonder why?
Next, we went outside to pull the strings on the pinata.
Gabriel took a turn too.
Cousin Austin was the one who pulled the string that released the candy. Gabriel was quick to make his way over to get his share.
This is the only times Grace is cooperative about "cleaning up." Haha!
Here are Austin and Cassidy getting their share of the candy.
Here is our pretty little birthday girl. We just love her!
Time for blowing out candles . . .
and eating some birthday cake.
While everyone else was inside getting birthday cake, Gabriel was outside by himself on the bench eating away at his candy from the pinata. I have no idea how much he ate, but I know it was a lot. Geez!
Grace tried out Cassidy's new bicycle. Santa, Grace may need a big bike for Christmas.
Here are the cutie cousins in the car.
Finally, it was time to open gifts. Notice that both girls are wearing high heeled shoes? The first gift Cassidy opened was a box full of fancy shoes. Cassidy and Grace both got so excited that it had to be opened so they could try them on.
Grace, Kayla, and Cassidy played together so well. It was hard to break up the party when it was time to leave.
Before we left, Grace and Cassidy played with Aunt Linda too. The kids had a great time at the party. We can't wait to do it again in a few months when Grace celebrates her 3rd birthday.

Touch-A-Truck

We went to the Clarksville Community Center this morning for their annual Touch-A-Truck event. The kids LOVE seeing all of the trucks and getting to sit inside them. The first truck we stopped at was a fire truck, and the fireman gave the kids a sticker and a sucker. You know how much I love suckers!!!
The second truck was a fire truck as well, and they gave the kids a fireman's hat.
The kids got to "drive" a giant UPS truck that had three trailers attached to it.
This firetruck was quite a bit older than the first two.
Gabriel "drove" the front end loader.
Then Daddy put him in the scoop part of the vehicle.
Hey! Who's this kid? It's Preston Kist! Yeah, we ran into the Kist family while we were there.
Daddy and the kids checked out a tank.
The kids really thought this conservation officer's boat was cool.
The last stop was a police car. While Gabriel was sitting in it, a huge grasshopper landed on his arm. It sat there for a moment, and Gabriel was okay with that until it started moving around. How funny!

What a fun way to spend an hour of our Saturday morning!

It's Been Awhile . . .

since we've been able to go outside and play in the hose.
Gabriel tried to "catch" a drink from the hose.


He also showed a "full moon" to the camera. Ha!


It wasn't long before Grace was cold and shivering.
So I grabbed a towel and some cuddle time with my favorite girl!

Taco Night

Daddy fixed a taco bar for dinner tonight. It was so cool to see Gabriel fix his own tacos. He tried black olives, green onions, and cilantro because he was making his own tacos. If I had put it on his plate, he would have sworn that he didn't like any of it.
What a healthy and colorful dinner! He ate every bite! Great idea, Daddy!

Funny Conversation

Gabriel and Grace were in the living room by themselves while Dan and I were in the kitchen this weekend. They were sharing some rice cakes for a snack. Grace calls rice cakes popcorn cookies. They had a very adult-sounding conversation that went a little like this . . . .

Grace: Hey, Gabe! Where does popcorn come from?
Gabriel: It comes from cows, Grace. It comes from cows.
Grace: Wow! Milk AND popcorn come from cows! How does popcorn come from cows?
Gabriel: Uhh . . . I don't know. It just does.

Muddy Hands

Grace was left in the backyard last Thursday evening for just a few minutes by herself. She took some dirt, added some water from the back of her tricycle, and made mud.
Daddy decided to rinse her off before she came inside.
She thought this impromptu spraying was pretty funny.
Thanks, Daddy!

TGIF!

After my first full week back to work, it was so nice to spend some quality time with my family tonight. Grace and I were watching t.v. together tonight --- she's an addict BTW --- when she put her arm around me and said, "Let's take our picture together!" How could I resist??
Our worm is still doing well. He has a crazy appetite, and we can never give him enough to eat. It has been fun watching him though.
Grace fell down outside and skinned her knee. She cried until the moment I put the band-aid on. Then all tears ended instantly. Ha!
Grace found this praying mantis outside tonight. I'd never seen a gray praying mantis before. It was so cool!
After that, Dan went on a bug hunt in the yard and found a couple of these orb weaver spiders on our tomato plants.
The kids decided to hula hoop after the bug hunt. Gabriel struck such a crazy pose!
He tries really hard to make that hula hoop work. He's like his momma, though, and just doesn't seem to have it yet. If he keeps trying he'll figure it out; then he can teach me!






Grace has her own version of hula hooping. I love to hear her say "huwa whoop" too!