Monster Truck Mayhem

We entered a drawing at the local library to win tickets to the upcoming Monster Truck show. We didn't win, but a friend of mine did. She was going to be on vacation for the show and offered us the tickets. Thanks, Amber! I had never been to anything like this, so we thought we would give it a go. It was actually a really good time and the girls loved it. Our sweet little Grace. This is what I got when I asked her to, "Look at Mommy and smile."

Oh, Ella. We were totally unprepared for how loud it would be. When we got there we bought ear plugs for the girls, but Ella had no desire to leave them in. for some reason she kept pulling out one, but leaving the other in. We figured saving her hearing in one ear was better than nothing.

This guy got a flat tire trying to do some sort of fancy monster truck rally trick. That sucks!

Lately, Grace feels the need to do super hero poses when having her picture taken.

The Magic Number

While at Disney a few weeks before these pictures were taken, we discovered that Grace had finally reached the "magic number"...40 inches. Once the height is reached an entirely new world of possibilities is opened. The first "big girl" ride Grace went on was Test Track at Epcot. She was not scared, AT ALL! Not that we were surprised. A few days later we decided to head to Magic Kingdom where the real action happens! Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain, here we come. The properly prepare herself for the mature rides to come, Grace was sure to apply ample amounts of lip gloss. She wouldn't want to stand out among the other "big girls", would she.
Ella, as always, is generally happy to be along for the ride.

Eric took Grace for her first ride on Splash Mountain. When did she get so big?


This is them coming down the huge drop. It is hard to see, but they are in the back row. You can see Eric in the white shirt, but grace is hidden.

After the drop with a huge smile on her face! I love it. I took her again right after this and that time she put her hands in the air on the big drop! She is crazy. We also took her on Thunder Mountain and the story was the same.

She's Official

We finally broke down and bought Grace her own annual pass to Walt Disney World. She turned 3 at the end of July and technically we should have bought her one then, but we were hoping to avoid the big purchase as long as possible. We went a few times after her birthday, and every time I was sure the Disney age police were going to bust us. I felt so guilty. Plus, Grace is not a 3 year old that could pass for 2. She is huge for her age and we got funny looks from the people at the gate before her birthday. Sneaking her after she turned 3 was a stretch. About a month after her birthday I was preparing a lesson for Young Women about honestly. I felt like such a jerk, so that afternoon we went to Disney and made her official. Grace proudly displaying her official pass. She was so proud of herself!
After having watched us go through the gates a million times, she knew the drill. She didn't want ANYONE to help her.

Jail Birds

Ella woke up from her nap and was happily greeted by Grace and Morgan. The big girls climbed right in and the party started. I think they would have stayed in the crib all afternoon. If I wasn't afraid that their weight would cause the crib to collapse, I would have been more than happy to leave them all there!

Party Time

Just a few pictures from Graces birthday party. She had been planning her dream party for about three months, including the guest list, invitations, party games, etc. However, being the total slacker mom that I am, I dropped the ball and planned a family party at the last second. Thankfully she didn't seem to know the difference. I will make it up to her next year.

Isn't my sister amazing! Grace know that Melissa is the cake decorating master. Grace actually asked Melissa to make the cake for her party and made the Hello Kitty request herself. So funny.
Nail polish. What was I thinking. At least she liked this better than that stupid doll house!
Grace lines these things up just like Eric lines the toys up on his shelves. He loves it!

Grace turns 3!

Grace turned three years old on July 13. I cannot believe how quickly the time has gone and what a big girl she has become. Currently her favorite things include: anything Disney Princess, Power Rangers, dancing and singing (mostly to the music she creates in that crazy little mind of hers), reading and books, and bubbles. She is so smart and the temper tantrums aside, is really funny and a joy to be around! I decorated the night before so she woke up and was very excited to see table.
In case you were wondering, she is three.

We tourterd ourselves over what gifts to get for her. We went back and forth about so many different things and finally settled on this folding princess castle thing. It was a total bust! She has played with it once. How annoying. Last week we bought her an automatic bubble blower for $1 on clearence and it is her favorite toy. I should have guessed.

Since Grace was about to turn three and still can't swim, we decided it was time for lessons. Grace was so excited and Ella had to get in the pool, too. Neither of the girls know how to swim yet, but we are going for round two in a few weeks.
Ella loved her lessons. She worked on blowing bubbles, floating, kicking, etc. The only problem we have now is that she THINKS she can swim. She will just walk right into the water off of the side of the pool and when I hold her in the water she tries to wiggle out of my arms and pushes me away. Trouble.
Grace did really well in her class also. She worked on most of the same things Ella did, but was in the water without mom or dad. She listened really well to her teacher which always makes mom happy. And even though she can't swim, she had a very proud moment. On the last day of class the teacher allowed the kids to jump off of the diving board in the deep end. Grace wanted nothing to do with it, but I walked her over so she could watch the other kids. After a short pep talk, she agreed to try. The first walk to the end of the board went slowly and ended with her walking back to me and not jumping. She said she wanted to try again, so when her turn came up she walked to the end of the board (a little more confidently this time) stood there for a while, counted to three, waited some more, and then jump in. It was awesome. She loved it and did it again.