Santa Claus

We were eating lunch at the mall in Grand Rapids (one last hurrah before moving), not planning on seeing Santa, when out he came from wherever they let him get dressed. She saw him and immediately started talking about seeing him. "Santa lap, sit. Hug, kiss. Sit lap. Santa." So I figured I would run with this opportunity, though she wasn't in her Christmas dress and Rob wasn't with us. After she finished eating we went over to see Santa. Since it was like 2pm, no one was in line. We went right up and Gloria wouldn't let go of my hand. So, first she sat on my lap on Santa's lap. He was holding her hand and talking to her. Then he asked her if she would like to sit on his other leg. I asked if she would sit on his lap so I could take a picture. No problem. I scooted off and took two pictures. (They let you take 2-3 of your own or buy them.) By this time another family had approached the line so Santa gave Gloria a hat and a coloring book. We walked to the other side and she kept saying, "Hug, kiss. Santa hug, kiss." I told her we would have to wait for the other kids to be done and then we could sneak back up to him. Well as soon as those kids were done, Gloria busted a move up to Santa. I followed her to make sure Santa knew what the purpose of this 2nd visit was. She gave him the biggest hug and a sweet kiss on the cheek and waved bye.


We will probably go see Santa again this weekend with Gloria in her Christmas dress so Rob can come along too.

"love you"

I just walked out of Gloria's room, after reading her a book, singing some songs, and rocking/snuggling her for a few minutes. I laid her down in her bed, told her good-night and that I'd see her in the morning. I said, "Love you. Night-night" and as I was opening up her bedroom door to leave, she said, "Love you. Bye."

That's the first time she's said "love you" to anyone, on her own without prompting.

My heart just melted.

Trick or Treat

"Pocahontas and her Pumpkin Bear!"

"Our little Indian Princess"

"So this is what it's like to have long hair...I think I like it!"

Gloria had so much fun handing out the candy to trick-or-treaters. She was rarely scared by a costume, except for when they had scary masks on. The first one she saw was when she was getting her coat on and she saw it through the door. She ran as fast as she could and jumped in Grandpa Chuck's arms and buried her face. When she was outside and saw them, she just turned towards Rob and wouldn't give them candy. She did great putting one piece of candy into each person's bag and kept saying "more people come."


It was quite chilly out which is why we have on our coats, hats, and mittens. Gloria and I were troopers though, staying out until the very end of the allotted time.

Carving pumpkins

"Let's start carving!"

"Scooping out the seeds with a spoon. I did NOT want to touch it with my hands!"

"I told Mommy I wanted two square teeth, a square nose, and circle eyes."

"I love Halloween time!"

Pumpkins!

Tonight, Rob, Gloria, our friend Corrie, and I went to buy some pumpkins. Gloria had fun running around all of the pumpkins and she picked hers out right away. I wonder what she'll think about them this year once they're carved and lit up?!

"Getting ready to pick out pumpkins!"

"Can I lift this one?"

"Mommy, look at the pumpkin I picked!"

"I love getting pumpkins!"

"Big Pumpkins - $5."

Bubbles

We bought Gloria some bubbles for the bathtub. The directions say to pour several capfuls under the running water. Well, to us, several means 3 or more. Rob put two capfuls to be on the safe side and look what we ended up with!

"Bubbles, bubbles everywhere!"

"Bubbles, bubbles on my chest!"

"Bubbles, bubbles on my chin!"

"Bubbles, bubbles everywhere!"

Bike Ridin'

"Check out my cool bike seat!"

August 2, 2009


"And check out my neat helmet!"
August 3, 2009


"I LOVE LOVE LOVE going on bike rides..."

"...Especially with Grammy! I think I would like to ride on the bike everyday if I could!"

Auntie April got married!

"I'm the cutest flower girl you ever did see!"

"Isn't my dress so pretty?! Mommy found it at JCPenney and it matched hers perfectly!"

"Auntie April is getting married!"

"So pretty, and they smell good, too."

"My mommy, me, and Auntie April - ready to walk down the aisle!"

"My family"

"Corrie has a cool kitty ring that I just had to try on!"

"Auntie April and my new Uncle Zach!"

"Needless to say, I was the LIFE of the party...before I had to go home and go to bed!"
(Videos are coming soon!)

BEACH!!!

"I'm going to the beach! To the beach!"

July 19, 2009

"Digging in the sand is fun. Finding sand in my diaper is not as fun."

Gloria is a beach bum! Gloria went to the beach twice this summer with me and Grammy and twice just with Grammy.

The first time we went Gloria was very hesitant about the water. She didn't want to put her toes in or go anywhere near it without Grammy. Grammy was able to get Gloria to put her toes in for a second but when we tried to get the other foot in, she was all done. The second time down Gloria still didn't want to get in the water or touch it with her toes, but she did play in bucket after bucket of water, splashing and pouring it on herself.

When Grammy took Gloria to the beach by herself, Gloria was ready to play in the water! On one of the visits, Gloria took off for the water before Grammy even had a chance to set down the towels and toys!

July 26, 2009

Gloria loves playing in the sand, digging, burying her toes, sitting in holes, and filling up her bucket. We showed her how to make sandcastles, and now she wants to make them in her sandbox too. She will start putting sand in her bucket and say "castle." Too bad the sand in the sandbox isn't moist so it can stick together.

"What a vast world I have yet to explore!"

Where is my necklace?

On Monday, I took Gloria to the doctor because of a bite on her wrist and a bad diaper rash. The doctor said the bite looked okay but put her on Augmentin to be on the safe side and he also wrote a prescription for "Magic Butt Paste" for the diaper rash. While there, the nurse weighed Gloria (in her diaper, clothes, and shoes) and she was 28 lbs. 11 oz. So, I figure that I can safely say that Gloria weighs 28 pounds or a tad bit over.

When we went in on July 27 for her 18 month appointment, she weighed in at 27 lbs. 5 oz. in just her diaper, was 34 1/2 inches long, and her head circumference was 19 inches. That's the 85th percentile for weight, over the 95th percentile for height (off the chart), and in the 90th percentile for her head. She's right on track to being a gorgeous tall supermodel!

Anyway, when we were checking out on Monday from the doctor they offered Gloria a little toy. She could choose a boat or a necklace. I asked her and she said necklace. It's a blue bead one that you associate with Mardi Gras. She wore her necklace out to lunch after the doctor, and has been wearing it quite a bit since then. Today we were playing different toys and she kept playing with her necklace, taking it off, putting it on her arms, legs, neck, and taking it off again, putting it on the floor, etc. She put it on her neck, walked into the bathroom, came out (with it still around her neck), looked at me and said, "Necklace?" while looking all around. It made me smile because it was still around her neck where it belonged but she couldn't find it. I told her where it was and everything was good again.

Exactly one year ago
September 23, 2008

Birthday Party Picnic

"Yum!"

A week ago, on Sunday, September 13, we had a birthday picnic at Grandpa and Grandma Hettig's house to celebrate my birthday (as well as Rob's and Angela's.) Rob's family was able to join us and so was Randall and his mom. It was a perfect day for a party outside.

"Look at all of this food - and I'm going to eat all of it!"

We had so much fun playing Bocce ball, Ladder ball, beanbags, and the guys had fun shooting guns!

"I'm a pro!"

"Just showing how not to do it!"

"Auntie Angela and Auntie Amy were playing ladder ball."

"Best friends"

Gloria and Ami splashed around in the pool for a long time. I think they stayed in their bathing suits for almost 3 hours! Julian joined them in the pool for a bit too.

"What a wonderful day it has been!"