Heart Smiles: What have we been up to?

Saturday, December 9, 2006

What have we been up to?

10:01 PM | Posted by Amie

The last time I posted to a blog was in April with an update on life with Grace. It is hard to believe that 8 months have since passed. Where did the time go? Seriously....

While the time has passed by quickly it also feels as though Grace has been with us forever. In preparing to get this blog up and going, I revisited our travel blog and it amazes me how much this little girl has changed. I remember after we got her picture ,waiting for what felt like an eternity to hold her and hug her and to see a smile on that sweet little face. I never dreamed that we would be so blessed to be flashed one while we were in China. And for her to allow us the gift of hugs and snuggle time in addition.. It was more than I could have ever dreamed. Now this little girl is giving hugs and kisses unsolicited, left and right. She bends her head down and rams it in to you and calls it a hug. It is her own special technique and it is just perfect. She has recently started to phase out the "head ram" hug and move to an open arm embrace. The transition is bitter sweet for me.. :) I will miss those head ram hugs, but welcome her open arms anytime!! And those smiles have not stopped coming. She smiles more than not. She even smiles on command for photo ops. She is just such a happy little soul.

And she does not stop, ever. She is always on the go. She spends most of the time trying to keep up with her older brothers and sisters. She participates, and holds her own, in family dance parties, wrestling matches, couch cushion jumpings, and sing alongs. She just ADORES her brothers and sisters. They are the first ones she looks for in the morning when she wakes up. She calls for them... YaYa(Allie). Ma-shew(Matthew), D.D.(David), K-K(Katie). Gives them all hugs and kisses. She just lights up when she sees them. And let me tell you, she and Allie are quite the pair. Oh my goodness the things they get into. Allie sees the benefits of having a partner in crime and will often send Grace in to do her dirty work. "Gracie wanted to swim inside, so we dumped our water on the floor. to make a pool." Grace wants everything Allie has. And Allie eats it up. Allie has a little lovey , a bunny that she sleeps with every night. Bunny Bunny. So we thought Grace should have one too. So we got her piggy piggy. Now Grace CANNOT sleep without piggy piggy. And if one of them looses piggy or bunny, the other is on the case. They will not give up until found. They take care of each other and are the best of friends. Grace just loves them all! She can often be found standing on the back of a trike being taxied around the kitchen by Allie or Matthew. She loves to read books, play games or just hang out with Katie. She thinks it is the bomb to "play" game cube or computer games with Matthew. And she follows David around and jams with him while he rocks out on the guitar or tries to help him with his building projects.

She has developed a deep love for and friendship with Dora and adores anything "Melmo" (Elmo). She loves to go "side" (outside) and "sing" (swing) at the park or "jumpie jumpie" on the trampoline. One of her favorite past times is snacking and she can often be found sneaking a treat or two in the kitchen pantry when mom is not looking.. and then flashing me her "I'm caught, but I'm too cute. so whatcha gonna do about it." smile. She also considers herself our resident artist and everything in our house, her canvas. We have several of her masterpieces spread through out the home. Her pieces can be found on Our Entry Way wall, Our kitchen cabinets, Katelyn's wall, Katelyn's desk, Our upstairs hallway carpet(permanent marker.. :) ), our back hall closet door and our stairway wall.

She loves her sleeping time. And when we rock her to sleep she loves to sing along with us to Rock-a-bye baby, You are my sunshine, Twinkle Twinkle, and Jesus loves me. Can't understand a word her sweet little self is singing, but the girl puts her soul into it!! And in the morning, she stays in bed and turns the light on and off from her crib(she can reach the switch). And talks to herself and giggles at her own jokes. And then when we come in she gives us a HUGE smile and does jumpie jumpie in her bed before we pull her out.Every time. The first time she did this, we thought it was so cute and we laughed and cheered her on. It is still just as cute and I think she keeps it up because she feels it must be important to us and is always good for a smile.

She loves to dance, to anything, anytime. It is so stinking cute to be driving down the road and catch a glimpse of her little head bopping in the back seat to whatever is playing on the radio. She loves, loves, loves shoes. She changes pairs several times a day. And she can often be found with only one shoe on. If that is the pair she wanted to wear, and she could only find one, not a problem for her. She can even dance with only one shoe on.

She is just so much fun and so full of love. She keeps herself very busy entertaining us with her antics and filling our hearts with joy.

David keeps himself busy as well. He has such an awesome sense of humor. He always keeps us laughing with his reenactments of things that happen during his day at school. He is such a great story teller. So creative. So hilarious! I laugh so hard sometimes my side hurts for days. He took up guitar a little over a year ago and really is quite good. Where he takes lessons, you can sign up to be in a band. They will place you with other musicians and for 8 Saturdays they will meet, pick a name, choose 2-3 songs to play, learn those songs, and then play a "gig" at the end for parents and friends. They are so much fun to watch. It has been such a neat experience, for us all! David joined a soccer team this fall, but his true love lies with the more "extreme" sports. He loves snowboarding, skateboarding, rock wall climbing. And he loves roller coasters(the higher and the more loops the better). I think it is his dream to hit every roller coaster in America! He also loves to build things. He will head down into his workshop and come up not long after with a table for his room, or a bulletin board for Katie. He is always taking things apart in our house and the parts will show up later in a new invention. And he is always careful to be a good example for his younger siblings. A tough job, with a ton of pressure, but one that he is especially good at. He also works hard at school and it pays off in his report card. He can always be counted on to make good choices and to be kind to and thoughtful of others.He is such a cool kid!

Katelyn is finding plenty to do these days. She is currently preparing for a her acting debut in "The best Christmas pageant ever." She is so excited and she works so hard at her lines. She works hard at everything she does. She always gives 110% to everything. I wish I had her work ethic. She has also joined the church choir and is excited for her first performance today. She continues to play soccer and loves it! She has also joined brownies this year and has met several really nice girls through brownies and through school. Katie spends a lot of time drawing and doing anything crafty. And she also loves to read. She always finds tome to make us laugh and smile. She loves to spend as much time as she can playing with friends and hanging out with family. She is so kind and always thinking of others. She is also such a HUGE help with the girls and they just adore their big sis! I can't imagine going through these last 8 months without her help! She is just such a sweet soul and so much fun to be around!

Matthew is as busy as ever. He is LOVING Kindergarten. Loves his teacher, loves his friends, loves snack-time, loves picking out his clothes for school, loves his homework, loves recess, loves riding the bus, loves EVERYTHING about school. He counts down on the weekend until school starts. He has made several good friends and is reported to be the resident comedian of his class. I have seen him in action and he is such a hoot! At the thanksgiving party, he could be found teaching others to "play the armpit". Even the girls. Not really the right time or place, but funny. He loves to make people laugh and smile! He does a lot of that at home as well. Keeps us in stitches and on our toes. He is so much fun! He also took up soccer in the fall and played for a team coached by his dad. They were quite the pair. He worked his little butt off and managed to make a few people laugh with his antics during games. Quite the talent! Matt-man learned how to ride a two wheeler this summer and spent a lot of time racing the big kids around the neighborhood. He loves to play outside with friends and loves to do anything that involves hanging out with his brothers and sisters. He is incredibly sensitive and thoughtful and takes so much time to make sure he takes care of us all!

Allie is busy being 2. She loves to dress up in a "princess"(skirt or dress) and dance dance dance. She is always on the quest for the next greatest dance or gymnastics move and will take time out only to catch an episode of Dora. She is always singing. It is the sweetest thing. She makes up songs.. and they usually flow and rhyme and actually make sense. I think she is working on a little number for David and his band.:) She is full of energy and she does not stop talking. And there is no place she would rather be than playing with her brothers and sisters. She is especially thrilled to finally be big enough to "camp-out" with them on the family room floor on movie night. She is a hugger and is always there when you need one.She loves to make people laugh and is constantly trying out new material on us. She has stepped up to the role of big sister better than I could have imagined and I am am so amazed and so proud of how thoughtful she is towards her little sister. She is just so happy and so sweet you can't help but smile when you are around her!

So, long story short.. We are having a ball! We laugh a ton, cry a little, and Love a lot!

Life is so very good!